Cross-racial interpersonal relations and job satisfaction

• Charles B. Thomas, Jr.

  University of Michigan Flint

This research focuses on effects of the increased racial/ethnic diversity among managers in large American corporations. It concentrates on links between two important variables in contemporary corporate/organizational life: job satisfaction and the quality of cross-racial interpersonal relations. It uses a theoretical framework based on Fernandez (1981) to predict a positive correlation between quality of black/white cross-racial interpersonal relations and job satisfaction. Results with modest effect sizes in each of two samples and qualitative data supported the hypothesis. The findings have the practical implication that efforts in the organization to improve quality of cross-racial interpersonal relations are not antagonistic to attempts to raise levels of job satisfaction.

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