Stressors and adverse outcomes for female construction workers.

The authors examined the impact of a number of job stressors, including sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination, on female construction workers' level of job satisfaction and psychological and physical health. Results from a telephone survey with 211 female laborers indicated that having responsibility for others' safety and having support from supervisors and male coworkers was related to greater job satisfaction. Increased reported psychological symptoms were also related to increased responsibility, as well as skill underutilization, experiencing sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination from supervisors and coworkers, and having to overcompensate at work. Perceptions of overcompensation at work and job certainty were positively associated with self-reports of insomnia. Finally, sexual harassment and gender discrimination were positively related to reports of increased nausea and headaches. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pregnancy planning and the impact on work climate, psychological well-being, and work effort in the military.

This study examined the joint effects of demographics and pregnancy planning and timing on work climate, psychological well-being, and work effort among 345 pregnant U.S. military women from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. Rank predicted both pregnancy planning and career timing. Pregnancy planning was positively associated with support from coworkers and supervisors and with enhanced work effort and psychological well-being. Pregnancy timing was positively associated with support from supervisors, reduced harassment, and increased psychological well-being. Rank interacted with the planning and timing measures. Junior officers and enlisted participants reported reduced command and pregnancy support and increased harassment in conjunction with poorly timed pregnancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender and ethnic differences in social constraints among a sample of New York City police officers.

Examined gender and ethnic differences in social constraints both on and off the job among 372 police officers from the New York City Housing Authority. Positive and negative social interactions with supervisors and coworkers, and perceptions of the work environment as well as support and resentment of the job from family and significant others, were included. 73% of the sample were White, 11% were Black or African American, 11% were Hispanic, and 1% were Asian American; women comprised 22% of the sample. Women and minority men reported more negative social interactions on the job, such as criticism, bias, and sexual harassment. Few differences were observed for positive social interactions on or off the job, and where differences emerged, women and minority men reported more favorable social interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quantitative analysis of microvascular changes in diffuse astrocytic neoplasms with increasing grade of malignancy

BACKGROUND: Despite concerns about its prevalence and ramifications, harassment has not been well quantified among physicians. Previous published studies have been small, have surveyed only 1 site or a convenience sample, and have suffered from selection bias. METHODS: Our database is the Women Physicians' Health Study, a large (4501 respondents; response rate, 59%), nationally distributed questionnaire study. We analyzed responses concerning gender-based and sexual harassment. RESULTS: Overall, 47.7% of women physicians reported ever experiencing gender-based harassment, and 36.9% reported sexual harassment. Harassment was more common while in medical school (31% of gender-based and 20% for sexual harassment) or during internship, residency, or fellowship (29% for gender-based and 19% for sexual harassment) than in practice (25% for gender-based and 11% for sexual harassment). Respondents more likely to report gender-based harassment were physicians who were now divorced or separated and those specializing in historically male specialties, whereas those of Asian and other (nonwhite, nonblack, non-Asian, non-Hispanic) ethnicity, those living in the East, and those self-characterized as politically very conservative were less likely to report gender-based harassment. Being younger, born in the United States, or divorced or separated were correlated with reporting ever experiencing sexual harassment; those who were Asian or who were currently working in group or government settings were less likely to report it. Those who felt in control of their work environments, were satisfied with their careers, and would choose again to become physicians reported lower prevalences of ever experiencing harassment. Those with histories of depression or suicide attempts were more likely to report ever having been harassed. CONCLUSIONS: Women physicians commonly perceive that they have been harassed. Experiences of and sensitivity to harassment differ among individuals, and there may be substantial professional and personal consequences of harassment. Since reported rates of sexual harassment are higher among younger physicians, the situation may not be improving.     

Structural equation models of sexual harassment: Longitudinal explorations and cross-sectional generalizations.

Sexual harassment and its corresponding outcomes develop and change over time, yet research on this issue has been limited primarily to cross-sectional data. In this article, longitudinal models of harassment were proposed and empirically evaluated via structural equations modeling using data from 217 women who responded to a computerized questionnaire in 1994 and again in 1996. Results indicate that sexual harassment influences both proximal and distal work-related variables (e.g., job satisfaction, work withdrawal, job withdrawal) and psychological outcomes (e.g., life satisfaction, psychological well-being, distress). In addition, a replication of the L. F. Fitzgerald, F. Drasgow, C. L. Hulin, M. J. Gelfand, and V. J. Magley (1997) model of harassment was supported. This research was an initial attempt to develop integrated models of the dynamic effects of sexual harassment over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When the customer shouldn't be king: Antecedents and consequences of sexual harassment by clients and customers.

