The term Psychological Safety was coined by Harvard’s My Edmondson in a journal article in the year 1999. This article explored the relationship between team learning and performance.
“Psychological Safety means an absence of interpersonal fear. When psychological safety is present, people are able to speak up work-relevant content,” said Amy Edmondson. In simple terms it means that everyone in the workplace are nice to each other, they don’t feel hesitant to speak their mind in connection to work, they can voice out their thoughts and give feedback with disagreements together. The employees know their boss or head will understand and value their opinions and honesty.
Research says, lack of psychological safety at work is not just a good “thing” as psychological safety is important because it enhances the performance of the organisation. Having psychological safety at higher level helps unravel contributions of all the talent in the workplace, ensuring that the organisation is well equipped to avert failure.
Most often co-workers are hesitant to speak up, they are uncomfortable to give opinions, raise concerns or challenge by questioning. They do not feel courageous enough to share innovative and new ideas. Why do they feel so? This is because of the fear of humiliation and repercussions. In some polls conducted, it is said that, many people feel that way about their workplace, and only 3 out of 10 employees feel that their opinion matters in their workplace.
Wouldn’t it be so wonderful if people would not hold back their ideas and opinions regarding work? This would help not only the individual, but the team and the organisation. Imagine the amount of positivity that would run in the organisation. People would be enthusiastic to do and offer more. Jealous or backlash would be out of the picture and a healthy atmosphere would be created. A happy workplace is equal to happy human beings.