Psychological safety: Actions and benefits in the workplace

by | Jun 24, 2025

Trust and psychological safety have much in common but they are not interchangeable concepts. Dr Sue Shortland explains how these issues differ, the benefits of developing a culture of high psychological safety and the actions required.

Trust relations

Trust is central to effective social structures. Trust refers to interactions between a minimum of two individuals or parties: the trustor who grants trust and the trustee who receives or obtains trust. Trust exists in the mind of an individual and pertains to a specific target individual or organisation.Trust creates an expectation between the parties that each will behave in a mutually acceptable way and that neither will exploit the other’s vulnerabilities. For instance, you might trust one colleague but not another. In essence, there is a shared understanding between the parties with respect to professional conduct and related standards. To illustrate trust in an organisation, you might trust a particular company to uphold high standards, while not trusting others to do so.

 

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This article is taken from the Summer 2025 issue of

Think Global People magazine

View your copy of the Summer 2025 issue of Think Global People magazine.

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