\u201cThe workplace is becoming a much more diverse place, but there are still some individuals who have difficulty embracing what makes them different, especially while on the job,\u201d said Michelle Hebl, Rice professor of psychology and co-author of \u201cBringing Social Identity to Work: The Influence of Manifestation and Suppression on Perceived Discrimination, Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intentions.\u201d The paper appears in the Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology<\/em> journal.<\/p>\n \u201cPrevious research suggests that employees who perceive discrimination or are afraid of receiving discrimination are more likely to fall into this category of individuals who feel the need to suppress or conceal their identity<\/strong>,\u201d Hebl said.<\/p>\n The study examined the behavior of 211 working adults in an online survey and measured factors such as identity, perceived discrimination, job satisfaction and turnover intentions.<\/p>\n \u201cThis research highlights the fact that people make decisions every day about whether it is safe to be themselves at work, and that there are real consequences of these decisions<\/strong>,\u201d said Rice alumna Eden King, study co-author and associate professor of psychology at George Mason University.<\/p>\n The study also showed that suppressing one\u2019s true identity might result in exposure to co-workers\u2019 discriminatory behavior, as people are less likely to care about appearing prejudiced when they are not in the presence of an \u201cout\u201d group member<\/strong>. On the contrary, the research finds that expression of one\u2019s true identity in a workplace can have positive impact on their interpersonal relationships.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen individuals embrace their social identity in the workplace, other co-workers might be more sensitive to their behavior and treatment of individuals like them<\/strong>,\u201d said Juan Madera, a University of Houston professor, Rice alumnus and lead study author. \u201cAnd quite often, what\u2019s good for the worker is good for the workplace. The employees feel accepted and have better experiences with co-workers, which creates a positive working environment that may lead to decreased turnover and greater profits.\u201d<\/p>\n The authors hope their research will encourage the general public to be accepting of people with diverse backgrounds and become allies to them and encourage employers to implement policies that foster a positive organizational culture.<\/p>\n \u201cI think this study really demonstrates that everyone<\/em> can have a role in making the workplace more inclusive,\u201d Hebl said. \u201cIndividuals tell co-workers, who can act as allies and react positively, and organizations can institute protective and inclusive organizational policies. All of these measures will continue to change the landscape and diversity of our workforce.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From the Rice University press release: Hiding your true social identity \u2014 race and ethnicity, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation or a disability \u2014 at work can result in decreased… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,8],"tags":[300,57,12,102],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3332"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3332"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3363,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3332\/revisions\/3363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/images\/blogpics\/WorkplaceStress.jpg\" "\\"stressed")
Hiding your true social identity \u2014 race and ethnicity, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation or a disability \u2014 at work can result in decreased job satisfaction and increased turnover<\/strong>, according to a new study from Rice University, the University of Houston and George Mason University.<\/p>\n