Crafting an identity: an examination of the lived experiences of minority racial and ethnic individuals in the workplace

This research enquiry is concerned with how racial and ethnic identity is both managed and experienced by individuals within the workplace. This thesis is comprised of three separate and distinct empirical studies conducted with the purpose of uncovering the lived experiences of minority racial and ethnic individuals. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods are used in order to study individual experiences of race and ethnicity from multiple complementary perspectives. Study 1 is a quantitative empirical study that uses biculturalism as a lens to conceptualise the experience of minority racial and ethnic individuals. The key contribution of this study is the establishment of a reliable and valid instrument to measure bicultural identity integration in the workplace.Study 2 is a qualitative empirical study that investigates how minority racial and ethnic individuals experience their ethnic identity in the workplace. The key contribution of this study is the development of a typology that identifies three distinct pathways through which an individual’s heritage culture can intersect with race, class and professional identity to influence their work-based behaviours.Study 3 is a qualitative empirical study that examines how minority racial and ethnic individuals experience their racial identity through the use of employee resource groups. The key contributions of this study are the development of a theoretical framework to conceptualise employee resource groups in general and a typology that identifies five roles that employee resource groups play to enhance the careers of minority racial and ethnic individuals as part of their social identity management processes.