Course Description - How to Build Psychological Safety in the Workplace

"How to Build Psychological Safety in the Workplace" is a comprehensive, interactive course designed to equip leaders and teams with the knowledge and skills necessary to create a psychologically safe environment. Spanning five modules containing three detailed lessons, this course delves into the critical aspects of psychological safety, its impact on team dynamics, and practical strategies to foster an inclusive, innovative, and high-performing workplace. Each lesson includes a knowledge check to reinforce learning, and a quiz concludes each module to ensure mastery of the content. This program is valid for 10 PDCs for the SHRM-CP^® or SHRM-SCP^®.

Course Objectives & Student Learning Outcomes

1.        Define Psychological Safety

Description: Students will define psychological safety and articulate its significance in the workplace.

Outcome: Students will demonstrate their understanding by explaining the concept of psychological safety, identifying its key components (respect and trust, open communication, tolerance for mistakes, inclusivity), and describing its importance for team dynamics, innovation, and overall workplace well-being.

2.        Analyze and Address Barriers to Psychological Safety

Description: Students will analyze common workplace psychological safety barriers and develop strategies to address and overcome these obstacles.

Outcome: Students will identify specific barriers to psychological safety (e.g., fear of retribution, lack of trust, hierarchical communication) in case studies or real-world scenarios. They will propose and justify practical interventions to create a more psychologically safe environment, such as implementing open communication channels, encouraging feedback, and fostering an inclusive culture.

3.        Implement Psychological Safety Practices

Description: Students will implement and sustain psychological safety practices within their teams and organizations.

Outcome: Students will create an action plan for promoting psychological safety in their workplace, detailing steps such as leadership training, policy revisions, regular team meetings, and feedback mechanisms. They will present their plans and receive peer feedback, demonstrating their ability to apply theoretical knowledge to practical, actionable strategies for enhancing psychological safety.