The influence of workplace discrimination and vigilance on job satisfaction with people who stutter

Purpose The purpose of the present study is to examine the association between workplace discrimination, vigilance, and job satisfaction in people who stutter and compare this with people who do not stutter. Method Seventy-two people who stutter (PWS) and 92 people who do not stutter (PWNS) participated in an online survey. Participants completed a survey assessing 6 different areas: (a) background information, (b) job satisfaction, (c) everyday discrimination, and (d) heightened vigilance. Mediation analyses were conducted to evaluate the relationship between the independent variables and dependent variable. Results There was a relationship between being a PWS and job satisfaction, discrimination, and vigilance. PWS were found to experience higher discrimination as well as be more vigilant. Discrimination and vigilance were found to mediate the relationship between stuttering and job satisfaction. Conclusion Results of this study indicate that the participants who stutter differ from PWNS in their job satisfaction, discrimination, and vigilance. Clinicians can prepare PWS with self-advocacy strategies, legal knowledge of what their rights are as an employee who identifies as a person who stutters with a disability, a legal understanding of workplace discrimination, and counseling on the impact of vigilance on workplace experiences.     

Diversity,Merit, Fairness,and Discrimination Beliefs as Predictors of Support for Affirmative‐Action Policy Actions1

This paper explores support for hiring policies associated with affirmative action (AA) using a model including beliefs regarding the fairness of AA, merit, value of diversity, prevalence of discrimination, personal self‐interest, and demographic characteristics. Participants (n = 212) evaluated 8 hiring policies ranging from the use of strong preferential treatment to race‐blind policies. Beliefs affected support for policies differently. For example, diversity valuation predicted support for policies involving preferences and recruitment, but predicted opposition to race‐blind approaches, whereas support for the merit principle predicted opposition to preferences and support for race‐blind approaches. Results suggest that established predictors of attitudes toward AA do not necessarily predict support for specific forms of AA.     

The Interactive Effects of Self‐Perceptions and Job Requirements on Creative Problem Solving

Over the years, researchers have focused on ways to facilitate creativity in the workplace by looking at individual factors and organizational factors that affect employee creativity (Woodman, Sawyer, & Griffin, 1993 ). In many cases, the factors that affect creativity are examined independently. In other words, it is uncommon for researchers to look at the interaction among individual and organizational factors. In this study, it is argued that to get a true understanding of how to maximize creativity in the workplace, organizational researchers must look at the interaction between organizational factors and individual factors that affect employee creativity. More specifically, the current study looked at an individual's perceptions about his or her ability to be creative (i.e., individual factor) and perceptions of requirements for creativity in the workplace (i.e., an organizational factor). The results indicated that individuals who have a high belief about their ability to be creative (an individual factor) were most creative when they also perceived requirements for creativity in the workplace (an organizational factor). Furthermore, individuals who had low perceptions of creative ability were still able to perform creatively when they had high perceptions of requirements for creativity. This suggests that, to maximize creativity, organizations should focus on both individual and organizational factors that affect employee creativity.     

Reactions to two versions of affirmative action among whites, blacks, and Hispanics

Houston-area Whites (n = 414), Blacks (n = 392), American-born Hispanics (n = 162), and Hispanic immigrants (n = 177) evaluated a self-defined "typical" affirmative action plan (AAP) and a tiebreak AAP that applies under conditions of equal qualifications and underrepresentation. Whites preferred Tiebreak; Blacks and Hispanics preferred the typical AAP. The groups differed in beliefs about the procedures and fairness of affirmative action (AA), perceptions of workplace discrimination, and political orientations. Perceived fairness predicted support for both AAPs in all American-born groups, but the impact of other predictors varied greatly across AAPs and ethnic groups. The results clarify the bases for Whites' opposition to AA as they construe it. The results also underscore the importance of specifying the AAP procedures, of uncovering the predictors of AA attitudes among target-group members, and of conducting separate analyses in each ethnic community.     

