Much has been written lately about how university campuses have become places where students and faculty are reluctant to share views over fear of being ostracized, ridiculed and worse. And it isn’t just universities where people feel that it is better to keep their opinions to themselves. Many workplaces have people walking on egg shells, afraid that they will say something someone will find objectionable. These organizations have created climates where people feel psychologically unsafe. But exactly what is psychological safety in the workplace and why is it important?
What Is Psychological Safety in the Workplace?
As Amy Edmondson explains it, psychological safety refers to perceptions of individuals about interpersonal risks at work. Will they be accepted for who they are, and will people respect their point of view? In a psychologically safe workplace, people feel they can state opinions and make suggestions without being attacked or ridiculed. In a psychologically unsafe environment, on the other hand, people are afraid to be themselves or make suggestions. People are careful not to say something that others disagree with or find objectionable.
The Impact of Psychological Safety
A psychologically safe workplace is one that is comfortable. People feel empowered to be themselves and express their points-of-view. They will speak up and make suggestions for improvements, both identifying problems and coming up with solutions. Psychological safety is the foundation for both innovation and inclusion. Innovation is encouraged because people feel safe to make suggestions and try new things. The ability to try, and sometimes fail, without punishment or ridicule is necessary if an organization wants employees to be innovative. Psychological safety is the basis for inclusion in that a psychologically safe environment respects people for who they are. When everyone is valued and treated with respect, inclusion and psychological safety are in alignment.
In a psychologically unsafe environment, on the other hand, people feel insecure in their ability to come to work and do their jobs without enduring mistreatment from others. Individuals are reluctant to reveal themselves or give opinions because they fear being attacked, ridiculed, or ostracized. Employees experience a level of unease that makes the workplace stressful as everyone is on guard to avoid negative reactions from others. In a psychologically unsafe workplace, people tend to keep their mouths shut and just do what their supervisors ask. They are reluctant to make suggestions or try anything new that might be met with a negative reaction from others because they have developed a hostile attribution bias–assuming ill intent by others.
Building Psychological Safety
Like trust, psychological safety can be hard to create and easy to lose. It comes from the experiences that individuals have in their work units. It is a simple case of the old law of effect. If people find that speaking up and making suggestions is met with a positive response, they will be likely to repeat the behavior. Within a work unit, this can produce a positive spiral of people encouraging one another to share ideas and opinions. On the other hand, if speaking up is met with a negative response, people are unlikely to repeat the behavior. To build a climate of psychological safety, managers have to make sure that desired behavior has positive and not negative consequences.
Building a psychologically safe workplace comes down to good leadership. Managers need to create an organizational climate that supports safety.
- Managers should talk about psychological safety and make it clear that people should support one another by respecting and valuing their ideas.
- Managers should model the behavior they wish direct reports to display. This means speaking up and making suggestions themselves, and responding positively when others make suggestions.
- Managers should reward direct reports with praise for making suggestions, and if innovation is desired, praise those who try new things.
- Managers should correct direct reports who respond negatively to the suggestions of others. Make it clear that it is okay to disagree with an idea, but the focus should be on the idea and not the person who made it.
- Managers should have meetings to share ideas and make suggestions. This can be particularly important in a unit where the climate needs to be improved. It can take some time to coax people to open up if in the past suggestions have not been well received.
What is psychological safety in the workplace is an important question. It can take time to build it in a unit, but it is a worthwhile investment of management effort that pays dividends as people are encouraged to open up at work.
Image generated by DALL-E 4.0. Prompt: Brain from the side with a hard hat and caution sign. Make brain more stylized and abstract and no face.
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