5 Methods To Ensure Psychological Safety At Workplace

Psychological safety is the ability to display and employ oneself without fear of unfavourable self-image, status, or career consequences. It’s a widespread conviction that the team is safe to take interpersonal risks. Team members feel accepted and valued in psychologically safe environments. In group dynamics and team learning research, it is also the most researched enabling condition. In the fields of psychology, behavioural management, leadership, teams, and healthcare, psychological safety has become a hot topic. We will discuss about “5 Methods To Ensure Psychological Safety At Workplace”.

Psychological safety has consistently played a significant role in workplace effectiveness by facilitating ideas and activities to a shared enterprise, according to the findings of a number of empirical research done in various areas and nations.

5 Methods To Ensure Psychological Safety At Workplace

Psychological safety in the workplace is the shared conviction that taking interpersonal risks as a group is safe. These dangers include, among other things, speaking up when there is an issue with team dynamics and expressing new ideas.

1 Demonstrate that you’re invested in your team.

Employees will shut down if they believe you don’t listen to them or don’t value their ideas and opinions.

Show that you care by being present throughout meetings. Making eye contact and closing your laptop are both examples of this. During a meeting, it’s simple to become distracted by emails, text messages, or Slack—but these minor acts of disengagement can have a severe influence on your team’s psychological safety.

Make active listening a habit. To ensure that you comprehend the other person’s ideas or opinions, ask questions. By actively interacting, you create an environment where individuals believe it is not only acceptable but also encouraged to speak up.

If your organisation has a producing culture, psychological safety is very vital.

2. Demonstrate to your coworkers that you are aware of the situation.

Also Read: 10-management-tips-for-relationship-anxiety

Body language use to convey comprehension is important. When an employee speaks, nod your head to show that you understand what they’re saying. Show engagement by leaning forward.

Keep an eye on how you’re looking. Your employees will notice if you look exhausted, bored, or dissatisfied. Employees may internalise the message you’re conveying with your expression, even if you don’t mean it to be that way: I don’t like this idea.

3 Be self-aware—and want your team to be as well.

People contribute their entire selves to work, including their distinctive personalities, interests, and work styles. Share how you like to work, communicate, and recognise with your team to help them become more self-aware. Encourage others on your team to follow your lead.

Behavioural assessments are used in high-performing firms to assist employees to become more self-aware. Psychological safety in the workplace can also be improved through assessments. At PI, for example, we use our software’s Relationship Guide function to ensure that we respect the other person’s working and communication preferences.

4. Involve your entire team in the decision-making process.

Consult your team while making decisions. Inquire about their ideas, opinions, and feedback. This will not only make people feel more involved in the decision-making process, but it will also increase psychological safety and lead to better results.
Explain your decision once you’ve made it. Even if your employees disagree, they will value the openness and transparency with which the choice was made.

If you’re a company’s top leader, being inclusive and honest is even more important. According to the 2019 Employee Engagement Report, the second leading cause of disengagement is a lack of trust in senior leadership.

5. Be receptive to feedback.

It is your obligation as a leader to make the final choice on a variety of issues. Your staff needs to know that you are confident in this role, but also that you are adaptable and responsive to their input.
Employees who feel psychologically comfortable are more likely to give feedback—up, down, and across the board. This means they’re at ease knocking on the CEO’s door when they have important information to present.

Inviting your team to disagree with you and push back is a great way to start. While this may be unsettling at first, healthy confrontation leads to better judgments and increased accountability, so it’s a win-win situation. You can also set a good example by taking interpersonal risks and revealing your mistakes.

6. Make decisions with your team.

Consult your group while making decisions. Inquire about their opinions, ideas, and suggestions. This will not only make people feel more involved in the decision-making process, but it will also improve their psychological safety and contribute to better results.

Explain your explanation for your decision once you’ve made one. What role did their input play in the decision-making process? What else was taken into account? Even if your employees disagree, they will value the honesty and openness with which the choice was reached.

Being inclusive and open is even more important when you’re a company’s top leader. A lack of trust in senior leadership is the top two drivers of disengagement, according to the 2019 Employee Engagement Report.