Inclusion is often treated as a stable organisational feature, yet employees’ experiences of inclusion fluctuate meaningfully from day to day (Randel et al., 2025). Although emerging research shows that these fluctuations matter for well-being (e.g., Bernstein et al., 2021; Li et al., 2022), the mechanisms through which daily inclusion carries forward beyond the workday remain underexplored. Drawing on Ilies et al.’s (2024) model of work-derived well-being, this study examines evening work reflection as a key pathway linking daily inclusion to next-morning well-being, and tests whether these processes are amplified for employees with a contextual minority identity.

Using a three-week daily diary design with three measurement occasions per day (N = 389 employees; 3,480 observations), we estimate multilevel path models. Results show that higher-than-usual daily inclusion is associated with more positive and less negative evening work reflection. In turn, positive work reflection is positively associated with next-morning eudaimonic well-being (meaning in life), whereas negative work reflection is negatively associated with eudaimonic and hedonic well-being (life satisfaction). Indirect effects indicate that daily inclusion shapes well-being through both positive and negative reflective processes. Importantly, these effects are amplified for employees who perceive themselves as underrepresented or non-prototypical in their immediate work context, suggesting that inclusion signals are particularly consequential when one’s group standing is less secure.

These findings position inclusion as a lived, dynamic experience with consequences that extend beyond the workplace via cognitive processes after work (Ilies et al., 2024). For organisations, these findings suggest that inclusion should be treated as an everyday behavioural process rather than a one-off initiative. Small, consistent relational behaviours, such as inviting input, recognising contributions, and offering support, signal belonging and value, shaping how employees carry their workday into the evening. In addition, organisations can support well-being by encouraging constructive work reflection (e.g., brief end-of-day reflection exercises), particularly in diverse teams where fluctuations in inclusion may have amplified effects.