Negative Stereotypes Behind Bad & Ugly Gossip: Workplaces

If you use negative stereotypes about people who are different from you, you are inviting everyone who hears you to use negative stereotypes about you. Below are some of the negative stereotypes other people could use about you in your workplace.

My collection of stereotypes comes from books, magazines, newspapers, movies, television shows, radio programs, news shows, conversations, etc.

Stereotypes and categories overlap at times. I create categories of stereotypes as I have stereotype examples to put into those categories.

The research into gossip goes back at least to the middle of the 20th century. Both men and women research gossip. Putting all of their research together, gossip is talk and writing about people — both other people and ourselves — in family, social, workplace, and public settings.

Much of the research shows that gossip is both positive and negative. I define gossip as good, bad, or ugly. Good gossip ignores or breaks stereotypes while bad and ugly gossip are based on negative stereotypes.

Negative stereotypes exist about everyone, no matter their age, gender, race, religion, profession, etc. These stereotype blog posts will help you understand the negative stereotypes about you. Each post will focus on one or two or a few characteristics.

Stereotype Updates

I add stereotypes as I come across them.

I will add the new stereotypes at the bottom of each listing, putting ~~~~~ between the older stereotypes and the new stereotypes.

~~~~~

People who do their jobs well

hall monitor

tattle tale

troublemaker

trying to get coworkers in trouble

hormonal

rebellious

stroppy

time of the month

bad tempered

argumentative

Half White / Half Black

Performs better than Black

Businessmen

aggressive

materialistic

mercenary

Nice guys

finish last

Businesswomen

less happy with success

unattractive

aggressive

unpopular

less likely to maintain a steady relationship

egoist

dominant

hide feelings

less feminine

more masculine

less desirable

Women bosses

petty

envious

power-mad

too aggressive

Women are seen as unsuitable for management positions

when their hair is long, curly,  extreme in color, in the face,
fastened with barrettes and ribbons

when they wear extreme amounts and colors of makeup,
soft or tight sweaters, low necklines, ruffled blouses,
dangling or ostentatious jewelry,  and don’t wear a jacket

when they are attractive

Attractive women

stupid

should be trophy wife instead of career woman

interested in sex

schemers

less trustworthy

more expendable

should smile at everyone

less competent

Handsome men

ambitious

threat to management self-interest

opinionated

Feminine dressing women

low managerial skills

low interest in work

illogical

overemotional in critical decision making

financially responsible

helpless

dependent on the influences of others

sexy

flirtatious in social relations

not  assertive

low independence

low self-confidence

Successful / career black women

arrogant

hard

controlling

self-centered

uppity

Women who use the title Ms.

more motivated

more masculine

less likable

Women who use the titles Miss or Mrs.

lacking personality characteristics of a successful middle manager

Secretaries

materialistic

pregnant workers

overly emotional

often irrational

physically limited

less than committed to the job

don’t perform well

not valuable or dependable as a worker

Older workers

absent more

lower productivity levels

less flexible in their behavior

unable to learn new skills

prone to job-related accidents

Overweight workers

blameworthy

guilt-ridden

untrustworthy

incompetent

salesclerks

pushy

insensitive

insincere

fawning

Construction workers

ordinary

unremarkable

Soldiers

shell shocked soldiers are neurotically susceptible and infantile

Journalists

callous

cavalier

hound celebrities

interested in human weakness

chew up private lives for entertainment

Clothing designers

aggressive

Men who work in stereotypical female professions

taking a step down

receive preferential treatment for hiring and promotion
— a glass escalator

Male nurses

gay (which assumes that being gay is bad)

Male librarians

wimpy

asexual

Male social workers

feminine

passive

Male elementary school teachers

pedophiles

failures as men

Male managers

domineering

challenging

Disabled workers

incompetent

vulnerable

ineligible for jobs

CEOs

need to be compensated with huge sums of money to
motivate them to do their jobs well

Lawyers

untrustworthy

contemptible

fast talkers

dishonest

subverters of justice

look for loopholes

Truckers

bullies

menace on the highway

Low income workers

will not be motivated by higher salaries to do their jobs well
or work harder

will only be motivated by the threat of their jobs being moved
overseas

Giving raises, health care, and retirement benefits to workers

will increase inflation

squeeze profit margins

end economic prosperity

Giving stock options, bonuses, and multimillion dollar salaries to CEOs

will lower inflation

increase profit margins

lead to  economic prosperity

Whistleblowers

squealers

rats

stoop-pigeons

finks

loose cannons

dangers to businesses damaging to career of fellow workers

habitual liars

irresponsible

masters of deceit

committed crimes

fudged resumes

In general women workers are stereotyped as

less competent

not good as leaders

incapable of assertiveness

less knowledgeable

having less authority

being deviant for showing competence and assertiveness

being deviant for interrupting a man

too emotional to do important work

In general women’s work is stereotyped as

less important

less authoritative

less convincing

less valuable

needing to be rejected

ignored or unrecognized

inferior to men’s work

Because of the stereotypes, employed women experience

less pay

lower performance evaluations

fewer promotions

fewer opportunities

less power

fewer resources

less autonomy

less approval for efforts and more disapproval of efforts

more pressure

less accommodation

less cooperation

more interruptions

less authority

less respect

less credit for their work

When men succeed on the job, the stereotyped reasons include

the ability and talents of the men

When women succeed on the job, the stereotyped reasons include

unstable or external causes

When men fail on the job, the stereotyped reasons include

lack of effort

a difficult situation

bad luck

When women fail on the job, the stereotyped reasons include

lack of talent and ability

work-family issues

are concerns for women

research on the impact of parental work

focuses on the mother having a job or the father losing a job

Entrepreneurship

criminal activity

Points to Ponder about Men in the Workplace

Men in women’s fields enjoy a glass escalator of preferential treatment for hiring and promotion and are over represented in managerial positions. But choosing a career in a traditionally female field means you’ll face stereotypes of failure and criminality.

Points to Ponder about Women in the Workplace

If you are a woman, be careful to never use any of the negative stereotypes about women in the workplace against other women. If you do, you will be giving permission to everyone else to:

Pay you less

Lower your job performance evaluations

Pass you over for promotions

Deny you opportunities

Deny you power

Deny you resources

Deny you autonomy

Denying approval for your efforts while disapproving your
efforts more

Put you under more pressure

Be less accommodating with you

Be less cooperative with you

Interrupt you more

Deny you authority

Deny you respect

Deny you credit for your work

Points to Ponder about Pay & Benefits

Did you notice the following?

Money and benefits supposedly motivate CEOs but not the
workers that keep the company going.

Raises for CEOs supposedly benefit the economy but raises
for ordinary workers supposedly harm the economy.

Secretaries cannot be motivated by raises but are materialistic
while CEOs need big pay raises to be motivated but are not
materialistic.

Perhaps we should ask the CEOs who get the top pay and benefits to explain why programs that give money to the poor have created so many benefits that dozens of countries have those programs.