Why does psychological safety matter in a hybrid workplace?

Why should you care:

• Today, hybrid working models are arguably more commonplace than not.
• In April 2021, research revealed that more than 60% of businesses were planning to adopt hybrid working models after pandemic restrictions were lifted.
• But to reap the real benefits of hybrid work, employees need to feel psychologically safe at work, now more than ever.

Why does psychological safety matter in a hybrid workplace?

Hybrid models of work, in comparison to a few years ago, have thrived, as workplace technology begins to deliver its value beyond our industry’s expectations as a result of dispersed workforces due to the pandemic.

What is truly amazing is how technology is now integral to what keeps us connected to our work community when working remotely. Video, messaging interfaces – even (frustrating) project management systems. They keep us connected to other humans in ways and at a scale we haven’t seen before.

Technology has also become the buffer for what moderates the negative impacts of disparate working.

And many organizations still have their reservations around these impacts. A CNBC survey of top executives in human resources, finance and technology indicates that just under half of companies will use a hybrid work model in the second half of 2021; roughly one-third say their company will be “in person-first.”

Whilst HR and organizational leadership weigh up the pros and cons of remote vs. hybrid vs. in-person models of work for their own unique contexts, it’s important (as many leaders already are) to seriously consider the individual employee and the impact that remote working can have on them – especially when it comes to productivity, health and wellbeing.

UNLEASH sat down with Niamh Graham, SVP of Global Human Experience at Workhuman in an exclusive interview to gather her perspectives on hybrid work. We discussed the impact it’s had on herself and her colleagues; garnered insights from big global brands, AstraZeneca and OhioHealth; and gained some tips for how HR and business leaders can improve the hybrid workplace experience for their employees, in particular by creating a psychologically safe environment.

The challenge of hybrid working: Building and maintaining human connection

When we spoke to Niamh, she was clearly excited to be back in the office, galvanized by the ability to connect with her colleagues face-to-face. However, she also considered her personal experiences of how hybrid working has provided her with much-needed flexibility. She touted the benefits of experiencing “the best of both worlds”, namely having the flexibility of homeworking to support her role as a working mother, but also the benefits of being able to connect with colleagues in-person too.

Clearly conscious of the downsides of working solely remotely, Niamh also touched on issues such as disconnection, burnout, isolation, and the potential negative impacts on the fluidity and ease of innovation and collaboration that can result from remote and hybrid working.

Equally, with commuting hours and informal meetings taken out of the equation, remote working has meant longer working hours and an increased risk of burnout. At Workhuman, its leaders have felt their levels of responsibilities rising and working days growing longer without frequent, in-person interactions with colleagues.

To better gain insights into the ways employers can best respond to the issues surrounding today’s working models, Workhuman conducted a survey of more than 1,000 U.S. workers in Spring 2021 – 59% of respondents said they feel there is less human connection since the start of the pandemic.

The challenge, then, of hybrid working is building and maintaining that all-important human connection to mitigate some of the potential downsides of the work model and to enhance its benefits.

There’s clearly a balance to strike, but if done right, like Niamh and her colleagues, employees and organizations can have the best of both worlds.

Optimizing the hybrid workforce for productivity and performance

Given that recognition is key to an inclusive, human, productive environment, it’s unsurprising, that when we asked Niamh how HR leaders could potentially mitigate some of the downfalls of remote working whilst ensuring ongoing productivity and engagement, that this was a key component to her answer.

Saying thank you just gives such an uplift and gives such a positive boost when we think about psychological safety.

Niamh Graham, SVP of Global Human Experience at Workhuman

Workhuman data has proven that gratitude and recognition have profoundly positive impacts on employees, which Niamh kindly ran through in our conversation. Here are some of the toplines she shared:

• Lessens stress and increases trust: Employees who were thanked for work in the past 30 days have less stress and are 2x’s as likely to trust in their company’s leadership team.
• Promotes inclusion: More recognition connections engender a greater sense of inclusion in the workplace. Data from Workhuman’s customer, OhioHealth in the U.S., shows that the more recognition connections the employees had, the more inclusive they said the organization was.
• Boosts retention: Another customer, AstraZeneca, since launching its recognition program in May 2020, saw employee turnover rate 2x lower for those employees who are recognized 7-10 times in a year. And AstraZeneca has had 250,000+ recognition moments since launching the program.
• Increases engagement and performance: AstraZeneca also saw an increase in YoY performance with 5+ recognition awards per year and an increase in employee engagement with 1-2 awards per quarter.

