Psychological Safety and Social Work Environment: What's the Difference – and Why Does It Matter?
Psychological Safety and/or Social Work Environment
Psychological Safety and Social Work Environment: What’s the Difference – and Why Does It Matter?
Psychological safety and the social work environment. Two concepts often mentioned together – but are they the same? The answer is no. While both are critical for successful organizations, they serve different purposes and require distinct approaches. Let’s break down their differences and why understanding them is key to creating sustainable and high-performing workplaces.
Psychological Safety: The Key to Team Effectiveness
Amy Edmondson’s research has put psychological safety on the map – and for good reason. It’s about creating a workplace where team members feel safe to take risks, share ideas, and admit mistakes without fear of negative consequences. This is essential for innovation, learning, and high-performing teams.
When psychological safety is present, teams make decisions faster, solve problems more effectively, and collaborate better. It’s about team dynamics – how individuals interact – rather than individual feelings of comfort or stress.
Social Work Environment: The Foundation for Well-Being
The social work environment is a broader concept that encompasses work-related factors affecting employees’ mental health and well-being. These include workload, leadership, workplace relationships, and work-life balance. A healthy social work environment reduces the risk of stress, burnout, and absenteeism.
In other words, the social work environment focuses on well-being and health, while psychological safety centers on a team’s ability to perform and grow.
Where the Concepts Meet – and Clash
Despite their differences, there is overlap. A team might have a positive social work environment but lack psychological safety. This means employees feel comfortable but still avoid challenging ideas or questioning decisions – stifling creativity and growth.
Conversely, a team might experience high psychological safety despite a less-than-ideal social work environment. Team members may feel safe sharing their thoughts even in high-stress situations.
Why It’s Important to Distinguish Between the Two
To build successful and sustainable workplaces, it’s crucial to understand that psychological safety and the social work environment are not the same. They serve different purposes and require different approaches. It’s worth noting that organizations are (according to Swedish law) legally required to work systematically with the social work environment, while creating psychological safety in teams is entirely optional.
However, it’s now clear that those who fail to recognize how psychological safety drives team effectiveness risk falling behind. It may not be a legal requirement, but it’s essential to stay ahead in a competitive landscape.
Read more : Psychological Safety – no darn cuddle fest!
Eva Lindvik
Dela inlägget
Achieve Maximum Success Through a Focus on Safety, Equity, and Power
Achieve Maximum Success Through a Focus on Safety, Equity, and Power
Somewhere during the pandemic, the concept of psychological safety truly started to gain traction in organizations. It became a gateway to areas previously referred to as equality, diversity, inclusion, and belonging. For someone like me, who has worked tirelessly in these fields for years, it was remarkable to see how people suddenly paid attention: “Psychological safety, now that’s important.” “It’s on our agenda.” “We’re actively working on it.” “We’re genuinely interested.”
Psychological safety and equity
You shouldn’t underestimate the power of buzzwords. But of course, it wasn’t just a trend—it was backed by solid research from experts like Amy Edmondson and organizations like Google, which highlighted the many organizational benefits of psychological safety.
When equality and diversity seemed far off, psychological safety felt closer. For someone who has always fought for equity—regardless of background, class, or life experience—this was a golden opportunity. And that’s great, but there is more to consider.
Understanding Knowledge and Power
If we’re serious about creating true psychological safety for everyone, we also need to incorporate an understanding of power and privilege. This is because our different backgrounds and experiences shape what we need to feel psychologically safe—safe enough to point out risks, voice differing opinions, and contribute fully with our ideas and expertise.
For instance, if I am part of a minority in the workplace—say, a young transgender person with experiences of discrimination, minority stress, and vulnerability—my background (and my needs) will differ from those of a middle-aged, white, cisgender person with formal power, such as a manager.
Similarly, for someone who is newly hired, speaking up about mistakes may feel riskier compared to someone who has been with the company for a long time. Likewise, if I come from a background where money and networks have been scarce, taking personal risks may feel like a bigger challenge than if I come from a background where financial security and strong networks are a given.
In addition, for someone who belongs to a minority, voicing a dissenting opinion may also carry a higher risk. This is because they might be seen as a representative for an entire group.
Psychological Safety Behaviors – The Foundation for Equity
One reason psychological safety resonates is that research clearly shows it’s a key driver of success for teams and organizations aiming to perform, innovate, and stay competitive in today’s complex world. Additionally, it’s practical—it’s easy to connect psychological safety to concrete behaviors, things we can all practice in our daily work.
