HR in 15 · 2022-11-23 · 14 min
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
30 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
Psychological safety drives employee engagement, creativity, and retention by allowing workers to be themselves, ask questions, and share ideas without fear of repercussion. Kathryn Matthias, founder of Civility Partners, emphasizes that creating this environment requires both individual leader behaviors and organizational systems. Leaders must practice active listening without defensiveness, give complete and collaborative feedback, and recognize that HR open-door policies must explicitly welcome emotional vulnerability - not just logical problem-solving. On the organizational side, companies must enforce anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies consistently, measure employee sentiment through surveys and act on findings, train managers to address gossip and microaggressions as seriously as performance issues, and provide bystander intervention training so employees know how to safely intervene when witnessing uncivil behavior. This dual approach - combining interpersonal skills with structural accountability - prevents the mixed messaging that undermines stated values when poor performers are tolerated.
Psychological safety encourages creativity and innovation, improves morale and inclusion, reduces stress and turnover, increases discretionary effort, and enables employee growth and development by allowing people to feel respected, heard, and valued.
HR must explicitly communicate that emotional vulnerability is welcome and safe - not a sign of weakness - so employees feel secure reporting harassment, bullying, or personal challenges without fear of judgment or professional consequences.
Managers should practice active listening without defensiveness, give complete and specific feedback focused on growth rather than criticism, offer genuine compliments explaining why something was valuable, and remain open to receiving feedback from their teams.
Companies must consistently enforce anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies and hold all employees - including high performers - accountable; tolerating poor behavior by key contributors signals that stated values are not actually enforced.
Bystander intervention training teaches employees how and when to safely address gossip, microaggressions, and sarcasm they witness, converting passive observers into active defenders of civility rather than unwitting enablers of uncivil behavior.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
The episode offers a handful of usable ideas - complete vs. half compliments, bystander-enabler framing, emotions-as-vulnerability tension with open-door policy - but most of the runtime is padded with well-worn HR truisms and Maslow's hierarchy. The signal-to-noise ratio is low for a 14-minute episode.
you've got to give a whole compliment. Hey, good job. It was really great that you did X, Y and Z on this
what people don't realize is if they witness negative behavior and they don't say anything, that makes them an enabler or a reinforcer of that behavior
The episode leans heavily on recycled frameworks - Maslow's hierarchy, active listening, open-door policy, anti-harassment policies - with no contrarian or first-principles argument. The emotions-at-work point has potential but is not developed into anything genuinely fresh.
if you think of psychological safety and that old Maslow's hierarchy of Needs
active listening. Of course we've all heard that phrase
Kathryn Matthias is a genuine practitioner - former HR director who did graduate research on workplace bullying and runs a niche consulting firm. That's credible domain experience, but she is primarily a trainer/consultant rather than an operator who has transformed a large organisation at scale, limiting the depth of hard-won insight.
I started in hr, worked, uh, my way up to director of hr
did all of my graduate research on workplace bullying
Almost no concrete data, named client cases, or measurable outcomes appear in the transcript. The most specific reference is a recent blog post on compliments. The host's anecdote about her own company's shout-outs is the only named example, and it is self-referential promotion rather than evidence.
we just had a blog post go out a couple weeks ago about compliments
at Prestige, uh, during our, uh, town halls, our quarterly business meetings, our COO does what he calls shout outs
The host asks broad, leading questions with no meaningful follow-up or pushback, contributes a self-promotional anecdote mid-interview, and audibly runs out of things to say ('I don't know what else to say'). The transcript even exposes live production direction, indicating minimal editorial craft.
I don't know what else to say
I think we're coming up on 15 minutes left, which is why I stopped
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
“We have to shift our mindset around emotions and vulnerability at work. When we’re saying psychological safety, what we’re saying is that people can feel free to be vulnerable.” The ideal workplace has minimal turnover, high morale, and team members who feel creatively fulfilled. Business owners who may wonder how they can achieve this workplace nirvana should evaluate the psychological safety of their office and tune in to our latest episode of HR in 15. We are joined once again by our host Jacqueline McGrath, an HRBP at PrestigePEO, and guest speaker Catherine Mattice, Founder & CEO of Civility Partners. In this episode, our speakers discuss how psychological safety benefits company culture, along with providing actionable changes employers can encourage to detoxify workplaces. Highlights Include: The benefits of a psychologically safe workplace It starts from the top: what actions you can demonstrate to create a safer workplace Listen to feedback and continue to incorporate it PrestigePEO is always available to help with HR, employee benefits and payroll, and more. Call Us Today at 888-PEO-PEO1 or visit prestigepeo.com .
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
Speaker A: Welcome to HR in 15, a podcast dedicated to addressing the complexities of modern HR in just 15 minutes, brought to you by Prestige Peo, simplifying HR.
Speaker B: Hi, and welcome to another episode of HR in 15. I'm Jackie McGrath, Human Resources Business partner and your host again. Today we're joined once again by Kathryn Matthias, founder and CEO of Civility Partners. Thank you for coming back today, Kathryn.
Speaker C: Thank you. Happy to be back.
