Psychological safety is a key part of any successful workplace. Despite this, many workplaces fail to make it a priority. In this post, we discuss the need for psychological safety at work, the difference it makes to productivity, and top tips for making your workplace psychologically safer.
As well as physical safety, employees need to know their employer is willing to protect them psychologically, too. Psychological safety at work is all about creating an environment where employees of all abilities and backgrounds feel comfortable speaking out and contributing without fear of rejection, punishment, or shame.
In a psychologically safe environment, honest dialogue and constructive feedback are welcomed from everyone, not just management. This allows staff to admit mistakes and behave more authentically, regardless of their level or responsibilities.
According to McKinsey, almost 90% of staff feel that psychological safety is crucial in the workplace. But what does this actually look like?
Here are some telltale signs of a psychologically safe work environment:
Now we know what a psychologically safe work environment looks like, let’s take a look at the opposite. In an “unsafe” workplace:
In these types of environments, it’s not uncommon for teams to fragment, absences to rise, and resignations to become frequent.
So, what can be done to change this? If you’re managing a team and are concerned about a lack of psychological safety in your place of work, focus on the following to ensure your team feel safe and supported to speak out:
Training: Mandating psychological safety training will help to promote a healthier culture and ensure everyone understands why it’s important. As a team leader, you might also benefit from more in-depth DEI training to better understand how to cater for the needs of a diverse team.
Building resilience by removing fear: Fear is a huge blocker for progress. If you can build resilience in your team by removing the fear of judgment, your staff will be less afraid to speak up or ask questions when they don’t understand things.
Creating opportunities for growth: Feeling psychologically safe is as much about trust as it is about opportunity. Taking time to set goals and explore opportunities for growth with each employee will make them feel seen and valued. This is vital for employee wellbeing and performance.
Creating a zero-tolerance attitude to bullying: Allowing bullying, harassment, or discrimination to take place in your workplace without consequences sends a clear message to staff that they aren’t safe. If you see unfair behaviour or receive a report from someone in your team, always take appropriate action and follow a disciplinary process if required.
Admitting your own mistakes: You can’t expect others to admit mistakes if you’re not willing to do so yourself. Of course, having boundaries is important – you don’t need to share everything with your team. But if you’ve made a mistake and it’s impacted your staff, fessing up will help you to earn their respect and show that it’s okay to come clean.
Measure psychological safety: If you’re concerned about poor psychological safety in your workplace, you’ll first want to measure it using surveys and feedback. Take a look at the psychological safety index (PSI) from Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmonson. Her helpful scale was specifically designed to help businesses measure psychological safety in teams, and it can easily be turned into a poll that you can share with your employees.
Eager to improve your workplace culture through psychological safety? Healthier habits should be adopted by everyone in the team. This includes:
Using inclusive language. If you notice a staff member making assumptions about someone’s personal life (like asking a woman about children or querying someone’s sexual orientation), privately point out the implications and highlight more neutral conversation starters. This will allow you to shift team attitudes without calling staff out in front of others, which may make people feel embarrassed.
“Checking in” on others. When employees feel responsible for the welfare of others, it becomes a more supportive work environment. As a manager, you may not always be immediately available when someone needs urgent help. If there’s a “checking in” culture, it’s not solely on you to provide safety. Others in the team will step in and take appropriate action without fretting that there isn’t someone senior present.
Encouraging “I need” statements. Build in regular touchpoints, such as at the start of the day and mid-afternoon, where everyone has the chance to share their needs. This could be as simple as a quick round where each person states “I need support with X” or “I need clarity on Y”. By making this a structured routine rather than an ad-hoc request, you’ll normalise asking for help and ensure no one has to work up the courage to speak up.
Building psychological safety is one of the most valuable things you can do for your neurodivergent staff members, especially since research tells us that staff with neurodivergence are more likely to mask in the workplace.
Common amongst autistic women, masking is the act of hiding neurodivergent traits or struggles in an attempt to fit in or appear “normal”. When neurodivergent staff feel psychologically safe, they may feel more comfortable discussing their neurodivergence with colleagues and less pressure to mask. This stops them from having to hide their true self or constantly keep quiet, which can be exhausting and, in extreme cases, lead to burnout.
Psychological safety also opens the door to workplace adjustments. In psychologically unsafe environments, staff with neurodivergent needs may feel anxious about asking for assistive tech or adjustments that allow them to do their work properly. Yet, when that psychological safety net is present, staff can confidently advocate for their needs, knowing they will be met with respect and support.
Not only are safety and security essential to human beings according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, but their absence has also been linked with mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and PTSD, which we know can be deeply detrimental to workplace performance.
When we create an environment that puts psychological safety first, we prioritise wellbeing and encourage the sharing of diverse perspectives. Having these diverse perspectives out in the open creates just the right conditions for innovation and productivity, and has even been linked to greater financial success.
So, what’s one key thing to take away from all this? Just remember, the best ideas may be hiding in your quietest team members. The moment you give them a voice is when everything can change.
Our small but mighty team builds leading-edge software that people love. We pride ourselves on a user-led approach to product design. The voice of the customer shapes what we create and that’s exactly how great assistive tech should be made.
