Psychological Safety In The Workplace

Psychological safety in the workplace is not only a culture question. It functions as a control for several recognised psychosocial hazards, which is what connects it to the work health and safety duty.

• Job demands. If nobody can say the workload is unmanageable, you cannot know it is until someone breaks.
• Job control. People who can question how work is done have more control over it by definition.
• Support. Support that cannot be asked for is not support. Willingness to ask is the measure.
• Workplace relationships. Bullying and harassment persist where reporting is expected to cost the reporter.

That is why treating psychological safety purely as a leadership nicety misses its role. Where your psychosocial controls depend on workers raising something, psychological safety is what determines whether the control works at all.

Safe Work Australia publishes the model Code of Practice on managing psychosocial hazards at work. This is general information rather than legal advice.

See Sentrient’s psychological safety training course and work health and safety course.