Making noise or playing a symphony? Conflict and conflict management in organizations with professionals and special interest groups

UNIVERSIDAD DE SEVILLA. FACULTAD DE PSICOLOGÍA Grupo de Investigación en Desarrollo de Recursos Humanos y Organizaciones (INDRHO) Research Group Human Resources and Organizational Development FACULTY OF PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES Research Group Occupational and Organizational Psychology and Professional Learning Making noise or playing a symphony? Conflict and conflict management in organizations with professionals and special interest groups Doctoral thesis offered to obtain the degree of Doctor of HR Psychology by the University of Seville and University of Valencia, and the degree of Doctor of Psychology by KU Leuven. María del Rocío López Cabrera Supervisor & Tutor: Dr. Francisco J. Medina Díaz, University of Seville. Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Martin Euwema, KU Leuven. Supervisor: Dr. Alicia Arenas Moreno, University of Seville. 2021 ii Programa de Doctorado Interuniversitario en Psicología de los Recursos Humanos por la Universidad de Sevilla y la Universidad de Valencia (RD. 99/2011) Doctoral Programme in Psychology KU Leuven This doctoral dissertation aims for the Mention of International Doctorate according to the Regulations for Doctoral Studies of the University of Seville described in Title II, Chapter 7, Section 3, Article 68 (BOUS Nº2 / 2020, of February 24). iii Acknowledgements iv This thesis is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and cofunded by UE FEDER Funds (MINECO/FEDER) (Project Ref. PSI2015-64894-P) and the V Research Plan of the University of Seville (grant number PP2016-7159). © María del Rocío López Cabrera, Seville (Spain) 2021 All rights reserved. No parts of this thesis may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without permission from the author or, when appropriate, the editor of the article. The theoretical models in the introduction and logos belong to their respective authors. v Summary Making noise or playing a symphony? Conflict and conflict management in organizations with professionals and special interest groups. María del Rocío López Cabrera Supervisors: Dr. Francisco J. Medina, Prof. Dr. Martin Euwema, Dr. Alicia Arenas Conflicts have been thoroughly studied in organizational contexts, due to its importance not only for organizations, in terms of effectiveness and goal achievement, but also for team- and individual performance and wellbeing. Yet, further analyses are still required in organizational contexts with a focus on diversity. Promoting diversity in the workplace is a preliminary step to achieve inclusive organizations. However, this is a complex issue for employees, managers and HR. The aim of this doctoral dissertation is to analyze conflict and conflict management in organizations considering diversity as a broad concept including professionals and special interest groups, particularly volunteers and employees with disabilities, including mental illness. We investigate the relations between diversity, conflict, and inclusion in three empirical studies combining qualitative and quantitative methodologies. In our first study, we explore a Nonprofit Organization (NPO), analyzing existent types of conflicts and differences in conflict perception between groups within the organization (Chapter 2). Study two focuses on conflicts between different roles in the organization, and its effects on performance and job satisfaction. In this study we analyze both the formal roles that coexist between paid staff and different positioned volunteers, the informal relations, and the effects of different profiles over conflict, performance, and job satisfaction (Chapter 3). Study three was conducted in a social enterprise where employees with mental illness and without mental illness work together. We analyzed which factors promote effective inclusion of people with severe mental illness at work, focusing on three organizational factors: relationship between coworkers, including conflicts; role of inclusive leaders; inclusive climate. (Chapter 4). In the concluding chapter, we discuss the main results of our studies, presenting theoretical and practical implications and general conclusions. vi Samenvatting Lawaai maken of een symfonie spelen? Conflict- en conflictbeheersing in organisaties met professionals, vrijwilligers en mensen met afstand tot de arbeidsmarkt. María del Rocío López Cabrera Promoters: Dr. Francisco J. Medina, Prof. Dr. Martin Euwema, Dr. Alicia Arenas Conflicten zijn grondig bestudeerd in organisaties vanwege de impact op prestaties van die organisaties, teams, en individuele medewerkers, alsook het welbevinden. De relatie met specifieke vormen van diversiteit verdient zeker nog aandacht, ook al gezien de toenemende diversiteit en het belang van inclusie op de werkplek. Inclusief werken stelt grote uitdagingen aan medewerkers, leiding en HR. Het doel van dit proefschrift is om conflict- en conflictbeheersing te analyseren in organisaties die diversiteit beschouwen als een breder concept; in bijzonder verscheidenheid in typen medewerkers, zoals professionals, vrijwilligers en werknemers met een afstand tot de arbeidsmarkt, bijv vanwege psychische beperkingen. We onderzoeken de relaties tussen diversiteit, conflicten en inclusie, middels drie empirische studies die kwalitatieve en kwantitatieve methoden combineren. In onze eerste studie verkennen we een Non-profit organisatie (NPO), waarbij we ons concentreren op het analyseren van conflicten en het begrijpen van de verschillen in conflictperceptie tussen diverse groepen binnen de organisatie (hoofdstuk 2). Studie twee richt zich op conflicten tussen (betaalde) professionals en verschillende niveaus van vrijwilligers in de organisatie en de relatie met prestaties en job satisfactie. Hierbij wordt in de analyse rekening gehouden met zowel de formele rollen, als informele (machts-)posities van betrokkenen. De derde studie werd uitgevoerd in een sociale onderneming waar werknemers met een psychische beperking samenwerken met werknemers zonder die beperking. We analyseren welke factoren inclusie op het werk van mensen met een ernstige psychische aandoening kunnen bevorderen. Specifiek is de relatie onderzocht van inclusie met interpersoonlijke relaties en conflicten; de rol van inclusieve leiders; en een inclusief organisatieklimaat. (hoofdstuk 4). In het afsluitende hoofdstuk bespreken we de belangrijkste resultaten van onze studies en presenteren we theoretische en praktische implicaties en algemene conclusies. vii Resumen ¿Hacer ruido o interpretar una sinfonía? Conflicto y gestión del conflicto en organizaciones con profesionales y grupos de interés. María del Rocío López Cabrera Directores: Dr. Francisco J. Medina, Prof. Dr. Martin Euwema, Dr. Alicia Arenas Los conflictos se han sido ampliamente estudiados en contextos organizacionales, debido a su importancia no solo para las organizaciones, en términos de efectividad y logro de objetivos, sino también para el desempeño y el bienestar del equipo e individual. Sin embargo, aún se requieren más análisis en contextos organizacionales centrados en la diversidad. Promover la diversidad en el lugar de trabajo es un paso preliminar para lograr organizaciones inclusivas. Sin embargo, este es un tema complejo para los empleados, gerentes y RR.HH. El objetivo de esta tesis doctoral es analizar los conflictos y la gestión de conflictos en organizaciones que consideran la diversidad como un concepto amplio que incluye a profesionales y grupos de especial interés, en particular voluntarios y empleados con discapacidad, incluida la enfermedad mental. Investigamos las relaciones entre diversidad, conflicto e inclusión en tres estudios empíricos que combinan metodologías cualitativas y cuantitativas. En nuestro primer estudio, exploramos una organización sin ánimo de lucro (OSAL), analizando los tipos de conflictos existentes y las diferencias en la percepción de conflictos entre grupos dentro de la organización (Capítulo 2). El segundo estudio se centra en los conflictos entre diferentes roles en la organización y sus efectos sobre el desempeño y la satisfacción laboral. En este estudio analizamos tanto los roles formales que coexisten entre el personal remunerado y voluntarios, las relaciones informales y los efectos de los diferentes perfiles sobre el conflicto, el desempeño y la satisfacción laboral (Capítulo 3). El estudio tres se llevó a cabo en una empresa social donde los empleados con enfermedades mentales y sin enfermedades mentales trabajan juntos. Analizamos qué factores promueven la inclusión efectiva de personas con enfermedad mental grave en el trabajo, centrándonos en tres factores organizativos: relación entre compañeros de trabajo, incluidos los conflictos; papel de los líderes inclusivos; clima inclusivo. (Capítulo 4). En el capítulo final, discutimos los principales resultados de nuestros estudios, presentando implicaciones teóricas y prácticas y conclusiones generales. viii Table of contents CHAPTER 1 General Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 2 1.2 Theoretical framework ................................................................................................ 5 1.3 Objectives and relevance of this dissertation ............................................................ 13 1.4 Heuristic model and structure of this dissertation ..................................................... 15 CHAPTER 2 Inside “Pandora’s box” of solidarity: conflicts between paid staff and volunteers in the nonprofit sector ...................................................................................................................... 19 2.1 Introduction and theoretical background ................................................................... 21 2.2 Materials and Methods .............................................................................................. 32 2.3 Results ....................................................................................................................... 35 2.4 Discussion .................................................................................................................. 52 CHAPTER 3 “To be, or not to be… satisfied in NPOs”: A serial multiple mediation and clustering analysis of paid staff and volunteers’ profiles ..................................................................... 59 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 61 3.2 Method ....................................................................................................................... 71 3.3 Results ....................................................................................................................... 76 3.4 Discussion .................................................................................................................. 87 ix CHAPTER 4 Removing barriers for disability at workplace based on inclusive leadership: A case study including employees with severe mental illness ......................................................... 94 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 96 4.2 Method ..................................................................................................................... 107 4.3 Results ..................................................................................................................... 109 4.4 Discussion ................................................................................................................ 124 CHAPTER 5 General discussion and conclusions .................................................................................... 131 5.1 General discussion ................................................................................................... 132 5.2 The importance of understanding conflicts in organizations with diverse workforce: Main findings ...................................................................................................................... 133 5.3 Methodological implications ................................................................................... 136 5.4 Theoretical implications .......................................................................................... 136 5.5 Practical implications .............................................................................................. 139 5.6 Conclusions ............................................................................................................. 140 GENERAL LIST OF REFERENCES................................................................................ 142 APPENDICES ...................................................................................................................... 173 ACADEMIC CV ................................................................................................................... 178 7 organizations facilitate social integration of vulnerable groups such as people with different types of disability (Boehm & Dwertmann, 2015). However, despite their positive results on people with disability, who feel fulfilled and independent, and for their coworkers, who appreciate and learn from their differences, sometimes disruptive situations like conflict and discrimination take place. These actions are especially detrimental for employees suffering mental illness. Considering both organizational contexts, inclusion of either people with disability or volunteers and regular employees is essential to achieve organizational goals. However, a real inclusive work environment can only be achieved by means of an appropriate diversity management, based on a deep understanding of the power dynamics and boundaries that may took place between them (Weisinger et al., 2016). In fact, a step further in this situation may be needed and organizational inclusion behaviors must be promoted; the workforce must feel they are involved in organizational procedures and decision-making processes (Mor-Barak & Cherin, 1998; Sabharwal, 2014). Otherwise, tensions and conflicts between both identities may take place (Ganesh & McAllum, 2012), particularly if additional organizational circumstances also take place, such as “professionalization” or the so-called becoming business-like procedures to face bureaucracy activities interfere (Maier et al., 2016). Continuing with this example, very relevant in the organizational contexts in which the present research is developed, this process usually clashes with the original ideology and values of the organization. Therefore, even a feeling of “we” against “them” clearly differentiating groups in the organization instead of defining themselves as “us” may appear (Sabharwal, 2014). In that case, as Dovidio et al., (2017) pointed out, social categorizations processes may compromise diversity and inclusion’s benefits for the organization. Indeed, if each group attempt to prevail and give priority to their own interests, diversity can lead to competitive behaviors and even conflicts. 8 Managing different identities at work As a matter of fact, individuals do not only categorize themselves in different groups based on their similar or different characteristics but also develop a sense of identity or belonginess within these groups. According to the social identity theory (Tajfel, 1982, 2010) individuals value themselves based on intergroup comparison, which may affect their self-esteem (Sabharwal, 2014) and, from an organizational perspective, their motivation and job performance (Stets & Burke, 2000). In this regard, Pratt and Foreman (2000) described four different ways of managing identity in organizations: a) compartmentalization, b) deletion, c) integration and d) aggregation. Compartmentalization may be plausible, but implies avoiding any interaction between identities, for instance, distributing different functions to each collective (Chenhall et al., 2016). Deletion is not plausible in most cases, since it implies that one or more identities are removed from the organization. Organizations, due to their organizational values and mission, tend to manage identities as if they were completely integrated, that is as if a new identity had been created based on the previous ones. However, reality is quite different, and in most cases, aggregation has occurred. Therefore, different identities are maintained but connections or boundaries among them are created (Chenhall et al., 2016; Pratt & Foreman, 2000). If aggregation is not well managed, inclusion will not take place. In this vein, several studies reported that identity differences are a source of tensions, in third sector, for instance, between volunteers and paid staff in nonprofit organizations (Kreutzer & Jägger, 2011; Mcduff, 2012). Since they are interdependent, paid staff and volunteers must cooperate, but their roles sometimes seem to overlap (Mcduff, 2012). If that happens, paid staff may feel threatened and even at stake due to the advantages that diversity has for organizations, in terms of public image or even costs (Ashcraft & Kedrowics, 2002) instead of appreciating the benefits of inclusion. Moreover, despite that uncertainty, they still must make sure that the organizational goals are fulfilled since their job positions depend upon that. 9 Therefore, in organizations where several role identities (Burke, 1980; Burke & Reitzes, 1981) or collectives coexist, the inclusion equilibrium may be weak and tensions and conflicts between them may arise (Weisinger et al., 2016). Conflicts in diverse organizational contexts In organizations conflicts can be analyzed at three different levels: interpersonal conflicts, group conflicts and organizational conflicts. However, when actors with different roles work together, interpersonal conflicts and how each member perceive these interactions between groups is particularly relevant. According to conflict theory by Deutsch (1973) conflicts arise in cooperative and competitive situations when ever incompatible activities or aspirations occur between parties. These situations can be triggered by a) parties’ characteristics (their values and motivations, aspirations, and objectives); b) their prior relations (including expectations); c) the nature of the issue rising the conflict or the social environment, in which the conflicts take place, d) their strategy managing them and e) conflict consequences. As a matter of fact, conflicts’ consequences may affect organizational members at a personal level, for example decreasing their job satisfaction or even determine their intention to leave the organization. In this regard, as it was previously explained, diversity and inclusion are often analyzed in research from the perspective of the minorities or the so-considered “vulnerable” group. However, promoting diversity and inclusion, also has an impact on other members of the organization. Although these collectives must overcome their differences, to find a way not only to achieve a common ground and fulfil their organizations’ goals, but also to find enrichment in those differences, achieving inclusiveness. However, in practice this is not that easy, and conflicts usually arise. For instance, each collective may perceive that their roles are not clear enough so they feel dispensable, or their interests may clash in terms of how to solve problems or plan new projects. Therefore, colleagues may see each other as competitors instead of as allies at work (Kreutzer & Jäger, 2011; Netting et al., 2008). Despite this fact, even when 10 the negative counterpart of inclusiveness is analyzed, research focuses on the negative impact for those who are accepted by the group (Greenaway et al., 2015). However, is there also a counterpart of inclusiveness for those who are not identified with the non-vulnerable group? An example of this dichotomy can be found in third sector where usually two roles must cooperate and work together as part of the same teams (Corry, 2010). That is the case, for instance, in non-profit organizations but also in social enterprises, organizations which, although being private, have a social purpose such as the normalization of disability. As it was previously pointed out, in these organizations, in a high percentage, teams are composed of volunteers and employees with disability, respectively, and to a lesser extent, by employees (paid staff and employees without disability, respectively). This is particularly relevant since those collectives which are supposed to introduce diversity in the organization are a majority, and even so organizational culture still focuses on them. Types of conflicts in diverse organizations Two main types of conflicts have been traditionally identified in organizational contexts: conflicts arising from interpersonal relations or affective conflicts and conflicts related to procedures and activities at work or cognitive conflicts (Guetzkow & Gyr, 1954; Pinkley, 1990; Priem & Price, 1991). In this regard, Jehn’s (1997) proposed a widespread taxonomy differentiating between task, relationship, and process conflicts. Task conflicts are defined as disagreements or different opinions about the contents of a certain task (De Witt et al., 2012). Relationship conflicts are defined as the experience of personal incompatibilities or tensions that provoke feelings such as frustration or irritation (Jehn & Mannix, 2001). Process conflict is defined as disagreement about how a task should be accomplished, including issues such as who should do what and how much responsibility each member of the group should take (Jehn, 1997; Jehn & Mannix, 2001). Recently, Bendersky & Hays (2012) added a fourth type, that is status conflict, which implies trying to challenge or alter the implicit or explicit established 11 hierarchy. According to these authors, conflicts may also arise in groups due to the hierarchical positions that individuals occupy; also, the consequences of task, relationship and process conflicts may change if the status of the parties is challenged. The relationship between conflict and diversity at work, strongly depends on the interaction between coworkers (Puck et al., 2010). As it was explained in the previous section, when it is not managed adequately, conflicts can escalate due to power contests. Under these circumstances and considering the existence of different social or in this case organizational categories, discrimination, and stigmatization of those who do not meet expectations can take place (Goffman, 1963). Unfortunately, this