A Narrative Inquiry: Human Resources Personnel Perceptions on Workplace Diversity

This study seeks to investigate diversity at the workplace with the aim of understanding the said phenomenon. For this purpose, multiple human resources (HR) managers and professionals were interviewed. The various advantages and drawbacks of diversity were discussed with them, as well as their experience of how diversity was embraced or resisted in their respective workplaces. The identities that constitute a diversity-rich environment, such as sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, gender, and ethnicity were all discussed with and by the interviewees. The motivations for having a diverse workforce were also explored. The mechanisms used by HR personnel in order to manage this diversity were discussed, especially HR’s role in facilitating new work cultures that ultimately benefit the organisation they belong to.