* First published in The HR Director, September 2024
Unmasking Toxicity: Cultivating Psychological Safety in the Workplace
Is your workplace truly a safe environment, or is it silently suffering from a toxic culture?
Recent studies* reveal that a staggering 75% of UK employees admit they have experienced a toxic workplace culture. Despite these concerns, definitions of toxic culture often remain ambiguous, focusing narrowly on conflict and negative environments.
In this article, we delve into the complexities of organizational culture through the lens of the PSI Culture Framework, the Hierarchy of Psychological Safety and the 5 Pillars of Psychological Safety.
These frameworks provide a comprehensive guide to understanding and improving workplace cultures, emphasizing the importance of psychological safety.
PSI Culture Framework
Organisations often struggle to address toxic culture because they mistakenly view culture as solely an organisational-level issue. They fail to recognise that culture exists across multiple levels within an organisation.
The PSI Culture Framework identifies five levels of culture within an organization and incorporates six Dimensions, along with key components known as Highlights, each crucial for cultivating a psychologically safe environment.
This structured approach helps diagnose and address issues at the appropriate level, ensuring a more holistic and effective strategy for improving workplace culture.
Culture Levels
The first level, Personal Culture, focuses on the beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviors of individual employees. It emphasizes personal accountability and responsibility, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, coping mechanisms, individual work ethics and motivation. The impact of this level is seen in personal motivation, accountability and stress management.
Next, 1-2-1 Culture concerns direct interactions between two individuals, such as manager-employee or peer-to-peer relationships. This level includes communication styles and skills, trust and respect, feedback mechanisms, conflict resolution and mentorship. It impacts the quality of relationships, job satisfaction and personal development.
Moving to the team level, Team Culture addresses the dynamics and interactions within a team. It focuses on team cohesion and trust, role clarity and responsibilities, group norms and values, conflict resolution within the team, shared goals and collaboration. Inclusivity and diversity are also critical components. This level significantly impacts team performance, collaboration, innovation and trust.
The fourth level, Collaboration Culture, highlights how different teams, departments or groups within the organization interact and collaborate. It covers inter-departmental relations and cooperation, information sharing and transparency, joint problem-solving, innovation and tools and processes that facilitate collaboration. Shared goals across departments are also crucial. This level influences efficiency, problem-solving and overall productivity.
Finally, Organization Culture encompasses the overall culture of the organization, driven by its policies, leadership and overarching values. It includes leadership style and management practices, organizational policies and procedures, reward systems and recognition, communication, decision-making processes, ethical standards and support systems. This level impacts employee engagement, organizational effectiveness and ethical behavior.
Understanding that the Culture Levels are interrelated is crucial; changes or issues at one level can influence the others.
For example, consider two colleagues in the same team who have a toxic relationship characterized by constant conflict, gossiping and undermining each other’s work. This toxic interaction (1-2-1 Culture) takes a toll on their mental and emotional well-being (Personal Culture), causing stress, anxiety and decreased job satisfaction. The hostile work environment they create affects the entire team’s dynamics (Team Culture), making team members feel tense and on edge, leading to decreased morale and productivity.
Conversely, cultivating a positive Personal Culture can enhance 1-2-1 relationships and team dynamics, ultimately improving the overall organizational culture.
By examining these different levels of culture and their interdependencies, organizations can better diagnose and address issues within their workplace culture, ensuring a more comprehensive and effective strategy for cultivating a psychologically safe and healthy environment.
Culture Dimensions
After understanding the different levels of culture within an organization, it’s essential to examine the six Culture Dimensions and their respective Highlights, which are key components within the PSI Culture Framework that impact the overall workplace culture.
- Individual Dynamics
Individual Dynamics focus on personal attributes and behaviors that contribute to a toxic culture. Key components include negative thoughts, beliefs and attitudes, as well as negative behaviors. Emotional regulation, trigger awareness and conditioning from past experiences play a significant role. Additionally, self-awareness, emotional intelligence and authenticity are crucial for personal responsibility and conflict management skills. Effective coping mechanisms, values alignment, professional development opportunities, strong work ethics and motivation are also vital elements in this dimension.