Discrimination and subjective well‐being: The moderating roles of identification with the heritage group and the host majority group

This study examined the roles that identification with the heritage group and identification with the majority group play in the relationship between discrimination (subtle or blatant) and subjective well‐being among ethnic minority group members. Participants were 320 ethnic Turks and Moroccans in the Netherlands who completed a questionnaire that measured their well‐being, their perceptions of subtle and blatant discrimination, and their heritage group and majority group identification. The analyses found that relationships between discrimination and well‐being varied as a joint function of the source and strength of people's ethnic identification. Individuals who identified more strongly with their heritage group were more likely to report discrimination than low identifiers but were less likely to be negatively affected by it. For those who identified strongly with their heritage group, experiences with subtle and blatant discrimination and well‐being were unrelated, whereas for those who identified weakly with their heritage group, discrimination and well‐being were negatively related. In contrast, individuals who identified more strongly with the majority group were less likely to report discrimination than low identifiers but were more likely to be negatively affected by it. For those who identified strongly with the majority group, discrimination and well‐being were negatively related, whereas for those who identified weakly with the majority group, discrimination and well‐being were unrelated. These results suggest that although identifying strongly with the heritage group may buffer ethnic minorities from the negative effects of discrimination, identifying strongly with the majority group may exacerbate these effects. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

工作场所中他人感知的员工工作-家庭冲突：刻板印象视角

以往研究发现工作场所中他人感知的员工工作-家庭冲突对员工工作结果具有重要影响, 但相关研究处于起步阶段。在文献回顾的基础上, 从刻板印象理论出发, 提出可能影响他人感知员工工作-家庭冲突的工作、家庭相关因素; 采用能力-热情维度框架探讨他人感知员工工作-家庭冲突的作用机制及其结果。今后研究可在整合工作-家庭冲突研究和刻板印象理论的基础上, 对他人感知员工工作-家庭冲突的形成及人际效用机制等方面进行拓展。     

Examining the Effects of Exposure to Religion in the Workplace on Perceptions of Religious Discrimination

Charges of religion-related employment discrimination have doubled in the past decade. Multiple factors are likely contributing to this trend, such as the increased religious diversity of the US population and the increased interest of employees and some employers in bringing religion to work. Using national survey data we examine how the presence of religion in the workplace affects an individual’s perception of religious discrimination and how this effect varies by the religious tradition of the individual. We find that the more an individual reports that religion comes up at work, the more likely it is that the individual will perceive religious discrimination. This effect remains even after taking into account the individual’s own religious tradition, religiosity, and frequency of talking to others about religion. This effect is stronger, however, for Catholics, Mainline Protestants, and for the religiously unaffiliated. In workplaces where religion is said to never come up these groups are among the least likely to perceive religious discrimination. Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Evangelical Protestants are more likely to perceive religious discrimination in the workplace even if they say that religion never comes up at work, which makes the effect of exposure to religion in the workplace weaker for these groups. These results show that keeping religion out of the workplace will largely eliminate perceptions of religious discrimination for some groups, but for other groups the perceptions will remain.     

The Connection between Perceived Workplace Discrimination and Viewing Work as a Spiritual Calling

Research shows that perceived workplace discrimination shapes an individual's job satisfaction and intent to leave a job. This study considers whether these impacts may be attenuated if an individual views their work as a spiritual calling. Using data from a nationally representative survey (N = 9,907), our analysis shows that perceived work discrimination due to race, gender, and religion are all independently associated with less job satisfaction net of a variety of other measures. Viewing work as a spiritual calling is associated with greater job satisfaction, even when accounting for traditional measures of religiosity. The negative impact of perceived discrimination on job satisfaction is weaker among those who view work as a spiritual calling. These findings provide evidence of the mechanisms underlying job satisfaction and have implications for understanding how religion might help mitigate the negative consequences of perceived discrimination in the workplace, or allow discrimination to potentially go unaddressed.     

