A new hire creates uncertainty in how the team should interact with them. Employees hesitate to voice concerns, worried that questioning the hire might seem discriminatory. Without leaders addressing these anxieties, the team perceives a loss of psychological safety.
Adding a person does change the landscape. It does change the culture. You bring a whole new personality in, and the people that are there don't know how to respond to that person, don't know how they're going to react when they say something, don't know if they can speak freely, don't know if they can say, "Well, I'm a little concerned about this hire," and the leader says, "Why?" And the person doesn't want to say because they're afraid. While it may not be a discriminatory statement, they may be afraid it's going to be read that way, and they don't know if it's a safe place anymore.
