How are companies able to highlight internal challenges and ‘fear’ in the workplace?

By Dr Alexandra Dobra-Kiel

This is a tough time for businesses. Economies are sinking into recession as inflation rises to record levels. And so business leaders are making difficult decisions. In the last few weeks alone, businesses like Twitch, SalesForce, Amazon, Microsoft, JustEat and Meta have announced significant job cuts. 

Things are difficult for business leaders. But they are even more stressful for employees. 

Alongside rising inflation and soaring mortgage costs, people in industries around the world are having to face the reality of new competition. AI technologies are quickly moving from sci-fi to reality – changing the landscape for employees and employers in the process. Research suggests that generative AI systems, such as ChatGPT, will impact 300 million jobs across major economies – with 2/3rds of jobs being exposed to some degree of automation. 

The world is changing fast, yet the needs of people remain the same. Uncertainty around job security is creating fear in employees, and so for any business to work effectively, employees need to feel a sense of trust and security.

So what can employers do?

Reading the room

To solve a problem, you first need to spot it. 

If a company is genuinely interested in identifying and addressing internal challenges – and fear – within its culture, the best approach would be to employ a layered methodology.

Fear is a complex emotion that is difficult to measure. To highlight its presence in the workplace, a company can adopt a layered methodology, meaning one that combines multiple research methods and data sources. This includes running surveys, ethnographic studies and diary studies, while also examining existing data on employees such as performance metrics, absenteeism and turnover rates. The aim of the layered methodology is to provide a comprehensive and unbiased understanding of the situation.

By employing an approach that incorporates layered research and safeguards, companies can successfully identify and address internal challenges and fear within their culture, ultimately creating a more psychologically safe workplace for their employees.

How to implement workplace psychological safety 

Great leaders will foster an environment which brings the best out of their team. There are four basic actions leaders can take:

1. Define psychological safety: Define psychological safety clearly. Psychological safety is not about being “nice” to each other. Psychological safety is about balancing “safety” and “discomfort” to ensure that employees candidly speak-up, experiment and make mistakes without fear of retribution.
2. Encourage learning: Encourage employees to share their successes, failures, and lessons learned. 
3. Ask open-ended questions: Ask open-ended questions to encourage critical thinking and different perspectives. 
4. Provide feedback: Provide regular constructive feedback to employees on their contributions by focusing on areas for improvement. 

These basic actions can help foster trust and psychological safety in organisations. But every company faces its own constraints, such as cultural idiosyncrasies, resource limitations, and contextual pressures, which may impact its ability to implement these actions effectively. 

Just as with every other facet of business, there are strategies available which help leaders understand their unique constraints and articulate their strategic objectives. This understanding means psychological safety becomes a fundamental aspect of their culture – and with safety comes increased loyalty, satisfaction and productivity. 

Things are tough for businesses. Organisations can’t afford for employees to feel the brunt of this pressure. The world is moving fast – but people change slowly. Psychological safety is a core human need – and it can be a decisive business advantage.