This article is sponsored content brought to you by Dental Protection.
In difficult times, we look for ways to better manage ourselves and our staff. Considering the psychosocial safety climate of our practice is one helpful strategy that is often overlooked. Dr Annalene Weston, Senior Dentolegal Consultant at Dental Protection, provides an overview.
When considering a new or unfamiliar concept, it’s helpful to start with a definition: “Psychosocial safety is the belief that you will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns and mistakes.”
When contextualised as a workplace climate or culture, it’s easy to understand that psychosocial safety could be an important workplace value. How important it is, or why, may however be overlooked in favour of seemingly ‘bigger-ticket’ items.
Why is it important?
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a well-recognised concept which highlights that basic human needs must first be met for people to achieve all that they are capable of.
If we don’t feel safe in our workplace, for fear of ridicule or humiliation, or feel we have no voice, how can we feel secure at work? Naturally any feeling of discomfort would be compounded if we didn’t work in an environment with a no-blame culture, and mistakes weren’t forgiven but rather blame is apportioned between parties, appropriately or otherwise. Why would you ever speak up if this was the reality of your workplace?
Alarmingly, if considered through to its natural end point, placing a barrier based in fear in front of a clinician or support staff will prohibit them from speaking up if there is a problem, or admitting an error. Errors in healthcare cost lives, and one thing we can be sure of is that we all make mistakes – we are only human.
How do I make my psychosocial climate safe?
There are several strategies that you could consider implementing to improve the psychosocial safety of your workplace. Not only would this meet the basic psychosocial needs of your team and enable them to be the best version of themselves, but it would serve to increase the likelihood that your colleagues and staff will raise their issues and concerns. Some simple strategies to implement are described below.
As a leader, you could consider encouraging a no-blame culture, where errors are seen as opportunities to learn rather than blame or label those who admit to their mistakes. A no-blame culture increases the likelihood of errors being reported and decreases the likelihood these errors will be repeated, therefore improving patient safety and outcomes.
Another helpful strategy is to ‘ask’ rather than ‘tell’, and really listen to people’s responses. Don’t make assumptions about how or why your staff or colleagues feel the way they do. Be curious, not furious, if their beliefs differ from your own. You may even learn something. Importantly, the act of listening without judgement will encourage people to voice their concerns, empowering a happier and safer practice.
Embrace a culture of mutual respect and civility, where differing viewpoints can be courteously discussed. Increased civility in the workplace serves to develop psychosocial safety and reduces the likelihood of bullying.
Finally, consider sharing your failures as opportunities to learn. Many are delighted to spruik their prowess, and engender the image that they are infallible, but the reality is that we learn more from our mistakes than we ever will from our successes. If we are open about our failures, not only do we entrench a culture where mistakes can be discussed without fear, but we also provide learning for all, reducing the likelihood those mistakes will be repeated.
