The Influence of Employee Inkings on Consumer Behavior: Booed, Eschewed, and Tattooed

One trend that is becoming overwhelmingly popular in mainstream America, particularly among the youth (prior to and as they enter the workforce) is getting tattoos (Armstrong, Owen, Roberts, & Koch, 2002; Chivers, 2002; Laumann & Derick, 2006), yet there is little empirical evidence on the impact of having tattoos in an employment context. The current dissertation sought to understand this impact by examining the influence of employee tattoos on customers’ stereotypical perceptions, attitudes toward the employee, organization, and products, and behavior toward the employee and organization across two studies. In the first study, customers viewed a marketing video in which the employee either had a visible tattoo or not. Customers reported more stereotypical perceptions of tattooed (versus nontattooed) employees, such that they perceived the tattooed employee as possessing more artistic traits, having a less favorable appearance, and being risker. Stereotypical perceptions of artistic traits were the strongest, and these perceptions mediated the relation between tattoo presence and evaluations of the employee, organization, and product. In a second field study, employees (who either had a tattoo or not) sold restaurant cards to customers at a convention to raise money for a charity organization. Results showed that customers engaged in more avoidance behaviors with tattooed (versus) nontattooed employees; however, there were no significant differences in purchasing behavior based on tattoo presence. The results of both studies provide insight into a mechanism for how tattoo presence impacts customers’ reactions to employees, organizations, and products. Implications and future research ideas are discussed

Creating a climate of safety for Black workers in America

2020 has seen a racial reckoning unlike one we have seen since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. The killing of George Floyd and others, along with other societal issues have spurred racial unrest in the US. In this talk I will discuss the ways that societal racial unrest that leads to racial trauma can spillover and negatively affect people, particularly Black people at work. Then I will discuss ways that coworkers and organizations can start to create safe spaces for Black people to process trauma when coping with racism from outside and within organizations

“Say it Loud, I’m Black and Proud:” The Effectiveness of Racial Acknowledgments at Work

Research underscores engagement in identity management strategies as an effective way to reduce workplace discrimination, particularly subtle forms of discrimination. The aim of the current study is to examine the use and effectiveness of different methods of the specific identity management strategy of acknowledging race as a way to reduce workplace discrimination and lead to other positive outcomes for Black individuals. A sample of Black and White individuals with professional work experience participated in an online vignettebased survey. Participants read four short vignettes involving race in the workplace and responded to a series of questions assessing usage of various acknowledgment strategies, affective outcomes, and perceptions of effectiveness. Results revealed that Black individuals reported acknowledging their race to a greater extent than did White individuals, and Black people reported positive benefits of affirming race and using humor to discuss their race. Finally, Black participants found racial acknowledgments to be more effective than White participants. Implications and future directions are discussed

Gone Fishing: I–O Psychologists’ Missed Opportunities to Understand Marginalized Employees’ Experiences With Discrimination

This article focuses attention on research examining workplace discrimination against employees from marginalized groups.We particularly consider the experiences of seven different groups of marginalized individuals, some of which have legal protection and some of which do not but all of whom we feel have been overlooked by the field of industrial–organizational (I–O) psychology. We briefly describe the importance of studying each group and then delineate the brief amount of research that has been conducted. Finally, we make recommendations for I–O psychologists in terms of research and advocacy. Overall, we argue that I–O psychologists are missing an opportunity to be at the forefront of understanding and instigating changes that would result in maximizing the fairness and optimization of these often forgotten employees and their experiences in the workplace

Workplace Contextual Supports for LGBT Employees: A Review, Meta‐Analysis, and Agenda for future Research

The past decade has witnessed a rise in the visibility of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. This has resulted in some organizational researchers focusing their attention on workplace issues facing LGBT employees. While empirical research has been appropriately focused on examining the impact of workplace factors on the work lives of LGBT individuals, no research has examined these empirical relationships cumulatively. The purpose of this study was to conduct a comprehensive review and meta‐analysis of the outcomes associated with three workplace contextual supports (formal LGBT policies and practices, LGBT‐supportive climate, and supportive workplace relationships) and to compare the relative influence of these workplace supports on outcomes. Outcomes were grouped into four categories: (a) work attitudes, (b) psychological strain, (c) disclosure, and (d) perceived discrimination. Results show that supportive workplace relationships were more strongly related to work attitudes and strain, whereas LGBT supportive climate was more strongly related to disclosure and perceived discrimination compared to the other supports. Our findings also revealed a number of insights concerning the measurement, research design, and sample characteristics of the studies in the present review. Based on these results, we offer an agenda for future research

Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) Expansion: Measuring Racial, Religious, and National Aspects of Sense of Ethnic Identity Within the United Kingdom

These studies examined the degree to which racial, religious, and national aspects of individuals' sense of ethnic identity stand as interrelated, yet distinct, constructs. Results of exploratory factor analyses in Study 1 (n = 272) revealed that a three-factor model specifying racial, religious, and national identities yielded optimal fit to correlational data from an expanded, 36-item version of the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM; Roberts et al., 1999), although results left room for improvement in model fit. Subsequently, results of confirmatory factor analyses in Study 2 (n = 291) revealed that, after taking covariance among the items into account, a six-factor model specifying exploration and commitment dimensions within each of the racial, religious, and national identity constructs provided optimal fit. Implications for the utility of Goffman's (1963b) interactionist role theory and Erikson's (1968) ego psychology for understanding the full complexity of felt ethnic identity are discussed

Gone Fishing: I–O Psychologists’ Missed Opportunities to Understand Marginalized Employees’ Experiences With Discrimination

This article focuses attention on research examining workplace discrimination against employees from marginalized groups.We particularly consider the experiences of seven different groups of marginalized individuals, some of which have legal protection and some of which do not but all of whom we feel have been overlooked by the field of industrial–organizational (I–O) psychology. We briefly describe the importance of studying each group and then delineate the brief amount of research that has been conducted. Finally, we make recommendations for I–O psychologists in terms of research and advocacy. Overall, we argue that I–O psychologists are missing an opportunity to be at the forefront of understanding and instigating changes that would result in maximizing the fairness and optimization of these often forgotten employees and their experiences in the workplace

An innovative plan for water resources protection in the lake allatoona/upper etowah river watershed

Proceedings of the 2009 Georgia Water Resources Conference, April 27, 28, and 29, 2009 Athens, Georgia.In 2000, the Georgia Department of Environmental Protection (EPD) implemented one of the most innovative approaches to watershed management and protection in the nation. That approach required the development of Watershed Assessments (WA) and Watershed Protection Plans (WPP) prior to receiving water or waste water permits (new or expanded). This surrogate approach was designed to ensure that local water and sewer providers give full consideration for how the added capacity (water and/or sewer) could impact long-term sustainability of water resources and ultimately develop and implement plans that would support protection and sustainability of the resources. Prior to this collaborative effort, WA’s and WPP’s were developed by individual permittees with a focus on their own political boundaries and/or service areas. In 2003, the Lake Allatoona/Upper Etowah (LAUE) River Watershed was initiated to implement a comprehensive evaluation of ecological (aquatic and physical habitat) and water resource conditions of the LAUE watershed. The group includes the counties of Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Dawson, Forsyth, Lumpkin, and Pickens, and three water and sewer authorities; Cherokee County Water and Sewerage Authority, Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority, and Etowah Water and Sewer Authority along with federal, state, and local agencies using a true watershed approach. The broad objective of the project was to develop a better understanding of the linkages between land-use and environmental resources with an aim of sustainable utilization of the water resources of the LAUE Watershed in accordance with Georgia’s O.C.G.A 12-5- 522(a)). This was accomplished through rigorous sampling, analysis, coupled with linked watershed and reservoir modeling to produce data and assessments of known quality that will ultimately be used to make sound decisions that support sustainability of the area’s water resources. The WPP will offer a scientifically defensible and achievable example of watershed management that is spatially defined and politically plausible. Environmental impacts were derived based upon the ability of a potential management alternative to enhance and/or protect aquatic ecological habitat as well as meet water quality standards. Economic impacts were derived for various management alternatives and were divided into two main categories: (1) BMP costs as an indicator of direct economic impacts; and (2) land opportunity costs as an indicator of indirect economic impacts. This collaborative framework links all aspects of Georgia State Water programs and could become the tactical model for the State to apply existing programs more efficiently and effectively at the watershed scale.Sponsored by: Georgia Environmental Protection Division U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Water Science Center U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Water Resources Institute The University of Georgia, Water Resources FacultyThis book was published by Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2152. The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of The University of Georgia, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Georgia Water Research Institute as authorized by the Water Research Institutes Authorization Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-307) or the other conference sponsors