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Challenges

Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace

2/4/2019

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Works for Women is excited to share their first challenge of 2019 with you as we continue to help spark dialogue, build awareness, and inspire action when it comes to women in the workplace, and this challenge. We know that change does not happen overnight, but by uniting our community and inspiring individual action we can take direct action to impact change! 
 
Creating Psychological Safety 
 
On the heels of Bell Let’s Talk campaign, Works for Women is reminded of the importance of mental health and wellness in the workplace, and how we cannot forget the profound impact that inclusive workplaces create for everyone's psychological safety. The annual Bell Let’s Talk awareness campaign that happens every January is driving the national conversation to help reduce this stigma and promote awareness and understanding, and talking is an important first step towards lasting change.

Every year one adult in four will have a mental health issue and these conditions can profoundly affect millions of lives, affecting the capability of these individuals to make it through the day, to sustain relationships, and to maintain work. The stigma attached to mental health causes a damaging, albeit ill-informed, attitude, making it more difficult for those affected to pursue help. 

Bottom line, to make a culture more innovative, a workplace needs to allow its employees to feel safe to voice their opinions and concerns and share their ideas. According to Catalyst, when team members feel this level of ‘psychological safety’, the workplace is has an inclusive culture, and employees feel confident to speak up and make mistakes without fear of being ridiculed or punished. One of the biggest hurdles for anyone suffering from mental illness is overcoming the stigma attached to it.  Managers play an important role in shrinking the stigma associated with mental illness, being a support system for employees in times of need and reducing psychological hazards such as bullying in the workplace. Being proactive and engaged in promoting metal health in the workplace can encourage employees to ask for help when they feel that work and life are unmanageable.

For this challenge, Works for Women wants to ensure every employees can take risks, regardless of rank or status, trust that teammates won’t undermine their efforts or work, have confidence that mistakes won’t be held against them, and can freely speak up about problems and tough issues.

To join the challenge:


  1. Reflect: Ensure that you are taking the best care of your mental and total health and take the time to observe the environment around you. You cannot be your best self at work, if you are not taking care of your own personal health and wellness, and your work environment is an important factor to consider. 
  2. Be Brave: Speak up and share your mental health story or think about a story that impacts you in your own family or community. For example, think back to a time when you may have been challenged to speak freely, unable to take a risk at work find someone you can talk to, whether it be a coach, friend, or colleague. There’s a whole community of people out there who may also be struggling, share your story with them – you may be surprised to learn that they have a similar story to share.
  3. Activate Change: Take the opportunity to share your story with a broader community, such as mental health moment at the beginning of your next meeting or share your story on social media using the hashtags #WorksForWomenAB and #PressForProgress. Let's share our stories and stamp out the stigma. 

If you create this sense of psychological safety for yourself, and for your own team starting now, you can expect to see higher levels of engagement, increased motivation to tackle difficult problems, more learning and development opportunities, and better performance. We can remove the stigma and by educating ourselves and raising awareness that mental health impacts us all. Here are some additional stories to help you on your journey to strong mental health and building a workplace culture that creates psychological safety for everyone. 
 
Additional Resources


  • How to Reduce the Stigma of Mental Health Issues at Work
  • High-Performing Teams Need Psychological Safety. Here’s How to Create It
  • How To Create Your Own Psychological Safety At Work
  • 14 Ways You Can Improve Psychological Safety at Work
 
Works for Women Event Details 
 
The date has changed from the original save the date, but we are excited to share that we will be hosting our inaugural in-person event on April 9, 2019 centered around the concept of a Human Library.
 
From its origins, The Human Library is designed to build a positive framework for conversations that can challenge stereotypes and prejudices through dialogue. The Human Library is a place where real people are on load to the readers. We are bringing several leaders from the Edmonton community together to speak to their own career journey and be a sounding board for pushing our participants to build their own support networks to help advance their career (building off the success of our Building Your Own Personal Advisory Board challenge from 2017). So mark your calendars, and an Eventbrite invitation will follow soon.
 
When: April 9th, 2019
Where: Stantec Tower, 10220-103 Avenue NW
Timing: Arrive 4pm, event kick-off at 4:30. Formal event to wrap at 6:30pm 
 

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