How to Measure Psychological Safety in Your Organization

18 November 2025

Have you ever had a great idea at work but felt too nervous to speak up? Or maybe you’ve had a question that seemed silly, so you kept it to yourself? If so, you might be working in an environment that lacks psychological safety.

Psychological safety is a fancy term for something pretty simple: feeling safe to speak up, share ideas, and even make mistakes without fear of embarrassment or punishment. It’s the secret ingredient behind innovation, collaboration, and high-performing teams.

But how do you actually measure psychological safety in your organization? It’s not like you can just whip out a tape measure and check how "safe" people feel. Don't worry—I’ve got you covered! In this guide, we’ll break it down step by step so you can gauge the psychological safety in your workplace and work toward improving it.

🚀 Why Psychological Safety Matters

Before we dive into the nuts and bolts of measurement, let's talk about why psychological safety is so important.

Imagine working in a place where every idea you bring up is met with skepticism or, worse, outright dismissal. Sounds exhausting, right? Now, think about a workplace where your input is valued, your mistakes are seen as learning opportunities, and your contributions make a real difference. That’s the power of psychological safety!

Here's what it impacts:

🔹 Creativity & Innovation – When people feel safe, they share ideas freely, resulting in fresh, groundbreaking solutions.
🔹 Employee Engagement – People are more committed and motivated when they feel heard and supported.
🔹 Collaboration – Teams work better together when there’s no fear of blame or judgment.
🔹 Mental Well-being – A supportive environment reduces stress and burnout.

Now that you know why it matters, let’s talk about the different ways you can measure it.

📊 5 Key Ways to Measure Psychological Safety

1. 📝 Conduct an Anonymous Employee Survey

One of the easiest and most effective ways to measure psychological safety is through an anonymous survey. Employees are more likely to be honest when they know their responses won’t be traced back to them.

Here are some key questions to include:

✅ "Do you feel safe expressing your ideas or concerns at work?"
✅ "What happens when people make mistakes in this organization?"
✅ "Do you feel comfortable asking for help when you need it?"
✅ "Are team discussions open and respectful?"
✅ "Would you feel safe challenging a decision made by someone in authority?"

Using a Likert scale (e.g., strongly agree → strongly disagree) allows you to measure trends over time.

2. 💬 Observe Team Dynamics

Surveys are great, but they don’t tell the whole story. Sometimes, the truth is in the details of how people interact.

Take a step back and observe:

👀 Do people speak up in meetings, or do they hesitate?
👀 Are new ideas welcomed, or do they get shot down immediately?
👀 Who does most of the talking—leaders or everyone?
👀 Are employees comfortable admitting mistakes?

If you notice that only a few voices dominate discussions or that mistakes lead to blame rather than learning, those are signs that psychological safety might be lacking.

3. 🔄 One-on-One Feedback Sessions

Numbers and surveys can only tell you so much. Sometimes, you need to talk to people directly to get a deeper understanding.

How? Schedule one-on-one check-ins with employees and ask open-ended questions like:

👂 "What’s something you wish you could say in team meetings but don’t?"
👂 "Do you feel like leadership genuinely values employee input?"
👂 "Have you ever hesitated to speak up because you feared judgment or criticism?"

Pay attention not just to what they say, but also to how they say it. If employees seem hesitant to open up, that could be a sign that there's an underlying issue.

4. 📢 Analyze How Leadership Responds to Failure

Here’s a little secret: The way leaders handle failure is one of the biggest indicators of psychological safety.

Think about the last time someone in your organization made a mistake. What happened next?

⚡ Were they blamed and reprimanded?
⚡ Was the mistake quietly swept under the rug?
⚡ Or, was it seen as a learning moment?

If mistakes are punished harshly, employees will start hiding failures instead of learning from them. This creates a culture of fear, which kills innovation and collaboration.

A healthy approach is when leaders acknowledge mistakes openly and turn them into a team-wide learning experience.

5. 📊 Track Employee Turnover & Engagement

Still not sure? Look at the numbers.

High employee turnover often signals deeper workplace issues, including low psychological safety. If people don’t feel heard or supported, they leave.

On the flip side, high employee engagement is often linked to a psychologically safe work environment. Check internal reports on engagement scores to see how people feel about their roles and the culture around them.

🚀 How to Improve Psychological Safety (If It’s Lacking)

So, what if you measure psychological safety and realize your workplace isn’t as safe as you’d like? No worries—there’s always room for improvement!

1. Encourage Open Communication

Let people know it’s okay to speak up. Create an environment where feedback is welcomed and valued.

2. Model Vulnerability

Leaders, this one’s for you! Admit when you don’t know something or when you’ve made a mistake. This makes it easier for employees to do the same.

3. Recognize and Reward Contributions

Instead of focusing on who was right or wrong, shift the focus to learning and positive contributions.

4. Create Psychological Safety Norms

Make it clear that mistakes are learning opportunities. Encourage open discussions and debate rather than fear-based silence.

5. Provide Training & Support

Sometimes, employees don’t know how to communicate in a psychologically safe way. Offer training on effective communication, conflict resolution, and leadership development.

🎯 Final Thoughts

Psychological safety isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s essential for creating a workplace where people thrive. Measuring it can seem tricky at first, but with surveys, observations, feedback sessions, leadership analysis, and engagement tracking, you can get a clear picture of where your organization stands.

And if you find gaps, don’t panic! Creating psychological safety is an ongoing process. Small changes in leadership behavior, communication, and company culture can have a massive impact.

So, start today! Because when employees feel safe, they don’t just work better—they live better, too.