Organisational Climate Conditions of Psychological Safety as Thriving Mechanism in Digital Workspaces

Abstract

Psychological safety is explored as a key mechanism enabling thriving in workplaces that are becoming increasingly digital. The objective of the chapter is to present tentative propositions about how an organisational climate of psychological safety supports human thriving in technologically evolving work contexts. The debate offered in the chapter is novel by integrating living systems theory and the classical self-determination theory to extend the conceptualisation of human thriving through the precondition of psychological safety and human needs fulfilment. The chapter fills an important gap in thriving research by exploring the relevance of the construct in the Industry 4.0 heralded digital workplace. The chapter reviews current research on the psychological demands of new digital mobile and information technology on individuals in modern workplaces and proposes practices towards fostering human thriving. The chapter further explores a future research agenda for extending knowledge of the psychology of thriving.