On building employee inclusion: A Preliminary Validation of a measure for assessing the Social Drivers of Inclusive Workplaces

Research goals. Firms are increasingly aware that people’s diversity and inclusion are a source of competitive advantage. Although research on these issues is growing rapidly, a clear set of constructs is still lacking, which limits empirical testing (Jackson & Joshi, 2011). Based on Shore et al.’s (2018) model of inclusive workplaces and the Perceptions of Social Context framework (PoSC; Borgogni et al., 2010, 2022; Johns, 2006), this study aims to provide a preliminary validation of the SDIW scale, which simultaneously assesses the employee’s perceptions of inclusive behaviours of the main social actors within organizations (i.e., management, leaders and co-workers). Theoretical background. The benefits of a diverse workforce are unlikely without inclusion (Offerman & Basford, 2014). Workplace inclusion can be built by incorporating diversity into organizational priorities, making people feel safe to belong and contribute to their full potential (Jeronimo et al., 2021). Notably, a recent review suggested several social drivers of inclusion, including the workgroup and leadership (i.e., by shaping one’s perceptions of the balance between belongingness and uniqueness) and top management (i.e., by implementing policies and practices; Shore et al., 2018). Based on the literature on the PoSC framework (Borgogni et al., 2010, 2022; Johns, 2006), we propose that the perceptions of workplace inclusiveness may be conceptualized through the inclusive behaviours of co-workers, leadership, and top management as perceived by the individual. Our proposal is in line with the contributions suggesting the need to investigate the comparative effects of different social influences on employee’s health and job outcomes (Kim et al., 2017). Design. A total of 1244 employees from a large Italian telecommunications company completed an anonymous online survey. The survey assessed: Inclusive Top Management (iTOM; 10 items), measuring the degree to which the top management implement policies and practices that provide representation, protect and value diversity and treat employees equally; Inclusive Leadership (iLEAD; 9 items) measuring the degree to which leaders commit themselves to problematize prejudices against diversity, nourish individual uniqueness and promote the integration of differences; Inclusive Co-workers (iCOW; 9 items), measuring the degree to which co-workers dialogue constructively, consider and integrate diversity as an added value to achieve common goals. The set of items was developed with a specific reference to diversity (i.e., cultural differences, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and age). Additionally, we measured as correlates: negative regulatory emotional self-efficacy (RESE; Alessandri et al., 2018), affective commitment (AC; Allen & Meyer, 1999), interpersonal strain (ISW; Borgogni et al., 2012), the satisfaction of relatedness need (SRN; Van de Broeck et al., 2010), and mobbing (MOB; Nam et al., 2010). Participants were randomly divided into two groups to perform exploratory factor (EFA) and confirmatory factor (CFA) analyses. Reliabilities were estimated. Alternative models were tested through CFAs (1-factor, 2-factor, 3-factor, higher-order and bifactor models). Convergent and discriminant validity was explored. A series of ANOVAs were conducted on SDIW subscales. Results. The EFA suggested a three-factor solution (χ2=765.83, df =297, CFI=.97, TLI=.96, RMSEA=.05, SRMR=.02). The three subscales had good reliability (iTOM α=.93; iLEAD α=.97; iCOW α=.91). The three-factor structure was confirmed by the CFA (χ2= 673.54, df =347, CFI=.95, TLI=.95, RMSEA=.06, SRMR=.04). This model outperformed all alternative models, according to fit indices and χ2 test. As expected, the dimensions were positively related to RESE, AC, and SRN, and negatively associated with MOB and ISW. Women had lower perceptions of iCOW than men, while senior employees had lower iLEAD perceptions. Limitations. This cross-sectional study was limited to a single Italian company and relied only on self-report measures. Conclusions. The preliminary validation of the SDIW scales provided a comprehensive, valid, and reliable measure to advance research on workplace inclusion as perceived by employees through the behaviors of social organizational constituents. Notably, the proposed model may help practitioners map the social drivers of inclusion within workplaces to design ad-hoc interventions. Relevance to the Congress Theme. As organizations become increasingly aware of the importance of placing people at the center of their processes, our study is helping to advance research and applications on diversity and inclusion.