Marvin OnumonuA Forrester Consulting study for SafetyCulture showed 77% of UK frontline workers felt safe to raise concerns or suggest improvements at work.
Only 63% of senior management believed their staff felt this way, highlighting a gap in how leaders see their own culture.
The study also found 71% of employees said they had the freedom to make small changes at work, and 76% said they had time to make improvements, not just complete tasks.
In comparison, only 59% of managers said staff could make changes, showing workers are more positive about their own autonomy than management.
Between 2020 and 2024, reported psychological safety fell from 66% to 41%.
Ronan Kirby, managing director EMEA at SafetyCulture, 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.”
Kirby added: “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 felt most psychologically safe in places where continuous improvement systems were mature, with clear leadership, routines, and culture.
In these workplaces, 90% of staff said they felt safe to speak up, well above the UK average, and 81% said they could act without waiting for approval.
Kirby said: “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.”
