THREATS TO TEAM PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY

Abstract

The article analyzes the current state of research on the problem of threats and the consequences of their impact on the team’s psychological safety. It is noted that psychological safety in the team is a necessary condition for its effective functioning and development. It was found that under the influence of threats, the actualization of the need for security is an active mobilizer of resources for maintaining team interaction. In order to achieve team effectiveness, not only experience is important, but also the characteristics of interpersonal communication. It is shown that the quality of interpersonal relations in the team is a prerequisite for a safe social environment, and their destruction threatens the psychological safety of the team. The psychological safety of the team as a whole depends on how any member of the team builds a system of interpersonal relations, which behavioral strategies the one uses. Harassment conflicts and interpersonal conflicts that arise as a manifestation of personal incompatibility pose threats to the team’s psychological safety. Suggestion as an uncritical reproduction of proposed behavior patterns and a tool for manipulating the individual’s consciousness poses a threat to the team’s psychological safety. In addition, the lack of a positive atmosphere and «team spirit», built on the principles of harmony and mutual assistance, is considered a significant threat to the team’s psychological safety. It was revealed that the emotional experience based on changing moods also becomes a threat to psychological safety, as it is a mechanism of the team’s response to changes in its operating conditions, life positions and traditions. It has been proven that threats to the team’s existence are uncertainty and loss of goals. Resources for ensuring the team’s psychological safety are the personal maturity of its members, awareness of the spectrum of interaction in possible conflicts. The success of teamwork depends primarily on the leader’s ability to rally team members to productive activities. An integral indicator of the manager’s competence is the quality of management decisions. Threats to the team’s existence are uncertainty, indecisiveness, and untimely decision-making by the manager.