vulnerable collective, such as persons with disabilities, and especially mental illnesses, face these damaging behaviors not only as part of society but also at work (An et al., 2011; Li et al., 2020). To contribute to the analysis of the circumstances surrounding the appearance of these phenomenon in organizational contexts with diversity and contributing to prevent and manage them, are goals of this doctoral dissertation. Consequences of conflicts when diversity plays a main role The consequences of conflicts can be either detrimental or advantageous depending on the causes that provoke them, each party’s perceptions, and emotions as well as how parties managed these situations (Deutsch, 2014; Pondy, 1967). Indeed, when diversity is managed appropriately, it can also lead to cooperation, commitment, and an increase of job satisfaction among employees (Mor Barak, 2017). Different types of conflict may lead to different consequences. Relationship conflict affects performance negatively since it decreases member satisfaction and makes it difficult for them to continue working together (Jehn, 1995). Likewise, process conflict impairs group performance, elicit delays, and produce uncertainty among the members of the group (Jehn, 1997). Thus, members may be unsatisfied enough to change the group or even leave the organization (Jehn & Mannix, 2001). However, the consequences of task conflict are not as 12 definite. Several studies have demonstrated that moderate levels of task conflicts may occasionally have positive effects, for instance, promoting a deeper understanding of different ideas that contribute to achieving their goals and fostering high-quality decision-making processes (Jehn & Mannix, 2001; Simons & Peterson, 2000). However, a meta-analysis by De Dreu & Weingart (2003) conclude that task conflict can be as detrimental as relationship conflict regarding team performance and team’s members satisfaction. In fact, these authors conclude that task conflict effect on team performance and satisfaction may be moderated by the type of tasks performed and the culture of the team (De Dreu & Weingart, 2003; De Wit et al, 2012; Guerra et al., 2005). As noted above, these conflicts are inevitable in all organizational contexts. For this reason, conflicts and conflict management have been recurrent research topics (Tjosvold et al., 2014). Research analyzing conflict management on public and private organizations have been traditionally studied, in terms of consequences of conflicts and effects on diversity management, effectiveness (Guerra et al. 2005, Sezerel & Tonus, 2016) and job satisfaction (Belias & Kousteilos, 2014, Rosenbladt, 2000). However, in third sector, research on conflict and its consequences, is still scarce. An important issue on conflict management in organizations is to determine whether its members can create benefits for all parties in the dispute and the organization itself (Tjosvold et al., 2014). Overall, when a positive interdependence of outcomes and resources are perceived by the organization members, conflicts are managed in a constructive and cooperative manner (Deutsch 1973; Tjosvold, 1998). On the contrary, when parties perceive negative outcome interdependence, competition strategies take place (Medina et al. 2008). However, as Munduate et al., (2016) pointed out, although cooperative outcome interdependence is necessary, it is not confirmed that it is sufficient condition for constructive conflict resolution (Deutsch, 2014; Munduate et al., 2016). In this regard, Ferrin et al., (2008) stated that perceived trust plays a 13 main role mediating cooperation between parties. These authors argue that cooperation is mutual due to its effect on perceived trustworthiness, based on a relationship where issues can be discussed and parties can rely upon each other (Ferrin et al., 2006; Hempel et al., 2009; Lewicki et al., 1998). In fact, as Bollen and Euwema (2013, 2014) indicate, both cooperation and trust are better developed when a power balance between parties exists. This is also a main issue in organizations where the coexistence between different stakeholders in the same working teams may favor this power imbalance (McDuff, 2011; Munduate & Medina, 2017). Managing conflicts to achieve inclusion: the role of leaders Organizational policies and leading figures such as managers and supervisors can make a difference to transform a challenge into an opportunity to grow and create inclusion (Chin, 2010). Indeed, inclusive leadership can be key aspect to prevent conflicts, promoting this cooperation and trust-based relationships, accepting and respecting differences between collectives within the same organizations, and overall achieving an inclusion climate that encompasses different groups at work. Indeed, to foster inclusion, leaders should support team members’ integration - promoting their feeling of belonginess-, and value their differences, therefore, reinforcing their uniqueness (Randel et al. 2018). These approaches to diversity at work should be further explore in third sector organizations, contrasting their application in a real context and translating inclusive strategies form theory to practice. 1.3 Objectives and relevance of this dissertation Objectives The main objective of this doctoral dissertation is to analyze conflict and conflict management in organizations considering diversity as a broader concept including professionals and special interest groups, particularly volunteers and employees with disability, including mental illness. Moreover, we aim to achieve the following specific goals: 14 a) Understand the existent interpersonal conflicts in organizations with diversity, as well as its recurrence. b) Analyze differences between groups of stakeholders or roles within the organizations, regarding conflict identification, conflict management and consequences of conflicts. c) Contribute to the understanding of profiles beyond formal categorizations in organizations with diverse groups of interests. These profiles may contribute to the understanding of conflict dynamics and its effects on satisfaction. d) Contribute to promote inclusion in organizations dealing with diversity, from an interpersonal perspective (relationship with coworkers and inclusive leadership) and from organizational perspective (organizational climate). Relevance of the dissertation This research responds to a social change that has an impact on organizational contexts, the increase of diversity at work. NPOs and social enterprises are flourishing due to socioeconomical changes. Therefore, further understanding is required to cope with the specific challenges of these organizational contexts. To our understanding, this doctoral dissertation is of relevance in three different scopes of application: academic, societal, and professional. Academic. This dissertation broadens the scope of conflict theory and conflict taxonomies, and the concept of diversity, going beyond individual differences to differences between collectives at work. First, it elaborates a specific taxonomy of interpersonal conflicts between groups of stakeholders in non-profit organizations. Second, it contributes to understand not only the different perspectives on the same difficulties, but also the effect of developing different roles on perceived intrapersonal conflict, performance, and job satisfaction. This dissertation also contributes to understand the relevance of inclusive leaders to achieve real inclusion involving as equals vulnerable and non-vulnerable groups. Moreover, this 15 dissertation also highlights the benefits and relevance of combining qualitative and quantitative methodologies, to obtain the required holistic perspective to understand complex processes such as conflicts related to diversity and inclusion. Societal. Diversity is a reality in nowadays society; however, this is not always reflected in the working context. Indeed, when external difficulties take place, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, groups that introduce diversity in organizations are reduced to a minimum, as heterogeneity increases management complexity. This dissertation aims to highlight the benefits of diversity and inclusion, helping organizations to understand and appreciate their diverse workforces and, consequently, promoting work opportunities for special groups of interest. Professional. This research aims to provide professionals with both theoretical and practical relevant information regarding diversity and conflict at work. Particularly, results intend to help HR professionals and team leaders to understand the processes that diversity creates in organizations and how to transform a challenge into an opportunity to improve their organizations. 1.4 Heuristic model and structure of this dissertation Figure 1 presents the heuristic model of this doctoral research. Considering the impact of diversity due to the coexistence of different groups of interests, we analyze two organizational contexts: nonprofit organization and a social enterprise. 16 Figure 1 Heuristic model of this doctoral dissertation We investigate the relations between diversity, conflict, and the desirable inclusion achievement along three empirical studies combining qualitative and quantitative methodology. First, we explore a NPO, focusing on analyzing the existent types of conflicts and understanding the differences on conflict perception between collectives within the organization. This study is presented in chapter 2 of this dissertation. Our next empirical study focuses on intrapersonal conflicts between different roles in the organization, and its effect on performance and job satisfaction. In this study, considering NPO internal characteristics, we explore if there is an additional profiles distribution that reflects more adequately the reality of NPOs, despite the formal roles that coexist in these organizations (paid staff and volunteers) and what are the effects of different profiles over conflict, performance, and job satisfaction. This study is presented in chapter 3. The last empirical study is a case study conducted in a social enterprise where employees with and without mental illness work together. We analyze which factors can 23 underlying these circumstances in NPOs, specific research on this matter is necessary and worth it. The aim of this study is to make headway on the previous research findings analyzing conflicts in NPOs, contributing to their understanding, prevention, and management. Our research will be based on two relevant theoretical frameworks in Organizational Psychology: The conflict Theory by Morton Deustch (1973) and the social comparison theory by Leon Festinger (1954). Deutsch (1973) explained that conflicts arise when ever incompatible activities or aspirations occur between parties, both in cooperative and competitive situations. According to this author, these situations can be triggered by a) parties’ characteristics (their values and motivations, aspirations and objectives); b) their prior relations (including expectations); c) the nature of the issue rising the conflict or the social environment, in which the conflicts take place, d) their strategy managing them and e) conflict consequences. It has been pointed out that in NPOs, conflicts arise particularly due to unclear boundaries between the main roles in the organization (McAllum, 2018); definitively two different and changing organizational identities with different ways of doing their jobs. This complex interaction between paid staff and volunteers will lead to different types of conflicts, depending on the nature of the issues at stake. To understand how conflict arises between these two profiles, it may be helpful to rely on the principles of the theory of social comparison (Festinger, 1954). This theory states that individuals create their perceptions and opinions by means of comparison with other social groups. Thus, paid staff and volunteers, also evaluate their contributions to work, rewards and efforts based on those of the other main group in their working context. Considering the equity theory referring to motivational mechanisms proposed by Adams (1963, 1965) if there is not perception of fairness as a result of that social comparison, this unbalance can lead to conflicts 24 between these two groups or identities, affecting their motivation and job satisfaction. Particularly in this context, we hypothesized that paid staff would perceive more conflict than volunteers, due to a perceived negative balance between their contributions to work and the rewards they obtain. Based on these premises of Organizational Psychology theories, we intend to improve the understanding of conflict in NPOs, particularly between the main stakeholders of these organizations, in order to provide the needed background to prevent and manage these situations that impairs both organizational members wellbeing and goals achievement. To do so, as specific objectives in this study, first, we will revise which types of conflicts can be found in NPOS, identified by paid staff and volunteers. Considering the actual roles of volunteers and paid staff in NPOs as well as social and contextual challenges -such as professionalismthat this sector is facing nowadays, we will analyze four types of conflict: task conflict, process conflict, status conflict and relationship conflict (Bendersky & Hays, 2012; Jehn 1995, 1997; Jehn & Mannix, 2001). Second, we will explore who reports more conflicts, paid staff or volunteers, and therefore, who experience more negative consequences. In this regard, paid staff will be especially attended as, compared to volunteers, research on their perceptions on NPOs dynamics and conflicts is still scarce. Conflicts between paid staff and volunteers As abovementioned, relations between the two main stakeholders (volunteers & staff) are, nowadays an important topic of interest (Hwang & Suarez, 2019). To clearly understand the actual function of paid staff and volunteers as part of the same teams in NPOs, Ariza-Montes, et al., (2017) explain their different roles based on two criteria: professionalism and time available. Paid staff occupy responsible positions, overseeing complex activities due to their professional training, while volunteers collaborate on different tasks following a flexible schedule, based on their availability to participate and also their commitment (Ariza-Montes, 25 et al., 2015; Ariza-Montes et al., 2017). However, paid staff and volunteers’ roles are sometimes not that easy to differentiate in NPOs. Their intricate organizational structure and the variety of tasks that they accomplish -sometimes considered incompatible activities- or their different aspirations, not only make difficult to clearly define their roles in the organization but also lead to disputes and conflicts among them (Deustch, 1973). In fact, recent changes in the NPO sector, that imply more dependence on the external funding instead of on the NPO’s partners donations, has increased the need for professionalization to survive (Eisenberg & Eschenfelder, 2009). Therefore, the technical staff role is becoming more significant in this new NPO’s structure. However, despite its relevance, only some studies explored, and just in a descriptive manner, which are the conflicts that rise up in NPOs, as a consequence of paid staff and volunteers’ interaction. Indeed, it is not without a reason that Pearce (1993) described these conflicts as “one of the unpleasant secrets of nonprofit organizations” (Pearce, 1993, p.142). Further research is needed to clearly understand conflicts in NPOs. In this regard, it is particularly remarkable how research has traditionally paid an unbalanced attention to both stakeholders; on the one hand volunteers, who usually capture the spotlight as protagonists of these organizations’ values, and on the other hand, paid staff, whose needs, contributions and role in NPOs’ dynamics are most of the times overlooked. As a matter of fact, recent studies deeply analyze the role of volunteers in NPOs, for instance, in terms of volunteers’ involvement, considering both organizations and volunteers’ perspectives on commitment, intention to leave or working conditions (Nesbit et al., 2017). Also, volunteers’ profiles, including their cultural and demographic correlates (Ariza-Montes et al., 2018), education level, social resources and volunteering consequences have been studied on NPOs research (see Wilson, 2000 for a review). Even so, specific leadership strategies have been analyzed in order to guarantee an appropriate volunteering management (Studer, 2016). 26 Nevertheless, research on NPOs has systematically overlooked a main actor’s perspective regarding NPOs dynamics: paid staff’s perspective. A possible explanation for these circumstances is that volunteering is one of the key NPOs’ social and human capital resources, understood as a proactive and committed behavior based on offering time freely to help others (Wilson, 2000) and providing a service to society (Farmer & Fedor, 2001). Cnaan et al., (1996) already highlighted that NPOs usually rely to a large extent on volunteers compared to paid staff. Therefore, previous studies mainly focused on the existence of volunteers, as a factor that determines both the organizational culture and identity of these organizations, where values, participation and integration traditionally prevail over a managerial approach focused on effectiveness and efficiency (Kreutzer & Jäger, 2011). This increasing interest resides on the importance that volunteers gained in order to maintain an optimal functioning of NPOs during difficult socioeconomic crisis periods (Baluch 2012), particularly during financial constraints, both due to the absence of institutional support from public administration and the decrease of private donations (Salamon, 2010). Under these circumstances, NPOs were forced to recruit volunteers instead of hiring paid staff, blurring the lines between both roles. Consequently, some authors even consider that volunteers act sometimes, as unpaid and low-skilled paid staff (Ganesh & McAllum, 2012).Thus, when both volunteers and paid staff evaluate their current situation in NPOs, considering the other role as a reference, it is likely that they feel their rewards are decreasing compared to the new demands imposed by the organization, particularly related to work processes and power position (e.g. paid staff focusing on project management and volunteers assuming paperwork that keep them far from face to face relationships with users) (Festinger, 1954). This comparison will contribute to the appearance of conflicts between these two stakeholders, and particularly, different types of conflict based on the issue which is raising the disagreement. Therefore, considering these NPOs dynamics, paid staff and volunteers’ coexistence will contribute to the 27 appearance of four types of conflict: process conflict, task conflict, status conflict and relationship conflict. These circumstances lead to the appearance of process conflicts, defined as disagreements about how a task should be accomplished, including issues such as who should do what and how much responsibility each member of the group should take (Jehn, 1997; Jehn & Mannix, 2001). Indeed, Mook et al. (2014) demonstrated that, on the one hand, 10.8% of volunteers reported that they replace a paid staff member, 3.1% of those cases, permanently. On the other hand, volunteers also reported being replaced staff: by paid 7.6% reported being replaced, 2.1% of those cases are permanently replaced. However, during the last decade, paid staff are inevitably acquiring more prominence in NPOs due to their metamorphosis in business-like organizations, as a response to their context demands (Eisenberg & Eschenfelder, 2009; Maier et al., 2016). Governments’ policies, which nowadays rely on NPOs to provide basic social services to community (Henriksen et al., 2012), are setting proceedings to identify and finance the most effective NPOs (Salomon, 2015). This promotes the implementation of new procedures to maximize their productivity and adjust their methods to their applications’ requirements (Berzin & Camarena, 2018; McAllum, 2018). These administrative procedures usually must be assumed by paid staff, as they require a constant supervision that cannot be guaranteed by volunteers, who usually have a very flexible work schedule as most of them have a remunerated job position elsewhere (Ariza-Montes at al. 2015, 2017). This new scenario leads to task conflicts appearance, which are defined as disagreements or different opinions about the contents of a certain task (De Wit et al., 2012). The same blurred boundaries between professionalization and volunteerism that leads to process conflict, also provoke task conflict. NPOs’ professionalization does not only create discrepancies regarding who should accomplish each task (e.g. social assistance or 28 administrative duties) but also concerning which task should be prioritize by the organization. Consequently, as Ganesh and McAllum (2012) explained, even volunteers are involved in administrative tasks at expense of decreasing their time engaging with social issues due to professional restrictions. To face their “professionalization” process, NPOs have adopted different measures as a transition method trying to maintain, to a greater or lesser extent, the rationale that would be expected from a volunteering-based organization. Thus, some NPOs transfer their direction to professionals or paid staff (e.g. Oxfam), while others maintain a traditional volunteer’s leadership (e.g. Mans Units). Some NPOs, on the contrary, assign formal and informal roles to paid staff and volunteers in an attempt to maintain a balance between financial needs and values: a) a formal and institutional leadership role, where the NPO board is composed of volunteers, who are in charge of governance and leadership and b) the informal or managerial level, where paid staff have the responsibility for the operations and daily management of the projects, and volunteers should execute complete tasks, or substantial parts of the tasks. Under these circumstances, volunteers report difficulties to manage this professionalization process due to the complexity that entails to identify how these new demands and procedures can be balanced with a volunteering ideology (Kreutzer & Jäger, 2011). However, for paid staff, this change has also a considerable impact, since their job demands increase exponentially. They