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Crossing the Boundaries of Employee Engagement and Workplace Diversity and Inclusion: Moving HRD Forward in a Complicated Sociopolitical Climate
Author(s) -
Pleasant Stephanie
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
new horizons in adult education and human resource development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1939-4225
DOI - 10.1002/nha3.20191
Subject(s) - inclusion (mineral) , diversity (politics) , prejudice (legal term) , racism , employee engagement , public relations , xenophobia , organisation climate , sociology , social psychology , psychology , political science , gender studies , anthropology
Abstract This essay explores the intersection of employee engagement and workplace diversity and inclusion. The current trend of organizations fusing these two concepts has provided motivation to examine the (dis)connection between theory and practice. This essay advances the perspectives of practitioners, as well as a critical framework used to discuss implications for HRD and additional research. In the current sociopolitical climate, this topic of inquiry is potentially relevant to address racism, xenophobia, and other forms of prejudice in the workplace. The review of literature points to organizational performance as a shared objective of employee engagement and workplace diversity and inclusion. Therefore, I argue that organizational performance could be a catalyst for understanding and leveraging the personal interests of employees through joint employee engagement and diversity initiatives.