Perceived discrimination against immigrants in the workplace: Influence of personal values and organizational justice
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how perceptions of organizational justice and social-focussed personal values influence perceived discrimination against immigrants in the workplace.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 224 employees of a mental health clinic in Norway completed Schwartz’s Portrait Values Questionnaire that measures personal values, Colquitt’s Organizational Justice Scale, and scale measuring perceived discrimination against immigrant in the workplace.
Findings
Perceived organizational justice and the social-focussed value universalism contributed significantly in explaining variance in perceived discrimination against immigrants in the workplace. Employees who scored low on perceived organizational justice scored high on perceived discrimination against immigrants, and employees who scored high on the value universalism scored high on perceived discrimination against immigrants in the workplace.
Research limitations/implications
The cross-sectional design cannot determine causality. The direction of the relationship between the variables is founded on prevailing empirical and theoretical contributions in the field.
Practical implications
Cultural diversity training programs should make employees aware of how their personal values and personal justice experiences influence their perceptions of discrimination against immigrants. Culturally diverse workplaces could benefit from recruiting employees who emphasize universalism.
Originality/value
Co-workers’ perception of exclusion and discriminating behavior against immigrants in the workplace is critical in order to reduce such unjust treatment. There is limited research on factors that influence perceptions of discrimination against others.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author thanks Professor Oluf Langhelle and Professor Knud Knudsen at the University of Stavanger for valuable guidance.
Citation
Enoksen, E. (2016), "Perceived discrimination against immigrants in the workplace: Influence of personal values and organizational justice", Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Vol. 35 No. 2, pp. 66-80. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-07-2015-0058
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited