Feeling comfortable, safe, and supported in the workplace has long been heralded as a nonnegotiable, especially among younger workers. It’s a concept known as “psychological safety,” which is simply about avoiding interpersonal harm at work—like feeling confident taking risks or admitting when you don’t know the answer—without worrying you’ll be judged or disparaged.
“It doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences, it just means you won’t be made fun of, teased, or made to feel bad personally,” Peter Cappelli, a management professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, tells Fortune. “It’s hard to make an argument that that’s ever a good thing.”
