Toward a Workplace with High “Psychological Safety”

Following his lecture last year, we recently invited Mr. Manabu Tsukagoshi, Director of Fathering Japan, to speak on the topic of “Action Plans for Enhancing Psychological Safety”.
The purpose of this lecture is to provide an opportunity for each supervisor to proactively work on workplace improvement based on the results of the engagement survey conducted in September 2024.

What is Engagement?

Engagement refers to the attachment and feelings that employees have toward the company and their work.
Increased engagement encourages proactive behavior and leads to organizational growth.
The foundation of engagement is “psychological safety.”
Psychological safety refers to the feeling of security that “you will not be denied or disadvantaged even if you express your honest opinion in the workplace.”
I am fortunate that since I started working, I have never felt insecure about voicing my opinions.
I believe this is because I always act in accordance with my beliefs.
Also, when I was younger, I was inexperienced and received a lot of guidance, but I had the presence of mind to listen to it honestly.
Above all, I think the most important thing was that the senior members around me always had the idea of listening to and accepting opinions.
Like in my experience, it is important to have an environment where people can speak freely and share ideas with each other.
On the other hand, in a workplace where psychological safety is low, it is difficult to express opinions, and problem-solving and Kaizen (business improvement) activities do not progress, leading to increased productivity.
Therefore, to promote improvements in the workplace, it is important to first ensure psychological safety.

My Request to You

The improvement of engagement is linked to the 2025 Sumitomo Riko Group Med-Term Management Plan (2025P) and the activities of the SMART Manager (Sumitomo Riko's version of “Ikuboss ” ＊).
As we move forward with this initiative, I would like to ask you all to do two things.
First, I would like each of supervisor to make use of the “leadership behaviors” and “management based on behavioral analysis” that you have learned this time and work to create a workplace with a high level of psychological safety, just as I felt when I was young.
Beginning in FY2025, please focus on implementing workplace improvement.
Second, improving engagement is an issue that should be addressed by all employees together, not just by the supervisors.
The Human Resources Department has scheduled workshops and consultation meetings to improve psychological safety and engagement, and we encourage you to actively participate.
Let's work together to build a workplace with high psychological safety and foster a corporate culture filled with job satisfaction, without being bound by past practices.

＊ Related page on our website: Programs and Systems for the Creation of a Comfortable Working Environment
https://www.sumitomoriko.co.jp/english/sustainability/society/improvement/work.html