From Bias to Belonging: Explore the factors that impact Psychological Safety
Gina Battye
Psychological Safety and Workplace Culture | Creating cultures where people work better together | CEO & Founder of the Psychological Safety Institute
This week’s focus is on the factors that influence your sense of safety in the workplace.
In this edition, we will cover:
+ Transitioning from Theory to Practice: 6 actionable things to implement immediately
Before we begin, let’s start with recapping what psychological safety is.
Psychological safety is an individual's subjective experience of safety, comfort and confidence within a specific context.
To find out more, read last week’s edition where I introduce you to Psychological Safety. We address the common misconceptions and go into a LOT more detail on what Psychological Safety is.
What Affects Your Sense of Safety?
Well, the first thing to be aware of is that sense of safety is an individualised experience – what feels safe to me, may not feel safe to you.
Imagine. We are both in a team meeting. I feel at ease in that situation, but you have a totally different experience in the exact same meeting. Maybe you feel on edge, or are triggered by something someone says, or the power dynamic doesn’t sit right with you – or maybe there is a clash of personalities! You get the idea…
Your sense of psychological safety can be influenced by a wide range of factors.
Here are a few to get you thinking about what affects YOUR sense of safety in the workplace.
Factors Influencing Psychological Safety in the Workplace
Conditioning
Conditioning begins the moment you are born, shaping your beliefs and behaviours before you even realise it.
Most of your thoughts and beliefs are not your own. Much of what you perceive as your own thoughts and beliefs are actually deeply ingrained social conditioning absorbed during your formative years.
In other words, what you believe to be true today as an adult is a result of the social conditioning and messages you heard as a young child. You accepted the messages and perspectives you heard as truth and you didn’t question the assumptions or conclusions you made. By the age of around 6–7 years old, your belief system had been formed from what you experienced around you. And every thought you think, emotion you feel and decision you make as an adult is influenced by that belief system.
Your conditioning comes from a variety of different sources: from your care-givers, family, school, friends, people in your community, religious institutions, the political system, the government, mass media and marketing advertisements.
The messages and beliefs you internalised during childhood play a significant role in shaping your personal and professional identity, impacting how you present yourself in various contexts, including the workplace. They impact your self-perception, interactions with others and even how you approach your work.
You are a product of your environment and upbringing and, as a result, you are highly likely to have certain biases and perspectives.
For example, if you were constantly told as a child that you need to work hard to be successful, you may feel pressured to work long hours and sacrifice other aspects of your life for your career.
These deeply rooted beliefs can inadvertently limit your potential, affect your performance and behaviour at work and your sense of safety.
Privilege
Having privilege means having certain advantages linked to aspects of your identity or social position that you didn’t choose.
These advantages, often invisible to those who possess them, can impact access to opportunities, treatment by colleagues and perceptions of belonging and safety.
Privilege can inadvertently create disparities in how individuals experience and navigate the workplace environment, shaping their sense of safety and belonging.
Individual Bias
In simple terms, bias is a tendency to favour certain people or ideas over others, often leading to unfair treatment based on preconceived judgments.
Individual biases affect someone else’s sense of safety. They stem from attitudes or stereotypes that affect your views, actions and decision-making abilities. Individual bias can be more pronounced when you are on “autopilot” or engaged in quick thinking, often leading to unintended consequences in workplace interactions.
Systemic Bias
Systemic biases, also known as structural or institutional biases, refer to ingrained and widespread patterns of prejudice, discrimination or favouritism embedded within the structures, policies and practices of a society or organisation.
Unlike individual biases, which originate from personal beliefs, systemic biases emerge from historical, cultural and societal factors, resulting in unequal treatment and opportunities for different groups.
Filters
We all have filters. They influence what you see, hear and think, and can cause you to mishear and misinterpret information.
Everything you see and experience in the world is processed through your filters. These filters, ingrained from social conditioning, subtly influence your world-view. For example, you are conditioned to have white, heterosexual and cisgender filters.
Unconsciously, everyone in your organisation is making decisions, having conversations and performing their roles while influenced by these white, cisgender and heterosexual filters.
Power Dynamics
Interactions and relationships between individuals in the workplace often revolve around hierarchy, authority and influence.
These dynamics significantly impact how safe someone feels in expressing themselves and navigating workplace interactions.
