Social Cohesion Skills and its Mediating Role in the Working Environment: The Case of Ethiopian Railways Corporation

Abstract

Social cohesion, the "glue" that keeps a society together, is influenced by the various sectors or "pillars" of government and non-government institutions. This research focuses on how the skills of social cohesion which are available in the ERC change the working environment. A working environment is perceived as a place where social cohesion skills are applied broadly. Despite the global importance of the issues of social cohesion, local academic works hardly address the dynamism of the skills of social cohesion such as, diversity and inclusion, trust, interpersonal relationships and gender sensitive environment. Previous literature underemphasizes the influence of skills of social cohesion in the working environment. This particular study was informed by the theory of multiculturalism, the generativist theory and Social Identity Theory which has been developed to explore social cohesion skills in the work place. The study employed a mixed research method with a philosophical stance on pragmatism. Simple random sampling for the quantitative data collection and purposive sampling for the qualitative data inquiry were used. A total of one hundred sixty nine (N=169) sample of respondents filled the questionnaire and six of the selected interviewees participated for the key informant interview. The data collected from the field using multiple methods were analyzed using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis to arrive at comprehensive conclusions. The study found that social cohesion skills strongly contribute to maintaining peaceful working environment. Celebrating holidays, being a member in the social committee and commitments of some staffs contributes to foster social cohesion skills. On the contrary, the findings showed that low level of social cohesion skills are the very reasons for losing the bond among the staffs. They are dissatisfied by their working environment. Workers dissatisfaction is a very reason for societies to be negligent in the realm of the development process of the country. The available social cohesion skills need to be nurtured though it is the core point to create a peaceful and cohesive society. Staffs, employers and the government need to initiate the applicability of social cohesion skills. Furthermore, social cohesion skills need to be promoted and mainstreamed in the system of the corporation to sustain a socially tranquil society in particular and a developed and peaceful country in general.