Speaker B: Today we're going to continue our conversation on psychological safety in the workplace by discussing how employers can create a workplace environment where their employees thrive. First, we should remind our audience about you and your company. Can you tell us a little bit about Civility Partners?
Speaker D: Sure.
Speaker C: I started in hr, worked, uh, my way up to director of hr, and, uh, worked with another director who I felt was engaging in some bullying behaviors and ended, uh, up getting my master's degree while I was working there and did all of my graduate research on workplace bullying and joke that I have a master's degree in workplace bullying. Um, and so these days, Civility Partners is focused on, uh, turning around toxic work environments through, through workforce surveys and then helping leaders address those results. Uh, we also do tons of training, and also we coach leaders who engage in toxic behaviors.
Speaker B: Thanks for sharing that, Kathryn. In our last episode, we discussed the definition of psychological safety and examples of how it affects the workplace. Today we're focusing on how employers can make sure that their company culture is a place their employees can thrive. So, Katherine, can you tell us the benefits of this kind of culture?
Speaker D: Sure.
Speaker C: So, uh, as we discussed last time, when people feel psychologically safe, they're more comfortable to be themselves, or they are comfortable to be themselves. Uh, they're comfortable to ask questions and make mistakes and share ideas without fear of repercussion. And so, of course, the benefits of that are, uh, one, it encourages creativity. If you feel comfortable to offer suggestions, ask questions, and so on, you know, you're, you're going to have more innovation, more creativity among your team, and you never know, you know where that'll lead you. You might get that crazy idea that will change the world. Um, and of course, if people feel like they can be comfortable to be themselves, that means they're feeling very included, which improves morale. If you feel respected and you feel heard and you feel valued, then you're going to work harder, you're less stressed. Um, and of course, happy employees are less likely to leave the organization, so it's reducing turnover. I would say if you think of psychological safety and that old Maslow's hierarchy of Needs, you know, which was the idea that essentially you can't be the best version of yourself until your safety needs are met, your physiological needs are met, and until you feel like you're loved and valued. And only when you feel loved and valued can you have healthy self esteem and only then can you self actualize. So, um, you just, you know, who doesn't want, you know, things like employee engagement, all of that's about discretionary effort. Right. Trying. The more engaged people are, the more effort they give. Um, I think psychological safety is sort of similar to that. The more safe people feel, the more they'll give you.
Speaker B: Absolutely. That's a great, a perfect um, example that you gave and I think too it'll allow employees to continue growing, uh, within the organization.
Speaker D: Yep.
Speaker C: Yeah, they, and of course we all like to grow. Nobody wants to stay stagnant. So if people feel like they can grow and um, have ideas that they're allowed to go and test out, it's just, um, everybody wins.
Speaker B: Those are all really important facets of a healthy workplace. Um, can you let us know what are some ways employers can encourage psychological safety in the workplace?
Speaker C: Sure. So I think there's two parts to that question. So first I want to talk about what managers and supervisors and HR and leaders can do to encourage psychological safety because I think there's an interpersonal component. And then I'd be happy to share some of the more employer versions or company versions. So, um, I notice a lot, my first tip is related to not being defensive. Right. Being active in the way that you listen, then being open minded. So active listening. Of course we've all heard that phrase. It's about being present and mindful, open minded, um, putting distractions away, paraphrasing, making eye contact. I think probably all of your listeners, if you're in hr, you've been through some sort of training that talked about active listening. Um, but part of it too is holding your tongue and not making judgment, not being defensive, um, and just really being truly willing to collaborate. So that's one, one tip for us as individuals. Um, another is to give feedback. You know, you, we live in a world where it's like, and I think we're slowly getting out of this where it's, you know, feedback supposed to come from the hierarchy that it goes down but maybe not back up. Um, and we've got to change that. So really being open to feedback when people give it to you and being open with your feedback for others and coming at it from a place of collaboration and caring that hey, this is about making you be more successful than you already are, um, versus tearing you down with criticism. Um, and then, of course, giving positive feedback, giving compliments. Um, in fact, we just had a blog post go out a couple weeks ago about compliments and how we often say things like, oh, good job, or thanks for that. But that, that's only half of a compliment. You've got to give a whole compliment. Hey, good job. It was really great that you did X, Y and Z on this. You know, so that, or if you say thank you, thank you for that, it made my life better in the following ways. Um, so really communicating openly about, um, the feedback and giving that full compliment, that full positivity, um, those are some of the ways that, that people are going to feel more psychologically safe if you're making it very clear that it's a safe environment.
Speaker D: Right?
Speaker B: Absolutely. And I have to say, actually at Prestige, uh, during our, uh, town halls, our quarterly business meetings, our COO does what he calls shout outs. And basically it's giving kudos, uh, to particular employees. But they're quite a few, um, of, you know, when the employees have gone above and beyond. And honestly, it really makes people feel special, it boosts morale, um, and it just really makes people feel appreciated and loved, like you said. And, uh, they're going to be better employees and continue being contributing, uh, grateful employees.
Speaker C: Absolutely. We, we all love a good shout out.
