Psychological safety has been shown to be a vital component of team performance and well-being. Yet, as organizations worldwide face increasing demographic changes and technological reliance, much remains unclear as to how these factors affect perceived psychological safety. Through a quantitative field study (N = 986), we explore how minority group status in terms of diversity characteristics (including gender, race, disability, and language) and virtual work arrangements – including their combination - affect psychological safety. Our results indicate that both minority group status and fully remote work negatively impact psychological safety. Hybrid work arrangements, on the other hand, have a positive effect on perceived psychological safety of most minority groups. We find that racial minorities, women, and language minorities experience higher psychological safety in hybrid work (vs. on-site), while employees with disability characteristics (specifically sensory disabilities) experience lower levels. Thus, our study furthers of understanding of how virtual work arrangements affect perceptions of psychological safety in organizations with increased diversity, and offers partial support for the equalization effect of computer-mediated technologies on status differentials. We emphasize the need for flexible work arrangements that consider the individual needs of different minority groups when creating a psychologically safe work environment.
