New Academy Of Management Research Shows Police Violence Can Bring Employees Of Color Together In The Workplace

BRIARCLIFF MANOR, N.Y., March 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Academy of Management (AOM), the largest global organization devoted to management and organization research, today announced the findings of a new study exploring how employees of color react within the workplace following police violence and shootings against Black Americans.

The paper, "Black Employees Matter: Mega-Threats, Identity Fusion, and Enacting Positive Deviance in Organizations," by Angelica Leigh and Shimul Melwani of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will be published in the July 2019 issue of the Academy of Management Review.

The researchers theorized that although incidents of police violence enacted against Black Americans do not directly involve most organizations, employees of color internalize and struggle to process these events. These events may even compel minorities to form stronger connections across their organizational and social identities, bonding employees and groups who may not typically engage with one another.

The authors also propose that these new connections motivate employees to speak up on behalf of their own social group and develop more authentic bonds with other employees. These new relationships help employees improve the organization around them, creating a sense of inclusion and belonging for minority employees.

"Black Americans are three times more likely to be killed by police than White Americans and are five times more likely to be killed while they are unarmed. However, very little research has been conducted to understand what happens in the workplace following these events," said the researchers. "Through this research, we wanted to develop an initial understanding of how minority employees react to these events, and others like them, and how those reactions are reflected in the workplace. While we as a society must address the ongoing violence against Black Americans, it is refreshing to see the reactions to these incidents can have a positive impact."  

The research concludes with recommendations for how organizations can respond to external events. Typically, managers may overlook or ignore the impact of these events on their employees. Instead, the authors provide strategies for managers to support and empower their employees. Providing an environment that fosters the creation of new and stronger relationships between employees following an incident of violence helps employees process the event immediately after it happens and allows the bonds that form to benefit the organization long after the incident passes.  

Media may request copies of the research and interviews with the authors at [email protected].

About Academy of Management
Academy of Management is the largest global association devoted to management and organization research, with 20,000 members from more than 120 countries across six continents. The Academy publishes six top-rated journals with the most authoritative and diverse management research findings. For more information, visit www.aom.org.  

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SOURCE Academy of Management