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Publication Date

Fall 2015

Degree Type

Thesis - Campus Access Only

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Psychology

Advisor

Megumi Hosoda

Keywords

Diversity Climate, Employee Resource Groups, OCB, Work Engagement

Subject Areas

Organizational behavior; Occupational psychology

Abstract

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are voluntary, employee-led groups formed in the workplace that focus on providing mutual support for members and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. For many organizations, they are a critical resource to help meet diversity goals. However, few studies have been conducted on ERGs. Thus, more research on these groups was needed. A sample of 96 participants who identified as a member of an ERG at their organization was utilized to investigate the direct effects of ERG members’ satisfaction with their group on work engagement and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) as well as the moderating effects of diversity climate on such relationships. It was hypothesized that ERG satisfaction would be positively related to work engagement and ERG satisfaction would be positively related to OCB. Consistent with the hypothesis, ERG satisfaction was positively related to work engagement and OCB. That is, the more satisfied employees were with their ERG, the more they were engaged with their work and displayed OCB. However, organizational diversity climate did not moderate the relationship between ERG satisfaction and work engagement and OCB, but was found to have a direct effect on these two work outcomes. These findings highlight the importance of organizations taking measures to ensure members of ERGs are satisfied with their group or it may lead to unwanted work outcomes.

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