Faith-Based Employee Resource Groups: An Understudied Aspect of Workplace Diversity

Abstract

Research on affinity and employee resource groups (ERG) in organizations is relatively sparse, particularly on religious or faith-based groups. This study is a phenomenological analysis of interview data from 26 individuals in organizations leading and managing faith-based employee resource groups in public and private organizations in the U.S. Based on a thematic review of the data across multiple ERGs in manufacturing, technology, sales, and consulting firms, the beginnings (origins), core activities, and perceived outcomes of the groups emerge. These aspects are then compared to other non-religious ERGs. Overall, the phenomenology of faith-based groups points to the implicit and explicit benefits and challenges of religious expression at work and underscores the evolving partnership between human resource professionals and ERG leaders.