Maslow’s hierarchy of needs mentions safety and security as one of the fundamental human needs. We seek safety at every moment in our life. However, our idea of safety is limited to our physical safety, at least consciously. We would ensure our physical safety before setting out to do a task. We have trained our mind to do so.
Without us being aware of it, our mind always seeks psychological safety in the environment we are in. Just as we would not want to get into a building that’s not safe for habitation, we would like to avoid social environments that are toxic and stressful.
Harvard Business School professor Dr. Amy Edmondson, who coined the term psychological safety, defines it as, “a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes.”
A psychologically safe environment not only enables employees to lead an emotionally healthy life but also perform to their best potential. They find it safe to open up and share their ideas, views and feedback. The employees know that they would be heard without any biases by their managers and peers. As they feel belonged, they are encouraged to go beyond their defined role to contribute to the organization’s growth and success. Similarly, they would be open to share the burden in times of adversities. In a psychologically safe environment, employees are empowered to make decisions.
On the other hand, long exposure to psychologically unsafe work environment can increase the risk of mental health issues among employees, adversely impacting their performance. Such an environment could manifest in the form of lack of opportunities to express themselves, punitive reaction to opposing views or abusive peers or managers. They can normalize conversations that are stigmatic or exclusionary towards certain kinds of employees.
A psychologically safe environment is about creating a workforce that is empathetic, inclusive, supportive and encouraging. In such an environment, employees feel encouraged to come and work. Creating a culture of psychological safety starts with the leadership’s vision and communication. Leaders will need to walk the talk and normalize communication about making the work environment psychologically safe. They should extend support to those who champion the cause and eliminate toxicity.
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Most often, the signs of a psychologically unsafe environment may not be evident. These signs could have become so normal at work that they are not noticed or reported. Employees who are impacted by such environments continue to work for a range of reasons including the fear of job loss or risks in career progression. When such environments are left unaddressed, they lead to serious emotional health issues such as panic attacks, depression, or suicidality.
The processes in the organization must create steps to detect any signs of an unsafe work environment. They must encourage employees to report such incidences, besides acting on such reports to send the right signal among the employees. Organization must also educate the employees about what an unsafe environment could mean and how to avoid creating one. Managers should be trained on the subject and provided the skills to detect and eliminate such unsafe environments. To inspire others, managers who create psychologically safe work environment for their team members must be recognized and rewarded.
The key to a psychologically safe environment is building trust. How can our employees trust the organization, its leaders and their managers so that they open up and express themselves without any fear of reprisal? It’s about leaders walking the talk by practicing transparency and honesty. Leaders must communicate regularly about the psychologically safe environment they want to build and seek contributions of everyone in the organization.
Psychologically unsafe environments can be particularly challenging for those employees who are emotionally vulnerable. These can include those with a history of mental health issues, sexual minorities, women and migrant employees, and in a hierarchical work environment, lower-rung employees. Such employees can be easy victims of a psychologically unsafe work environment. The organization’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) program should address the needs of such groups and ensure that they feel safe at work and can perform to their best abilities. Leaders must also be empathetic to employees who work in harsh or challenging environments. Given that such working conditions can make them emotionally vulnerable, they need to be provided a psychologically safe environment as much as a physically safe workplace.
For a range of reasons, the definition of work is fast changing. Moreover, the new workforce that are entering the industry is also redefining their expectations of work. Under these circumstances, ensuring that workplaces are psychologically safe is more a prerequisite to attracting good talent than a good-to-have people’s initiative.
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