Embedding Diversity: Navigating Newcomer Dissimilarity and Relationship Dynamics for Organizational Cohesion

Abstract

This study integrates the relational demography perspective with the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model to analyze the nuanced interaction between perceived dissimilarity, organizational diversity climate, and their consequences on newcomers’ proactive endeavors in establishing relationships with their supervisors and their eventual organizational embeddedness. It theorizes that perceived dissimilarity acts as a job demand, introducing obstacles for newcomers, whereas a supportive diversity climate functions as a crucial job resource. This climate facilitates newcomers’ proactive engagement in supervisor relationship building, which is instrumental in enhancing their sense of belonging within the organization. Importantly, the study unveils that newcomers are more likely to undertake proactive relationship-building activities in environments that are emphatically inclusive. Such proactive behavior significantly strengthens their organizational embeddedness. Integrating insights from relational demography with the JD-R model, this research sheds light on how perceived dissimilarity, coupled with a conducive diversity climate, influences newcomers’ adjustment processes and their integration into the organizational fabric. It underscores the vital role of proactive supervisor relationship building as a mechanism that markedly promotes organizational embeddedness, offering valuable implications for fostering workplace inclusion and newcomer assimilation. This study contributes to the broader understanding of the interplay between individual differences and organizational climates in shaping workplace dynamics.