(Pychological Safety Cont.)

Psychological Risk Factors in a Work Environment (13)

i) psychological support (focus on wellness, ie handling stress, burnout, etc; encourage lifestyle balance, ie work, family, hobbies, etc; all management and staff are supportive of employees' psychological and mental health concerns; respond appropriately as needed;, etc)

ii) organisational culture (characterised by trust, honesty and fairness; appreciation of differences, eg respect different points of view; transparent knowledge transfer and exchange, etc)

iii) clear leadership and expectations (effective leadership that communicates and supports staff so that they know what they have to do, how their work contributes to the organisation and understand the need for change, etc)

iv) civility and respect (where staff act respectfully in their interactions with one another as well a with other stakeholders such as customers, clients, stockholders, public, etc)

v) psychological competencies and requirements (there is a good fit between employees interpersonal and emotional competencies and their requirements for the position they hold, etc)

vi) growth and development (employees receive encouragement and support in the development of interpersonal, emotional and job skills, etc)

vii) recognition and reward (appropriate acknowledgement and appreciation of employees' efforts in a fair and timely manner, etc)

viii) involvement and influence (employees are included in discussions about how their work is done and how important decisions are made, etc)

ix) workload management (tasks and responsibilities can be accomplished successfully within the time available, etc)

x) engagement (employees feel connected to their work and are motivated to do a good job; openness to new ideas; encourage reflection, etc)

xi) balance (there is recognition of the need to balance the demands of work, family and with one's personal life, etc)

xii) psychological protection (employees' psychological safety is ensured, ie work in a non-threatening environment, etc)

xiii) protection of physical safety (management takes appropriate action to protect the physical safety of employees, etc)
(source: Pauline Melnyk, 2023)

Conditions of Psychologically Safe Work Environment (norms, values and practices)
"...- emphasise the importance of emotional intelligence leadership style as a consideration for decisions about advancement and promotion
     - foster opportunities for regular dialogue and interaction between staff and managers/leaders
     - ensure that employees clearly understand their tasks and responsibilities, and how their work contributes to the overall organisation
     - create a respectful work environment where values of honesty, tolerance and fairness are modelled, encouraged and reinforced
     - engage staff in maintaining an open environment that promotes group cohesion and communication
     - ensure meaningful participation in the development of organisational mission, values and codes of ethics
     - work to eliminate the stigmatisation of those facing mental health challenges
     - develop formal and informal networks to support management, human resources teams and union representatives when dealing with an employee mental health issues
     - incorporate best practices for primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of employee mental health issues
     - create workplace culture where it is safe to discuss mental health issues without fear of discrimination..." 
Pauline Melnyk, 2023