Low psychological safety threatens workplace performance

Most employees are afraid to discuss mental health.

Singapore employees report the least psychological safety in Southeast Asia, with over 60% not feeling safe talking about mental health with their managers, a Calm Collective Asia–Milieu Insight survey shows.

Alex Cummins, Director at Mango Training, says the roots of the problem lie in deep-seated cultural and structural barriers. “One of the reasons is that they fear that this will have repercussions on their career, on their opportunities for growth,” he said. Singapore’s work culture further intensifies the silence. “Singapore is a pretty competitive culture. It values hierarchy, control, and composture.”

Even when managers want to help, many lack the skill to start these conversations. “Managers often don't actually know how to open the door to those kinds of conversations,” Cummins shared. “It’s not so much that they don't want to, it's more that they don't have the skill set to do it.” Mango Training is now working to equip leaders with the capability “to have those safe conversations.”

The impact of insufficient psychological safety goes far beyond wellbeing, directly hitting team performance. “If teams or team members don't feel safe, they tend to play it safe,” Cummins explained, noting that this undermines creativity and the willingness to challenge outdated norms. Operational efficiency also suffers. “If people don't feel safe, they're less likely to talk about mistakes and errors,” he said, emphasising how silent failures can spread across organisations.

Retention risks are mounting too. Employees who feel unsupported disengage quickly, while those who feel cared for stay longer. “If we create psychological safety, we're more likely to retain our best people and our best talents,” Cummins noted.

He stresses that leaders hold the key. They “don't need to be counselors or therapists,” but must foster openness, listen without fixing, and model healthy dialogue. Crucially, they must “balance vulnerability and competence” to reassure their teams.