Repatterning Interactions in Remote Work Environments: Bolstering Psychological Safety Through Mutually Humanizing Self-Disclosure

Existing research on psychological safety suggests that remote work might make it more challenging for workers to engage in the sorts of interactions that promote psychological safety. This raises the question: How is psychological safety bolstered when groups work remotely? Drawing on data from a 7-year longitudinal qualitative study—including 275 interviews and approximately 330 hours of observations—of a professional services organization that shifted from an in-person to a remote work environment, I present a process model of how psychological safety can be strengthened among workers interacting virtually. I find that remote work supports interactional patterns that facilitate self-disclosure among group members. Learning more about one another, workers become mutually humanized, and psychological safety is bolstered. This psychological safety is accompanied by a set of associated practices that help people coordinate on work tasks while also sustaining flexibility in where and when they work. Reflecting improved psychological safety and associated practices, group members attend to and accomplish both work tasks and nonwork activities. This study contributes to the psychological safety literature by identifying a distinct process through which psychological safety can be promoted in remote work environments: mutual humanization via self-disclosure, which is supported through interactional patterns facilitated by remote work. Importantly, this distinct group-initiated process expands theorization beyond its current focus on leader-initiated social learning. This study also identifies how psychological safety supports role management, integrating theories of psychological safety and work-nonwork roles to expand understanding of psychological safety’s positive consequences.