Importantly, it always starts with ourselves. Here are three actionable tips:
- Show vulnerability and build trust: Share your own mistakes and the lessons you’ve learned. When you, as a leader or colleague, open up, you signal to others that it’s safe for them to do the same.
- Ask questions and listen actively: Encourage others to share their thoughts and perspectives, especially those who might not speak up first. Use your body language and responses to show you value their ideas.
- Learn about power and privilege: Understand how different backgrounds and experiences shape psychological safety. The more aware you are of your own privileges, the better you can support others. Listen to this podcast, for example.
A First Step
If you want psychological safety to become part of your company culture, start by fostering a conversation about where you stand today. Gather examples of moments when people felt safe—and when they didn’t. These insights will help you set goals and develop concrete action plans for leaders, teams, and the organization as a whole.
Finally, remember: psychological safety is a journey, not a quick fix.
Ellen Landberg
Share this post
A Brain-Friendly Workplace – For Improved Mental Health
A Brain-Friendly Workplace – For Improved Mental Health
It’s time to prioritize mental health at work!
On October 10th, it’s World Mental Health Day, an initiative started by the World Federation for Mental Health. This year’s theme is “It is time to Prioritize Mental Health in the Workplace.”
At Doings, we couldn’t agree more – it’s time to organize for mental health, even at our workplaces. The theme is more relevant than ever. We are facing challenges (and opportunities) like accelerated digitalization, economic uncertainty, and geopolitical instability. The work environment (and life in general) is constantly changing, and the demands for adaptability and personal development have never been higher.
Why mental health at work is crucial right now
- Blurring boundaries between work and personal life – Since the pandemic, the separation between work and personal life has increasingly faded, as many companies have shifted to hybrid or remote work models. The once-clear distinction between work hours and personal time is becoming more ambiguous, which can create a sense of insecurity for many individuals. As these boundaries blur, employees often find it difficult to fully “switch off,” and we’ve observed that many feel the need to be constantly available. Which can lead to persistent stress and exhaustion.
- Rising mental health issues – Several studies show that stress-related illnesses, burnout, and anxiety are on the rise. According to WHO, mental health issues cost the global economy approximately a billion USD per year in productivity losses. Failing to prioritize mental health in the workplace is not just a moral issue, but also an economic one.
- A generation with high expectations – Today’s workforce, especially younger generations, has higher expectations from their employers when it comes to well-being and mental health. They value work-life balance and want to work for companies that take responsibility for employee well-being.
Proactively addressing mental health
Our sense of security and predictability is being challenged on multiple fronts, which significantly impacts mental health. On average, we spend about one-third of our waking hours at work—over a lifetime, that adds up to roughly 100,000 hours! As employers, it is more important than ever to prioritize structured efforts to support and improve mental health in the workplace. Because we have the power to make a meaningful difference!
The focus should be on working proactively not just to avoid mental health issues but to strengthen and optimize engagement and performance. Neuroscience gives us important keys on how to work and organize ourselves at our workplaces.
A brain-friendly workplace – 4 tips
How can we better tailor the workplace to align with the natural functions of our bodies and brains? What does research consistently highlight as most effective for supporting mental health? Here are four tips from us:
- Adjust workflows to the brain’s natural rhythms. Research shows that our brains function best in cycles of intense work periods of 90–120 minutes, followed by a break. Employers can encourage employees to work in such “sprints” to maximize both efficiency and well-being.
- Create space for mindfulness and meditation. Introduce mindfulness training at work, which is well supported by neuroscience. Mindfulness has been shown to reduce activity in the part of the brain associated with worry and self-criticism, while increasing the brain’s capacity for concentration and calm. A suggestion could be to have a quiet room where people can take mindful breaks.
- Build a work environment that supports cognitive recovery. Neuroscience shows that we perform best in environments that allow intense focus interspersed with cognitive recovery. Workplaces can offer quiet zones for concentrated work, as well as social and creative spaces where the brain can relax and recover. Digitally, we should also ensure spaces for informal chats.
- Focus on the home work environment too. When designing our workplaces with these tips, it’s good to remember that we need to nudge ourselves and each other, even in hybrid environments. This can mean agreeing on breaks even when working remotely and ensuring that the home environment allows for both focus and recovery. It’s also good to remember that those physical safety checks at the office, like making sure no one trips over a cord, are now needed for the home office too!
The benefits of prioritizing mental health at work
Mental health at work is not just a personal issue for employees; it’s a strategic issue for employers. Companies that prioritize mental health see not only increased productivity and lower absenteeism but also higher employee satisfaction and engagement.
