How to Foster Psychological Safety in a Divided and Digitally-Driven Workplace
ValueMatrix Team
April 24, 2025
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When it comes to working, we have come a long way from the industrial revolution times, where work mattered most, and everything else was a gratitude of the employer. From the time of typewriters, fax machines, and the rise of the digital era—one thing can be now taken for granted: creating a workplace where everyone feels safe to speak up is the secret sauce to success.
In our divided, digitally-driven environment, psychological safety isn’t just a buzzword, though it may sound so to some. It’s the glue that holds productive, innovative teams together.
Let’s break this topic down into digestible sections, declutter the jargon so it sounds less like a lab and more like a person, and sprinkle in some hard-hitting statistics that tie psychological safety to revenue generation, profit making, employee productivity, and overall well-being. Which eventually makes it the win-win combo you’re looking for.
What Is Psychological Safety, Anyway?
At any time in your career, if you’ve ever encountered a situation, a team, an organization, or a person where you imagined you’d be mauled to embarrassment if you conveyed your thoughts, you did not feel psychologically safe.
At its simplest, psychological safety means feeling secure enough to share your ideas, ask questions, or even admit mistakes without fearing negative consequences. Think of it as the workplace equivalent of a safety net at a circus—only here, the trapeze artists are your coworkers. Without that net, even the most talented performer might hesitate to take a leap.
Well, it’s a given that you already know how to swing around, or are at least nimble enough to do so. It’d be a joke if you suddenly ask the reigning heavyweight boxing champion to suddenly take up a career as a trapeze artist.
Anecdote: I once witnessed a teammate nervously hesitating to share a suggestion during a company meeting because she feared it might be ruthlessly rejected. Someone joked that if we wanted to silence ideas, we’d better start charging admission fees for any new suggestions!
The Digital Divide: A New Challenge
The Digital Divide A New Challenge
The usual brick-and-mortar setup of organizations was slightly better when it came to having interpersonal relationships and physical face time. Usually, it’s harder for people to behave as a snob when they have encountered their teammates in person, and they know that they have to work with them regularly.
Be it the lunch, coffee/tea, or smoke breaks, informal communication loosened people up enough that they could grasp what a coworker’s personality and thought process are. That itself helped bring down the barriers of official communication as well.
While our modern, digitally-driven workplace has revolutionized how we work with speed, efficiency, and sometimes even better work-life balance, it has led to increased proliferation of remote and hybrid work options. With remote work, constant emails, and video calls, interactions have become less personal.
While technology has brought us closer in many ways, it has also introduced barriers. Miscommunications abound, and the absence of face-to-face cues can leave team members feeling isolated or undervalued.
Anecdote: Sometime around 2010, a teammate’s video call froze for a moment during a meeting. Instead of being bewildered, his junior chipped in, saying maybe technology was trying to “edit out” controversial ideas. A little humor can defuse tension in wondrous ways.
Why Psychological Safety Matters
Employee Productivity and Well-being
There have been umpteen studies that have consistently shown that when employees feel safe, they are more engaged, innovative, and productive. For instance, a study from the University of Warwick found that happier employees are up to 12% more productive.
When people are not constantly worried about being judged, they channel their energy into solving problems and contributing creatively. Studies and research apart, think of yourself in a situation where you were absolutely free to try anything to get results versus where you had to check in with a 20-step ladder of approvals and a 40-page rule book. Where did you have more fun and get more results?
Goodwill and being nice aren’t just words meant for the marketing team. They have a profound impact on revenue as well. Psychological safety can have a direct impact on the bottom line. According to Gallup, companies with highly engaged employees can experience up to a 21% increase in profitability. When team members are empowered to share their ideas without fear, innovations flourish, leading to improved products, services, and ultimately, revenue growth.
I don’t want to sound like a stuck record, but this aspect of innovation cannot be downplayed. Google’s renowned Project Aristotle revealed that psychological safety was the most crucial factor behind high-performing teams. Teams that feel safe to experiment, take risks, and occasionally fail (and learn) tend to produce breakthrough ideas that can significantly impact a company’s competitive edge and profitability.
It’s critical to understand that there’s a difference between leaders and managers. The latter is just a designation. Leaders set the tone. When managers admit that they don’t have all the answers and actively seek input, it sends a powerful message. Even a simple “I don’t know” or “Let’s figure this out together” can make all the difference. Then again, making that “I don’t know” a habit isn’t advised.
Anecdote: Once, while working on a new release, I was put into a meeting of project managers. When it came to Figma, a senior manager’s response was, “I’m as clueless about this tech as my mother is about my phone.” The room relaxed, and discussions flowed more freely. It was a lesson in humility that many leaders could benefit from.
