Making Sense of Employee Performance in Digital Workplaces_An Interpretative Phenomenological Study of Psychological Safety and Digital Orientation

This study explores how employees make sense of performance in digital workplaces through their lived experiences of psychological safety and digital orientation. Adopting a qualitative Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach, the study draws on in-depth interviews with eight employees working in organizations that have implemented digitally enabled work practices in Indonesia. The findings reveal three interconnected dimensions of employees' experiences. First, psychological safety provides an interpersonal environment that encourages employees to express ideas, ask questions, and learn from mistakes without fear of negative consequences. Second, digital orientation shapes employees' understanding of performance through technological adaptability, digital collaboration, and the continuous development of digital competencies. Third, the interaction between these conditions influences employees' ability to translate their digital capabilities into meaningful workplace contributions. Building on these findings, the study proposes Safe Digital Actualization as an emerging conceptual proposition, explaining how psychological safety and digital orientation converge in shaping employees' understanding and actualization of performance. The study contributes to the literature on organizational behavior and strategic human resource management by highlighting the importance of integrating psychological support with digital capability development in increasingly digitalized workplaces.