Making sure that everyone has equal opportunity and is recognized for their work through frequent and regular recognition moments is also important. Hybrid and remote work raise concerns that those working from home will miss out on progression opportunities as they are not ‘in the room’. People’s hard work and contributions risk slipping under the radar, with many people left feeling ‘invisible’ – especially women and BAME employees. Catalyst found that 45% of women in leadership roles said it was difficult for women to “speak up” in online meetings, while one in five women have felt “ignored and overlooked” by colleagues.

So, whether it’s peer-to-peer or management recognition, the connections created by giving and receiving recognition builds connection, trust, and positivity, and leads to a more human workplace where everyone is recognized for their hard work, and are subsequently more engaged, productive, and, most importantly, happy.

Why HR leaders should care specifically about psychological safety

Harvard professor Amy Edmondson defines psychological safety as “a shared belief that I can bring my full self to work, that I will not be humiliated or made to feel less good about myself if I speak up with ideas, with questions, with concerns, and yes, even with mistakes.”

When people feel safe enough to be their most authentic selves at work – even in a hybrid environment – then they are more likely to be engaged, productive and happy at work.

Psychological safety also has a huge impact on performance and productivity, with a Gallup report showing that organizations that move towards creating psychological safety for their employees see a 27% reduction in employee turnover, a 40% reduction in safety incidents, and a 12% increase in productivity.

Workhuman has also looked into the impact having a psychologically safe environment has on an organization’s people.

A survey we did recently revealed that there are higher degrees of psychological safety in men; there are higher degrees of psychological safety in white people; and there are higher degrees of psychological safety for non-parents. So, what are we going to do about that? How are we going to change that?

Niamh Graham, SVP of Global Human Experience at Workhuman

Creating a psychologically safe workplace, especially in a dispersed hybrid environment, is crucial. Everyone needs to feel psychologically safe at work now, more than ever.

Tips for creating ‘safe spaces’ – both physically and virtually – to foster psychological safety

Imagine what work would look like if all employees, and especially underrepresented groups, felt more comfortable, confident, and safe in their ability to share ideas and contribute to the success of your organization.

When a workplace lacks human connection, employees feel it. Anxiety increases and motivation and morale drop. This translates into real-world business impacts, most notably around KPIs like productivity and retention. It’s up to people leaders to ensure that their people are as happy and supported at work as they can be.

We have a phrase at Workhuman called ‘Human Work Place’. If you break up those three words, they represent our culture. We create human work places through our technology for our customers and for their employees, around the world… these are all the things I focus on and my team focuses on, and all of our leaders. Without your humans, work is just work, but with your humans, it’s so much more.

Niamh Graham, SVP of Global Human Experience at Workhuman

Niamh’s Top Tips:

Human

People and business leaders need to leverage opportunities to connect with employees and ensure that their voices are being heard. Recognition is key here. Workhuman data reveals psychological safety is highest for employees recognized within the last month and lowest for those never recognized. So, make gratitude a habit as a business leader and colleague, and set time aside each week to think about which of your teams, employees, and peers have stepped up to deliver for the business and take the time to tell that person you appreciate them.

Work

Workhuman wants its people to be able to bring the best versions of themselves to work every day so that they not only deliver the best results for the organization but accomplish their own goals too. Their leaders encourage people to be their authentic selves at work, and to celebrate human moments and life events that matter – like buying a new house, the birth of a baby or getting a pet – alongside work achievements. That way, they’ll truly feel work is a ‘safe space’ for them to be themselves.

Place

The exact workings of a hybrid workplace are still uncertain – and for every organization, the future of work will be different. But with concerns over culture, wellbeing, and isolation, it’s vital that employers provide a space and environment, whether virtual or physical, where people feel supported and safe. This starts with leaders leading with humanity and by being agile and transparent in their approach. As everyone figures out how their organization will work in the future, leaders that can reach out to employees on a human level, that can listen to their needs and preferences and that can adapt to shifting forces will be the organizations where people will feel secure and safe.

Human connection has never been more important.

To hear more from Niamh Graham at UNLEASH, check out our discussion on using human connection to fix pay equity for good, now.

 If you’d like to learn more about creating a more human workplace, visit www.workhuman.com