Psychological safety in software workplaces: A systematic literature review

2025-08-05

AI Summary

This study presents the first systematic literature review on psychological safety (PS) in software engineering, addressing the lack of cross-level (individual, team, organizational) conceptual clarity regarding its antecedents and outcomes. Guided by Edmondson’s theoretical framework, we synthesized empirical studies from ACM, IEEE, Springer, and ScienceDirect using a mixed-methods approach. Results identify team autonomy, agile practices, and supportive leadership as key antecedents; PS is empirically linked to enhanced innovation, learning, and team performance. The review uncovers two critical research gaps: context-specific mechanisms underlying PS formation and evidence-based intervention strategies. To bridge these gaps, we propose the first multi-level integrative PS model tailored to software engineering contexts. This model provides a foundational theoretical framework and actionable directions for future empirical investigation—advancing both scholarly understanding and practical implementation of PS in software development environments. (149 words)

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Software Engineering
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction
• Multiagent Systems: Teamwork

Application Category

• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Psychology-informed user models and recommender systems
• Social Networks and Social Media: Computational social science

Abstract

Context: Psychological safety (PS) is an important factor influencing team well-being and performance, particularly in collaborative and dynamic domains such as software development. Despite its acknowledged significance, research on PS within the field of software engineering remains limited. The socio-technical complexities and fast-paced nature of software development present challenges to cultivating PS. To the best of our knowledge, no systematic secondary study has synthesized existing knowledge on PS in the context of software engineering. Objective: This study aims to systematically review and synthesize the existing body of knowledge on PS in software engineering. Specifically, it seeks to identify the potential antecedents and consequences associated with the presence or absence of PS among individuals involved in the software development process. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted, encompassing studies retrieved from four digital libraries. The extracted data were subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Results: The findings indicate a growing academic interest in PS within software engineering, with the majority of studies grounded in Edmondson's framework. Factors antecedents of PS were identified at the individual, team, and organizational levels, including team autonomy, agile methodologies, and leadership behaviors. Conclusion: PS fosters innovation, learning, and team performance within software development. However, significant gaps persist in understanding the contextual factors influencing PS, its underlying mechanisms, and effective strategies for its enhancement. Future research should address these gaps by investigating the practical applications of PS within diverse organizational settings in the software engineering domain.

Problem

• Lack of systematic review on psychological safety in software engineering
• Identifying antecedents and consequences of psychological safety in software teams
• Understanding contextual factors and enhancement strategies for psychological safety

Innovation

• Systematic literature review on psychological safety
• Quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods
• Identified antecedents at multiple organizational levels