Psychological Safety in the workplace

Psychological safety in the workplace has various definitions, depending on who you ask. For instance, Harvard Business School professor, Dr. Amy Edmondson, describes it as, “a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes.” At The Mental Health Coach, we view psychological safety in the workplace as a corporate environment in which vulnerability is rewarded.

Importantly, this doesn’t mean that every action must be met with smiles and consensus. Rather, it’s about embracing constructive discussion, respecting our shared humanity, and then collaborating towards meaningful contribution. The result? Increased engagement, innovation and performance.

The Harvard Business Review has reported several research findings that highlight psychological safety as a key trait in high-performing teams. And in the workplace, its benefits are two-fold.

For a team member, psychological safety brings less stress, plus greater confidence, engagement and satisfaction. When employees believe that their insights are being valued, they not only feel accepted and respected by their team but also see the worth of their contributions.

This trust empowers employees to share their opinions and ideas – a development that can bring considerable benefits for your business. By fully leveraging the expertise of each member, teams are better equipped to consider every angle, adopt innovative approaches and solve problems effectively.

Yes, the Mental Health Coach offers consultancy, webinars and reports to businesses across Australia and overseas. Wherever your workplace is based, we can deliver a customised solution to boost psychological safety amongst team members.

To learn more, please call us anytime on 1300 302 462 or book a complimentary online consultation.

Yes they can. At The Mental Health Coach, we understand that each business – and every person within it – is unique. That’s why we tailor our services for the team and operations at hand. Whether you want to deliver a single webinar to the whole company or implement an in-person program for a specific department, our experts can make it happen.

Book a complimentary consultation today to find out how The Mental Health Coach can help to support psychological safety in your workplace.

No. With The Mental Health Coach, you can enjoy the flexibility of organising psychological safety services for just one team, a select few or everyone – it’s up to you. We can also assess psychological safety levels across your business, supporting particular teams based on our findings.

The two most common barriers to participation in workplace programs are a team member feeling:

• Disengaged; and
• Wary of being judged or measured.

At The Mental Health Coach, we’ve developed a considered approach to overcome these obstacles and support a successful outcome. Firstly, our programs are designed with participant engagement in mind, featuring personalised materials and experiences to hold interest and boost morale.

What’s more, all of our findings are reported at the team level. As we aggregate results from anonymous and depersonalised data, employees can rest assured that no one will be peeking at their personal attitudes or performance levels.

Psychological safety in the workplace is usually measured through affordable reports that aim to identify perceptions at the team level. Utilising industry-leading psychometric tools from Leader Factor, we’ll present employees with a questionnaire that provides a baseline for psychological safety levels. After program delivery, we will then assess progress with a second questionnaire.

We are also able to measure psychological safety in the workplace through other methods, such as identifying problem areas and then reviewing whether these issues are still present.

To chat through your options further, please book a complimentary consultation with the Mental Health Coach today.

Yes. With first-hand experience in the management of sensitive information across various industries, we understand the critical importance of keeping findings confidential.

All of our reports detail aggregated results from anonymous and depersonalised data, ensuring peace of mind that your business and employees’ privacy is protected.