9 Reasons Why You Should Create a Psychologically Safe Working Environment

​One of the key elements of building success in your team is for every single member to feel psychologically safe.  

​Results from an ambitious internal research project undertaken by Google in 2012 showed that the most important dynamic of effective teams was the existence of psychological safety. 

But what is psychological safety and why is it of benefit to your business? 

First let’s remind ourselves that psychological safety refers to the belief that you can speak up and express yourself without having to fear negative consequences. 

​In a business team context this has been best defined by Amy C. Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School.  

… a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes, and that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking. Think of it as felt permission for candour. 

​Google’s ambitious research project to determine what made the perfect team was called ‘Project Aristotle’, paying tribute to philosopher Aristotle’s famous quote stating that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

The researchers found that the main characteristic of successful teams was, you guessed it, psychological safety.  

​If you want your team members to thrive, they must feel safe and secure to take risks and be vulnerable in front of each other.  

Here are nine reasons why you should create a psychologically safe working environment: 
​

• Increases positive employee engagement 
• Unlocks the benefits of inclusion and diversity in teams 
• Supports mental health 
• Facilitates a strong feedback culture 
• Improves how team members learn from feedback and mistakes 
• Fosters creativity and innovation 
• Improves employee retention 
• Boosts employer branding and talent attraction 
• Attracts brand awareness  

---

​If you want to learn more about Psychological Safety, check out, our page on the subject below.

Psychological Safety Indexing Page

7 Examples of Damaging Psychological Safety in the Workplace