THE IMPACT OF SUPERVISOR SUPPORT ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY OF DIFFERENTLY ABLED EMPLOYEES IN SRI LANKA’S QUICK SERVICE RESTAURANT (QSR) INDUSTRY IN COLOMBO DISTRICT, SRI LANKA

Abstract

This research aims to examine the impact of supervisor support on the psychological safety of differently abled employees in Sri Lanka’s Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry, with a specific focus on the mediating role of employee trust. This study aims to contribute to the existing knowledge by exploring how supervisor support influences psychological safety and the extent to which employee trust serves as a mediator in this relationship. While psychological safety has been widely studied in various organizational settings, there is limited research on this subject concerning differently abled employees in Sri Lanka’s QSR sector. This research follows a deductive (theory-testing) approach and employs a quantitative research method using a survey strategy. The population of the study comprises differently abled employees working in quick service restaurants in the Colombo district. A stratified sampling technique was used to select 73 respondents, and data were collected through a self-administered structured questionnaire. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used for data analysis, employing both descriptive and inferential statistics, including correlation and regression analysis. The findings indicate that supervisor support has a positive impact on employee psychological safety, and employee trust mediates this relationship. These results highlight the importance of fostering supportive supervisor-employee relationships to enhance psychological safety, which in turn contributes to employee retention and job satisfaction in the QSR industry.