must deal with several administrative duties, performance management and bureaucracy, tasks they often consider less relevant than their social labor, hindering their job (King, 2017). Overall, the hierarchical structure of the NPOs, combining paid staff and volunteers, as well as the complexity of their work that requires a great coordination among organization members, seems to be an appropriate scenario to also elicit the so-called status conflict. This type of conflict implies trying to challenge or alter the implicit or explicit established hierarchy (Bendersky & Hays, 2012). The motives and base for participating in the organization, might 29 also drive volunteers to challenge the –often formal leading – role and position of paid staff. Also, paid staff might feel the need to reinforce their leading position to operational volunteers, while challenge the formal status of the board composed of volunteers with managerial responsibilities, who may have good intentions, but not always agree with the new professionalism perspective adopted by NPOs (Kreutzer & Jäger, 2011). Furthermore, previous research on this matter pointed out as a regular source of conflict the differences between volunteers and paid staff regarding which are their duties and responsibilities and their different criteria on how things should be done in the organization; for instance, in terms of volunteerism and professionalism clashes (Kreutzer & Jäger, 2011; Netting et al., 2008). Additionally, these disparities in criteria and even diversity among team members in the organization, (e.g. in terms of backgrounds, age, and also roles) may even lead to a sense of identification in two different groups in the organization, paid staff and volunteers, that may justify a different perspective when it comes to described conflicts (Chenhall et al., 2016). This situation can also be a potential source of relationship conflicts, defined as the experience of personal incompatibilities or tensions that provoke feelings such as frustration or irritation (Jehn & Mannix, 2001). However, in NPOs, both volunteers and paid staff share a high commitment with their organization’s social labor, mission, values and ideals (Alfes et al., 2015; Brown & Yoshioka, 2003). This commitment and common values can act as a barrier that prevent the appearance of this last type of conflict. Indeed, as Benitez et al., (2018) results point out, using avoidance as conflict management strategy, buffers the link between relationship conflict and negative emotional consequences in teams. Likewise, paid staff and volunteers may prevent relationship conflict appearance or escalation overlooking their personal differences to guarantee their projects success based on a common goal, that is helping others in need. Moreover, the increasing job demands and hierarchical dynamics contribute to unbalance paid staff and volunteers’ contributions-rewards ratio and, as a consequence, they do not only 30 decrease their motivation but also when they compare their situation with volunteers’ one their perception of conflict increase, particularly for those types of conflict related with work processes (task and process conflict) and positions of power and influence (status conflict). Therefore, considering the foregoing description of how paid staff and volunteers’ interaction and social comparison in the NPOs actual context can lead to different types of conflict, we propose that: Proposition 1:a) Conflicts in NPOs can be categorized based on the taxonomy task, relationship, process and status conflicts and b) more task, process and status conflicts will exist, as opposed to relationship conflict, that although existent, will be less prominent in this context. The heterogeneity of NPOs’ teams not only in terms of roles (paid staff and volunteers) but also in terms of background, age or motivations, can lead to disagreements regarding the content (task conflict), and who should conduct the tasks (process conflict). Given these circumstances, either paid staff or volunteers they use their influence or positions to prevail or impose their perspectives or ideas as a reaction mechanism to face these organizational changes (status conflicts). Finally, such diversity is fertile soil for personal frictions between team members (relationship conflict); however, this last type of conflict may be mitigated due to both paid staff and volunteers’ commitment with their social labor and organizational values, who focus on a common goal instead of on their personal differences. Differences between paid staff and volunteers on conflict experience As described before, previous research pointed out that the differences between volunteers and paid staff regarding which are their duties and responsibilities, as well as their different criteria on how things should be done in the organization are regular sources of conflict (Kreutzer & Jäger, 2011; Netting et al., 2008). Indeed, as it was previously mentioned, this criteria’s disparities may even lead to a sense of identification in two different groups in the organization, 31 paid staff and volunteers, that based on the social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954) and the equity theory (Adams, 1963, 1965) justify their different perspective when it comes to describe conflicts (Chenhall et al., 2016). Considering that the new trends in NPOs are increasing paid staff demands and responsibilities (e.g. professionalization (Maier et al., 2016), but their returns, in terms of recognition in the organization, salary, reputation or sense of achievement are still the same – or less – compared to volunteers, their perception of conflict and the negative effect of those perceptions on their satisfaction may be higher. In order to evaluate how both paid staff and volunteers experience conflicts in NPOs, and therefore their consequences, context variables should also be into consideration. Thus, despite the large number of volunteers in these organizations (Cnaan et al., 1996), paid staff may be particularly vulnerable to experience conflicts in their teams. A main reason is that NPOs’ professionalization process would also require a change of the employees’ profile (Blake, 2012) encouraging an economic instead of social or vocational orientation (Piñón, 2010). Nevertheless, paid staff profiles in NPOs are, on a normal basis, far away of these requirements, as they usually have a very prosocial background in terms of training (e.g. as health or human services professionals rather as business professionals). However, instead of focusing their work on social intervention, paid staff have to, first, deal with volunteers who are in the board of their organization; so, to whom they have to report, and second, lead projects in which they depend on volunteers to do large parts of the job. In this matter, they must rely on the goodwill and commitment of these volunteers, experiencing a lack of formal power, even though they have responsibility and related authority (Medina et al., 2008). These complex dynamics create internal conflicts between volunteers and paid staff (McAllum, 2018) being particularly detrimental for the latter, who are ultimate responsible of the technical implementation and administrative management of the different NPOs’ projects. 32 Volunteers, on their behalf, feel less pressure to maintain their collaboration with a specific NPO in case they are not satisfied or they consider that their psychological contract with the organization has being breached or violated; since they are not bound by an employment contract, they feel free to contribute to their social causes somewhere else, leaving the organization and therefore, avoiding negative conflict consequences to a greater extend, compared to paid staff (Vantilborg, 2015). Overall, paid staff typically are “in-between”, usually working (more than) full time, and in coordinating positions. Given their labor contract, they are also in different ways dependent on the organization. Therefore, their final contributions-rewards balance in the actual NPOs situation is negative compared to volunteers, whose rewards from their prosocial behavior usually exceed their flexible contributions to the organizations (Adams, 1963, 1965; Festinger, 1954; Penner et al., 2005) For that reason, we propose that: Proposition 2: In NPOs contexts, paid staff report more conflicts (task, process, status, and relationships conflict) than volunteers, suffering also more negative consequences. 2.2 Materials and Methods Participants We examined a large and representative NPO in Spain, focusing our research on their regional division in the Community of Madrid, composed by 20 local divisions (806 paid staff members and 8442 volunteers). Although this study focuses on a division, this is a worldwide organization that replies the same functional and hierarchical structure in every country. Therefore, our results can also be applicable to all the divisions of these NPO. Concerning its functional constitution, a strong hierarchical management structure is combined with a democratic decision-making body (the so called “Committees”) where volunteers occupy the top positions of the organization both at regional and local levels, (called “Presidents”). These Committees are responsible for acting in accordance with the general objectives, policy, 39 Volunteers. “You can have 21 paid staff employees in a project team today, none in three months and then 20 different employees” (S.A., President, volunteer). Presidents described how they usually invested time and effort creating well-coordinated teams as well as training paid staff in specific issues of the project. However, due to the lack of personnel also at the regional level of the organization, well-trained paid staff employees are transferred to the regional assembly. Therefore, local teams must start again bringing together a new team: “We have invested a lot of work creating teams, and, when that employee is already trained, he or she is transferred to a different local or regional assembly” (A.E., President, Volunteer). Lack of communication and Commitment Paid staff. “I've lived many situations, and nothing has been finally achieved... there is a lack of commitment, maybe from both sides, but above all, from management itself” (I.M., Paid Staff). Due to communication deficiencies and the perception of inactivity of the regional assembly, distrust is a main source of conflict. Paid staff and volunteers distrust regional assembly’s management capacity and do not agree with the communication policies, not only regarding internal issues but also about how information is made public (e.g. malicious rumors about their charity activities not refuted). Overall, the head office is not either consistently implementing new procedures or activities to promote well-being and job satisfaction among paid staff and volunteers and it is usually unapproachable to transfer problems’ information. This situation increases distrust and emotional discomfort among the members of the organization as well as an overall lack of credibility of regional management. The head office is aware of this problem; however, managers there blame the organization’s multitasking method: paid staff are working on 40 different projects simultaneously, receiving instructions and requirements from different supervisors that set their own priorities and there is no communication between them. Volunteers. Since volunteers especially identify themselves with the organization’s goals and values, they feel personally attacked when it is criticized, or it suffers any discredit accusation not being refuted by the headquarters. “It is essential that higher hierarchical levels transmit the values of this organization, especially when its public image is attacked”. (F.E., Volunteer). Volunteers also consider that additional conflicts (such as paid staff transferring among assemblies), influence paid staff commitment, both with their tasks and with the organization. Therefore, sometimes it is extremely hard to find someone that may help them out when there is a problem, or they need advice. "If managers are constantly changing, we all wait for someone else to take charge on things, so they never get done... Here nobody takes the phone. There is a great lack of communication” (S.E., Volunteer). Process conflict Undefined tasks Paid staff. “Undefined tasks generate daily conflicts among teams” (J.E. Paid Staff, headquarters). Paid staff must adopt a multitasking approach to cope with the highly diverse task flow. Furthermore, both volunteers and paid staff report that the lack of personnel stands in the way of efficiency. Thus, volunteers are required to support paid staff to offer an appropriate attention to users and meet financial justification requirements, “many times we asked volunteers to help us to finish administrative duties instead of what they would like to do, that is helping users” (C.R., Paid Staff). 41 Volunteers. Volunteers, on the contrary, consider that their role should be mainly to attend users while paid staff, who receive economic retribution and are responsible of the NPO’s activity, should also accomplish administrative tasks. “Volunteering moves the organization. I have noticed in a way, the idea that volunteers work or have to do paperwork, making paid staff’s lives easier and it should be just the opposite”. (Y.O., Volunteer). Role conflict and role ambiguity Paid staff. "There is a problem, which is caused by...economic crisis. Less money means less paid staff, so we recruit volunteers"(E.L., paid staff). Due to the recent economic crisis, NPOs’ hiring capacity decreased dramatically. Therefore, volunteers’ activity has supported the organization more than never. Paid staff consider volunteers’ contributions essential, however, they are also worried about their job positions; considering the voluntary character of the organization, their perceived role ambiguity, and the lack of economic resources, they are concerned about being replaced by “unpaid” volunteers. Furthermore, they are concerned about how volunteers may cope with users’ problems, without specific training, since it is a high emotional and demanding work that should be managed carefully. Volunteers. "There are people who do not want volunteers; because in the end we let ourselves be handled by users...We distort their work a lot, they do not see us as a help”. (P.A., Volunteer). Although they understand paid staff’s reservations, overall, volunteers consider that they are very capable of attending users. Indeed, they demand more responsibilities on this matter, since volunteering is one of the main pillars of the institution’s ideology. Moreover, volunteers argue that users may perceived that paid staff members are acting as professionals instead of just providing social support, so they can establish a closer relationship with them. 42 "As volunteers, we want our role to be more interactive with users because I think that they may be more comfortable talking to us, than with someone with more authority” (A.R., Volunteer). Although volunteers and paid staff’s opinions differed regarding their role with users, both demand specific training. Each project has specific characteristics that require different competences, that are usually not covered during their initial training. Status conflicts Hierarchical structure and leadership based on power Paid staff. “Ours is a top-heavy hierarchical structure” (O.L., Paid Staff). The very structured and vertical hierarchy hinders both decision-making processes and communication. Paid staff explain that leadership is usually based on power, and decisions made at higher hierarchical levels must be obey even when that entails changes in the normal functioning of the organization: “Instructions are passed by from the higher levels of the hierarchical structure and it is not egalitarian under any circumstances… the basis of this type of leadership is fear” (O.L., Paid Staff). Volunteers. Overall, local volunteers do not perceive that the prevailing leadership based in the organization is based on power. However, presidents, report conflicts related to the very hierarchical structure of the organization that prevent top levels of knowing the local assemblies’ reality. “Those at the top do not share the same vision. They must be aware that the national, regional and local structure are different, because unlike them that usually work with paid staff, I’m working mostly with volunteers” (C.M., Volunteer, President). Distrust on Head Office management Paid staff. Paid staff consider that they can provide first-hand information about intervention and users’ needs, so they should contribute to decision-making processes in a more 43 active way. In fact, not being able to do so is very stressful and even frustrating: “When “higher” levels plan everything, no one asks us, so we have the feeling that we are just services’ vending machines” (O.L., Paid staff). Overall, strategic decisions are made by head office’s personnel, who are usually not aware of each local assembly particularities. Due to the lack of communication between hierarchical levels, relevant information to plan interventions and distribute resources is missing. Thus, when there is a problem inside the organization or even situations that need to be promptly sorted, it is not easy to find out who should make the decisions to solve it. Nevertheless, regional staff managers consider that sometimes, participation in decision-making processes is taking for granted. It is seen as a right instead of as a deference or positive characteristic whose aim is to create a democratic work environment where everybody can contribute: “In this organization we have made participation and consensus something that instead of being a positive attribute, ends up becoming a requirement: if I do not participate and I make decisions I do not get involved" (B.L., Paid staff, headquarters). Volunteers. Volunteers who are part of the government body (Presidents), claim that, according to their role expectations in a volunteering organization, they should be able to participate in strategic decisions in their local assemblies. Instead, they receive instructions from regional paid staff, who only gather information about social intervention from paid staff or during periodical meetings: “As local president, I make non-important decisions on a daily basis, because the guidelines, relevant decisions, rules and objectives, are determined by the Head Office (run by paid staff)” (I.D., President, Volunteer). Performance Evaluation, poor feedback and ways to transmit problems Paid staff. Paid staff considers that the organization is reorienting their performance evaluation, basing it on quantitative parameters, instead of qualitative ones: “I think that 44 sometimes our supervisors’ value more how do we organize administrative tasks instead of what it really is our aim here and why we studied our degree, social intervention and working with users”. (M.O, Paid staff). Additionally, they point out that they do not receive enough feedback during the evaluation process, and they are not able to give feedback to their supervisors. Although the evaluation procedure was supposed to be a 360º evaluation, it is vertical and top-down. Therefore, problems are not solved since the responsible person is not even aware of them. “It is a pity, because the idea of being evaluated… is interesting… a way of improvement…, but if there is a two-way flow communication” (E.M., Paid staff). Volunteers. “We are not evaluated, they just say you are it doing wrong” (A.L., Volunteer, President). Both paid staff and presidents (volunteers) explain that not only it is difficult to transmit their concerns to higher hierarchical levels, but they also claim for their constructive feedback. Based on the performance evaluation procedures, they consider that only their mistakes are highlighted without having the chance to discuss which problems or difficulties they have. Power imbalance Paid staff. Paid staff explain that volunteers are more powerful since they are protected by the organizational vision (voluntary organization), values and even policies. Thus, paid staff perceive their contract as a bond that entails not only obligations, but also detrimental consequences in terms of power imbalanced compared to volunteers; they can leave the organization whenever they want or issue a complaint against paid staff without assuming any occupational risk. Overall, they considered that, when there is a conflict situation, volunteers’ rights may act against paid staff’s rights: “When a volunteer confronts you or questions your work, many times you do not have capacity to confront him. Because they have nothing to lose” (P.A., Paid Staff). 45 Volunteer. On the contrary, volunteers consider that, because they are employees, paid staff must cope with certain tasks, but they are also supported by HR and they can demand changes by means of their labor contract. In return, they consider that paid staff are responsible for keeping the organization functioning smoothly: "They are the ones who have the power, that are remunerated, and they always know what their job is... each of us have our status. I am here to offer my time, and my help. If the situation does not convince me, I leave... In return, you can call HR department saying I want to be in a different project, I do not feel good where I am". (P.A., Volunteer). Paid staff transferring Paid staff. “As an organization, we have not got a clear procedure to follow in certain conflicts, therefore it is solve transferring the people involved to a different project team” (I.S., Paid Staff). Paid staff transferring is not only used as a strategy to relieve the lack of personnel; paid staff consider it is also used as an avoiding conflict management strategy. The organization transfer those members involved in team conflicts to another assembly, instead of trying to find a solution that could prevent its reoccurrence. Consequently, on occasion, those teams receiving staff transfers decrease their performance and motivation, since new members do not fit with the group or they create new problems, so conflicts spread out to different teams: “There are people who work great, who are super motivated, and you can see that, because of a transfer, that person is decreasing his or her motivation, and passing on that demotivation to the team” (J.E., Paid staff). Paid staff reported an additional problem related to personnel transferring; when they truly want to leave a certain team, they do not receive any answer to their petition from management. Therefore, they feel that the organization does not look after their needs and do not listen to their requests, "there are workers who are caught up in their positions, we are not transfer anywhere else even if we ask for it (I.S., Paid staff). 