Psychological Safety & Employment
Throughout my career, I never felt psychologically safe as an employee. Feeling psychologically safe has been one of the biggest benefits of self-employment, and it’s what I believe allows me to achieve my goals and help my clients effectively. I don’t mean to imply that I didn’t achieve ambitious goals or make a difference as an employee, but the mismatch between my accomplishments and my confidence held me back and took a toll of my mental and physical wellbeing.
What is psychological safety?
Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson coined the phrase “psychological safety.” At work, psychological safety is “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.”
In her book Teaming, Edmondson writes, “Simply put, psychological safety makes it possible to give tough feedback and have difficult conversations without the need to tiptoe around the truth. In psychologically safe environments, people believe that if they make a mistake others will not penalize or think less of them for it. They also believe that others will not resent or humiliate them when they ask for help or information. This belief comes about when people both trust and respect each other, and it produces a sense of confidence that the group won't embarrass, reject, or punish someone for speaking up. Thus psychological safety is a taken-for-granted belief about how others will respond when you ask a question, seek feedback, admit a mistake, or propose a possibly wacky idea. Most people feel a need to ‘manage’ interpersonal risk to retain a good image, especially at work, and especially in the presence of those who formally evaluate them. This need is both instrumental (promotions and rewards may depend on impressions held by bosses and others) and socio-emotional (we simply prefer approval over disapproval). Psychological safety does not imply a cozy situation in which people are necessarily close friends. Nor does it suggest an absence of pressure or problems.”
Psychological Safety for Employees
Now, I work with nonprofit workers every day, and one of the things they almost universally have in common is a lack of psychological safety at work. I spend a lot of time trying to understand people, what drives them, and what holds them back. I also constantly recognize patterns and try to understand what they mean. Anytime there are people, there are patterns, and when the patterns in nonprofits line up regardless of organization size, who is in charge, mission, infrastructure, geography, and other variable characteristics of nonprofit workplaces, I consider what the people who work at those organizations have in common.
I’ve long believed that the basic, legally mandated structure of nonprofit organizations—that they are hierarchies—is one of the things that constrains their capacity. People who work in purpose-driven organizations are often (though not always) collaborative, collective, and working to dismantle and redistribute power. They see the power imbalances and resulting challenges that hierarchical systems cause, and rather than trying to figure out how to work within those systems, they prefer to replace them with flatter, more equitable structures. But I digress.
Nonprofit workers tend to have a few things in common:
They prioritize the missions they’re working toward more than their own wellbeing.
They exist to serve a community, cause, or purpose.
They’re used to being under-resourced—at work and in life.
These characteristics are a recipe for people to feel economically insecure, and I believe that a lack of economic security and a lack of psychological safety go hand-in-hand. For people who don’t feel job security (or don’t have a sense of economic security even if they do feel they have job security), it can feel dangerous to take risks at work. If you’re afraid of losing your job, it stands to reason that you would want to avoid doing or saying anything that might make that fear real, so it’s easy to understand why people who work in capitalist cultures don’t feel psychologically safe.
Though there are many benefits to working in nonprofit organizations, sometimes their very nature—as impact- or purpose-driven organizations rather than data- or profit-driven entities—can contribute to this lack of psychological safety because it can be difficult for people to know where they stand. Many for profit companies have key performance indicators (KPIs), metrics, and quotas, making it possible for people who work in these companies to understand how their performance stacks up against expectations. This often isn’t the case for nonprofit workers.
Here are some ways nonprofit organizations can increase psychological safety:
Establish Clear Roles and Expectations: Clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and expectations help reduce uncertainty and stress. When employees understand what is expected of them and their peers, it creates a stable environment where they can focus on doing their best work. This includes setting goals for the organization as a whole and creating strategies for achieving those goals, so workers can see how their personal goals help the organization achieve its goals.
Celebrate Mistakes as Learning Opportunities: Normalize failure by creating an environment where mistakes are seen as opportunities to learn and innovate, rather than reasons for blame. This builds resilience and allows employees to take calculated risks without fear of harsh consequences. This might look like a post-mortem evaluation after an event or program that focuses on “lessons learned” and “opportunities for improvement” and offers a direct way to implement identified changes into the next event or program.
Model Vulnerability and Inclusivity: Leaders and managers should demonstrate vulnerability by acknowledging their own mistakes and learning from them. This creates a culture of continuous improvement and shows that it’s okay to be human. Additionally, fostering inclusivity ensures all voices, especially those from marginalized groups, are heard and valued. This might look like making space for people who don’t often contribute in group settings to contribute in a way that feels comfortable for them (one-on-one, later in writing, etc.)
By implementing these practices, nonprofit organizations can create an environment where employees feel empowered to take initiative, contribute fully, and achieve psychological safety. If you’d like to increase psychological safety on your team and aren’t sure where to start, let’s chat.
