Get to Know: Merrick Osborne

Merrick Osborne joined the ILR faculty in 2025 as an assistant professor in the Department of Organizational Behavior. Inspired by conversations around the dinner table while growing up and a fortuitous Google search, his primary research interest is the relationship between an employee’s input and their position in the workplace hierarchy. He hopes his work will challenge assumptions about how traditionally marginalized people operate, and that the findings will help laypeople more effectively navigate their workplaces. 

What is your research about? 

I study how providing input at work (or asking for others to provide input at work) increases (or decreases) our standing within workplace hierarchies. Recently, I have been curious about how this process is influenced when the “input” comes from people who are traditionally marginalized. Specifically – in terms of rising in the hierarchy – I have been trying to untangle when it is good for traditionally marginalized people to provide input, when people who want traditionally marginalized people to speak up should (versus should not) ask them to speak up, and how the topic of the input (i.e., improving workplace diversity, equity or inclusion) impacts these dynamics. 

How did you become interested in your field? 

My mom is a licensed clinical social worker, and my dad is a retired business executive. As a kid, I was always fascinated by their dinner table conversations. Despite coming from such disparate fields, they would excitedly share various adventures (or misadventures) from their work. In the process, they would exchange vocabulary and insights that always seemed to help the other advance in their workplace goals.  

These conversations made me want to become some type of psychologist. Initially, I tried clinical psychology; but I swiftly learned that I did not connect with the material. I called my dad to ask for advice, and he said something that changed my life: “I wish there were people who studied folks like me: Black people in business.” It made me wonder if there was a field of psychology focused on business. So, I typed “Business” and “psychology” into Google and unceremoniously hit the Enter key. As results began to populate my laptop screen, I realized that I had just tumbled down the rabbit hole into a wonderful new world that I wanted to call home. 

What impact do you hope your research will have? 

I want to conduct rigorous, thoughtful research that challenges central assumptions in academic theory – because, oftentimes, these assumptions are embedded in the real world (beyond the ivory tower). These assumptions shape our decision-making, our interactions and our expectations: it is important to understand not just where the assumptions come from, but also how they manifest. I want my research to specifically challenge assumptions about how traditionally marginalized people operate, in the hopes that the findings will help laypeople more effectively navigate their workplaces. 

What attracted you to the ILR School? 

I was motivated by the clear commitment to improving workers’ experiences through ILR organizations like the Workplace Inclusion and Diversity Education collaborative space, Center for Applied Research on Work and Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies. The most interesting research, in my view, speaks to real-world challenges that contemporary employees face. The ILR School has a host of resources that will help me accomplish this work. And, of course, I have heard nothing but good things about ILR’s student body. 

What are you most excited for about your time at ILR? 

I am looking forward to learning more about Ithaca and the surrounding area. I have lived in Oregon, North Carolina and (most recently) California. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Upstate New York, so continuing to learn more about the area is a top priority. 

At ILR, I am stoked to get to know my colleagues. I am excited to learn from, and work with, world-class scientists who have inspired and guided me from afar. Now, I have the chance to perfect my craft amongst the cream of the crop. 

If you could share one piece of advice with your students, what would it be? 

We are only as capable as our willingness to learn more about the world around us. So do not be afraid to keep learning: every lesson – no matter how humbling – brings you closer to your goals.  

What is a favorite piece of advice from an inspiring figure in your life? 

“Don’t be embarrassed that you did not know something you were never taught. Be proud that you are now willing to learn.” That quote is from Michelle Duster, author of “Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth: Educator, feminist, and anti-lynching civil rights leader.”