Papers/Projects

Why the Roads You (Don’t) Take Pave the Way to Success

Advice is often given to junior scholars in the field of organization science to ostensibly facilitate their career success. In this commentary, we discuss insights from 19 elite scholars (i.e., Fellows and top journal editors) about the advice they received–and, often, did not follow–throughout their careers. We highlight some of the pitfalls from the current, all-too-common, and often singular advice given to junior scholars while also adding necessary nuance to the requirements to achieve success in our field. We conclude with advice on how to give better advice, thereby more equitably encouraging a new generation of increasingly diverse researchers and future professors. See this new work published in Journal of Management here.

Who You Are Shapes How you See (and Respond) To Women’s Workplace Mistreatment

Our identity (who we are) shapes our perceptions of discrimination and mistreatment within our own organizations (how we see things). Specifically, when we highly identify with our workplace – a sense of attachment that ordinarily offers benefits for employee motivation and engagement – that same identity can also hinder our ability to recognize unfair treatment when it occurs; however, the same, highly identified employees were also more likely to intervene when they noticed the discrimination. Theoretically, women’s gender identity might also make them more attuned to noticing women’s workplace mistreatment; yet, three studies showed a lack of consistent evidence for this idea, suggesting that women are not “overly sensitive” or hypervigilant. Finally, especially men who identified as feminists were slightly more likely to noticed women’s mistreatment and significantly more likely to intervene. See this new work published in Journal of Management here.

(Don’t) Mind the Gap: Reframing Résumés Facilitates Mothers' Work Re-entry

Becoming a mother and taking care-related leaves from work contribute to economic gender inequality; unemployment gaps may function similarly and are more common now due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So what can these job-seekers do? We integrate the judgment and decision-making literature to redesign résumés in a way that reduces mothers’ barriers to work re-entry. We test and replicate this intervention in a field experiment and several lab experiments. See here for the published paper in the Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings.

Fix the Game–Not the Dame: Gender Equity in Leadership by Design

Gender biases tend to disadvantage female leaders (vs. men), while bias trainings often do not transfer from the classroom to the board room or even increase negative reactions to female leaders. However, leaders may not only be viewed as representatives of their gender, but also as representatives of their teams. Thus, to override these pervasive and pernicious biases by design, we measured followers’ reactions to male and female leaders whom we randomly assigned to lead male-majority or gender-balanced teams. Findings indicate that by making the local context within which leaders are perceived more gender-balanced, we may also restore gender equity in leadership evaluations. See here for the published paper in Journal of Business Ethics.

Help When Leaders Need Somebody? Follower Reactions to Leader Work-Family Conflict

Perceptions of others’ work-family conflict (WFC) have typically been studied as a top-down phenomenon, revealing negative career consequences for followers with higher WFC–particularly women. However, we know less about how those lower in organizational hierarchies (e.g., followers) notice and behave in response to leaders’ WFC–particularly male leaders. We propose that followers perceive leaders’ WFC and respond to it prosocially with extra effort to help leaders at work. Results from a field study and two experiments generally supported our predictions. This research highlights a new behavioral bonus wherein leaders’ ostensibly negative state–WFC–elicits positive behavioral effects in the form of extra effort from followers and lower-level evaluators. See here for the published paper in the Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings.

Risqué Business? Humor in the Post-#MeToo Era 

#MeToo has undoubtedly triggered profound, positive effects for employees and organizations by increasing awareness of sexual harassment and empowering employees to speak up about it. However, it might have also created a backlash by making it more difficult for men and women to work with each other. Thus, we tested humor as a proactive, interpersonal intervention. In a series of experiments, results showed that a short, positive pun decreases intergroup anxiety for women, but increases it for men, when sexual harassment concerns are salient. Forthcoming in Journal of Applied Psychology.

Overlooked or Undercooked? A Critical Review & Recommendations for Experimental Methods in Diversity Research

For our new chapter covering a wide range of topics from participant payment, ethical and open practices, to endogeneity (and more!), see here.

Is Sustained Narcissism Unsustainable? CEO Personality, Gender, and CSR

Narcissists’ self-absorption promotes self-serving behaviors, typically at a cost for sustainable environmental outcomes. Because environmetnal sustainability actions tend to garner attention from stakeholders and the media, however, CEO narcissism may also be positively associated with CSR. We examine this effect, including if it differs for male and female CEOs. Results from a mixed methods program of research suggest the effects of narcissism on environmental sustainability are more prominent for female (vs. male) CEOs, because highly narcissistic male CEOs are more strongly affected by stakeholder and media attention.

Critical events at critical times? A gendered identity approach on the path to (sustainable) leadership

What are critical events or shocks? How might they influence early career professionals' leadership pursuits? Do these processes differ for those who identify as men and women? What are their implications for sustainability? In this theoretical piece, Dr. Stephanie Rehbock, Ronit Kark, and I highlight how #criticalevents affect early career professionals and their #identitysalience at a critical time for gender equity and (social) sustainability more broadly, while also challenging research and practice to more carefully consider the accuracy of our science and the untapped potential of the nexus between #diversity, #leadership, and #sustainability. For more, see the article in Frontiers.

Friendship Diversity

For a mixed-methods study of Asian American adolescents’ friendships, their diversity, and the correlates of these friendships (e.g., ethnic identity, perceived discrimination, language proficiency), see here.

Gender & Parenthood Stereotypes & Inequalities

Is there a grain of truth to stereotypes? We review the literature, disentangling bias from reality with a career lens in our chapter here.

Playing the Game Relieves “More of the Same”?

Traditional models of leadership development and networking continue the cycle of promotion for more traditional leaders. To reduce problematic homogeneity, increase valuable diversity, and ensure a more sustainable future, this project examines non-traditional paths toward non-traditional leadership. Stay tuned here for project and paper updates.

Weight Bias & Stigma, Weight-Based Teasing & Bullying, & Weight-Related Terminology

Together with Dr. Rebecca Puhl (at Yale), we conducted an active stream of research examining the above topics by asking questions such as:

• For a general overview of weight stigma, its nature, and its consequences, see our easily digestible chapter here.

• Which terms do adults prefer that their doctors use to describe their weight, do these preferences depend on the person’s current BMI, and what effects might such terms have? (Published paper here)

• Which terms should be used to refer to children’s weight, do these preferences depend on the person’s current BMI, and what effects might such terms have? (Published paper here)

• Which terms do adults prefer that weight-related public health campaigns use to describe their weight, do these preferences depend on the person’s current BMI, and what effects might such terms have? (Published paper here)

• What kinds of weight-based teasing and/or bullying do youth experience, who are the perpetrators, and what effects might these experiences have? (Published papers here & here on experiences; preferred interventions here)

• What kinds of weight biases do physical education teachers have, does it drive differential interpretations of youths’ teasing or bullying, and does it differ according to the youths’ gender and/or bodyweight? (Published papers here & here)

• Are empathy and/or perspective-taking effective strategies to reduce weight-based bias and prejudice via an online intervention? (Published paper here)

• Are there also weight biases towards parents who are overweight, does this differ according to the parent’s gender, and what effects might such a bias have on coworkers’ support for their colleagues’ parental leaves? (Published paper here)