Yet colleagues can experience the same workplace very differently, with even small interactions influencing whether they feel comfortable speaking up or decide it is safer to stay quiet.
The latest Working in Mortgages Lunch and Learn session explored psychological safety in the workplace, its relationship with racial equity and the practical steps everyone can take to create a more inclusive environment. Chaired by Atlyn Forde, culture and inclusion consultant at Pepper Money, the discussion brought together professionals from across the mortgage industry to share their experiences.
As Forde explained, psychological safety means feeling comfortable being yourself and able to contribute, ask for help and make mistakes without fear of humiliation, judgement or punishment. When people do not feel safe to share their ideas, both individuals and their organisations lose opportunities to develop and improve.
Shane Chawatama, sales director at Knowledge Bank: For me, psychological safety is about feeling confident that you can share something and that you will be listened to, whatever it is you want to bring forward. Working in sales, we hear a lot of people speaking, but the best people listen well.
At a brokerage where I previously worked, we grew very quickly from a small team into a business employing hundreds of people. Maintaining a connection with colleagues becomes more difficult as an organisation grows, so the leadership continued sharing the story of the business, where it had started and the experiences of the people running it.
That helped keep the person at the top human and approachable, rather than someone employees felt they could not reach. Sharing those experiences helped people understand that they could speak to the leadership team and that the door remained open as the business grew.
Jemel Edwards, senior sales executive at AE3 Media: A lot comes down to small, everyday behaviours that people might not realise are affecting someone else’s confidence. Being interrupted in meetings, having your ideas overlooked or hearing comments dismissed as banter can gradually make you question whether you belong.
Even asking someone, “What’s wrong with you today?” in front of the sales floor can have an effect, particularly when it sounds like criticism rather than concern. There might be nothing wrong, but if there were, would that reaction encourage you to explain how you were feeling?
How people respond when someone raises a concern is another factor. If that person is dismissed, laughed off or met with defensiveness, they may be reluctant to speak again. Other colleagues see the response too and may decide to keep their own concerns to themselves.
Repeated experiences of racial bias can make you much more conscious of how you speak and act. Black people have frequently been labelled aggressive or confrontational for expressing disagreement or a strongly held view, while others expressing themselves in a similar way may be described as passionate or confident. That can make you think twice about speaking up.
A company can have all the right policies without everyone experiencing inclusion in the same way. People need to feel comfortable being themselves without constantly managing how they might be perceived.
Hazvi Chimbetete, partner at John Charcol: This extends beyond individual workplaces to the wider industry. I have recently attended events where there has been very little racial representation, which can make you…
