How to Identify if Psychological Safety is Impacting Your Leadership Continuity

What’s more important: Psychological safety or physical safety?

There’s evidence that one is just as important as the other – but one definitely does not get the same amount of attention as the other.

According to a 2023 Oyster HR Survey, 84% of employees value psychological safety as one of the most important things in a workplace. Yet at least 40% of those in higher-level positions feel that their mistakes will be held against them, according to a 2023 survey by Wiley.

If our leaders are insecure – how do you imagine our direct reports feel?

When I worked in HR for a Fortune 400 health care company, I met a 40-year-old nurse named Dylan who started their career as a bedside nurse. Dylan started their career with compassion and clinical expertise.

But by the time we met, they had experienced challenges that impacted their psychological safety and well-being.

Before we talk more about Dylan’s experiences, let’s focus on yours.

EXERCISE: Reflections on Psychological Safety

Materials Needed: Pen and 2 pieces of paper.

Instructions:

1. Take out a pen and a single piece of paper.
2. Divide the paper into two sections or columns.
3. In one column, write down a time when you felt psychologically safe in the workplace.
4. In the other column, write down a time when you didn't feel psychologically safe in the workplace.
5. Once you have written down both experiences, turn the paper over or fold it so that the writing is not visible.
6. On the back of each paper, write down a theme or characteristic that contributed to feeling safe or unsafe during those experiences.
7. Now reflect on the similarities and differences between feeling psychologically safe and unsafe.
8. For each theme or characteristic, write one way it influences your ability to be authentic at work.

How to Identify if Psychological Safety is Impacting Your Leadership Continuity

Look for Silence and Lack of Open Communication

One sign that psychological safety may be lacking is a noticeable silence or hesitancy among employees to speak up, share ideas, ask questions or raise concerns.

In healthcare, this could manifest as nurses or other professionals showing hesitance to voice concerns about patient care protocols or safety issues during team meetings.

In their first five years of nursing, Dylan faced challenges that included high patient acuity, staffing shortages and limited resources.

But a lack of recognition and support for frontline nurses like Dylan created feelings of frustration and burnout, with little emphasis on career development or leadership pathways.

This resulted in further disengagement and decreased job satisfaction, which as we know will affect job performance and patient care outcomes.

Did you know? Only about 45% of people feel safe sharing opinions or thoughts in the workplace, for fear of negative outcomes, according to the 2022 Workplace Belonging Survey from Ipsos.

Want to learn two other key ways you can know if your organization faces a crisis of psychological safety? Join our upcoming forum!

If you are a senior HR leader or operator in the healthcare or retail space, register here.