Perceived workplace belongingness is gaining attention among organizational scientists and is a critical component of the diversity, equity, inclusion, belongingness, and justice framework. Despite its importance, there are significant gaps that remain in the literature. First, the construct lacks conceptual clarity, as researchers have not defined or measured it consistently. Second, it is unclear to what extent perceived workplace belongingness differs from general belongingness. This dissertation addressed these limitations through three studies. In Study 1, exploratory factor analyses revealed that perceived workplace belongingness is multidimensional, consisting of three factors—perceived social regard, felt interpersonal belonging, and organizational belongingness—using a referent approach. Study 2 developed new items based on these dimensions, and confirmatory factor analyses supported a two-factor model combining the first two factors into interpersonal (workplace) belongingness while retaining organizational belongingness. This resulted in the 10-item Oshana Workplace Belongingness Scale (OWBS). In Study 3, the OWBS was examined within a nomological network. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that both interpersonal (workplace; ΔR² = .01-.04) and organizational belongingness (ΔR² = .03-.13) explained unique variance in outcomes—job satisfaction, perceived organizational support, turnover intentions, work engagement, and workplace inclusion—above and beyond demographics, the marker variable (attitudes toward the color blue), need to belong, affect, and general belongingness. Relative weights analyses further showed that organizational belongingness consistently accounted for the largest share of explained variance across outcomes (45.2%-59.5%). Theoretical contributions, practical implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.
