How to beat the dread of work through psychological safety and self compassion

The Thrive Lab have been thinking a lot about psychological safety this month and how it relates to workplace wellbeing.?Creating the right conditions where team members feel safe to contribute without fear of being judged, humiliated or punished for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes has got to be good for us right? Here is a summary of our thoughts and some tips to building more psychological safety. If you want to find out more then head over to our blog for a deeper dive into this topic.

Establishing a culture of psychological safety has been shown to lead to improved trust, respect, connection, and wellbeing among colleagues. On the other side of the coin a lack of psychological safety can lead to feelings of insecurity, shame, and isolation which can have detrimental impacts on mental health and wellbeing.

Leaders and managers are crucial to creating psychological safety in their teams by fostering inclusion, learning, contribution and challenge through a culture of respect and allowing for mistakes. If this is something that you want more of in your team, start by having a conversation with your team, ask? questions about what the team needs to create psychological safety and what tangible and practical things can you all do to help foster a sense of belonging and encourage contributions from everyone.

?Be mindful of behaviours that undermine and prevent psychological safety such as:

• Intimidating language
• Making demands without good reason
• Micro-managing
• Not listening
• Being distant & unavailable
• Emphasising faults
• Discouraging others from trying new and difficult tasks
• Doubting the capacity of others to improve

Ask yourself...

What other thoughts, feelings and behaviours do you notice in yourself or others that affect how safe you feel to contribute during your working day?

Alongside helping your team create more psychological safety there are things we can do for ourselves to help create the right personal environment for your own psychological safety so that you can not only get through a difficult day but help others do the same.

1. Manage your stress levels - stress impacts on your ability to think clearly, be empathetic to others and communicate well. Download our free stress busting hacks poster for some quick ways to reduce your stress levels.

1. Create a positive mindset - This isn’t about being “happy” but is about working on gratitude, identifying your strengths and knowing how to create the conditions you need to thrive.?

1. Self compassion - In general terms self compassion can be described as treating yourself with kindness and concern when faced with times of difficulty and challenge and it has been shown to improve wellbeing and reduce the negative effects of stress. Self compassion involves:

Self kindness - being kind to yourself when dealing with emotional pain and negative thoughts

Common humanity - recognising your suffering as part of a shared human experience (you are not alone)

Mindfulness - holding painful thoughts and feelings in mindful awareness without avoiding or exaggerating them.?

Try this simple self compassion exercise next time you’re experiencing a challenging or difficult situation.

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1. Find a statement that allows you to express what is going on for you emotionally right now without? judgment of that experience as being? good or bad.?

“This is a moment of suffering.”

“This hurts” or?

“This is stress.”

?Use whatever statement feels most natural to you.

2. Recognise that your experience is part of life and that your challenges give you a connection to others rather than singling you out as abnormal or deficient.? Try a statement such as,

" Suffering is a part of life."

“Other people feel this way,”

?“I’m not alone,” or

?“We all struggle in our lives.”

3. Offer yourself some self kindness. Put your hands over your heart, give yourself a hug or gently stroke your forehead and cheeks and choose a phrase that feels comforting and kind to yourself such as.

“May I be kind to myself.”?

“May I accept myself as I am,”

?“May I learn to accept myself as I am,”?

“May I forgive myself,”

?“May I be strong,” or

?“May I be patient.”

This practice can be used at any time of day or night. If you practice it in moments of relative calm, it might become easier for you to experience the three parts of self-compassion—mindfulness, common humanity, and self-kindness—when you need them most.

If you or your team are struggling to find psychological safety and it is affecting wellbeing and the way you work then send us a message and lets have a chat.?