Did you know that most workplace conflicts never start as conflicts?

They begin as a small misunderstanding, an irritation that never got aired, an ambiguity no one dared to question. That's what Katarina Zell, CEO of KC Group and founder of Trust Go Grow, calls friction – the tension that grinds away beneath the surface, long before it erupts into something visible.

In this blog, we walk through what friction actually costs, how to recognize the early signals, why psychological safety is crucial for both performance and decision-making – and how research and continuous feedback can drive real change.

1. What does friction in organizations actually cost?

"It drains energy – and in the fast-moving world we live in, we simply can't afford that." That's how Katarina describes what friction does to an organization. A live poll during a webinar with Swedish HR professionals confirmed the picture: 71% identified lack of clarity as the single biggest cost in their organization – ahead of conflicts, misunderstandings, and slow decision-making.

In practice, friction can look like this:

• Poorer decisions – when critical information never reaches the table, decisions are made on the wrong basis

• Duplicated work – misunderstandings around mandates and responsibilities lead to multiple people doing the same thing, or no one doing it at all

• Slower change – employees who don't dare to challenge passively wait out change initiatives

• Lost innovation – new ideas are stifled before they take shape

• Higher turnover – and behind that, sick leave and burnout when friction has quietly become stress

2. Why does friction arise – and what does psychological safety have to do with it?

Much of the friction described above shares a common root: a lack of psychological safety. Psychological safety isn't about being nice – it's about people feeling safe enough to speak their mind, even when it'suncomfortable or challenging.

Professor Amy Edmondson at Harvard found a paradoxical pattern: the best hospital teams reported more mistakes – not because they made more, but because they felt safe enough to raise them. A meta-analysis confirms the effect. Teams with high psychological safety perform better, learn faster, and stay healthier. Psychological unsafety even affects the body – with weakened immune systems and higher heart rates as a result.

So can you perform at a high level without psychological safety? Yes, up to a point – but it's not sustainable, and people suffer for it. Leadership plays a decisive role here: when managers create safety, the effects ripple through the entire organization, something we explore further in The Leadership Domino Effect.

3. How do you change behaviors?

The tricky thing about friction is that it's rarely visible. It gets talked about in the corridor rather than the meeting room, and about each other rather than with each other. This often leads to what Katarina calls artificial harmony: the numbers look fine, but reality tells a different story. Research confirms the picture:

• 85% of employees stay silent on important issues out of fear of being judged negatively

• 56% believe their voice doesn't make a difference anyway

Insight alone doesn't change behavior. Training does. Just as a fitness instructor teaches a deadlift by showing how – not just talking about it – we need to practice behaviors in real situations for them to stick.

Three concrete starting points:

1. Build trust as a foundation. Feedback can't be practiced in a vacuum. People need to know you have their best interests at heart – trust isn't built at a kick-off, but in the small, recurring interactions.

2. Reinforce what you want to see. We change behaviors we're recognized for. Give genuine feedback generously – because feedback means nothing does more harm than good. Celebrate when someone raises a difficult question.

3. Lead by example, not by words. Want a culture where people surface problems? Surface them yourself. Norms are always set from the top.

Remember: progression, not perfection.

4. How do you catch friction early?

Measuring psychological safety and employee wellbeing is valuable – but only if measurement is followed by action.

General employee surveys rarely capture what lies beneath the surface. The answer is frequent check-ins and pulse surveys – but what matters most is what you do with the results. As one of our customers put it: "If you're not going to act on it – don't ask. Nothing kills motivation faster."

An effective measurement cycle looks like this:

• Measure with specific questions – ideally around psychological safety, not just general wellbeing

• Share the results with the team, transparently

• Act – even on the ugly numbers, perhaps especially on those

• Follow up and name the progress at the next measurement

It works best when leaders own the process and tie measurement to their own goals – rather than treating it as a side HR project. Read more about how next-generation employee surveys are built to do exactly that.

Want to catch friction earlier?

It starts with a small step: daring to lean into what's uncomfortable. As Katarina puts it: "It's not so dangerous if we have different opinions. It's just about daring to engage with what feels a little unfamiliar."

Winningtemp helps HR and managers pick up on the early signals – before friction becomes a cost. Through continuous pulse surveys, you get the insights you need to actually act.

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