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Editor’s Note: Today’s post is by Sarah Bay. Sarah is the Scientific Editor and Program Manager at the Genetics Society of America. Her work includes editorial strategy, marketing and outreach, public-facing communications, conference/event programming, and data analysis. She also helps lead GSA’s Equity and Inclusion Committee, creating policies and projects aimed toward an inclusive and equitable future.

Earlier this year, SSP and C4DISC, in concert with the Mental Health Task Force, presented a webinar on psychological safety in the workplace. This post is a summary of the main ideas from that webinar, which you can view for free in the SSP On-Demand Library. 

Before we are scholarly publishers—or employees, or managers, or colleagues — we are humans.

More and more workplaces are embracing this basic truth in an effort to build productive, fulfilling work environments, which in turn lays the foundation for business and mission success. We do our best work when we can bring our full selves to the job. When we feel comfortable taking risks and making mistakes without fear of humiliation or punishment, we’re more likely to find satisfaction at work and to perform better. It creates a positive feedback loop.

That comfort to take appropriate risks in the workplace? That’s psychological safety.

In this summer’s webinar, Alisa C.D. Clark, Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) for Cell Press, Elsevier and Dennis Stolle, JD, PhD, Senior Director of Applied Psychology, American Psychological Association, painted a thorough picture of what psychological safety is (and isn’t!) and provided actionable advice for establishing and maintaining it—plus how to handle its sometimes striking absence.

What it is—and what it isn’t

First and foremost, the psychological safety we’re discussing is about the workplace environment, not the home environment or at social events or other gatherings. It’s not equivalent to physical safety. It doesn’t mean a lack of discomfort—in fact, it can pave the way for discomfort. It’s often uncomfortable to speak up when you need to, say, disagree with someone higher up the ladder than you, but it’s also sometimes necessary. Dennis Stolle said that a psychologically safe environment is one where a worker feels safe taking “appropriate interpersonal risks” without fear of serious repercussions:

“What I mean by that is taking the risk of engaging in what might be an uncomfortable but necessary conversation with a coworker or a manager. A classic example that often gets used is a nurse who sees a surgeon on the cusp of making a mistake during surgery, but because of the traditional hierarchy of the medical profession, the nurse may be uncomfortable about speaking up and saying to the surgeon, ‘Hey, you know, wait a second. Are you sure that you want to do that?’ But speaking up in that way could also save a life.”

In addition to the human, moral argument that says people shouldn’t have to work in toxic environments, there’s a clear business case for fostering psychological safety. It’s a key contributing factor to metrics of success; companies with high scores for psychological safety perform better across almost all KPIs. It’s a change-maker. Alisa C.D. Clark shared: 

“If you have that core psychological safety, you’ve got a team where people can feel safe to take risks and be vulnerable. And that means that those team members are dependable. They get things done on time; they perform to standard because people aren’t hesitating to do the things that need to be done. Everyone’s allowed to use their judgment without worrying, and then you get structure and clarity where team members have clear roles, plans, and goals. Everyone can do the work the way that they’re supposed to do, and that leads to a community where everyone feels like they have meaning, where work is personally important to team members. And that meaning is such a great foundation for having impact, where team members think their work matters and creates change.”

How do we make it happen?

Both top-down and bottom-up approaches can drive psychologically safe environments. Middle managers, supervisors, and team leads are critical in setting the tone for their teams, so much so that psychological safety can vary greatly between departments and teams. Those in management roles have the specific knowledge of their direct reports and local culture necessary to build the right environment; one size will not fit all, and what works in one department won’t work everywhere, even within the same organization.

Executive leadership’s key roles are in establishing a company culture that values learning and experimentation and backing up those values by not pursuing overly rigid structures or punitive actions. Leaders need to both talk the talk — by explicitly naming company values and encouraging their pursuit — and walk the walk. They need to acknowledge fallibility (in themselves and in others) and demonstrate curiosity.

Putting it into practice

Some of the most interesting and actionable information from the webinar came from the discussions of how to handle psychologically unsafe environments, with the acknowledgement that it’s much harder to address as an individual who is not in a leadership position or one who is marginalized in the workplace. As in most of life, there aren’t always easy answers, but there are guiding principles. If you’re feeling stuck or dissatisfied at work, figure out what specific aspects of your job are causing this feeling. Review your objectives, document negative moments of note, and explore what avenues there are for providing feedback and/or escalating your concerns. The unfortunate reality is that some work environments can reach levels of toxicity that mean the only thing to be done is to leave them—but you, your mental health, and your career are worth making changes that will protect your safety and ensure your needs are met. I encourage you to watch the webinar recording to get the full picture of topics covered and to be edified by the discussion we had during the Q&A, which covers some of the practices mentioned.

Additional reading

• Psychological safety in the changing workplace: Work in America 2024 report American Psychological Association
• What is psychological safety at work? Here’s how to start creating it American Psychological Association
• What is psychological safety? Harvard Business Review
• What is psychological safety? McKinsey
• The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth by Amy Edmonson
• The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety by Timothy R. Clark