How are diverse perspectives, backgrounds and experiences managed in companies? The question is how subordinates manage their multiple identities in relationship to managers (it can be a work-related identity, a demographic identity, or maybe two work identities). Also, it's important how managers expect them to manage those identities.
Should be diverse perspectives relevant to the workplace?
Not only people who work in creative professions need to present themselves in unique ways. In conservative workplaces, parts of our identity that are related to us as humans (our hobbies, etc.) are harder to manage in an organizational setting.
The tendency then is to look only at what is closely connected to tasks in hand. According to an article on the website of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, it's important to think about how identity influences the manager-subordinate relationship and organizational settings as well.
How to deal with our identities
Managers need to figure out how to take advantage of multiple identities to achieve better results. In some cases, that may not be possible – and it's necessary to talk with the employees about that. Assess how comfortable they are with that, otherwise it will be difficult to keep your relationships positive.
Whether you want to present your whole self at work or not, you still need to think about the larger context. Does the culture of the workplace allow you to be yourself? Or are you expected to maintain clear work/life boundaries? Make use of your identities if they're relevant to your workplace. Sometimes they simply aren’t relevant … but when they are, their potential contribution may be enormous.
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