The Role of Trust an Engagement in Organizational Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Practices
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Authors
Simpson-Cave, Ulita
Issue Date
2026-05
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion , Business, Engineering, Science, & Technological Innovation
Alternative Title
Abstract
Employees belief and employer reality on an all-inclusive working environment are in continuous conflict. Such conflicting perceptions within an organization can hinder positive results in staff development, recruitment, engagement, and retainment of employees, and ultimately the overall performance of the organization. The problem addressed by this research was the misalignment of organizational EDI’s desired expectations and those of leadership and employees. This research utilized the social exchange theory via the leader member exchange that originated from Bauer and Greene for focusing on relationship, the social interactive exchanges, and attitudes between leaders and subordinates or team members. The research employed the qualitative case study methodology. The purposive selection strategy was incorporated where 12 participants were voluntarily retrieved from the sample population who were mid-level leaders and non-leaders with a healthcare setting. They were exposed to in-depth interview with structured open-end questions which were subjected to the scrutiny of EDI professionals. The research findings highlighted that workplace inclusion and engagement thrive on daily interactions and reciprocal relationships among employees, as trust reinforces a sense of psychological safety that is critical for authentic engagement. The implication on inclusivity, trust and engagement between leader and member showed that the participants motivation and satisfaction were strongly linked to how connected they felt. The research encourages organizations to recognize that trust manifests differently between leader and member relationships, and the potency of supporting both avenues via activities where employee’s connection bandwidth can go beyond groups and hierarchical boundaries, allowing bonds of trust to continuously evolve towards fostering a more engage workforce. While this research proved to be effective to retrieved insightful data from the targeted population, broader sampling that includes participants from a variety of demographic backgrounds and intersectional identities will deepen understanding of how inclusion and exclusion are experienced differently across groups.