A study examining the relationship between dissimilarity, in terms of personality and values, and perceived inclusion among employees.
Summary
A great variety of research has concentrated on workplace diversity and its possible benefits
and downsides for organizational performance. Recently, research has started to look beyond
the demographic composition of the workforce and tried to understand what is necessary to
integrate these diverse employees in the organization. This article contributes to the literature
of workplace inclusion, by demonstrating that differences among coworkers can affect
perceived feelings of belongingness, authenticity and ultimately inclusion. As a foundation
for this research, Jansen’s and Otten’s (2014) definition of inclusion has been used to further
investigate the topic. This research used a vignette design, in order to illustrate the effects of
dissimilarity among coworkers, in terms of personality and values, on perceived sense of
belonging and perceived sense of authenticity among coworkers. A total of 118 male and
female participants of different nationalities who are currently part of a work group
participated in this study. A one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed
that dissimilarity among coworkers did affect their perceived feeling of inclusion. Participants
that were exposed to the condition of dissimilarity indicated a significantly lower level of
belongingness and authenticity. In spite of these findings, it appears that dissimilarity in
general is the decisive reason for people to feel excluded, not personality nor values in
particular, as neither of them had a specific effect on the dimensions authenticity and
belonging.