11.4 Case Study: Runners Relay Ltd.
Now that we understand the importance of providing psychological safety to employees in conflict, let’s utilize script writing and role-playing to resolve a workplace conflict at Runners Relay.
The Scenario: A Psychological Safety Approach
The Company:
Runners Relay Ltd.The People:
Anna Suarez (She/Her): Human Resources Manager
Jamal Greene (He/Him): Production Associate Afternoon Shift
Steven Thomas (He/Him): Production Associate Afternoon Shift
Alejandro Rodriguez (He/Him): Afternoon Shift Supervisor
The Scenario:
Jamal and Steven work on the afternoon shift at Runners Relay. They often sit together on their lunch break and talk about their love of sports. Recently, while eating their lunch, their conversation turned to the missing tools at their workstations. When Jamal and Steven arrive at work, screwdrivers and mallets are missing from their workstations. They use these tools to make minor adjustments to the equipment in their area.
During their afternoon shift, Jamal and Steven sign out replacement tools for their workstations. When they leave work every evening, their workstations are fully equipped, yet when they return the next day, they are missing tools. This is becoming frustrating.
Jamal and Steven suspect one of the day shift employees, Svetlana, might be responsible for the missing tools. Every day, Svetlana is the last person to leave the area at the end of the day shift, and she carries a massive knapsack with her. Jamal and Steven discuss this concern with their afternoon shift supervisor, Alejandro.
Employee Observations:
“It seems odd that Svetlana always has enough money to take such elaborate holidays every summer. Where is she getting the money from?”
“What does Svetlana carry in her knapsack anyway? She can barely lift it. It’s like she is carrying a load of bricks.”
The First Conversation:
Jamal and Steven noticed that Alejandro was working in his office, so this might be the best time to talk to him about the missing tools.
Jamal: (knocking on Alejandro’s door) Would you have a moment to speak with Steven and me?
Alejandro: Sure, come on in and take a seat.
Steven: Thanks, Alejandro. We wanted to discuss the missing tools in our work area.
Alejandro: Missing tools? What are the missing tools?
Jamal: At the beginning of every shift, Steven and I notice tools like the mallet and screwdrivers are missing. We replenish the tools during our shift, and the next day, they are missing.
Alejandro: This is ridiculous. At tomorrow’s shift meeting, I want the two of you to bring this up in front of the day shift and afternoon shift employees, and I will watch their faces to see how they react.
Steven: What? No way, we aren’t bringing this up. We have come to you confidentially. You are the supervisor.
Alejandro: There is no better way to solve this mystery than for the two of you to share this information in front of the entire team. Who do you think is taking to tools?
Jamal: Well, Steven and I have noticed that Svetlana hangs around at the end of the day shift, and she always takes a knapsack, so we wondered if she might be the one taking the tools.
Alejandro: Interesting. Svetlana is in the front office right now, completing her WHMIS training. Just give her one moment.
Alejandro: (announcing over the loudspeaker) “Svetlana to the supervisor’s office. Svetlana to the supervisor’s office.”
Steven: What are you doing? We don’t want to meet with Svetlana. We brought this to you. We hope you can investigate this and keep our names out of it. Don’t mention our names!
Jamal: Ya, we thought this would be confidential. You are calling us out in front of everyone. We will never bring a concern to you again. This is unbelievable.
Steven: Come on, Jamal. We need to get out of here before Svetlana arrives.
Jamal and Steven quickly leave Alejandro’s office and head to the cafeteria until all this is over.
The Exercise:
Next Steps
Jamal and Steven meet with Anna in the Human Resources department as they feel very nervous. They tell Anna about the missing tools, their suspicion of Svetlana, and the horrible meeting they had with Alejandro. They let Anna know that they are pretty sure Alejandro is going to tell Svetlana they think she is stealing tools, but there hasn’t even been an investigation yet.
Jamal and Steven are distraught and don’t want to bring this issue up in the next shift meeting. They are both fearful of the repercussions of their meeting with Alejandro. Anna lets Jamal and Steven know there will be no repercussions. She will speak to Alejandro immediately, and she may have questions for both of them as they launch an investigation into the missing tools. Jamal and Steven agreed they would be happy to make an official statement in the inquiry.
Anna heads to Alejandro’s office immediately to speak with him before Svetlana finishes her training.
Coaching Notes:
Anna explains to Alejandro that part of his job is to ensure the psychological safety of his team members. Alejandro realizes he didn’t do an excellent job in his conversation with Jamal and Steven. Anna reviews the following psychological safety information with Alejandro and asks him to meet with Jamal and Steven to rectify the current situation.
- Psychological safety is a basic need every organization needs to provide to all employees.
- To ensure psychological safety, people leaders need to ensure employees feel safe coming forward to speak with the direct managers.
- To feel safe, employees need to trust their leaders will keep information confidential unless they have to make a statement in a formal workplace investigation.
- Confidentiality is paramount, meaning information isn’t shared with anyone who isn’t directly involved. For example, information may need to be shared with Human Resources but not with co-workers.
- There cannot be a fear of embarrassment or a breach of confidentiality.
- Employees can’t worry about repercussions as a result of making their comments.
- When employees feel a sense of psychological safety, they are more likely to report workplace incidents or concerns.
- When an organization has a culture of psychological safety, employees bring forward ideas, concerns and complaints, knowing it is safe to do so.
The Recommended Conversation:
Having met with Anna for a coaching session and understanding the importance of providing his team with psychological safety, Alejandro immediately meets with Jamal and Steven. Let’s see if Alejandro fully understands psychological safety in his meeting with Jamal and Steven.Alejandro: Jamal, would you and Steven please come to my office?
Jamal: Okay, let me find Steven, and we will stop by.
Alejandro: Perfect. Thanks, Jamal.
Steven: (knocks on Alejandro’s office door) Did you want to see us?
Alejandro: Yes, here is a chair for both of you. Take a seat.
Jamal: Are we in trouble for the conversation we had with you earlier?
Alejandro: Uh no, not at all. That is why I want to meet with both of you right now. You came to me in privacy, and I didn’t handle the situation very well.
Steven: I couldn’t believe you paged Svetlana and asked her to join us in your office. I wanted to crawl under the desk. I was so embarrassed.
Alejandro: Anna intervened, so I haven’t spoken with Svetlana yet.
Jamal: Thank goodness. I didn’t want to talk to Svetlana. Steven and I wanted you to look into the missing tools. We also didn’t want to speak in front of everyone at the staff meeting.
Alejandro: No, I won’t ask you to speak to Svetlana or in front of the other team members. I will work with Anna to investigate these missing tools, as this amounts to a large financial loss.
Steven: I am glad to hear you are investigating the missing tools. I don’t want anyone to think Jamal or I have anything to do with it, and I don’t want to get into trouble and lose my job.
Alejandro: Neither of you is in trouble for sharing this information. In fact, we encourage our employees to express concerns, and I want to assure you that I will keep this confidential, with the exception of Anna in Human Resources.
Jamal: Thank you for protecting us, Alejandro. We appreciate it!
The Exercise:
