Psychological Safety at Work

Lean and psychological safety

Here’s a great analysis by Ben Hutchinson of a paper examining the relationship between Lean and psychological safety in construction projects in the US. This combines two of my favourite subjects so I was excited to hear about this! 

The findings include:

• Psychological safety is crucial in linking Lean practices with safety.
• Lean principles, particularly respect for people and blameless cultures, positively influence psychological safety.
• Workers in Lean projects feel more psychologically safe than in traditional projects.
• Despite the benefits of Lean, many workers still feel psychologically unsafe due to other workplace factors.
• Women, lower-status and older employees are more likely to stay silent about mistakes or problems, fearing negative consequences for their own role or status.

And I like how the authors linked Lean and psychological safety, as in this image:

The paper itself is accessible here: Assessing Psychological Safety in Lean Construction Projects in the United States

Flexible work and feminism

This is a great piece by Erin Grau about remote work and how the system has changed for the better, but there are still powerful men who are more comfortable in the old ways: Flexible work is feminist–and women won’t return to a system that hasn’t served them well to spare the feelings of powerful men. “It is hardly a coincidence that the demographic which benefited most from the old system has also expressed the most anxiety about changing it. But we shouldn’t confuse the feelings of powerful men with facts.“

Speaking up in healthcare

Suzette Woodward wrote this excellent article “The Complexities of Speaking Up in Healthcare: Navigating Silence for Patient Safety” and discusses the challenges healthcare professionals face in speaking up about concerns in their work environment, and the impact this has on patient safety. Key points include:

• Hierarchy and Power Dynamics: Traditional hierarchical structures in healthcare often inhibit staff in lower status roles or with less experience from voicing their opinions. This creates risk, and hinders learning opportunities and the sharing of innovative ideas.
• Fear of Retaliation: Healthcare professionals often remain silent due to fear of looking foolish, being wrong, or facing retaliation. This lack of psychological safety undermines open communication and the identification of risks or mistakes.
• Cultural Norms: Established cultural norms and practices in healthcare can discourage questioning authority or deviating from conventional methods and “this is how we’ve always done it” beliefs, even if patient safety would benefit.

Addressing these issues involves promoting a Restorative Just Culture, providing training and education, and what Suzette calls “providing the opportunity and permission for people to share, ask questions, contribute and challenge“. This is exactly what we’ve recently been doing a lot of work with maternity departments in UK NHS Trusts.

Method #5841 in how to damage psychological safety:

Psychological Safety Workshops

You can now book on each of the psychological safety online workshops! Options include Intermediate, Advanced, Management, Measurement, Practices, and the new Train-The-Trainer supplementary workshop. 

Psychsafety.com courses all now come with Credly Badges! After completion of the course, you’ll receive an email to claim your badge, which you can use to evidence your CPD and share on your LinkedIn profile.

Note: in addition to affordability based pricing, we now offer one free scholarship place on every workshop we deliver. If you would like to request one of these free spaces, email me (tom@psychsafety.com). The scholarship is intended for those for whom any payment at all is out of reach. Preference is given to people in lower-income countries and from disadvantaged or under-represented groups. 

This week’s poem:

Scaffolding, by Seamus Heaney

Masons, when they start upon a building,
Are careful to test out the scaffolding;

Make sure that planks won’t slip at busy points,
Secure all ladders, tighten bolted joints.

And yet all this comes down when the job’s done
Showing off walls of sure and solid stone.

So if, my dear, there sometimes seem to be
Old bridges breaking between you and me

Never fear. We may let the scaffolds fall
Confident that we have built our wall.



Thanks Paula Scullin for the suggestion.