Decreasing Hostility in the Workplace: Understanding the Importance of Integrating Organizational Ethics and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

ABSTRACT The goal of our research is to enhance our understanding of what organizations can do to decrease perceived hostility in the workplace. We propose that perceived workplace hostility develops as a function of a disregard for organizational ethics. Therefore, workplace hostility is unlikely to develop in organizations that embed organizational ethics in their infrastructure. One way to accomplish this is through an institutionalization of ethics. We rely on social information processing theory to explain how and when the institutionalization of ethics helps reduce workplace hostility. Across three studies, we find that the institutionalization of ethics is positively related to supervisory inclusive leadership. In turn, as supervisors demonstrate inclusive leadership, this decreases workplace hostility. The positive impact of the institutionalization of ethics on supervisory inclusive leadership was more salient for relatively younger employees compared to relatively older employees. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.