Creating a Supportive Environment for Psychological Safety
- Jonathan H. Westover, PhD
- Jul 27, 2025
- 6 min read
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Abstract: This article explores the critical role of psychological safety in successful onboarding and retention of new employees. The author, drawing from experience as an organizational consultant and leadership professor, argues that psychological safety—defined as confidence that one won't face rejection or punishment for speaking up—is essential for innovation, learning, and performance. The article outlines practical strategies for fostering psychological safety during onboarding, including implementing buddy systems, providing frequent feedback, emphasizing learning over judgment, demonstrating inclusion, and building personal connections. It further suggests methods to sustain psychological safety beyond initial onboarding through regular check-ins, public celebration of achievements, formal assessments, and recognizing risk-taking behaviors. Research evidence supports the conclusion that organizations prioritizing psychological safety experience higher retention, engagement, innovation, and stronger cultures of trust—ultimately benefiting both employee wellbeing and business outcomes.
As an organizational consultant and leadership professor, I have seen firsthand how crucial psychological safety is for organizations to foster innovation, learning, and high performance. When new hires do not feel psychologically safe, it can negatively impact retention, engagement, and the development of a inclusive culture.
Today we will discuss why psychological safety matters so much for newcomers and share practical strategies leaders can implement to create an environment where new hires feel comfortable taking risks and being their authentic selves from day one.
Defining Psychological Safety
To set the stage, let's clarify what is meant by psychological safety. Amy Edmondson, a leading Harvard researcher on the topic, defines it as "a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking" (Edmondson, 1999, p. 354). In essence, it is the confidence an individual feels about not being rejected, embarrassed or punished for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes (Duhigg, 2016). A psychologically safe workplace is one where people feel accepted and respected.
Research has shown unequivocally that psychological safety is critical for team learning, problem solving, and strong workplace relationships (Edmondson & Lei, 2014). Yet unfortunately, many organizations do not prioritize cultivating it, especially for new hires. This can negatively impact engagement, performance and retention. Ensuring new employees experience psychological safety from day one should be a top priority for leaders.
Onboarding as a Foundation for Psychological Safety
The onboarding process sets the tone for how psychologically safe or unsafe a new hire will feel. Done right, it lays the groundwork for inclusion and belonging. Done poorly, it can foster uncertainty and anxiety. Leaders must thoughtfully design onboarding with psychological safety in mind.
Use a Buddy System: Assigning each new employee a "buddy" - a peer mentor who serves as a guide and support - is one of the best ways to promote psychological safety from day one (Hambuch & Rai, 2018). The buddy can answer questions, show them around, introduce them to people, and make them feel more comfortable in unfamiliar surroundings. Research indicates assigned buddies help new hires adjust faster and feel less isolated (Allen, 2006).
Provide Frequent Feedback: New hires want constant feedback on how they're doing to reduce uncertainty (Latty, 2015). Leaders should schedule check-ins twice weekly minimum during onboarding. Use appreciative, constructive feedback to reinforce what's going well and provide guidance for development. New hires receiving frequent positive and corrective feedback report higher psychological safety and job satisfaction (Goldsmith, 2013).
Emphasize Learning over Judgment: Focus feedback on learning and growth rather than evaluation and judgment. This shifts the mindset from one of being "tested" to one of continual learning and improvement. Edmondson found that framing mistakes as learning opportunities led to more risk-taking and idea-sharing on teams (Edmondson, 2007). Leaders conveying that it's okay to not know everything and that mistakes will happen can help new hires relax.
Demonstrate Inclusion through Actions: While communicating the importance of inclusion is key, new hires will determine how inclusive a workplace truly feels based on observable behaviors. Leaders must model inclusive behaviors like actively soliciting diverse perspectives, giving credit where due, and addressing microaggressions or insensitive remarks. New hires note feeling less psychologically safe when they witness exclusionary conduct go unchecked (Rosenzweig, 2007).
