"Psychological safety is not a checklist item or quick fix," says Grace Ewles, manager of HR Research & Advisory Services at McLean & Company. "Rather, it is an ongoing effort that requires commitment from key stakeholders and strong alignment between the organization's norms, leadership behaviors, and day-to-day processes."
"Psychological safety is not a checklist item or quick fix," says Grace Ewles, manager of HR Research & Advisory Services at McLean & Company. "Rather, it is an ongoing effort that requires commitment from key stakeholders and strong alignment between the organization's norms, leadership behaviors, and day-to-day processes." Its ‘Introduction to Psychological Safety for HR’ sets out the elements of psychological safety at work which organizations must be aligned with to be successful in their pursuit of a holistically safe workplace. These are organizational norms – shared standards of acceptable behavior that are socially enforced and guide all interactions across the organization; leadership behaviours – actions, values, and characteristics that leaders incorporate to motivate their team and achieve their goals; and artifacts – the organization's processes, policies, and procedures, such as including psychological safety in existing health and safety policy. It advises HR professionals and organizational leaders that actions speak louder than words when it comes to creating a psychologically safe place in the future of work. Aligning the elements and prioritizing the three pillars of psychological safety ‒ prevent harm, promote health, and resolve incidents and concerns ‒ are necessary steps in the process of designing and sustaining a safe workplace culture and environment, but it is the C-suite, leadership, and HR team's responsibility to demonstrate the organization's true intentions and commitment to this work.