46 Although this problem is also detected at the regional level, conflict escalation seems to increase their difficulties to find a straightforward solution and they solve it moving those employees involved: "Sometimes if it would had been detected before or if it would had been discussed, I think it could have been solved, could it? Now there is a situation of tension, of labor conflict, because people had to be transferred, because now they are afraid” (R.A., Paid Staff, headquarters). Volunteers. Volunteers perceived that these transfers affect paid staff’s commitment with the organization and the task they oversee. Although the number of volunteers may buffer the negative effect of their changeable situation, that is not the case of paid staff, who are employed by the organization and should fulfill certain duties. Volunteers explain that their personal and professional circumstances affect how much time they can spend collaborating with the NPO, “our strength is that there is a lot of volunteering, and our weakness is that, finally, volunteers, no matter how much committed they are, have obligations outside the organization, with its ups and downs” (Y.O., Volunteer). Relationship conflict Personal disagreements and unresolved personal issues Paid staff. “We are like a big family; we do not always get along with each other and we usually do not agree with the inheritance” (M.T., Paid staff). Paid staff explained that volunteers’ personal characteristics usually leads to conflict in their teams. Since there are not selection procedures to either accept in the organization or assigned volunteers to projects, only their personal preferences, sometimes they do not fit with the team or they try to impose their own way of doing things. Under these circumstances, paid staff explain that, due to their volunteer status, they manage these misunderstandings reporting their complaints to the highest hierarchical levels, denouncing that they are not feeling well treated by paid staff. This behavior 47 is considered by paid staff a lack of respect and recognition of their work, even generating resentment among team members. “Volunteers have their own ideas and some of them try to impose them…there are troublesome volunteers, very difficult ones, or those whose personal characteristics just do not fit in the project or local assembly and if we do not change our way of doing our work based on their ideas, they create problems in the team”. (A.R., Paid staff). Volunteers. “Do not tell me what I have to do, if you are burnt out do not pass your frustration on me”. (S.E., Volunteers). Volunteers explain that paid staff sometimes see them as a threat, someone that can replace them for free supported by the organization’s values, as it was previously mentioned. These circumstances do not only lead to role conflict and role ambiguity but also create personal incompatibilities between them. “I have close friends in (the organization). However, some people may be your friend, and some people may be not. Those tell me, "You (as volunteer) are here stealing a job position…” (S.E., Volunteer). Consequences of conflicts Frustration and anxiety Paid staff. “Some people are so frustrated” (I.S., Paid staff). Paid staff report a frustration feeling stemmed from work overload, for example due to the slow pace of administrative duties and lack of trust in regional decision-making processes. They are not able to transmit their concerns or doubts to higher hierarchical levels due to the lack of direct communication channels, therefore, they are very insecure if they have to act without consulting with their supervisors what should be done, which occurs quite often due to the urgency of their activity with users: “I think that HR department usually do not know what their own employees do and the difficult situations they have to deal with” (I.S., Paid staff). 48 Volunteers. Volunteers explain that, in some way, paid staff transfers their anxiety and stress to volunteers in an unconscious manner. Since they feel pressured by their working conditions and the obligatory nature of their tasks, they discharge their frustration on volunteers, increasing their demands instead of supporting them: "I understand that a person has to channel those problems or manage them somehow, but it overloads and stress out volunteers, that is the reason why some people decide to leave this organization and go to a different entity" (Y.O., Volunteer). Insecurity to act without consulting, fear of reprisals, lack of motivation and emotional exhaustion Paid staff. Besides suffering long-term frustration and anxiety, paid staff feel vulnerable and not supported or protected by the organization, even afraid of suffering reprisals if they make a mistake: “our stress level is quite high since we are constantly trying to transmit our problems and concerns but that they have not listened to us for a long time” (O.L., Paid staff). Therefore, teams’ motivation, organizational commitment and satisfaction with their activity decreases, and overall team emotional exhaustion takes place: “if they do not watch over you, how are you going to look after those you are supposed to be taking care of?” (I.S., Paid staff) “Volunteers are lost, paid staff have a different nuance" (E.V., Paid staff). Due to their different position in the organization, paid staff and volunteers’ responses to this lack of job satisfaction are quite different. Paid staff generally try to cope with the situation during extended periods of time in order to keep their job position, which leads to a transferring request or even absenteeism. “Losing volunteers and losing workers… because workers do not get lost because they leave the organization. In my previous position, I lost motivation and, therefore, I was less useful…they lost me as a worker” (D.A., Paid staff). 55 in a loss conflict spiral, starting with workload and administrative duties, getting worse with discrepancies regarding decision-making process and ending with fear of reappraisal and anxiety, even considering their employment contract as a disadvantage, that force them to stay in the organization. Paid staff report the greatest number of conflicts for all types of conflicts, but especially for multitasking methodology and administrative duties and role conflict. These results highlight the importance of considering paid staff perspective when analyzing conflicts in NPOs. Paid staff indeed experience more conflicts than volunteers. Even so, previous research has traditionally put a spotlight on volunteers, overshadowing both their needs in their working context and the consequences of leaving them out. Volunteers, on the contrary, who are free to leave the organization, decide to stay because their social contribution is more important for them than those conflict situations they may experience in the organization. An exception in this group are Presidents, volunteers with managerial responsibilities, who identify more conflicts than local volunteers and even similar or more conflicts than paid staff, on certain issues. This difference can be explained by the nature of their job that implies fundamentally different power positions towards paid staff; presidents consider that paid staff with management duties at the headquarters, are who really plan all the line of action without involving them on their decisions, and simultaneously, they deal with volunteer’s coordination. These results also reflect the effects of the intricate role dynamics that prevails in many NPOs, and the consequences of professionalization, not only for volunteers, who report higher levels of role ambiguity (process conflict) due to this transition, but also paid staff, since they have to deal with the administrative processes. In this regard, considering the organization’s voluntary character, Presidents, who are volunteers with management responsibilities, feel that their managing role is being taken away by paid 56 staff. Moreover, paid staff do not agree on being focus on administrative tasks instead of attending users, since they consider it is not congruent with their formal training. Therefore, regarding the consequences of conflict, findings suggest that paid staff suffer more negative consequences than volunteers, mainly frustration, stress and anxiety, whereas emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions are low. As it was abovementioned, it is interesting to remark the low level and intensity of the relationship conflicts perceived both by the paid staff and the volunteers. It is well-known the negative consequences that this type of conflict has for the organizations and those who suffer it (Medina et al., 2005). Thus, this may explain the low levels of emotional exhaustion and turnover intention for both groups, paid staff and volunteers (Benitez, Medina, & Munduate, 2011). It is also relevant how this NPO’s prosocial work seems to protect workers from relationship conflict and their negative consequences, such as the desire to leave the organization or emotional exhaustion. Practical implications Our results suggest several practical implications. First, organizations where paid staff and volunteers work together, such NPOs, should be aware of the existence of task, process, relationship, and status conflicts in their context and particularly between these two main stakeholders. Second, these conflicts are embedded in the organization’s procedures and characteristics; the structure, work nature and even the understanding of organizational values promote them. Therefore, using our results as a checklist, supervisors and team leaders can identify and therefore, manage adequately or even prevent, these conflicts. Third, it is important for HR Departments to focus on the situation of paid staff, who deserve special attention. Although the focus has been traditionally put on volunteers, based on our results, paid staff perceive more conflicts and have a more negative situation in the organizations. Thus, as a general advice, paid 57 staff in NPOs should be paid not only a salary but also attention and care from their organization. Potential limitations and future studies This study has some limitations that must be considered in order to generalize the obtained results. This study was conducted in an only NPO branch, so future studies should replicate the analysis in different NPOs to confirm that our conclusions are applicable to different organizations. Nevertheless, as a positive aspect of our participant NPO, this is a worldwide organization that replies the same functional and hierarchical structure in every country, so these results can potentially be generalized to all these divisions around the world. Moreover, despite the possible differences among NPOs, our results are consistent with previous studies. Furthermore, qualitative data limits the explanatory potential of the study and the number of participants involved in the research. However, it also provided the opportunity to understand and explore the complexity of NPOs and the existent conflict dynamics in this singular work environment. Future studies should analyze conflicts in these organizations using also quantitative approaches that make possible to conduct a deeper analysis of conflict situations and those variables influencing them. Conclusions This study constitutes a remarkable contribution to NPOs knowledge from a theoretical and practical perspective. From a theoretical view, this study not only analyzes specific types of conflict in NPOs (task, process, status, and relationship conflict) but also considers doing so from paid staff and volunteers’ different perspectives. Additionally, it is built up on three consolidated theories: the conflict theory (Deustch, 1973), the social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954) and the equity theory (Adams, 1963, 1965). From a practical perspective, some general recommendations to NPOs can be extract from our 58 results. First, explicitly identify conflicts in these organizations helps parties to manage them, however, training is crucial, particularly for those who have management responsibilities, usually paid staff. NPOs’ leaders can prevent or minimize these conflicts and their consequences introducing some routines in the organization, such as monitoring paid staff and volunteers’ relationship combining qualitative and quantitative data. Second, it must be taken into consideration the organizational changes that NPOs are facing (e.g. decrease of economic resources, professionalization), that results on paid staff not only experiencing more conflicts but also suffering more negative consequences. These organizations should especially be concerned about paid staff’s needs, as much as for volunteers’ ones, to guarantee the achievement of their social aims. Overall, promoting transparency between stakeholders and training to overcome differences would contribute to improve NPOs functioning both internally and externally. 59 CHAPTER 3 “To be, or not to be… satisfied in NPOs”: A serial multiple mediation and clustering analysis of paid staff and volunteers’ profiles 2 2 This chapter is under review 60 Chapter 3 “To be, or not to be… satisfied in NPOs”: A serial multiple mediation and clustering analysis of paid staff and volunteers’ profiles Abstract NPOs are a complex working context whose main characteristic resides on the dichotomy between paid staff and volunteers. Despite it benefits for goal achievement, this circumstance can be also a challenge, for both collectives’ interaction, for their comprehension of their own role and to HR management. The aim of this study is to explore factors that may contribute to promote job satisfaction among NPOs members. Combining two different data analyses, serial multiple mediation analyses and cluster analyses, we first analyze if there are differences between paid staff and volunteers in perceived intrapersonal conflict and performance and its effect on job satisfaction, and second, we analyze if there is an additional profiles distribution that reflects more adequately the reality of NPOs, despite the formal roles that coexist in these organizations (paid staff and volunteers). Results confirm that paid staff and volunteers differ on their perceived job satisfaction level, with volunteers being more satisfied. This relationship is serially mediated by role conflict, role ambiguity and performance. Another characteristic of the NPOs is that the dichotomy between paid staff and volunteers does not capture well the reality of the labor relationships between both stakeholders and the organization itself. To explore this phenomenon, we perform a cluster analysis based on paid staff and volunteers’ perceptions. Cluster analyses demonstrate the existence of three homogenous profiles. Additionally, practical implications for HR management in NPOs and future research lines to understand this organizational context dynamics are also discussed. 61 3.1 Introduction Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are characterized by its intricate organizational structure and its heterogeneity, mostly defined by the coexistence of two main stakeholders: paid staff and volunteers (Studer, 2016). This dichotomy is a distinguishable positive feature of NPOs, as volunteers are a valuable resource to reach organizational objectives and they can exert positive influence on organizations and users (Haski-Leventhal et al., 2011). However, at the same time, it can also be a source of conflict due to tensions between both roles; paid staff and volunteers usually have different perspectives on processes and working situations that contribute to the complexity of their interactions (López-Cabrera et al. 2020; Studer & von Schnurbein, 2013). To guarantee NPOs functioning, paid staff and volunteers are “contempt to get along" with each other, as they must complement their activities. Paid staff are responsible of management and coordination, monitoring complex activities and supervising tasks related to their professional background; whereas volunteers collaborate on the different projects insomuch as they have availability to be involved and committed to the organization (Ariza-Montes et al., 2015, 2017). However, despite paid staff responsibilities on daily management, volunteers are considered a core value in NPOs. Volunteering is considered part of the foundations of these organizations together with working towards a mission, usually based on providing help and support to others (Wilson 2000). Therefore, volunteers also have responsibilities in decision making bodies in the organization and usually set the direction of organizational aims and values. Overall, in real practice, boundaries between paid staff and volunteers’ roles are not that easy to differentiate in NPOs, even for both parties involved, and eventually role discrepancies are a common issue in this work context. It is not unusual that paid staff report the feeling of being replaced by volunteers and volunteers of being replacing paid 62 staff, respectively (Mook et al., 2014). Indeed, volunteer involvement in NPOs can also contribute to impairing paid staff motivation to accomplish their duties and their person organization (P-O) fit (Jin et al., 2018), as well as their professional identity and their role characteristics and activities (Follman et al., 2016). To understand this situation, it is also necessary to consider the organizational change that NPOs are facing because of financial struggles. In NPOs, social labor is a relevant source of motivation, satisfaction, and even organizational identity for their members, especially for volunteers (Warburton et al. 2018). Indeed, in these organizations, even efficiency has been traditionally relegated in favor of values such as participation or integration (Kreutzer & Jäger, 2011; Smith, 2018). However, in the last years, to respond to the current social changes and survive in a competitive environment, this paradigm is changing. NPOs are suffering a professionalization process to guarantee the obtaining enough resources for their survival (Maier et al., 2016; Müller-Stewens et al., 2019). Consequently, paid staff increased their influence. A clear example of these changes is governments setting standards and procedures to identify and finance the most effective NPOs (Salomon, 2015) when they need to rely on third parties to manage humanitarian crisis and provide basic social services to community (Clausen, 2021; Henriksen et al., 2012). These organizational changes imply the acquisition of a new “managerial” perspective, which is usually nonexistent or ineffective in NPOs, and entails additional job demands particularly from paid staff and volunteers (Berzin & Camarena, 2018; McAllum, 2018; Petrella et al., 2021). In this context, adapted HR and human capital policies are essential to guarantee an optimal paid staff and volunteers’ job satisfaction as well as an adequate performance (Ridder et al., 2012). In a previous research, López- Cabrera et al., (2020) stated that the complexity of NPOs organizational structure and the 63 variety of tasks that they accomplish – sometimes considered incompatible activities – as well as their different aspirations and perspectives – even on the same aspects of their work – lead to disputes, interpersonal conflicts, and subsequent negative emotional consequences (López-Cabrera et al. 2020). Particularly, both paid staff and volunteer find difficult to understand what it is expected from their own positions, which leads to intrapersonal conflicts such as role conflict and role ambiguity. Indeed, both collectives reported this circumstance when describing process conflict, disagreement about how a task should be accomplished, including issues such as who should do what and how much responsibility each member of the group should take (Jehn, 1997; Jehn & Mannix, 2001). However, due to new circumstances in the NPO economical context, it is relevant to analyze the organizational processes that facilitates the reduction of rotation and promote staff and volunteers’ organizational commitment and, overall satisfaction. In this regard, it is essential to consider the differences between paid staff and volunteers and their perspectives. Particularly, a better understanding of what contributes to promote job satisfaction among these collectives may determine how to manage their differences and needs. Otherwise, NPOs face the serious risk of losing members, particularly among volunteers who are not bonded by a contract (Bittschi et al., 2019). To do so, in this study we first paid especial attention to both roles -paid staff and volunteers-, their perceived intrapersonal conflicts and its effect on performance and job satisfaction. To provide HR managers with valuable information to understand their workforce (including volunteers), we examine the existent differences between both roles, regarding their perceptions of the organizational context and personal characteristics, inferring homogenous patterns or profiles that may help HRM to manage their organizations properly, being able to reach their goals. 