Foster Connections beyond Work: Getting to know colleagues on a personal level outside of work through lunch groups, after-work socials and informal coffees builds trust and interpersonal comfort (Dutton, 2006). While not mandatory, encouraging new hires to connect informally with peers can help them feel part of the "tribe" faster versus like outsiders. Companies where people form natural cross-team connections report higher employee satisfaction (Wang, 2017).
Enhance Psychological Safety beyond Onboarding
While onboarding sets the stage, ongoing efforts are needed to sustain psychological safety over the long-term for retention of new talent. Some strategies leaders can employ:
Frequent “Check-Ins” with New Hires: Schedule regular one-on-ones in the first 6 months to see how new employees are adjusting and address any issues promptly. If they don't feel heard or that concerns will be taken seriously, psychological safety will remain low. Leaders conveying a sincere willingness to listen and help fosters trust (Schein & Schein, 2017).
Celebrate Small Wins Publicly: Have new employees present back on early wins to the larger team. Sharing progress and learning builds confidence. Public recognition of contributions, even small ones, communicates new hires' ideas are valued (Carmeli et al., 2009). Involve new hires in team celebrations, not just work functions, to reinforce their membership.
Use Psychological Safety Assessments: Survey new hires periodically on how comfortable they feel taking risks, speaking up and being themselves. Address any negative trends proactively. Leaders modeling transparency by highlighting survey results and action plans reinforces the importance of feedback (Edmondson & Mogelof, 2006; Frazier et al., 2017).
Praise Risk-Taking and Help Seeking: Make a point to acknowledge moments when new hires took interpersonal risks like asking questions or voicing unpopular opinions - and how it contributed to the team's success. Underscore that it's not only acceptable but valued to seek help from others. This reinforces that the team culture embraces vulnerability rather than perceives it as weakness (Schein & Schein, 2017).
Conclusion
By prioritizing psychological safety through the onboarding process and beyond, companies have much to gain from higher retention of new hires, more engaged employees, greater innovation, and a stronger culture of trust and transparency. While not always easy to achieve, the research is conclusive - when organizations commit to cultivating an environment where people feel accepted for who they are and empowered to contribute their ideas without fear, both employee well-being and business performance will thrive. The strategies outlined provide leaders with actionable ways to ensure new hires feel supported with psychological safety from day one.
References
Carmeli, A., Brueller, D., & Dutton, J. E. (2009). Learning behaviours in the workplace: The role of high-quality interpersonal relationships and psychological safety. Systems Research and Behavioral Science: The Official Journal of the International Federation for Systems Research, 26(1), 81–98.
Duhigg, C. (2016). What Google learned from its quest to build the perfect team. The New York Times Magazine, 26, 2016. Retrieved from
Dutton, J. E., & Heaphy, E. D. (2006). The power of high-quality connections at work. In K. S. Cameron, J. E. Dutton, & R. E. Quinn (Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship (pp. 263–278). Berrett-Koehler.
Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative science quarterly, 44(2), 350-383.
Edmondson, A., & Lei, Z. (2014). Psychological safety: The history, renaissance, and future of an interpersonal construct. Annual review of organizational psychology and organizational behavior, 1, 23-43.
Frazier, M. L., Fainshmidt, S., Klinger, R. L., Pezeshkan, A., & Vracheva, V. (2017). Psychological safety: A meta‐analytic review and extension. Personnel Psychology, 70(1), 113-165.
Goldsmith, J. S. (2013). The 360-degree feedback leader: Developing self and others at work. Routledge.
Hambuch, T., & Rai, A. (2018). Welcoming and onboarding new hires: How to ensure psychological safety on day one. Gallup.
Latty, E. (2015). Advice for retaining and empowering new hires. Harvard Business Review.
Rosenzweig, P. (2007). The halo effect: ... and the eight other business delusions that deceive managers. Simon and Schuster.
Schein, E. H., & Schein, P. (2017). Organizational culture and leadership (5th ed.). Wiley.
Wang, J. (2017). Five ways to build a culture of trust. Gallup.
Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Associate Dean and Director of HR Programs (WGU); Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD/HR/Leadership Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.
Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2026). Creating a Supportive Environment for Psychological Safety. Human Capital Leadership Review, 23(4). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.23.4.2