Speaker B: Um, fantastic. And, um, you know, a lot of other things that I think are key is for, uh, HR to always have, you know, an open door policy. And if technically that's not possible, at least let employees have the opportunity to see HR during specific office hours. I think that would be a, uh, good recommendation too.
Speaker C: Um, yeah, you know, I want to, I want to talk about that open door policy for a second because I do hear that a lot. Uh, I want to. And then this can tie into kind of part two of my answer around the. What organizations can do. Um, I hear that a lot, you know, the open door policy. Um, I think HR has to be aware of the vulnerability that comes with talking to hr. And I was talking about this a lot in relate. Related to harassment before COVID And then I was talking about it related to Covid. Um, but this idea that at work we are supposed to not be emotional, right? You're supposed to focus on objectives, KPIs goals, tangible results, charts and graphs and all of that. And you know what happens if you cry, you look weak and all of this stuff. And so we have to really Shift our mindset around emotions and vulnerability at work. Because when we're saying psychological safety, what we're saying is someone can feel free to be vulnerable. But our society has so far made it pretty clear that you're not supposed to be vulnerable at work. You're not supposed to be emotional at work. So if, if HR has an open door policy and puts that out there, that's a great first step. But HR also has to make it very clear that if you come to my office and cry your eyes out, I'm not going to say that you're weak. I'm not going to see you as weak. I'm going to be totally okay with it. Um, you know, something like harassment. Being harassed is a emotional place to be. I'm, um, being harassed. My job is essentially threatened because I'm in this ugly situation and I'm concerned about the consequences of reporting and all of that. So just something to think about. Um, you know, when thinking about that open door policy, that it has to include emotions and a vulnerability and you have to be okay with it.
Speaker B: Um, so that's the human and the human resources part.
Speaker C: Yes, exactly. But we get, you know, of course we live in this society too. We get sucked up in those goals and metrics. Especially now with, uh, now that we can have so many more metrics than we had even five or ten years ago, um, that we can't lose sight of that human piece. Um, so back to your question about what organizations can do. Um, you know, one is, is obviously don't tolerate poor behavior that affect psychological safety. So you know, if you have an anti bullying policy, and of course you have an anti harassment policy, great. But do you, do you really live it? Um, and so if somebody comes to you and says they're being mistreated, what's your reaction to that? So a big piece is how HR responds, you know, because, uh, people are going to know that hey, where they're pushing us, these core values on us. But we all know that, you know, Frank in marketing is a horrible person and nobody likes him and he's mean, but yet he still works here. Then there's a lot of mixed messaging there. So really sticking to your word that we have policies and we hold people accountable to it. Um, we talked previously about surveys, you know, measuring where are people, how are they feeling, what do they need? And then creating an action item around all of those needs that show up in the survey is another great way to create psychological safety. Um, and really training managers too. On, on, um, making it Very clear that, hey, if you hear of gossip, microaggressions, sarcasm, that. That other stuff that we don't usually address, you should be addressing that and coaching people not to do that. Just like you would coach them if they were showing up late to work all the time or missing deadlines. Um, so that's another key piece that it's kind. I say it's kind of an easy piece because a lot of organizations aren't doing that. There's plenty of trainers out there who deliver that sort of training, us included. Um, so that's a really great step as well.
Speaker B: Absolutely. Kind of putting an end to the. The water cooler chat.
Speaker C: Yes. Yeah. I mean, you have to think. We don't. We really don't step in when there's uncivil behavior. And I'll use that word to describe lots of things like gossip. You know, we don't. We allow that stuff to happen. Um, because a lot of times managers don't know that they're supposed to not let that happen or they're maybe engaging in it too. So, um, all of, you know, just all of this whole not tolerating poor behavior comes with giving people the tools to not tolerate it. Um, one thing we've been doing lately, too, is bystander intervention training. So, um, what people don't realize is if they witness negative behavior and they don't say anything, that makes them an enabler or a reinforcer of that behavior. So, um, I know during MeToo and things, um, you know, lots of organizations were using the see something, say something, but we're not wired to jump in front of a bus, so we're not wired to step in like that. So, um, giving training on how to step in and when and why and who to. Who to talk to about it.
Speaker B: Great. Yeah. I don't know what else to say.
Speaker C: I think we're coming up on 15 minutes left, which is why I stopped.
Speaker B: Oh, sorry.
Speaker D: Great. I think you can kind of close it out, Jackie, if you feel like, you know, that's a good place to stop.
Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Oh, uh, I'll end it.
Speaker C: I'm sorry.
Speaker D: No, that's okay. No problem. I'm just going to clap so we can pick up that last part. Okay. Okay. Yeah, go ahead. In five, four, three, two, one.
Speaker B: Catherine, those are great tactics. Thank you so much for sharing. I really appreciate your time today and I'm sure our listeners do as well. Be sure to check out the amazing resources that Katherine and Civility partners do at ww dot. Civilitypartners.com you can also listen to more episodes of HRN 15@ww.hrn15.com thanks for tuning in everyone.
Speaker A: For questions or more information on today's topic, visit Prestige Peo. Com.
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