Psychological safety at work is essentially a working environment where employees do not fear unreasonable repercussions and reactions for their actions, ideas, opinions and, importantly, their mistakes. 

When completing my HR qualification early in my career, I learned about the ‘psychological contract’ between an employer and the employee. Unlike the formal written contract of employment, the psychological contract is the unwritten expectations of the employment relationship and is built through the actions of one party and how they’re interpreted by the other. 

I see psychological safety as the evolution of the psychological contract. 

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

One of the first behavioural psychology models you learn about in HR is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which theorises that humans have specific needs which can be arranged in a hierarchical order of importance – from basic needs for survival to things that are more aspirational or nice to have. 

In his model, Maslow sets ‘esteem’, which includes aspects linked with psychological safety, such as respect and recognition, almost at the top, and, therefore, more aspirational. 

However, I think as new generations enter the workforce, businesses will find that there’s an expectation that these needs will be satisfied at work and are increasingly considered essential – not aspirational. 

A psychologically safe culture 

Being able to demonstrate a culture that ensures psychological safety is becoming more important for success in recruitment and retention. Not to mention the positive impact it has on other areas, such as sickness absence and engagement. 

Psychological safety at work has a huge part to play in an employee’s overall mental health. If you can go to work safe in the knowledge that you won’t be unfairly scolded for making honest mistakes, or you don’t have to hide aspects of who you are, then you’ll be at less risk of experiencing anxiety and unhealthy levels of stress. What’s more, if you are encouraged to try new things, take risks and voice your ideas and opinions at work, then you will feel more confident and able to be creative, which can improve your mental wellbeing. 

A psychologically safe environment benefits businesses too 

Creating an environment where employees feel comfortable to share their ideas and provide constructive feedback about the business or their manager, can help the company to identify what it needs to do to improve. 

Additionally, if employees feel confident speaking up when they don’t know or understand something, then less time will be wasted and fewer mistakes will be made.

Turning difficult conversations on their head 

Unless business leaders have taken the time to understand the true meaning of psychological safety, it can be incorrectly interpreted as simply supporting employees with mental health conditions or reducing the risk of workplace stress. 

However, having a psychologically safe environment should mean that both employees and managers feel comfortable challenging each other and having difficult conversations. The difference is that it’s done in a fair and constructive way. This way it brings benefits to the business as well as the individual, and the relationship between employee and employer is so much more productive. 

The fundamentals of achieving psychologically safe workplace 

The starting point is communication. There must be a clear message from the business to employees that it wants to hear ideas and feedback and that mistakes are a normal part of working life that helps everyone develop. 

That message must be repeated often and reinforced through actions. When someone has an idea that they’re confident enough to voice, it should be celebrated, the viability of the idea considered, and feedback provided. 

When an employee makes a mistake, their manager should discuss with them what they will do differently next time to avoid future mistakes, that way the error becomes a positive learning opportunity. 

The proof that a psychologically safe environment exists is often in the actions of your employees. Do your people come to you when something’s gone wrong, or do they try to hide it because they fear the consequences? Do they tell you when they think you or the business could do something better? Do they have the confidence to speak up if they think there is a better way of doing things? Do they bring their whole selves to work, or does it feel like they’re holding back for fear of judgement? 

I also find that the best way to find out the reality of anything culture-related, such as psychological safety, is to ask. Never assume how your employees are feeling or why they act in the way that they do. It doesn’t have to be a structured feedback process or initiative either, just pick a sample of people and invite them to have a chat over a coffee.