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PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY IN CORPORATE CULTURE

By Josh Windsor

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Psychological Safety in a work environment is created when the company's culture facilitates growth and authentic communication by valuing and respecting each individual’s experience. At its foundation, psychological safety is a measurable expression of empathy.

Empathy is often listed at the top of corporate core values, but many organizations struggle to put it into practice. Their company culture informs the way they practice empathy instead of the other way around. Leaders need a new framework and with measurable tools to build empathic corporate cultures. That starts with asking two crucial questions: How are we empowering our employees? And are we leading with integrity?

A culture of Psychological Safety that empowers employees and led with integrity can be measured by these six foundational drivers:

  1. Belonging

  2. Autonomy

  3. Collaboration

  4. Consistency

  5. Accountability

  6. Openness

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Belonging

Corporate belonging can be defined as the intersection of feeling secure and included as the result of a psychologically safe workplace. When employees feel a strong sense of belonging, they experience higher levels of engagement, job satisfaction, and overall well-being. Research consistently demonstrates the importance of workplace belonging, highlighting its impact on employee performance and organizational success.

McKinsey & Company published a study in which they found a staggering 51% of individuals left their previous job because they lacked a sense of belonging in their workplace. BetterUp's recent study shows workplace belonging leads to a 56% increase in job performance, a 50% reduction in turnover risk, and a 75% decrease in employee sick days. For a 10,000-person organization, this would result in estimated annual savings of more than $52 million.

​A few ways to foster belonging include:

  • Ensuring that employee identities are represented throughout the company and in its marketing

  • Understanding and valuing each employee's unique identity and culture

  • Addressing ruptures in a direct but empathetic manner

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Autonomy

Corporate autonomy refers to employees exercising independence and decision-making authority within their roles. Research has consistently shown that autonomy plays a pivotal role in driving employee engagement, job satisfaction, and overall organizational success by  fostering a culture of trust, innovation, and productivity.

Studies conducted by Deci and Ryan (1985) emphasize that individuals have an innate need for autonomy and self-determination. By granting employees the freedom to make choices and contribute their unique perspectives, organizations tap into their full potential. According to a survey by Harvard Business Review, companies that prioritize employee autonomy experience a significant increase in both creativity and motivation among their workforce.

Autonomy leads to a sense of ownership and accountability, as employees feel more responsible for the outcomes of their work. A study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that autonomous employees are more likely to demonstrate higher levels of job performance and exhibit proactive behavior, resulting in greater efficiency and effectiveness.

A few top-level ways to foster autonomy:

  • Encourage workplace equity through standardized policies and procedures

  • Respect your employee's privacy 

  • Discourage micromanagement

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Collaboration

Employee collaboration facilitates the exchange of ideas, knowledge sharing, and synergy among team members. It encourages open communication, breaks down silos, and fosters a sense of belonging and shared purpose. When employees collaborate, they leverage each other's strengths, overcome challenges more effectively, and achieve outcomes that surpass individual efforts.

Stanford University's study on collaboration found that employees who collaborated with others worked longer on difficult tasks, were more interested in the task and required less self-regulatory effort, performed better, and later chose to do similar tasks. Additionally, a Salesforce study states 86% of executives identify ineffective collaboration as the main driver of business failure. 

A few top-level ways to foster collaboration:

  • Create opportunities for your employees to leverage their unique skills and abilities

  • Standardize efficient and clear communication

  • Encourage employee contribution to decision-making that impacts them

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Consistency

Consistency in the workplace refers to the practice of maintaining uniformity, reliability, and adherence to standards and expectations across various aspects of work. It involves consistently applying policies, procedures, and decision-making criteria in a fair and predictable manner. Consistency establishes a sense of reliability, fairness, and trust within an organization, leading to several important benefits.

There are two main drivers of consistency we focus on: interpersonal relationships and business practices. Leadership is a form of interpersonal relationships, and business practices can be summed up in policies and procedures. A study conducted by Forbes found that inconsistency in either decreases trust in leadership capabilities, cooperation, and discretionary effort amongst employees, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's study found that employees perform better and report higher levels of general well-being when their workplace is consistent and secure. 

A few top-level ways to foster consistency:

  • Standardize policies and procedures informed by your company's core values

  • Routinely communicate with your employees and encourage collaboration

  • Develop clearly defined performance metrics and schedule regular reviews

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Accountability

Studies show that accountability increases effort as well as directly impacts overall working conditions, but 93% of employees aren't able to align with their own work because they don’t have a solid grasp on what their organization is trying to accomplish (Anne Loehr) and around 80% of people see accountability as a punishment! However, it doesn't have to be punitive. Accountability is when we willingly acknowledge and act on our ownership of our beliefs, behaviors, and work. That's it! It builds on the foundation created by belonging, consistency, and openness, and effective accountability balances between being proactive and reactive. 

By fostering a culture of accountability, organizations encourage employees to honor commitments, deliver on expectations, take responsibility for their work, and take initiative. This mindset promotes open communication, problem-solving, and continuous improvement. When individuals are accountable, they contribute to a positive work environment, strengthen team collaboration, and drive overall organizational success.

A few top-level ways to foster accountability:

  • Prioritize maintaining a culture of belonging

  • Ensure there are easy to access avenues for feedback and reporting concerns

  • Implement policies that standardize accountability across all employment levels

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Openness

We define openness as the intersection of transparency and vulnerability; where transparency refers to the business culture of an organization and vulnerability refers to the people's culture. Both are necessary ingredients developed through consistency, accountability, belonging, and empathy. 

While openness is a critical facet of healthy organizational culture, a recent study by Catalyst showed supervisor openness directly increases discretionary effort, one of their surveys showed only 39% of employees said their manager often or always displayed openness; and only 24% said their manager was often or always vulnerable. What percentage do you think your organization would score?

A few top-level ways to foster openness:

  • Invest in company-wide initiatives that focus on improving corporate culture

  • Identify and celebrate employee strengths and accomplishments

  • Be warm and personal

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