【English Composition Practice Book】Effects of Psychological Safety
Psychological safety has a variety of positive effects.
We will introduce the two main benefits of psychological safety, one for the company and the other for its employees.
When psychological safety is ensured, members will be able to act proactively without feeling anxious, and they will naturally cooperate with each other.
Since they will be able to work as themselves, each individual's thoughts and visions will become clearer.
In addition, increased communication will lead to new ideas and constructive discussions.
As a result, it will be easier for the members themselves to demonstrate their strengths, leading to higher productivity.
It will also make work more rewarding and reduce the risk of resignation of talented members.
Since “Ho, Ren, Sou” will be practiced as a matter of course, management will be able to accurately recognize issues faced by individuals and the company and take action as soon as possible.
1.effects on the company
■Effects of psychological safety on members
When psychological safety is ensured, each member will not be subjected to unnecessary stress and will feel more fulfilled in their work.
As a result, it can be expected to improve “quality of life (QOL),” in which job satisfaction is one of the important factors, and as a part of “mental health care” for members.
In addition, the creation of a relaxed mindset will enable people to work cooperatively with team members, leading to improved individual and team performance.
As a result, employees will be able to develop a positive vision for the future, such as “I want to work for this company forever,” a spirit of loyalty and attachment to the people they work with, and “I want to be in charge of this kind of work at this company in the future.
2.benefits for members
■Points to keep in mind when enhancing psychological safety
Psychological safety is said to have a variety of benefits for companies and working members, but the following two points should be noted when trying to increase psychological safety.
(1) Don't make the relationship just about getting along.
By increasing psychological safety, members will be able to work in a relaxed state and actively communicate with each other.
While this in itself is desirable for the company and the team, it can have the opposite effect and reduce productivity.
Some members who lack motivation and responsibility for their work may view a low-stress environment as a place where they can have it easy, rather than as a place where they can maximize their abilities.
Care must be taken to avoid becoming “just getting along.”
Therefore, by giving each person responsibilities and goals, and by having supervisors interview and follow up with their subordinates at appropriate times, you can build a team that is relaxed but still striving to achieve its goals.
(2) Remember your role as a supervisor.
Some supervisors may think that it is better not to give any attention or instructions to their subordinates, thinking that they should “avoid putting pressure on them” in order to increase psychological safety.
In reality, however, if you do not give your subordinates any attention or instruction, not only will they not be able to exercise their individual abilities, they will not be able to move forward in the right direction, and their productivity will decline, even if psychological safety is increased.
This is not the way to fulfill your role as a supervisor. In order to maximize the abilities of your subordinates, we recommend that you provide appropriate support as a supervisor while at the same time being conscious of creating an environment that respects your subordinates and makes it easy for them to express their opinions.
3.how to measure psychological safety? Basic Concept
To measure psychological safety, it is necessary to ascertain how each member perceives the current situation of the team.
Conduct a survey from two perspectives, “How do I myself feel about the team?” and “How are the team members doing?” to check whether psychological safety is ensured.
By conducting such a survey not only once, but several times on a regular basis, you can ascertain the level (state) of psychological safety of the team.
Questions to measure psychological safety
The following seven questions proposed by Amy Edmondson, an organizational behaviorist, are well known as a method for measuring psychological safety.
Question 1: “When I make a mistake in a team, I am usually blamed.
Question 2: “Team members can point out challenges and difficult problems to each other.”
Question 3: “Team members sometimes reject others because they are different from themselves.
Question 4: “It is safe to take risky actions against the team.
Question 5): “It is difficult to ask for help from other members of the team.”
Question 6): “None of the team members intentionally undermine the work of others.
Question 7): “When I work with team members, I feel that my skills and talents are respected and utilized.
If there are many positive responses to these questions, the team can be judged as “a team with high psychological safety,” while if there are many negative responses, the team can be judged as “a team with low psychological safety.
In addition, as part of an organizational survey to measure understanding of the company's vision, human relations issues, etc., there is another method of conducting questionnaires and interviews on items related to psychological safety, such as “whether opinions can be exchanged without stress” and “whether members are cooperating with each other.
【参考図書】
「日本人のための英作文練習帳」酒井文秀(著)GregoryAlanDick(英文監修)
「[必修編] 英作文のトレーニング」Z会編集部(編)
「自由英作文編 英作文のトレーニング 改訂版」成田あゆみ(著)
「実戦編 英作文のトレーニング 改訂版」Z会編集部(編)
「[はじめる編] 英作文のトレーニング 新装版」渡辺寿郎(著)
