Psychological Safety

Ever heard of “Psychological Safety”?

If yes, I am assuming you have been either looking for one at your work or are enjoying it

For the ones who haven’t heard, Psychological Safety is an environment where employees feel mentally safe, in case they face adversities at work. Adversities could be work-related mistakes (minor or major). In psychologically safe places, there is an inner belief that the organizational approach prioritizes employees’ mental wellness over punishment or penalty. Penalizing is negated to an extent that it becomes invisible and only work ownership and accountability are evident. Employees are made to feel they own the business and are empowered with equal opportunity to own success and failure.

Such employees create environments that are magically conducive to critical appreciation and continuous improvement. They not only set new innovative ways to perform without fear but also mentor others around them to perform. Such employees are not intimidated by hierarchical slavery or political shadows. They are present to perform and excel without fear or pressure with the assurance that they are backed up with remedial support whenever needed. Here, the leadership stubbornly believes in the impact of psychological security on productivity. The leader continuously strives to hit the right chords to make the environment beneficial for employees by taking into account all aspects of the employee’s psychological needs such as respect, empathy, acknowledgment, appreciation, and productive criticism and stringently avoiding any kind of activity that would disturb the employee’s peace at any point.

Unfortunately, there is no direct mechanism to calculate the losses that occurred due to the poor psychological safety conditions within an organization. How could one quantify the damage caused due to employees'?fear factor of feeling unsafe, feeling of not being heard, the panic of losing a job if they believe otherwise, dread of isolation, horror of stagnated growth, starvation of appreciation, etc. It is a must for employees to feel positive in an environment where they spend more than half their lives in. Employees who feel insecure in workplaces turn emotionally disconnected from the team, resulting in misunderstood objectives.

Having said this, a psychologically safe work environment is not built overnight. It is the ever-growing persistence of visionary leaders graduating into forwarding steps toward psychological safety.?Leaders with a certain level of emotional intelligence and deep psychological values (irrespective of minimal resources) are remarkably successful at turning the tables for employee satisfaction.

“Managers are hired, Leaders are discovered.” Taqleed