Episode 9 Summary – What is Psychological Safety and why is it important in the workplace culture?

The Steps to Change podcast highlights hidden struggles that people might be having in the workplace. One such issue that plagues people on a daily basis is feeling uncomfortable about speaking up and having their voices heard within the workplace. If staff feel as though they are unable to make their opinion heard without being judged or drowned out, they are likely to feel unwanted and ignored in the workplace. 

One of the best ways to prevent such issues from occurring is to improve your organisation’s psychological safety. On this episode of the podcast, your host Allen Liedkie is re-joined by client relationship director Elisa Criado. The pair discuss exactly what is meant by psychological safety and delve into why it’s such an important factor of modern workplace culture. By developing a better understanding of psychological safety, staff members can help to cultivate a comfortable and inclusive working environment for everyone. 

Psychological safety essentially enables someone to believe that their voice is welcome in the workplace. An environment that feels psychologically safe for an employee is one that will encourage ideas and opinions to be openly expressed in the workplace without anyone feeling as though they are going to be judged or ridiculed. In a psychologically safe working environment, staff will feel comfortable taking interpersonal risks by putting themselves in situations where they may come across as stupid or disruptive. 

The importance of psychological safety in the workplace has only continued to become more prevalent in recent years. Once upon a time, people were quite happy to come to work and complete their daily tasks without as much need for open communication in the workplace. However, modern organisations don’t just encourage but rely upon the sharing of knowledge and ideas for the betterment of the company. With this in mind, it’s essential for employees to feel comfortable in being able to share ideas openly. 

If your working environment is one in which people feel uncomfortable when sharing ideas, whether it be due to being ignored or openly scolded, then it is likely that low levels of psychological safety are being observed. Improving psychological safety is vital not only for encouraging the sharing of knowledge and bettering workplace practices but also for ensuring that all employees feel safe, included, and valued. By focusing on the improvement of psychological safety, you are also improving the general workplace culture. 

When looking to tackle issues concerning psychological safety, you must first consider what your accepted level of psychological safety is. This might seem like an odd thing to investigate, as one would assume that every organisation would want the highest possible standard of psychological safety. However, pushback on certain ideas and opinions is warranted, and certain topics will always be taboo. With this in mind, employees still need to be aware of limits when it comes to speaking their minds. 

During the See It stage of our process, we act out scenarios that are specific to a certain workplace, allowing staff members to see their actions and observe how they speak to others. People are able to get a better idea of the current level of psychological safety in their workplace by seeing their actions in this manner. Individuals often find that certain colleagues are shut down when trying to share ideas or ignored entirely when voicing their opinion – seeing these actions helps people to accept their social shortcomings. 

The next step to take in order to improve psychological safety in your workplace is to own your actions and accept any wrongdoing on your part. You can then move forward with colleagues on an agreed route that would be best for everyone when it comes to improving psychological safety. It might be challenging for others to speak up at first, depending on how comfortable they feel. In these cases, you should be encouraging and supportive, helping people to realise that they can be open and honest with colleagues. 

Once you’ve become aware of psychological safety in the workplace, you then need to make sure that an acceptable level is maintained. You can ensure a high standard of psychological safety is maintained by checking in with your colleagues and encouraging them to speak up and share ideas. You can help to ensure that fellow staff feel comfortable speaking with you and making their voice heard in the workplace. Such encouragement will help you to make a psychologically safe space for your colleagues. 

It is important to remember that everyone will have different opinions on the current standard of psychological safety. While you might be comfortable speaking your mind in the workplace, others might feel that their voice is unheard. You must also consider the fact that your method of speaking out might make others uncomfortable, especially if your voice is drowning out theirs. By maintaining open communication with your colleagues, you can take steps to ensure that everyone is comfortable. 

You also need to make sure that different cultures are taken into account when it comes to speaking out in the workplace. While people from certain cultures are encouraged to speak out and be blunt, others are taught to be soft when sharing ideas or giving feedback. You must maintain clear communication to ensure that the chance of a misunderstanding is minimised. Although there is a lot to consider when it comes to psychological safety, it can be easily managed if worked on as a team. 

As is the case with many topics concerning workplace behaviour and culture, the conversation around psychological safety is always changing and evolving. By keeping yourself updated with the latest behavioural practices and methods that help to improve psychological safety, you can ensure that you contribute to an inclusive and encouraging workplace environment for everyone. Reach out to Steps today to learn more about the tailor-made courses that we offer in relation to psychological safety.