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Abstract

oster it?</h2><p id="44a9">There is an obvious benefit to fostering a sense of psychological safety in the workplace.</p><p id="9e5b">If things are going wrong in an organization it is far better for bosses to get to know about them so they can take some form of corrective action than it is for them to operate on the false assumption that all is hunky dory.</p><p id="b30c">If there’s a fire in the building it is better to find out about it while it’s still relatively small and can be taken care of with a fire extinguisher than to find out about it when it’s a raging inferno that is busily reducing it to a large pile of smoldering ash.</p><h2 id="9c24">How to do it</h2><p id="dde3">Here are 5 ways employers can foster a sense of psychological safety in the workplace.</p><h2 id="7c10">1. Lines of communication</h2><p id="0c75">Establishing clear lines of communication means that workers know who they can talk to if and when they have an issue.</p><p id="337a">But there’s no point in establishing these lines of communication if people don’t use them. If they are not used they will wither and eventually die. Therefore their use should be encouraged as a means of open communication conducted in a spirit of mutual respect.</p><h2 id="8096">2. Active listening</h2><p id="d2b5">To hear is one thing. To really listen is quite another. The former is passive while the latter is an active pursuit.</p><p id="74f5">To actively listen is to listen wit

Options

h intent. It involves asking further questions, going deeper, and clarification. It entails checking for understanding.</p><p id="5f63">If you misunderstand what you hear, you might as well not have heard at all.</p><h2 id="c131">3. Make employees feel supported if they speak up</h2><p id="82c1">If you want to see more of a certain kind of behavior it is rather a good idea to encourage it.</p><p id="73be">Therefore, when employees speak up about issues they see in the workplace they should be made to feel supported.</p><p id="de93">This can be done by showing appreciation to those who do so. If this appreciation is shown in front of others then all the better.</p><h2 id="5173">4. Options</h2><p id="5221">Psychological safety cannot be fostered with a one-size-fits-all approach.</p><p id="5479">Therefore employees should be provided opportunities to raise issues in different ways. Some might prefer one-on-ones. Others may prefer to put things down in writing. Running opinion polls could be useful for gauging the temperature of the workforce on certain issues. Q and As is another way of eliciting what might be troubling employees.</p><h2 id="b24a">5. Reflection</h2><p id="d2fb">It is a cliché, but true, that we tend to learn more from our failures than our successes. Therefore reflecting on mistakes as well as success as a team, can spark ideas of how to improve in the future and provide the impetus to make it happen.</p></article></body>

5 Ways To Foster Psychological Safety In The Workplace

They’re not psychologically safe places for many employees. This is how you can change that

Workplaces can be unsafe environments for a great many of us.

I don’t mean this in a physical sense. I’m not talking about a work desk surrounded by shards of broken glass and a plethora of exposed electrical wires next to a leaky water fountain.

Although there are of course still, despite considerable advances in health and safety, places of work that are hazardous to the physical well-being of employees.

Nevertheless, that is not the kind of safety I’m talking about.

No, I’m talking about safety in a psychological sense.

Psychological safety for employees is

So what is psychological safety?

To be psychologically safe in a work context is to feel comfortable enough to be able to voice concerns and point out errors that may be taking place without fear of reprisals.

Why foster it?

There is an obvious benefit to fostering a sense of psychological safety in the workplace.

If things are going wrong in an organization it is far better for bosses to get to know about them so they can take some form of corrective action than it is for them to operate on the false assumption that all is hunky dory.

If there’s a fire in the building it is better to find out about it while it’s still relatively small and can be taken care of with a fire extinguisher than to find out about it when it’s a raging inferno that is busily reducing it to a large pile of smoldering ash.

How to do it

Here are 5 ways employers can foster a sense of psychological safety in the workplace.

1. Lines of communication

Establishing clear lines of communication means that workers know who they can talk to if and when they have an issue.

But there’s no point in establishing these lines of communication if people don’t use them. If they are not used they will wither and eventually die. Therefore their use should be encouraged as a means of open communication conducted in a spirit of mutual respect.

2. Active listening

To hear is one thing. To really listen is quite another. The former is passive while the latter is an active pursuit.

To actively listen is to listen with intent. It involves asking further questions, going deeper, and clarification. It entails checking for understanding.

If you misunderstand what you hear, you might as well not have heard at all.

3. Make employees feel supported if they speak up

If you want to see more of a certain kind of behavior it is rather a good idea to encourage it.

Therefore, when employees speak up about issues they see in the workplace they should be made to feel supported.

This can be done by showing appreciation to those who do so. If this appreciation is shown in front of others then all the better.

4. Options

Psychological safety cannot be fostered with a one-size-fits-all approach.

Therefore employees should be provided opportunities to raise issues in different ways. Some might prefer one-on-ones. Others may prefer to put things down in writing. Running opinion polls could be useful for gauging the temperature of the workforce on certain issues. Q and As is another way of eliciting what might be troubling employees.

5. Reflection

It is a cliché, but true, that we tend to learn more from our failures than our successes. Therefore reflecting on mistakes as well as success as a team, can spark ideas of how to improve in the future and provide the impetus to make it happen.