Psychological safety is the belief that one will not be penalized or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes. It allows individuals to feel safe to take risks and be vulnerable in front of others in the context of work 

In the last few articles on the topic of psychological safety at work, we explored the basics of understanding what psychological safety is, and also unpacked what the role of a leader could look like in the context of work. 

Today in this article, we will be going even further into the concept, exploring the role of psychological safety in the context of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) strategies at workplace, and its nuances when it comes to vulnerable groups at work. 

WHAT DOES PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY HAVE TO DO WITH DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING (DEIB) INITIATIVES AT WORK? 

According to Edmondson and researchers, psychological safety may be essential to realize the promise of diversity in teams. HBR findings showed that in teams high on psychological safety, diversity was positively linked with performance, team satisfaction with the team itself – encouraging the correlation between psychological safety, performance and wellbeing as well. In fact, research suggests that in the absence of psychological safety, diversity may not work as envisioned.  

Bringing the lens of our cumulative experience when we engage with this data, we see that when considering Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives at work, psychological safety is an important enabling factor, especially from the lens of belonging.  

We believe that the relationship between Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives and psychological safety may actually be more cyclical than it seems on the surface. 

In a psychologically safe environment, diverse folx who are hired into the workplace ecosystem may feel more empowered to bring their diverse and authentic selves to the table, may be able to see how their unique intersections are valued through team interactions.  

This will also be reinforced by Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives that encourage equitable measures of evaluation and support that take into account the diverse needs and lived experience of employees, in particular that of vulnerable and protected groups at work. These groups may include women, LGBTQIA+ folx, Persons with disability / neurodivergent folx, etc.  

Furthermore, true and thorough inclusion of diverse folx across levels at work, especially in leadership positions may also add to the experience of psychological safety in diverse workspaces.  

Simply put – if one can see representation of oneself at the decision-making levels at the organisation, it will augment the sense of ease and stability one can envision for oneself and add to trust in the possibilities for growth within the organisation. 

IN THE CONTEXT OF PROTECTED GROUPS AT WORK, DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING (DEIB) AND REDRESSAL SPACES, WHAT ROLE COULD PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY PLAY? 

Basis our experience working with organisations, we feel that psychological safety may impact the access of redressal systems and safety measures at the workplace.  

In a psychologically safe environment, individuals may be able to: 

• Experience higher assurance of fair treatment to access redressal mechanisms, 

• Be assertive about their boundaries and even spotlight discrimination or bias if prevalent even unconsciously  

• Feel safe to bring their whole selves to work, without fear of ridicule, humiliation or other adverse consequences for speaking up, or going against the grain. 

Consider a situation where a woman may be experiencing sexual harassment at work. Even if there are redressal mechanisms in place – does the person feel safe enough to be assertive or call out the inappropriate behaviour causing harm? 

In our experience working with organisations across industries on the compliance with and efficient implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 we note that the threats to a sense of emotional and mental safety in these cases are many.  

Often the presence of bias and stigma, fuelling of a culture of blaming and shaming or an unequitable space where power is absolute, act as obstacles to psychological safety at work. Challenges like this at work lead persons to go silent in the face of inappropriate behaviour, experience a sense of helplessness, anxiety, fear, confusion and may eventually lead to attrition as well. 

Moreover, what if in this case there was an intersection of marginalized identity? If the woman was also queer / trans/ neurodivergent or from an oppressed caste? How would the treatment of these identities at workplace impact one’s sense of psychological safety? 

Let’s look at another situation. Consider a transman part of a team of cisgender, heterosexual (cis-het) folx, being led by a cis-het leader. In our experience, in the absence of overt and consistent allyship among the leadership levels, it will act as a threat to the sense of psychological safety.  

In this situation, in case of any unique challenges – like the experience of microinvalidations / discrimination / harassment, challenges to access gender neutral washrooms, leave required in case of any gender affirming processes, caregiving leave etc. the transman may not feel safe to bring this up with management. 

In our experience, many folx with marginalized identities are unable to bring their authentic selves at the workplace – owing to the lack of active measures to promote psychological safety that consider unique life stressors and trajectories experienced by protected groups at work. 

CONCLUSION: 

The stakes are high when it comes to psychological safety at work. Its absence has been linked to a breakdown of diverse teams, loss of talent, quiet quitting, a culture of silence and eventual impact to the reputation, cognitive wealth and productivity of an organization. 

We can position that psychological safety supports Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB)by creating an environment where all employees feel safe to contribute and participate fully and authentically, without fear of retaliation and repercussion on account of their identity or beliefs. 

In turn, a commitment to sustained and consistent Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives can enhance psychological safety by ensuring that all voices are heard and valued, and in fact people’s diverse views and experienced are encouraged to be part of mainstream conversation.  

To explore how we can support you and your teams to get started on this journey of curating safe and equitable workspaces, reach out to us on connect@equilibrioadvisory.org. 

Written by Rosanna Rodrigues, reviewed by Samriti Makkar Midha