At Doings, we are deeply passionate about these topics— not just because they’re important, but because we’re genuinely fascinated by how people function at their best, both individually and in teams. This curiosity drives us to find innovative solutions that continuously enhance workplace engagement, starting with our own.
We’d be thrilled to help you design a brain-friendly workplace that supports your team’s mental health. Give us a call or reach out to hej@doings.se – we’d love to chat!
All Doers
Share this post
Future Competitiveness is Everyone’s Responsibility
Future Competitiveness is Everyone’s Responsibility
Nowadays, almost all of our client engagements revolve around a common theme: strategic workforce planning. Whether it’s employer branding, culture, communication, sustainability, or leadership, the skills of tomorrow are always a critical factor for long-term success and business performance.
Ownership
We’ve made a couple of observations. Or perhaps the first is more of a challenge. In many organizations, strategic workforce planning is still seen as an isolated HR issue—something the “HR department should handle.” Given that strategic workforce planning permeates almost every aspect of the business, this is a rather poor starting point. Thankfully, our second observation is more promising: more and more organizations are realizing that long-term competitiveness is not just built on the right products, technology, or business models. It’s built on how well we mobilize, engage, and develop our employees’ capabilities—for their wellbeing, but most importantly, for the company’s performance and future competitiveness.
In today’s rapidly shifting technological landscape, changing demographics, uncertain global conditions, and employees seeking more than just a paycheck, one thing is clear: workforce planning is no longer an HR silo. It’s a business-critical, strategic issue for the entire organization. To meet this challenge, we need a new approach to workforce planning that connects directly to performance management and overall talent management.
What is Strategic Workforce Planning – Really?
Let’s be honest: the term “strategic workforce planning” doesn’t exactly make anyone’s heart race. It sounds dry, bureaucratic, and mechanical—as if it’s just about placing the right skills in the right positions, without engaging people or unlocking their potential. And as if we already knew exactly what skills we need. That might have been the case in the past when HR could skillfully manage workforce planning and succession planning. But today, we need skills that universities haven’t even identified yet, and that companies are still struggling to define.
What if we started talking instead about “competence-driven growth” or “future capacity”? These might not be perfect terms either, but they signal something different—that we’re talking about development, innovation, and competitiveness, not just administration.
Workforce Planning – A Shared Responsibility
Workforce planning is no longer something that can be delegated to one part of the organization. It needs to be integrated into every strategic decision—from business development to budgeting processes and growth strategies. Leadership must collectively identify and clarify which competencies are crucial for the company’s competitiveness and anchor these in the business plan and the entire organization.
And let’s not forget the power of collective learning and sharing! Talent management isn’t just about developing one’s own skills—it’s about fostering a culture where everyone takes responsibility for their own growth as well as their colleagues’. This collective learning is one of the most powerful drivers of engagement. And as we know, engagement fuels both innovation and performance.
Forward, Upward!
It’s time to rethink how we talk about and work with strategic workforce planning. It’s no longer just about identifying the right competencies. It’s about linking them directly to the strategy, unlocking potential, and ensuring that both individuals and organizations grow together. Future competitiveness isn’t just about having the right people in the right place—it’s about securing the entire business’s future by creating a culture where talent thrives, and the whole company takes ownership of its growth.
All Doers
Share this post
Leading with Trust in both Good and Bad Weather
Leading with Trust in Both Good and Bad Weather
Lena Noaksson
Getting employees to enthusiastically follow when everything is going smoothly and the sun is shining isn’t necessarily difficult. However, I believe we often ponder over how challenging it is to lead when circumstances are reversed. When there’s a storm brewing. But is it really so? Have we simply overlooked doing the groundwork – building a trust-based culture?
I dare say that there’s no need for any other keys to successful leadership in a more demanding climate. Not even in more negative change processes such as reorganizations and downsizing processes!
Even in adversity, leadership is about working towards a culture of trust where we create conditions for everyone to be able to, want to, dare to, and understand how we can contribute and engage in what lies ahead.
What is needed is for you as a leader to simply have done your foundational work as a leader before the storms start – you need to have spent at least 20% of your actual time on trust-building activities to build a trust-based culture!
So, honestly, dear leaders, have you done the following to create a trust-based culture:
- Regular conversations with your employees where you manage expectations regarding what you appreciate in their performance and personality, as well as what needs to be developed
- Found out what needs your employees have to contribute in the best way to desired change?
- Transparently informed about everything, all the time?
- Received feedback on your leadership and actually developed your leadership?
- Received input and had dialogues with your employees on how you can become even better together?
