A Guide to Psychosocial Safety Skills
A Guide to Psychosocial Safety Skills
We last published a short article on Psychosocial Safety by Dr Robert Long here: What is Psychosocial Safety. Rob has kindly given us permission to publish the entire guide.
DOWNLOAD THE PAPER HERE: A Guide to Psychosocial Safety Skills
Extracts:
Introduction
Psychosocial safety is really not a new concept and has been around industry in various forms for some time. The beginnings of are usually linked to Herbert W. Heinrich an insurance investigator in the 1930s and 1940s. Interest as a discipline grew out of the early work done by pioneers like Heinrich, who were applying behavioural principles in organizations. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Aubrey Daniels, Wanda Myers, and others were working with organizations applying psychological concepts to improve performance in what Aubrey would later term ‘performance management’. More recently psychology in safety has been championed by Scott Geller (Geller, S., (2001) The Psychology of Safety Handbook Lewis Publishers, London).
Psychosocial Safety Concept Map
The key to understanding psychosocial safety is to understand how context influences behavior and thinking. Psychosocial safety is therefore relational. The best way to represent the relational nature of psychosocial safety is through a concept map. Concept mapping shows the relationship between concepts and their interdependence. When the relationships between psychosocial elements are understood relationally then one can see how the approach takes on its own system of functioning.
The following concept map seeks to explain the relational nature of psychosocial safety and the skills required to operate in this approach.
Prof. Robert Long
Latest posts by Prof. Robert Long (see all)
- SPoR Methods and Copyright - August 6, 2026
- Oh My God, It’s Safety - August 6, 2026
- The Psychology of Conversion and the Nature of Belief - August 6, 2026
- Nice People, But Not Believers - August 6, 2026
- Believe Me, I’m a Safety Guru - August 3, 2026