The timing of newly released research on psychological safety coincides with National Whistleblower Awareness. OSHA enforces whistleblower laws to ensure that employees are protected from retaliation after reporting an injury, unsafe condition, or regulatory violation.
OSHA defines retaliation as any adverse action even subtle actions such as excluding the employee from an activity, that would dissuade a reasonable employee from raising a concern about a possible violation or engaging in other related protected activity.
Such adverse actions are the opposite of psychological safety. Psychological safety is a critical component for a safe and sound workplace.
Safety is more than compliance and more than a physically safe work environment. The workplace must also be psychologically and socially safe for all stakeholders,
- One where employees are comfortable AND encouraged to speak up, report concerns, unsafe conditions, and errors or mistakes.
- One where doing so is treated as a welcomed learning opportunity
- One where all stakeholders believe that they belong and that their opinion is important – that all voices matter.
This may include contacting OSHA if their concerns are not addressed. Whistleblower.gov
We have posted several blogs about fostering a psychologically safe work environment and research has demonstrated the importance of psychological safety, including for new hires because it enables learning behaviors such as asking a question or seeking help.
However, a new study found that while employees typically experience high levels of psychological safety when they begin a new job, that feeling tends to erode quickly—and it’s hard to get it back once it does.
What is Psychological Safety?
No team is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. What happens next is what makes the difference – do they hide mistakes? Bring mistakes forward? Blame each other? Or learn and grow?
Amy Edmundson, a key researcher on this topic, defines psychological safety as a shared belief that it is okay to take risks, express ideas and concerns, and ask questions without fear of negative consequences. However, it’s not about being ‘nice’. It is recognizing that it is risky to speak up and the person is vulnerability. If there are negative consequences, then the person and others witnessing the consequences are unlikely to admit a mistake or report an error again. They WILL hide these.
The outcomes can be catastrophic for the organization as well as the stakeholders if mistakes aren’t corrected, or a severe injury occurs, or a hazard is not prevented. Learning is key to making the workplace a better place.
Why is this important? According to a recording by Amy Gallo with HBR, teams with higher psychological safety perform better since when they can voice an opinion or issue without retribution they are more likely to be engaged. This is especially true when they feel that their contributions matter. This results in greater creativity and resilience for the team and the organization.
The opposite work environment – a psychologically UNSAFE one – leads to stress, burnout, and lack of engagement – resulting in a low performing team and organization.
How do you know how psychologically safe your work environment is? There is a brief 7 item survey developed by Amy Edmondson to assess your team and organization. We have included the items during our Safety Culture Assessments. However, please contact us if you are interested in reviewing the survey. Results provide a key piece of information to shift the culture to be more psychologically safe.
The goal is to reflect on the survey assessment results to understand the team’s experience and what can be changed to improve their experience. It is magical when learning evolves, and solutions are implemented! This is necessary to become a sustainable organization.
That said, there is no magic wand to create psychological safety and no number of posters displayed on the wall will help.
How can you cultivate and reinforce a climate favorable to learning on your team or in your organization? There are several leadership practices and tips to consider.
- Establish clear norms and expectations. Predictability is key to psychological safety. If employees perceive they will be treated fairly and feel supported, they more likely will candidly share and step forward.
- Encourage employees to express their concerns, ask questions, and admit errors.
- Cultivate the environment that lets all stakeholders know that it is safe to do so and in doing so they are helping to make the workplace a better place. Open communication is essential so get specific. Let employees know how their ideas will make a difference.
- Make it clear why their voice, their opinion matters, and the importance of sharing their opinions. The tendency is not to share which is the easiest and safest thing to do. It will take time and encouragement to over-ride this tendency.
- Lead by example and normalize vulnerability and humility by modeling your own experience and mistakes.
- Be a mentor and invite employee opinions and request their input. Don’t wait for them to step forward. Ask, what are you seeing? Where do you stand on this idea? Seek their opinions.
- Listen actively and respond appreciatively when employees, including new hires, raise—or cause—an issue.
- Be curious and open minded. When responding to their questions, ideas, or mistakes, show curiosity, support, and gratitude for their effort. This positive reinforcement will ensure them that their psychological safety is paramount, and the information communicated is important and necessary.
There will be a ripple effect throughout the organization! The 8 tips are essential for a safe, sound, and sustainable organization. And will lead to a positive workplace culture.