“How to Tell If a Prospective Employer Values Psychological Safety,” by Susan Peppercorn

 Friday 16 Sept 2022

Screen a Potential Employer for Psychological Safety

When you’re looking for a new job, how can you assess whether a prospective employer values psychological safety? Here’s how to screen for red flags.

(1) Take note of exclusive language. In job descriptions and interviews, take note of any subtle language cues that communicate subtle bias, such as ageist or gender-coded descriptors. What you want to hear is language that’s neutral and skills-based, like “passionate programmer,” “creative software engineer,” or “experienced developer.”

(2) Ask open-ended questions about culture during your interview. For example, “Can you tell me about a time someone messed up? What happened?” This question gets to the heart of psychological safety. Psychologically safe teams allow mistakes and don’t penalize employees for failure. Rather, they provide the security employees need to take risks.

(3) Listen carefully to how the organization answers your questions. If certain questions—about compensation or benefits, for example—are met with promises for follow-ups that never come, beware. Lack of transparency in the application process is a signal of a culture that might not value trust, therefore compromising psychological safety.

This tip is adapted from “How to Tell If a Prospective Employer Values Psychological Safety,” by Susan Peppercorn