How to Create a Psychologically Safe Workplace Where Your Employees Can Thrive

Psychological safety has become a buzzword in the business world – and for good reason. With overflowing inboxes, back-to-back Zoom calls, and unprecedented stress and uncertainty, modern workers are struggling. A staggering 76% report experiencing burnout at their job. Meanwhile, over 40% say their mental health has declined since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this environment, the organizations that thrive will be those that create cultures of psychological safety – where people feel secure taking risks, asking for help, and showing up authentically. Not only is it the right thing to do for your people, but it‘s also a significant competitive advantage. Companies in the top quartile of employee engagement report 23% higher profits than those in the bottom. Coincidence? Not a chance.

As a leader, you have both the opportunity and responsibility to intentionally build psychological safety within your team. It doesn‘t happen by chance, but through modeling key behaviors and implementing strategic best practices. By the end of this post, you‘ll have a research-backed toolkit to evaluate and elevate psychological safety, boosting performance and wellbeing. Let‘s dive in.

What Exactly Is Psychological Safety?

First coined by Harvard professor Amy Edmondson, psychological safety is defined as "a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking." In psychologically safe teams, people feel accepted and respected. They‘re comfortable being vulnerable in front of each other – whether that‘s admitting a mistake, asking a question, or pitching an out-of-the-box idea.

In contrast, a lack of psychological safety triggers our self-censoring instincts. We hold back and hide parts of ourselves out of fear of being criticized, ostracized, or punished. While this impulse is natural, it‘s ultimately detrimental. We waste energy on impression management rather than doing our best work.

Importantly, psychological safety does not mean coddling, unconditional praise, or the avoidance of tough conversations. High-performing teams are marked by both high psychological safety and high accountability. People feel challenged in a way that provokes growth, not anxiety. Conflict and disagreements are okay; bullying and disrespect are not.

Some signs of a psychologically safe environment:

• Mistakes are openly discussed and learned from
• People freely ask for help when they‘re stuck
• Feedback flows easily up, down, and across the organization
• Tough issues and divergent opinions are welcomed
• Creativity and risk-taking are celebrated
• People feel seen and valued for their unique contributions

In short, psychological safety allows people to spend less energy on self-protection and more on realizing their potential.

The High Price of Psychological INsecurity

Gallup has found that only 3 in 10 workers strongly agree that their opinions seem to count at work. Sadly, that means 70% regularly feel unheard and unseen by their employers. When people don‘t feel safe being truthful, the consequences ripple across the organization in the form of:

Diminished performance and innovation. The parts of our brains responsible for analytical thinking, creative insight, and problem solving shut down under threat. In a study of over 200 work teams, Google found that innovation skyrocketed when psychological safety was high.

Throttled upward feedback and diversity of thought. When power differentials and hierarchy rule the day, the higher-ups are unlikely to get the full picture. People keep their heads down out of fear. Diversity and inclusion efforts fall short because not everyone feels equally empowered to contribute.

Reactivity and lack of learning. In psychologically unsafe environments, mistakes get hidden and failures prompt defensiveness rather than curiosity. Opportunities for organizational learning and growth are missed. Meanwhile, stress levels soar, hijacking people‘s ability to respond thoughtfully rather than reactively.

Absenteeism and turnover. More than half of employees report leaving a previous job because the environment was not inclusive. Those who don‘t feel they belong rarely stick around, and those who stay disengage, costing employers $450-550 billion each year in lost productivity.

As Maya Angelou famously said, "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." The emotional tenor of your team has real bottom-line impact.

7 Levers for Building Psychological Safety

Here are some practical, research-backed strategies you can start implementing today to boost psychological safety on your team.

1. Showcase vulnerability and model openness.

If you want authentic, courageous conversations, it starts with you. Share times you‘ve made a mistake, fallen short, or felt uncertain. If you‘re grappling with anxiety or imposter syndrome, name it. Revealing your humanity gives others permission to do the same.

For example, Laszlo Bock, former SVP of People at Google, was known for starting meetings by sharing a personal struggle or failure. In modeling vulnerability, he set the tone that this was a safe space to be real about shortcomings.

2. Frame failure as learning.

The looming fear of failure holds back so many good ideas and honest admissions. While you can‘t eliminate that fear entirely, you can shift how failure is held. Frame mistakes as inevitable stepping stones on the path of learning and innovation. Instead of pointing fingers, get curious about what happened and what you can extract from it.

Business professor Amy Edmondson suggests implementing a "failure bow" modeled after a practice from the Japanese martial art of Aikido. Whenever someone shares a mistake, miss, or subpar outcome, the whole team puts their hands over their head and together says, "How fascinating!" The goal is to remove the stigma and judgment to focus on learning.