64 Research questions The aim of this study is to explore factors that may contribute to promote job satisfaction among NPOs members. In this regard, we propose two main research questions. First, we analyze if there are differences between paid staff and volunteers in perceived intrapersonal conflict and performance and its effect on job satisfaction. Previous studies on this matter pointed out the differences between paid staff and volunteer’s perception, particularly regarding interpersonal conflict and its negative consequences (López-Cabrera et al., 2020). These results remark pronounced differences on process conflict and specifically on conflicts related to roles (paid staff and volunteers), such as who is in charge or responsible of different tasks. Therefore, in this study we analyze if being part of paid staff or volunteer’s collective in NPO affects their perceived intrapersonal conflict (role conflict and role ambiguity), and consequently, each collectives’ performance, and job satisfaction. Second, and because of NPO internal characteristics, we explore a) if there is an additional profiles distribution that reflects more adequately the reality of NPOs, despite the formal roles that coexist in these organizations (paid staff and volunteers), b) what are the effects of different profiles over conflict, performance, and job satisfaction. Managing this information, policies and human resources management practices can be adapted according to the real needs of organizational members, optimizing paid-staff and volunteer’s management to increase their satisfaction and finally reduce NPO dropout. Dealing with paid staff and volunteers’ differences of intrapersonal conflicts and performance and the effects on job satisfaction. Due to the changeable scenario that NPOs are currently facing (Maier et al., 2016), there is a certain ambiguity about responsibilities and tasks. Neither paid staff nor volunteers are usually sure about what are their duties and what tasks are their responsibility in their 71 3.2 Method The participant NPO In this study, we examined a large, representative, and worldwide NPO, particularly focusing on one of the main regional division, located in one of the largest regions in Spain. This regional division is composed of 20 local divisions, where 806 paid staff members and 8.442 volunteers, work together on different social projects. We decided to focus in one large division of a worldwide NPO since it replies the same functional and hierarchical structure in every division at both national and international levels. This NPO is worldwide present so the results obtained in this study can be applied to all its divisions. These two roles are intricately connected on both its functional and hierarchical structure. The main democratic decision-making bodies, both at regional and local level, are known as “Committees”. These Committees are responsible of guarantee the observance of the general objectives, policy, strategy, and criteria established by the Institution’s higher bodies. The top positions of these Committees are occupied by volunteers (named “Presidents”). Additionally, paid staff are responsible of daily activities and strategic decisions concerning the ongoing social projects. Regarding the different social projects, volunteers and paid staff are part of the same teams, although their activities are influenced by their roles: volunteers, who present a very heterogeneous profile (in terms of age, working experience, professional background, or availability) collaborate part time with a flexible schedule. Whereas a reduced number of paid staff coordinate these projects, overseeing both administration and social intervention, and supporting and guiding volunteers on their activity. Concerning their professional profile, paid staff in this NPO’s social projects are usually social workers and psychologists who have plenty experience in this social context, particularly dealing with vulnerable collectives and users in social risk. 72 This NPO replies its hierarchical and functional structure on every division worldwide; therefore, these results can be applicable to all of them. Participants After receiving the invitation of the NPO HR and Volunteering Departments respectively, a total of 161 participants agreed to take part in the study. Data collection was conducted both online and using hard copy questionnaires. Online questionnaires were distributed by email, using Qualtrics. Hardcopy questionnaires were collected after a mediation training session, organized by the NPO and the research team. Participation in this activity was optional and open to all the organization members. After data processing, 113 questionnaires were eligible for further analyses, as it is described in the procedure section. Therefore, a total of 39 paid staff members (men=13; women= 26) and 74 volunteers (men= 26; women= 43) participated in this study. Regarding their educational background, paid staff are university graduates, most of them on health and social sciences. Most volunteers were also university graduates, however, this group reports a more variety of educational background, including professional training, secondary and primary education, and occupations, such as civil servants, housekeepers, or retired professionals. Regarding participants’ age, on the one hand, paid staff are between 24 and 55 years old (M= 38.64; SD= 7.37) and, on the other hand, volunteers are between 18 and 78 years old (M= 51.26; SD= 16.11), which is representative of the diversity in this organization, particularly among volunteers. Measures Intrapersonal conflicts: Role conflict, role ambiguity and role overload Intrapersonal conflict was measured based on three different variables: role conflict, role ambiguity and role overload. Role conflict, (e.g. “Are you required to do contradictory activities at work?”) (α= .82) and role overload, (e.g. “Does your work have clear 73 objectives?”) (α= .84) were measured using the Spanish version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) by Moncada et al., (2005). Role overload, (e.g. “The workload is so high that it does not allow me to do everything right”) (α=.89) was measured using a Spanish adaptation scale by González-Romá & Lloret, 1998) included in the Michigan Organizational Assessment Questionnaire (MOAQ, Camman et al., 1979). Each scale consists of 3-items rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1= “Never” to 5= “Always”. Job satisfaction Job satisfaction was measured with the Spanish adaptation of the 5-ítems version of Hartline and Ferrel (1996) scale by Benitez et al., (2007). This scale assesses different aspects of satisfaction at work (e.g. “Your satisfaction with the compensation that you receive for you work at this organization”, “Overall, are you satisfied with your job in this organization”) (α=.82). Items were rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1= “Dissatisfied” to 5= “Very satisfied”. Performance Performance regarding their social projects was measured using 4-items scale used by Hempel et al. (2012). These authors originally retrieved these items from Ancona and Caldwell’s (1992) criteria to evaluate team performance (e.g. “Efficiency, quality, technical innovation and work excellence”) (α=.89). Items were rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1= “Low” to 5= “Very good”. Procedure Data collection The participant NPO selected those projects where teams are composed by both paid staff and volunteers and informed team managers to promote their team’s participation. During the first phase of the data collection, participants received directly from the 74 research group an invitation by email requesting their collaboration in the study by answering an online questionnaire using the software Qualtrics. To guarantee anonymity, traceable personal information, was not registered when participants accessed and voluntarily completed the questionnaire such as emails or name. Following this procedure, 97 questionnaires were collected, 48 from paid staff and 57 from volunteers. Additionally, we decided to second phase of the data collection, new participants were invited to participate during an in-person training in conflict resolution techniques developed at the Regional Assembly of the NPO. These participants completed the same questionnaire, this time in hardcopy, instead of online. Following the same anonymity procedure, hardcopy questionnaires did not include traceable personal information. A total of 12 paid staff and 55 volunteers agreed to voluntarily take part in this second data collection. In both data collections, participants were informed about the procedure beforehand. They were requested to give their explicit consent before starting to answer the questionnaire and confidentiality and anonymity were guaranteed during the whole process. Altogether, 169 questionnaires were collected both online and hardcopy. Nevertheless, 56 responses were deleted based on the following criteria: a) questionnaires were registered when participants accessed online but they did not complete them; b) participants only answered to a very limited number of items, not completing even a single scale and c) participants had not experience in the organization by the time they completed the questionnaire. Finally, a total of 113 responses were processed, 39 paid staff members (men=13; women= 26) and 74 volunteers (men= 26; women= 43) 75 Data Analyses Descriptive and correlation analyses were conducted. Results are presented in Table 1. To test our Hypotheses, two different analyses were conducted: serial multiple mediation analysis and cluster analysis. Serial Mediation Model Serial multiple mediation analyses were conducted using the PROCESS macro for SPSS (Model 6, 3 mediators) designed by Hayes (2018), to analyze the relationship among conflicts related to the role (role conflict and role ambiguity) and two possible consequences: job performance and job satisfaction. This model estimates the direct and indirect effects of the independent variable (role) on the dependent variable (job satisfaction), also considering several mediators (role conflict - role ambiguity - performance). In the model, each mediator is being a cause of the other mediator serially. Cluster analyses To explore the different profiles in this NPO context we conducted a cluster analysis. This data mining technique allows to identify and classify groups (clusters) based on information found within the data, describing samples and its relationships (Larose, 2005). Participants belonging to the same cluster a show a similarity pattern while being as dissimilar as possible from participants who integrate the other clusters. We analyzed which profiles can be detected based on participants’ perception of intrapersonal conflict (role conflict, role ambiguity and role overload) conflict consequences (job satisfaction, job performance), and sociodemographic variables (age, seniority in the NPO, seniority in the project). To contrast our hypotheses, we conducted two different cluster algorithms, hierarchical cluster, to determine the optimal number of clusters in the data, and k-means cluster, which establishes the presence of clusters by finding their centroid points. A 76 centroid point is the average of all the data points in the cluster. By iteratively assessing the Euclidean distance between each point in the dataset, each one can be assigned to a cluster. The centroid points are random to begin with and will change each time as the process is carried out. Both cluster analyses were conducted using Z scores as measurement scales differed in some variables (Mohamad & Usman, 2013). Finally, a between-groups one-way ANOVA was conducted to determine whether there are significant differences on the dependent variables across the different clusters. 3.3 Results Descriptive statistics including means and standard deviations for primary study variables appear in Table1. Before testing the SMM model, including those for paid staff and volunteers separately. Correlations were computed within a bivariate framework and are also displayed in Table 1. Results indicate that, in both collectives, intrapersonal conflicts’ correlations (role conflict, role ambiguity and role overload) are significant and positive. Performance and job satisfaction also correlates significantly and positively. However, intrapersonal conflicts correlations with performance and job satisfactions are significant and negative. Serial Mediation Model All path coefficients were calculated using regression analysis with PROCESS for SPSS (Hayes, 2018). This approach has advantages compared to other statistical methods, as it enables isolation of each mediator’s indirect effect as well as the complete indirect effect of the serial mediators (Van Jaarsveld et al., 2010). The complete serial mediation model is presented in Figure 2 and regression coefficients, standard errors, and model summary information for the serial multiple mediator model is presented in Table 2. 77 Figure 2 Complete serial multiple mediation model and path coefficients Note: ***p<.001; **p<.01 *p<.05 Indirect effects are tested by means of a bootstrapping procedure (10000 subsamples), addressing some weaknesses associated with Sobel test (Van Jaarsveld et al., 2010). Results for indirect effects along with the 95 % bias-corrected bootstrapped confidence intervals for the path estimates are presented in Table 3. The results demonstrate that the 95% confidence intervals for all hypothesized indirect effects do not contain zero, confirming the proposed constructs (role conflict, role ambiguity, performance) as serial mediators between role and job satisfaction (Terglav et al., 2016) 78 Table 1 Descriptive statistics and correlations. Note: **Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed); *Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). Total NPO Paid staff Volunteers M SD 1 2 3 4 M SD 1 2 3 4 M SD 1 2 3 4 1. Role conflict 2.14 .93 2.87 .84 1.75 .73 2. Role ambiguity 1.99 .84 .54** 2.50 .84 .57** 1.72 .72 .25* 3. Role overload 2.46 1.25 .74** .56** 3.65 1.06 .65** .50** 1.83 .80 .53** .30** 4. Performance 3.42 .78 -.50** -.48** -.46** 3.10 .87 -.56** -.50** -.31** 3.59 .67 -.31** -.33** -.42** 5. Job satisfaction 4.06 .65 -.58** -.53** -.55** .52** 3.60 .61 -.40* -.57** -.33* .41** 4.30 .52 -.42** -.27* -.28* .46** 79 Table 2 Regression coefficients, standard errors, and model summary information for the serial multiple mediator model Note: R: Role, RC: Role Conflict, RA: Role Ambiguity, PERF: Performance, JSAT: Job Satisfaction, M: Mediator. M1 (RC) M2 (RA) M3 (PERF) Y (JSAT) Antecedent B SE p B SE p B SE p B SE p X (R) -1.11 .15 .000 -.35 .17 <.05 -.07 .18 >.05 .31 .13 <.05 M1 (RC) - - - .39 .09 .000 -.30 .10 <.05 -.16 .07 <.05 M2 (RA) - - - - - - -.28 .10 <.01 -.15 .07 <.05 M3(PERF) - - - - - - - - - .20 .07 <.01 R2=.32 F (1,111) =53,24; p=.000 R2=.32 F (2,110) =25.57; p=.000 R2=.31 F (3,109) =16.42; p=.000 R2=.48 F (4,108) =24,49; p=.000 80 To test H1, we analyzed the total effect of role (paid staff and volunteers) on job satisfaction (b=.70, SE=.11, p=.000), which is significant. Therefore, there is a difference in perceived job satisfaction between paid staff (M= 3.60; SD=.61) and volunteers (M=4.30; SD=.52). As hypothesized, paid staff report less job satisfaction. The indirect effect is also significant (b = .18, SE= .08, CI= [+.03; +.36]). Thus, H1 is accepted. According to the results, there is a difference in perceived role conflict between paid staff (M=2.87; SD=.84) and volunteers (M=1.75; SD=.73). Role conflict mediates the relationship between role and job satisfaction; as role conflict increases, job satisfaction decreases. Results demonstrate that role predicted role conflict (b=-1.11, SE=.15, p=.000) and that role conflict predicted job satisfaction (b=-.16, SE=.07, p<.05). The significance test required prediction of an indirect effect of role influencing job satisfaction. Results show a significant indirect effect (b=.18, SE=.08, CI bootstrapped 95% CI= [+.03; +.36]), supporting H2. Also, results demonstrate that role conflict and role ambiguity, together, mediate the relationship between role and job satisfaction. The perception of role conflict increases the role ambiguity among participants, which decreases job satisfaction. Role predicted role conflict, and role conflict predicted role ambiguity (b=.38, SE=.09, p=.000). Finally, role ambiguity predicted job satisfaction (b=-.15, SE=.07, p<.05) As indirect effect analysis was also significant (b= .06, SE=.04, bootstrapped 95% CI= [+.003; +.16]), H3 is supported. Finally, the complete serial multiple mediation model was tested to contrast H4. H4 hypothesize that role (paid staff, volunteer) affects the reported job satisfaction, being this relationship mediated by role conflict, role ambiguity and performance. The indirect effect of role on job satisfaction through the mediation of role conflict, role ambiguity and performance was significant (b = .02, SE = .01, CI= [+.003; +.06]). Therefore, the results of the analysis show that there is a difference in perceived role conflict between paid staff and volunteers, as 87 3.4 Discussion NPOs are a complex working context whose main characteristic resides on the dichotomy between paid staff and volunteers (Netting et al., 2005). Despite the benefits that this organizational feature has for goal achievement, it also entails difficulties not only for interaction between both collectives, leading to interpersonal conflicts (Kreitzer & Jäger, 2011; López-Cabrera et al., 2020; McAllum, 2018), but also to guarantee a complete understanding of their own role (King, 2017). Also, it can be a challenge to HR and volunteers’ managers, as both groups usually have different perspectives of their working context and different needs, for example to achieve job satisfaction (López-Cabrera et al., 2020). The aim of this study was to understand the existent differences between paid staff and volunteers, regarding their perceptions of the organizational context, and personal characteristics. Particularly, we explored 1) which factors may contribute to promote job satisfaction among NPOs members, 2) if considering these factors, it is possible to create an additional categorization of NPOs workforce that permits to HR and volunteering managers to anticipate problems and promote job satisfaction. Results demonstrate that paid staff and volunteers report significantly different job satisfaction, indeed, paid staff report less job satisfaction. These results are consistent with previous research supporting this difference (Rimes et al., 2017). However, these differences are traditionally explained based on the importance that particularly volunteers give to values, which in most NPOs is related to helping others (Bang et al., 2013). The present study goes a step further contributing to the understanding of how and why these differences exist among both collectives, analyzing the effect of role conflict, role ambiguity and performance, that proves to serially mediate the effect of role on job satisfaction. Paid staff reported higher levels of role conflict and role ambiguity, as they considered they must fulfill the duties of two different positions which they considered unclearly defined. 88 Considering this serially mediation effect, our results are quite relevant particularly for paid staff, who have been usually overlooked when analyzing NPOs even though they are, indeed, less satisfied with their job than volunteers. Boundaries between paid staff and volunteers’ duties are, in real practice, difficult to differentiate, particularly during the last years (McAllum, 2018). This organizational context is changing due to the professionalization process that NPOs are facing to cope with economic challenges (Clause, 2021; Müller-Stewens et al., 2019). Indeed, this uncertainty entails problems not only for interaction between both collectives, but also to guarantee a complete understanding of their own role. Consequently, both collectives have reported role conflict and role ambiguity as main concerns for their daily development of their work (López-Cabrera et al., 2020). Therefore, paid staff and volunteers are not homogenous roles, indeed, their even more complex than expected. This results in discrepancies not only between groups, but also at the person-role level. Regarding performance, previous studies pointed out that especially role conflicts have a negative effect on performance (Amilin, 2017). However, the results of the serial mediation model presented in this study indicate that performance has a buffering effect of the negative influence of role conflict and role ambiguity on job satisfaction. This can be explained by the fact that in NPOs, a positive perception of project performance implies that their social interventions are considered effective. Results demonstrating that volunteering job satisfaction is higher are consistent, based on the relevance that values have particularly for volunteers. However, in this study, this result demonstrates that, to some extent, the social relevance of NPOs activity is a protective factor to the overall workforce, including paid staff. This study also analyzes the existence of homogenous patterns or profiles that may help HRM to provide specific support and foresee problems, being able to act as soon as possible, besides the formal classification in NPOs paid staff and volunteers. According to cluster 89 analyses, Profiles 1 and 2 reflects quite consistently different perceptions from volunteers and long-term paid staff, respectively. Indeed, Profile 1 reports higher scores for those variables related to positive perceptions of the NPO (job satisfaction, performance). On the contrary, Profile 2 participants report higher scores for those measures related to conflict (role conflict, role overload, role ambiguity). These differences are consistent with both our first research question results and with previous studies (López-Cabrera et al., 2020). However, Profile 3 results may be very relevant for HRM management purposes. Results indicate that this group, composed of volunteers and paid staff, may be a “transition” group; it comprises volunteers and, based on time in the organization, recent paid staff. Overall, this group present medium-low scores in most variables which can be an opportunity to solve problems on early stages as well as promote job satisfaction. Therefore, paying attention to Profile 3 can also provide a perspective on how roles evolved along time in this NPO. Indeed, time in NPOs seems to be determinant to significantly increase stable paid staff results related to role conflict, role ambiguity and role overload compared to volunteers. This increase can be explained based on social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954) and equity theory (Adams 1963, 1965). Paid staff create their role perceptions and evaluate their contributions, rewards and efforts to some extent comparing them with volunteers’ role. If, despite their seniority in the organization, paid staff still perceive discrepancies regarding their expectations and their real tasks and activities, with the organization doing nothing to clarify them, there is not perception of fairness because of that social comparison. This unbalance can lead to both intrapersonal conflicts but also interpersonal conflicts, as discussed by López-Cabrera et al., (2020). On the contrary, volunteers report higher scores for job satisfaction and performance, which