Psychological safety and work anniversaries
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by Rick Joi Rick Joi is the founder of The Workiversary Group and author of the award‑winning book, Inspiring Work Anniversaries. |
Everyone from William Kahn, the original father of employee engagement, to the Google People Analytics team has discovered psychological safety as a crucial component of teams working well together.
What is psychological safety?
Amy Edmondson, Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School and the groundbreaking pioneer of the field of psychological safety, defines psychological safety as:
a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking (link)
How important is psychological safety?
Tasked with the mission to discover the secrets of effective teams, this is how the Google People Analytics team described the importance of psychological safety to individual and team performance:
Of the five key dynamics of effective teams that the researchers identified, psychological safety was by far the most important. The Google researchers found that individuals on teams with higher psychological safety are less likely to leave Google, they’re more likely to harness the power of diverse ideas from their teammates, they bring in more revenue, and they’re rated as effective twice as often by executives. (link)
What role do work anniversaries play?
Clearly, daily interactions within the team and with managers play the biggest role in determining the level of psychological safety a person or team experiences. But, work anniversaries serve as a powerful annual summary that can provide a significant push in either direction.
A forgotten work anniversary, or one that emotionally conveys that acknowledging the work anniversary was an unwanted chore, can push an employee who is unsure of their level of safety on the team into anxious thoughts about whether or not their job is safe and how much the company values them.
And for employees who don’t trust their ability to quickly find another job, not feeling psychologically safe can spiral into concerns for much more basic levels of safety like having enough money for rent and food or taking care of their kids.
Or, it can go the other way. A genuinely appreciative work anniversary acknowledgement of the employee’s contributions to the organization over the past year can greatly reassure an employee that was having doubts about how they were perceived.
The impact of work anniversaries can be indirect as well. Employees seeing a colleague they have a lot of respect for being ignored on their work anniversary may well ask themselves, if that amazing employee is regarded that little by the organization, then surely I’m on shaky ground.
For maximal value when celebrating work anniversaries, boost psychological safety by actively emphasizing that the employee is a highly valued member of the team and the organization is fully committed to them.
How?
On each employee’s work anniversary, genuinely express that the employee is a uniquely valued member of the team. Say it. Write it. Smile it genuinely. Hug them, pat them on the back, or shake their hand (as appropriate).
Remind them of their contributions from the past year. Imagine out loud how much worse off the team would be without them. Genuinely express gratitude that they’re on the team and that you have the special opportunity of starting another year with them. Show your appreciation indirectly by clearly putting effort into their work anniversary.
Importantly, do it because you genuinely value them (not because of the inadvertent side effect that this will boost team performance).