Christianity at work: What will my coworkers think?

Several months ago a research group from Michigan State University contacted SCC (among many other churches) about participating in a piece of research being done on how Christians share and/or talk about their faith in the workplace.  I wasn’t really sure what they were getting at in this project, but we participated because it sounded interesting.  The graduate student who first contacted us just sent me a summary of the results of their research.  I asked if I could post them on my blog, and he said I could.  So here they are.  What do you think?  Comment below…

Christianity at work: What will my coworkers think?

Purpose

With increased diversity in the workforce, HR managers have been faced with concerns, complaints, and policy decisions related to religion in the workplace.  This study examined whether strategies surrounding disclosure of one’s identity as a Christian operate similarly to those uncovered in research on identity management of other invisible identities, such as sexual orientation.  The study of working adults found that revealing strategies related to positive outcomes and concealing strategies related to negative outcomes.

Background

• U.S. researchers have demonstrated that Christians feel others’ depict their beliefs in an inaccurate and negative light. Popular discourse in the U.S. has stereotyped Christians as ignorant, close-minded or judgmental in light of recent media coverage on abortion and gay-rights. As a result, Christianity may be a stigmatized identity.
• In anticipation of becoming targets of prejudice, individuals with stigmatized identities can choose to either disclose or hide their identity.
• We examined two specific strategies by which Christians manage their religious identities at work: 1) Concealing their identity by constructing a false identity (e.g., denying one’s involvement in religious activities) or avoiding the issue of one’s identity (e.g., dodging the issue of religion in a conversation); 2) Revealing their identity if a coworker asks them in conversation or advocating by creating opportunities to reveal their religious identity to their coworkers.
• We related these identity management strategies to job-related (job satisfaction, turnover intentions) and psychological outcomes (well-being, self-esteem).

Summary of Results

• Revealing one’s Christian identity resulted in positive outcomes: higher job satisfaction, lower turnover intentions, and higher well-being and self-esteem.
• Concealing one’s Christian identity resulted in negative outcomes: lower job satisfaction, higher turnover intentions, and lower well-being and self-esteem.
• Affirming one’s identity has positive benefits for both the individuals revealing their identity and their organization. Concealing an identity appears to be costly and is a less desirable identity management strategy.
• It is thus in organizations’ best interests to promote environments in which members of stigmatized groups can feel safe to reveal and affirm their identity.  Managers should try to foster environments in which employees feel they can disclose their religion. By not allowing expression of religion or having a general atmosphere of intolerance towards religious expression, managers can actually contribute toward poor identity management strategies that might negatively impact their employees and organizations.