Driven by the understanding that perspectives are inherently tied to intent and goals, I’ve questioned the underlying assumptions and strategies of organizational safety programs or initiatives. Take, for example, the widely embraced ‘Zero’ or ‘Goal Zero’ initiatives. While undeniably a noble and worth pursuing goal, there’s a stark disconnect between this aspirational target and the reality reflected in incident data, particularly fatal ones. While significant progress has been made in workplace safety, in 2024, OSHA reported 826 federal investigations into worker deaths, while MSHA reported 28 fatalities in the mining industry. This highlights a concerning disparity between our efforts through safety initiatives and the reality of workplace safety. This data, combined with my firsthand experience as an operator and safety leader, has spurred me to advocate for an alternative foundational strategy aimed at understanding the reality of workers as we attempt to reduce these alarming statistics.
Prioritizing psychological safety as a foundation upon which all initiatives are built is a necessity to understand our workers, their work, and ensure learning in every human-centered organization. For any safety program or initiative to work, we must understand how it is understood and applied where the ‘rubber meets the road’ (point of work). Information flow is crucial for this understanding, and a psychologically safe environment is the precursor for workers to freely share information. As Ivan Pupulidy, PhDemphasizes, information is the true currency of safety. Without open communication, we risk pursuing an illusory sense of safety, one that exists only in our policies and values, not in the actual work environment
Amy Edmondson (2018) defines psychological safety as the belief that the work environment is safe for interpersonal risk-taking. This fosters the free flow of information from workers. When workers feel heard and valued, especially those closest to the work, they become invested in safety. This investment allows for real-time system understanding, learning, and collaboration between workers and management to address potential issues beforethey lead to an incident. Such an environment fosters worker ownership and responsibility.
Amy Edmondson further emphasizes that good things happen when people can speak up, ask questions, debate respectfully, and commit themselves to continuous learning and improvement. It is important to remember that employee investment in any safety program stems from a sense of ownership or co-creation. That is what empowers employees’ response and account – abilitytowards the program. In other words, if we want employees to be responsible and accountable for safety, we must co-create this environment with. Safety, then, from this perspective, becomes not the presence or focus on accidents, but rather building and maintaining organizational capacity. Thus, the ability to learn, adapt, and improve safety systems collectively. This focus on capacity is a more meaningful and achievable goal toward the idea of “zero”.
My understanding of psychological safety has evolved, revealing it as the essential foundation for any successful safety initiative. Echoing Rosa Antonia Carrilloinsights from ‘Relationship Centered Safety Leader,’ psychological safety, which is a bedrock for building relationships, “is what we have been calling the culture that provides the nourishment that your vision, initiatives, processes and goals need to become a reality”. Without it, we cannot effectively bridge the critical gap between the theoretical initiative and the practical reality of how employees perceive and execute their work, which ultimately determines our desired outcomes.
As always, just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, it is important to understand this kind of culture is an ongoing process that requires leadership that has a genuine commitment.
Reference
Edmondson, A. C. (2018). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken.
Carrillo, R. A. (2019). The relationship factor in safety leadership: achieving success through employee engagement. Routledge.
