Psychological safety is deeply embedded in the Wunder values among their 100+ employees, and it has been from the very beginning, before there was even a name for that. These values serve as everyday guideposts, ensuring that psychological safety is not just a concept but a lived experience.
Wunder values
- We are open and curious: This means staying eager to learn, embracing new perspectives, and experimenting without fear of failure.
- We nurture a culture of trust: We strive to be as inclusive and non-judgmental as possible, creating a space where everyone feels safe to express their authentic selves.
- We take care of each other: Extending support in both personal and professional capacities while also considering the well-being of our environment and communities around us.
Practical Actions and Structures to Boost Psychological Safety
Creating psychological safety isn’t left to chance. In Wunder they have taken deliberate steps to implement practical mechanisms and structures that support and sustain it across the company.
“Psychological safety is not something separate, glued on or invented. It is a mindset, a way of working and interacting with people and it is deeply embedded in our core values”, Emma Huhtiniemi, Talent Operations Lead at Wunder mentions.
Some concrete examples of the actions Wunder have taken towards better psychological safety:
- Psychological Safety Core Team was established to lead and coordinate efforts in collaboration with HR. This group brings both strategic direction and day-to-day support.
- An open, company-wide Psychological Safety Group meets regularly to discuss selected topics, ensuring ongoing peer dialogue and reflection. Suggestions or concerns raised during these sessions are forwarded directly to HR or leadership.
- Best practice guidelines for projects and continuous development processes, helping teams put safety into practice through clear behaviours, rituals, and reflections.
- Project delivery models are designed to promote safety from the outset. Every new client intake includes a kickoff session with a psychological safety component—ensuring alignment and shared expectations from day one.
- Each team lead participates in 1-on-1 sessions with members of the Core Team, giving them space to reflect on psychological safety within their teams and receive tailored support.
- Incorporated into new employee onboarding practices and internal training is offered around this topic.
- Team-specific psychological safety surveys to help measure and reflect on each team’s climate. The Core Team supports interpreting the findings and helps take corrective or developmental steps.
About Wunder
Wunder was founded in 2010 in Finland. Today, offices and co-working spaces for 100+ colleagues are located in Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Tallinn, Riga, and Valmiera.
Wunders have grown to be digital experts in the fields of media, education, transportation, cities, natural resources, and manufacturing.
Outcomes of Improved Psychological Safety
Outcomes of psychological safety are difficult to measure explicitly because it does not work in isolation. Based on annual employee surveys, customer NPS surveys and internal and external feedback, it is clear that psychological safety has played a meaningful role in Wunder company success factors over the years.
- Strong Client Trust & Retention. Psychological safety has an important role in building trust with the client. It enables transparent dialogue, better co-working with the client, and deeper trust, all of which encourage sustained partnerships.
- Greater Effectiveness. Team performance improves when people feel safe. Projects run smoother, teams are more aligned, and collaboration becomes more seamless – all resulting in better outcomes for clients and healthier margins for the business.
- Cultural Resilience through Change. Climate of openness, which is an integral part of psychological safety, helps over organisational changes. Psychological safety provides stability and ensures continuity when roles shift.
- Low Turnover and High Well-Being. Attrition is relatively low, and compared to industry averages, well-being consistently ranks high in employee feedback. People stay not just because of good work, but because it’s a good place to do that work.
- Increased Feeling of Trust. Not just trust towards the company, but also towards each other. Teams are closer and even harder topics or personal matters are expressed and talked about openly. People are OK asking questions with their own name in company meetings without constant worry about how they might be perceived.
No one-off initiative
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