Psychological Safety at Work: Making Mental Wellbeing a Priority (#ElevateTheConvo Twitter Chat)

When: Wednesday, March 23, 2022

8:00PM ET/7:00PM CT

6:00PM MT/5:00PM PT

Where: Twitter #ElevateTheConvo

What: 1-hour conversation. Just follow the #ElevateTheConvo hashtag on Twitter and join in as our panelists -- all experts on psychological safety and workplace wellbeing.

Feel free to join in the conversation. If you are new to participating in a Twitter Chat here is a brief  "how to" article. At the time of the chat just put the hashtag #ElevateTheConvo in the Twitter search field, then hit the "latest" tab and you will see the most recent posts. When you refresh the search tab new posts will emerge.

Who: All those interested in learning or sharing about the significance of psychological safety at work.

Overview

In the last few years, the research and discussions about psychological safety at work have skyrocketed. While recent definitions of the phenomenon of psychological safety center on “a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking” (Edmondson, 1999), the application of this idea is often focused on what happens when people make mistakes at work and the risk-taking required when people are learning or innovating.

Widening the lens of the definition, we can see the concepts of psychological safety also apply to other forms of vulnerability at work and the core question: “Do others have my back?”

— Do others have my back when I am making errors in learning or experimenting with new approaches?

— Do others have my back when I am different in some way from the group norms? (Edmondson, 2020)

— Do others have my back when I am going through a really hard time?

Another way psychological safety has been described is “...a feeling to be able to show and do something without fear of negative impact on self-image, status or career.” (Arbor & Patrisia, 2020, p. 3634)

The Mental Health Commission of Canada in their “National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace” (2014) states “A psychologically healthy and safe workplace is one that actively works to prevent harm to workers’ psychological health, including in negligent, reck- less, or intentional ways, and that promotes psychological well-being.”

Psychological safety is delicate and vital to workplace success. When we consider Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs, the need for safety is right above the need for air, food and water — we cannot function well without it. When the brain processes psychological danger — whether it be a criticizing boss, judgmental coworker or humiliating manager — deep parts of our psyche react in a fight, flight or freeze way and we move quickly into self-protection. We shut down, escape or become defensive, aggressive and irrational (Obrenovic, 2020). We see “the other” as the adversary and work to differentiate ourselves from them.

Psychological safety, by contrast, is built on trust, respect, curiosity, open-mindedness and collaboration. It challenges people to move from the comfort zone to the learning zone, while staying out of the panic zone so that workers are continually growing at work. The job of a leader then, is not to shield workers from discomfort but to protect them from harm (Snow, n.d.).

In this Twitter Chat, we will be discussing key questions about the science and strategies related to psychological safety at work.

Questions

1: What do YOU mean by the term psychological safety? Why should this mindset be a priority for workplaces? What is your lived experience with psychological safety (or lack thereof)?

2: What does science tell us about psychological safety? How does it impact workplace wellbeing and mental health? How does it impact workplace productivity and safety? Who is most impacted?

3: What are the main psychosocial hazards at work? What can workplaces do to mitigate these risks to psychological safety? What can workers do to protect or advocate for psychological safety at work?

4: What are future trends in workplace investment in psychological safety? What are emerging efforts in risk management? Share examples of early adopters who are blazing the way.

Panelists

Cal Beyer

@RiskLeadership

Cal Beyer is the Vice President of Workforce Risk & Worker Mental Wellbeing for Holmes Murphy & Associates, a firm dedicated to construction risk management for over 100 years. Previously, Beyer served as Director of Risk Management at construction company Lakeside Industries, Inc. in Issaquah, WA from 2014 until 2020. Beyer was an inaugural member (and Co-Lead; 2015-2017), of the Action Alliance's Workplace Task Force. Beyer was named one of the Top 25 Newsmakers for 2016 in the global construction industry by Engineering-News Record (ENR), the leading voice of the construction industry, for his work promoting mental health and suicide prevention.

Dr Jenny Brockis

@drjennybrockis

Dr Jenny Brockis is a medical practitioner, board-certified lifestyle medicine physician, best-selling author, and award-winning speaker living in West Australia. Her vision is to make mental wellbeing the norm by transforming the existing mental health system that has been on life support for far too long. She believes we can do so much better, by getting back to the basics, having open and honest conversations about our emotions, and changing the conversation to ask, “What’s right with you?”

Dr. Patsy Evans

@HarmonyUsInc

Dr. Harmony is one of the country’s leading Clinical Sexologists. She brings her unique blend of skills and education specializing in Kink Culture and Sexuality, Relationship Counseling, Sex Positive Therapy, Traumatology, Healthy Divorce, and Holistic Psychotherapy. Through her own personal experiences and her unique insights, she has forged an extraordinarily successful methodology designed to give you direction and keep you focused on your goals. Let Dr. Harmony teach you how to face trauma and transform it into triumph.

Paul Williams

Paul Bashea (Bah-Shay) Williams, LCSW-C, LICSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Relationship Advisor, Business Owner, Entrepreneur, Corporate Consultant and Author of the book Dear Future Wife: A man’s guide and a woman’s reference to healthy relationships. As a business owner, Paul Bashea Williams owns and operates, Hearts In Mind Counseling, a mental health private practice that specializes in marriage, family, couples, and individual therapy helping others address their mental health needs. Paul Bashea Williams is well sought after to provide corporate coaching and consulting helping companies address mental health concerns, establish psychological safety and design safe spaces while ensuring company growth.  His writing, public speaking and trainings have been featured in and on CNN, HBO, A&E, Gilead, Churches, Universities, Men’s Health Magazine, Essence Magazine, BET, Bustle, Roland Martin Show, Huffington Post, TV One, Radio One, TV Guide, national syndicated radio shows, ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, movies, and conferences all over the nation.  You can follow his work at BasheaWilliams.com, BasheaWilliams on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. His counseling services can be found at WWW.HeartsInMindCounseling.com

Mary Ann Baynton

Mary Ann’s an expert in workplace mental health and psychological safety. She consults across the country and also serves as Director of Collaboration for Workplace Strategies for Mental Health which produces free resources, compliments of Canada Life, for all Canadians. Mary Ann strives to eliminate unnecessary suffering and improve lives.

Jorgen Gullestrup

Jorgen is a Danish plumber who by accident or fate became one of the architects of the suicide prevention program “MATES in Construction” now operating across Australia and the Construction, Mining, and Energy Industries. Jorgen is currently the principal for Semicolon Consulting, CEO of the Mental Health Lived Experience Peak Queensland, Lived Experience Advisor to Suicide Prevention Australia, Chair of Queensland Workplace Health and Safety Board and member of Queensland’s Mental Health and Drugs Council. Jorgen is currently a PhD candidate investigating help offering amongst men. He holds a Masters of Suicidology, a Diploma in Social and Community Development and an Associate Diploma in Labour Studies.   

Michelle Dickinson

Michelle Dickinson partners with leaders to normalize the mental health narrative in the workplace and prevent employee burnout by teaching resilience and mental well-being workshops. She helps leaders gain the confidence to reach out and support their staff if they sense they may be suffering. She has empowered thousands of employees with my resiliency workshops throughout the pandemic. Additionally, she is an expert speaker on workplace mental health.