Managing (in)visibility and hypervisibility in the workplace

Publication date: Available online 6 November 2018Source: Journal of Vocational BehaviorAuthor(s): NiCole T. Buchanan, Isis H. SettlesAbstractVisibility at work, being seen fully and accurately by others, is important for individual self-determination and authenticity, and for organizational outcomes such as commitment and sense of belonging. Although there has been increasing attention in the organizational literature on marginalized groups' workplace experiences of harassment, discrimination, and identity-based microaggressions, little attention has been given to issues of invisibility and hypervisibility. We conceptualize invisibility and hypervisibility as additional forms of identity-based mistreatment that are in opposition to visibility for marginalized groups. This special issue expands the limited existing research in this area to advance theoretical and empirical knowledge around issues of visibility in the workplace. In this introduction to the special issue, we provide a framework for understanding visibility, invisibility, and hypervisibility through definitions and key features of the constructs. We also highlight the contributions that the special issue papers make to organizational research generally, and to research on visibility in the workplace specifically. We end with suggestions future research related to visibility and organizational psychology.

Source: Journal of Vocational Behavior - November 7, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research