What Aren't They Telling You? Why Psychological Safety Matters More Than You Think

Have you ever been sitting in a meeting when someone says something you know is wrong, but you decide not to correct them?

Maybe you have an idea that could make a process better, but before you share it, you wonder whether your boss will think you're overstepping. Maybe you've made a mistake and your first instinct is to figure out whether you can quietly fix it before anyone finds out, rather than asking for help. Maybe you're completely overwhelmed by your workload, but everyone around you seems to be managing just fine so you tell yourself to suck it up. Or maybe someone in a position of authority behaves in a way that makes you uncomfortable, but speaking up feels considerably riskier than staying quiet.

In each of these situations, we're making a calculation. Sometimes we make it consciously but often it happens almost instantaneously: What could happen to me if I say what I'm really thinking?

Will I look stupid? Will I be embarrassed? Will they think I'm difficult? Will my boss get defensive? Will my coworkers roll their eyes? Will I be labelled a complainer? Will anything actually change, or will I just make things worse for myself?

And here's what makes this so tricky for organizations: you don't know what people aren't telling you.

A leader knows when someone raises a concern, but they don't know about the concern an employee considered raising and then decided against. They hear the idea someone shares in a meeting, but not the three other ideas people kept to themselves. They know about the mistake that was reported, but not necessarily the one someone is desperately trying to hide.

That brings us to Psychological Protection, number 12 of the 13 psychosocial factors identified in the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. Right off the bat, let's clear up the terminology. While the Standard calls this factor Psychological Protection, you'll probably be much more familiar with the term psychological safety. Psychological safety is a critical component of psychological protection and it's a term you're far more likely to hear in conversations about leadership, teamwork and workplace culture.

If you've been following along with this series, you know the question we're using to tackle psychological health and safety at work: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Psychological health and safety can feel enormous when we try to tackle the whole thing at once. So throughout this series, we've been breaking it down into the 13 psychosocial factors that help us understand the conditions that influence psychological health and safety at work. Now we're tackling a factor that, in many ways, determines whether employees feel safe enough to talk about all the others.

A Surprising Discovery About Mistakes

There's a fascinating story behind how psychological safety became such an important part of workplace conversations.

Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, who I sometimes refer to as the "godmother of psychological safety," stumbled onto something unexpected while studying hospital teams early in her research career. She was examining medication errors and initially found what seemed like a troubling result: some of the teams that appeared to function particularly well were also reporting more errors.

That didn't make sense. Why would better teams make more mistakes?

When Edmondson looked more closely at what was happening, another explanation emerged. The better-functioning teams weren't necessarily making more mistakes. They appeared to be more willing to acknowledge and report them. In teams where people felt that mistakes wouldn't be held against them, errors were more likely to come to light. What initially looked like worse performance may actually have reflected greater openness and a greater capacity to identify and learn from mistakes.

That discovery helped lead Edmondson toward the concept we now call psychological safety: the shared belief that it's safe to take interpersonal risks within a team. In practical terms, that means I can say, "I made a mistake." I can say, "I don't understand." I can ask for help, challenge an assumption, raise a concern or point out something that doesn't look right without fearing that I'll be humiliated, punished or labelled as incompetent.

Think about how significant that is in a hospital. An error that nobody acknowledges can't be investigated. A near miss that nobody reports can't teach the team anything. A concern that someone is afraid to voice can't be addressed. What looks good on paper because there are very few reported problems may actually be a workplace where people have simply learned to keep quiet.

And hospitals are certainly not the only workplaces where that matters. Think about a construction worker who notices something isn't quite right but doesn't want to question an experienced supervisor. A new employee who isn't sure how to operate a piece of equipment but is embarrassed to ask again. A plant employee who spots a shortcut becoming normalized. An office employee who sees a serious problem developing with a project but knows their manager doesn't respond well to bad news.

In all of those situations, speaking up can be an act of safety. When people feel safe enough to tell us what's really happening, we have a chance to address problems, learn from mistakes and intervene before something small becomes something much bigger.

