Rachel Harding is Technical Director, Rail + Transit for AECOM in Melbourne, Australia.

Here, Rachel looks at the importance of ensuring psychological safety in the workplace. 

Engaged and motivated team members

"When team members are psychologically safe, they are more engaged and motivated because they feel their contributions matter," says Rachel. 

"We make better decisions because people are more comfortable voicing their opinions and concerns, and we hear and consider a more diverse range of perspectives."

Psychological safety

"Some people think psychological safety is about everyone being ‘nice’ or ‘polite’ or making everyone ‘comfortable’, but it’s not," explains Rachel. "For me, it means being vulnerable and pointing out my mistakes and weaknesses when I would rather hide them. It also means I need to have honest and uncomfortable conversations with individuals and teams about attitudes and behaviors damaging to the team." 

"It means that I need to welcome difficult news and feedback myself. But the results are totally worth it," attests Rachel. "I wake up every day to a project that I am thrilled to be working on, a team in which people have each other’s back, and a team where I see people grow, flourish and feel empowered to take risks and try new things."

Feel valued in a role at AECOM

AECOM values the diverse perspectives of its employees. 

Search all the latest jobs at AECOM.

Search jobs