Whites' and Asian Americans' Perceptions of Asian Americans as Targets of Affirmative Action1

Although Asian Americans are technically a protected group, perceptions of Asian Americans as targets of affirmative action are largely unexplored, as are the attitudes of Asian Americans toward affirmative action. This study compared Whites' (N = 142) and Asian Americans' (N = 85) perceptions of workplace‐related discrimination and affirmative action beneficiary status for Asian Americans, African Americans, and Hispanic Americans. Whites and Asian Americans agreed that Asian Americans experience less adverse impact on tests and benefit less from affirmative action than do Blacks or Hispanics. However, Asian Americans were more likely than Whites to perceive that Asian Americans suffer from discrimination and underrepresentation and should benefit from affirmative action.     

MANAGING DIVERSITY: HOW ORGANIZATIONAL EFFORTS TO SUPPORT DIVERSITY MODERATE THE EFFECTS OF PERCEIVED RACIAL DISCRIMINATION ON AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT

Using the interactional model of cultural diversity, we examined whether the negative effects of perceived racial discrimination on affective commitment can be mitigated by perceived organizational efforts to support diversity. Across 3 studies, we found that perceptions of workplace racial discrimination are negatively related to affective commitment. In 2 out of 3 studies, this negative relationship was attenuated as employees perceived more organizational efforts to support diversity. Studies 1 (mostly Whites) and 2 (mostly Hispanics) showed that organizational efforts to support diversity attenuate the negative effects of perceived racial discrimination on affective commitment. However, in Study 3 (African Americans), results showed that when organizational efforts to support diversity are high, the negative relationship between perceived racial discrimination and affective commitment became stronger. Studies 2 and 3 also extended these results by showing that the interaction of perceived racial discrimination and organizational efforts to support diversity indirectly influences turnover intent.     

Racial Prototypicality,Affirmative Action,and Hiring Decisions in a Multiracial World

This research examined how the racial prototypicality of minority job applicants' faces influenced hiring decisions under different affirmative action (AA) policies: no AA, soft AA (recruitment of minorities with merit‐based hiring), and hard AA (race as a tie‐break factor in hiring). Participants (N=252) evaluated resume/photograph pairs, each containing a Caucasian and a Black applicant, with minority applicants representing three levels of racial prototypicality. The number of jobs awarded to minorities increased as Black racial prototypicality increased. Each level of AA policy strength increased the number of minority hires, but these increases came with a price: AA directives decreased the percentage of minority hires attributed to higher qualifications and increased perceptions that hires were due to AA more than was actually the case.     

The Effect of Information Frame and Informant Gender on Judgements of Merit versus Gender-Based Employment Selection

This study investigated the effect of information frame and informant gender on people's views on merit versus gender-based selection. Results showed that people in general support merit selection and oppose preferential selection. However, the negative reaction to gender-based selection could be attenuated when (1) female informants described the advantages of gender-based selection to female respondents, and (2) male informants argued the same case to male respondents. In addition, the provision of justification further exacerbated perceptions of unfairness of gender-based selection.     

A little bird told me…: Consequences of holding an implicit association between women and birds

Past research has shown that humans possess implicit associations that, when activated, affect subsequent behavior. In three studies, we demonstrated a novel implicit association held by some men: an association between women and birds. Additionally, we demonstrated three consequences of possessing and activating a Women–Birds association. For those who strongly associated women and birds, activating the association caused an increase in dehumanization of women, perceptions of female incompetence, and sexist hiring decisions. Perceptions of female incompetence mediated the effect of Women–Birds implicit association activation on sexist hiring decisions. These findings provide insight into a potential cause of bias toward women that should be accounted for when attempting to reduce discrimination toward women and speak to the need for careful consideration when making analogies linking social groups to animals or objects.     

