Trend #8: Psychological Safety in the Workplace

2023 3rd Quarter Update

The third quarter of  2023 brought a jam-packed summer with meaningful conversations on psychological safety through SIOP’s Work Smart series, notable research, and intriguing workplace findings on how organizational culture impacts psychological safety.

The American Psychological Association (APA) released the results from their Work in America survey, which revealed insights about employees' experiences in the workplace that inform how we understand psychological safety. 

Approximately 77% of workers mentioned they experienced work-related stress from research, including a lack of motivation to perform at their best, self-withdrawal, and not feeling effective in their roles. Less than 50% of those respondents mentioned that breaks, time off, or attention to mental health are encouraged in their workplace cultures. The survey found that at least 22% of workers experienced toxic environments that negatively impacted their mental health and increased feelings of fear in the workplace. Factors contributing to toxic work environments include experiencing or witnessing discrimination, verbal abuse, harassment, or a lack of organizational justice. 

The United States Surgeon General also shared an advisory on a growing epidemic of loneliness at work, with 62% of individuals experiencing loneliness in the workplace. Some factors that tied into these experiences related to feelings of belonging, the space for learning, and the inability to be authentic in the workplace. 

These findings help us better understand Timothy R. Clark’s four stages of psychological safety, in which the sense of insecurity and fear to prioritize one’s well-being can impact feelings of belonging, the learning experience, the ability to innovate, and the courage to challenge workplace issues.  A research study on workplace learning cultures in the medical sector also found that psychological safety being impacted this way limits how employees speak up and negatively affects how employees serve clients, patients, and end users. Research also found that when psychological safety decreases in this sense, turnover intentions increase. 

In August, I had the opportunity to facilitate SIOP’s Work Smart Series workshop with Dr. Charles Handler, Dr. Ludmila Paslova, and Dr. Filipa de Almeida about the effect of artificial intelligence (AI) on psychological safety in the workplace, which I previously spoke about in my Q1 roundup. During the workshop, we dove deep into an evidence-based and practical understanding of psychological safety and artificial intelligence and how they inform the employee experience. The takeaways were as follows:

• Organizations should foster a culture of transparency and trust in how AI is used and how it could enhance the employee experience rather than hinder it. 
• Collecting and actively addressing employee feedback on their experiences ensures that AI  implementation strategies are inclusive of their thoughts and sentiments.
• Leveraging AI in the workplace also requires organizations to be mindful of how artificial intelligence may inhibit equity, belonging, and inclusion, especially for employees in marginalized groups. 

As we move into Q4, these findings require intentionality from I/O psychology and human capital practitioners in bridging organizational research and strategy to foster healthier work environments that welcome authenticity, self-care, inclusion, and equity.

2023 2nd Quarter Update

2023’s Second Quarter brought an end to the COVID-19 Pandemic as declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and an era transition from The Great Resignation to The Great Stay.

This quarter amplified conversations surrounding Neurodiversity in April and Mental Health in May. Many also celebrated and recognized the experiences and contributions of various groups, including Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, along with Pride Month, Caribbean Heritage Month, and Juneteenth in June.

How does all of this tie into psychological safety in the workplace, and what does it mean for I-O practitioners?

Shifting narratives surrounding differing abilities and mental health enhances psychological safety. Many can identify with having experienced workplace stress or burnout, yet not voicing those concerns out of fear of their ability to perform in the workplace being perceived negatively. A review of insights from Forbes’ 100 Best Companies to Work For found that prioritizing strategies such as mental health support systems, health and wellness training, work-life integration benefits, and meeting employee feedback with more empathy and action instead of judgment and resistance made employees more comfortable voicing their workplace needs. For I-O practitioners, this means partnering with relevant stakeholders to review and update workplace policies and practices that prioritize mental wellness and accessibility and proactively respond to employee needs.

Inclusion safety precedes psychological safety. When employees experience an organizational culture where they are accepted and welcomed without bias or prejudice, they understand that in their authenticity, their contributions are valuable. Boutwell and Smith proposed an inclusive leadership model that leverages organizational learning to drive and implement cultural shifts toward one that values inclusion, awareness, and psychological safety as priorities toward achieving employee well-being. For I-O practitioners, this means going beyond monthly observances and working with organizational leaders to leverage insights from Employee/Business Resources Groups (ERGs/BRGs), recurring employee pulse surveys, organizational analyses, and other data points to consistently amplify and recognize employee experiences, challenges, barriers, and contributions year-round.

The Great Stay DOES NOT equal psychological safety. We see how Quiet Quitting and the Great Resignation over the past few years revealed employee frustrations with their workplaces challenging organizations to respond with promises of a variety of benefits. This does not end here. As previously mentioned, employee feedback, research, and data are key for I-O practitioners to support organizations in proactively fostering a culture of psychological safety. This looks like inclusive workplaces encouraging team creativity through shared leadership or facilitating organizational learning and active engagement in knowledge sharing.

2023 1st Quarter Update

I am sure that we are all familiar with Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, which refers to the factors that human beings require to achieve their optimal state of self-actualization. Safety and security sit at the foundation of the mix, which explores the tangible and intangible protections against accidents or harm. Amy Edmonson coined the term "psychological safety," which is "a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes, and that the team Is safe for interpersonal risk-taking."

We entered 2023 understanding the value of diversity and inclusion in fostering psychological safety. In Q1, research explored how psychological safety supports an innovative workplace where employees can freely contribute ideas and feedback. In the news, ChatGPT and artificial technology are the talk of the town and can lend insight into how fostering psychological safety can encourage employees to leverage these tools for creativity and ideation while still contributing value to their organization. What also persists, however, is mass layoffs and their effects on employee psychological safety.

As different organizations continue to announce reductions-in-force, the lack of job security is impacting employees’ willingness to take risks in the workplace and contribute to an innovative culture. At Google, specifically, employees expressed concerns regarding their observations that even high performers were impacted. Google executives argue that psychological safety is separate from and does not equal job security, but psychological safety is a feeling that the employee determines, not a tangible item that the organization hands out. The “last in – first out” principle of layoffs does not solely determine who gets let go. From the perspective of Google employees, being a “disrupter” appears to be part of the mix.

Google and other large corporations are not alone in their layoffs. For organizational leaders and I-O psychology consultants (internal and external), it is worth considering how these moments of uncertainty can be better managed so that it does not impact the employee experience. Even for organizations not facing these challenges, this begs for proactive consideration as to how they can assure their workforce that they are still safe to thrive, innovate and contribute value. Even if they are not [yet] directly impacted, employees can still be overwhelmed by their observations of what their peers in other companies face.

As we move into Q2 of 2023, organizations and I-O psychologists should continue exploring how psychological safety can be integrated, not separated from, other aspects of the workplace, even during times of uncertainty.