Have you ever felt nervous to speak up about the actions of a colleague? Voice a concern about a proposed project timeline? Or say no to a superior’s work request?
If you haven’t, congratulations, you have experienced the ideal – a psychologically safe work place culture. Unfortunately, for the rest of us, most teams, companies, and organizations do not have or develop psychologically safe work environments where choosing to voice an opinion, concern, or mistake doesn’t have serious negative consequences.
When most people hear the term psychological safety or think of it within the context of the workplace, they think it means a company culture where everyone is “nice”, where no one’s feelings get hurt, and/or where everyone feels comfortable and safe; but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Psychological safety, according to Harvard Business School Professor Dr. Amy Edmondson, is a shared belief (of a team, organization, community) that it is okay to take risks, ask questions, express ideas, share concerns, and admit to mistakes without the fear of retribution or negative consequences. This means that in a company where with psychological safety, employees feel safe to express concerns that may not “sit well” with others, challenge a superior’s idea, or report when the actions of a colleague are not acceptable.
Psychological safety is important in the work place because it means that your employees and/or colleagues know that their opinions matter, it leads to better decision making, and promotes honesty. When a team and/or organizational has a psychologically safe work culture team members are more likely to vocalize a concern prior to initiating a project or shipping a process, audacious ideas are shared, and mistakes are voiced, addressed, and learned from (not hidden). Companies and organizations where psychological safety is superficial or completely lacking often experience higher rates of employee stress, burnout, and turn over as well as reduced performance. When a workplace lacks psychological safety, it doesn’t just impact that company, agency, or team, it also negatively impacts the company culture of any organization their employees work at in the future. When someone leaves an organization that lacked psychological safety, the fears and uncertainty associated with that culture don’t just magically disappear, they follow that person into their next role.
When an organization lacks psychological safety, the employees know they cannot be honest about their workload, whether they’re stressed, or if they’re feeling disengaged because if they mention any of these circumstances, they are likely to be viewed as disloyal, unmotivated, or simply let go. But how does this negatively impact the organization? When an employee can’t honestly express their situation or circumstance, they will not share if they are looking or planning to leave the organization therefore there is no succession planning, there is no help hiring or training that employee’s replacement, or opportunity for the organization to become aware of, examine, address, or modify internal structures and processes.
Developing psychological safety in workplace culture is more difficult than simply stating that you, your team, your department, or your company encourages honest feedback, that (as a leader) you are open to criticism, or that your company doesn’t condone bad behavior. Developing psychological safety means truly diving into your shortcomings, relinquishing some control, and learning how to hold people accountable without overcorrecting. Psychological safety is about getting comfortable being uncomfortable, understanding that everyone (yourself included) make mistakes, and creating space for your colleagues, employees, and team members to do the same.
One of my most memorable experiences of a workplace that lacked psychological safety was when I was trying to work with a senior employee who seemed to enjoy belittling others (hereafter Jon). Jon was one of (if not the) first employees of this organization and he held full authority over all copy that left the organization including proposals, social media, white papers, marketing materials, and technical reports. When I first started experiencing the “wrath” of this employee, I brought it up to my immediate supervisor and they assured me it had nothing to do with my work and that they had experienced something similar when they first started working with Jon.
As time went on and I continued to have issues with Jon, I started asking colleagues, senior staff, and managers about their relationship with him and if they had any suggestions that may help our working relationship. But instead of feeling hopeful things would get better or equipped with tools to form a better working relationship, I was informed that this was simply Jon. Each person reassured me that it wasn’t me, that Jon was difficult to work with, that he also treated them this way, and if I just waited long enough, his wrath would be redirected toward someone else. But none of these stories made me feel any better, in fact, they just made it worse. As I learned this situation wasn’t unique to me, I became more upset and decided that someone needed to submit a formal report to human resources. As scared as I was to write a complaint about one of the most senior staff, I couldn’t live with myself knowing that there was no documentation of his behavior.
During my meeting with HR, my immediate supervisor shared that this wasn’t a new situation and that she almost left the company, almost left the industry when she first started because of how he treated her. But as you might expect, nothing meaningful happened.
What this situation taught me was that the organization I belonged to did not value respect, integrity, or growth. I learned that the organization prioritized loyalty and profit over everything else. From this singular experience, I understood that I did not matter; blind loyalty without systems to hold people accountable (including senior and executive teams) or processes to learn from past mistakes creates a workplace culture where mistakes are hidden and responsibility is shifted to those with less status.
Psychological safety in the workplace doesn’t remove the presence of uncomfortable moments with bosses, clients, or colleagues, it simply provides a safety net, a buffer so that your colleagues are willing to challenge you, share an audacious idea, or admit a mistake without fearing the loss of their job, experiencing retaliation, or being humiliated as an example in front of their peers. Company cultures that promote and develop psychological safety within all employees benefit from higher retention rates, greater profits, and increased creativity and innovation.
When employees know that their team won’t “throw them under the bus”, that they won’t be ridiculed for asking questions, or that they won’t be punished for making a mistake they’re more likely to be honest, to ask for help when they need it, and to hold themselves and their colleagues accountable. A company culture where everyone understands that each of us learning, that growth is accompanied by mistakes, accidents, and wrong turns, but by actively working together, giving each other grace, and holding each other accountable we push forward as a team to address issues, solve problems, and/or create community.
Citations
Gallo, A. What is Psychological Safety? Harvard Business Review: Leadership and Managing People. (2023, February 15). https://hbr.org/2023/02/what-is-psychological-safety
What is Psychological Safety at Work? Here’s How to Start Creating it. American Psychological Association: Healthy Workplaces. (Created: 2023, December 4; Updated: 2024, March 4). https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/psychological-safety
Carucci, R. How Leaders Fake Psychological Safety. Harvard Business Review: Organizational Culture. (2023, December 5). https://hbr.org/2023/12/how-leaders-fake-psychological-safety