A new framework of workplace belonging: Instrument validation and testing relationships to crucial acculturation outcomes

Contemporary global migrant flows challenge national ingroup boundaries, leading to demands for greater inclusivity of those migrants in receiving societies worldwide. Utilizing the specific case of Japanese and foreigners in Japan, this study aimed to validate Komisarof's framework of workplace belonging. The framework refines understanding of how perceptions of belonging–particularly the degrees to which people see themselves accepted as members of another group’s cultural-linguistic community and as core members of their shared work organization–impact quality and effectiveness of intercultural work relations for both migrants and members of the host society. Instruments measuring both dimensions of belonging were validated first through a review of potential items by a panel of experts, followed by an exploratory factor analysis of retained items with a sample of 228 respondents (116 Japanese and 112 non-Japanese representing 24 nationalities). Relationships between four permutations of belonging, termed ontological interpretive spaces (“OIS”), and four outcome variables (job effectiveness, flourishing, organizational commitment, and intercultural competence) were hypothesized and tested. Significant effects of OIS were found for job effectiveness, flourishing, and organizational commitment, providing evidence of belonging’s effects on these crucial acculturation outcomes in intercultural work contexts.