Need for More Research

Recently I have been reading a lot about exclusion, with focus on exclusion in the workplace. I started collecting some relevant works which describe why it happens, how it is perceived by all participants, and what it leads to.

For example, a work from 2001 shows how differently the people who exclude and people who are excluded see the situation. The ones who exclude see it as an efficient way to resolve conflict and avoid discomfort. While for the ones being excluded, it could be extremely hurtful, and affect their work and their health. These experiences are still largely looked from the point of view of the excluding side and complaints can easily be dismissed as misunderstanding of intent. While the real misunderstanding is the one that does not acknowledge the hurt.

Based on what I have read, observed and experienced, I have several hypotheses that I would like to test:

1. That a significant part of the reports of improper treatment at the workplace that were "resolved" as a misunderstanding, were actually neglected cases of exclusion, as it is extremely hard to prove anything. I believe that the low rate of satisfaction of the handling of those cases could be explained with unresolved addressing of exclusion, and were not taken seriously enough, and therefore only strengthened the negative experience.

2. That the focus in codes of conduct on accusation for harassment contribute to not being able to properly resolve exclusion cases. The focus on accusation gives a mechanism the lack of intent to be used as minimizing the experience, and therefore lead to lack of real resolution. Formulating exclusion as a separate hurtful act, and changing the focus from blaming and punishment to understanding and validation, but not treating the case as less important, could help addressing the underlying issues.

3. That an environment that forces positivity contributes to promoting subtle exclusion. On one hand, a person who complains is seen as disruptor and unreasonable, and on the other hand, the avoidance of conflicts for the sake of the team harmony justifies the ignoring, but does not resolve the real issue. Also, the push to avoid conflicts, to not take things personally and to not include emotions, further contribute to the problem. 

I am now looking for data to test these hypotheses. I would also be interested in collaborations -- for example, in conducting user studies or analyzing existing datasets. I can specifically contribute with data mining of stories and cases to uncover patterns of exclusion.