Are you working in a psychologically safe environment? (Management Advisory Service, 25 May 2023)

Summary

Understanding of the significance of psychological safety has grown over recent years as we see the implications of people not speaking out—a culture that forces people to conceal rather than reveal. Concealing observations, ideas and thoughts can lead to major events that are harmful to organisations as much as individuals. Sometimes, individuals feel it is imperative to speak out somewhere, which leads to whistleblowing.

This article looks at how to identify whether a workplace has a psychologically safe culture and how to transform cultures where staff don't feel able to speak up. It describes The Wellbeing and Performance Agenda, which contains six elements for building psychological safety:

1. Transforming managers into leaders
2. Psychological responsibility
3. Sharing responsibility for the future success of the organisation
4. Adaptive and positive culture
5. Intelligent management
6. Safe and resilient individuals