Healthcare-related injuries are a global issue that can have serious consequences for patients, healthcare professionals, and healthcare systems as a whole. This issue can be addressed by promoting...Show moreHealthcare-related injuries are a global issue that can have serious consequences for patients, healthcare professionals, and healthcare systems as a whole. This issue can be addressed by promoting a learning culture in healthcare organizations. Psychological safety (PS), the extent to which individuals feel safe to take interpersonal risks without fear of negative consequences, in teams is essential to achieve this open communication and collaboration. However, the relationship between personality traits and PS in healthcare remains under-researched. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between the Big Five personality traits and perceived PS in multidisciplinary healthcare teams. A survey was conducted among healthcare professionals working in surgical wards of three Dutch hospitals. The Edmondson Scale for Psychological Safety and the TIPI-d questionnaire measured PS and the Big Five personality traits, respectively. Responses were anonymized, and the final research sample consisted of 41 participants (Team A N=17, Team B N=14, Team C N=10). Spearman correlations were calculated to measure the correlation between PS and the five traits. No significant correlations were found between the traits Extraversion, Openness and Conscientiousness, and PS. Agreeableness was positively significantly correlated with PS, while Neuroticism was negatively significantly correlated with PS. These correlations were not significant in each team, and the internal consistency of the TIPI-d was poor. Therefore, the findings must be interpreted with caution. By responding to a person's unique way of perceiving PS, healthcare teams can encourage interpersonal risk-taking and learn from each other, ultimately resulting in fewer healthcare-related injuries.Show less
A hospital in the Netherlands is currently investigating where they are standing in terms of a safe learning environment. This is investigated to eventually implement Safety-II within their work-...Show moreA hospital in the Netherlands is currently investigating where they are standing in terms of a safe learning environment. This is investigated to eventually implement Safety-II within their work- and learn processes. The safety management approach of Safety-II emphasizes how safety is achieved in daily work. Since speaking up is an important factor for learning and improvement, this study aimed to examine the status of psychological safety among healthcare workers at the Dutch hospital. To address current problems surrounding staff shortage in healthcare, we additionally aimed to investigate how healthcare workers could be retained to their hospital work environment. This pilot study researched the relationship between perceived organizational support (POS), psychological safety, and affective organizational commitment (AOC). Drawing on previous theories, we hypothesized and examined a mediator model predicting AOC. A mixed-method design was used for an in-depth understanding of POS, AOC, and psychological safety among healthcare professionals (N = 38) of a Dutch hospital. The data was collected through a survey, online observations during team meetings, and three interviews. This study provides new support to the importance of POS for organizational commitment. Results showed that POS increased psychological safety among healthcare professionals. Adding to the literature, it was found that in particular support from team leaders was important for higher levels of psychological safety. Our findings also indicate that POS has a positive impact on AOC, but this was not mediated by psychological safety. More research is required to better understand how POS exactly contributes to AOC. Based on our findings, we recommend including perceived support from team leaders within further research on psychological safety.Show less
In dit onderzoek is de rol van inclusief leiderschap in de samenhang tussen de psychologische veiligheid en het welzijn van teamleden onderzocht. Er is kwalitatief onderzoek uitgevoerd waarbij de...Show moreIn dit onderzoek is de rol van inclusief leiderschap in de samenhang tussen de psychologische veiligheid en het welzijn van teamleden onderzocht. Er is kwalitatief onderzoek uitgevoerd waarbij de gemeente Voorschoten als casus is bestudeerd tegen de achtergrond van een recente organisatieverandering. Hierbij zijn bij drie teams interviews afgenomen, waarvan per team drie teamleden en de teammanager (N=12). De resultaten van dit onderzoek duiden op een positieve samenhang tussen psychologische veiligheid en het welzijn van teamleden, waardoor de eerste verwachting bevestigd kan worden. Ook kan de tweede verwachting bevestigd worden die duidt op een positieve samenhang tussen inclusief leiderschap en de psychologische veiligheid van teamleden. Vervolgens wordt er gesteld dat er een indirecte samenhang kan worden vastgesteld tussen inclusief leiderschap en welzijn, dat loopt via de psychologische veiligheid van teamleden. Deze bevindingen resulteren in aanbevelingen die zich toeleggen op het verbeteren van de psychologische veiligheid van teamleden en het inzetten van inclusief leiderschap bij toekomstige organisatieveranderingen.Show less
