Entitativity is a person's assessment of group unity. This is important in the workplace because high-quality interaction with other workers creates a more satisfactory work atmosphere. When workers have similar goals and objectives in mind, they're motivated to be engaged in completing work tasks. Researchers Blanchard et al. (2022) conducted a study and found that entitativity plays an essential role in positive meeting outcomes. Many meetings in organizations are ineffective and considered a waste of time. Thus, entitativity could improve meeting outcomes which, in turn, could improve employee engagement at the workplace.
The study method consisted of 279 participants recruited online through an Amazon platform and was required to be full-time employees who worked in the United States, participated in regular meetings, and had participated in one meeting in the last week. Participants were measured based on seven prompts about their most recent workplace meeting. Entitativity was measured based on a three-item scale: "we are a unit," "we are a group," and "we feel like a group to me." Additional scales were used that had four to seven items to assess aspects of entitativity in meetings, such as meeting participation, defined as attendees contributing to the meeting's goals and objectives, and history of interactions which is the worker's interactions with other workers in the workplace setting and in previous meetings.
Another interesting finding was that meeting participation and interaction history positively relate to entitativity. The meeting feels more like a unit when attendees participate in meetings and are familiar with other workers. Entitativity creates better outcomes in work meetings that strengthen workers' relationships with one another, which in turn benefit the organization's culture.
This information can be helpful for people who are looking for ways to facilitate effective meetings. As Blanchard et al. (2022) have confirmed, when meetings are perceived as groups, workers are likely to be more engaged at work, which is necessary for the organization's success.
Hyperlink: https://doi-org.proxy.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/10.1037/mgr0000124