Psychological Safety as Culture
The comfort of being yourself at work
As a tech consultant, I often see the contrast between different working environments and cultures. One comes from the firm, the other from the client. As I've experienced different clients over the years, the moments I've done my best work have been when I've felt psychologically safe.
When the quirks of my brain don't irritate or put off other people because they know how to handle it. When my inexperience mixed with my quick learning enables unique moments of insight or panic. When my communication style can be worked around.
Some cultures make personal status more visible. Either through Slack statuses and emojis, or other ways of letting people know how they're doing at any moment. Other cultures aren't as transparent about sicknesses or competing life priorities.
I was recently reminded of this contrast when a reminder was said in a team sync to prioritize health and remind ourselves that we didn't know how anyone was doing and to have grace and patience with each other. Not every work environment needs these reminders because some embody a level of transparency that makes slow days a normal thing that can happen. Of course, this requires high trust and excellence on the usual days or focusing when needed, but to be able to have a slow day or a sick day with the ease of a status change makes it an embodied culture.
As new people enter into that environment, seeing everyone else be so okay with sharing their status makes it easier for someone to relax and know that being productive is not black and white – there is room for shades of gray.