Fostering Psychological Safety in the Remote Workspace Through Micro Interactions in Digital Communication Platforms

 This thesis project aims to enhance remote workers’  psychological safety by optimizing the communication  platforms, Slack and Zoom, at the level of micro-interaction.  Previous literature suggests a model for building  psychological safety in the workplace (Edmonson, 2018).  In my exploratory research, new insights emerged to inform  the development of a new framework for establishing  psychological safety in remote workspaces, which includes  five main principles: set the stage where everyone’s voice is  needed, invite paricipation, respond appreciatively, facilitate  personal connections and engagement, and share values  and vulnerability. Inspired by learnings from generative and  evaluative design research, I was able to brainstorm and  refne features for Slack and Zoom platforms. Ultimately,  I propose three features for each platform, integrating user  feedback and aligning with the established design principles.  The iterative process emphasizes the imporance of user-centered design and staying within the project scope.  Overall, this research offers actionable strategies for fostering  psychological safety in remote work setings through  meaningful platform enhancements.