Psychological safety, a term coined and defined by Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, people feel psychologically safe at work when they believe that they can be themselves at work and they won't be punished or humiliated for sharing their identity, speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes.
In short, it is how comfortable individuals are with being themselves, taking risks and being vulnerable with their team. Having a diverse workforce most certainly does not guarantee that everyone in your organization feel comfortable or valued for who they are.
One of the quickest ways to erode psychological safety is microagressions, which are the indirect or unintentional expressions of racism, sexism, ageism, or ableism. Like asking to touch a Black colleagues hair, pushing a persons wheelchair without asking or telling women to smile. These are all forms of discrimination that come out in seemingly innocuous comments by people who might be completely unaware.
It is not the one off comment that has the greatest impact, rather it is the compounded effect day in and day out of working in an environment where you have to be on alert for where the next comment might be coming from. This has the greatest detrimental impact on a persons mental and emotional wellbeing because it sends the message that they do not belong.
Given the widespread nature of microagressions, on today's episode Heather Younger, international speaker, consultant, adjunct organizational leadership professor and author of The Art of Caring Leadership shares how we can manage microagressions when they happen and build a workplace where people can be themselves.
Michelle King: How To Get More Women In Power And Keep Them There
Casey Welch: What The Generation Z Wants
Justyn Hintze: Surviving a Hostile Work Environment
Benjamin Mertz: How To Heal Racism
Jessica Teresi: A Survivor's Guide
Pamela Fuller: Unconscious Bias Training Does Not Work, Here’s How To Fix It
Rita Clifton: Imposter Syndrome
Edward Hess: How To Make Your Workplace Human
Frances Frei: How To Tell If Your Workplace Is Toxic
Robin Ely: COVID and the Need for Family Friendly Leaders
Erin Dowell and Marlette Jackson: Woke Washing Your Workplace
Laura Johnson: Perfection Fatigue
LT Ladino Bryson: The Real Cost of COVID-19
Mónica Ortiz Uribe: Femicide - A Shadow Pandemic
Alex Knoll: The Ability App
Susan David: Emotional Agility
Dave Jakubowski: White Male Allies
Kimberly Perkins - Aviation: A Case Study on Inequality
Jodi Geddes - Flexible Work Is The Future: Insights From A New Study
Kevin Dolan - Diversity and Inclusion Wins: How Businesses Can Outcompete Their Peers
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