Risky Business: Leveraging Psychological Safety in the Pursuit of Workplace Equity

Abstract

Following the tidal wave of racial unrest in the summer of 2020, organizations doubled down on their commitment to eradicate racism. However, organizations lack a thorough understanding of the psychological mechanisms that thwart or facilitate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Psychological safety, defined as the feeling it is safe to take interpersonal risks (Edmondson, 1999), represents a critical intermediary between discrimination and essential individual and organizational outcomes for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) employees. In this review, I expand the classic conceptualization of psychological safety to include identity-based risks for BIPOC employees. Additionally, I explore how identity-based risks plague White employees engaged in important DEI work. Ultimately, this review aims to reposition psychological safety as a tool to address organizational racism by broadening its understanding of risk. Borrowing from classical research on the antecedents of psychological safety, I discuss how organizations might leverage this vital mechanism to eradicate inequity. I also provide recommendations for future research on psychological safety and organizational equity.