A study examining the relationship between dissimilarity, in terms of personality and values, and perceived inclusion among employees.

Abstract

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.