Psychological safety at the workplace

How the concept of psychological safety affects the group in the workplace became known when Amy Edmondson was to investigate the connection between group work and mistakes at work. She quickly noticed that the group with the greatest effect was also the one that reported more problems.

So how could it be—did the group that showed more power also have more problems? No, when she looked more closely, it turned out that they had no more problems than other groups. But – they had an environment where they dared to express themselves when something didn’t go right. Which gave the appearance of more problems, when in reality it meant the group had a healthier and more productive way of communicating. They felt psychologically safe enough to share not only successes, but also failures. And the group could learn from them.

Having psychological safety in one’s project is thus not only good for the perceived feeling and the individual’s creativity, but it also affects the group’s productivity and thus the benefit of the project as a whole. This means that everyone dares to share their thoughts and ideas with each other without worrying about being reprimanded or punished for what was said. That there is open and honest communication where everyone is given space to express their opinion and feel seen. Everyone knows that their perspective will be heard and respected, even if opinions differ.

Psychological safety in a team is thus extremely important for its effectiveness – for a team that shares knowledge resolves conflicts constructively and moves forward faster than a team that does not.