In organizing an event, event planners pay close attention to attendees' physical needs. They ensure that the safety protocols are followed; they prepare food and water; they have plans B in case of inclement weather, and so on. But what about psychological safety and the plans to make attendees feel as emotionally secure as possible?
Similarly, organizers put a lot of effort into caring for their stakeholders: attendees, sponsors, speakers, exhibitors, vendors. It seems, however, that their own physical and mental wellbeing is often an afterthought.
While seemingly distant, nurturing psychological safety and minimizing psychosocial risks are closely related; any successful event requires both event attendees and teams to feel comfortably settled within themselves. So, it's crucial to think about both of these factors carefully - and now is the perfect time to do just that.
Psychological Safety and Events
An individual's psychological safety is defined as their willingness to take positive interpersonal risks, such as learning something new or interacting with a stranger (for example, at an event). In the words of Dr. Shannon Wanless of University of Pittsburgh, ‘When individuals feel psychologically safe, they can exercise their agency to engage in experiences and interactions throughout life’. This feeling helps people interact, connect with others, adapt, and learn. Even when faced with challenging or new circumstances, it helps them stay focused on their goals without being held back by anxiety or worried about how others perceive them. That is what events aim to achieve, and that is what any event goals are: better learning, better connecting, positive changes. That's why creating a psychologically safe environment at your events is so vital.
To identify some practical steps, let's take a look at what causes people to feel psychologically unsafe.
Can you remember the last time you felt uncomfortable at an event? Were you lost at the venue because there was no or bad signage? Or didn't know how to get there in a new city? Have you ever been confused about a dress code, a session time zone at an online event, or what kind of personal information is collected by the organizers and their partners? Feeling uncomfortable stemmed from uncertainty and a lack of control in each of these examples.
There are also other causes, such as rejection fears, social anxiety, or identity threat, but it is these two factors – uncertainty and a lack of control - that are most commonly responsible for psychological unsafety. If you can reduce or remove their effect altogether, your attendees will feel instantly comfortable.
Considering the above, here are some practical suggestions:
Communicating openly, transparently, and frequently.
Whether it's finding the session room or reporting a code of conduct violation, the best way to keep attendees comfortable is to communicate about it often and transparently. If they know in advance or are able to access the needed information quickly, they will not feel trapped in uncertainty - essential for psychological safety.
Maintaining a sense of control.
Lack of control is a significant stressor that often operates below our conscious awareness but profoundly impacts our decisions and experiences. That's why it's crucial to ensure your participants feel in control wherever relevant. Consider this factor when auditing your attendees' journey. It's also key to pick tools and platforms for your event that share this commitment to user control. For example, the Kampfire web app hands back control to attendees by letting them easily opt out from photos they were captured in during the event. This way, they get to choose what to share and how it gets used, reinforcing their sense of command and safety.
Cultivating a sense of belonging
Ensuring that every participant feels seen, heard, and valued contributes to a welcoming and cohesive event atmosphere. Make people feel like they are part of it by putting them in spotlight and giving space to new voices and perspectives; integrating their unique stories; leveraging peer-to-peer learning formats; applying active listening and acting on their feedback; creating serendipitous opportunities to connect (for example, by establishing a conference buddy system), and more.
Providing psychological safety guidance.
Include sessions or materials that inform participants about the importance of psychological safety, how to contribute to it, and how to protect their own mental well-being.
Psychosocial Risks and Events
Another type of event care that is often overlooked is caring for the event team itself.
A similar picture emerges here: while companies might offer their employees excellent compensation and a range of traditional benefits, this is not all they need in order to operate efficiently. The package should also include psychological safety, emotional support, and ways to manage stressors. Why? Because these are found to negatively impact people’s productivity and sabotage workforce retention.
With event planning being one of the most stressful occupations, this becomes even more crucial. Without taking care of event planners themselves, how can we care for our audiences? An important first step is to recognize and handle psychological factors.
According to Safe Work Australia, a national policy body, a psychosocial risk, or hazard, is ‘anything that could cause psychological harm (e.g. harm someone’s mental health)’. These are some of the most common psychosocial risks:
job demands;
poor support;
lack of role clarity;
poor organizational change management;
inadequate reward;
poor physical environment;
bullying;
harassment, including sexual and gender-based harassment, and so on.
The top of the list is job demands, which are exactly what event planners face every day; high job demands are a hallmark of this profession. Event planners are all too familiar with working excessive hours, having an overloaded workload, being assigned tasks beyond their abilities, and dealing with inadequate recognition and social fatigue. It is imperative that this is addressed to improve both the event community and event experiences.
Here are some suggestions you can put into practice right now:
Foster a supportive workplace culture.
It involves creating an environment that values open communication, recognizes achievements, provides opportunities for professional growth, and encourages teamwork. A simple yet effective approach is to schedule regular check-ins with team members. These can be short, informal meetings to discuss workload, any challenges being faced, and offer support where needed. Also, offering support through resources like mental health programs, stress management workshops is helpful, too
Go ultra-inclusive.
Inclusivity often focuses on accommodating physical needs, inadvertently neglecting the equally important mental and emotional aspects. True inclusivity also encompasses recognizing and adapting to the diverse working styles and peak productivity times of each team member. For instance, acknowledging that some individuals are morning people, thriving in the early hours, while others hit their stride in the afternoon can be crucial in the event context. To capitalize on these natural rhythms, consider implementing flexible internal scheduling that allows team members to work or take breaks during their optimal times. This approach not only prevents burnout but also maximizes productivity by aligning work tasks with each team member's unique preferences and biological clocks.
Give your team more space to breathe by leveraging technology.
In the changing event design landscape, the extended life cycle is not a secret. After the event day ends, event organizers can no longer call it a day; they still have many tasks to perform in the pre- and post-event phases if they want their event to be impactful and engaging. However, this should not come at the expense of the organisers' mental well-being. There are technologies available to help with that, thankfully. For example, with tools like the Kampfire web app, which automates and streamlines the handling of event photos, feedback forms, and follow-up with leads, it's totally possible to reduce the planner's post-event workload and allow them to take a well-deserved break after the event without sacrificing the quality of work.
Taking care of psychological safety and tackling psychosocial risks at events has shifted from being a nice-to-have to an absolute necessity. Rolling out strategies to improve psychological safety level for attendees and pushing for a more balanced workload and solid mental wellness support for event teams isn’t just about ticking boxes. It’s about elevating the entire event experience.
Integrating these practices into events is a clear signal of a deep commitment to fostering spaces in which everyone's wellbeing is prioritized, making events that are not just successful but truly meaningful and inclusive as well.
Nurturing Psychological Safety and Minimizing Psychosocial Risks was written by Victoria Matey
