Demographic diversity and employee attitudes: An empirical examination of relational demography within work units.

Abstract

In this study the authors examined the effects of an individual's similarity to the demo-graphic composition of the workgroup on individual-level attitudes with 98 workgroups from a life insurance company. Results indicated that similarity in race-ethnicity affected individuals ' attitudes toward their work group, as well as perceptions of advancement opportunities. Nonsignificant results were found for both similarity in gender and tenure. These findings suggest that demographic variables may have differing complexities in their effects on employee attitudes within work units. Organizations are facing changes in the demographic composition of the workforce due to labor and market trends, legislation, and demographic realities (Triandis, Kurowski, & Gelfand, 1993). As a result of the changing composition, managers are encountering demographic di-versity "much more frequently and at higher levels both inside and outside their organizations " (Triandis et al., 1993, p. 669) than they have in the past. Nonetheless, there is limited empirical research that examines the im-pact of demographic diversity within work organizations (Jackson, Stone, & Alvarez, 1992). To date, much of the research on demographic diversity has examined the effects of individual characteristics, such as race and sex, on employee attitudes and behaviors (e.g., Graddick & Fair, 1983; Ottaway & Bhatnagar, 1988). Recently, however, some researchers have also in-dicated that diversity research must consider not only indi-vidual demographic variables, but also situational vari-ables that comprise the social context within which the individual operates (e.g., Cleveland & Shore, 1992; Ferris,

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