Psychological Safety Takes Time—But It Can’t Be Left to Chance
What we can learn from the 2024 Fearless Organization Scan
Most of us think psychological safety is about culture. But the data suggests it’s also about time.
According to the 2024 Fearless Organization Scan—gathering responses from over 11,000 people across sectors—psychological safety doesn’t just happen because your workplace says the right things. It builds slowly, over years, through trust, familiarity, and actual lived experience inside the organization.
Here’s what they found:
People who’ve been in their organization longer feel safer.
Across four key areas - willingness to help, inclusion and diversity, attitude toward risk and failure, and open conversation - the data shows a consistent trend: the longer someone stays in an organization, the more likely they are to feel safe enough to speak up, share ideas, ask questions, and make mistakes without fear of retaliation.
But here’s the kicker: That safety doesn’t start high and stay steady. It starts low—very low—and only begins to increase after two full years on the job.
The First Year Is the Most Fragile
If you’re only paying attention to long-term culture metrics, you’re missing where things are most at risk.
The scan revealed that the first year of employment is the least psychologically safe period for employees. That’s when people feel the most uncertain about expectations, hesitant to speak up, and least likely to recover from a misstep.
Which makes sense, right? New employees don’t just need job training—they need a whole social and cultural onboarding. Without it, they’re left guessing. And guessing doesn’t feel safe.
Trust Isn’t Instant. It’s Built—Or Broken.
If psychological safety increases with time, it means that retention matters. But not just because it keeps people around—it’s because those people become credible, confident, and well-positioned to contribute without fear.
It also means this:
Your tenured employees are your safety stewards.
They’re the ones who know the real norms. The ones who’ve survived past mistakes. The ones who—if treated with care—can be the bridge for newer staff navigating confusion and culture shocks.
But if you sideline those long-standing employees, write them off as out-of-touch, or only reward newness and disruption? You’re cutting off the very relationships that make psychological safety sustainable.
What This Means for Leaders
Psychological safety is a long-term investment. Not a checklist item.
If you want a culture where people feel safe to challenge ideas, admit mistakes, or say “I don’t know,” you have to design for it—especially during the moments it’s least likely to occur.
That means:
Reimagining onboarding: not just what tasks are assigned, but how new hires are welcomed, mentored, and socially integrated.
Protecting early trust: creating low-stakes environments for asking questions, experimenting, and giving feedback.
Leveraging experience: inviting your long-term employees to model safety, not just compliance or performance.
Naming the gaps: recognizing that different tenures = different experiences, and building a shared culture that doesn’t depend on how long you’ve been around.
Psychological safety doesn’t magically grow. It’s nurtured.
It’s shaped through every interaction. And the first year? That’s when the soil is loosest. So plant carefully.
Want help building a workplace where psychological safety isn’t just a buzzword—but something people actually feel?
Let’s talk about it. DRSC helps organizations design cultures where trust, inclusion, and voice aren’t optional—they’re foundational.
