Recognizing Unsafe Work Environments
You now have a good understanding of what Psychological and Cultural Safety are. But what does it look like in your workplace? It is important to be able to recognize whether you work in culturally safe or unsafe environment in order to know how best to address it.
Think about the following questions:
- Are you familiar with the cultural backgrounds of your colleagues?
- Do you know which of your coworkers identify as Indigenous?
- Have you ever engaged in conversations about your own cultural background while at work?
If the answer to all these questions is no, you are probably working in a culturally unsafe environment.
Let’s learn more about the key elements for how you can recognize Cultural and Psychological Safety now.
Identifying Signs of Psychologically Unsafe Environment
In a workplace where Psychological Safety is lacking, you can spot several clear signs that affect both employees and the organization as a whole. In a psychologically unsafe workplace, several telltale signs become apparent, impacting both employees and the organization as a whole. Recognizing these indicators is crucial for creating an inclusive, engaging, and productive work environment.
These signs of a psychologically unsafe workplace highlight the importance of addressing Psychological Safety concerns to create a workplace where all employees feel respected, valued, and able to contribute their best. For Indigenous employees this especially means a focus on Cultural Safety rather than cultural insensitivity.
Cultural Safety vs. Cultural Insensitivity
Cultural insensitivity can manifest in various ways, and it’s essential to be aware of these signs to avoid causing offense or harm to others.
Review the following slides in order to learn more about instances of cultural insensitivity that may occur in the workplace.
The Role of Unconscious Bias
Any identity-based aspect (e.g., age, gender identity, socioeconomic background, etc.) can be the target of unconscious bias.
Brain Categorization
Humans have a natural tendency to assign everything into a relevant category. This happens unconsciously, but this categorizing also leads us to assign a positive or negative association to each category. Categories allow our brains to know what to do or how to behave, but classifications often cause us to overgeneralize. We often rely on “automatic” information processing to go through our day, involving little conscious thought. These mental shortcuts allow us to exert little mental effort in our everyday lives and make swift judgments when needed. Our upbringing and social environment, as well as any direct and indirect experiences with members of various social groups, imprint on us. These shape our perceptions, both consciously and subconsciously.
Unconscious biases can lead to discriminatory behaviour in the workplace, educational settings, and beyond. It is important for individuals and organizations to recognize the existence of unconscious biases and take steps to mitigate their impact. This can include increasing awareness of unconscious biases through training programs and workshops, using objective criteria in decision-making processes, and promoting diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.
Here are some examples of the unconscious biases that could lead to a psychologically and culturally unsafe environment in the workplace:
All of these elements can lead to unconscious or conscious bias being expressed in the workplace. Things such as this can lead a workplace to feel less safe for employees, therefore leading to a culturally and psychologically unsafe environment.
