The recent commentary about Boeing employees being hesitant to share problems shows that more is required than just a “speak up” programme (The risks companies face when workers fear to speak up, March 26).

When an organisation has issues with employees being fearful of speaking up, senior leadership must review the existing culture where staff do not see the benefits of doing so.

By voicing problems observed at work, employees fear they may be saddled with more work or blamed by peers for being “busybodies” as they would then have more problems to solve.

Senior leaders need to eliminate fear and rebuild trust with employees so that they will not be punished for speaking up.

A fearless culture starts with leaders providing psychological safety in meetings and discussions where employees feel safe to address issues for the betterment of the organisation and its customers.

Instead of having a blame-and-shame environment when issues are discussed, leaders should appreciate employees for their honesty and courage in sharing.

They should be willing to listen, understand and, most importantly, provide acts of service to employees through proactive and preventive measures.

Senior leaders and the human resources department should also foster trust with employees, assuring them they will not face negative consequences in performance appraisals or career advancement for speaking up.

When leaders and employees recognise the meaningfulness of their work and its impact, they will see the importance of addressing issues for the organisation, their peers and customers.

Leaders and employees could reframe the notion that speaking up means more work. Instead, speaking up also means eliminating and reducing work hindrances, boosting productivity and performance.

Although intrinsic rewards are more inspiring and enduring, employees also need extrinsic rewards to recognise their efforts in speaking up.

As the saying goes, “what gets measured, gets done”. Individual recognition can be integrated into performance appraisals, while team recognition can take the form of healthy competition for Best Work Improvement Teams.

Jasmine Liew Chia Wei