Hi Ian- thank you for your thoughts on this. You are posing interesting questions and here are some initial thoughts in response.
How safe we feel is certainly related to our being-in-the-world which relies on an identity formed and crystallised over time. It contains past, the present situation where we may or may not feel safe, and how we conceive of our future. In this sense I would suggest that we are the centre of our own universes reaching out and interacting with others in a complex web of interrelationships. We can never not be in relationship ( even with the person we are not talking to!), and also wherever there are more than two people in a room, there is a power dynamic.

The key for me is in realising that while, yes, there are institutions and power structures that we refer to as systems, a second order systemic approach would suggest that we engage systemically with those entities as socially constructed rather than written in stone. And from our own power base. Easier said than done, yes, but loosening up our understanding that systems out there are unyielding helps. A systems framing is about creating a systemic field around a situation that takes account of boundaries, interrelationships and the inevitability of multiple perspectives and reflecting on what bearing those distinctions have on a situation. So who says it’s the boss that makes a space safe or unsafe- as though other relational dynamics are less important ( what does that say about power!) we know that self-organising systems can work effectively when there is a more equitable distribution of responsibility and risk (as distinct from being non hierarchical).

So what is helpful when in a situation experienced as potentially unsafe? Sometimes removing ourselves is important. Other times, it’s about stepping out and making those distinctions: there is no one reality so what are the different perspectives? Where is there potential for change? Is what is assumed to be fixed really so? What happens when the boundaries change?- this can be a change of people in the room or changes in staff or office or pub.

This kind of reflection opens up our perceptions and helps us enhance our agency.

I may have wandered off topic here and am happy to be advised on this. 😊