Much of the work in today's service industries requires women to deal with people outside of their organizations, namely, customers and clients, yet research on sexual harassment has focused almost exclusively on sexual harassment within organizations. Because the threat of harassment also operates at the boundaries of organizations, our existing models based solely on harassment inside organizations may be too restricted to adequately explain the harassment experiences of women in today's economy. To address this, the authors introduce a theoretical model of the antecedents and consequences of sexual harassment by clients and customers (CSH) and describe 2 field studies conducted to test components of the model. In Study 1, they developed a model of antecedents and consequences of CSH and illustrated that certain contextual factors (client power and gender composition of the client base) affect levels of CSH and that CSH is related to a number of job and psychological outcomes among professional women. Study 2 revealed that CSH is related to lower job satisfaction among nonprofessional women, above and beyond that which is accounted for by internal sexual harassment. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sources of social support and burnout, job satisfaction, and productivity.

Social support has been identified as an important correlate of a variety of work outcomes. Support from different sources, including family, coworkers, and supervisors, was examined in 211 traffic enforcement agents (92 men, 119 women). Outcomes included subjective variables (burnout and job satisfaction) and an objective measure of productivity (number of summonses). Support was negatively associated with burnout and positively associated with satisfaction and productivity. A cluster of support variables accounted for 7% of the variance in burnout and productivity and 12% of the variance in job satisfaction. Family support was more closely associated with burnout than with satisfaction or productivity, whereas immediate supervisor support was related to satisfaction and productivity but not burnout. Results suggest that support may be associated with work-related outcomes through multiple pathways. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Perceptions of Fair Interpersonal Treatment Scale: development and validation of a measure of interpersonal treatment in the workplace

The Perceptions of Fair Interpersonal Treatment (PFIT) scale was designed to assess employees' perceptions of the interpersonal treatment in their work environment. Analyses of the factor structure and reliability of this new instrument indicate that the PFIT scale is a reliable instrument composed of 2 factors: supervisor treatment and coworker treatment. It was hypothesized that the PFIT scale would be positively correlated with job satisfaction variables and negatively correlated with work withdrawal, job withdrawal, experiences of sexual harassment, and an organization's tolerance of sexual harassment. Results based on 509 employees in a private-sector organization and 217 female faculty and staff members at a large midwestern university supported these hypotheses. Arguments that common method variance and employees' dispositions are responsible for the significant correlations between the PFIT scale and other job-related variables were eliminated. The implications of these results are discussed.     

Prevalence of harassment and discrimination among 1996 medical school graduates: a survey of eight US schools

CONTEXT: Harassing and discriminating behaviors on the part of instructors or supervisors are known to affect the quality of work performed by medical students, influence their career decisions, and have other undetermined long-term consequences. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and forms of harassment and discrimination experienced by 1996 medical school graduates. DESIGN: A self-administered survey of harassment and discrimination mailed to graduating medical students. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1001 graduating medical students at 8 US medical schools (4 public and 4 private), chosen from each of the 4 regions designated by the Association of American Medical Colleges for geographic categorization. OUTCOME MEASURE: The number of reported experiences of various forms of harassment and discrimination while attending medical school. RESULTS: Of 1001 surveys, 548 (55%) were returned. Overall, 46% of the students reported experiencing some form of harassment and 41% some form of discrimination from instructors or supervisors while attending medical school. Nonsexual verbal harassment was reported by 41%; sexual verbal harassment was reported by 10%. Discrimination based on gender was reported by 29% of students; discrimination based on race was reported by 12%. CONCLUSIONS: Harassment and discrimination of medical students by instructors and supervisors continue to occur frequently, and new approaches are needed to address these problems.     

Gender harassment, job satisfaction, and distress among employed White and minority women.

This study tested the hypotheses that gender harassment is related to decreased job satisfaction and increased distress, and that White and minority women differ in their responses to it, in a sample of 385 women office workers. Over 70% reported exposure to gender harassment at work. As predicted, frequency of harassment was negatively correlated with job satisfaction and positively associated with an index of distress, assessed by self-reported somatic complaints, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (Radloff, 1997), and the reported use of alcohol for palliative coping. Minority status was unrelated to frequency of reported harassment or to responses to it. The tendency to focus on negative aspects of self and environment (negative affectivity) was statistically controlled. Findings indicate that gender harassment is a commonplace workplace stressor that warrants serious attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Workplace emotions: The role of supervision and leadership.

