Psychological safety describes the feeling of employees that they are allowed to express their personality and opinions within their organization and their team, to articulate criticism of team members and superiors, and to suggest creative and unorthodox solutions. Studies in the field of organizational psychology have demonstrated various positive effects of psychological safety – on the commitment and dedication of individual employees as well as on the performance, innovation, and learning ability of the company as a whole. This newly-launched research project will examine psychological safety from a communications perspective and show in which communicative settings employees feel psychologically safe and how strategic internal organizational communication can contribute to such a working climate. A systematic literature analysis, problem-centred qualitative interviews, and a quantitative online survey of employees are planned to address these questions.

The project is funded by the Academic Society for Management & Communication, an initiative of the Günter Thiele Foundation for Communication & Management, and led by Sabine Einwiller and Jens Hagelstein. Further scientific support will be offered by Jeannine Huber and Raphaela Stibor during all phases of the research. In total, around € 32.000 are available for the one-year duration of the project.

How internal communication can increase psychological safety in companies

Funding Organization: Academic Society for Management & Communication, an initiative of the Guenter Thiele Foundation for Communication & Management
PI: Sabine Einwiller • Jens Hagelstein
Duration: 2024-2025
Funding: € 31.622,13