Organizational-Andragogy®

BehaveWorking toward better outcomes

REQUEST
Knowledge & PracticeA research library for working life Contact usContact

Related external research

Find research to deepen how you understand work.

Starting a habit, listening to another person, turning experience into better judgment. Explore 67 academic publications in eight fields through questions from everyday work.

What the research found → Connections to your work

Each entry includes the study’s participants, methods and conditions. “Connection to this page” is our editorial interpretation informed by the research.

Choose a field or search for a topic.

Voice, advice & collaboration

8 studies

Research on conditions that allow people to raise difficulties and different views, contribute necessary information and learn together.

Field study (questionnaires, interviews and observation)1999

Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams

Psychological safety was associated with learning behaviors such as asking questions, seeking help and sharing errors.

Connection to this page

Relationships that allow people to express uncertainty and concerns can support consultation and the checking of assumptions.

Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Used multiple methods to examine psychological safety, learning behavior and team performance in 51 teams in a manufacturing company.
Scope and limitations
This was an observational study in one company. It did not establish that increasing a sense of safety alone causes better performance.

Amy Edmondson (1999). Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams

Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383

DOI: 10.2307/2666999

Meta-analysis2017

Psychological Safety: A Meta-Analytic Review and Extension

Organized evidence on antecedents of psychological safety and its relationships with task performance and learning, also examining differences across research designs and cultures.

Connection to this page

Look at relationships with supervisors and supportive conditions, rather than relying only on personal courage to speak up or seek advice.

Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Combined 136 independent samples involving over 22,000 people and about 5,000 groups, examining relationships at both individual and group levels.
Scope and limitations
Studies used different designs and measures. The review cannot be read as the effect of one intervention or a causal relationship shared by every workplace.

M. Lance Frazier, Stav Fainshmidt, Ryan L. Klinger, Amir Pezeshkan, Veselina Vracheva (2017). Psychological Safety: A Meta-Analytic Review and Extension

Personnel Psychology, 70(1), 113–165

DOI: 10.1111/peps.12183

Field study (survey of health care teams)2006

Making it safe: the effects of leader inclusiveness and professional status on psychological safety and improvement efforts in health care teams

Leaders' words and actions inviting and appreciating contributions were associated with psychological safety and reduced differences related to professional status.

Connection to this page

Relates to managers inviting views from people who have not yet spoken and respecting what they contribute.

Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Examined professional status, leader inclusiveness and psychological safety in 23 neonatal intensive care units participating in improvement work.
Scope and limitations
This health care survey cannot be directly translated into effects of organizational rank or individual phrases in other businesses.

Ingrid M. Nembhard, Amy C. Edmondson (2006). Making it safe: the effects of leader inclusiveness and professional status on psychological safety and improvement efforts in health care teams

Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(7), 941–966

DOI: 10.1002/job.413

Field study (two-stage survey)2007

Leadership Behavior and Employee Voice: Is the Door Really Open?

Perceived managerial openness was consistently associated with subordinates' speaking up, with perceptions of psychological safety involved in that relationship.

Connection to this page

Consider not only inviting consultation, but also how a manager responds after advice is sought or a different view is raised.

Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Examined supervisors' behavior and improvement-oriented employee voice among 3,149 employees and 223 managers in a restaurant chain.
Scope and limitations
The survey covered one industry. It cannot establish that one particular phrase from a supervisor increases employee voice.

James R. Detert, Ethan R. Burris (2007). Leadership Behavior and Employee Voice: Is the Door Really Open?

Academy of Management Journal, 50(4), 869–884

DOI: 10.5465/amj.2007.26279183

Field study (two-wave panel survey)2012

Psychological Antecedents of Promotive and Prohibitive Voice: A Two-Wave Examination

Responsibility for improvement was particularly strongly associated with proposing improvements, while psychological safety was particularly strongly associated with pointing out problems or risks.

Connection to this page

When inviting views in a meeting, consider asking both for new ideas and for concerns that may have been overlooked.

Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Surveyed 239 employees at two time points, examining psychological factors in relation to voice behaviors rated by supervisors.
Scope and limitations
Separating measurement over time does not make the study a randomized experiment. Relationships differ with the type of voice and the situation.

Jian Liang, Crystal I. C. Farh, Jiing-Lih Farh (2012). Psychological Antecedents of Promotive and Prohibitive Voice: A Two-Wave Examination

Academy of Management Journal, 55(1), 71–92

DOI: 10.5465/amj.2010.0176

Experimental research (six laboratory and field studies)2008

If You Need Help, Just Ask: Underestimating Compliance With Direct Requests for Help

Requesters underestimated the likelihood of receiving help and tended to overlook the social discomfort another person may experience when refusing.

Connection to this page

Ask for specific help before carrying a problem alone, while making room for the other person to decline or explain conditions.

Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Compared requesters' predictions with actual compliance with direct requests for help, investigating prediction biases through manipulations including changes in perspective.
Scope and limitations
The research concerns direct requests and cannot be generalized to all emails or long-term workplace relationships. Compliance should also be distinguished from willing agreement.

Francis J. Flynn, Vanessa K. B. Lake (2008). If You Need Help, Just Ask: Underestimating Compliance With Direct Requests for Help

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(1), 128–143

DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.95.1.128

Meta-analysis2009

Information Sharing and Team Performance: A Meta-Analysis

Information sharing was positively associated with team performance. The strength of the relationship varied with what was shared, the task and the structure of discussion.

Connection to this page

Bring forward information and concerns that have not yet been shared, rather than only repeating familiar points in meetings.

Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Combined 72 independent studies involving 4,795 groups and 17,279 people, examining information sharing, team performance and factors such as discussion structure.
Scope and limitations
Many studies were correlational, so sharing information does not guarantee better performance. The review also distinguishes information everyone already knows from information held by individual members.

Jessica R. Mesmer-Magnus, Leslie A. DeChurch (2009). Information Sharing and Team Performance: A Meta-Analysis

Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(2), 535–546

DOI: 10.1037/a0013773

Meta-analysis integrating quantitative and qualitative studies2018

When Leadership Powers Team Learning: A Meta-Analysis

Support for people and relationships was associated with learning across multiple tasks. The relationship for task-structuring behavior differed by task type.

Connection to this page

Consider managers providing information, support and room to think so that teams can review experience, beyond deciding the answers themselves.

Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Combined 43 studies and 92 effect sizes to examine relationships between leadership approaches and team learning behaviors across task types.
Scope and limitations
Too few studies were available to distinguish detailed leadership behaviors, and measurement methods varied. The findings also suggested potential problems with excessive procedural structuring.

Mieke Koeslag-Kreunen, Piet Van den Bossche, Michael Hoven, Marcel Van der Klink, Wim Gijselaers (2018). When Leadership Powers Team Learning: A Meta-Analysis

Small Group Research, 49(4), 475–513

DOI: 10.1177/1046496418764824

Back to the eight fields ↑

Research and workplace practice at REQUEST

From research to the workplace

Use this research in your workplace

Discuss a work situation you would like to revisit with your team.

The contact form includes this page’s title and link. Add the work situation you would like to discuss.

Contact usSend an email

Workplace consulting services (Japanese)

REQUEST | Organizational-Andragogy®