Psychological Safety and Mental Health: Supporting Employees Amid Current Events
According to the American Psychological Association, adults are particularly anxious about current events (70%) – especially the economy (77%), the 2024 U.S. election (73%) and gun violence (69%).
As a global workforce mental health provider, we’ve seen how the impact of current events reaches far beyond the immediate moment – extending into people’s personal and professional lives and their mental health. In fact, a recent study found that nearly 1 in 2 Americans say politics negatively impacts their mental health, with 51% saying the topic causes anxiety and 20% saying it causes depression.
Events like elections can create a strong “us versus them” mentality that damages our connections with others. When this spills into the workplace, it can lead to loneliness, misunderstandings and conflict, and ultimately break down team unity and trust. That’s why it’s important for employers to be aware of how current events impact their teams and to prioritize psychological safety, ensuring everyone feels heard, seen, and supported.
Creating a psychologically safe workplace
Psychological safety is critical for helping employees address and manage tension, whether triggered by current events or day-to-day challenges. In a psychologically safe workplace, employees feel comfortable speaking up and expressing differing opinions without fear of repercussions. And this isn’t just a feel-good idea. Gallup found that improving psychological safety can significantly impact turnover and productivity.
So, how do you know if you’ve created a psychologically safe work environment?
Assess psychological safety in the workplace
One of the best ways to gauge the level of psychological safety in your workplace is through interviews and surveys. For example, if an employee hesitates to disclose why they’re leaving the company, that may be due to fear. Paying attention to what’s said and unsaid can provide valuable insights.
You can also address psychological safety in annual employee engagement surveys. For example, employees can respond to statements like, “My colleagues welcome opinions different from their own” or “I feel able to bring up problems and concerns.” Regardless of what you learn through interviews and surveys, to maintain an open and honest work environment, you must actively create spaces to encourage just that.
Train leaders and individual contributors
To nurture psychological safety, it’s crucial for leaders and individual contributors to develop core skills like communication, conflict management, resilience and emotional intelligence. These are key components of the leadership and employee-specific training programs we regularly deliver to employers. These skills, along with recognizing and valuing the diversity of thoughts, experiences and perspectives, help employees address the root causes of division and shift the focus from conflict to collaboration.
For example, role-playing scenarios during conflict management training give employees practical experience they can apply in real-life situations. Resilience training will help them better manage stress and difficult emotions to stay productive, while emotional intelligence training promotes empathy and understanding within teams. These skills help reduce tensions and set clear expectations for healthy workplace interactions.
Since 2020, CuraLinc has seen a huge increase in our monthly training session average, with all of these being popular topics.
Lead teams with psychological safety in mind
Leaders can significantly impact how people feel at work. Through our work with companies across the globe, we’ve found that when leaders normalize open and honest communication, it creates a ripple effect throughout the organization. Regular one-on-one meetings that go deeper than what’s on someone’s to-do list build trust and ensure employees feel seen, heard and valued, and make it easier for leaders to address more difficult situations when they arise. Here are some phrases leaders can use to address any tensions in a healthy manner:
How does this benefit us as a team?
I don’t need all the details, but is there anything going on outside of work that’s impacting your productivity that I can support you with?
I can tell that’s important to you.
Encourage people to speak up and address concerns in a timely manner
Whether employees communicate in person or virtually, set expectations around respectful behavior and ensure everyone feels safe to speak up if they have concerns. In addition, be sure your team and company leaders have a consistent plan and strategy in place to address any issues as they arise.
For example, if a person repeatedly brings up politics on Slack and their colleagues are uncomfortable with the remarks, you may address the situation by saying, “I can tell this is important to you,” followed by a solution and any available resources. Or, if it’s a recurring issue in a team meeting, follow up by saying, “Do we need to talk about how we can address this outside the meeting?” Then, let them know you have a set amount of time available for them to address the issue at hand.
Promote your mental health and wellbeing resources
Workplace mental health programs are in place to serve your employees across a spectrum of needs. Current events can be a real source of anxiety, stress and even depression, making it more important than ever to remind employees that support is available.
Effective mental health programs offer access to a variety of care modalities, including in-person and virtual counseling, support groups and self-care resources. In our experience, some people need one-on-one support to navigate challenges brought on by current events, and others may benefit from mindfulness practices and other self-care tools. Recently, CuraLinc introduced new Mindstream™ video sessions on healthy political dialogue and building resilience during times of political and economic uncertainty. These are just a few examples of how we’ve helped employees cope with challenges stemming from current events.
Employers can help build resilience and foster strong teams
Employers are uniquely positioned to create an environment that fosters healthy communication even when tensions are high. By creating a psychologically safe workplace and offering various avenues for support, organizations and teams can continue to thrive through current events. To explore these topics further, consider watching this webinar on building a resilient workforce amidst social division for additional insights.