Not long ago, I was speaking with a leader about psychological safety.

He said: “Not a problem, we have policies in place for bullying and harassment.”

It’s a common mix-up. Many people use psychological safety and psychological health and safety interchangeably. But while the two are connected, they’re not the same thing. And understanding the difference matters if you want a workplace that’s not only protected from harm but thriving.

What is Psychological Health and Safety?

Think of this as the infrastructure of your workplace. It’s built into policies, procedures, and practices designed to reduce risks like harassment, discrimination, and excessive workload.

In Canada, this is supported by the National Standard on Psychological Health and Safety and the CSA’s Z1003 framework, which complement guidelines from the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

Examples:

• Having clear, enforced policies against bullying and harassment.
• Ensuring fair workload distribution and preventing chronic overwork.
• Training leaders to recognize early signs of burnout.
• Providing confidential access to Employee Assistance Programs.
• Building processes to respond quickly to complaints of discrimination.

When these structures are in place, employees know the foundation is solid, they’re protected from harm, just as building codes protect us when we step into a home.

What is Psychological Safety?

If health and safety is the foundation, psychological safety is the lived culture that grows on top of it.

It’s not a policy in a binder. It’s the experience of working in an environment where you can speak up, share ideas, and take risks without fear of ridicule or backlash.

Examples:

• A junior employee feels safe raising a concern in a meeting without being shut down.
• Leaders model curiosity by asking questions rather than punishing mistakes.
• Team members openly challenge each other’s ideas in the spirit of innovation.
• Feedback is given constructively, with the goal of learning, not blame.
• Employees admit when they don’t know something, and it’s met with support, not judgment.

Where health and safety is about protection, psychological safety is about possibility. It makes innovation, collaboration, and resilience possible.

The Connection

When you embed psychological health and safety into the fabric of your organization, you make psychological safety more likely to flourish. The infrastructure supports the culture.

A company with strong policies but no culture of openness may be technically “safe” but still stifled. On the other hand, a team that values openness but has no protections in place risks harm when things go wrong. You need both.

Don’t confuse policies for culture. One builds the foundation, the other creates the conditions for growth. Get them both right, and you’ll have a workplace where people feel safe, valued, and ready to do their best work.

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Written by Dr. Steve Conway | Director of Leadership and Psychological Safety
Originally shared via  LinkedIn

Editor’s note: Contact Steve to schedule a one-on-one leadership coaching session. Additionally, Steve provides consultations to members on how to create safe and healthy workplaces—and offers workshops on a variety of mental health topics that can impact manufacturing facilities.