the importance of psychological safety at work

Psychological safety in safety-critical work stops being a culture initiative and becomes a control. In work where a mistake can injure someone, a worker’s willingness to say stop is often the final barrier before harm.

Think about where that barrier gets tested. An apprentice who notices the isolation was not done properly. A nurse who thinks the dose looks wrong. A driver who is too fatigued to continue but is behind schedule. In each case the hazard is already controlled on paper, and the person is the last check.

If that person has learnt that raising it means being seen as slow, difficult or not up to it, the control is not there. Which means an organisation with excellent written procedures and a culture that punishes interruption has a gap it cannot see in any audit of the procedures.

The practical test is simple. Ask when a job was last stopped, by whom, and what happened to them afterwards.

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

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