Psychological Safety in Today's Global Workforce

2024-04-05 00:42:24

RALEIGH, NC, April 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Amid increasing pressures and unprecedented challenges around the world, psychologically safe workplaces have become a necessity for developing organizational resilience and sustainable success. Leaders at all levels recognize that they need to cultivate cultures of trust, openness and inclusion, where all voices are heard, valued and respected.

The financial consequences are straightforward: Psychological safety is the linchpin of employee engagement and the core of bottom-line business results. The benefits range from talent retention and improved innovation to better customer service and stronger brand value.

Data Directly from Employees – No Surveys or Opinions
As the largest independent provider of personalized, localized wellness services, with more than 116,000 customers serving 79 million people, Workplace Options (WPO) has deep insight into global psychological safety, derived from data from human-to-human counseling conducted by our clinical team in nine countries: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Mexico, UK and US.

The results can be found in “WPO Psychological Safety Study: Global Context for Organizational Success” (WPO Global Psychological Safety Study: Global Context for Organizational Success), a website and multimedia content hub that presents information about how psychological safety affects employees in different countries. The site includes multimedia resources, white papers, videos, articles, infographics, and other information about the global significance of psychological safety.

O “WPO Psychological Safety Study: Global Context for Organizational Success” pode ser acessado aqui: Psychological Safety.

“A culture based on psychological safety has immense value. Deep employee engagement leads to greater creativity, innovation and an environment where people can be their authentic selves in all aspects of their lives,” said Alan King, President and CEO of Workplace Options. “The results of this study will help leaders and organizations make a transformative difference in people’s lives by developing resilient cultures focused on well-being.”

Study Results – Compare and Contrast Workplace Concerns Across Countries
Individual country information was derived from physician engagement with clients on workplace symptoms manifested in employee emotions, cognitions, and attitudes toward work. These include: stress, anxiety/panic, low mood, job performance, conflict/tension with manager, lack of recognition and others in the workplace.

Leaders can use data to understand the challenges their employees face. For example, in Australia, “lack of recognition” is the main issue on employees’ minds. In contrast, employees in India identify “conflict/tension with manager at work” as their main problem. A company with operations in these two nations/regions can use the study results to gain deeper insight into strategies and tactics for creating psychological safety and organizational resilience.

Country	Worry in the Workplace (By Prevalence)
Australia	Lack of recognition, work-life balance, job performance
Canada	Concerns about daily activities at work, Performance at work, Conflict of values/ethical climate in the company, Conflict/tension with manager at work
China	Concerns about daily activities at work, Lack of recognition, Lack of professional development
France	Lack of professional development, job performance, concerns about daily activities at work
Germany	Work-life balance, Job performance, Conflict/tension with manager at work, Concerns about daily activities at work
India	Conflict/tension with manager at work, Job performance, Work-life balance, Lack of professional development, Concerns about daily activities at work
Mexico	Job performance, Concerns about daily activities at work, Lack of recognition, Conflict/tension with manager at work
United Kingdom	Lack of recognition, work-life balance, worries about daily activities at work
USA	Work-life balance, Job performance, Conflict/tension with manager at work

The Value of Psychological Safety
With the global business environment constantly changing, leaders must create workplaces centered on psychological safety, the cornerstone of inclusive leadership. Teams that feel psychologically safe are more innovative, productive and resilient in the face of adversity.

“As part of an overall corporate wellness strategy on a global scale, it is important to develop a framework that allows cultures and practices to be considered and recognized at a local level,” said Mary Ellen Gornick, Founding Partner of WPO Consulting Group. “The study provides leaders with the information they need to develop inclusive cultures at the sites of their operations. But they should also keep in mind that there may be variations in how strategies should be implemented at the country level.”

The benefits of psychological safety include:
– Deeper employee engagement: Greater creativity, innovation and development of new products, services and solutions.
– Improved Team Performance: Open communication, collaboration and constructive feedback within teams.
– Increased Employee Engagement and Retention: Employees who are engaged, motivated and committed to their roles and the organization result in higher levels of satisfaction, lower turnover rates and greater retention of the best talent at work.
– Improved Problem Solving and Decision Making: Open dialogue and exploration of diverse points of view result in more effective processes for problem solving and decision making.
– Greater Employee Wellbeing: Creating a supportive environment where people feel valued, respected and cared for, resulting in lower levels of stress, anxiety, burnout and promoting holistic health and wellbeing.
– Reinforcement of Organizational Resilience: More prepared to deal with changes, uncertainties and adversities, employees feel empowered to adapt, innovate and collaborate, creating agility and resilience in the face of external pressures.
– Improved Customer Satisfaction: Employees who feel supported and empowered are more likely to engage with customers in a positive and empathetic way, and this increases the level of customer satisfaction and loyalty.

About the Data
Workplace symptoms show how stressors or uncomfortable working conditions manifest in an employee’s emotions, cognition, and attitudes toward work. Because employees contact WPO when they are under stress or need help, the company is in a unique position to observe the types of issues and challenges employees face in the workplace.

Individual employee details are confidential and are recorded in secure case notes to facilitate ongoing support. WPO also obtains data in more quantifiable formats and reports it in aggregate form (without compromising participant confidentiality) to help our client organizations understand employee needs and recognize potential risks at the organization and site level.

We limit our consideration to countries where the sample size – the number of cases with work-related problems and symptoms – is sufficient to cause statistically significant variations in the data.

SOBRE A WORKPLACE OPTIONS
Founded in 1982, Workplace Options (WPO) is the largest independent provider of holistic wellness solutions. Through personalized programs and a comprehensive global network of accredited providers and professionals, WPO supports individuals to become healthier, happier and more productive, both personally and professionally. Trusted by 56% of Fortune 500 companies, WPO delivers high-quality care digitally and in person to more than 79 million people across 116,000 organizations in more than 200 countries and territories.

Contact:
Bob Batchelor, Director, Public Relations and Publications
[email protected]

Jennifer Dart, Corporate Communications
[email protected]

Video of this announcement available at: