Uncovering Pathways to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS): Presenteeism and Psychosocial Safety Climate in the JD–R–OHS Model

Occupational health and safety (OHS) remains a critical concern, yet the psychosocial mechanisms linking job demands and leadership to safety behaviors and motivation remain underexplored within the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework. This three-wave longitudinal study extended the JD-R-OHS model to examine Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC) and health-related work functioning, operationalized as presenteeism using the Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6), in relation to safety outcomes. Structural equation modeling distinguished pathways linking safety-specific leadership and job-family demands with safety compliance, participation, and motivation. Findings provided mixed support for the proposed model. PSC was the most consistently supported organisational mechanism, particularly linking safety-specific leadership with safety participation and motivation. In contrast, pathways involving perceived job and family demands and health-related work functioning received limited support. These findings suggest that organisational climate resources may be more influential than individual health-related work functioning in explaining safety outcomes and highlight PSC as a robust mechanism warranting investigation.