Personalities
Personality differences can affect safety in several ways.
For example, clashes may arise when you encounter individuals with contrasting personalities to yours. Imagine, you are in a meeting with someone who is strong and assertive. You, on the other hand, are calm and laid back in your approach. When you have such strong contrasts, it can lead to clashes, unspoken tension or frustration and such interactions can make individuals feel unsafe. Navigating these dynamics can be tricky.?
Another way personality can affect safety is through conflict. Conflict resolution styles may vary among team members based on their personality. Some personalities hate conflict and do everything they can to shy away from it. Others prefer to address issues head on, to resolve the situation quickly.
Lastly, applying Eysenck’s Personality Theory, team members who score high in extroversion and low in neuroticism (emotionally stable) are more likely to feel psychologically safe in the workplace. Team members who score low in extroversion (introverts) and high in neuroticism (emotionally unstable) are less likely to feel psychologically safe in the workplace.
Feeling Excluded
Feeling excluded can profoundly impact your sense of safety and belonging in the workplace.
Exclusion can manifest in various situations, such as during discussions about personal matters, external activities to work, gender identity, race-related issues, cultural differences, abilities, age biases, political views and more.
It is worth noting that ANYONE can feel excluded in the workplace at any time. Exclusion isn’t limited to individuals from marginalised backgrounds!
Negative Behaviours
Negative behaviours contribute to a toxic work environment and undermine psychological safety.
These behaviours include verbal or written abuse, insults, offensive comments on social media, gestures, jokes targeting individual characteristics and unwanted physical contact.
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Discrimination
Discrimination, harassment, bullying and stigma breed feelings of insecurity and discomfort in the workplace.
Reporting misconduct can be challenging, exacerbating the sense of vulnerability among employees.
Other Factors
Summary
As you can see, there are many different aspects that influence an individual’s sense of psychological safety in the workplace. This isn't an exhaustive list!
Remember: these aspects rarely exist in isolation.
Many of these aspects could be intersecting and mixing around together in various combinations at any given moment.
Individuals may be unaware that many of these aspects are coming into play.
Transitioning from Theory to Practice: 6 actionable things to implement immediately
Self-Awareness
Reflect on the factors discussed and their relevance to your workplace experiences. Consider how these elements influence your thoughts, emotions, behaviours and interactions with colleagues.
Evaluate Your Own Privilege and Biases
Take time to evaluate your own privileges, biases, filters and conditioning. Reflect on how these aspects affect your performance and behaviour at work. Recognising and addressing these influences is the first step toward mitigating any negative impact they may have.
Impact On Your Performance
Reflect on how power dynamics, diverse personalities and negative behaviours manifest in your workplace interactions. Consider how these factors influence not only your own performance and behaviour but also how they affect the performance and well-being of your colleagues.
Impact on Teams and the Organisation
Consider the broader implications of how these factors affect the psychological safety of your team or organisation as a whole. Recognise that psychological safety is not the leadership teams responsibility, or just an individual concern but a collective responsibility.
Start Conversations
Initiate discussions with your colleagues about psychological safety and the factors that contribute to individuals feeling unsafe in the workplace. Create a safe space for sharing experiences and perspectives.
Educate Others
Be proactive in educating yourself and your colleagues about the influence of bias, privilege, filters and conditioning in the workplace. Offer resources, training sessions or workshops to raise awareness and cultivate a culture of psychological safety within your team and organisation.
Ready to ignite change?
Take action today to build psychological safety in your workplace.
Reach out to learn more: www.ThePSI.Global
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@GinaBattye
CEO & Founder, Psychological Safety Institute
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Psychological Safety and Workplace Culture | Creating cultures where people work better together | CEO & Founder of the Psychological Safety Institute
1 年Glynis - thanks so much for sharing! Anything you would add?
Psychological Safety and Workplace Culture | Creating cultures where people work better together | CEO & Founder of the Psychological Safety Institute
1 年Thanks so much for sharing Alex! I cant tag you for some reason...
Psychological Safety and Workplace Culture | Creating cultures where people work better together | CEO & Founder of the Psychological Safety Institute
1 年Thank you so much for sharing this Dr Melanie! Glad it resonated with you :) Anything you would add to this list?