聽is an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine & Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at聽听补苍诲听聽is an聽associate professor and registered dietitian in the Department of Applied Human Nutrition at聽.
is May 1 to 6. It offers us a chance to highlight and discuss safety, health and harm prevention in the workplace.
Workplaces have come a long way from a time when safety was equated with physical safety. Occupational health and safety is no longer simply about hardhats and steel-toed work boots 鈥� it鈥檚 also about .
The emotional well-being of workers is critical to the success of any organization. Psychological safety is everyone鈥檚 responsibility, but hinges on leadership valuing and facilitating it.
Psychological safety
A psychologically safe workplace is one where it鈥檚 OK to make mistakes, it鈥檚 OK to not be OK, and it鈥檚 OK to speak up and disagree with superiors or other members of your team.
A psychologically safe workplace is where without fear of judgment, lateral violence (for example exclusion, bullying) or negative consequences.
A research initiative undertaken by Google called identified psychological safety as the single .
The project was named after the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who once said 鈥渢he whole is greater than the sum of its parts.鈥� Aristotle suggested that people who worked together could achieve better results than working alone.
The researchers looked at a range of factors, including team size, member diversity, communication styles and leadership, among others.
Amid worldwide concerns about a and accessibility, and productivity and , committing to creating psychologically safe workplaces is the best way to help employees and teams function most effectively.
Benefits of psychological safety
Current evidence supports that psychological safety is positively associated with 鈥� all favourable outcomes for institutions, organizations, the bottom line, clients and the larger community.
These benefits can be obtained through the creation and maintenance of workplaces where employees are able to express themselves, are treated with respect and dignity, and do not experience hierarchical or lateral violence that can include bullying and exclusion.
Creating and maintaining a psychologically safe environment results in employees who are more likely to and . Choosing psychological safety is choosing to move away from shame and blame and move towards a culture of inclusion, openness and learning.
Several recent surveys on disability claims exemplify why employers should invest in employee psychological health and safety.
Telus Health reported that short-term disability claims, due to mental health, .
Deloitte found that 30 to 40 per cent of short-term disability claims were due to . According to data from Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association members, claims for mental health supports .<