Typically, when you hear about safety at work, you think of physical safety. Rarely do we hear about psychological safety in the workplace, or the benefits that can come with making employees feel a part of. Throughout this article we will highlight what psychological safety in the workplace is, how to establish it as an employer, and why making it a priority can benefit your employees. This may lead to an increase in staff morale and improve your company’s success.
What Is Psychological Safety & What Are The Benefits?
Before we discuss the benefits of, or steps to take to implement a safe mental space for your employees, let’s first discuss what psychological safety is. A psychologically safe workplace is an environment where team members feel comfortable enough to be themselves, share ideas and thoughts, take risks, and make mistakes—all without the fear of being humiliated, ridiculed, or put down. When workers feel psychologically safe, they gain a sense of inclusion and belonging, while being their best self.
In an emotionally safe work environment, the staff is encouraged to offer up ideas, think critically and ask questions—regardless of the outcomes. They do these things because they aren’t worried about being punished for their actions.
With a better understanding of what psychological safety in the workplace means, we will take a closer look at the benefits that may come from it.
The Main Benefits of Having an Emotionally Safe Workplace
From decreased employee turnover rates to increased profitability, there are plenty of benefits associated with having an emotionally safe workplace. Here are the main advantages worth considering:
Employee Satisfaction & Increased Performance
This may be the most important benefit because it leads to many positive outcomes. When staff members not only feel physically safe, but emotionally (psychologically) safe, they are happier overall. Happy employees can have a snowball effect—when your staff members are in a better mood, it leads to increased collaboration, enhanced problem solving, better performance, and greater compliance. When individuals are encouraged to make mistakes without being embarrassed for their ideas or efforts, creativity flows and achievements go up.
Increased Safety, Security, & Health
When a workplace has improved psychological safety, there is a reduced fear of negative consequences when mistakes happen. Instead of hiding, or covering up errors, workers are more likely to admit wrongdoings because they understand that it’s right behavior and that they won’t be shamed for coming forward. Having this type of mindset encourages better workplace compliance and leads to greater health and safety measures for everyone.
Improved Company Status, Decreased Turnover, & Increased Profitability
When employees are happy and feel accepted, they tend to want to work harder with more efficiency and better performance. This leads to decreased staff turnover as workers like to stay where they feel important with a sense of belonging. With a lower turnover rate, you can focus on your existing employees putting resources and time into nurturing them—instead of having to constantly hire and train new staff. Additionally, when word gets out that employees who work for you are treated well, your company’s reputation improves—and so do your candidate options.
With your staff members performing at their best, deliverables are more timely, staff are inspired, and overall costs are reduced. This all helps drive your company to increased profitability.
As an employer, are you ready to reap the benefits mentioned? Being prepared to put the necessary steps in place will help ensure your employees feel secure when they come into the workplace and you will benefit.
How to Promote Emotional Safety in the Workplace
With your newfound understanding on the benefits of having a psychologically safe work environment, let’s explore how you—as a boss or employer—can promote emotional safety in your workplace. Remember, change doesn’t happen overnight, but there are some key things you can do to help build a mentally safe place for your staff. By following these simple steps, you’ll be well on your way to discovering the benefits.
Step #1: Prioritize It & Lead by Example
The main step in making sure that your establishment is seen as a psychologically safe place is to stress its importance by making it priority.
When you let your employees know that psychological well-being is important within your organization and they see you demonstrate it, you start creating a safe space. Ideas to implement this include, establishing ground rules about how mistakes are handled, expressing empathy, encouraging feedback, giving/taking constructive criticism as the boss. having open-door policy and modeling the right way to handle conflict and challenging situations. These will show your staff members the importance of making the workplace feel safe for everyone, what appropriate behavior looks like, and how to respectfully work with one another—and you.
Step #2: Communicate the Importance of it
Once you’ve communicated just how clearly it is that people feel emotionally safe at work, you’ll want to create opportunities for your staff members to experience it firsthand. Show sincere interest in your employees ideas, feedback, and thoughts. When someone does speak up, be empathetic, compassionate, open-minded, and tell them how much you appreciate their honesty.
Additionally, when something goes wrong—or not the way you expected—don’t reprimand your workers in front of each other. Take the opportunity to address the situation calmly and express how important it is that everyone learn from the mistake(s) and not repeat them.
You can also set up specific times where employees can meet to discuss things that are going right and where improvement can be made. Encourage productive debate, new ideas, and creativity in these spaces so employees feel comfortable speaking up.
Step #3: Create Opportunities for it
Third on our list of workplace accidents is vehicle-related accidents. A high priority for those industries regulated by DOT, these accidents can include being struck or run over by a moving vehicle, falling from a moving vehicle, or being struck by objects falling from a vehicle.
Final Thoughts
With the understanding of the importance of creating psychological safety in the workplace—and how to easily implement it—the next step is to start. Once you communicate the importance and provide an the safe space for employees to be their best, you’ll begin to see the benefits. Remember, having an emotionally safe environment starts from the top. So what are you waiting for? Initiate your plan today!
