Comparing cultural diversity perspectives among public service employees in the Netherlands in 2008 and 2018

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-01-2021-0002
• Published date: 17 January 2022
• Date: 17 January 2022
• Pages: 726-738
• Subject Matter: HR & organizational behaviour,Employment law,Diversity,equality,inclusion
• Author: Joep Hofhuis

Comparing cultural diversity

perspectives among public service

employees in the Netherlands in

2008 and 2018

Joep Hofhuis

Erasmus Research Center for Media, Communication, and Culture (ERMeCC),

Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Abstract

Purpose –The Netherlands’national government (Rijksoverheid) is an example of a large public organization

that strives to recruit and retain employees from different cultural groups, and aims to reap the benefits of

workplace diversity. Research has shown that a major predictor of the effectiveness of diversity policy and

interventions is the diversity perspective of employees, i.e. which outcomes they associate with cultural

diversity in their work environment.

Design/methodology/approach –The present study compares public servants’diversity perspectives in

two similar independent samples, from 2008 (n51,617) and 2018 (n52,024), using the Benefits and Threats of

Diversity Scale (BTDS; Hofhuis et al., 2015).

Findings –Results show that in 2018, employees of the Netherlands’national government perceived more

benefits of diversity for gaining insight about and access to different groups within society. Additionally,

contributions of cultural diversity to creativity and innovation within teams are reported significantly more

often in 2018 than in 2008.

Originality/value –The findings may be of interest to diversity scholars, since data on changes in cultural

diversity perspectives across time are rare, and the paper provides a unique comparison of measurements at

two time points, one decade apart, within the same organization.

Keywords Workplace diversity, Public administration, Diversity perspectives, Diversity attitudes

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

An increasing number of organizations recognizes the necessity for effectively dealing with

cultural diversity in the workplace (Plaut, 2010). Human resource management (HRM)

professionals can draw from a myriad of policies, interventions, and tools aimed at increasing

workplace diversity, and reaping its benefits for their organization. In a recent review, Homan

(2019) explains that diverse groups possess a greater pool of information, perspectives and ideas,

and that by exchanging, processing and integrating this knowledge, diverse workgroups can

outperform homogeneous groups (e.g. Dahlin et al., 2005;Ely and Thomas, 2001;Kearney and

Gebert, 2009). However, it has become apparent that cultural diversity may also have negative

effects on workgroup functioning, for example due to categorization of team members into

cultural subgroups, anxiety regarding intercultural interactions, or miscommunication and

conflict as a result of cultural differences (e.g. Hofhuiset al.,2014;Van Knippenberg et al.,2004).

One of the goals of diversity management, therefore, is to maximize the potential benefits of

diversity for the organization, while simultaneously attempting to minimize potential threats.

Studies show that diversity management initiatives are not always effective in reaching

desired outcomes (e.g. Kochan et al.,2003;Thomas and Plaut, 2008). One of the factors that

EDI

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The research presented in this paper was financially supported by a grant from the Netherlands’

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations. The author thanks Dr. Anouk van Drunen for

contributing to data preparation and analyses

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/2040-7149.htm

Received 4 January 2021

Revised 28 May 2021

18 November 2021

10 December 2021

Accepted 16 December 2021

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 41 No. 5, 2022

pp. 726-738

© Emerald Publishing Limited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-01-2021-0002