The Speak Up Paradox: a work psychologist's perspective | Culture Shifters Series

Work Psychologist Dr Chloë Gough, Senior Inclusive Practice Lead at the Cabinet Office, on why so many workplace misconduct interventions fail to stick, and what organisations get wrong about culture itself. In this conversation, Chloë explains her theory of organisational readiness for change: that most interventions fail because organisations conflate wanting change with being ready to receive it. She compares it to planting a flower in unprepared soil, and argues that when a programme fails, organisations should be examining the environment they placed it in, not the programme itself. She talks candidly about the "silence paradox" that keeps misconduct hidden: employees stop trusting reporting mechanisms, stay quiet as a result, and that silence lets organisations assume things are fine when they aren't. She draws on her research into psychosocial safety climates to explain why line manager competence, transparency around case outcomes, and employee literacy of support available all shape whether people feel safe enough to speak up at all. Chloë also sets out the financial case that organisations routinely overlook, referencing research estimating workplace bullying costs the NHS approximately 13.75 billion pounds a year, and more recent Australian research putting the cost of workplace violence as high as 60 billion dollars annually, with the true figure likely far higher once hidden costs are properly counted. Follow us on social media Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cult... Twitter: https://twitter.com/UKCultureShift?s=...