Thwarted belongingness and empathy's relation with organizational culture change
IntroductionIn response to several high-profile cases of senior leaders in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) being accused of various forms of sexual and professional misconduct, the organization has committed to culture change. Drawing on the group engagement model and empirical evidence, we propose...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1287769/full |
| _version_ | 1827293925688213504 |
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| author | Éloïse de Grandpré Cindy Suurd Ralph Emily Hiller |
| author_facet | Éloïse de Grandpré Cindy Suurd Ralph Emily Hiller |
| author_sort | Éloïse de Grandpré |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionIn response to several high-profile cases of senior leaders in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) being accused of various forms of sexual and professional misconduct, the organization has committed to culture change. Drawing on the group engagement model and empirical evidence, we propose that CAF members' experience of thwarted belongingness reduces their capacity to show empathy, which in turn affects their support for culture change.MethodParticipants were 139 Naval and Officer Cadets from the Royal Military College of Canada who were predominantly male (61%), between 18 and 21 years old (80%), and not members of a visible minority group (68%). Data was collected via an online self-report survey assessing thwarted belongingness, empathy, and attitudes toward culture change.ResultsWhether participants experienced thwarted belongingness was not directly related to their level of support for culture change. Individuals' thwarted belongingness was indirectly and negatively associated with support for culture change, through its impact on empathy.DiscussionTaken together, the results demonstrate that cadets' experience of belongingness contributed to their level of empathy, which together predicted their support for culture change initiatives. Efforts to change the culture of the CAF may need to consider improving members' levels of belongingness and, by extension, their levels of empathy. Implications for inclusion efforts are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T13:47:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6a3ea0ef92c44cdba891c53c83b45fad |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T13:47:07Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-6a3ea0ef92c44cdba891c53c83b45fad2024-04-04T05:09:54ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782024-04-011510.3389/fpsyg.2024.12877691287769Thwarted belongingness and empathy's relation with organizational culture changeÉloïse de GrandpréCindy Suurd RalphEmily HillerIntroductionIn response to several high-profile cases of senior leaders in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) being accused of various forms of sexual and professional misconduct, the organization has committed to culture change. Drawing on the group engagement model and empirical evidence, we propose that CAF members' experience of thwarted belongingness reduces their capacity to show empathy, which in turn affects their support for culture change.MethodParticipants were 139 Naval and Officer Cadets from the Royal Military College of Canada who were predominantly male (61%), between 18 and 21 years old (80%), and not members of a visible minority group (68%). Data was collected via an online self-report survey assessing thwarted belongingness, empathy, and attitudes toward culture change.ResultsWhether participants experienced thwarted belongingness was not directly related to their level of support for culture change. Individuals' thwarted belongingness was indirectly and negatively associated with support for culture change, through its impact on empathy.DiscussionTaken together, the results demonstrate that cadets' experience of belongingness contributed to their level of empathy, which together predicted their support for culture change initiatives. Efforts to change the culture of the CAF may need to consider improving members' levels of belongingness and, by extension, their levels of empathy. Implications for inclusion efforts are discussed.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1287769/fullorganizational culture changeempathymilitary academiesthwarted belongingnessinclusion |
| spellingShingle | Éloïse de Grandpré Cindy Suurd Ralph Emily Hiller Thwarted belongingness and empathy's relation with organizational culture change Frontiers in Psychology organizational culture change empathy military academies thwarted belongingness inclusion |
| title | Thwarted belongingness and empathy's relation with organizational culture change |
| title_full | Thwarted belongingness and empathy's relation with organizational culture change |
| title_fullStr | Thwarted belongingness and empathy's relation with organizational culture change |
| title_full_unstemmed | Thwarted belongingness and empathy's relation with organizational culture change |
| title_short | Thwarted belongingness and empathy's relation with organizational culture change |
| title_sort | thwarted belongingness and empathy s relation with organizational culture change |
| topic | organizational culture change empathy military academies thwarted belongingness inclusion |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1287769/full |
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