What Happens When Workers Feel Heard? A Look at Psychological Safety in Construction

A Moment That Showed What Psychological Safety Really Looks Like in High-Risk Industries.

During a recent visit with a client in the U.S., we witnessed a moment that perfectly illustrated how psychological safety and occupational safety go hand in hand.

While touring the site with the safety manager, we stopped by the first aid trailer. Inside was a young man no older than 21, quietly waiting. As soon as the safety manager saw him, he broke from our group and went over to check in.

The young man had a bandaged finger. We learned he’d injured it the day before using the wrong tool to save time— a common mistake in fast-paced work environments.

The exchange that followed was simple but revealing.

The safety manager greeted him with genuine concern: 
“How are you doing? How’s the hand?”

They spoke for a bit, and then the manager asked—kindly and without a hint of blame: 
“What did we learn from this?”

The young man replied,
 “To always use the right tool for the job.” Then, glancing at his hand, he added, “I’m never doing that again.”

The safety manager gave him a reassuring pat on the back, reminded him to arrive early for his follow-up appointment, confirmed he knew where to go, and promised to check in again the next day.

What struck us wasn’t just the manager’s attentiveness, but the tone of the interaction. There was no blame. No sarcasm. No shame. Just trust, empathy, and a focus on learning.

It felt more like a father-son conversation than a disciplinary one—something rare in an industry where “tough it out” and “man up” still permeate the culture. This moment was a quiet but powerful example of leadership that fosters psychological safety.

What Is Psychological Safety?

Psychological safety, as defined by Harvard scholar Amy Edmondson, is “a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes, and that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.”


It’s not about creating a "soft" or consequence-free workplace. Rather, it signals a high-performing culture that encourages honesty, vulnerability, and growth—especially when things go wrong.

Organizational anthropologist Dr. Timothy R. Clark outlines four progressive stages of psychological safety:

1. Inclusion Safety – Individuals feel accepted and that they belong.

2. Learner Safety – They’re encouraged to grow, take risks, and learn from mistakes.

3. Contributor Safety – They feel comfortable sharing ideas and collaborating.

4. Challenger Safety – They can question the status quo without fear of retaliation.

   
   

A psychologically safe workplace is primed for growth in all aspects because employees feel included, trusted, valued, and respected. This aligns with basic human nature: people make better decisions when they feel safe. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs places safety just above survival. Nurturing safety at work isn’t just about compliance or making people “feel good”— it’s absolutely vital for growth. 


Why Is Psychological Safety Critical for Physical Safety?

The influential industrial engineer W. Edwards Deming listed the following in his “14 Points” for management:

“Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company."

This fear isn’t limited to the physical hazards of the workplace, but it also applies to the psychological threats, real or perceived. When workers don’t feel safe speaking up about hazards, mistakes, or near-misses, they go silent. And in high-risk industries like construction, silence can be fatal.

Consider the case of Deepwater Horizon. On paper, it was a top-performing rig. Just hours before the catastrophic explosion, executives were on board to congratulate the crew for seven years without a lost-time incident. But an anonymous survey conducted weeks earlier revealed that more than half the crew were afraid to report safety concerns out of fear of reprisals.

You can have the best safety protocols in the world, but if your team lacks the confidence and trust to use them, those protocols won’t hold water. A team that doesn’t feel safe speaking up cannot remain physically safe for long.

How Do You Know If Psychological Safety Is Present?

Ask yourself (and your team) a few questions:

• Do all team members feel included and valued, regardless of experience or role?

• Are near-misses and hazards reported without fear of reprisals?

• When incidents happen, is the focus on learning how to prevent future incidents or assigning blame?

• Do leaders respond to questions and concerns with curiosity or defensiveness?

• Are employees comfortable asking for help or clarification?

• Are leader-employee interactions regular and positive, or only triggered by problems?

• Do team members offer suggestions and voice concerns openly?

  
  

Psychological safety often shows up in the everyday interactions between leadership and team members. Improving it can reduce friction between leadership and team members, which is essential for creating a positive work environment.

When Something Goes Wrong, What Happens Next?

If leadership responds to incidents by headhunting for someone to blame, the message is clear: don’t speak up. But if we shift the focus from blame to prevention, we can create a collaborative environment where all employees actually believe it when they hear management say we're all “on the same team."

One of the most effective ways to build psychological safety is through everyday recognition, especially when it focuses on praising proactive behavior rather than punishing mistakes. When employees are recognized for the things they’re doing right, it reinforces trust and inclusion. But when recognition is withheld or tied strictly to lagging indicators like injury rates or days without a recordable, it can actually discourage honesty and openness.

True safety cultures recognize effort, improvement, and safe decision-making in real time, even when things don’t go perfectly. That kind of consistent, positive reinforcement helps create a workplace where people feel supported, valued, and safe to speak up.

That’s the kind of culture we saw on our client’s site. For that young man, his early career is being shaped by a workplace where honesty is met with support and leadership has his back. His safety manager has set the bar high. That’s an awesome way for any young person to start what we hope is a long and successful career.