Psychological safety + DEI: ‘Our job is to get everyone on the same page,” panelist tells safety pros

Orlando, FL — Ensuring psychological safety and diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace demands safety professionals’ expertise, skills and practice, according to one expert.

“We know people hold very different viewpoints,” Nakia Green, a senior partner at inQUEST Consulting, said during a panel discussion at the 2024 NSC Safety Congress & Expo. “Our job is to get everyone on the same page.

“We need your expertise. We need your help. We need your skills and your practice to continue to ensure that people aren’t only physically safe but psychologically safe in the workplace as well.”

Green and inQUEST Consulting CEO Scott Hoesman led the panel discussion, titled “Psychologically Safe Workplaces: What Can We Agree On?” The panel featured safety pros from around the world:

• Denise Malloy-Deaderick, former senior vice president/chief belonging officer, Walmart
• Amber Durkin, senior director, employee and environmental safety, Walgreens
• Jeanette Torres, director of DEI, Ferrara
• Marc Juaire, principal solutions executive for safety and operational risk, VelocityEHS
• Nicole Seabaugh, safety pro, Atkins Nuclear Secured Holding

Early in her career, Malloy-Deaderick held a certain view of the culture at her workplace, but time and various professional roles changed that lens.

“I thought the organization and the world was diverse and inclusive, and we were really a work family,” she said. “As I continued to grow and continued to have experiences, it became clear to me that there was a gap between DEI and value.”

That gap included the value DEI brings and the value an employee provides to an organization.

Hoesman asked the panelists how organizations can engage leaders whose sole focus is on getting the work done while not considering “the whole person” who’s doing the job.

Durkin noted that when organizations really know their employees, they often benefit from a more engaged workforce.

“It’s easy to just set expectations from a work perspective,” she said, “but how about having a conversation about: ‘How are you doing? Is there anything we can help on?’ Let’s have a natural, organic conversation with our team members and get to know them.”

She added: Organizations that don’t adjust available resources to fit their workers’ needs run the risk of losing them.

Green encouraged the hundreds of safety pros in the audience to understand how valuable they are in the psychological safety of others.

“We are our best tool in our toolbox,” Green said. “As you go back to your organizations, and as you continue to perhaps even wrestle with the notion of diversity, equity and inclusion, remember, it’s about all of us. It’s about who we are – the parts of us we talk about and the parts of us we don’t.

“We all have deep-seeded values that inform how we show up and how we work. Let’s join forces and let’s create the one safe environment for all. I believe we can all agree on that.”