B. Open Communication Channels
Implement regular check-ins and create platforms—both digital and in-person—where employees can share feedback without fear. Digital tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams are great, but nothing beats a casual coffee chat. It’s essential to understand the difference between a casual chat room where people can discuss things beyond work and a mandated town hall meeting where you don’t know who’s attending just for the sake of it.
Tip: Consider virtual “water cooler” sessions where employees can discuss non-work topics. It humanizes the team and builds trust. Get a chat room on Discord and ask people to go bonkers. Just remember, you’re just there as an observer or a participant, not an administrator.
C. Training and Development
Offer training that not only focuses on job skills but also on soft skills such as empathy, active listening, and conflict resolution. Workshops on digital etiquette and communication can also help bridge the digital divide. It’s also crucial to understand that there would be people who are already acquainted with such things. For them, a more challenging task can pique their interest, and the standard norms will seem menial.
Anecdote: At a bootcamp, I once organized a digital communication workshop where we role-played email mishaps. The highlight was a mock “reply all” disaster that had everyone laughing—and more importantly, learning about the impact of our words and actions.
D. Celebrate Failures as Learning Opportunities
The best students are those who persist in their efforts, and the best tutors are those who continually encourage them. Granted, that in an organization, such unlimited freedom is a fantasy. However, reframing mistakes as stepping stones rather than setbacks can put a positive light on things. Strengths can be identified, and the person can be encouraged to take on a different role. When failures are celebrated for the lessons they bring, employees are more likely to experiment and innovate without fear.
Anecdote: Sometime in 2018, my team in my then-organisation underwent a significant setback on a project, leading to the scrapping of the project entirely. My manager then held a “Failure Fest” where we discussed what went wrong and, more importantly, what we learned. The event was as much fun as it was enlightening, and I think they still follow it to date whenever there’s a major screw-up.
E. Bridging the Digital Gap
Ensure that remote employees are not left out of the loop. Use video calls, digital whiteboards, and collaborative tools to ensure everyone’s voice is heard. Regular in-person retreats, if possible, can also help reinforce connections. Here, ensuring that you understand your team on an individual level is key. In the zeal for reinforcing connections, you shouldn’t end up enforcing mundane rules.
Tip: Rotate meeting times to accommodate different time zones. It shows respect for everyone’s work-life balance and reinforces the message that all voices matter. The digital space is rife with project management tools that can help you out.
Measuring Success: The Impact on Business Metrics
The Impact of Business Matrix
Employee Productivity
You hire people for being productive. The very basis of your hires fails when productivity drops. When employees feel safe, they’re more engaged. Gallup’s research indicates that teams with high engagement levels are up to 21% more productive. This not only improves day-to-day operations but also boosts overall innovation within the organization.
Just productivity doesn’t matter much if you keep churning out the same product or service year after year. To stay ahead of the market, you need individuals who can think critically and adapt quickly. Innovative ideas born from a culture of psychological safety can lead to product improvements and new revenue streams. Studies suggest that companies with high employee engagement see significant improvements in profitability, some reporting increases as high as 21% in earnings.
A psychologically safe workplace reduces stress and burnout. Happy, healthy employees not only contribute more but also reduce the cost of turnover. Research from Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, in collaboration with British multinational telecoms firm BT, shows that improved well-being correlates directly with productivity gains, up to 13%.
Psychological safety isn’t about deploying the latest buzzword or a fancy app—it’s about fostering genuine human connection. From those early days of clunky office memos to the era of instant digital communication, the principles remain the same. Whether you’re running a board meeting or a Zoom call from your kitchen table, remember:
Keep it real: Speak authentically and encourage others to do the same. That includes timelines, deadlines, promises, and aspirations. Your company’s vision and mission are as accurate as every team member considers them to be.
Be inclusive: Technology should connect, not isolate. Ensure every voice is heard. Even if you are the manager, it doesn’t make your voice the loudest by default.
Laugh a little: Humor can break down the stiffest walls. Even in a divided workplace, a shared laugh can remind everyone that we’re all human. Focus on the “shared” aspect, since something funny exclusively to you or a group of people might not sit well with others.
Conclusion
In a world where digital interactions can sometimes feel cold and divisive, nurturing psychological safety is more than just a human resources initiative—it’s a business imperative. When employees feel safe, they are more creative, more productive, and more committed to the success of the organization. As the numbers indicate, this isn’t just beneficial for morale; it’s also advantageous for the bottom line.
So, let’s embrace our inner trapeze artists. Let’s build workplaces where ideas can soar, failures are stepping stones, and everyone—yes, everyone—feels safe to take that leap. After all, a little trust and a lot of humor can turn even the most divided teams into high-flying success stories. Do you need help building a team like this? Why not get started with ValueMatrix?
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ValueMatrix helps organizations build culturally cohesive teams with AI-powered recruitment and retention strategies. We educate corporate leaders on the importance of involving and encouraging all generations to adopt enterprise values and participate actively to achieve excellence.
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