Myriam HadnesFounder and CEO, workshops.work · Behavioural Economist | workshops.work | Host of the Unprofessionalism & workshops work Podcasts

Can we create psychological safety online? #shorts

21 Jun 2022 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:57

In this short spoken piece, the presenter argues that creating psychological safety is actually simpler in virtual environments than in physical rooms. When small groups discuss vulnerable topics in person, facilitators can still hear other groups, leading participants to worry about being observed, missing out on laughter, or feeling judged. In contrast, online breakout rooms guarantee that no one else can listen, eliminating the fear of being overheard and the pressure of social comparison. This privacy turns the virtual breakout into a safe container where participants can share openly, with the assurance that “what happens in a breakout stays in a breakout.”

Chapters

What if I told you that it's actually easier to create psychological safety online than in the physical space? When we ask small groups to come together, to sit in a group and to exchange on a maybe more vulnerable or personal topic, then as facilitators, we have the tendency to walk around. Although the space might be very large, we can still hear what the other groups are saying. They might think, ooh, Maybe someone is listening. Maybe they hear another group laughing and then they feel fear of missing out. Why are they laughing? Why are we not laughing? Why am I sitting in this group? When instead you're bringing a group into the online space and into breakouts, they can be 100% sure that nobody is listening. And this creates the safe container for them to share whatever it is that they want to share. And what happens in a breakout room stays in a breakout room.