How employees’ personality traits affect the perceived psychological safety in the context of digital business transformation projects

Abstract

This study explores how individual’s personality traits affect the perceptions psychological safety in a business transformation project context. The topic is motivated by the fact that roughly 70% of business transformation efforts fail to meet their desired targets and involvement characterizes successful transformation efforts. Both key concepts in the study, psychological safety and human personality, have an effect on various organizational success factors, including engagement and motivation, and this Thesis offers a novel insight to the interplay of these factors in the context of digital business transformation. The research questions addressed in this study are: 1) How do an individual's personality traits affect their perception of psychological safety in a changing work environment? 2) How can the acknowledgment of personality dimensions and their connection to psychological safety be incorporated into change management practices? Methods used in this research study are both qualitative and quantitative in nature: quantitative personality trait assessment of the big-five personality traits utilizing the mini-IPIP questionnaire and qualitative semi-structured interviews which are thematically analysed. Key findings of the study highlight the importance of two personality traits Agreeableness and Extraversion. Large-scale technology projects require adaptation within the complex socio- technical context, and the importance of employee voice behaviour emerged as a theme (associated with Extraversion) as a means for workers to keep up with the demanding and fast- paced work environment. Agreeableness trait was found to impact the perception of psychological safety via self-criticism. Across all traits one-to-one connection with both colleagues and managers was seen as the number one enabling factor for a psychologically safe team. With a few key insights found from the vast and complex relationship between organizational practices and psychological phenomena, this Thesis points a direction for future research to study further the connections between management practices, personality traits and perceptions of psychological safety.