There is a scene we often witness in the companies we support. A meeting. A decision that doesn't hold water. And in the room, someone knows it, but says nothing.

This silence has a name in management research: Amy Edmondson, a professor at Harvard Business School, documented it for thirty years under the term psychological safety. Her central discovery can be summed up in one sentence: the best teams are not those that make the fewest mistakes. They are the ones where errors can be reported without fear of humiliation.

An idea emerging from a disturbing result

Edmondson began her research in hospitals, studying medical errors. She expected to find that the best teams reported fewer errors. Instead, she observed the opposite. The highest performing teams reported more incidents, not fewer. Not because they made more mistakes. Because they dared to speak up.

This logic was then extended to all organizations. A team where no one reports problems is not a healthy team. It is a team that has learned to remain silent.

What we observe in Mauritius

We do not have reliable Mauritian statistics on psychological safety in the workplace, and we refrain from inventing any. However, on the ground, in exchanges with leaders and young professionals that MeetYourJob supports, a recurring pattern emerges.

Many young graduates enter companies with a genuine desire to do well and quickly learn to stop asking questions. Not because they are explicitly forbidden to. Because a poorly received question, just once, is enough to make them retreat for months.

The result is silent but costly: mistakes that could have been avoided, good ideas that never see the light of day, and talents who end up searching elsewhere for a place where they can express themselves.

It’s Not a Matter of Kindness

Edmondson emphasizes one point: psychological safety is not synonymous with comfort or complacency. A psychologically safe team can be demanding, can challenge each other robustly, can aim very high. The difference is that it separates criticism of the idea from personal attack.

This is precisely the nuance we try to convey in the LEADER LAB programs when discussing Mauritian company culture. A leader can remain ambitious and demanding without crushing those who dare to say "I'm not sure this will work."

What it changes for a young professional

If you are just starting your career in Mauritius, this concept gives you a concrete tool to assess a company before entering. During an interview, observe how they talk about the team's past mistakes. If the response is evasive, or if it immediately points to a scapegoat, that's a signal.

And once in position, don’t confuse caution with survival. A question asked at the right moment, simply phrased, is always better than a doubt kept to oneself until it becomes a problem.

This is also what we try to convey to the candidates we support at MeetYourJob: your value is not measured by your silence. It is measured by your ability to contribute, even when you are just starting.

Claudine, for MeetYourJob.