For a long time, our inclusion index has helped us understand how well we create working environments where everyone feels welcome and involved. It remains a central part of our culture, but as organisations evolve, so does the need to understand a more specific and decisive area: psychological safety.
The research is clear: when employees dare to speak their mind, share ideas and admit mistakes without fear of negative consequences, something powerful happens. Learning increases. Collaboration improves. Innovation accelerates. And this is where the link to inclusion becomes especially important — because a workplace where everyone feels welcome and respected creates the foundation for psychological safety to truly emerge. That’s why we are now launching a new index for psychological safety – a tool designed to capture the dimensions of working life that were previously harder to measure.
Why we are developing our indexes
The need for more targeted insights has grown over time. Inclusion is still fundamental, but psychological safety captures different – and more behaviour-related – aspects of how teams function.
Quick checklist: What psychological safety drives
- Learning and development
- Effective collaboration
- Innovation and problem-solving
- The ability to act faster and smarter as an organisation
What psychological safety means in practice
Psychological safety isn’t about always agreeing or avoiding conflict. It’s about having the courage to express yourself – and the confidence that your voice will be received with respect.
This includes questions such as:
- Can you freely express your opinions?
- Do you feel safe admitting mistakes?
These are insights we’ve only been able to sense before – now we can measure them with precision.
The difference between inclusion and psychological safety
Inclusion is about belonging.
Psychological safety is about freedom of expression.
Two sides of the same culture, but with different focuses. They complement one another, and therefore need to be measured separately to provide the right foundation for action and development.
How our new index is built
The new index builds on relevant parts of our previous inclusion measure, but has been expanded with additional dimensions to capture the full spectrum of psychological safety.
Key areas in the index
- Courage to express opinions
- Feeling safe reporting mistakes
- The experience of being able to be yourself
- Feeling like a natural part of the group
- Feeling respected by colleagues
A new diversity question set that complements the safety measurement
To continue monitoring diversity and inclusion effectively, we have developed a separate question set focused on representation and the appreciation of differences.
Here we assess broader cultural and structural factors – not the individual’s experience within their immediate team. Together, these two perspectives provide a holistic view of how we develop both our culture and our working environment.
Four benefits of separating psychological safety and diversity
- More precise insights
- Better foundations for targeted actions
- Clearer follow-up over time
- A more comprehensive understanding of our culture
In short, we now have better tools to create workplaces where everyone both wants to – and is able to – contribute fully.
Would you’d like to know more about our indexes, questions, methodology or the platform we use to gather this type of feedback?
Get in touch and we’ll be happy to share more