Leading safely: The impact of generalist CEOs on workplace safety

Tony Xiaochi Zhang, Alexander Molchanov, Harvey Nguyen and Mia Hang Pham

Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 2025, vol. 46, issue C

Abstract: Businesses are expected to operate as responsible corporate entities, with employee safety serving as a cornerstone of this responsibility. Executives, as corporate leaders, bear moral and ethical obligations to ensure the well-being of their workforce. Drawing on human capital and upper echelons theories, we examine the influence of executives' transferable skills on workplace safety outcomes. We find that chief executive officers (CEOs) with general managerial human capital significantly contribute to the creation of safer work environments. The relation is more pronounced in firms facing financing constraints or intense market competition. These CEOs improve safety outcomes by making more prudent labor investment decisions, reducing employee workloads, and maintaining high information quality. Overall, our study underscores the pivotal role of CEOs' general managerial human capital in promoting employee well-being and mitigating the potential adverse consequences of occupational hazards on firm performance. JEL classification: J28; M12; M54

Keywords: Employee well-being; Workplace safety; General managerial skills; Upper echelons; Labor investment efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:beexfi:v:46:y:2025:i:c:s2214635025000371

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbef.2025.101056

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