- Shared the word and created opportunities for participation – giving everyone the opportunity to contribute with knowledge and opinions (even those who take up the least space)?
- Highlighted good examples and behaviors (which make it easier for others to do the same)?
- Shared (personal) failures and understood the value of turning this into lessons?
- Ensured that you work to maximize each employee’s individual development. So that they are even more employable when they leave your team than when they started?
- Genuinely tried to get to know each person in your team so that you can facilitate co-leadership in the best possible way?
Do you have a score of 10 out of 10? Congratulations – your culture of trust will weather any storm!
Read more here about how we supported a customer in transition.
Do you need support, encouragement, or inspiration in managing a downturn, reorganization, and/or downsizing process? I’m happy to offer you a coffee and discuss further how we can help you build a trust-based culture.
Lena
Share this blog
Paid to live our Values
Paid to live our Values
Emma Forsgren
For me and all of us at Doings, one of the most important things is to practice what we preach – to stop talking and start doing. Of course, this applies to our values and our culture as well – and to have structures that make it easy to do the right thing. Part of this work involves having salary criteria that reflect this. Our values aren’t just a few words but a clearly formulated compass in our LEVA principles:
- Value trust over control
- Value personal engagement over documented knowledge
- Value relationships and collaboration over processes and tools
- Value co-leadership over hierarchical leadership
- Value results over methodology
- Value initiative and action over detailed planning
- Value well-being over financial results
(LEVA is a play on words with Doings’ founders LE (LEna) + EVA (VA), aiming to emphasize well-being, having the energy to live fully, both at work and in life in general. By the way, don’t miss the opportunity to play with words, we believe 😉)
Salary Criteria
These LEVA principles guide us right 11 times out of 10! Except when it came to our salary structure, as I wrote about last week. So, as we finally revamped it, focusing on sustainability, collaboration, and well-being, it was high time to also clarify how we determine salaries. We had been a bit lax about that too, of course. Not about setting it in a sensible way, naturally. But about making it clear, transparent, and as straightforward as possible. (The cobbler’s children, you remember.)
And when it comes to our salary criteria, I’m possibly a little extra proud, as we have a clear expectation regarding culture – to practice what we preach. One-third of the base salary is actually based on just that!
Salary Criteria and Salary Criteria…
We call them our Doings Dots 🙂 The term “salary criteria” even made the cobbler and family yawn. The Doings Dots consist of three parts: Believability, Co-leadership, and Sales and Business.
Our existence, our freedom, and our salary determination are based on our long-term ability to secure our revenue. We do that in several ways. Invoicing is the clearest and most important. But without focusing on the other aspects, we don’t have much to invoice. Our strengths include our commitment, our competence, our curiosity and our constant desire to learn, our relationships, and our LEVA. All of that plays a role when we set and evaluate our base salaries.
Assignability
The higher the “Assignability”, the less financial risk. An important factor in our salary determination is, therefore, the ability and experience to take on various types of assignments. Assignability is about the experience, competence, and consultancy skills to handle a variety of assignments. And of course, to deliver in a Doings way – i.e., with 110% focus on the customer, quality, creativity, and value.
Co-leadership
Our ambition and success lie in working in teams in various ways. Co-leadership means leading oneself but also leading each other, e.g., collaborating and developing competencies and businesses as doers and as an agency. Everyone is a culture cbuilder and engagement spreader – contributing to maintaining and developing Doings’ culture. Making others, including our customers, feel appreciated, helping them develop and feel like heroes, gets us bouncing out of bed in the morning. Additionally, taking responsibility for oneself, being there, supporting each other, and being LEVA and Doings ambassadors in action and behavior. All of this is super important to us and something we constantly strive for.
Sales and Business
Sales are a prerequisite for our business, and money is our freedom. Money isn’t the reason we live, but it’s our oxygen. Our sales strategy and success lie in digging where we stand and spreading our commitment and knowledge, inspiring and daring to challenge. In the Sales Dot, networking and ensuring that we maintain great relationships with customers during assignments and see new opportunities are included. Always wearing the Doings hat and thinking holistically and financially sound. And we always challenge ourselves to find new customers and exciting assignments – for ourselves, for others, and for our agency.
Continuous Development
None of this is hardly the final answer. Everything is an iterative process. We evaluate along the way and adjust together. Now we have a good start and excellent conditions for our continued growth – with clarity, collaboration, development, and what we truly value in focus – win-win-win for both Doings, all doers, and our customers’ development!
/Emma
Share this Blog
A Compensation Model to Reward What We Value Most
A compensation model to reward what we value most
Emma Forsgren