are positive measures to both the organization and volunteers. It is also remarkable the differences on age between Profiles 3 and 1. Volunteers in Profile 1 are senior volunteers, which implies that they may have more work experience in their job positions. Therefore, they can also 90 manage better possible role conflict, role ambiguity and role overload, and consequently, they report better job satisfaction. Overall, it is crucial that HR management understand how paid staff and volunteers perceived differently their organizational context and the effect that those perceptions have on their job satisfaction; therefore, they will be able to prevent conflicts and promote policies that fits to all their stakeholders needs. However, if they only focus on fixed paid staff-volunteers categorization, it would be difficult to manage the heterogeneity that these collectives present. Focusing only on these “formal labels” overlook crucial information to guarantee on the one hand, their comprehension and management of their own roles, and on the other hand, their monitorization by managers and supervisors. Theoretical and practical implications This research has important practical and theoretical implications particularly on HR management and NPOs understanding. First, it contributes to understand the mechanism that promote differences on job satisfaction among paid staff and volunteers based on role conflict, role ambiguity and performance. In this regard, role conflict and role ambiguity have a negative impact on job satisfaction, particularly for paid staff who report higher levels of intrapersonal conflict. On the contrary, performance buffers this negative effect. This information is quite relevant to create HR policies that decrease volunteers and, particularly, paid staff’s uncertainty regarding their role. A detailed description of their positions and the tasks related to them, could be a way to promote job satisfaction in NPOs workforce, also by increasing their perception of good performance. This is particularly relevant considering the organizational changes that NPOs are facing due to their professionalization process, that increases uncertainty among paid staff and volunteers. Also, this study provides relevant practical information on different profiles in NPOs. These results reinforced the differences between paid staff, who report more intrapersonal conflict and 91 less performance and job satisfaction, and volunteers, who reported the opposite tendency. Results demonstrate the existence of an intermediate group, composed of recent paid staff and volunteers. Considering this information, HR manager can design strategic initiatives oriented to attend to each profiles’ needs, such as courses or supporting procedure. This would be the case, for example for long-term paid staff (Profile 2) who seem to be the group that faces more intrapersonal conflicts, may be more affected by organizational changes. Potential limitations and future studies This study has some limitations that, although can be considered as opportunities for future research, must be also considered to generalize the results obtained. First, the cross-sectional design of this research restricts the extent that cause-effect relationship can de assume from the results. Although this limitation should be considered, it still provides valuable information for HR practices that is coherent with previous research on the matter, including qualitative studies. Future studies should consider setting out longitudinal studies being able to analyze changes among profiles in NPOs. Second, this research is based on selfreported measures, as we intend to analyze paid staff and volunteers’ perceptions of their working context. Therefore, common method bias can be a concern in this study. However, some measures were taken to minimize this bias, including the use of established scales, include different sets of instructions and filler items for each variable and scales were organized avoiding the replication of the order of the hypothesis (Alfes et al., 2013; Podsakoff et al., 2012; Terglav et al., 2016). Future studies should also consider a multi-source and multilevel design, including for example users and HR data as performance measures and considering different projects as working groups within a common organization. Third, regarding the sampling method, our study was conducted in an only NPO branch, using a convenience sample. Although participants were invited and they freely decided to participate, which added some randomization, it is not possible to guarantee that the sample is fully 92 representative of NPOs workforce. However, as previously mentioned, results are consistent with previous research in third sector. Also, as a positive remarkable aspect of our participant NPO, it is a worldwide organization that replies the same functional and hierarchical structure in every national and international location. Therefore, results can potentially be generalized to all these divisions around the world. Future studies should replicate the analysis in different NPOs with different cultures, using random sampling method, to contribute to generalize our conclusions to different organizations. Conclusions This study contributes to the understanding of the complex NPOs workforce, focusing on the perceived differences between two different roles: paid staff and volunteers. First, from a theoretical perspective, it improves the comprehension of the mechanisms and relations that lead to differences between both roles regarding job satisfaction, performance, role conflict and role ambiguity. Results demonstrate that paid staff and volunteers report significantly different job satisfaction, indeed, paid staff report less job satisfaction. Paid staff report more intrapersonal conflicts and less performance and satisfaction, whereas volunteers’ results are completely opposed, reporting higher levels of perceived performance and job satisfaction and less intrapersonal conflicts. Role conflict relates to higher role ambiguity, which relates to lower higher levels of performance. At the same time, performance is associated with higher levels of job satisfaction. Results also demonstrate that paid staff and volunteers’ differences on job satisfaction are serially mediated by role conflict and role ambiguity and performance. Second, as main practical implication, results demonstrate the existence of an additional profiles distribution that reflects more adequately the reality of NPOs, besides the formal roles that coexist in these organizations (paid staff and volunteers). These profiles that can constitute a crucial analytic tool to HRM in this context as managing this information, HR managers can design policies and initiative according to the real needs of organizational members, optimizing 93 paid-staff and volunteer’s management to increase their satisfaction an even reduce NPO dropout. Overall, this study highlights the complexity of NPOs not only on structure interpersonal relationship, or at person-role level, but also within roles. Notwithstanding, these results may facilitate both the understanding and management of this intricate, but fundamental to fulfill NPOs purposes workforce. 94 CHAPTER 4 Removing barriers for disability at workplace based on inclusive leadership: A case study including employees with severe mental illness 3 3 This chapter is under review 95 Chapter 4 Removing barriers for disability at workplace based on inclusive leadership: A case study including employees with severe mental illness Abstract People with severe mental illness have limited access to work opportunities compared to other colleagues without disabilities or even different ones, despite the negative implications not only for their well-being, but also for their identity, economic situation, and socialization. The aim of this research is to understand which factors may facilitate the effective inclusion of people with severe mental illness at work. In this qualitative study we explore a social enterprise whose purpose is indeed promoting the integration of this collective, focusing on three organizational factors: relationship between coworkers, the role of leaders and inclusive climate. Results highlight that an inclusive leadership style plays an essential role, fostering trust and psychological safety, necessary for the development of their skills in a safe environment, eliminating stigma and discrimination, helping to reduce possible conflicts and, ultimately, creating an inclusive climate. Practical implications and future research lines are also discussed. 96 “Persons with disabilities have the right to have good conditions in the workplace, to live independently, to equal opportunities, to participate fully in the life of their community. All have a right to a life without barriers. And it is our obligation, as a community, to ensure their full participation in society, on an equal basis with others.” (Ursula von der Leyen, President of European Commission) 4.1 Introduction The International Classification of Functioning, Disabling and Health (ICF) defines disability as the negative interaction between impairments, limitations of daily activities and participation restrictions (WHO, 2001). This is a rather diverse collective, including a) different types and degrees of disabilities, either physical disabilities (such as hearing impairment and wheelchair use), or psychological disabilities, (such as down syndrome or severe mental illness) (ILO, 2002); b) how the person face up this condition and c) the environmental resources at their disposal, either social or instrumental support. These two last factors contribute to a great extent to the inclusion of this collective, for example, as part of the workforce in organizations. Based on the aims promoted by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD, 2006), both research and regulations paid more attention to disability during the past decades. Even so, according to the special World Report on Disability, in 2011 there were still more than a billion people (15% of the population) experiencing disability worldwide (WHO, 2011). This percentage is expected to keep growing due to the increase of chronic health conditions and population’s aging (WHO, 2015). To face these circumstances, in late 2019, the United Nations implemented the Disability Inclusion Strategy, an action plan and accountability framework to strengthen system-wide accessibility and mainstreaming of the rights of persons with disabilities (UNDIS, 2019). Also, in March 2021, the European Commission presented a strengthened Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021- 103 the one hand, authentic leadership is based on genuineness and integrity of the leader (Avolio & Gardner, 2005; Landy & Conte, 2010) and oriented to strengths development, enhancing honesty, prosocial behaviors and promoting transmission of information by means of role modeling (Boekhorst, 2015). On the other hand, servant leadership prioritizes employees’ empowerment, showing genuine concern for employees’ needs, being committed to solve exclusion issues (Ferdman, 2014) and building community in the organization (Obi & Bollen, 2017). To foster inclusion, Randel et al. (2018) concluded that leaders should support team members’ integration - promoting their feeling of belonginess-, and value their differences, therefore, reinforcing their uniqueness (Ashikali et al., 2020; Randel et al. 2018; Shore et al., 2011). These characteristics are consistent with the so-called inclusive leadership. Inclusive leadership can be built on the Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX), that highlights that ‘‘most effective leadership processes occur when leaders and followers are able to develop mature relationships (partnerships) and thus gain access to the many benefits these relationships bring’’ (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1991, p. 225). Indeed, inclusive leadership can be considered as an step further on LMX theory. The former adds the needed focus on diversity required to generalize the analysis of leader-members dyads (Ensari & Riggio, 2020); the latter can explain how inclusive leadership may promote trust and mutual concern between parties (leaders and followers), improving followers’ well-being (Choi et al., 2017; Volmer et al. 2012). Inclusive leadership states that the establishment of high-quality interactions between leaders and followers, promotes equality and inclusion, facilitating, among team members, reciprocal exchanges based on power sharing (Hollander, 2009; Nishii & Mayer, 2009). In this regard, Hollander (2009) established four main requisites that leader-followers’ relationship must meet to guarantee its success, that is, the four Rs of Inclusive Leadership: Respect, Recognition, Responsiveness and Responsibility. Regarding disabilities, and particularly SMI, 104 these characteristics are essential, particularly regarding responsibility. Inclusive leaders can be catalysts of inclusion of employees with SMI in two directions. On the one hand, from a macro to a micro perspective, they can foster inclusive organizational practices and values into daily interpersonal interactions. On the other hand, from a micro to macro perspective, inclusive leaders can combine individual behaviors and experiences, interpersonal interactions, and group dynamics, and translate them into patterns with larger organizational or societal significance giving them meaning and visibility (Ferdman, 2020). Therefore, inclusive leaders can impact both leaders-followers’ interactions and the whole organizational dynamics, promoting an inclusive climate that protects and empower their workforce, especially employees with SMI. Inclusive climate Considering the abovementioned needs and characteristics of employees with disabilities and particularly with SMI, it is crucial that leaders and employees achieve a strong relationship based on trust and psychological safety. Trust-based relationships with inclusive leaders, who are concern about their followers’ needs, considering our research focus, employees with disabilities including SMI, may promotes psychological safety and, therefore, contribute to a positive work experience, losing fear of making mistakes and promoting learning (Hirak et al., 2012; Nembhard & Edmonson, 2012). As a result, on the one hand, leaders can be flexible and accommodate to employees’ needs, and on the other hand, employees can develop all their potential in their job position while they feel supported by their leaders (Volmer et al. 2012). Organizational climate is based on employees’ shared perceptions regarding their work entity (Landy & Conte, 2010), including expected behaviors and rewards, which determines their behaviors and experience at work (Schneider et al., 2017). 105 The experience of inclusion, as abovementioned, includes a sense of belonging and value of one’s individuality and uniqueness (Ferdman, 2014, Shore et al., 2011; Shore & Chung, 2021). Therefore, an inclusive climate is, precisely, the organizational conditions that promote this experience. Nishii et al., (2013), established three foundational dimensions: a) perceived fairness, on resources distribution, opportunities, or practices; b) cultural integrations of differences, proactive combination of all employees’ individual understandings; and c) inclusive decision making, that facilitates the integration of diverse perspectives (Nishii & Leroy, 2020). Under these conditions, organizational members perceived they are better understood, their skills suit better their job demands and even higher levels of perceived support and engagement and job satisfaction, reporting less experience of discrimination (Nishii & Leroy, 2020; Mor Barak et al., 2016). Although all employees can benefit from inclusive climate, employees with disabilities, and particularly with SMI, require these conditions to develop all their potential and even to disclose their disability without being stigmatized (Santuzzi et al., 2021). To sum up, inclusive leadership, trust-based relationships, and the resultant psychological safety, can set the foundations of an inclusive climate, which is a requisite for inclusion of employees with SMI at work. Thus, to promote the full inclusion of employees with SMI at their workplace avoiding negative backlash - such as conflicts or even stigma - and enhancing their job satisfaction and general well-being, it is critical to analyze the contribution of (inclusive) leaders, who are indeed considered as the main promoters of inclusive climate (Nishii & Leroy, 2020) whose initiatives are also translated to the workforce by managers. Indeed, managers consistency and clarity may determine the strength of inclusive climate (Green, 2004). Previous research contributed to understand the different aspects that should be considered to guarantee the successful inclusion of employees with disabilities in the 106 workplace. However, it is not easy to put this theoretical knowledge into practice in a real diverse organizational context. In this study, we intend to contribute to HR good practices from an applied perspective analyzing which factors promote inclusion of persons with disabilities, particularly, employees with SMI. The participant organization: a social enterprise This case study analyzes a social enterprise focused on promoting inclusiveness of people with disability, including SMI, based in Andalucía, Spain. This organization provides an unique opportunity to really analyze inclusion mechanism and consequences, since first, employees with disabilities and SMI constitute more than the 50% of the workforce, which is very unusual considering that this collective is usually a minority in organizations; and second, they work with employees without disabilities as part of the same teams. This organization is part of a society composed by public and private bodies whose aim is to promote employability and inclusion at work of people with disability, and particularly people with severe mental illness (SMI). Its business model is based on social, economic, and environmental values, promoting disability inclusiveness from an innovative and sustainable perspective; therefore, all the organizational benefits are reverted to the own social enterprise. Their 13 lines of activity are organized in four divisions: innovation and technology, environment, logistics and catering. Regarding its workforce composition, it is remarkable that around 80% of their 650 employees have a disability, most of them SMI. The specific social enterprise where this study was conducted maintains this same rate, and 80% of their workforce has a disability, organized in 26 departments. This organization has five scopes of activity: a) electronics, offering integral solutions for computer needs and certified technical service for telecare devices’ repairment; b) logistics, offering supply, storage, installation and maintenance of orthopedic prosthetics clinical equipment to both individuals 107 and institutions and plastic repair system (PRS); c) cleaning, maintenance and cleaning services for industrial installations and cleaning service for clients with special needs; d) catering, service for companies and individuals, personalized menus for clients with special needs and e) Telecare, installation and home delivery maintenance and recovery of Telecare devices and coordination of technical actions and telephone assistance as well as the development of the required computer system to offering these services. 4.2 Method Participants Based on the hierarchical structure of the organizations and its main stakeholders, we organized six focus groups: employees without disability; managers (without disability, ND); employees with disability (non SMI- wheelchair use, hearing impairment, sensitive disability, cognitive disability); team coordinators (with and without disability – non SMI); employees with disability (SMI – schizophrenia, psychosis, major depression) and Department Managers (ND). Team coordinators and department managers work closely together, however, team coordinators oversee processes and are in constant contact with both tasks and employees and department managers are in charge of bureaucratic procedures and strategical decisions. They also intervene when there are problems or difficulties and keep a close contact with employees. A total of 44 participants (21 employees with disability - 18 with severe mental illness and 23 employees without disability; 22 men and 22 women) took part in the activity. Focus groups were composed of 5 to 13 participants, depending on each collective and its representation in the organization. Regarding participants age, employees were between 35-65 years old; however, most of them were in their 40s. Procedure In collaboration with the organization, we defined the selection criteria to create each focus group based on two main criteria: a) the different collectives that carried out their activity 108 in each department and b) the hierarchical structure of the institution. Participants were invited by email two weeks before the data collection to voluntarily take part in the activity. Each focus group was composed by 5-13 participants, except for the Department Managers’ group which were only 4 participants due the organization’s structure. These key informants were willing to explain their experience working in the organization in terms of dynamics among peers and difficulties they face at work, including possible conflicts and critical incidents (Kumar et al, 1993). Sessions lasted between 60 and 90 minutes and were organized based on a semi-structured interview that guided the conversation (see Appendix C). The main topics were: 1) participants presentation and description of their role in the organization; 2) difficulties at work based on critical incidents (conflicts, stigma/discrimination, conflict management strategies); 3) evolution and consequences of these difficulties and 4) organizational problem-solving procedures. After participants gave their explicit consent, sessions were recorded in audio and transcribed verbatim afterwards, guaranteeing participants’ confidentiality during the whole process. Transcripts were analyzed using the qualitative data analysis software Atlas.ti 7 (Friese, 2013). Following a template analysis approach (King, 2004) codes were identified on the transcriptions. First, a list of a priori codes was created based on the main topics of the semi-structured interview script. Second, a posteriori codes were added while reading and interpreting the transcripts to ensure a thoroughly analysis of the information. To ensure coding reliability, all authors analyzed the first transcript separately, and compared their resultant codes afterwards, for standardization purposes. Based on that comparison, codes that differed across these first results were deleted for further analyses, conducted by the first author. Finally, a total of 51 codes were identified (see Appendix D). 