Reckoning with the Harm We Do: In Search of Restorative Just Culture in Software and Web Operations

“Psychological Safety” and “Blameless” postmortems are not enough. We’ve heard that we need a “Just Culture” but does that matter if your people are “stressed, exhausted, depleted, spent, drained”?

• “I remember being yelled at by my CEO.” 
• “I was told to “take the blame or be fired” by my CTO”. 
• “I was running on 36 hours of adrenaline”.
• “Very stressful, a lot of anxiety, a loss of sleep, and a profound sense of disengagement”
• “I’m not coping well. Having a good support network and therapy helps, but this industry can be absolute s**t”

I was inspired to do a qualitative study of practitioners’ lived experiences after reading the “Just Culture Manifesto” where the first two commitments are“Ensure freedom to work, speak up, and report without fear” and to “Support people involved in incidents or accidents”. Through surveys, focus groups, and individual interviews, participants were asked about the likelihood of being blamed after an incident, the likelihood of blaming themselves, and whether they were considering leaving their jobs as a result. Participants were asked to describe what “blameless” and “accountability” meant to them, and if there was a conflict in the two concepts.

Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of folks working at the "sharp end", reckon with the harm reported by study participants, and think about what we might do to meet their needs. We will explore how a ‘forward looking’ accountability could help organizations in search of a 'Just Culture'.