Leadership: becoming a social safety engineer

As a leader, you have a significant influence on workplace culture. So how do you make sure your team feels safe, motivated and engaged? We regularly see in the media how organizations struggle with this. Scientific research shows that managers play a crucial role in promoting social safety in the workplace.

In this course, you will learn how you, as a leader, can use scientifically based methods to create a work environment in which employees feel free to express themselves and can perform optimally. You will gain insight into risks and protective factors within teams and you will work with practical tools that you can immediately deploy in your team.

This is what you will do during this course:

• Expand your knowledge and skills: you will learn how to promote social safety in a team and in an organization.
• Practical tools: you will apply the theory and skills learned directly in your own practice to improve the working atmosphere in your team.
• Guided implementation: under expert guidance, you practice and refine your approach.
• Learning from each other: you will be part of an active learning community of managers and experts where we share insights and challenges with each other.

Target audience
You are a manager, supervisor and/or coordinator, and you supervise at least three employees, and you have a team to which you can apply the tools from this course. It does not matter what sector you work in. It is crucial that as a participant, you are willing to critically reflect on your own behavior.

The course does not require any specific prior education. It assumes hbo/wo working and thinking level.

To create a stimulating learning environment, what is shared within the course will remain confidential.

Learning objectives
By the end of the course you will be able to:

• Apply the science behind social safety: you understand the scientific model for social safety and know how to translate it to your own work environment.
• Explain social safety in an understandable way: you can give your colleagues inside and outside your organization insight into the scientifically proven risks and protective factors of social safety.
• Present effective interventions: you know which actions, interventions and initiatives promote social safety and you can explain them convincingly to colleagues.
• Deploy practical tools: you can implement immediately applicable tools to create a socially safe work environment in your own team.
• Be part of an active community: you will continue to learn and develop yourself by sharing experiences, coming to return days and possibly contributing to research.

Number of participants
We aim for a participant number of around 12.

Time investment
The course begins with a personal intake interview. Then, there are three afternoon meetings of four hours. There are three weeks between these meetings. Please allow three to four hours of preparation per meeting. Finally, we organize an annual return day.

Programme overview
Each meeting begins with a lecture by an expert in the field of social safety. Prior to the first meeting, you will read the literature we provide and begin with your own case study that you will continue to work on during the course.

• Session 1: Tools for diagnosis
  How do you find out what are the important risks and protective factors of a socially safe work environment?
• Session 2: Tools for action
  We discuss the cases of all participants and you get concrete actions to work on the social safety of your own team.
• Session 3: Tools for evaluation and adaptation
  How do you ensure that you implement the knowledge from the course in a sustainable way in your own team and organization?

Topics covered during the meetings include:

• Different levels of social safety: organization, team and individual
• Structure, culture and system around social safety
• Risk and protective factors
• Care structure of an organization
• Measures and initiatives to promote social safety
• Effective communication
• Sustainable implementation

The lectures are given by experienced lecturers from the Department of Organizational Behavior and Social, Health and Organizational Psychology at Utrecht University.

Course materials
In addition to the lectures, you will receive relevant scientific literature and written feedback on your own case.

Dates
Meetings are scheduled on the following dates:

• Tuesday, March 3: 12:00-16:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, March 24: 12:00-16:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 14: 12:00-16:00 p.m.

Location
The location will follow asap. We organize the meetings at an easily accessible location in downtown Utrecht.

The lectures are given by experienced teachers from the department Organisational behaviour of the Utrecht University.

At the moment, it is not yet possible to sign up for this course.

For more information, please email: masterclass-SV@uu.nl

For all your questions, please contact Melissa Vink or Reine van der Wal at: masterclass-SV@uu.nl