109 4.3 Results Results show that in our participant organization, both employees with and without disabilities, including SMI, considered that they have achieved an inclusive workplace where all members develop their skills in a trustworthy and safe environment. In this regard, they concluded that their shared values and commitment with their social labor is determinant. Overall, participants report low levels of conflicts, usually related to their tasks and goal setting. Relationship conflicts, when detected, are based on misunderstandings in most cases among employees with SMI. Participants explain that they manage these conflicts focusing on interests and prioritizing employees’ well-being. In this regard the role of their leaders is crucial; they promote trustworthy relations among organizational members that contribute to guarantee psychological safety. Consequently, based on organizational members’ perceptions, they achieved an inclusive organizational climate, where well-being, particularly for those who are more vulnerable, is almost considered an organizational goal. Interpersonal conflicts in the organization: task and relationship conflicts, stigma and discrimination Task conflict All participants report low levels of conflict in the organization. In case they are detected, conflicts are usually related to their tasks and projects’ goal setting. Task conflicts, or discrepancies related to daily activities, are identify mostly by managers, for instance, regarding which projects are going to start or how procedures should be carried out: “It happened, for example, when we presented new projects. A colleague with a remarkable social profile told us: well, but this project that you are analyzing and considering to implement... I do not see how it is framed within our organizational and social purpose…”. (Manager, ND). Employees with and without disability, including those with SMI, remarked that conflicts are not usual in this organization, but also identify the existent dichotomy between 110 social and economic goals as a possible source of task conflict: “This is an enterprise, and at the end of the day, we have to provide a service to our clients… Therefore, if one day due to circumstances, someone must accomplish a less demanding or routinize task, to guarantee the job is done, it must be done in that way” (Employee with disability, NSMI). Employees with SMI also highlighted that, to develop their tasks smoothly, they must have a clear understanding of procedures; otherwise, the assembly line does not work, and conflicts may appear. This is particularly relevant for routinized tasks such as logistics or catering services. They explain that it is a problem when someone does not follow the procedures; the whole task is delayed, someone else must do it properly or they get angry and tempted to correct their coworkers’ work in public, although they always try to be respectful and avoid that kind of behavior. “When we are not coordinated, it’s a problem. (Description of the correct procedure to assemble a hospital bed) … If you don’t follow these instructions, your coworker has no space to do his job. In a client’s residence I’m not going to tell of a coworker, saying get out of my way, move from there, you are hopeless, it must be done like this… They must be professionals and knowing what to do” (Employee with disability, SMI). Overall, a main concern among employees is the need to improve communication of the instructions between different hierarchical levels to organize the work. Participants also distinguished between different departments when reflecting on task conflicts in the organization. All groups identify two areas or departments as the most stressful and, thus, susceptible to disputes: catering services and coordination of telecare services. In these departments, time-pressure, work-overload and dealing with unexpected circumstances (such as rescheduling routes or shifts due to health problems) lead to discrepancies regarding the task that must be accomplished. In this regard, all participants highlighted that in this organization they must deal with unexpected circumstances, thus being very flexible considering the health and mental conditions of a great extent of their workforce and sometimes 111 that leads to task conflicts. “We are very different; every condition needs a different adaptation. Due to their characteristics and long-term recuperation when there is a relapse, severe mental illnesses are the most relevant for us and the ones that require more flexibility, but also physical disabilities, sensory disabilities…) (Employee with disability, NSMI). Leaders and team coordinators play a key role on providing the required flexibility and managing unexpected issues related to their team members’ health condition, as it is detailed in the following sections. Relationship conflict According to the results, relationship conflicts are not very frequent in the organization. All participants highlighted that, considering this organization’s characteristics, it is crucial to prevent this type of conflict. Particularly, team coordinators explained that employees with SMI can be very sensitive to these situations, not only due to its negative consequences, especially for their mental health, but also due to its origin and development. “(Conflicts / problems) may cause more important consequences here, even if from an objective perspective the problem is not so important since employees with SMI have less capacity and less flexibility to support stressful situations or changes. Everything may have a much more serious effect here than in any other place.” (Team Manager, ND) Although only isolated cases are identified in the organization, according to the experiences reported, personal incompatibilities involving employees with SMI may arise due to comments’ misinterpretations that in the long term can damage both interpersonal relations and team dynamics: “They are people (employees with SMI) who are quite persuadable. If you have a person next to you who brings you nothing more than positive things... in the end those people are all doing wonderfully ... But if people next to you are negative, they are hurting them little by little, and finally the team is destroyed” (Team manager, ND). 112 In every focus group, participants shared this reflection on relationship conflict, including employees with SMI. They explain that sometimes they get irritated by their coworkers, due to simple things: a look, an answer, or a reaction during a bad mood day. Particularly, team coordinators are aware of these situations and usually intervene to prevent these incidents from escalating to relationship conflict, for example, giving them space if they work together or facilitating a conversation between the parties involved. When this type of conflict is detected, the stablished conflict management procedures, are activated, as it is described in the following sections, which involves not only team coordinators and supervisors, but also psychologists to help in the process when employees with disabilities and SMI are involved in the conflict. Stigma and discrimination Participants with and without disabilities (NSMI) agreed that people with disabilities and particularly with SMI face stigma daily, particularly outside the organization. On the contrary, they do not identify it in the organization: “I do not think there are stigmas here…. I think that everybody knows where they are…” (Employee with disability, NSMI). It is remarkable that employees with disabilities (NSMI) related stigma with mental illness or intellectual disability; however, they do not connect stigma with any situation they may have experienced. “It is true that in society it is very difficult to understand what mental disability is, it costs a lot of work ... They also transmit it so badly… (Employee with disability, NSMI). Participants with SMI also considered that stigma is very rooted in society, although there were differences among them on how often they faced these situations. Some participants never experienced stigma themselves, while others easily explained a personal experience on how others changed their perception after being aware of their health condition: “Outside the organization, in my daily life, I meet people, everything is great, everyone is friendly… If you say… I have this (severe mental illness) … then they see you totally different, they act with you 119 safety. Additionally, they are also aware of goals as well as of individual contributions, and they do not ask for more than employees can do when they are most vulnerable. Achieving inclusive climate: the role of trust and psychological safety Supervisors and team coordinators’ inclusive and supportive leadership style promotes high levels of trust and psychological safety in the organization. However, based on our participants’ experience, they perceive that every member of the organization contributes to this, creating a workplace where everyone, despite of their health conditions, feel part of a common project: “It is like we are different parts of the same body; this happens because since the beginning, all of us have participated in creating this organization, and every contribution is equally important” (Department manager, ND). Participants not only explained the absence or low levels of conflicts, stigma, and discrimination; they highlight their mutual concern for each other, as well as the support and care of those who may need it, particularly employees with SMI. “When you are concern a little about their life, they (employees with SMI) create a very special bond with you, they understand you and you understand them perfectly.” (Employee with disability, NSMI). This shared perception was confirmed during every focus group; participants described the organization as a family, highlighting the organization’s inclusive climate. Participants with SMI also described an additional factor that promotes this inclusive climate, which is the possibility of finding understanding among other coworkers with other severe mental illness. As opposed to other organizations and workplaces, where disabilities are an exception, they can share their situation with others who are in similar circumstances: “Why do we feel like family? I think we have a lot of ground gained due to the difficulty that brings us here. That makes us understand the person next to us and not only that, not only 120 with people that we can feel a little identified, but with people who have other health conditions ... because you live it every day.” (Employee with disability, SMI) Indeed, employees with severe mental illness who usually suffered high levels of stigma outside the work context, deeply appreciate how open and naturally they can be with their different mental illness; they feel confident talking about it without being afraid of any backlash, reflecting a high perception of psychological safety: “We have different mental illnesses, but symptoms usually coincide; you suddenly feel the center of attention, you think that something said on the radio is a message for you… and others can help you to deal with them as they understand you… and no one will judge you. We can even joke about it; everything is so natural” (Employee with disability, SMI) In this regard, managers, team coordinators and employees without disabilities, on the one hand, explained that they are aware of the circumstances of their coworkers with disabilities, and they are always ready to adapt the daily schedule or the task distribution when their coworker with disabilities have difficulties. They trust completely on their capacity to do the work; in fact, they admire their compromise with the organization and their high performance, which is in line with organization’s standards and goals. “It is very important to have someone who can listen to them, who genuinely try to help them. Obviously, they must do their work... but... the fact that you trust them, and they can trust you to say: I have a bad day… Your response will be do not worry, do what you can, and others will support you… the same way tomorrow you will be one supporting others… (Team coordinator with disability, NSMI) Employees justify this trust based on their own responsibility and compromise with the organization: “We must take responsibility of what we do, it is ok if you have a bad day, but you cannot slope off and wait until that someone else do your job. We are a family in which each one has to be responsible for what he does and what he has to do.” (Employee with disability, SMI) 121 On the other hand, employees with disability, particularly employees with mental illness, whose health condition makes them feel more vulnerable to unpredictable breakdowns, also trust on their coworkers and leaders to share their needs and concerns. In this regard, they highlighted, again, the possibility to freely communicate to their managers and team coordinators any problem, even if it is regarding a personal matter, finding the required support and assistance: “You always have someone to talk to. At least they listen to you, then things may get solved or not, but they listen to you” (Employee with disability SMI) Participants explained that overall, among teammates, it is easier to develop a closer relationship. This is especially relevant for employees with SMI, who have more difficulties developing trust with external members. Employees with severe mental illness also support this idea; they explained that it is easier to find support on their team than in coworkers working in different departments. When describing differences between departments regarding social interactions, participants explain that in some of them the nature of the work promotes interaction among coworkers, so they include them as part of their social network outside the organization. However, there are other participants who prefer to separate both personal and work environments. However, overall, employees with SMI described their workplace as a “safe place” where they can develop all their potential, with the certainty that if they need help or make a mistake as any other colleague in the organization, they will be supported and encourage to carry on with their duties. Benefits of achieving inclusion: job satisfaction and well-being According to the results, participants reported very high levels of job satisfaction and wellbeing based on three main reasons very related to inclusive climate and leadership: a) because of their working conditions in the organization; b) the human character and social labor of the 122 organization, promoting inclusion and employment among people with disabilities including SMI and c) constant learning, both on social abilities and professional training. Employees without disabilities, including those with coordination and management responsibilities, explained that although they were not always aware of the organizations’ characteristics when they first started, they are completely happy for the opportunity of being part of this project. “Everyone is happy. They say they consider that the organization takes care of them and that is something you cannot easily find somewhere else.” (Team manager, ND). Indeed, some of them confessed that, at first, they thought this would be a temporary job position, but now they would not leave this organization. Besides their actual working conditions and they have been taken care of, they also justified their job satisfaction based on the social relevance of the organization and their personal growth: “I was reluctant at first to work here. I thought I could be here for 3 months and then continue working for my goal at that moment. But at the end... I got caught. I've been here for 10 years and I've felt better than in my own home, because they have taken care of me personally, the managers have taken care of me, they guided me, they have taught me so many things that I did not know… how to talk to others being empathic... It is very rewarding”. (Department Manager, ND) They feel proud of being part of an organization where employees with disabilities, including people with mental illness, can develop a profession which is so positive for their well-being. They also mentioned that sometimes they must make an extra effort to guarantee the organization’s functioning and, therefore, they suffer high levels of stress at certain moments depending on the department, even being at risk of suffering burnout if the situation is maintained over time. However, when they put all in balance, it is very positive; they also considered that their own personal growth has also been quite significant. Employees with disabilities also shared this opinion: “Personally, I’ve grown so much as a professional in this organization, I’ve learnt a lot. I usually attend several training courses. The truth is that the 123 organization has improved along these years, we have moved forward” (Employee with disability, NSMI) Among participants, employees with SMI were the most enthusiastic about working in this organization, also reporting high levels of job satisfaction and well-being. In line with other employees, they felt supported by their colleagues and managers, and they appreciated the organizational flexibility and support provided to handle their health conditions while, at the same time, they are developing as professionals. Also, these participants highlighted how important is for them to have other colleagues who can understand first-hand their circumstances, that is, other employees with SMI. “I just loved it ... You do not know each other, right? But he said that he is not taking his medication anymore and she asked, but did the doctor tell you not to do it? That is very typical here, we take care of each other.” (Employee with disability, SMI) According to their own experience, they feel grateful and fulfilled for being able to work in an organization with these characteristics and working conditions, where job demands can be adapted to their circumstances. Indeed, some of these participants even described their job position as a therapy: “Working here is a therapy, because of the colleagues that you can relate quite well with them, due to our similar health conditions and... I can say that the work is relaxed, that it is not either so relaxed ... it depends on the department, but you can handle it…” (Employee with disability, SMI) Employees with SMI also explained the positive implications that having a job position in this organization have for their personal well-being, not only as employees but also as autonomous individuals in society; it means they have the chance of being economically independent and find stability. In their own words, they have the chance of feeling “normal”, avoiding at least to some extent, the stigmatization due to their illness: 124 “Coming here every day, makes me realize I have a job, I feel “normal”. If I had found this job when I was 18 years old, when I started with this illness… my life would have been very different. In this situation, until you are at least 40, you are usually experiencing setbacks for years, going from one place to the other…” (Employee with disability, SMI) 4.4 Discussion The aim of this research was to understand which factors may facilitate the effective inclusion of people with severe mental illness in the workplace. Several studies have focus on how to promote inclusion in organizations; however, this study focuses on a very special collective – persons with SMI – exploring how inclusion take place on workgroups where employees with and without disabilities coexist. By means of a case study, we analyzed three interaction levels in this organization: the relationship between coworkers, including conflicts (Wehman, 2003), the relationship with inclusive leaders (Choi et al. 2017) and the organizational inclusion climate (Ashikali et al. 2020). Also, we explore the consequences of perceiving inclusion at work, particularly the effect of inclusive climate on employees with SMI’s well-being and satisfaction. In this study it is also remarkable the use of qualitative methodology, that allowed us to provide a more indepth analysis of the dynamics between employees with and without disabilities including SMI. Indeed, participants with SMI, may have difficulties understanding or interpreting the content of quantitative methods, restricting their contributions. Using a semi structured interview, we guaranteed that they have enough liberty to contribute with their own ideas and perspectives. According to the obtained results, participants report low levels of conflict between coworkers with and without disabilities, including SMI. Overall, when conflicts occurred in this social enterprise, these are related to tasks and objectives. Some relationship conflicts are also detected, particularly based on misunderstandings between employees with SMI. Participants explained that these conflicts are managed by focusing on interests, prioritizing the 125 well-being of employees; indeed, they highlight the absence of stigma and discrimination. Therefore, overall results demonstrated that all members of the organizations considered that, despite daily work-related problems, they have achieved full inclusion of all members, including those with disabilities and SMI. We also analyzed which factors contribute to these positive results regarding inclusion, particularly focusing on the role of leaders. Reflecting on their supervisors and managers leadership style, participants described inclusive leaders’ behaviors as predominant in this organization. They promote trust-based relationships among the members of the organization, helping to guarantee psychological safety. Consequently, as explained by the participants, they have managed to create an inclusive organizational climate where the well-being and job satisfaction of the most vulnerable members is considered a priority organizational objective. Thus, all participants reported very high levels