See the first post in this series for an introduction to the negative stereotypes behind bad and ugly gossip.
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.
I will update the categories in each stereotype blog post as I come across new examples. New stereotype examples in each category will be underlined.
Be sure to read the Points to Ponder at the end of this post.
Businessmen
aggressive
materialistic
mercenary
Nice guys
finish last
Successful/career women
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
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
Soldiers
shell shocked soldiers are neurotically susceptible and infantile
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
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
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
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.
~~~~~
Critical Thinking Questions
1. What’s happening?
2. Why is it important?
3. What don’t I see?
4. How do I know?
5. Who is saying it?
6. What else? What if?
Stereotype Thinking Questions
1. What is threatening my beliefs?
2. How can I make it unimportant?
3. What can I reject?
4. What can I laugh at?
5. How can I attack people who threaten my beliefs?
6. How can I deflect?
The stereotype thinking questions are mine, based on my observations of stereotype thinkers.
~~~~~
Online workshop that provides strategies to chip away stereotypes in both professional and personal relationships:
Gossip Power In The Workplace: Good, Bad, & Ugly
“After participating in the gossip power presentation, I know I now have a better plan to be more effective in understanding how gossip affects every area of a person’s personal and professional life. Using her strategies on gossip power and gossip ears I feel I will be better able to navigate these areas both inside and outside the office. Paula does a great job, using both scientific research and personal anecdotes and examples, to develop strategies for turning the power of gossip into positives for anyone attending her presentation. I left energized and excited about her message and what I learned and am definitely looking forward to learning more at her glass ceiling presentation.“
Mark Spiers
SBDC Consultant
~~~~~
Paula M. Kramer
© 2015 to the present
All rights reserved.
Posts on this blog alternate with posts at the link below. Posts for both blogs are published on Wednesdays as they are ready to be published. Time between posts could be weeks or months.
Gossip Posters
Resource Websites
Business Directory
Reputation Management Directory
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