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Toward Achieving the "Beloved Community" in the Workplace

Lessons for Applied Business Research and Practice From the Teachings of Martin Luther King Jr.

University of Nebraska at Omaha

David C. Wilson

University of Delaware

Peggy Jones

University of Nebraska at Omaha

In this study, the authors analyze data from a Gallup Organization public opinion poll commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to illustrate how businesses might incorporate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s social justice themes of belongingness and connectedness in ways beneficial to desirable organizational outcomes (e.g., employee satisfaction, employee loyalty, employee retention). Results from a racially/ethnically diverse sample of more than 1,200 Americans indicate that, among other outcomes, racial and ethnic minority employees who feel a sense of engagement (i.e., belongingness and connectedness) with their workplaces, and who believe in their organization's commitment to diversity, feel a heightened affective connection at work. Furthermore, negative psychosocial outcomes because of perceived discrimination-based inequity in the workplace were mediated by engagement and trust in organization diversity policies. The authors discuss implications of these findings for future management research and practice.

Key Words: Martin Luther King Jr. • employee engagement • ethnic diversity • racial discrimination • workplace diversity • Gallup Organization

This version was published on December 1, 2008

Business & Society, Vol. 47, No. 4, 457-483 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0007650308323475


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