We’re increasingly hearing more about Psychological Safety. Little wonder, given it is an absolute prerequisite to effective employee engagement and high performing teams.
But how do we know when Psychological Safety is present or how much we’ve got? While there are robust ways to benchmark (which Axiom often conduct on behalf of organisations), there’s one quick way, available for free and right now, to get a sense of how psychologically safe people might feel:
Whether you and your people switch off their laptops and mobile devices while ‘supposedly’ on their summer holiday.
We tend to think about Psychological Safety as a sense of safety at work – whether we feel safe enough to speak up and take measured interpersonal risks. But how safe we feel at work also determines how comfortable we feel about switching off – something that’s critical for our wellbeing, mental health and ultimately our overall productivity.
We know we simply don’t have enough hours to contend with everything that competes for our attention at work, and the deluge can make it difficult to tear ourselves away.
A 2018 report by CIPD found ‘some 28% of senior leaders admitted to finding it difficult to fulfil personal commitments outside work, and 29% said the reason for that was the amount of time they spent at work.”¹ Since the pandemic and the blurring of boundaries between work and home, that figure has no doubt increased.
And leaders cast a long shadow, especially in the summer sunshine! We know that the people they lead will be looking and asking themselves:
‘Does my boss ever take a break?’
‘Is it safe for me to do so?’ And,
‘Is that a real break or just working from a slightly more glamorous location and at a different time of the day?’
But leading by example is far from the only signal that determines whether people feel psychologically safe enough to switch off when the time comes.
Taking a break when there is so much to do often feels like we are taking a personal risk. We may not realise we are doing it, but we’ll be asking ourselves and assessing:
· Whether we will be letting people down by taking a break.
· How easy it is to ask other team members to help cover anything urgent.
· Even whether we believe someone in our team will deliberately seize on our being absent to do something to undermine us.
So, what can we do to help others in our teams feel safe enough to take a break? Here are our top five tips:
1. It sounds simple but tell people you want them to stop. It is okay to take a break. One of the most powerful things a leader can do is help their people see that they understand the challenge and that it’s one they face too.
How powerful it would be if our boss said to us: ‘In today’s busy world there’s always going to be more work than time. It’s only normal to be concerned about taking time away when everything feels so pressing, but we’re not machines and we all need a proper break, so I really want us all to take one’.
2. Show you value everyone’s contribution, by reminding people what they have achieved, the value they add, why they deserve a break and how much better they will feel to tackle future challenges having taken one.
3. If you know you tend to rely heavily on certain team members, start having some coaching style conversations with them, ideally a few weeks before their upcoming holiday. Focus on getting them to a place where they feel safe enough to switch off and enjoy their time away. Worrying about work while away completely defeats the object.
4. Be firm with negative behaviours. Don’t let bragging about working all hours slide – it shouldn’t be a badge of honour. Push back on any sniping about the inconvenience of someone’s absence and, above all, ensure no one is penalised, for example by permanently giving away a project because they have taken a break.
5. And last but by no means least, model these behaviours yourself by taking a proper break. It’s important to work on our own Psychological Safety because we can’t effectively help others if we don’t look after ourselves.
We truly appreciate this last one is not easy.
We hope you and your teams can find a way to enjoy a break this summer.
Psychological Safety isn’t either on or off. It ebbs and flows. Securing it isn’t easy, particularly beyond the office, but it can be built. Axiom’s workshop ‘How to create an inclusive ‘Speak Up’ culture by harnessing Psychological Safety‘ gifts leaders the time, space and practical means to encourage more Psychological Safety, and with it better results. If you’d like a hand building yours, then please do contact us.
References
¹ UK Working Lives report, CIPD, 2018, P12