In this experience sampling study, the authors examined the role of organizational leaders in employees' emotional experiences. Data were collected from health care workers 4 times a day for 2 weeks. Results indicate supervisors were associated with employee emotions in 3 ways: (a) Employees experienced fewer positive emotions when interacting with their supervisors as compared with interactions with coworkers and customers; (b) employees with supervisors high on transformational leadership experienced more positive emotions throughout the workday, including interactions with coworkers and customers; and (c) employees who regulated their emotions experienced decreased job satisfaction and increased stress, but those with supervisors high on transformational leadership were less likely to experience decreased job satisfaction. The results also suggest that the effects of emotional regulation on stress are long lasting (up to 2 hr) and not easily reduced by leadership behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Residents' experiences of abuse, discrimination and sexual harassment during residency training. McMaster University Residency Training Programs

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of psychological abuse, physical assault, and discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual orientation, and to examine the prevalence and impact of sexual harassment in residency training programs. DESIGN: Self-administered questionnaire. SETTING: McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont. PARTICIPANTS: Residents in seven residency training programs during the academic year from July 1993 to June 1994. Of 225 residents 186 (82.7%) returned a completed questionnaire, and 50% of the respondents were women. OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of psychological abuse, physical assault and discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual orientation experienced by residents during medical training, prevalence and residents' perceived frequency of sexual harassment. RESULTS: Psychological abuse was reported by 50% of the residents. Some of the respondents reported physical assault, mostly by patients and their family members (14.7% reported assaults by male patients and family members, 9.8% reported assaults by female patients and family members), 5.4% of the female respondents reported assault by male supervising physicians. Discrimination on the basis of gender was reported to be common and was experienced significantly more often by female residents than by male residents (p < 0.01). Ten respondents, all female, reported having experienced discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation. Most of the respondents experienced sexual harassment, especially in the form of sexist jokes, flirtation and unwanted compliments on their dress or figure. On average, 40% of the respondents, especially women (p < 0.01), reported experiencing offensive body language and receiving sexist teaching material and unwanted compliments on their dress. Significantly more female respondents than male respondents stated that they had reported events of sexual harassment to someone (p < 0.001). The most frequent emotional reactions to sexual harassment were embarassment (reported by 24.0%), anger (by 23.4%) and frustration (20.8%). CONCLUSION: Psychological abuse, discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual harassment are commonly experienced by residents in training programs. A direct, progressive, multidisciplinary approach is needed to label and address these problems.     

Antecedents and consequences of sexual harassment in organizations: A test of an integrated model.

Sexual harassment of women in organizational settings has recently become a topic of interest to researchers and the general public alike. Although numerous studies document its frequency, the development of conceptual models identifying antecedents and consequences of harassment has proceeded at a slower pace. In this article, an empirical test of a recently proposed conceptual model is described. According to the model, organizational climate for sexual harassment and job gender context are critical antecedents of sexual harassment; harassment, in turn, influences work-related variables (e.g., job satisfaction); psychological states (e.g., anxiety and depression); and physical health. On the basis of a sample of women employed at a large, regulated utility company, the model's predictions were generally supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job-related and psychological effects of sexual harassment in the workplace: Empirical evidence from two organizations.

Previous evidence regarding the outcomes of sexual harassment in the workplace has come mainly from self-selected samples or analogue studies or those using inadequate measures. The sexual harassment experiences, coping responses, and job-related and psychological outcomes of 447 female private-sector employees and 300 female university employees were examined. Discriminant function analyses indicated that women who had not been harassed and women who had experienced low, moderate, and high frequencies of harassment could be distinguished on the basis of both job-related and psychological outcomes. These outcomes could not be attributed to negative affective disposition, attitudes toward harassment, or general job stress. Results suggest that relatively low-level but frequent types of sexual harassment can have significant negative consequences for working women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal conflict at work and psychological outcomes: Testing a model among young workers.

