As featured in HR Future Magazine
77% of professionals are experiencing burnout at a rate we've never seen before, and the number of people that changed jobs last year has more than doubled. On top of that, managing an employee base in a virtual or hybrid work environment has placed challenges on companies that they've not had to deal with in the past. In order to navigate the Great Resignation, companies need to have a solid retention strategy.
What is a Psychologically Safe Workplace?
A great place to start is ensuring your company fosters a psychologically safe workplace, which begins with a shared belief amongst the team that they are all safe to share ideas, confront issues, and take interpersonal risks. A few key indicators of an unsafe work environment include a lack of communication, harassment, unethical behavior, disrespect, high turnover, poor work-life balance, lack of boundaries, and a cut-throat culture. In 2021, MITSloan Management Review found that the number one reason people were leaving their jobs was because of a toxic culture and people are 10 times more likely to leave due to toxic culture than compensation.
Google’s well-known Project Aristotle study spent two years analyzing 180 teams to help the business understand the secrets to team effectiveness. Before conducting this study, Google believed the highest-performing teams were comprised of the best people — whether that be from a diversity of experience, credentials, etc. However, what they learned was that the highest-performing teams were actually those that had psychological safety. These were the teams where people felt safe to share ideas, speak up, and make mistakes. They all had an equal say amongst the team, and their voice was heard and valued.
New Employees Bring Ambiguity
When you hire a new employee, you don’t know if they’re going to stay. With 30% of new hires leaving their workplaces before reaching the 90-day mark, a poor hiring decision could quickly cost a company thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of lost productivity. When a full-time employee quits within one year of starting their job, the organization they worked for loses at least 33% of their annual salary cost, which can easily equate to $15,000 or more. This is just the expense of losing one employee before their first anniversary, if this happened five times it would cost an employer over $100,000 in replacement fees.
Tools and Practices Needed to Create a Safe Work Environment
It is clear that companies need to focus on creating a safe workplace if they intend to retain their employees and nurture high-performing teams. Below are some of the frameworks to begin adapting your company culture.
In order to establish a sense of safety and understanding in the workplace, it is essential to foster and encourage an empathetic environment. You can do this by asking questions to better understand — challenging your biases and prioritizing employee wellness. Implement these practices and lead by example so that others follow suit.
We are all human — everyone makes mistakes. Operating in a workplace that accepts and embraces failure is key to creating a safe work environment. People will feel safe to admit when they mess up and will have the space to learn from their mistakes.
This happens when we allow ourselves to show our humanity. We all face challenges, and it is important that we own and embrace this in our authenticity with one another. Collectively, we can support each other and stay adaptable. If people show up authentically, they are more likely to feel like they belong, contributing to a safer, more accepting work environment.