Psychological Safety At Workplace

Psychological safety at the workplace is shaped by the room as much as by the culture. The physical and meeting setup either makes speaking up easy or quietly expensive, and it is one of the few levers you can change this week.

• Who speaks first. If the most senior person opens with their view, everything after it is a reaction rather than a contribution.
• Who is on a screen. In hybrid meetings remote attendees interrupt less and are interrupted more. Bring them in by name.
• Where the agenda ends. Any other business at the end of a running-late meeting is where concerns go to die.
• Whether there is a way in writing. Some people will never speak in a room of twenty and will write a clear note.
• Open plan and overhearing. A conversation everyone can hear is a conversation people manage.

Safe Work Australia covers the duty to manage psychosocial hazards. This is general information rather than legal advice.

See Sentrient’s psychological safety training course and managing remote teams course.