Exploring the relationship between psychological safety and team learning behaviors in hybrid project teams

Ahmed Furqan (2025) Exploring the relationship between psychological safety and team learning behaviors in hybrid project teams. Menedzsment Kar (2025-)-.

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Absztrakt (kivonat)

This dissertation examined the relationship between psychological safety and team learning behaviors within hybrid project teams, as well as one of the most pressing issues in the modern workplace: the process of team learning and the effective adaptation of distributed physical and virtual workplace teams. With the trend of firms adopting hybrid work arrangements, there is a critical need to understand the human and social processes that promote collaboration, openness, and learning in the hybrid work environment.The research topic for the study was as follows:“What is the relationship between psychological safety and team learning behaviors among hybrid project teams?”The study was based on Edmondson's (1999) foundational work on psychological safety and Senge's (1990) concepts of the learning organization in terms of their effects on the learning processes (reflection, knowledge sharing, and experimentation) of the learning organization, based on interpersonal feelings of safety (the belief that an individual can share ideas or make mistakes without being embarrassed or punished). The study additionally included the supporting constructs of Leadership Enablers (LE) and Equity and Inclusion (EI) to determine how much leadership practices and an inclusive environment promote and enable psychological safety in hybrid project teams (HPT).The research design adopted was quantitative. A structured questionnaire was administered to a sample of participants working in multinational hybrid project teams. The validity represented four major constructs: Psychological Safety (PS), Team Learning (TL), Leadership Enablers (LE), and Equity and Inclusion (EI), all with good internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.76–0.82). The relationships between the variables were tested using both correlation and multiple regression analyses to verify the strength and significance of the predictive effects.The results provided strong empirical support for the central hypothesis. Psychological safety was a significant and positive predictor of team learning behaviors (r = 0.708, p < 0.001; β = 0.349, p = 0.002). This demonstrates that when members of hybrid project teams feel psychologically safe, they are more likely to engage in shared learning, problem-solving, and continuous improvement. These findings support Edmondson’s (1999) assertion that collective learning and adaptability are preconditioned on psychological safety.Leadership Enablers (β = 0.429, p = 0.001) served as another significant supportive element. Leaders demonstrating humility, transparency, and reliability, even in digital spaces, foster trust and encourage cooperative learning. These findings are consistent with the current literature (Nembhard & Edmondson, 2006; Waizenegger et al., 2020) and indicate that trust can be fostered via inclusive and empathetic leadership, encouraging team members to express their ideas openly.Equity and Inclusion (EI) are also positively linked to psychological safety (r = 0.818, p = 0.001), suggesting that equal involvement, visibility, and information access foster a feeling of safety. Nonetheless, EI did not solely forecast team learning, signifying that inclusion fosters an environment where psychological safety can thrive, subsequently promoting learning. In summary, the results indicate that psychological safety serves as the central element connecting interpersonal trust, leadership support, and inclusion to learning behaviors in hybrid project teams. Although leadership and inclusion establish the structural and social environment for collaboration, psychological safety converts these conditions into active engagement and knowledge exchange.The research theoretically utilizes established frameworks of psychological safety and team learning in hybrid projects involving digital communication and physical separation, which increases interpersonal uncertainty. It confirms that the principles of safety and education are universal yet must be nurtured through digital empathy, established communication standards, and inclusiveness. The suggested conceptual framework identifies psychological safety as the direct influence on team learning, supported by leadership and inclusivity.Practically, the findings provide actionable guidance for organizations managing distributed teams. Pre-mortem sessions should be institutionalized to allow teams to anticipate challenges and normalize risk-taking and open communication. Leadership development should focus on vulnerability modeling and virtual presence, turning leaders into approachable figures in digital spaces. Inclusion policies should be measurable, e.g., through voice audits, to ensure equal participation in hybrid meetings.Despite these contributions, the study has limitations. The cross-sectional design does not allow causal conclusions, and self-reported data may introduce bias. Future research should adopt longitudinal or mixed method approaches with larger, heterogeneous samples to examine the dynamics of psychological safety over time and its relationship with cultural and technological factors.In conclusion, the dissertation establishes that team learning in hybrid project teams is grounded in psychological safety. Distance does not diminish trust and openness but transforms them. Leaders’ behaviors in cultivating psychological safety across digital and physical boundaries determine whether hybrid teams can learn and innovate together. Under hybrid project environments enabled by technology, collaboration is achievable through psychological safety, making teams effective learning systems capable of navigating the challenges of the modern workplace.

Intézmény

Budapesti Gazdasági Egyetem

Kar

Menedzsment Kar (2025-)-

Tudományterület/tudományág

NEM RÉSZLETEZETT

Szak

Gazdálkodási és menedzsment

Mű típusa:	diplomadolgozat (NEM RÉSZLETEZETT)
Kulcsszavak:	behaviors, Hybrid, psychological, safety, team learning, Teams
SWORD Depositor:	User Archive
Felhasználói azonosító szám (ID):	User Archive
Rekord készítés dátuma:	2026. Ápr. 09. 15:04
Utolsó módosítás:	2026. Ápr. 09. 15:04

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