Carewashing – organizations that talk about psychological safety but do little or only superficially address it.

by

Carewashing Esther Mollema

 

“This year, psychological safety is really on the agenda. We’re considering mindfulness training and a ping-pong table.”

Below, you’ll find a great Harvard Business Review (HBR) article that debunks the idea that simple actions like these truly address psychological safety. I call it carewashing. I believe many Dutch organizations are also guilty of this. According to a recent Gallup survey, the percentage of employees who believe their organization cares about their well-being has dropped from 49% in 2020 to 21% in 2024.

Employees see through carewashing, and it leads to turnover and unmotivated employees. Does that sound familiar?

My favorite solutions from this HBR article are:

  1. Truly prioritize human connection.
  2. Seriously measure psychological safety and act on the outcomes at the team level.
  3. Have leaders lead by example and tie consequences to their position if they don’t.

Click here to read the HBR article.

This article was previously published on Esther’s LinkedIn page. Want to follow Esther’s thoughts on current events there? Click here. Esther is a Certified Top Voice on LinkedIn.”