Abstract
Australian police officers consistently report worryingly low levels of psychosocial safety climate (PSC). Although PSC is typically viewed as an organisational climate created by senior leaders and passed down through the ranks, this paper draws on behavioural public administration and social identity theory to propose that, within policing, PSC may also emerge from officers’ own wellbeing. The study explores how leader–member exchange and employee wellbeing influence officers’ views of PSC and tests whether emotional contagion alters the link between wellbeing and PSC. Using survey responses from 202 officers and analysing them with structural equation modelling, the findings show that shared team emotions significantly shape how PSC is perceived, especially in large, hierarchical public agencies like police services. The study offers insight into why PSC remains low despite organisational initiatives, and it highlights the potential value of targeted, locally focused interventions.