Abstract
This empirical study on diversity “faultlines”—hypothetical dividing lines that may split a group into subgroups—conducted for the first time in Japan investigates the current status of faultlines based on 40 attributes (e.g., nationality, ethnicity, age, personality, and attitude). The participants were 1,018 Japanese workers (aged 20–59 years, including 611 males and 407 females) recruited from the registrants of a Japanese research company. We employed a cross-sectional design using an internet-based questionnaire and explored the participants’ perceptions of faultlines in their current workplace (e.g., “Is there a hypothetical line that may split your team/organization into subgroups based on racial differences?”). The results showed that the participants perceived faultlines based on the following attributes: job category (57.2%), job position (50.2%), gender (44.8%), and age (44.3%). In conclusion, Japanese workers tend to perceive faultlines based on task-related attributes, whereas most previous studies have identified faultlines based on relational and demographic attributes. This finding suggests that leaders in diverse teams should focus on reducing the likelihood of faultline formation and conflict among members by recruiting individuals with varied and unique combinations of attributes, such as job category, job position, gender, and age.