And Edmondson's research isn't the only evidence we have that psychological safety matters. Years later, Google set out to answer a seemingly simple question through an internal research initiative called Project Aristotle: What makes a team effective? Researchers studied 180 Google teams, looking at everything from personality and demographics to skills, tenure and team dynamics. What they discovered was that who was on the team mattered less than how the team worked together.

Google identified five key dynamics associated with effective teams: psychological safety, dependability, structure and clarity, meaning and impact. At the very top of the list was psychological safety; it was the foundation for all the other elements. On the strongest teams, people felt safe admitting mistakes, asking questions, offering new ideas and taking interpersonal risks without fearing embarrassment or punishment. For a company famous for hiring exceptionally talented people, that's a pretty compelling finding: assembling smart people isn't enough. They also need an environment where they feel safe enough to contribute what they know.

Psychological Safety Isn't About Making Everyone Comfortable

One of the biggest misconceptions about psychological safety is that it means being nice, avoiding conflict or making sure nobody ever feels uncomfortable.

It doesn't.

A psychologically safe workplace isn't one where everyone agrees. Difficult feedback doesn't disappear and every idea doesn't receive enthusiastic applause. It certainly doesn't mean poor performance can't be addressed because holding someone accountable might make them uncomfortable.

In fact, psychological safety should make more difficult conversations possible, not fewer.

Think about a team where everyone nods politely during meetings and then complains about the decision afterward. Now compare that with a team where someone can respectfully say, "I'm not sure I agree with that approach. Can we look at another option?" The second conversation might be less comfortable, but it's considerably healthier.

The same applies to accountability. I can tell you that your performance isn't meeting expectations while still treating you with dignity. I can disagree with your idea without ridiculing it. And you can tell me, as your leader, that you think I've gotten something wrong without worrying that you've just damaged our relationship or your career.

Psychological safety isn't freedom from discomfort. It's freedom from unnecessary fear.

Your Open Door Isn't Enough

I've heard countless leaders say some version of, "My employees know they can come to me about anything."

And they may genuinely mean it. But psychological safety isn't determined by what the leader intends. It's determined by what employees experience.

You can tell people your door is always open, but what happens when they actually walk through it? Do you put your phone down and listen? Do you immediately explain why they're wrong? Do you get visibly irritated, minimize the issue or become defensive?

Employees notice those reactions, and they also watch what happens to other people. Watching a colleague get embarrassed after questioning a decision can be enough to teach someone to keep quiet. Seeing an employee labelled "negative" after repeatedly raising legitimate concerns sends a message too.

That's why leaders need to pay attention not only to their words, but also to their tone, body language, facial expressions and immediate reactions. You might genuinely believe you're approachable, but if you sigh every time someone raises a problem or visibly bristle when you're challenged, your team may be receiving a very different message.

Psychological safety gets tested most when the stakes go up. Can someone tell the boss that their idea isn't working? Can a new employee question the way something has "always been done"? Can someone admit they've made a significant mistake? Can an employee say they're overwhelmed? Can someone report inappropriate behaviour from a well-liked, high-performing or senior employee?

It's easy to say, "We want people to speak up." The real test comes when what they say is inconvenient, uncomfortable or something leadership doesn't particularly want to hear.

Trust develops through these experiences. If I raise a concern and you respond thoughtfully, I learn something about what might happen the next time. If I admit a mistake and you help me solve it instead of humiliating me, I'm more likely to tell you quickly when something goes wrong again. If I disagree with you and you genuinely consider my perspective, I learn that disagreement is actually welcome.

Psychological safety is built, or damaged, in those ordinary moments.

Psychological Protection Is Bigger Than Speaking Up

As important as employee voice is, psychological protection goes beyond whether people feel comfortable contributing ideas or admitting mistakes.

It also means protecting workers from psychological harm, including bullying, harassment, discrimination, violence and stigma. Employees need to know that disrespectful and harmful behaviour isn't simply accepted as "the way things are around here," especially when the person engaging in that behaviour happens to be a strong performer, a long-term employee or someone in a position of authority.

