A Study of Interracial Differences in Turnover Intentions: The Mitigating Role of Pro-Diversity and Justice-Oriented Management

Abstract

Enhancing racial justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion are the core values of public administration and critical to the functions of public-sector strategic human resources management. However, very limited empirical research has delved into the interracial differences in public sector employees’ turnover intentions and its mitigating factors. Using the 2006–2017 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey data, the present study aims to contribute toward filling this gap in the literature. The theoretical arguments and empirical findings of this study show that when compared with White employees, Federal Black, Indigenous, and Employees of Color (BIEOC) are significantly more likely to intend to leave their current organizations. However, the likelihood of turnover intentions of Federal employees, particularly, BIEOC can be reduced through institutional interventions anchored in pro-diversity management (e.g., commitment to fostering a racially representative workforce), distributive justice in employment outcomes (e.g., in pay and promotions) and procedural justice in organizational processes (e.g., anti-discrimination practices).

Is Justice Colorblind? A Review of Workplace Racioethnic Differences Through the Lens of Organizational Justice

“…Older meta-analytic evidence indicated racial differences in perceptions of procedural justice within organizations (r = -0.10) (Cohen-Charash & Spector 2001). Moreover, Chordiya (2021) recently examined racial differences in justice among US government employees using the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey from 2006 to 2017. The sample included more than 3 million observations, and the results indicated significantly higher procedural justice ratings among White than racioethnic minority employees (average item d = 0.17).…”

The Experience of Local Governments in Promoting Equity and Inclusion

“…More than 25% of all articles reviewed applied representative bureaucracy (or versions founded on it) as the conceptual framework. Effective programs promoting a diverse workforce can reduce minority turnover (Chordiya, 2022), while inclusive leadership practices can help promote diverse environments, particularly for indigenous persons (Alang et al, 2022). People want to work for organizations in which they can relate, and organizations prosper when employees are treated equitably (Ford, 2022).…”

Organizational Justice and Employee Voluntary Absenteeism in Public Sector Organizations: Disentangling the Moderating Roles of Work Motivation

“…In a study of local government employees, Hassan [39] found that both distributive and procedural justice enhance job involvement and organizational identification and attenuate turnover intentions among state employees. More recently, Chordiya [40] found that federal employees who felt a sense of fairness in the distribution of outcomes and procedures for allocating outcomes were less likely to leave their current agency. Surprisingly, although considerable progress has been made, we still lack a comprehensive empirical understanding of the mechanism through which organizational justice influences employee voluntary absenteeism.…”