3. Proactively seek input at all levels.

Without an explicit invitation, many folks will stay silent by default – especially if they‘re further down the org chart. Make a conscious effort to draw people out, even when it feels a bit awkward at first. Some specific scripts to try:

• "I know I‘m throwing a lot at you. What questions do you have?"
• "We haven‘t heard from [name] yet. What‘s your take on this?"
• "I‘m sensing some hesitation in the room. Let‘s open it up for discussion."
• "How might someone with a different perspective think about this?"
• "What part of this doesn‘t make sense? What are we missing?"

These open-ended questions create space for clarification, dissent, and a diversity of viewpoints. And when people do take the mic, be sure to affirm and reiterate their comments so they feel heard.

4. Explicitly reward dissent and honesty.

If you want people to keep speaking up, reinforce that candor is not just tolerated but celebrated. When someone challenges your thinking or raises a sensitive issue, thank them in the moment. Point out what you appreciate, even if you ultimately disagree. For example:

• "I‘m so glad you raised that. I hadn‘t considered that angle."
• "Great question. It shows you‘re really thinking about how this will play out."
• "I know it took guts to point out that mistake. Thank you for having the courage."
• "I appreciate you calling out that inconsistency. It will help us make a better decision."

The more you highlight brave contributions, the more you reinforce psychological safety. But if you react negatively—even just once—you risk losing that trust for a long time.

5. Measure psychological safety regularly.

The first step to solving a problem is diagnosing it. Many companies now include questions about psychological safety and inclusion on their employee engagement surveys. But once or twice a year isn‘t enough to get a true pulse.

Ideally, you‘ll gather real-time feedback after meetings, decisions, and milestones. For example, you might do a quick online poll at the end of a project asking each team member to rate items like:

• I felt my unique talents were valued and utilized
• It was safe to take risks and make mistakes
• Diverse perspectives were encouraged and heard
• I felt comfortable raising concerns and questions

If you‘re really tight on time, even a quick emoji temperature check can yield insights. The key is to measure consistently, analyze the gaps, and communicate to the team how you‘re acting on the data.

6. Invest in one-on-one time.

It‘s easy for psychological safety to fall through the cracks amid competing priorities and fire drills. That‘s why carving out space for it, both in your schedule and your mental energy, is essential. One-on-one meetings with direct reports are an ideal forum.

Beyond talking about tasks and deadlines, make a point to check in on how each person is doing holistically. Ask what‘s keeping them up at night. If you sense they‘re holding back, gently poke around to understand what would help them feel safer sharing. The more you demonstrate care and concern in these private settings, the more safety you‘ll breed in group settings.

7. Champion policies and benefits that support wellbeing.

Psychological safety requires putting your money where your mouth is in terms of employee wellness. Advocate for policies and programs that make it okay not to be okay, like:

• Comprehensive health benefits with low-cost therapy and counseling
• Paid time off (and a culture that encourages actually using it)
• Mental health first aid training for managers
• Flexible scheduling and remote work options
• On-site mindfulness and stress management workshops

When you create an infrastructure of support, you send the message that people can bring their full, messy selves to work.

Case Study: HubSpot‘s Culture of Courage

I had the privilege of working as a manager at HubSpot during a period of rapid scale. To keep psychological safety alive amid fast growth, they wove it into everything from onboarding to performance reviews. Some highlights from their approach:

• At new hire orientation, leaders share their most embarrassing mistakes and model vulnerability. Employees even take a "failure bow" when they fall short or take a risk that doesn‘t pan out.
• The Culture Code includes explicit sections on transparency, autonomy, and "using good judgment." Clear expectations minimize anxiety and confusion.
• HEART is an acronym for HubSpot‘s core values: humble, empathetic, adaptable, remarkable, and transparent. Keeping them top of mind with swag and signage reinforces key behaviors.
• Quarterly engagement surveys include items on psychological safety and belonging, allowing leaders to track trends over time.
• Employees at all levels can submit questions to leadership at weekly all-hands meetings and get public answers.
• Managers receive training on how to give and receive feedback and have difficult conversations.

While not perfect, HubSpot has consistently been named a best place to work. Their culture of openness, honesty and humanity is their secret sauce.

Conclusion: Psychological Safety Starts With You

We‘re living through a period of unprecedented disruption and uncertainty. If we want our teams to meet the moment with creativity and resilience, it starts with how safe they feel. Psychological safety is the foundation on which great cultures and great work are built.

As a leader, you have an outsized impact on setting the tone. By modeling openness, framing failure as learning, proactively seeking input, rewarding candor, measuring psychological safety, investing in relationships, and championing supportive policies, you shape norms. The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.

But don‘t just take my word for it. Run a pilot program and gather data, both qualitative and quantitative. I‘m willing to bet you‘ll see upticks in the metrics that matter most, from employee retention to innovation and profitability. Making psychological safety a priority is not only the right thing to do for your people, but for your bottom line.