of satisfaction and well-being at work. Reflecting on the results obtained, inclusive leadership plays an essential role on facilitating employees with SMI incorporation and participation as full members. When considering inclusive leadership, in this organization both leaders and team managers are included. Previous studies, also highlight the role of these two figures as promotors of inclusion climate; inclusive leaders are considered the main inclusive ‘climate architects’, and inclusive managers are considered ‘climate engineers’ (Zohar, 2002). Based on our results, participants explained that they perceived constant monitoring from team managers, and at the same time they feel supported and listened by leaders, who are always available for them. Indeed, it is also remarkable that due to the size of the participant organization, leaders can be in close contact with teams, so their influence on promoting inclusive climate, as well as trustworthy relationships and psychological safety among employees is even greater. Therefore, both figures contributed to see diversity as an enrichment feature, instead of as a stigma or discriminative factor. This is also reflected on the low levels of conflict reported in our study, 126 despite the foreseeable discrepancies that may take place among coworkers because of diversity. In line with the description by Nishii and Leroy (2020), inclusive leaders in this organization combine different behaviors that contribute to the creation of an inclusive climate, such as articulating the meaning of inclusion, role modeling values related to inclusion, reinforcing employees’ inclusive behaviors, and assessing each employee’s behavior to check inclusion understanding and make corrections. Based on the information provided by participants, promoting inclusion is not a collateral effect of diversity, but a main organizational goal, as important as performance. That means that, from an organizational perspective, inclusive leaders receive all the support to manage this diversity. They clearly promote that all their employees feel they belong to the organization, indeed, participants feel they “create” the organization and that their uniqueness is reinforced and valued (Ashikali et al., 2020). This contributes to the shared perception of inclusive climate. Considering these results, in this social enterprise where according to participants’ experience, inclusion of employees with disability and SMI has been fully achieved, inclusive leaders’ characteristics clearly emerge as a main source of success. Employees report a sense of uniqueness and belonginess that characterize inclusion (Shore & Chung, 2021). However, we consider that, in this study, another relevant factor emerges related to these perceptions, that is the sense of mattering (Rosenburg & McCullogh, 1981). Although, the essence of this concept can be discerned in some contemporary leadership models that value inclusiveness, such as servant leadership and authentic leadership (Ensari & Riggio, 2020), to clearly set out this concept as part the theoretical framework of inclusive leadership style would be an interesting contribution. Although the complete workforce benefits from this inclusion approach, it must be highlighted that as this organization works with a vulnerable collective such as people with SMI, inclusive leaders sometimes also need specific advice to manage incidents, to prevent 127 negative backlash for employees with SMI. In line with the structural competence approach that promotes understanding the experience of illness (Delsai, 2021) this social enterprise can rely on “support units” which are part of the HR department compose of psychologists that intervene when there is an issue involving employees with disability and SMI. Also, it is important to highlight that based on participants perceptions, the daily work in the organization works as in the long-term selection process, filtering employees’ profiles. All employees but particularly those without SMI share similar profile: social oriented, open-minded, and flexible. Those who do not fit in this description usually decide to leave the organization after a short period; on the contrary, those who present these characteristics or who are able to adapt to the prevalent organizational characteristics in an effective manner, remain as part of the workforce. Consequently, those who stay reinforce inclusive behaviors in the organization, facilitating the existence of both inclusive leadership and inclusive climate. To conclude, organizations must be prepared to deal with diversity, becoming inclusive contexts that reflects the changing social reality, including recognition of persons SMI and other disabilities as full members of their workforce (Arenas et al., 2018). Indeed, achieving inclusion is an extremely relevant goal, not only to meet the requirements of todays’ diverse workforces, but also to fulfill the equity goals set out and promoted by international institutions and governments such as the European Union (European Commission, 2021). According to these policies, employment significance for persons with disabilities and particularly with SMI, is a right that goes beyond economic rewards, it also influences well-being, satisfaction and even self-realization (Paul & Batinic, 2009; Saunders & Nedelec, 2014). Therefore, removing the barriers that people with SMI face in the workplace should be a priority. Although it can also be challenging to translate it into practice (Mor Bark et al., 2021), for all parties involved, achieving full inclusion would benefit all members of the organization, improving their wellbeing. Indeed, particularly for employees with SMI, who usually face the greatest challenges 128 to access to labor market (Bonaccio et al., 2020), achieving this level of inclusion at work is also a source of resources, besides of well-being. Therefore, consistent with Job Demands- Resources model (JD-R model) that consider as job resources any organizational aspect that stimulates employees’ development and personal growth (Demerouti et al., 2001; Bakker et al., 2005), inclusive leadership, and thus, the resulting sense of uniqueness, belonginess and also mattering, can be considered valuable resources. Especially, the sense of mattering at work, of feeling significant and relevant for the success of the organization (Flett et al., 2019) may have a spillover effect on personal and family life. This line of thought would stablish work as a key aspect to develop resources for persons with disabilities, particularly SMI. Practical implications The main practical implication of this case study is to confirm that promoting positive leadership styles such as inclusive leadership, it is possible to achieve the full inclusion of persons with SMI at work, as well as contribute to improve climate perceptions. Indeed, based on these results, to promote inclusion at all levels in the organization - between coworker, between leaders and followers - is not only possible but also recommendable considering the benefits for all member integrating the organization. However, organizations should pay special attention to leadership styles, as inclusive leaders are essential to guarantee inclusion and the positive consequences related to it. An additional practical implication is the verification of the required professional assistance when managing diversity including vulnerable collectives such as SMI. A clear example that can be found in this social enterprise is the figure of “support units”, when dealing with diversity in general and with disability and SMI in particular. Sometimes, besides their leadership style, leaders consider diversity as a challenge, as they feel they are not able to cope it due to their lack of competences or resources. On the same manner that their inclusive leadership may contribute to create an inclusive climate, that clearly benefits 135 that they have dealt with duties of contradictory positions (role conflict); they consider they do not have clear information about their tasks and its methods, or at least, which affects their work (role ambiguity) and they also report very high levels of role overload, they have not enough resources (for example, time) to deal with all their work (role overload). Based on these results, probably, they are the most affected by organizational changes related to professionalization. The third profile, composed of recent paid staff and volunteers, report medium score in performance and job satisfaction and medium-low intrapersonal conflict. Thus, based on their perceptions, they do not have to deal with duties of contradictory positions (role conflict); they consider they have received clear information about their tasks and its methods, or at least it is not considered a problem (role ambiguity) and they do not consider they have problems dealing with all their work (role overload). Regarding our third study, we conducted a case study in a social enterprise. Its aim was to understand which factors may facilitate the effective inclusion of people with severe mental illness at work. Particularly, we explore the relationship between coworkers, including existent conflicts, the role of leaders and inclusive climate. A total of 44 participants with disabilities, SMI and without disabilities (21 DNSMI; 18 SMI; 23 ND) participated in this qualitative study. Results highlighted that inclusive leadership style plays an essential role promoting inclusive climate (Ensari & Riggio, 2020). According to our results, inclusive leadership is characterized by promoting interactions among coworkers with and without disabilities (including SMI) based on trust and psychological safety. Inclusive leadership also contributes to promoting characteristics that are necessary for the development of their skills in a safe environment, eliminating stigma and discrimination, helping to reduce possible conflicts and, ultimately, promoting well-being (Choi et al., 2017) and creating an inclusive climate that promotes the integration of different perspectives and identities (Dwertmann et al., 2016). Based on these results, we discussed the relevance of the so-called sense of mattering, or sense of being 136 significant (Rosenburg & McCullogh, 1981) as an addition to the sense of uniqueness and belonginess that Shore et al., (2011) enounced as basis of inclusion. 5.3 Methodological implications A main contribution of this dissertation from a methodological perspective is the multi-method design of the doctoral research. The use of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Using qualitative research method, we were able to provide a more indepth analysis of the dynamics between paid staff and employees and employees with and without disabilities including SMI, respectively. Indeed, this is particularly important for participants with SMI, that may have difficulties understanding or interpreting the content of a questionnaire. Notwithstanding, this dissertation also includes quantitative methodology, that complemented the qualitative one, allowing to increase participation, and providing a holistic approach to the aim of study of this dissertation. Overall, combining both methods can contribute to the mutual validation of data and findings as well as to produce a more coherent and complete picture of the research goal (Kelle, 2006). 5.4 Theoretical implications From theory to practice: applying conflicts taxonomies in NPOs This dissertation demonstrates that, to understand the conflict nature in NPOs, the well-known taxonomy of organizational conflicts that differentiate between task, relationship, and process conflict (Jehn & Mannix, 2001) is not enough. To reflect the structural complexity of these organizations and reflect the interpersonal dynamics between stakeholders, we need an extended conflict taxonomy: task, relationship, process, and status conflict (Bendersky & Hays, 2012). Particularly, to truly understand conflicts in NPOs, status conflict is crucial. These organizations are in constant change particularly due to professionalization processes, that challenges the already complex NPOs’ hierarchical structure. Consequently, power contests and influences to impose their perspectives or ideas can appear among paid staff and volunteers. 137 Considering status conflict as part of the conflict taxonomy will permit to identify and understand these processes derived from the coexistence of two groups of stakeholders. Conflict research in third sector organizations is still scarce and research findings obtained in different sectors have been traditionally applied to these organizations despite its distinctive characteristics, such as the coexistence of different stakeholders as part of the workforce. That is the case of NPOs, where paid staff and volunteers work together as part of the same teams. When analyzing disputes or problems between these two collectives, descriptions are vague, usually labeled as “problems” in an attempt of avoiding the use of the term “conflict” as if it would imply a negative connotation for this sector (Müller-Stewens et al., 2019). Consequently, prevent and manage interpersonal conflicts in these organizations becomes a very difficult task. Understanding paid staff and volunteers’ differences In this dissertation, to understand how conflict arises between these two roles and also between role-person, we extent to this organizational context the principles of the social comparison theory by Festinger (1954). This theory states that individuals create their perceptions and opinions comparing themselves with other social groups. Thus, paid staff and volunteers, also evaluate their contributions to work, rewards and efforts based on those of the other main group in their working context. Considering the equity theory referring to motivational mechanisms proposed by Adams (1963, 1965) if there is not perception of fairness because of that social comparison, this imbalance can lead to conflicts between these two groups or identities, affecting their motivation and job satisfaction. Moreover, we apply two main concepts or role conflict theory, role conflict and role ambiguity, to analyze the discrepancies that paid staff and volunteers face at work. In this regard, it is important to highlight that, in this dissertation, we also focus on understanding paid staff’s perceptions and needs, which are commonly oversee 138 in NPOs research, that focus on volunteers as one of their main sources of identity (Ganesh & McAllum, (2012). Emergence of inclusive leadership in organizations with employees with disability (and SMI) This dissertation highlights the theoretical relevance of inclusive leadership in organizations with diversity, particularly in organizations with employees with disabilities and SMI. Traditionally, leadership theories developed in HR and Organizational Psychology have been applied in organizations managing diversity, overseeing the distinctive characteristics of vulnerable collective. Under these circumstances, questions may arise, and even certain areas of theory and research may remain uncovered. Thus, to achieve full inclusion, leadership theories should be updated, considering the real circumstances of organizations managing diversity. In this dissertation, we precisely contribute to this goal. In our research, the main characteristics of inclusive leadership emerge as main factors to promote inclusion at work in a context with diversity. Therefore, we support inclusive leadership theory based on the experiences of the principal actors of this theoretical approach, that is vulnerable collectives and their coworkers. The emergence of inclusive leadership as predominant leadership style already is a step forward to understand which strategies contribute to full inclusion achievement at work. Indeed, we contemplate that inclusive leadership theory, besides considering essential to promote the sense of uniqueness and belonginess (Randel et al., 2018; Shore et al. 2011), should also include among its main characteristic the promotion of the sense of mattering among organizational members (Flett et al., 2019; Rosenberg & McCullough, 1981). The sense of mattering implies feeling significant and relevant for the success of the organization (Flett et al., 2019). The sense of mattering at work may also have positive consequences in other contexts such as on personal and family life due to a spillover effect. Particularly, work can 139 contribute to develop resources for persons with disabilities, including SMI. As Job Demands- Resources model states, this is an organizational aspect that “stimulates personal growth and development” (Demerouti, et al., 2001, p.501). Therefore, besides a theoretical contribution on inclusive leadership, we hope this reflection also opens future research lines and approaches to analyze inclusion at work and its benefits. 5.5 Practical implications Identification and categorization of conflicts in NPOs between paid staff and volunteers This research goes a step further identifying and labeling the existing types of conflicts provoked by these dynamics and these organizations’ characteristics and, therefore, facilitating that actions to prevent or manage them are promoted in NPOs. Particularly, we elaborated a checklist including the main conflicts or problems reported by paid staff and volunteers, classified based on the well-known taxonomy of organizational conflicts that differentiate between task, relationship, process conflict and status conflict (Bendersky & Hays, 2012; Jehn & Mannix, 2001). We consider that this contribution can be a turning point on conflict management in NPOs, where conflicts are usually overseen in the absence of understanding and tools to manage them cooperatively, avoiding negative consequences for both collectives. Going beyond formal roles: profile analysis in NPOs Nonprofit organizations are diverse due to the coexistence of paid staff and volunteers; however, these organizations’ heterogeneity goes beyond formal categories. This dissertation contributes to NPOs management outlining the existence of complementary profiles based on paid staff and volunteers’ characteristics and perceptions. These profiles can constitute a crucial analytic tool to HRM in this context as, considering this information, HR managers can design policies and initiatives according to the real needs of organizational members, promoting improvements on their performance and job satisfaction. 140 Strategies to manage diversity: the role of inclusive leadership The results obtained in this research highlights the benefits of promoting inclusive leadership in organizations with diversity. Good practices can be inferred from the explanations and descriptions of the interpersonal dynamics promoted by inclusive leadership. This good practices for inclusive leaders include facilitating, among team members, reciprocal exchanges based on power sharing, serving as role models for others in the organization, promoting trustworthy relationships with open-doors communication strategies, reinforcing inclusive behaviors, expressing genuine interest for employees’ well-being (Hollander, 2009; Nishii & Mayer, 2009), or integrating of diverse perspectives (Nishii & Leroy, 2020). Consequently, inclusive climate, that contributes to guarantee an appropriate diversity management, can be implemented, and, moreover, detrimental dynamics such as stigma and discrimination (Mor Barak et al., 2016; Santuzzi et al., 2021) might be suppressed on diverse organizations. 5.6 Conclusions Overall, the main conclusion derived from this doctoral dissertation are presented below: 1. In NPOs, four types of conflicts may exist: task, process, status, and relationship conflicts. Relationship conflict is the least reported type, revealing the protection factor that values and engagement with a social aim have on this organizational context. 2. Paid staff, overall, show higher levels of conflicts than volunteers. They also suffer stronger negative consequences compared to volunteers. 3. Paid staff and volunteers differ on their perceived job satisfaction level, with volunteers being more satisfied. This relationship is serially mediated by role conflict, role ambiguity and performance. Paid staff report more role conflict and role ambiguity but less perception of performance. 4. Besides the formal roles that coexist in these organizations (paid staff and volunteers) there is an additional profiles distribution that reflects more adequately the reality of 141 NPOs. These profiles can constitute a crucial analytic tool to HRM in this context as managing this information as HR managers can design policies and initiative according to the real needs of organizational members, optimizing paid-staff and volunteer’s management to increase their satisfaction an even reduce NPO dropout. 5. Inclusive leadership style plays an essential role promoting inclusive climate. Inclusive leaders foster trust and psychological safety, which are necessary for the development of their skills in a safe environment, eliminating stigma and discrimination and contributing to reduce task and relationship conflicts. The emergence of inclusive leadership as predominant leadership style is a step forward to understand which strategies contribute to full inclusion achievement at work Also, inclusive leadership, and thus, the resulting sense of uniqueness, belonginess and also mattering, can be considered valuable resources, following the JD-R model approach. 6. Diversity, and, by extension, the need of inclusion, is nowadays the norm more than the exception in organizations, as well as in society. Therefore, as researchers we have the responsibility to contribute making workplaces a better place to be and to develop as professionals and as society members. I hope this dissertation, that provides theoretical bases, practical strategies, and analytic tools can contribute to create inclusive workplaces, bringing us one step closer to this purpose. 142 GENERAL LIST OF REFERENCES 143 Adams, J. S. (1963). Toward an understanding of inequity. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67, 422-436. Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequality in social exchange. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (pp. 267-299). New York: Academic Press. Alcock, P. & Kendal, J. (2011). Constituting the Third Sector: Processes of Decontestation and Contention Under the UK Labour Governments in England. 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