Subtle Discrimination in the Workplace: A Vicious Cycle

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313019498_Subtle_Discrimination_in_the_Workplace_A_Vicious_Cycle volume 10, Issue 1 March 2017, pp. 51-76 Kristen P. Jones (a1), Dave F. Arena (a1), Christine L. Nittrouer (a2), Natalya M. Alonso (a3) and Alex P. Lindsey (a4) (a1) Fogelman College of Business & Economics, The University of Memphis (a2) Department of Psychology, Rice University (a3) Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (a4) Department of Psychology, Indiana University–Purdue University Indiana DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2016.91Published online: 27 January 2017 Due to rising pressure to appear egalitarian, subtle discrimination pervades today's workplace. Although its ambiguous nature may make it seem innocuous on the surface, an abundance of empirical evidence suggests subtle discrimination undermines employee and organizational functioning, perhaps even more so than its overt counterpart. In the following article, we argue for a multidimensional and continuous, rather than categorical, framework for discrimination. In doing so, we propose that there exist several related but distinct continuums on which instances of discrimination vary, including subtlety, formality, and intentionality. Next, we argue for organizational scholarship to migrate toward a more developmental, dynamic perspective of subtle discrimination in order to build a more comprehensive understanding of its antecedents, underlying mechanisms, and outcomes. We further contend that everyone plays a part in the process of subtle discrimination at work and, as a result, bears some responsibility in addressing and remediating it. We conclude with a brief overview of research on subtle discrimination in the workplace from each of four stakeholder perspectives—targets, perpetrators, bystanders, and allies—and review promising strategies that can be implemented by each of these stakeholders to remediate subtle discrimination in the workplace. Linked references K. J. Ajrouch , S. Reisine , S. Lim , W. Sohn , & A. Ismail (2010). Perceived everyday discrimination and psychological distress: Does social support matter? Ethnicity & Health, 15, 417–434. https://doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2010.484050 D. M. Amodio , P. G. Devine , & E. Harmon-Jones (2007). A dynamic model of guilt: Implications for motivation and self-regulation in the context of prejudice. Psychological Science, 18, 524–530. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01933.x L. Ashburn-Nardo , J. C. Blanchar , J. Petersson , K. A. Morris , & S. A. Goodwin (2014). Do you say something when it's your boss? 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