Executives more likely to feel safe taking risks than individual contributors: Survey

Only 53 percent of individual contributors said they feel safe taking risks at their organizations, compared to 64 percent of managers, 55 percent of supervisors, 71 percent of directors and 76 percent of executives.

Workers are far less likely than their managers and senior-level executives to feel psychologically safe taking risks at work, according to a survey by publishing firm Wiley.

The findings from the latest Wiley Workplace Intelligence report show a wide gulf between individual contributors and executives, which could lead to lower trust, engagement and productivity in the workplace.

Psychological safety refers to an environment where individuals can freely express ideas, voice concerns, take risks and admit mistakes without fear of repercussions. It’s recognised as the key factor in fostering healthy workplace environments.

Only 53 percent of individual contributors said they feel safe taking risks at their organizations, compared to 64 percent of managers, 55 percent of supervisors, 71 percent of directors and 76 percent of executives. Nearly one-fifth of individual contributors didn’t feel safe taking risks, the highest of all respondents.

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“Psychological safety has become increasingly important in recent years with the shift to hybrid and remote work,” said Mark Scullard, senior director of product innovation at Wiley. “To bridge the gaps in psychological safety that we’re seeing across organisational levels, companies can implement facilitated learning experiences to equip all employees with the skills for effective relationships, better communication, understanding, trust and teamwork. This intentional and inclusive approach helps foster greater psychological safety within the workplace that allows innovation to thrive,” he added.

Blame Game, undermining concerns 

At least 40 percent of respondents in higher-level positions (supervisors, directors and executives) indicated that their mistakes were held against them, possibly due to their increased visibility across the organization, compared to individual contributors (29 percent) and managers (35 percent).

A majority of middle management respondents said they largely feel able to raise problems and tough issues at work, while individual contributors and executives both felt less comfortable bringing up such issues.

Further, supervisors were the least of all respondents to agree that no one on their teams would deliberately undermine their work (68 percent).

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Executives reported having the highest levels of psychological safety at work, with 93 percent feeling mostly or completely psychologically safe. Individual contributors and managers reported lower levels of psychological safety at 86 percent each and felt less safe speaking up and less valued for their contributions.