That requires more than a respectful workplace policy sitting somewhere in a shared drive. People need to understand what behaviour is expected and what crosses the line. They need to know how to raise a concern and what will happen if they do. Leaders need the skills to respond appropriately and complaints need to be taken seriously and addressed consistently.

Most importantly, employees need evidence that those processes actually work.

You can have beautifully written policies, reporting procedures and values statements, but if employees believe using them will make their lives worse, you don't have psychological protection. You have paperwork.

Building Psychological Safety in Everyday Moments

The good news is that strengthening psychological safety doesn't necessarily require a massive new program. Much of it happens through everyday interactions.

Pay attention to your first reaction when someone brings you bad news. Before defending, explaining or solving, get curious. Something as simple as, "Tell me more," can completely change the direction of a conversation. Thank people for speaking up even when you don't necessarily agree with them. "I'm glad you brought this to me" doesn't mean you're promising to do exactly what they want. It reinforces that raising concerns is welcome.

Leaders can also model the behaviour they want to see by admitting their own mistakes and asking for help when they need it. Invite disagreement intentionally by asking questions like, "What might we be missing?" or "Who sees this differently?" Pay attention to whose voices you're hearing and create other opportunities for input when the same few people dominate every conversation.

Deal with disrespect early. Eye rolling, sarcasm, public humiliation, gossip and dismissive comments can seem small in isolation, but they communicate powerful messages about what happens when someone makes themselves vulnerable. And make sure employees understand how to raise more serious concerns. People shouldn't have to navigate a maze when something happens. They should know where to go, what options exist and what they can reasonably expect from the process.

Finally, don't ask employees to speak candidly unless you're prepared to hear what they say. If you're going to conduct a survey, hold a listening session or ask your team what needs to change, be prepared for answers you may not like. You don't have to implement every suggestion, but people do need to know their feedback was heard and considered.

Repeatedly asking employees for their voice and then teaching them that their voice changes nothing is a pretty effective way to convince them to stop using it.

What Aren't They Telling You?

Perhaps one of the most useful questions a leader can ask isn't, "Are my employees speaking up?"

It's "What aren't they telling me?"

What mistakes might people be hiding? What questions aren't being asked? What ideas aren't being shared? What behaviours have employees decided aren't worth reporting? What problems are people quietly working around because bringing them forward feels harder than simply dealing with them?

Work will always involve disagreement, mistakes, pressure, uncertainty and uncomfortable conversations. Psychological protection doesn't require us to create workplaces where nothing difficult ever happens. It requires us to create environments where difficult things can be raised, discussed and addressed without unnecessarily threatening people's dignity, psychological health or sense of security.

When people don't have to spend so much energy protecting themselves, they can put that energy somewhere far more valuable. They can ask questions sooner, acknowledge mistakes faster, challenge assumptions, share ideas, request help and flag problems before those problems grow.

Psychological safety can't simply be declared. It has to be demonstrated through what happens when someone takes the risk of speaking up.

And perhaps the clearest evidence that you've created it isn't that your workplace has fewer reported problems. It may be that your people trust you enough to tell you when there's a problem in the first place.

And with that, we've taken 12 bites out of our 13-factor elephant! Next up is our final psychosocial factor: Protection of Physical Safety. And while "physical" might sound like we're suddenly moving away from psychological health and safety, we'll actually be talking about just how closely the two are connected. Sometimes the thing standing between a hazard and an injury is whether someone feels safe enough to say, "Something isn't right."

Thanks for reading, my friends! See you next time.

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Elizabeth Eldridge is a Psychological Health & Safety Consultant based in southern New Brunswick, Canada. In addition to keynote speaking, event emceeing, consulting services and corporate training on mental health in the workplace, she supports organizations across the country on the adoption of Canada’s best practice guidelines on psychological health and safety management. She is also the Founder & President of Arpeggio Health Services which provides standardized education programs like Mental Health First Aid, The Working Mind, QPR Suicide Prevention and more.

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