Building Psychological Safety in the Workplace

Writer Annie Dillard said, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

Many of us spend a large portion of our day at work.  In fact, the average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime. It is safe to say that your job greatly impacts your quality of life.  In this two-day session, we talk about the role of the internal narrative that accompanies the workloads, relationships, and challenges faced within the work environment.  The session includes interactive activities, research on psychological safety, and a toolkit full of activities and assessments that you can use to move from existing to thriving at work.

“Know” Knowledge & Understanding

• Understand the concept of psychological safety and its evidence-based links to team performance, innovation, and staff well-being.
• Identify the four dimensions of psychological safety and their application in workplace.
• Recognize how power dynamics, hierarchy, and past trauma can influence perceptions of safety and communication in the workplace.
• Understand the neuroscience of threat and belonging, and how stress and fear impact openness, creativity, and engagement.

“Do” Apply Skills & Practice

• Apply psychological safety principles to strengthen trust and collaboration within teams and between departments.
• Engage with communication strategies that model transparency, empathy, and curiosity during feedback or conflict.
• Develop practical action plans to embed psychologically safe practices into meetings, supervision, and daily interactions.

“Be” Professional Growth & Transformation

• Embody a mindset rooted in humility, curiosity, and accountability.
• Commit to shared responsibility for safety, understanding that trust and inclusion are ongoing practices, not static outcomes.
• Cultivate self-awareness and emotional regulation to remain grounded and open when facing tension or feedback.
• Contribute to workplaces that model dignity, equity, and respect, enhancing well-being.