Organizational well-being and psychological safety

Organizational well-being and psychological safety are the topics of the CERC Dialogue between Nicola Castelli, Università IULM, and Simona Bargiacchi, Cromology.

A two-voice interview that offers insights from both academic and professional perspectives on an increasingly relevant topic for today's organizations.

What are the enabling factors for well-being in the workplace?

Nicola Castelli, Cultore della Materia of Organization Theory and Human Resources Management, Università IULM: There is no doubt that well-being and its protection have become a strategic issue for organizational development: as social expectations have risen, the awareness of companies about it has grown. However, it is still difficult to outline the boundaries of this territory, and the enabling factors are constantly being redefined. Three of them are now considered consolidated and best managed:

• Welfare: the entire range of "extra-work" services (from healthcare agreements to those with banks or insurance companies, from company gyms or nurseries to yoga classes) designed to offer a better work-life balance, and whose related satisfaction is closely linked to the accuracy of the analysis of the organizational workforce's needs.

• Spaces: the design of the physical environment in which people carry out their work, which should make adapting to them as effortless as possible. From size to lighting, from colors to sounds, from tools to equipment: the design of spaces, including those for socializing, significantly impacts perceived well-being.

• Ways of working: as technology is increasingly capable of making work possible everywhere and everywhen, the introduction, where possible, of agreements that allow people to carry out their tasks with a certain degree of autonomy regarding time and place, contributes to creating satisfying professional daily routines. Aside from the legitimate and fundamental need for coordination, this is an area that companies are particularly focused on today.

Beyond these, are there other thematic areas that need attention?

Nicola Castelli: There are at least two other macro-areas that cannot be overlooked, as they significantly impact the work experience in terms of well-being:

• Climate: An elusive yet all-pervasive variable that affects everyone involved in company life. It encompasses the quality of communication and the willingness to collaborate within and between operating units (departments, functions, teams, etc.).

• Leadership styles: The way in which managers interact with their direct reports in the management of their teams and with colleagues in cross-functional coordination. Management approaches that encourage participation, listening, and mutual respect tend to positively influence the climate.

It is interesting to note how the frontier of organizational well-being is increasingly taking into account processes, practices, and, therefore, corporate culture, leading to a rethinking of the work experience, especially in terms of relationships. This trend has its roots in an emerging issue worth exploring: psychological safety.

What is psychological safety? And why is it crucial?

Simona Bargiacchi, Internal Communications, Wellbeing & University Relations Manager, Cromology Italia: Psychological safety is the shared perception within a work group, whether large or small, that it is possible to ask questions, propose ideas, or even admit mistakes without fear of humiliation, retaliation, or negative judgment. It is not about creating an environment without rules or conflict, but about cultivating an interpersonal space where every voice can be heard with respect.

In the current context of complexity, uncertainty, and constant change, ideas and free individual initiative are the real competitive levers. If people fear being judged, they will never share ideas, risk signals, or mistakes. A lack of psychological safety leads to organizational silence, immobility, and doing the bare minimum, which means underutilizing people's potential, scoring a real own goal.

Building psychological safety requires time, transparency, and consistency across the entire company, starting with the leadership team. The benefits, in terms of sustainable performance over time, are such that this investment is the best possible. Back in 2012, Google launched the Aristotle Project, a survey of over 180 teams to answer the question, "What makes a team effective?" The result was that the most important success factor was not the IQ, seniority, or technical expertise of the team members, but the subjectively perceived degree of psychological safety.

The three pillars on which this view is based are:

1. Freedom of speech. When everyone puts their thoughts on the table, ideas can be added, intertwined, and contaminated. This is how things evolve.
2. Disagreement with respect. If difficult conversations are not avoided but are approached in a climate of respect (i.e., without personalizing the conflict or interpreting the unspoken), individuals and the team grow together.
3. Individual responsibility. Ensuring psychological safety is not about lowering standards or accepting mediocre commitment: instead, it involves clarity of expression, commitment to the relationship, and responsibility for one's behavior.