The leadership gap we can’t ignore: MHFA England on psychological safety at work

We sat down with Sarah McIntosh, Chief Executive of workplace mental health experts MHFA England, and Savanna Wright, People and Wellbeing Business Partner, to talk about why so many employees still can’t be themselves at work – and the opportunity that creates for forward-thinking organisations.

92% of employees say bringing their whole self to work matters, yet fewer than half feel able to do so. Why do you think that is, and why are organisations struggling to close the gap?

Sarah McIntosh: “The gap points directly to a lack of psychological safety – or rather, the opportunity to build more of it. Bringing your whole self to work requires people to feel genuinely safe: safe to speak up, to be honest about their experiences, and to show aspects of their identity or mental health without fear of consequences.

People pay close attention to what actually happens in moments that feel risky. When someone makes a mistake or shares a struggle, how their leader responds tells them everything. If those moments are met with defensiveness or silence, trust is quickly lost. When they’re handled with openness, something very different happens – people start to believe the culture is real, and that’s when things shift.

Closing the gap requires sustained cultural change. That means equipping leaders with the skills and confidence to have supportive conversations, addressing stigma, and making trust part of how the organisation works every day. The good news is that these are learnable skills, and the organisations investing in them are already seeing the difference.”

Almost half of managers say they’re not confident measuring psychological safety. What does that tell us about the leadership capability gap in UK workplaces, and how should it be measured?

Savanna Wright: “It tells us there’s a significant opportunity. Psychological safety is widely understood as a driver of performance, engagement, and wellbeing – but many managers haven’t yet had the support to translate that understanding into everyday practice. That’s something organisations can genuinely get ahead of.

A lot of managers are also working with limited tools. Surveys exist, but without training in how to interpret people data meaningfully, it can be hard to connect what you’re seeing in your team to broader organisational priorities. Measurement works best when it draws on multiple sources – turnover trends, absence patterns, feedback loops, and how people show up in team conversations all tell part of the story. Together they give leaders something they can actually act on.”

Employees are clear about what they need – recognition, manageable workloads, regular check-ins. So why aren’t these basics happening consistently?

Savanna Wright: “Managers are holding a lot at once. The intention to support their teams is almost always there – the challenge is finding the space to act on it when the pressure to deliver outputs can feel constant. Without practical training and visible role modelling from senior leaders, it’s easy for the relational side of the role to get squeezed.

What we often see is that check-ins happen, but they become transactional. Recognition gets deprioritised. It looks like wellbeing is being addressed, but the conversations aren’t doing what they need to do. The organisations that get this right tend to be the ones that treat psychological safety as a strategic priority – giving managers clear expectations, accessible resources, and the confidence that this is genuinely part of their role. When that support is in place, behaviour changes.”

Many organisations talk about psychological safety, but what does it actually look like in day-to-day leadership behaviours?

Savanna Wright: “It’s built in small, consistent moments rather than policies or programmes. A manager who notices when someone’s workload is becoming unmanageable and says something early. Acknowledging a contribution when it happens, in the moment. Inviting feedback and actually responding to it, even when it’s uncomfortable. Reflecting openly on a decision that didn’t land well.

Taking time to understand how each person in a team prefers to work and communicate might sound like a small thing. In practice, it’s what makes people feel genuinely seen. That’s when they perform at their best – and that’s good for everyone.”

If a CEO or HR leader asked you for the single most important change they could make tomorrow to create a workplace where people feel able to be themselves, what would it be?

Sarah McIntosh: “Model it yourself. When senior leaders talk honestly about their own challenges, admit when they’ve got something wrong, ask for input, and respond constructively when people push back, it sends a signal that it’s genuinely safe to do the same. The impact of that on a culture is hard to overstate.

It also changes how risk is perceived. In many workplaces, speaking up or sharing a concern can feel like a gamble. But when leaders actively invite those behaviours and respond well – especially to the views that challenge them – people start to believe that they’re valued rather than just tolerated. That’s when the gap between what an organisation says about culture and what employees actually experience starts to close. Everything else follows from there.”

Ultimately, the gap between what organisations say and what employees experience is not a question of intent. It is a question of consistency. The fundamentals are clear; psychological safety is built through everyday behaviours, not one-off initiatives. It is shaped in how leaders respond under pressure, how managers prioritise conversations, and whether employees feel genuinely seen, heard and supported.

For UK employers, the link to workplace health and wellbeing is direct. When people feel able to be themselves, stress reduces, engagement improves and performance follows. When they do not, the cost is carried quietly through burnout, disengagement and lost potential.

The opportunity is significant. Organisations that move beyond awareness and embed psychological safety into how work actually happens will not only close the gap, but create environments where people can contribute at their best. Because creating a workplace where people can be themselves is not just a cultural aspiration; it is a foundation for sustainable performance and organisational health.