Safety net
Merja
Imagine yourself in a circus, watching an acrobat balancing in a trapeze. People are amazed by the daredevil stunts he is pulling, seemingly effortlessly. Every time he makes a jump, you gasp a little, even if you know that he has a safety net below the trapeze, catching him if he falls. Then he does a stunt with another acrobat, she jumps from the heights into his hands. This all occurs in such a precision that even half a second difference in well-orchestrated movements would mean the fall.
Imagine what the situation would be if there was not that safety net. Would he be this good? Would he dare to stretch his skills all that far? What if he fell and died, how would the circus performance cope with that? Where would they find the next talent and would he be willing to work there? What would other circus workers think? What would the audience think?
We cannot even think about the circus without the safety net under the acrobat performers. I assume most people would not even like to go watching the performance, at least I could not even concentrate on the show if they would have to be wary of the horrible possibility that the performer would splat onto the ground and die or at least hurt badly.
However, this is the case in very many workplaces today. At workplaces, like in the circus, we should always be confident that if we make a mistake, if we fall, we have a safety net protecting us. We need to feel safe to reach our full potential. If we do not have it, we often dare not to do the best we could. If we do not feel safe, we only do the same old tricks that we are sure to succeed. For us to reach our full potential, we need that safety net. If we feel safe and can trust that we are caught in case we fall, we can stretch out our skills, invent new things that benefit both us and the employer.
I have seen so many workplaces where people do not feel safe. They are afraid that if they make a mistake, they get fired. They have seen others in the workplace suffering that fate and they’d rather do the safe, dull things that make sure that they minimize the possibility of any mistakes. But they are not happy. And that affects productivity, workplace mood and eventually the company profit. Eventually people leave.
Can you do something about it?
Yes, absolutely. If you are in a workplace without a safety net, try to create one. YOu can start talking about it. Maybe they do not realize how it affects the people. You might not be able to change the whole place, but you might start with your team. All changes start from one person. You can be that one.
