Where you live influences how you view your job. New research from North Carolina-based Elon University finds that people who experience a warm, welcoming and inclusive community are more likely to feel psychologically safe in the workplace. The study also found that a supportive organizational structure strengthens those effects, though an inclusive community can still boost psychological safety even when workplace diversity efforts lag. Researchers urge companies to recognize the influence of community environments when developing employee retention and engagement plans. “Few studies have examined community-based antecedents of work attitudes and behaviors,” the authors note, adding that the findings offer “novel and practical insights into employee retention.”
