The Cost of Stigmatized Work: Self-Denial and the Turn towards Employee Time Theft and Withdrawal

Abstract

Purpose - The society is just awakening to the negative effects of occupational stigma, which hinders both personal and organizational growth. In a developing country like Pakistan, some of the jobs and professions are traditionally considered stigmatized due to age-old prejudices. Although in the big cities, things are changing, the managers fail to fathom in what ways the stigma affects the workforce, what the negative outcomes are, and how to confront and handle such complex psychological situations effectively at the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected from a sample of 587 employees as members of recognized stigmatized professions in six major urban centers in Pakistan using a purposive sampling technique and were rigorously examined for hypothesis testing. 

Findings - Occupational stigma affects the employee's behavior in such a way that an employee only has their work done in a lackadaisical manner. He shies away from work, and this pattern is further intensified by the presence of such psychological traits as self-denial. 

Originality/value - This study further progresses the literature on occupational stigma by identifying the relationship with stigma outcomes and a boundary condition whereby an employee is already vulnerable to society's biased impact on their work.