Psychological Safety and READINESS: A Conceptual Integration

Sara Conti, Silvia Ravazzani, Alessandra Mazzei, Yan Jin, Yijing Wang, and Sungsu Kim (PhD alum). “Psychological Safety and READINESS: A Conceptual Integration.” Presentation at the European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA) Annual Congress, September 16-19, 2026, Malaga, Spain.

Abstract: In an era of overlapping crises and accelerating disruptions, organizations are called to develop the capacity to confront complexity and change. This conceptual paper integrates three bodies of literature, i.e. psychological safety, READINESS, and toxic leadership, to argue that psychological safety constitutes a fundamental enabling condition for organizational READINESS. We propose that psychological safety provides the relational infrastructure through which the cognitive, motivational, and emotional dimensions of READINESS emerge. When individuals feel safe to take interpersonal risks at work, they develop multilevel efficacy, mental adaptability, and emotionally intelligent leadership. Conversely, toxic leadership erodes this climate by suppressing employee voice and entrenching organizational silence, thereby hindering READINESS. The paper presents six research propositions linking psychological safety, employee communicative behaviors, toxic leadership, and READINESS, offering a theoretical foundation for future empirical investigation.