Psychological Safety and the New NR-1 Requirements
How Shop Floor Management Becomes the Key to a Healthy and Productive Work Environment
The increasing uncertainty in the market affects both production costs and company revenues. In this scenario, the pressure for results can create tense work environments where communication breaks down, problems are hidden, and micromanagement stifles innovation.
At the same time, Regulatory Standard No. 1 (NR-1) now requires companies to incorporate psychological safety into their management practices. Starting May 25, 2025, organizations must identify, assess, document, and manage psychosocial risks, just as they already do with physical, chemical, and ergonomic risks. This means that, in addition to ensuring physical safety, companies must provide concrete evidence that they are also protecting the mental health of their employees.
In this context, the concept of psychological safety, introduced by Amy Edmondson, gains relevance. But what does it actually mean in practice?
What is Psychological Safety and Why Does It Matter?
The term “psychological safety” was introduced by Amy Edmondson, a professor at Harvard Business School, who discovered that high-performing teams report more problems than low-performing teams. This happens because, in a psychologically safe environment, employees feel comfortable admitting mistakes, discussing challenges, and suggesting improvements without fear of punishment.
Contrary to what some may think, psychological safety does not mean avoiding conflicts or creating an overly “comfortable” environment. Instead, it allows professionals to be authentic, ask difficult questions, and challenge the status quo without fear of retaliation.
Companies that foster psychological safety experience several benefits:
- More Innovation: When employees feel safe expressing ideas, creativity flows freely, leading to innovative solutions.
- Faster Learning: Mistakes are treated as learning opportunities rather than failures.
- Higher Engagement: Employees who feel valued and respected are more committed to their work.
- Better Problem-Solving: Open discussions about issues help organizations address challenges before they escalate into crises.
How to Foster Psychological Safety in Your Organization
Building a psychologically safe environment requires deliberate actions from leadership. Some key strategies include:
- Framing Work as a Learning Process: Accepting that mistakes are part of the journey and using them as a source of growth.
- Acknowledging One’s Own Fallibility: Leaders should admit their mistakes and encourage their teams to do the same.
- Encouraging Curiosity: Promoting open-ended discussions and questions to generate new perspectives.
- Creating Safe Spaces for Dialogue: Meetings and interactions should encourage honest feedback and open exchanges.
- Valuing “Intelligent Failure”: Experimentation should be encouraged, even when results are not as expected.
However, implementing psychological safety can be challenging. Companies that fail to integrate it effectively risk falling into the “flash-in-the-pan” syndrome, where initiatives start strong but quickly fade away.
The key to sustained psychological safety lies in adopting Shop floor Management (SFM), an approach based on Lean management principles developed by Staufen, a consulting company that is part of Accenture.
Shop Floor Management: The Foundation for Psychological Safety and High Performance
Shop floor Management (SFM) is a leadership approach designed to enhance visibility, transparency, and continuous improvement.
Unlike traditional models that centralize decision-making, SFM empowers employees to identify and solve problems in real time.
SFM is structured around five essential leadership tasks:
- Regular Communication – ensuring efficient and transparent information flow.
- Structured Problem-Solving – using standardized methods to address issues effectively.
- Process Confirmation – ensuring that established standards are consistently followed.
- Continuous Improvement Promotion – fostering an ongoing pursuit of excellence.
- Employee Development – enhancing skills that enable greater autonomy in problem-solving.
The Role of Leadership in Creating a Psychologically Safe Environment
For Shop floor Management to drive psychological safety effectively, leaders must adopt specific behaviors. Some essential leadership practices include:
- Supportive Leadership (“Hard with Problems, Soft with People”)
- Focus on problem-solving rather than blaming individuals.
- A rigorous approach to fact-based analysis and solution implementation.
- Respectful and empathetic interactions with employees.
- Active Listening
- Genuine attention to employees’ concerns and ideas.
- A balance between open-ended questions (to encourage reflection) and closed questions (to obtain specific information).
- Neutral Perception
- Avoiding bias and analyzing all available information before making decisions.
- Considering diverse perspectives to identify the best solutions.
Psychological Safety and SFM: The Impact on Business Performance
By implementing Shop floor Management, organizations create an environment where:
- Problems are identified early, preventing crises.
- Decision-making is decentralized, reducing the need for micromanagement.
- Continuous improvement is encouraged, fostering innovation.
- Harassment is mitigated, promoting a respectful and healthy workplace.
As a result, companies not only comply with the new NR-1 requirements but also increase their competitiveness, retain talent, and boost innovation.
If your company wants to transform its organizational culture and implement a management model aligned with global best practices, Staufen’s Shop Floor Management is the ideal solution.
