The dominant research strands into social interaction in culturally diverse workplaces have focused
on issues of organizational efficiency and discrimination, and they have treated cultural identity
as static, monolithic, and universally shared. This study aims to problematize this view. It is argued
that our understanding of cultural workplace diversity could be extended through the integration
of interpretive and critical interpersonal communication theorizing on cultural identity as dynamic
and processual, constructed between and among people in everyday workplace interactions and
in relation to larger social, political, and historical forces. This argument is illustrated by an analysis
of in-depth interviews with 10 female Russian immigrants in Finland who performed interactionintense
knowledge work. The women talked about their everyday workplace interactions and how
they thought Russian identity mattered in them. These data were analyzed with the inductive
method of interpretive description designed to provide a systematic description of the phenomenon
delineating its characteristic themes and accounting for individual variations within it. The
analysis led to the identification of four communication sites for distinct formations of Russian
identity: expressing professionalism, managing initial encounters, facing stigma, and facilitating
intercultural learning. The findings offer novel insights into social interaction in culturally diverse
workplaces with implications for both employee well-being and organizational processes.
Author Biography
Malgorzata Lahti, Department of Communication, University of Jyv?skyl?
