# Psychological safety

Today, we had a culture workshop at work. The workshops have given me a place to grow my soft skills, increase my awareness, and connect with others at a more human level. So it’s clear to me that I’ve become an advocate of this type of work - the _people_ side of [DevOps](https://dzone.com/articles/people-process-product-devops-1).

Why should you care?

At Google, they performed a research study called [Aristotle](https://rework.withgoogle.com/print/guides/5721312655835136/) in which they sought to find what makes up an effective team at Google. What they found might surprise you - it wasn’t the team with the rockstar people that made an effective team. Instead, it was more important how a team worked together and for that they exhibited _psychological safety._

> In a team with high psychological safety, teammates feel safe to **take risks** around their team members. They feel confident that no one on the team will embarrass or punish anyone else for admitting a mistake, asking a question, or offering a new idea.

It feels good to work with smart people. It feels even better when they are not jerks. Working with a jerk and _putting up_ with them could be incredibly taxing, regardless of how talented.