- Inter-Personal Dynamics
Inter-Personal Dynamics emphasize the interactions and dynamics between individuals, particularly between managers and employees or peers. Key Highlights in this dimension include addressing bullying and harassment, improving ineffective communication (covering basic communication skills, language, methods and clarity) and managing expectations. Overcoming obstacles such as state of mind, noise and filters, enhancing listening skills and ensuring presence in conversations are essential. Developing robust conversation skills (such as assertiveness, handling interruptions, disagreeing, managing conflict, addressing microaggressions, challenging ideas and avoiding misunderstandings and miscommunications) is critical. Building and maintaining trust is a fundamental aspect of this dimension.
- Team Dynamics
Team Dynamics revolve around group interactions and dynamics within teams. Important Highlights include navigating personalities and dynamics, addressing negative social dynamics (such as cliques, exclusive behaviors and lack of collaboration) and managing preferences and boundaries. Ensuring a sense of belonging and managing role overlap are also crucial for cultivating a healthy team environment.
- Cross-Functional Dynamics
Cross-Functional Dynamics address how different parts of the organization work together and share information. Key components include setting clear goals, ensuring role clarity, creating safe spaces and facilitating decision-making and active participation. Encouraging feedback, encouraging creativity and improving inter-departmental relations are essential. Effective information sharing and utilizing tools and processes to facilitate collaboration are also important in this dimension.
- Workload Dynamics
Workload Dynamics focus on the demands placed on employees and their capacity to manage their work. Key components include managing workload, providing control over tasks and avoiding micromanagement. Ensuring reasonable work hours, setting realistic expectations and reducing high pressure are vital for a healthy workload dynamic. Providing adequate resources, maintaining work-life balance and ensuring fair task distribution are essential. Support systems, such as employee assistance programs, realistic deadlines and effective time management, are also critical for managing workload dynamics.
- Operational Dynamics
Operational Dynamics relate to how the organisation is structured and managed. Key Highlights include promoting equity, establishing clear policies and procedures and implementing effective leadership practices. Providing adequate support, avoiding a blame culture and recognising and rewarding achievements are essential for a positive operational environment. Transparent organisational communication and decision making, effective performance management, workplace safety and providing training and development opportunities are crucial. Additionally, addressing inadequate opportunities, established cultural norms, maintaining ethical standards and managing change effectively are important aspects of this dimension.
Where Toxicity Begins
Toxicity can manifest in various ways, such as through harmful behaviors, attitudes or dynamics that compromise the well-being and functioning of individuals or the organization as a whole.
When one of the Culture Levels, Dimensions or Highlights become toxic, it can create a psychologically unsafe environment, situation, team and organization, as well as causing physical or social risks.
The Hierarchy of Psychological Safety
The PSI Culture Framework serves as a practical tool for implementing the principles outlined in the Hierarchy of Psychological Safety, guiding organizations through the process of cultivating a psychologically safe environment.
The Hierarchy of Psychological Safety provides a structured roadmap that outlines the levels of responsibility organizations have in cultivating psychological safety.
Understanding the Hierarchy of Psychological Safety
The Hierarchy maps out organizational responsibilities, embracing both internal and global dimensions. There are eight levels of responsibility. The first five levels delve into internal dimensions, while the final three levels transcend organizational boundaries.
Level 1 is Individual Safety. This level focuses on establishing a foundational level of psychological safety at the individual level, promoting authenticity, resilience and personal responsibility.
Advancing to Level 2, we experience Interpersonal Safety. This level concentrates on nurturing psychological safety in one-on-one interactions, placing a strong emphasis on effective communication and interpersonal skills.
Level 3 introduces us to Team Dynamics Safety. Here, the primary focus is on cultivating a psychologically safe team environment, where everyone in the team can thrive.
Moving on to Level 4, we arrive at Collaboration Safety. At this level, the spotlight is on creating an environment conducive to innovation and collaboration.
Level 5 is dedicated to Organizational Safety. This level broadens the scope of psychological safety to the organizational level, underscoring an unwavering commitment to cultivate a safe and inclusive workplace culture for all employees.
Transitioning into the external dimensions, Level 6 is External Relations Safety. Here, the focus shifts to extending and influencing psychological safety standards in external collaborations. This involves cultivating robust and thriving relationships with clients, stakeholders and partner organizations.
