Psychological Safety Under the Microscope: When, How, and for Whom it Matters

Psychological safety has become a central construct in organizational research and practice, frequently invoked as a key enabler of collaboration, learning, and innovation. Yet its growing popularity has also produced ambiguity, with prescriptions to “increase safety” often under-specifying mechanisms, overlooking tradeoffs, and assuming benefits generalize across contexts. This symposium advances a more precise and contingent understanding of psychological safety by examining when and how it matters. Viewing psychological safety as an emergent phenomenon, the symposium advances the proposition that its value hinges on the processes that produce it, the distribution of interpersonal risk, and the incentive structures embedded in the system. Four papers contribute complementary empirical perspectives across levels and contexts: interactional foundations in brief dyadic encounters; boundary-crossing client–provider relationships in healthcare co-production; team structural conditions shaped by subgroup faultlines; and sociotechnical systems in which AI mediates collaborative work. Together, the papers illuminate mechanisms, boundary conditions, and design choices that shape the emergence and consequences of psychological safety. The symposium is structured as an adversarial collaboration, pairing evidence-based presentations with an integrative discussion to surface points of convergence, tension, and falsifiability. By moving beyond generalized claims, the session aims to produce a sharper framework for understanding psychological safety and outline directions for future research on psychological safety in contemporary organizations. High-Quality Listening Builds Relationship Between Strangers Through Dyadic Psychological Safety Author: Roy Rave; University of Haifa Author: Guy Itzchakov; University of Haifa Author: Netta Weinstein; - Author: Eli Vinokur; Gordon Academic College Author: Moty Amar; Ono Academic College Author: Avinoam Yomtovian; Gordon Academic College Psychological Safety in Co-Production: Evidence from Patients in Healthcare Author: Michaela Kerrissey; - Author: Daria Lisus; Harvard University Author: Cheryl Rathert; Saint Louis University Author: Anna Gosline; - Psychological Safety in Divided Teams Author: Daisy Pollenne; INSEAD Author: Nicole Abi-Esber; London School of Economics and Political Science Author: Henrik Bresman; INSEAD Using Conversational AI to Actively Facilitate Psychologically Safe Climates Author: Allen Samuel Brown; Carnegie Mellon University Author: Anita Williams Woolley; Carnegie Mellon University