Psychological Safety ​key Performance Indicator, Crucial For India Inc

A recent report by job site Indeed on 'Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DI&B) at Indian Workplaces' said that psychological safety ​will be crucial for India Inc in 2023 and beyond, the Economic Times reported. ​

According to the report, this is a study on the link between psychological safety and DI&B in Indian organisations and was carried out by Valuevox on behalf of Indeed across 15 sectors and 16 cities, and covering 1,200 employers and 1,500 employees of small, medium, and large businesses.

Psychological safety can be defined as an employee's belief on how much risk they can take without being shamed by other members.

THe survey highlighted that 45 per cent of all employers surveyed think that psychological safety is a strong performance indicator and 47 per cent see it as a crucial need since it leads to higher employee retention and engagement.

Among the primary reasons that make an employee feel unsafe in an environment, mental health issues and unaddressed/unsatisfactorily addressed grievances came up as the top most concern.

47 per cent of those surveyed thought that mental health issues cause employees to feel psychologically unsafe, 43 per cent felt unaddressed/unsatisfactorily addressed grievances makes employees feel unsafe and 28 per cent feared loosing anonymity while giving feedback.

Quoting Rohan Sylvester, talent strategy advisor at Indeed the ET report said that data shows that 23 per cent of organisations are planning to initiate formal policies around diversity, inclusion and belonging in the next 12-18 months.

Fear among employees due to various reasons could adversely affect psychological safety.

According to the report, 34 per cent of employees feared burnout, 25 per cent feared failure at psychologically unsafe workplaces.

The report also highlights how biases also play a role in determining psychological safety at work. Gender and sexual orientation, religion, caste and ethnicity and language are among the most common biases faced by employees.

45 per cent of employees surveyed expressed that being their authentic selves at work, expressing ideas, opinions, and criticisms freely without the fear of judgment can help create a psychologically safe environment at workplaces.

33 per cent also thought that work-life balance makes them feel psychologically safe at their workplaces.

According to the report, 53 per cent of employers surveyed agreed that a psychologically safe work culture is both achievable and sustainable. However, 32 per cent of employers felt that while it is achievable, it cannot be sustained.

38 per cent employees' responses suggested that burnout has been the most prevalent trend shift, 27 per cent felt depression and 24 per cent thought anxiety were the reasons behind causing psychological fear among employees.

The report suggests that employees felt that the leadership team plays a key role in psychological safety at work.