A recent study found that Black employees find it harder to excel and succeed at their jobs if they believe their bosses support former President Donald Trump. This result occurs because these employees perceive pro-Trump managers as less inclusive, which creates a work environment that limits their professional growth. This study human resource management journal.
Workplace power relations are often shaped by broader sociopolitical and domestic debates. In recent years, management scholars have begun to examine how right-wing political movements specifically impact corporate diversity and inclusion efforts.
The main focus of this research area is the impact of Donald Trump on daily interactions in the workplace. Support for the former president is often associated with opposition to diversity efforts and a disregard for racial equity concerns.
Because of these connections, researchers wanted to understand how marginalized groups interpret political signals from their supervisors. Specifically, the research team aimed to investigate how a manager’s political leanings can change Black employees’ daily experiences and overall career trajectories.
The study was led by researcher Darryl B. Rice of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Rice collaborated with Nicole C.J. Young of Franklin and Marshall College, Regina M. Taylor of Creighton University, and Stephanie R. Leonard of Howard University.
The research team based their investigation on a concept called social information processing theory. This theory suggests that people observe the attitudes and behaviors of those around them to determine how they should behave and what they should expect in a particular environment.
In business settings, managers provide powerful social cues to employees that let them know they are valued and supported. The researchers hypothesized that a manager’s political affiliation might send a strong signal to Black employees about their boss’s leadership style.
For Black employees, a manager’s support for Donald Trump could be interpreted as synonymous with anti-Black bias. This political stance often conveys the message that an employee’s struggle for fair treatment is not understood or recognized by their boss.
As the workforce becomes more diverse, companies are seeking to understand what factors contribute to the success of different groups of people. Previous research has examined how women and employees with invisible disabilities experience workplace barriers, but there has been little quantitative research that focuses solely on the experiences of Black employees.
The team specifically focused on a leadership trait known as inclusive leadership. Inclusive leaders are those who actively support diverse staff members, treat people fairly, offer helpful advice, and make everyone feel like they belong.
Inclusive leadership is often seen as a form of workplace alignment. When a manager lacks these overarching traits, it can negatively impact an employee’s ability to succeed at work.
Work fulfillment refers to a psychological state in which an individual feels energized, engaged, and capable of professional growth. The researchers wanted to see exactly how these elements work together in a real business environment.
To test their idea, the research team conducted three separate but related studies. The first survey surveyed 351 Black working professionals from a variety of industries and educational backgrounds.
The researchers recruited these participants through a variety of Black professional organizations, church groups, and alumni networks. The sample included both full-time and part-time workers.
Participants answered questions about their direct bosses, including whether they thought their bosses supported Donald Trump. Employees also rated their managers on inclusive leadership qualities and reported their feelings about vitality and learning at work.
To ensure the results were accurate, the researchers considered other factors that can influence workplace happiness. They tracked employees’ age, gender, total time at the company, and how long they had worked for their current boss.
The survey results showed clear patterns among respondents. Black professionals rated managers perceived as Trump supporters far lower on inclusive leadership than those who opposed the former president.
This lack of inclusive leadership had a direct negative impact on employees. These workers reported decreased energy and professional growth levels at work because they felt excluded and unsupported.
Age also played a large role in how employees responded to these leadership cues. The negative effects on success at work were much stronger for younger Black employees than for older Black employees.
The authors suggest that younger workers are often less experienced and rely more heavily on their supervisors for guidance and support. Older employees typically have established careers and draw on past experience, so they are slightly less dependent on a particular manager’s leadership style.
Initial studies established a relationship between these factors, but the researchers wanted to isolate specific causes and effects. They designed two experimental scenarios, known as vignettes, to see how people react to controlled explanations from administrators.
In the first experiment, 31 Black participants read profiles of either pro-Trump or anti-Trump managers. The profiles contained identical information about the managers’ basic competencies, but differed in their political and social behavior.
The researchers ensured that these written profiles were as realistic as possible to avoid revealing the true purpose of the experiment to the participants. This design choice helps prevent participants from simply guessing the correct answer and artificially altering their responses.
After reading the profiles, participants rated their managers’ comprehensive leadership abilities. As expected, participants rated the hypothetical pro-Trump manager’s inclusive leadership much lower.
The final experiment involved 47 different Black participants who read profiles of managers demonstrating high and low levels of inclusive leadership. This step was designed to ensure that inclusive leadership directly controls employees’ ability to grow.
Participants read a scenario and rated how well they thought they would perform under that particular supervision. Respondents said they were far less likely to grow and excel under a manager who lacked inclusive leadership skills.
By linking these three studies, the researchers clearly demonstrated a sequence of events. Managers’ perceived political support for Donald Trump shows a lack of inclusion and directly limits Black employees’ ability to succeed and feel energized at work.
The authors pointed out that corporate human resources departments need to be aware of these trends. As the researchers note, Black employees “routinely operate systems that take little account of their unique challenges and contributions.”
The authors acknowledged some limitations in the study design. The first study was based on self-reported data collected at one point in time.
Results may be biased if participants provide all information about themselves and their managers at once. However, by combining this study with a controlled experiment, we were able to alleviate those concerns.
There are also some limitations when using written scenarios in subsequent experiments. Although written scenarios provide greater control over variables, they do not fully reproduce the nuances of real-world human interactions.
Looking ahead, the researchers recommended that future research examine how these political dynamics affect other marginalized groups. They proposed investigating whether women, religious minorities, or employees with disabilities experience similar barriers to success under pro-Trump executives.
Future research could examine not only employee perceptions but also managers’ actual political views. Testing whether a manager’s own race changes employee responses could provide further insight into these workplace challenges.
The study, “Politics and Race in the Workplace: Understanding How and When Pro-Trump Managers Hinder Black Employees’ Growth in the Workplace,” was authored by Darryl B. Rice, Nicole CJ Young, Regina M. Taylor, and Stephanie R. Leonard.
