Stress Awareness Month may have ended in April, but for millions of employees, sadly, stress is not confined to a calendar. It is an ever-present, escalating problem, with a quarter of UK employees unable to cope.
Mounting research, detailed in Harvard Business Review, confirms what many HR professionals already sense: when employees don’t feel safe to speak up, push back, or express when they’re overwhelmed, stress boils over – and so does disengagement, burnout and attrition.0
Silent teams are underperforming teams. Disconnected employees may as well have already left. Stressed workforces are vulnerable workforces.
Read more: Employers must prevent work-related stress, HSE says
Psychological safety is a foundational requirement for high-functioning, resilient people and organisations. Google’s landmark Project Aristotle made that clear nearly a decade ago when it identified psychological safety as the single most important factor in effective teams. However in many workplaces this simply isn’t happening, with only 29% of workers saying they feel psychologically safe.
Four practical strategies for leaders
So how do we move from theory to practical, scalable action? Here are four evidence-based strategies to help HR leaders embed psychological safety into the heart of their culture.
1. Invest in awareness training
Understanding ourselves and others is fundamental to effective communication and strong team dynamics, laying the foundation for psychological safety. Self-awareness empowers employees to manage their responses, navigate relationships, and reduce friction.
Read more: How can HR teams prevent stress from occurring in workplaces?
A powerful way to develop awareness is through a shared behavioural framework or psychometric tools. At Insights, for example, we help organisations build self-awareness using a non-judgmental language that teams can use to talk about interpersonal preferences.
2. Shift from 'speaking my truth' to thoughtful communication
Psychological safety isn’t about unfiltered honesty at others’ expense, it’s about respectful authenticity. Roleplay workshops can help employees understand the emotional impact of their words, and learn how to speak with empathy and care.
Organisations can partner with facilitators to create immersive training that reflects real-world scenarios. These sessions help individuals deliver feedback in ways that build, rather than break, trust. Microlearning modules on emotional intelligence can further embed these skills into day-to-day practice.
There are also excellent vitrual reality (VR) and artificial; intelligence (AI)-based roleplay tools now available that simulate challenging workplace situations. One example I saw recently was a high-street retailer using AI-powered simulations to prepare current and potential employees for real-life in-store scenarios.
3. Help employees initiate tough conversations
Many people avoid difficult conversations out of fear. To address this, HR teams can develop a 'tough conversations playbook' a practical toolkit available through the employee handbook or intranet. It might include phrasing guides, conflict resolution tips, and case studies across a range of situations.
Read more: Five ways to de-stress at work
Leadership development programmes should also equip managers to facilitate constructive dialogue, address tensions early, and support their teams in doing the same. Adopting a coaching mindset is key to this.
A well-researched tool is Star Manager from Notion, which focuses on building operational coaching, a style of everyday coaching that enables tough conversations to happen early, before they become even tougher. Offering coaching circles or safe space forums can also build peer-to-peer confidence and practice.
4. Make feedback frequent, informal, and constructive
Feedback should be part of the everyday rhythm of work, not something reserved for annual reviews. Managers need clear, practical guidance on how to deliver feedback that’s specific, timely and non-threatening.
At Insights, we use the D4 feedback model to create shared understanding:
- Data: establish the facts.
- Depth of feeling: how did the employee feel about what happened?
- Dramatic interpretation: what meaning was attached to the situation?
- Do: what was said or done, and what was the result?
In the past, I have used other effective models like situation-behaviour-impact (SBI) and example-effect-change/continue (EEC). One strength of EEC is its future focus: should the behaviour change, or should it continue?
The reality is, if your people don’t feel safe saying what’s not working, to challenge poor decisions, or to admit when they’re at breaking point, they will either quietly disengage, or walk out of the door.
For HR leaders, this is your call to action. Psychological safety must be treated as a strategic imperative to tackle stress, embedded year-round into your leadership behaviours, team rituals, manager training and organisational systems.
By David Bowes, head of people at global people development firm Insights
