Leading and lagging indicators of occupational health and safety: The moderating role of safety leadership

In response to the call for empirical evidence of a connection between leading and lagging indicators of occupational health and safety (OHS), the first aim of the current research is to consider the association between leading and lagging indicators of OHS. Our second aim is to investigate the moderating effect of safety leadership on the association between leading and lagging indicators. Data were collected from 3578 employees nested within 66 workplaces. Multi-level modelling was used to test the two hypotheses. The results confirm an association between leading and lagging indicators of OHS as well as the moderating impact of middle management safety leadership on the direct association. The association between leading and lagging indicators provides OHS practitioners with useful information to substantiate efforts within organisations to move away from a traditional focus on lagging indicators towards a preventative focus on leading indicators. The research also highlights the important role played by middle managers and the value of OHS leadership development and investment at the middle management level.