Fair Treatment for All: Testing the Predictors of Workplace Inclusion in a Canadian Police Organization

The growing diversification of the workforce demands that organizational leaders create workplaces in which individuals have a sense of belonging and are valued for their unique contributions. However, beyond the contributions of certain types of leadership, there is insufficient understanding of the factors that impact experiences of workplace inclusion. Using survey data collected from a Canadian police organization (N = 488) in the spring of 2018, this study examined whether organizational justice (i.e., fair treatment) was positively associated with workplace inclusion, and whether psychological safety mediated the justice–inclusion relationship. The results of structural equation modelling (SEM) revealed that organizational justice was significantly related to inclusion. Organizational justice was also found to indirectly influence perceptions of inclusion, through psychological safety. In other words, when people were treated fairly, they were more likely to indicate their workplace was psychologically safe, which in turn contributed to feelings of inclusion. Finally, the study findings indicated that personal characteristics, including gender, race and occupational role influenced individual experiences of inclusion.