Ch 31: The need for psychological safety at work.

Say I put 10 glasses filled with clear liquid in front of you. I told you that 2 of these glasses contained poison and the rest 8 were water. The poison doesn't smell like anything so you can't really discern it that way. I then told you that you had to drink one of those glasses of liquid, would you feel safe in that environment?

That is lack of psychological safety! You now don't feel safe around me and probably won't trust me. This isn't unfair to me, I created this situation for myself, it is however unfair of me to expect you to trust me again.

"UGH, where are you going with this?"

Studies have shown that employees perform better when they are in an environment that they deem psychologically safe. With the economy and job market the way it is right now, I can tell you that most of your employees feel unsafe.

If you announce that there will be layoffs for some of your employees and expect all of your employees to be as productive as before, please see my analogy above.

When you think about layoffs, think about the people, think about their families, and think about the negative impact you're creating.

Until next time,

Stay Caffeinated!