Personality Development at Work: Workplace Conditions,Personality Changes,and the Corresponsive Principle

Investigations concerning adult personality development have increasingly focused on factors that are associated with apparent personality trait changes. The current study contributes to this literature by replicating and extending previous research concerning personality trait development in young adulthood and perceptions of workplace conditions. Analyses were based on up to 442 individuals who participated in the ongoing Family Transitions Project (e.g., Conger & Conger, 2002). The current analyses included personality trait data from 1994 and 2003, high school grades and socioeconomic status indicators from 1994, and reports about work conditions in 2001, 2003, and 2005. Personality attributes were prospectively associated with work conditions and income. Findings also support the corresponsive principle of personality development (e.g., Roberts, Caspi, & Moffitt, 2003): Traits that were prospectively associated with particular workplace conditions often seemed to be accentuated by those conditions. Personality traits are prospectively associated with perceptions of the workplace. Workplace conditions are also associated with trait development.     

Multiple-group membership: warmth and competence perceptions in the workplace

What kinds of stereotypes are evoked when employers review a job application from a 55-year-old Arab woman? Most previous research on stereotypes has focused on single demographic group categories (e.g., race or gender) rather than on their combinations, even though people inevitably belong to multiple group categories simultaneously. The current study examines how different combinations of demographic group categories (ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and age) are perceived in the context of the workplace, with a focus on two fundamental dimensions of social perception: warmth and competence. The results reveal interesting interactions among the studied demographic group categories such that when stigmatized group categories are added to one another, it does not necessarily produce additive negative effects on warmth and competence perceptions. Rather, one category that is perceived negatively in isolation (e.g., homosexuality) can offset the negative impact of another stigmatized category (e.g., Arab ethnicity). Practical implications for stereotyping and discrimination in the workplace are discussed.

     

An under-met and over-met expectations model of employee reactions to merit raises

The authors developed a model of how raise expectations influence the relationship between merit pay raises and employee reactions and tested it using a sample of hospital employees. Pay-for-performance (PFP) perceptions were consistently related to personal reactions (e.g., pay raise happiness, pay-level satisfaction, and turnover intentions). Merit pay raises were strongly related to reactions only among employees with high raise expectations and high PFP perceptions. The interactive effects of under-met/over-met expectations and PFP perceptions were mediated by the extent to which participants saw the raise as generous and they were happy with the raises they received. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for expectation-fulfillment theories, merit pay research, and the administration of incentives.     

Diversity experiences predict changes in attitudes toward affirmative action

The current study examined the role of diversity experiences in promoting changes in attitudes toward affirmative action (AA). Using longitudinal data from a survey of over 1000 college students at admission and in their fourth year, results demonstrated that participation in diversity-related campus activities related to positive changes in attitudes toward affirmative action. This result was consistent across samples of White, African American, and Asian American students. Positive changes in attitudes persisted despite statistical controls for established predictors of attitudes toward AA such as merit and prevalence of discrimination beliefs, and individual-level characteristics such as experiences of discrimination and political liberalism. I discuss the relevance of this finding to the AA literature and to changing attitudes toward AA.     

System Justification, Right-Wing Conservatism, and Internalized Homophobia: Gay and Lesbian Attitudes toward Same-Sex Parenting in Italy

Adopting a system justification perspective (Jost and Banaji 1994), we investigated the manner and extent to which gay men and lesbians might internalize a sense of inferiority when it comes to parenthood. In an Italian sample of gay and lesbian individuals, we found that gay men who scored high (versus low) on system justification and right-wing conservatism regarded same sex parents as less competent; these effects were mediated by internalized homophobia. Lesbian women, however, perceived lesbian parents as more competent than opposite sex parents, regardless of ideological orientations. For gay men the internalization of societal discrimination harms perceptions of parental competence, whereas for lesbians gender stereotypes about parenting trump the negative effects of bias related to sexual orientation. These findings suggest that men??s and women??s perceptions of their own bodies and capacities are strongly affected by sociocultural processes, including ideological processes.