Addressing Psychologically Unsafe Situations

Conflicts and psychologically unsafe behaviours can and often do happen in our workplaces. It isn’t easy to intervene in a respectful way when we see behaviour that we consider psychologically unsafe. We may feel uncomfortable intervening, or we may believe we don’t have the authority to do so. We might also fear the consequences of speaking up, particularly if the person exhibiting the behaviour has more power or rank than we do.  

However, turning a blind eye to these issues can lead to friction within the workplace, complaints of bullying and/or harassment, and higher levels of stress for the whole work team.  

Learn about two different techniques you can apply in challenging situations like these:   

Supporting psychologically safe interactions is a technique that can be used to foster interaction and communication that doesn’t harm others. The goal of this approach is to have each person consider their role in encouraging or discouraging psychologically unsafe behaviour, and work towards finding ways for everyone to work together professionally and safely. This requires taking an objective and honest look at our own behaviours, and how others’ behaviours impact us.  

When meeting with the parties in conflict, consider asking questions that help both parties understand the difference between what they intended and how it was perceived, and to understand and re-examine the validity of the assumptions they made. Offer constructive suggestions, focus on roles and actions rather than individuals, and help create a safe space for all to contribute. 

When we have psychologically safe interactions in our workplaces, we can reduce stress and support employees to:  

Learn more about this technique here: 

The ACT Matrix asks individuals and teams the following question: “Are our actions moving us towards values and people, like colleagues and co-workers, that are important to us? Or are they moving us away from them?” It focuses on having a shared purpose or values and encourages reflection on how members of a team are moving toward or away from this shared purpose during challenging interactions.  

Using the ACT Matrix to guide your discussion can help individuals establish common goals, and work together on ways to move toward them. This approach can help build psychological safety by providing a way to communicate respectfully about difficult topics. 

Learn more about this technique here: