Mediating effect of learning behavior on psychological safety and job performance of nursing professionals

To determine the mediating effect of learning behavior in the work context of a public hospital and a private hospital.

A descriptive, cross-sectional correlational study. The sample consisted of 289 nursing professionals. The study was carried out from January to June 2023, in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. The Psychological Safety in Healthcare Teams Instrument, the Group Learning Environment Instrument, and the Job Performance in Hospital Nurses Instrument were used. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric inferential statistics, including Spearman's correlation, Mann-Whitney U test, and Multiple Linear Regression with the Bootstrap method, were applied.

A significant relationship was observed between psychological safety and learning behavior (ρ = .672, p < .01) and between psychological safety and job performance (ρ = .276, p < .01). Furthermore, a significant relationship was observed between learning behavior and job performance (ρ = .384, p < .01). Learning behavior was also found to be a mediating variable (β = 0.213, p < .001).

The findings highlight the relationship among the three study variables, as well as the mediating effect of learning behavior in the overall analysis and within the public institution.