Intro to This Special Issue: Refugees/Displaced People in the Workplace

This special issue focuses on refugees’ experiences and displaced people across a diverse set of ethnicities and circumstances. The growing number of refugees and displaced people and the work and life difficulties they face are central social issues in the world today. This special issue will explore how refugees and displaced people in Brazil can be fully integrated, socialized, engaged, embraced, and affirmed into the workplace and society. Research is presented on the experiences of refugees and displaced people, a growing but under-researched segment of the world’s population. Little is known about refugees’ career experiences and displaced people and how organizations, leaders, and policymakers can assist them in finding work, maintaining employment, and creating positive life outcomes. There are 12 articles included in this special issue. They focus on three areas of refugees in the workplace. The first area explores biases in the perceptions of refugees based on factors such as skin complexion, countries of origin, and race. The second area presents research that elaborates on the theme of displacement of refugees and barriers to integration, inclusion, social recognition, and belonging. The third area examines ways in which refugees have been integrated and acculturated into Brazilian society, often through the assistance of NGOs or through the efforts of managers in the workplace. It is our hope that the research presented in this special issue will increase interest in this important topic and lead to additional future research related to reducing barriers to integration and acculturation that refugees and displaced people face

Rater error bias training in the employment interview and racioethnicity biased perceptions.

Interviewer training in general is an important area of research that has great research potential, since selecting and hiring the most qualified employees is at the root of effective organizations. This study utilizes regression analysis to examine a rater error bias interviewer training program as a tool for reducing Hispanic racioethnicity biased perceptions in the employment interview. The interviewer training manipulation used in this research was not effective, and one potential reason is the duration of the training program. Although training did not directly influence the interviewer\u27s perceptions of applicant characteristics, training was significantly correlated with prejudice. Specifically, training was associated with a decrease in prejudice against Hispanics (r = -.20, p \u3c .01). Efforts at training employees to rate applicants based on qualifications and social skills and not irrelevant individual differences should continue. Interviewer training such as rater error bias training has the potential to greatly improve the effectiveness of the interviewer decision making process. Suggestions for future interviewer training research are provided

Ability to differentiate and its impact on employment interview decision-making.

How interview perceptions are formed and evaluative judgments made have traditionally been conceptualized as analogous to a black box . Current research indicates a number of models that attempt to explain the way in which information is processed in an interview situation. Both management and cognitive psychology literatures indicate that an underlying cognitive model influences the way individual\u27s process information into a single evaluative judgment. This paper explores one element of an individual\u27s cognitive process, their degree of differentiation, and the impact it has on the accuracy of the interview decision. Results indicate that individuals who are have a higher degree of differentiation make more accurate interview decisions. The implication of this finding and its role in understanding the cognitive processing inherent in interview decisions and suggestions for future research are also discussed

The effects of emotional intelligence, age, work experience, and academic performance.

In recent years, emotional intelligence (EI) has been a popular topic of debate in the field of management. It has been praised as a successful predictor of job performance and leadership ability. Authors have also claimed that emotional intelligence predicts success at school. However, little empirical research has been conducted to test this assertion. In this study, the relationship between emotional intelligence, as measured by the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire Short Form (TEIQue SF) and academic performance were examined in a sample of undergraduate business students (N=193). Emotional intelligence was found to be positively associated with work experience. Despite this finding, emotional intelligence was not significantly associated with age. Global trait emotional intelligence was not significantly associated with academic achievement, however, students in the mid-range GPA had a significantly higher mean well-being factor score than students in the lower and higher-range GPA. Implications and recommendations for developing emotional intelligence in students are discussed

The moderating effects of technology on career success : Can social networks shatter the glass ceiling?

This paper reviews the demographic predictors of career success and proposes that technology plays a critical role in alleviating career success barriers for various demographic groups who have historically encountered barriers. Specifically we propose that technology can act as a moderator allowing minority groups greater participation and acceptance in networks. And, ultimately the greater participation and acceptance in networks will lead to greater career success for groups who have typically encountered glass ceilings based on demographic variables such as gender, age, race and ethnicity

The best defense is a good offense : Using human resource management proactively to minimize the threat of litigation from wrongful termination cases.

When it comes to employment-related litigation, human resource (HR) professionals are a business organization\u27s first line of defense. Lawsuits by employees alleging wrongful termination, harassment or discrimination constitute a significant threat to a business. Although many employees are at-will meaning that they can be terminated at any time for any reason, exceptions exist which create the basis for wrongful termination claims. These exceptions also raise the business\u27 risk to be sued for termination decisions. In this article, we briefly review the exceptions to employment-at-will which create the basis for wrongful termination claims. In their quest for documenting a good cause for terminations, HR professionals must navigate the implications of employment-at-will to avoid inadvertently exposing their company to litigation. We offer suggestions for helping HR practitioners reduce this exposure

Voluntary turnover typology utilizing the dispositional variables of core self-evaluation and negative affectivity

A voluntary turnover typology is developed in order to provide a psychological, heuristic tool for understanding the psychology behind different types of voluntary turnover. The typology incorporates job satisfaction along with the dispositional variables of core self-evaluation and negative affectivity. Implications and directions for future voluntary turnover research are provided