Bullying in the workplace remains shockingly common, yet often overlooked. Dr. Britt Andreatta explains why psychological safety is essential for healthy, high-performing teams, and what leaders must do to create it. From team bonding to humility, the future of work depends on cultures where everyone feels seen, safe, and heard.
When most people think about bullying, they think of a childhood bully at school or anonymous cyberbullying that is rampant online. Many don’t realise that it’s also a big issue in today’s workplaces, affecting nearly 75 million US workers. A recent study shows that 32% of adult Americans report being directly bullied at work and an additional 14% witness it, which means nearly half of all employees (46%) are affected.
The Workplace Bullying Institute defines workplace bullying as abusive conduct that is characterised by regular repetition, ongoing duration, and escalation with increasing aggression. It includes “work sabotage, verbal abuse, and conduct that is threatening, intimidating, or humiliating.” Workplace bullying destroys psychological safety, a cornerstone of high performing teams and organizations.
When employees feel psychologically safe, they’re empowered to innovate
Harvard Business School Professor Amy Edmondson coined the term ‘psychological safety’ to describe work environments where candour is expected and where employees can speak up without fear of retribution. When employees feel psychologically safe, they’re empowered to innovate by taking risks, and they actively learn from mistakes, leading to better team performance.
Managers no longer have the option of leading through fear
When training team leaders and managers I emphasise that the ability to create psychological safety is the most important skill they need, yet most people don’t even know what it is, let alone how to create it. Most organisations are not measuring teams or their leaders for their efforts in this area, but they should.
It’s important to note that psychological safety is not about being universally liked by others or protected from opinions or beliefs that you find uncomfortable. Dr. Edmondson defines it as, “a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes, and that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.” In other words, the group won’t penalise someone for speaking up. They might still disagree with what others say, but a healthy team welcomes the input and feedback because it might just be the game changer for success.
Psychological safety is respecting and trusting people at work, which is about finding value in their contributions and being able to count on them because they are reliable.
Amy Edmondson and Harvard doctoral researcher Derrick P. Bransby have reviewed contemporary psychological safety research and identified what leaders can do to cultivate psychological safety among their employees. When properly understood, focusing on these four areas can boost team performance and work culture across industries:
Team bonding
It’s hard to be effective without knowledge-sharing, teamwork, and shared decision-making. These require an element of interpersonal ease. It’s important to have those casual moments to get to know each other. This happens naturally when people work onsite but can be lost with remote workers if not intentionally created. The payoff? People who feel psychologically safer work better in teams because they can share information and be transparent. And the very act of just doing the work together becomes a feedback loop that can bond a team and help create the conditions for psychological safety.
Normalise learning from mistakes
This is crucial for psychological safety and must replace outdated “shame and blame” approaches. It can be as simple as organising a team meeting to understand why something went wrong and gleaning lessons for next time. Leaders play a vital role in setting the right tone and intention. But studies show that organizations that learn enjoy many positive outcomes in performance, productivity, innovation, and employee engagement.
Ensure employees feel seen
Successful work processes are driven by engaged workers. The employee experience is having a pivotal moment. It used to be: How do we get the work done? But nowadays, there’s just as much interest in: How are people doing? Research shows that psychological safety is greater when people feel authentically seen. And Gallup’s recent research and focus on employee well-being clearly demonstrates that positive work cultures drive greater performance.
Lead with humility and openness
Psychologically safe leaders consistently demonstrate key behaviour. First, they acknowledge that they don’t have all the answers and actively rely on their team’s expertise and experience. They make clear that they value others’ voices and proactively invite others into the conversation. Good leaders don’t get angry if the response isn’t what they want to hear but rather appreciate the courage it took to speak up. And finally, they model that learning from our experiences is the path to improvements and mastery.
Together, we must all take responsibility for creating workplaces that not only have zero tolerance for bullying and harassment, but that create the environment for us all to do our best work.
Dr. Britt Andreatta is CEO of Brain Aware Training
