Businesses urged to prioritise psychological safety

Over three-quarters (77%) of frontline employees say they feel safe speaking up about problems or opportunities for improvement in their organisation, according to a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of SafetyCulture.* Yet only 63% of senior management believe their workers feel that way – a gap that suggests many leaders may be underestimating their own culture.

As well as feeling psychologically safe to speak up, nearly three-quarters of employees (71%) feel they have the autonomy to make small changes, as well as time to make improvements beyond ‘getting the job done’ (76%).

The figures represent a significant increase compared to similar studies, which reported that psychological safety fell from 66% to 41% between 2020 and 2024.

Frontline employees are more positive on the topic than their managers. Only 59% of management say their employees are empowered to make changes, compared with 71% of employees themselves.

The findings were released ahead of World Day for Safety and Health at Work on 28 April 2026, organised by the UN’s International Labour Organisation. This year, the theme is ‘the psychosocial working environment’ covering factors including workload, autonomy, fairness and transparency – all of which strongly influence people’s safety and health.

Ronan Kirby, SafetyCulture’s managing director EMEA, said: “These findings are pleasantly surprising – but more business leaders should be building this type of culture and keeping pace with the trend. It’s the difference between a worker flagging a serious risk, or staying silent. And it’s the difference between a team leader implementing an idea that improves efficiency, or continuing to bleed time and money.

“However, gathering feedback isn’t enough: leaders need to listen and act on it. We found that while half of employees say their leaders actually act on ideas, the other half simply collect them. And ultimately, psychological safety and trust will erode if ideas go unacknowledged.”

The study found that workers with the highest psychological safety work in organisations where continuous improvement systems are classified as “mature,” based on how leadership, tools, routines and culture operate in day-to-day work.

In advanced maturity workplaces worldwide, where improvement is coordinated and operationalised, on average 90% of people feel psychologically safe – 13% higher than the UK average – and 81% feel empowered to act without waiting for approval. 

Kirby added: “Psychological safety brings ideas to the surface so leaders can act. This is a crucial part of establishing a reliable system, where improvement is embedded into daily work, and where organisations keep performing better.”

Alongside the report, SafetyCulture and Forrester have created a free maturity assessment tool, enabling organisations to measure and benchmark their performance. Read more in The Improvement Paradox study or take the assessment here.