Loriann Roberson

Measuring affect at work: Confirmatory analyses of competing mood structures with conceptual linkage to cortical regulatory systems.

Twenty so-called clear markers of positive and negative mood (Watson & Tellegen, 1985) were applied in the current study to measure affect at work. Confirmatory factor analyses of a bipolar Two-Factor (i.e., positive and negative affect) Model and a competing multifactor model were conducted with three samples: managerial and professional workers in an insurance firm, retail sales personnel, and a heterogeneous group of students who were employed. The first-order Two-Factor Model (i.e., descriptively bipolar positive and negative affect factors) hypothesized to underlie the 20 affect items did not provide a strong fit to the data in the three samples. A first-order Four-Factor Model with descriptively unipolar factors labeled as Positive Arousal (Enthusiasm), Negative Activation (Nervousness), Low Arousal (Fatigue), and Low Activation (Relaxation) provided a better fit across the samples. These results support the measurement of positive and negative mood as descriptively unipolar factors. The measurement implications of these results as well as conceptual linkages between the four mood factors and the two major cortical regulatory systems, left-lateralized dopaminergic activation and right-lateralized noradrenergic arousal, are discussed.

Challenging Conventional Wisdom About Who Quits: Revelations From Corporate America

Findings from 20 corporations from the Attrition and Retention Consortium, which collects quit statistics about 475,458 professionals and managers, extended and disputed established findings about who quits. Multilevel analyses revealed that company tenure is curvilinearly related to turnover and that a jobs past attrition rate strengthens the (negative) performance- exit relationship. Further, women quit more than men, while African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans quit more than White Americans, though racial differences disappeared after confounds were controlled for. African American, Hispanic American, and Asian American women quit more than men of the same ethnicities and White Americans, but statistical controls nullified evidence for dual discrimination toward minority women. Greater corporate flight among women and minorities during early employment nonetheless hampers progress toward a more diversified workforce in corporate America.

Stereotype Threat at Work

Managing diversity in organizations requires creating an environment where all employees can succeed. This paper explains how understanding “stereotype threat”—the fear of being judged according to a negative stereotype— can help managers create positive environments for diverse employees. While stereotype threat has received a great deal of academic research attention, the issue is usually framed in the organizational literature as a problem affecting performance on tests used for admission and selection decisions. Further, articles discussing stereotype threat usually report the results of experimental studies and are targeted to an academic audience. We summarize 12 years of research findings on stereotype threat, address its commonplace occurrence in the workplace, and consider how interventions effective in laboratory settings for reducing stereotype threat might be implemented by managers in organizational contexts. We end the paper with a discussion of how attention to stereotype threat can improve...

6. Racioethnicity and job performance: A review and critique of theoretical perspectives on the causes of group differences

Abstract Workforce equality has been an important organizational and societal goal for many years, and a number of strategies for achieving it have been recommended and used. Yet, differences in job performance and important job outcomes such as promotion, advancement, and compensation still exist among racioethnic groups. This situation is important for OB researchers to address. What do we know about the causes of these differences? The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on racioethnic group differences in performance and related outcomes, and the models used to explain group differences. We find that four models are used as explanatory frameworks for exploring group differences: the Internal Trait model, Bias and Discrimination model, Response to Discrimination model, and the Organizational Context model. We examine these models and summarize the evidence for each. Based on the review, implications of the models for future research and for the reduction of group differences are discussed.

Assessing personal work goals in the organizational setting: Development and evaluation of the work concerns inventory

Abstract This article reports on the development of an instrument for assessing the personal work goals of employees. The Work Concerns Inventory (WCI) combines idiographic and nomothetic methods to obtain a list of employee work goals and characterizations of those goals on behavior-relevant variables. The goal characteristics assessed on the WCI come from expectancy-value and behavioristic models of goal choice. The internal structure and validity of the WCI for predicting goal-directed behavior were examined in a field study involving 172 employees. The results indicated support for most hypotheses. The hypothesized relationships among the instruments scales were supported. Goal characteristics predicted the frequency of goal-directed behavior, indicating that optimal prediction of behavior was achieved through the use of both cognitive and operant variables. The findings support the validity of the WCI and promote future research on how personal work goals influence organizational behavior.

