Although numerous studies have increasingly examined psychological safety at individual and unit levels of analyses, few have disentangled their distinct moderating effects. Thus, it remains unclear whether the impact of unit psychological safety derives primarily from individuals’ perceptions of the unit, or from members’ shared unit perceptions. We test whether psychological safety—either as an individual-driven (within-unit) force or as a unit-driven (cross-level) force—moderates the relationship between psychological empowerment and individual performance. Using a sample of 478 healthcare professionals from 78 hospital units, we found that psychological empowerment exhibited a positive relationship with subsequent individual performance at relatively high levels of psychological safety, whereas it exhibited a negative relationship at relatively low levels of psychological safety. We found that the interaction was strictly a cross-level effect after differentiating psychological safety effects across levels. Our results show it is not enough for individuals to perceive unit psychological safety for themselves, but those perceptions need to be shared with other members of the unit for psychological empowerment to yield individual performance benefits. We discuss the implications for future theory, research, and practice.

This study examined how organizational control is related to employees’ organizational trust. We specifically focus on how different forms of control (process, outcome, and normative) relate to employees’ trust in their employing organizations and examine whether such trust in turn relates positively to employee job performance (task performance and organizational citizenship behavior). In addition, and in response to the recommendations of past research, we examined these relationships in a high control and compliance-based cultural context. Using data from 105 employee–supervisor dyads from professional services firms in Singapore, we find support for our hypothesized model. The implications of the results for theory and practice, and directions for future research, are discussed.