April 22, 2025
Episode 135: Psychological Safety at Work: Beyond Return to Office with Marion Anderson
In this episode of The Future of Teamwork, Dane Groeneveld chats with Marion Anderson, founder of The Fearless PX, founding member of the Performance Innovation Collection, co-host of The Elephant in the Org Podcast, and PhD researcher. Marion brings her global HR background, retail roots, and passion for making work “suck less” to the table as she dives into the messy middle of hybrid work, psychological safety, and the evolving employee-employer dynamic. Together, they explore the real-world factors behind team satisfaction and performance, from modeling failure to embracing play at work.
Whether you’re a team leader, HR professional, or just trying to navigate this new world of work — this conversation will give you plenty to think about!
Psychological Safety at Work: Beyond Return to Office with Marion Anderson
Guest Bio
Scottish by birth, global by experience—I’ve lived and worked all over the world, shaping my perspective on leadership, workplace culture, and psychological safety. My Ph.D. research explores the intersection of how employees perceive their companies’ approaches to remote, hybrid, and return-to-office policies—and how that impacts their psychological safety.
I co-founded Fearless PX to help organizations build more inclusive, human-centered workplaces and co-host The Elephant in the Org, a podcast tackling the workplace conversations most leaders avoid. I also consult on return-to-office strategies, employee experience, and leadership development—especially for junior managers navigating the leap into people leadership.
Now based in Northwest Arkansas, I balance research, consulting, and podcasting with wrangling my two opinionated dogs, Talisker and Jack.
Key Takeaways
00:00 Introduction to the Future of Teamwork Podcast
01:30 Meet Marion Anderson: Founder of Fearless PX
02:35 Marion’s Journey: From Retail to HR
04:31 Pursuing a PhD During COVID
06:35 The Impact of Remote and Hybrid Work
08:00 Challenges of Psychological Safety in Hybrid Work
14:22 Proximity Bias and Its Effects
15:37 Building Inclusive Workplaces
17:43 Intentionality in Organizational Culture
23:06 Key Factors for Employee Engagement
25:09 Authenticity and Transparency in Leadership
25:30 The Importance of Psychological Safety
27:02 Modeling Behavior and Parental Leave
28:19 The Problem with Unlimited PTO
30:01 The Role of Play in Teams
32:12 Embracing Technology for Better Work Practices
36:03 Addressing Burnout and Mental Health
42:39 The Impact of Psychological Safety on Litigation
46:55 Final Thoughts and Call to Action
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