Introduction to Psychological Safety
Stories
Scenario #1:
At a nonprofit organization focused on diversity and inclusion, an Indigenous employee was excluded from decision-making discussions around programming for Indigenous communities. Instead, non-Indigenous staff were placed in charge of planning. The Indigenous employee felt their knowledge and lived experience were undervalued, which created a lack of Psychological Safety and a sense that their expertise as an Indigenous person was not respected.
Scenario #2:
In a corporate setting, an Indigenous woman who proudly wore her traditional ribbon skirt to work on a culturally significant day was told by her manager that it did not conform to the office’s formal dress code. Instead of celebrating her cultural expression, the workplace enforced conformity to Western norms, stripping away her sense of pride and self-expression. This policy not only restricted her from honouring her culture but also demonstrated a broader lack of understanding and accommodation for diverse identities in the workplace.
Have you ever thought about what it means to be safe in your workplace? What does having a safe workplace even truly mean, and how can you create one?
As you can see, there are many different types of safety in the workplace. Some of these types of safety are more obvious than others, but they all contribute to creating a safe work environment.
In this module, we will learn about the importance of Psychological Safety in the workplace. Specifically, our main focus will be on an element of Psychological Safety which is called Cultural Safety and thinking about how this affects Indigenous employees.
We will explore how we can together create an environment where every team member feels supported, valued, and empowered to be themselves while contributing to the organization’s success.
Learning Goals
By the end of this lesson, I will be able to:
- Define Psychological and Cultural Safety in the workplace, emphasizing their significance.
