The term diversity often raises controversy, confusion, and tension. What does it mean? Is it the same as affirmative action? Why should you focus on it? Dimensions of diversity include, but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, religious beliefs, parental status, and work experience (Loden and Rosener 1991, 18-19).

1. Chapter Nineteen:
Managing Workforce Diversity
and Wellness
Presented by,
Revathi Rajan
Akshay V Kumar

2. Objectives
 To examine human resources management
interventions that address increasing workforce
diversity and employee wellness.
 To understand how OD efforts can enhance
traditional human resource approaches to these
issues.

3. Work Diversity Dimensions &
Interventions

4. Age Diversity
 Trends
 Median age up
 Distribution of ages changing
 Implications
 Health care
 Mobility
 Security
 Interventions
 Wellness programs
 Job design
 Career development and planning
 Reward systems

5. Gender Diversity
 Trends
 Percentage of women in work force increasing
 Dual-income families increasing
 Implications
 Child care
 Maternity/paternity leaves
 Single parents
 Interventions
 Job design
 Fringe benefit rewards

6. Disability Diversity
 Trends
 The number of people with disabilities entering the work
force is increasing
 Implications
 Job skills and challenge issues
 Physical space design
 Respect and dignity
 Interventions
 Performance management
 Job design
 Career planning and development

7. Culture and Values Diversity
 Trends
 Rising proportion of immigrant and minority-group workers
 Shift in rewards
 Implications
 Flexible organizational policies
 Autonomy
 Affirmation and respect
 Interventions
 Career planning and development
 Employee involvement
 Reward systems

8. Race/Ethnicity Diversity
 Trends
 Minorities represent large segments of workforce and a small
segment of top management/senior executives
 Qualifications and experience of minority employees is often
overlooked
 Implications
 Discrimination
 Interventions
 Equal employment opportunities
 Mentoring programs
 Education and training

9. Sexual Orientation Diversity
 Trends
 Number of single-sex households up
 More liberal attitudes toward sexual orientation
 Implications
 Discrimination
 Interventions
 Equal employment opportunities
 Fringe benefits
 Education and training

10. A Model of Stress and Work
Occupational Stressors
• Physical Environment
• Individual: role conflict and
ambiguity, lack of control
• Group: poor peer, subordinate or
boss, relationships
• Organizational: poor design, HR
policies, politics
Stress
• How the
individual
perceives the
occupational
stressors
Consequences
• Subjective:
anxiety, apathy
• Behavioral: drug
and alcohol abuse
• Cognitive: poor
focus, burnout
• Physiological: high
blood
pressure and pulse
• Organizational: low
productivity,
absenteeism, legal
action
Individual Differences
Cognitive/Affective:
Type A or B, hardiness,
social support, negative
affectivity
Biologic/Demographic:
Age, gender, occupation, race

11. Stress and Wellness
Workplace Interventions
 Role Clarification
 A systematic process for determining expectations and
understanding work roles
 Supportive relationships
 Establish trust and positive relationships
 Work Leaves
 Health Facilities
 Employee Assistance Programs