The Co-existence of Inclusion and Exclusion Experiences among Foreign Employees

Abstract

Inclusion in the workplace, which aims to leverage value from diversity and improve the wellbeing of each member of the organization, is increasingly attracting significant interest among scholars and practitioners alike. Extant studies have limited the scientific inquiry to conceptualizing and measuring inclusion and exclusion using constructs, often assumed to perform along a unidimensional continuum or outcome variable. However, our study discovers that inclusion and exclusion are experienced as co-existing and the conditions to be non-binary. We identify four types of inclusion/exclusion that are determined by five dimensions. Furthermore, we uncover the multifaceted nature of the inclusion and exclusion phenomena due to performing differently traversing various spheres at work. Additionally, we advance theory by identifying five strategic responses to the experiences of inclusion and exclusion by employees. As part of a qualitative design, we conducted 52 in-depth interviews of foreign employees who narrated about own lived experiences of being included and excluded–and how they dealt with such challenges at work. We propose a new process model to depict these relationships and promulgate propositions for future research.