Perceived Minority Membership and Inclusion: Experiencing Microaggressions At Work and The Buffering Effect of Climate For Inclusion

Abstract

Recent research has consistently highlighted that employees who perceive themselves as minorities feel less included at work with negative effects on work outcomes. However, the underlying mechanisms that drive this relationship is not yet sufficiently understood. This study examined whether microaggressions serve as a key explanatory mechanism for why perceived minority membership leads to less felt inclusion at work. Drawing on the social identity approach and the similarity-attraction hypothesis, this study analyzed how perceived minority membership affects felt inclusion through microaggressions and the buffering role of perceived climate for inclusion on this relationship. This study used a cross-sectional survey design with a sample of 221 participants and data were collected through snowball and convenience sampling and analyzed using SPSSv29 and PROCESSv.4.2. Findings indicated that contrary to prior research, employees who perceive themselves as minorities reported higher felt inclusion at work than majority employees, but this was offset by increased experiences of microaggressions, which reduced felt inclusion. Unexpectedly, a perceived climate for inclusion did not buffer the negative impact of microaggressions on felt inclusion. These findings imply that microaggressions play a crucial role in shaping minority employees’ experiences of inclusion in the workplace and a perceived climate for inclusion is not sufficient to counteract the harmful effect of microaggressions on felt inclusion. The results underline the importance of interventions aimed at mitigating or preventing the occurrence of microaggressions, by focusing on bias awareness training and bystander intervention programs that foster inclusive work environments.