As we tentatively enter return to work and hybrid work scenarios, the psychological safety and well-being of employees is at the center of executive discussions. Some of this has been fueled by recent discussion of the actions of tennis player, Naomi Osaka and gymnast Simone Biles who both opted out of competition due to their mental health.
The Covid pandemic has demanded unprecedented leadership which continues today as courageous leaders seek to find a way through the maze of the “New Normal” well-being and psychological safety issues changing the culture in our workplaces.
Psychological safety is a cultural condition for every employee. In a culture of psychological safety, employees are socially accepted, included, safe to grow professionally and learn, and safe to speak their mind, even if it means challenging the status quo. In this environment, open discussions are held where there is respect for each individual’s ideas without being marginalized or embarrassed for their opinions.
In my book, How to Earn the Gift of Discretionary Effort,
psychological safety is connected to two levels on the Discretionary Effort Leadership Model: Safety and Well-being and Social Acceptance.
Extending psychological safety to employees is the right thing to do for the well-being of employees. Psychological safety means managers attend to not just the physical needs of the environment, but the psychological needs of the employee. If both needs are not attended to, employees feel neglected which leads to individuals withdrawing from discussions, personal isolation, and low morale on the team.
Psychological safety Is a productivity issue. If employees live in fear of retaliation for speaking their mind, productivity decreases. They may still do just enough to get a paycheck, but creativity and innovation will not exist. Remembering that employees are on the front lines of the work, and knowing that everything can be improved, if psychological safety does not exist, employees see problems but they will not speak up nor challenge what is happening. This robs the company of innovation and may cause crises in production.
As we tentatively enter return to work and hybrid work scenarios, the psychological safety and well-being of employees is at the center of executive discussions. Some of this has been fueled by recent discussion of the actions of tennis player, Naomi Osaka and gymnast Simone Biles who both opted out of competition due to their mental health.
The Covid pandemic has demanded unprecedented leadership which continues today as courageous leaders seek to find a way through the maze of the “New Normal” well-being and psychological safety issues changing the culture in our workplaces.
Psychological safety is a cultural condition for every employee. In a culture of psychological safety, employees are socially accepted, included, safe to grow professionally and learn, and safe to speak their mind, even if it means challenging the status quo. In this environment, open discussions are held where there is respect for each individual’s ideas without being marginalized or embarrassed for their opinions.
In this presentation, managers learn the fine points of psychological safety and how to:
- Accept employees “As Is” and then help them grow professionally
- Engage employees and build rapport
- Permit employees to surface the truth
- Have uncomfortable and difficult conversations with employees
- Improve emotional “touch points” with employees enabling discussion on current challenges
- Strengthen diversity and inclusion
- Make a safe environment to learn when mistakes are made
Offering psychological safety is a competitive strategy to keep your workforce intact. It is a retention strategy in a world where employees are sharpening their resumes.
Taking into account, that most workforces are using a hybrid model, tips are given for managing hybrid teams.