‘ More than half of workplaces in Nigeria are psychologically unsafe’

The Principal, Winbox Consulting, Dr. Deji Osaz has said that more than half of the companies in Nigeria are not psychologically safe. Sharing his experience, he He made this known at the said he saw a managing premier edition of Culture director throw a sandal at a Champion Breakfast Buffet manager during a meeting. ( CCBB), titled: Creating and “We've had organisations Sustaining Psychological whereby they just give a Safety in Today’s Workplace. worker a deadline of some Noting that many things weeks or days to get a job had happened over the worth of months to do or an years in various work places, organisation whereby they he said many Huma n tell you that your opinions Resource ( HR) professiondon't matter.” als, team leaders, talent He noted that workers, who managers and chief execuare psychologically safe will tives are toxic to workers be able to give and receive and decreasing human perfeedback; raise issues and formance. concerns, ask for clarificaAccording to him, most tions, ask difficult questions organisation leaders ha ve and offer solutions to probturned themselves into vullems. ture champions rather than Osaz pointed out that what culture champions. the country needed was cultural champions in various organisations to better their brand and profit.

Executive Vice President, Operations and Technology at Interswitch Group, Ehia Erhabor, advised workplace leaders to build a good culture for the progress of their organisations and for the coming generation.

Also, the Chief Operations Officer, CIG Group Africa Business Centre, Victor Adebayo added that sustaining psychological safety in the workplace is not a responsibility of one person.

Adebayo said some people are broken from home and they can’t control their emotions, which definitely makes it psychologically unsafe for such people.

He advised workers not to be afraid to reach out for help when needed and don’t be panicked to reorganise.

HR leader, Kaosara Abdulkareem, said organisation culture should be psychological safe for both employees and employers, saying it should be in the Deoxyribonucleic Acid ( DNA) of every organisation.

She said: “When we hear psychological safety people think you're talking about a therapy or you're talking about one coaching session, but it must be the culture of every organisation.

“Everybody is a leader in their own rights. If you think the responsibility of psychological safety ends in the board or the desk of the management, then we are going nowhere. At every point in time, everybody should talk about psychological safety in everything that we are doing in the organisation.”