Human performance
Facing the Silent Threat: Do not ignore the impact of Psychological Safety
Posted by Maria Progoulaki
In the maritime industry, where conditions are tough, and strict hierarchies exist, a ship creates its own unique work environment. Ensuring the psychological safety of the crew is essential. But what does psychological safety mean, and how can you and your company use it to improve ship operations and crew well-being?
What is psychological safety? And why is there a silent threat?
Psychological safety is an environment where individuals feel secure enough to give feedback, express their thoughts, and voice concerns without fear of negative consequences or judgment.
Ignoring the importance of psychological safety is considered a “silent threat”. Its absence is not always obvious and unlike physical dangers like broken machinery, which have clear, visible signs, issues with psychological safety often show up as subtle signs like stress, anxiety, and lack of engagement. These can be harder to notice but can greatly impact the crew’s performance and safety (Nembhard & Edmondson 2006).
When psychological safety is visible and felt, crew members are more likely to report safety concerns and near-misses. This proactive reporting helps identify and resolve potential hazards before they cause accidents, improving overall safety.
Fostering psychological safety on board
Creating a psychologically safe environment on a ship involves more than just fixing problems—it requires building a culture where crew members feel valued, heard, and secure. The unique conditions on vessels make communication critical for safety and performance. Leaders play a key role in ensuring psychological safety, as shown by survey responses and feedback from seafarers we’ve interviewed.
① Leaders should set a psychologically safe atmosphere on board by modelling behaviours that promote openness and trust.
When leaders demonstrate empathy, actively listen, and provide constructive feedback while valuing crew members’ input and concerns, they can create an environment where everyone feels respected and heard.
②Leaders must foster open communication by utilising daily opportunities, like during morning meetings and task discussions,
allowing crew members to share concerns and ideas freely. This approach helps the team work together more effectively, leveraging everyone’s knowledge and insights.
③Leaders must ensure that interactions across all ranks are respectful and that mistakes are viewed as learning opportunities rather than grounds for reprimand.
Promoting inclusivity and a just culture helps maintain a supportive and safe environment for everyone.
The importance of regular check-ins and surveys
Regular check-ins and surveys are crucial for maintaining and improving psychological safety on board. These practices help assess how the crew perceive the work environment and reveal any hidden issues related to psychological safety.
At Green-Jakobsen, we have been closely following the factors that impact human performance, including psychological safety. This focus is reflected in the Crew Performance Diagnosis Survey.
The Crew Performance Diagnosis Survey serves as a vital tool for assessing crew performance concerning psychological safety factors. The survey results help determine how psychological safety impacts other performance factors and the overall performance of the crew.
One of the interesting findings from the performance survey responses is that when asked, “How often is there a good work atmosphere on board?”, Senior Officers indicate experiencing a much better work atmosphere compared to Junior Officers and Ratings/Cadets.
This could reveal some important factors affecting psychological safety, especially the gap between senior officers and lower-ranking crew members. Senior officers might not always notice or fully understand the concerns of their subordinates, which can lead them to believe that communication and inclusivity are better than they actually are. This highlights the need for better communication and listening skills at all levels so that senior officers are more aware of the challenges faced by junior officers and cadets and are open to their feedback.
Regularly assessing psychological safety through surveys like this can help the crew spot trends and address problems early. This way, strategies can be put in place to improve the work environment, making psychological safety a practical part of crew performance and operational efficiency on individual vessels and across the fleet.
Epilogue
Utilising psychological safety to advance performance requires commitment and effort from the top, starting from the shipping company’s office and reaching the vessels; psychological safety is a core part of an organisation’s culture and, therefore shall be supported and promoted. As analysed above, in all business sectors, including that of shipping, and the micro-environment of a vessel, the rewards of psychological safety are game changers. To gain these benefits, shipping companies shall prioritise regular check-ins and anonymous surveys to keep analysing and maintaining psychological safety on board and ashore, and proactively address any issues raised. By reviewing and enhancing psychological safety in the workplace, you can greatly improve both operational efficiency and crew well-being. We’re here to help you extract data insights and analyse them as well as understand the factors that impact psychological safety and overall human performance on board your vessels
Nembhard, I. M., & Edmondson, A. C. (2006). Making it safe: The effects of leader inclusiveness and professional status on psychological safety and improvement efforts. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(7), 941-966.