Psychological safety is a company’s shared belief that employees expressing their concerns and making mistakes will not be met by rejection or punishment. This concept was introduced in 199 by Amy Edmondson but only became common in 2015.
Psychological safety has many benefits, whether your business is a startup or already established. Companies emphasize this safety mainly because an improved innovation brings better products that attract more customers.
The main sign that your employees do not feel psychologically safe is when they hesitate during meetings, even though they have thoughts on the matter. Other signs that indicate psychological safety include;
- A high turnover
- A low team morale
- Feedback is not shared periodically
- Not all employees feel represented.
Below we discuss everything you need to know about psychological safety.
Top Benefits of Psychological Safety to Your Company
There are many benefits of psychological safety in an organization; no wonder most companies are implementing it. Research has shown that happy employees are more likely to;
- Share ideas and views with their managers
- Speak up more openly and often
- Hand out their opinions to help in decision-making.
These traits enhance work engagement, thus enabling your company to reach its goals. Remember, work engagement happens when employees feel committed, energetic, and absorbed by the company.
Other benefits of psychological safety in your company include the following;
- High productivity
- Improved problem-solving ability
- A good sense of belonging
- More diverse and inclusive cultures.
Tips for the Management
Leadership has a vital role in improving psychological safety in an institution. Organizational safety is essential and crucial to the employee’s productivity and well-being.
The management should ensure their employees;
- Challenge the quo
- Have clear boundaries
- Reflect on mistakes and take accountability
- Take credit for their contributions.
Also, the following tips will enable your staff to strengthen psychological safety;
- Admitting their mistakes and taking the necessary action
- Asking their colleagues how they can help
- Being a mentor to newbies
- Checking their team’s workload often.
What is the Importance of Psychological Safety in a Company?
Psychological safety is essential for the following reasons;
More Ideas and Improved Innovation
Your company will not get any ideas unless the employees feel comfortable enough to air their thoughts. Improving psychological safety means you will have a successful innovation and gives you enough time to market your services and products.
Few Problems
The willingness to point out problems early and solve them before they become too big means few or no issues will happen when the problem escalates. High psychological safety causes increased reliability and service.
High Employee Retention
The main highlight of psychological safety is it helps your company to retain its best employees. This happens because employees can quickly raise their concerns without fear of discrimination.
Final Thoughts
Psychological safety is essential in every business setup, as it enables employees to air their thoughts and concerns freely in a company. This safety improves the team’s unity and performance, among others.
The above article has discussed the complete psychological safety guide, and you can reach out for more information.
