At its core, psychological safety is the overall feeling of comfort to share opinions, suggest new ideas, and take smart, calculated risks — all without fearing negative consequences. When present, psychological safety provides assurance that voicing differences of opinion or admitting a mistake won't lead to professional detriment.
When employees feel psychologically safe, they aren't just present; they are empowered, heard, and excited to contribute. They feel secure enough to respectfully challenge ideas where appropriate and offer honest, constructive feedback when necessary.
In short: Less stress, more collaboration, and higher job satisfaction. People communicate more openly, trust each other more deeply, and experience less loneliness. Research consistently links psychological safety to many of the outcomes that organizations care about, as highlighted in our Benchmark Database. Employees are more likely to feel psychologically safe when they:
It’s rarely the case that all employees in a given organization have the same perceptions of psychological safety. These perceptions can be heavily dependent on a given team, manager, role, department, or a plethora of other demographics. The more your employees feel comfortable voicing their opinions, pitching bold ideas, and respectfully challenging the status quo, the closer your organization gets to unlocking its collective power.
When looking at overall psychological safety trends since 2021, we found that it has largely remained stable, hovering around 70% over the past 4 years. While this shows that there have been no major decreases during this time, it consequently means that neutral and negative perceptions are holding steady in the 30% range.
This data indicates that nearly 1 in every 3 employees do not have positive psychological safety perceptions, which has remained true since 2021.
While psychological safety is certainly driven from the top, having a workforce that truly feels psychologically safe does not exist without the right people. That is to say, even when an organization encourages psychological safety, the reality of creating a psychologically safe workplace depends on all employees sharing and emulating those values.
The data support this. Our 2025 Benchmark data reveals that, on average, 73% of employees have positive psychological safety perceptions. But when we take a closer look at how this unfolds across individual contributors, managers, and executives, we see some large discrepancies:
Given that executives are 18 percentage points higher than individual contributors and 10 percentage points higher than managers, there is clearly something bigger going on. Individual contributors are pertinent to an organization's ability to deliver and execute the day-to-day tasks that drive larger success. We need to do more to make sure they aren't hindered in contributing to the very success they're capable of and eager to deliver.
Hourly employees often form the backbone of customer interaction, operations, and direct service delivery. They can serve as the eyes and ears of the frontline and have great insight into how and where organizations can improve. Unfortunately, the variance across hourly workers and salaried workers further showcases that the benefits of psychological safety can be unrealized without the right people in the right places.
When compared to the 2025 benchmark, hourly workers are falling behind at 66% favorability. Not only is this a stark seven percentage points below the benchmark, but it's nine percentage points behind salaried workers, who sit two points above the benchmark at 75% favorability.
This disparity represents a critical difference in the daily experience of a vital portion of the workforce. As our research on frontline workers shows, these employees already face unique challenges that require targeted support.
Making sure hourly employees feel empowered to contribute to how work is done and how organizations can advance is essential for operational excellence and frontline innovation. It mitigates your risk of losing critical insights and valuable contributions.
Our research revealed troubling disparities: not all employees feel safe expressing opinions, sharing innovative ideas, or constructively challenging their colleagues. Every employee deserves equal respect and psychological safety, regardless of their background. Today's remote and hybrid work models give organizations access to unprecedented diversity of thought, experience, and expertise.
Companies that harness this diversity gain a competitive edge, while those that don't risk falling behind. Indeed, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, but only when every part feels safe enough to contribute. Disregarding this reality puts organizations at a competitive disadvantage they can ill afford. As we've learned from our research on change management, organizations that create environments where all voices are heard are better positioned to navigate disruption and drive innovation.
Building psychological safety isn't a one-time initiative — it's an ongoing commitment that requires intentional strategies, consistent measurement, and targeted action. Organizations that prioritize psychological safety across all levels and demographics create the foundation for sustained engagement, innovation, and competitive advantage.
Ready to unlock the full potential of your workforce? Our comprehensive listening and action strategies can help you identify where psychological safety gaps exist and provide targeted steps to create an environment where every employee — from the C-suite to the frontline — feels empowered to contribute their best ideas. Schedule a consultation to discover how Perceptyx can help you build a psychologically safe workplace that drives innovation, retention, and business success.
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