Room to Talk: How P&G Fosters Psychological Safety and Inclusion in the Workplace

Creating a genuinely inclusive workplace is not simply about having the right policies in place. At P&G, fostering psychological safety is achieved by embedding mental health and wellbeing into everyday leadership, opening transparent channels for dialogue, and empowering employees within a culture of inclusion where you can be your authentic self. It is about creating an environment where people feel safe enough to bring their whole selves to work, speak openly about challenges they may be facing, and trust that they will be met with understanding rather than judgement. At P&G UK, that belief has been brought to life through Room to Talk, a wellbeing content series hosted by Senior Director Sales and Wellbeing Sponsor Lou Erdozain, which uses authentic colleague stories to spark conversation, reduce stigma and strengthen workplace culture.

Why is psychological safety essential for workplace inclusion?

Psychological safety is one of the most important ingredients of an inclusive workplace. Employees are unlikely to contribute fully, ask for help, share ideas or seek support if they fear negative consequences for doing so. While organisations often focus on visible aspects of inclusion, psychological safety is what allows inclusion to be experienced in practice.

The Room to Talk series was developed around this principle. By creating space for colleagues to share personal experiences and challenges openly, the series helps normalise conversations that have historically been difficult to have at work. Whether discussing mental health, infertility, caring responsibilities, bereavement or other life experiences, the stories demonstrate that vulnerability and professional success are not mutually exclusive. When employees see leaders and colleagues speaking openly about their experiences, it signals that these conversations are welcome, helping to build trust across teams and create stronger connections between colleagues. That trust has a direct impact on business performance. Employees who feel psychologically safe are more engaged, more willing to share ideas and challenge thinking, and better equipped to navigate change and uncertainty. The result is a stronger culture, higher levels of collaboration and ultimately a workforce that is better positioned to deliver business results. Inclusion is not achieved when people simply feel represented; it is achieved when people feel safe to be themselves. By encouraging honest conversations and visible role modelling, Room to Talk helps create the conditions for employees to feel seen, valued and supported.

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What role do line managers play in building psychological safety?

While company-wide initiatives can create awareness, line managers ultimately shape the day-to-day experience of inclusion. They are often the first person an employee turns to when facing challenges, making their ability to listen, respond with empathy and create a supportive environment critical.

One of the key learnings from Room to Talk has been that storytelling alone is not enough. To translate awareness into action, P&G is complementing the content series with dedicated manager capability-building. All managers of others will participate in workshops that leverage the discussions and themes raised through the series, helping them build the confidence and skills needed to handle sensitive conversations, recognise when colleagues may need support, and connect employees to relevant resources. This structured capability-building aligns with UK workplace standards, including the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Management Standards for work-related stress and the Thriving at Work framework, ensuring line managers have formal frameworks to support team wellbeing safely and effectively.

This approach reinforces an important reality: psychological safety is built through thousands of everyday interactions. When managers demonstrate empathy, curiosity and understanding, they create conditions where people feel comfortable speaking up before challenges become crises.

How does open storytelling create wider cultural change?

One of the most powerful outcomes of Room to Talk has been its ability to resonate with employees far beyond the specific topics being discussed. Conversations initially designed to support one group have often created learning, empathy and understanding across the wider organisation.

For example, a colleague sharing their experience with infertility may help managers better understand the unseen challenges some employees face. At the same time, it may encourage another employee experiencing a completely different personal challenge to seek support, or prompt a colleague to become a more empathetic teammate. The result is not simply greater awareness of one issue, but the development of a more compassionate and understanding workplace culture overall.

This demonstrates an important principle for businesses: when organisations create space for authentic human experiences, everyone benefits. Greater understanding leads to stronger relationships, better collaboration and a deeper sense of belonging across diverse employee groups.

How does P&G embed wellbeing into everyday culture?

Many organisations have policies, employee networks and awareness campaigns. The bigger challenge is ensuring employees genuinely feel listened to and supported. Sustainable culture change happens when support becomes embedded in everyday experiences rather than existing as a standalone initiative.

At P&G, the culture is built on trust, integrity, and inclusion; it is an environment where employees are encouraged to be their authentic selves, build trusting relationships, and deliver meaningful impact. Within this environment, Room to Talk operates as a structured cultural mechanism rather than a standalone communications campaign. The combination of authentic storytelling, visible leadership sponsorship, practical manager training and signposting to available support resources helps create a framework for lasting change. Employees are encouraged not only to listen but also to reflect on how they support colleagues in their own teams and networks.

This matters because inclusion and wellbeing are not separate from business performance; they are enablers of it. Employees who feel psychologically safe are more likely to contribute ideas, collaborate effectively, build stronger relationships and perform at their best. By helping people feel seen, heard and supported, organisations can strengthen both employee experience and organisational effectiveness, showing they are committed to supporting employee well-being and mental health.

How does P&G measure the impact of its wellbeing initiatives?

The success of Room to Talk is measured not simply by content reach, but by whether it is helping create meaningful cultural change.

At a practical level, engagement with the series provides an important indicator of relevance and resonance. Employee participation, feedback, discussion generated by the content and the willingness of colleagues to share their own stories all demonstrate that the programme is opening up conversations that may previously have remained hidden.

Importantly, success is also measured through manager capability. Through dedicated workshops for all people managers, P&G is using the content as a catalyst to build confidence in supporting colleagues through sensitive life experiences. The objective is not merely to increase awareness, but to equip leaders with the skills to create psychologically safe teams where employees feel comfortable speaking up and seeking support.

Ultimately, the most meaningful measures are cultural. Are employees increasingly comfortable bringing their whole selves to work? Do they feel heard and supported when facing personal challenges? Are managers better equipped to have empathetic conversations? And are teams building stronger levels of trust and understanding?

When the answer to those questions is yes, the benefits extend beyond wellbeing. Stronger psychological safety contributes to higher engagement, better collaboration, increased resilience and a more inclusive workplace culture. In that sense, Room to Talk represents more than a wellbeing initiative. It is an investment in creating a workplace where people can thrive, and where a culture of openness and support helps unlock stronger outcomes for both employees and the business.

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