This study examines the relationship between the self-determination theory and perceived psychological safety, respectively popularized by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan; and Amy Edmondson. Whereas...Show moreThis study examines the relationship between the self-determination theory and perceived psychological safety, respectively popularized by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan; and Amy Edmondson. Whereas psychological safety has been found to positively contribute to team performance, the self-determination theory is used to assess individual needs and fulfilments, and can be a contributor to individual performance. The aim of this potential relationship is to enable the use and combination of individual-, and team-based strategies more effectively in order to enhance overall performance in organizations. I hypothesized that a significant positive correlation exists between self-determination theory factors and perceived psychological safety, and that the former could be used to predict the latter. The data gathered in an international online survey among people working in the healthcare sector supports that there is a significant positive correlation between the levels of the self-determination theory’s autonomy component and perceived psychological safety. However, when setting up a regression model, I found that the autonomy component of self-determination theory is the only significant predictor for the level of perceived psychological safety. This model explains five percent of the variance in the level of perceived psychological safety, and is thus practically of no use. Secondly, hypothesized that there are no gender-based differences in levels of self-determination theory and perceived psychological safety. In the analysis I found that there are generally no gender- based differences in either of the variables, except for the competence component of self- determination theory. This potentially signifies that men and women prioritize their psychological needs differently, but more research is needed to confirm this. In conclusion, based on the evidence gathered in this study, I cannot conclude that the relationship between self-determination theory and psychological safety can be used in a meaningful way to increase overall performance in the healthcare sector, or other organizations for that matter.Show less
When it comes to teamwork, it is vital to communicate well with one another, especially when the lives of patients are in your team’s hands. In order to communicate well, hospital workers must feel...Show moreWhen it comes to teamwork, it is vital to communicate well with one another, especially when the lives of patients are in your team’s hands. In order to communicate well, hospital workers must feel psychologically safe enough within their team to address questions, problems, and errors, and must feel free to make suggestions and give feedback. This study investigates, by the means of a survey on psychological safety and network ties, whether social network ties within and between teams can predict the psychological safety of hospital workers, as they work with colleagues outside of their team as well. Asking for advice from (different) team members and being friends with team members was hypothesised to indicate that the team psychological safety is adequate. Having difficulties with team members was expected to lower the perception of psychological safety. Over the course of three weeks, 70 hospital workers answered the survey via Mechanical Turk and the results from the linear regressions suggest that advice ties positively affect and difficulty ties negatively affect team psychological safety, but only when psychological safety scores were at the lower end of the scale. Team tenure did not moderate the effect that network ties have on psychological safety while larger team sizes may weaken this effect. Future tools for improving psychological safety in hospital teams can make use of the knowledge that advice ties and difficulty ties are possible ingredients of a low psychological safety team moving to a desired level of psychological safety.Show less
In the dynamic world of healthcare, where people work together in multidisciplinary teams, psychological safety is necessary for effective teamwork. Psychological safety leads to more team learning...Show moreIn the dynamic world of healthcare, where people work together in multidisciplinary teams, psychological safety is necessary for effective teamwork. Psychological safety leads to more team learning, self-expression and personal engagement that in turn increases team effectivity. With those beneficial effects in mind, an important part (the first subquestion) of this study focused on the level of psychological safety of various actors at the department of Neurology/Neurosurgery/Neurocare in a large university hospital. Furthermore, this first subquestion served a larger goal. The hospital is about to implement changes in rules and regulations concerning the work activities of healthcare workers, in order to increase patient safety. According to the results of this study, the level of psychological safety was on an adequate level. The second subquestion addressed the prevalent communication styles among colleagues on the work floor of the abovementioned departments. The results suggested that healthcare workers use significantly more directive (dominant and contentious) communication styles compared to non-directive (attentive and friendly) communication styles. No difference was found between the communication styles of nurses and doctors. Since the way of communication may influence psychological safety, the third subquestion focused on the relationship of communication styles and psychological safety. No association was found between those two concepts. However, we found some indications in our very small sample size that nurses with non-directive communication styles may be vulnerable to experiencing a lower level of psychological safety. Because of Covid-19 regulations, the sample size was limited, so the findings are not generalisable. However, this study does serve as a proof-of-concept of a study that can be conducted in the future. In a subsequent similar study, the same method with some modifications can be used to get more generalisable findings and insights into the relationship between communication styles and psychological safety.Show less
