Title: Managing (in)visibility and hypervisibility in the workplace - ScienceDirect
Headings: Managing (in)visibility and hypervisibility in the workplace
Journal of Vocational Behavior
Editorial
Managing (in)visibility and hypervisibility in the workplace
Abstract
Keywords
1. Visibility, invisibility, and hypervisibility defined
2. Characteristics of (in)visibility and hypervisibility
Contributions of this special issue
Future directions for (in)visibility research
Author note
References

Content: Under these conditions of hypervisibility, mistakes (real or perceived) are used to confirm negative stereotypes, and evidence that could counter negative perceptions is minimized or held suspect (e.g., when the person does superior work, dominant group members assume they must have had help). Similarly, when individuals are hypervisible, their personal identities are invisible as they are seen only in terms of their marginalized group membership (e.g., being the token person of color to represent diversity on a committee). In contrast to visibility, invisibility refers to a state or condition where an individual is not fully recognized and valued ( Brighenti, 2007; Simpson & Lewis, 2005 ). It may be context specific, such as a woman who feels she has voice (i.e., feels visible) in a meeting within her workgroup of mostly women coworkers, but feels her suggestions are dismissed (i.e., feels invisible) in a meeting of mostly male organizational leaders. Societal and organizational norms are typically those of the dominant group (e.g., appropriate workplace attire) as their power and status allow them to create policies, practices, and standards. In contrast, representations of marginalized group members are largely absent or stereotyped. As such, invisibility places marginalized group members at a disadvantage because once they are rendered invisible, they are denied recognition, power, and voice ( Lewis & Simpson, 2010; Simpson & Lewis, 2005 ). Although the existing literature frames visibility as largely positive and invisibility as generally negative, the papers in this issue (further described below) suggest that there are conditions under which invisibility is preferred to visibility by individuals in marginalized groups ( Rabelo & Mahalingam, 2018;