What is Psychological Safety?
Psychological safety refers to the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for expressing ideas, asking questions, voicing concerns, or making mistakes. In a team context, it means that team members feel they can take risks without fear of being shamed by their peers.
Here are some key points about psychological safety:
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Importance: Psychological safety is crucial for fostering an environment where people feel safe to speak up, disagree openly, and share creative ideas without fear of negative repercussions or judgment.
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Team Performance: When psychological safety exists, it positively influences team performance, productivity, quality, creativity, innovation, health, and mental well-being.
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Evolution: The concept has evolved over time, emphasising the need for open communication, trust, and vulnerability within teams.
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Indicators: You can assess whether your team has psychological safety by observing how freely team members express themselves, whether they share concerns, and if they feel comfortable admitting mistakes.
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Creating It: To create psychological safety, leaders should encourage open dialogue, actively listen, and avoid punishing or ridiculing team members for their contributions.
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Misconceptions: Common misconceptions include thinking that psychological safety means avoiding conflict or that it implies a lack of accountability. In reality, it promotes healthy debate and accountability while ensuring a supportive environment.
Remember, psychological safety is a basic need for people to perform at their best. It’s about creating an atmosphere where everyone feels safe to express themselves and contribute without fear.
So how does this fit with the Code of Practice for psychosocial hazards?
What are Psychosocial Hazards?
The Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022 (the Code) is a practical guide on how to prevent harm from psychosocial hazards at work, including psychological and physical harm. The Code is an approved code of practice under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act). It provides information for persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) on how psychosocial hazards and risks can be controlled or managed and can be used to help decide what’s reasonably practicable to reduce risk. The Code is also a helpful resource for workers who may experience harm from psychosocial hazards, including psychological harm, at work.
Managing psychosocial hazards and risks at work is just as important as managing physical risks.
The Code guides organisations on how to prevent harm from psychosocial hazards at work, including psychological and physical harm. The Code does not create a new work health and safety duty or expand existing duties; rather, it provides clarity and certainty through practical guidance for duty holders about their existing obligations to ensure risks to psychological health are eliminated or minimised under the WHS Act.
Psychosocial hazards and their effects are not always obvious. Some psychosocial hazards, when present at low levels over a long period of time, can accumulate to significantly affect psychological and physical health. While some psychosocial hazards may cause harm more immediately, such as a single stressful event.
In many circumstances, psychosocial hazards combine to create or increase risk of harm. Work-related psychosocial hazards can harm psychological health. The new code of practice helps employers to focus on the risks they are legally responsible for and came into effect on 1 April 2023.
Program Content
Participants completing this training will be able to:
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Understand the relationship between psychological safety and psychosocial hazards and risks
- Recognising psychosocial hazards and risks in the workplace
- Mitigating the risk of psychosocial hazards and risks and creating a healthy workplace
- Strategies to support and improve workplace psychosocial safety
- Promotion of Positive Practices
- Prevention, Intervention, Supporting Recovery
Course Outcome
Participants attending this program will benefit from enhanced interpersonal skills, and be able to use these skills to achieve a more successful outcome when faced with psychological hazards. All participants will be provided with course notes, and will gain a Certificate of Completion.
Course Venue and Equipment
Courses may be conducted in our training rooms in Cairns or onsite at the client's premises.
Where courses are conducted onsite, a suitable venue complete with white board or butchers paper is to be provided by the client company. The venue shall have sufficient space for the participants to be seated comfortably for the duration of training. Any catering costs shall be borne by the client company. Please contact us to discuss alternate arrangements if there is any difficulty in providing these facilities and equipment.
Additional Costs and Expenses
Where the training is conducted outside the immediate Cairns area then additional costs will be applicable. Any airfares, travel, accommodation, meals and materials freight incurred in the provision of this training will be on-charged plus 10%. Mileage and traveling time will be charged at our standard rates. Please contact us for a formal quotation for courses conducted outside of Cairns.