Level 7, Community Safety, shifts the focus towards elevating psychological safety to positively impact the wider community. This level places a significant emphasis on proactively collaborating with the community through various initiatives, extending organizational commitment beyond boundaries.
Finally at Level 8, Industry and Global Safety, the perspective expands to a global scale. Here, the emphasis is on elevating psychological safety to exert a positive influence on industry dynamics and global contexts. This level is dedicated to challenging and transforming industry and global workplace attitudes, actively working to dismantle outdated practices. The ultimate objective is to establish a global landscape of workplaces and industries that prioritize and cultivate psychological safety.
A Common Mistake Organizations Make
In the Hierarchy, genuine inclusion is located at Level 5, Organizational Safety, where psychological safety permeates the entire organization. This is often seen as a pivotal stage where an inclusive culture may be more fully realized.
Unfortunately, many organizations tend to concentrate solely on Level 5 with their inclusion initiatives, disregarding the foundational Levels 1–4. This neglect results in significant challenges for individuals and teams, ultimately hindering the progress and success of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives.
Feeling safe at work is a fundamental right for everyone. When this sense of safety enables you to express your Authentic Self, you thrive – which leads to increased happiness, well-being, inspiration, connection, engagement and empowerment. These factors contribute to the development of high-performing teams and a genuine sense of belonging.
Psychological safety underpins both an inclusive culture and an environment where employees genuinely belong, playing a pivotal role in the success of EDI efforts.
Therefore, it is essential that you focus your attention on levels 1-4 in the Hierarchy of Psychological Safety, before you begin your Inclusion initiatives. This will create an environment where individuals and teams can thrive.
Practical Application of the Frameworks
The 5 Pillars of Psychological Safety integrate seamlessly with the PSI Culture Framework and the Hierarchy of Psychological Safety. They provide a practical framework for applying the principles outlined in the Hierarchy and PSI Culture Framework and cultivate psychological safety across all the different levels.
The 5 Pillars of Psychological Safety
Pillar 1 is Self and focuses on empowering individuals to thrive in the workplace by cultivating intrapersonal awareness. This lays the groundwork for individuals to bring their Authentic Self to work. If you don’t feel safe to be your Authentic Self at work, your workplace isn’t psychologically safe. The methodology for Pillar 1 is the Authentic Self Process.
Pillar 2 is Social and focuses on mastering the intricate art of workplace communication. Building upon the transformative foundation laid by Pillar 1, Pillar 2 is exclusively dedicated to honing your communication skills. The methodology for Pillar 2 is the Communication Cycle.
Pillar 3 is Collaboration and is dedicated to the art of cultivating a work environment where teams can truly thrive. Building upon the foundation laid by Pillar 2, it places a strong emphasis on empowering teams to intentionally design their work environment to facilitate collaboration. The CollabZen Methodology is the driving force behind Pillar 3.
Pillar 4 is Curiosity and is dedicated to igniting a culture of innovation and curiosity within your organization. It places significant emphasis on the power of reflective practice, feedback and the pursuit of learning and development. Curiosity Sessions form the foundation of Pillar 4, providing structured opportunities for reflective practice and refining approaches, thereby enhancing collaboration and effectiveness.
Pillar 5 is Creativity. It offers a unique perspective on generating solutions to drive growth and success within your organization. This Pillar places significant emphasis on problem-solving and creative thinking, key drivers of innovation, engagement and profitability. Creativity Workshops form the foundation of Pillar 5, providing structured opportunities to hone your problem-solving skills and develop creative thinking. These workshops are designed to empower both individuals and teams to navigate challenges effectively.
Next Steps
As you navigate the complexities of workplace culture, it is essential to recognize that addressing toxicity requires a multi-dimensional approach.
By integrating the frameworks and Pillars discussed, organizations can embark on a transformative journey towards creating environments where psychological safety is not just a goal but is embedded in every interaction, every situation, every detail. This commitment not only enhances individual well-being and team performance but also ensures organizational resilience and success in an increasingly dynamic world.
By prioritizing psychological safety and leveraging these frameworks, organizations can unmask toxicity, drive a transformative shift in workplace culture and cultivate a dynamic work environment where individuals and teams thrive.
* https://www.oak.com/media/v1wp24tf/toxic-workplace-report-final-cleaned.pdf