On the basis of A. P. Fiske's (1992) general theory of social relations, a model of interpersonal conflict at work was developed and tested in a sample of young workers. The model predicts that conflict with supervisors is predictive of organizationally relevant psychological outcomes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions), whereas conflict with coworkers is predictive of personally relevant psychological outcomes (depression, self-esteem, and somatic symptoms). Data were obtained from a sample of 319 individuals ages 16–19 yrs. Structural equation modeling results supported the hypothesized relations. Secondary regression analysis of 2 data sets from M. A. Donovan, F. Drasgow, and L. J. Munson (1998) provides initial support for the generalizability of the hypothesized model to older employees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The disclosure dilemma for gay men and lesbians: "Coming out" at work.

This study examined disclosing sexual orientation at work for 220 gay men and 159 lesbians. Self-acceptance, the centrality of one's identity, how "out" one is to friends and family, employer policies, and perceived employer gay-supportiveness were associated with disclosure behaviors at work for gay/lesbian employees. Disclosing at work and working for an organization perceived to be more gay supportive was related to higher job satisfaction and lower job anxiety. Reactions of coworkers to gay or lesbian workers mediated the relationship between disclosure and gay/lesbian workers' job attitudes. Implications and solutions for management are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Let's talk: Patterns and correlates of social support among temporary employees.

The authors explored how temporary employees exchanged communications with supervisor, peers, and family and friends regarding positively job-related, negatively job-related, and non-job-related contents. The authors also examined roles of communication in coping with insecure job experiences. Survey results from 112 temporary employees working in various organizations provided evidence that communication contents were differentially related to work anxiety and life satisfaction for temporary employees. It was found that work anxiety increased when employees engaged in communication pertaining to negative job-related contents. Furthermore, the positive relationship between life satisfaction and positive communication with coworkers was observed only for the temporary employees who also had a permanent job. Implications for staffing temporary employees and suggestions for studying communication effects are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of proactive personality in job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior: A relational perspective.

Drawing from a relational approach, the authors conceptualize the quality of leader–member exchange as a mediator and procedural justice climate as a contextual moderator for understanding the role of proactive personality in job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior. Data from a sample of 200 Chinese employees within 54 work groups were used to examine the hypothesized models. Results show that having a proactive personality was associated with employees establishing a high-quality exchange relationship with their supervisors; in turn, the quality of leader–member exchange was associated with greater job satisfaction and more organizational citizenship behaviors. Additionally, the relationship between proactive personality and organizational citizenship behavior was positively moderated by procedural justice climate within the group. Implications for management theory and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Secondary metabolites from marine microorganisms: bacteria, protozoa, algae and fungi. Achievements and prospects

To facilitate nurses' job satisfaction and reduce their psychological distress, it is useful for a nursing manager to know whether factors within the workplace provide greater prediction of these affective states than variables outside the domain of work, and whether there are common predictors of satisfaction and distress. The relative importance of occupational and nonoccupational variables in the prediction of job satisfaction and psychological distress was investigated in a survey of hospital nurses (N = 376). Perceived relations with the head nurse, coworkers, physicians, and other units/departments, along with unit tenure and job/nonjob conflict, were predictors of job satisfaction. Personal disposition (anxiety-trait), social integration, unit tenure, professional experience, position level, and job/nonjob conflict, along with the relations with the head nurse and physicians, were predictors of psychological distress. The relations with the head nurse and physicians, as well as unit tenure and job/nonjob conflict, were predictors of both satisfaction and distress. The prediction by unit tenure is noteworthy. Unit tenure had a negative relationship to satisfaction and a positive one to distress, whereas total experience had a negative relationship to psychological distress and none with job satisfaction. The role of unit tenure in nurses' affective experiences warrants more attention in future research, along with the role of job/nonjob conflict and other variables predictive of nurses' satisfaction and distress.     

Effects of racial and sexual harassment on work and the psychological well-being of African American women.

Research on workplace harassment has typically examined either racial or sexual harassment, without studying both simultaneously. As a result, it remains unknown whether the co-occurrence of racial and sexual harassment or their interactive effects account for unique variance in work and psychological well-being. In this study, hierarchical linear regression analyses were used to explore the influence of racial and sexual harassment on these outcomes among 91 African American women involved in a sexual harassment employment lawsuit. Results indicated that both sexual and racial harassment contributed significantly to the women's occupational and psychological outcomes. Moreover, their interaction was statistically significant when predicting supervisor satisfaction and perceived organizational tolerance of harassment. Using a sample of African American women employed in an organizational setting where harassment was known to have occurred and examining sexual and racial harassment concomitantly makes this study unique. As such, it provides novel insights and an important contribution to an emerging body of research and underscores the importance of assessing multiple forms of harassment when examining organizational stressors, particularly among women of color. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)