Contending With Stereotype Threat at Work: A Model of Long-Term Responses

Women and people of color are still underrepresented in many occupational roles. Being in a situation where one is underrepresented, and thus in the demographic minority, has been shown to be a factor leading to the experience of stereotype threat—the expectation that one will be judged or perceived on the basis of social identity group membership rather than actual performance and potential. Although numerous laboratory studies have documented the negative impact of stereotype threat on short-term task performance, its effects in applied contexts, such as work settings, remain unexplored. Utilizing theories from the social, organizational, and counseling psychology literatures, the authors propose a conceptual model of long-term responses to stereotype threat in the workplace. The authors posit a framework of possible responses to stereotype threat that include fending off the stereotype, discouraged by the stereotype, and resilient to the stereotype. Within each response set, there are numerous strategies that an individual can employ, with varying benefits and consequences. The authors conclude the article by suggesting an agenda for future research and discussing the implications of the model for understanding stereotype threat in the workplace.

Assessing Instructor Cultural Competence in the Classroom: An Instrument and a Development Process

The ability to manage diversity effectively is important not only in organizations but also in the classroom. This article describes an instrument for assessing instructor cultural competence and the process used to develop the instrument. Using the critical incident technique, the authors developed a situational questionnaire that assesses behavioral intentions in response to classroom diversity incidents. Responses are scored using the Bennett model of cultural competence. The authors discuss ways in which the instrument can be adapted by instructors interested in assessing and improving their own cultural competence.

Hiring for Diversity: The Challenges Faced by American and European Companies in Employee Selection

In today’s business climate, corporate social responsibility has a broad definition and includes diversity management. The process of employee selection is a key diversity management practice, as it influences an organization’s external brand and signifies commitment to diversity to current employees. In the USA, the history of racial discrimination resulted in sweeping employment laws designed to reduce bias, especially in the hiring process. Thus, employers have struggled to balance compliance with affirmative action laws and finding a method of selection that is perceived as fair to all job candidates. In Europe, employment laws are more prescriptive to bring about equality, especially gender equality. This chapter outlines the history of employee selection in the USA and Europe, reviews the challenges practitioners face with the many methods they have employed to try and ensure fairness, and presents the implications of common diversity selection practices in both locales.

Minaccia da stereotipo e comportamenti organizzativi per gli operatori sanitari

La minaccia da stereotipo fa riferimento alla condizione psicologica di ansia e apprensione di quei lavoratori che, impegnati in un’attivita, temono di essere valutati negativamente in quanto giudicati sulla base di stereotipi. La letteratura sul tema evidenzia che la minaccia da stereotipo determina conseguenze negative per i lavoratori coinvolti da tale condizione, sia sul piano fisico sia su quello psicologico. Nel presente studio si ipotizza che la minaccia da stereotipo influenzi negativamente i comportamenti organizzativi degli operatori sanitari e, in particolare, la soddisfazione sul lavoro, la decisione di comunicare gli errori e la percezione di supporto organizzativo con riferimento a tale difficile decisione. Considerata la diffusa presenza di stereotipi di genere all’interno dei contesti sanitari, si ipotizza che tali effetti siano avvertiti con maggiore intensita dalle donne rispetto agli uomini. I risultati della ricerca evidenziano che la minaccia da stereotipo e associata negativamente alla soddisfazione sul lavoro e alla percezione di ricevere supporto con riferimento alla decisione di comunicare gli errori. Inoltre, soltanto per quest’ultima relazione emerge una significativa differenza nei comportamenti tra uomini e donne. Le implicazioni di tali risultati per la ricerca scientifica e per il management delle strutture sanitarie sono presentate nella sezione finale del presente lavoro.