The increasing polarization of society has been well documented in recent years, with people less likely to want to date or be friends with those with a different opinion to themselves. But what about the workplace, where it’s more likely that you’ll have to rub shoulders with a broad cross-section of society?
Research from Ohio State University explores what happens when our personal values aren’t aligned with that of our colleagues. The results suggest that we tend to feel less engaged and respected at work, with our colleagues picking up on this disengagement.
“Organizations know that it is valuable to have employees with different perspectives,” the researchers explain. “But if those with different perspectives feel they aren’t respected and so aren’t fully participating in their jobs, organizations aren’t fully reaping the benefits of their unique perspectives.”
Minority beliefs
Yet, the study did find a way for people with minority beliefs on important issues—referred to as “value minorities”—to feel more like a part of their teams. This involved sharing personal information with their colleagues that had nothing to do with the values they disagreed on.
“Value minorities” are people whose core beliefs, whether in politics, religion, or other important areas of life, don’t align with the majority in their organizations. It’s important to note that the study focused on values, which are deeply ingrained beliefs, rather than just opinions. Values are harder to change because they’re tied to a person’s sense of self and go beyond specific issues.
The researchers conducted their studies in different settings, including online with full-time adult employees, a student project group that worked together for a semester, and undergraduate students in a controlled laboratory environment. Surprisingly, the results were consistent across all these contexts.
In one online experiment with 389 full-time workers, participants were given a scenario where they imagined working closely with colleagues at the same level in a workgroup. Some were told that their values clashed with their coworkers on issues like shared responsibility, personal freedom, and safety.
Others were told that their values matched. To understand the importance of sharing personal information, some were told they often talked with colleagues about non-work topics like their weekend activities, such as spending time with friends or trying out new restaurants. In contrast, another group was told they rarely discussed personal matters and mostly talked about work. Importantly, both groups were told not to discuss their personal values.
Showing respect
Then, all participants rated whether they believed their colleagues would respect them on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). They were also informed about an upcoming critical group meeting focused on winning a new important client. They indicated their expected level of engagement in the meeting through statements like “I would exert my full effort” and “My mind would be focused on the task.”
The results highlighted the significance of sharing personal information in helping value minorities perform better at work. Those in the minority who had shared personal details, like their weekend activities, expected to be more engaged than those who kept such information to themselves.
Notably, sharing personal information increased engagement among value minorities by creating a sense of respect from their colleagues, as shown by the results. Similar outcomes were found in a real-world setting involving 277 undergraduate students working in teams over a semester. They were regularly surveyed about their values, how much they felt their values clashed with their teammates, and their perception of respect within the team. They also reported how much they talked about themselves.
Importantly, the findings from the lab experiment were consistently reflected in the real-world work group context. A key element was team members’ assessments of each other’s engagement in their joint projects.
“We found that others on the team noticed that people whose values clashed with the majority didn’t engage as much in the work of the group,” the researchers explain. “But that negative effect was lessened if the value minorities talked about themselves in the group.”
Sharing life
The key seems to be that we’re willing, and able, to talk about everyday life experiences at work. When we’re able to do that we tend to feel more respected and, in turn, invested in the success of their group. This self-disclosure helps to humanize values that might otherwise place us in the minority in our group.
This can help to create a connection even if our core values don’t necessarily align with that of the group. This can be as simple as talking about favorite movies or your family. It’s important not to define ourselves by those things we disagree on. These are also conversations that won’t require any managerial intervention to have.
“If you’re a value minority, you’re not at the mercy of your manager to make things better. Self-disclosure is a step that you can take to mitigate the negative effects of feeling that you’re in the minority,” the researchers conclude.
