Underpaid Boss: Gender, Job Authority, and the Association Between Underreward and Depression

Abstract

Underreward is associated with depression—but is that association contingent upon job authority and other forms of status in the work role? And, do these patterns differ for women and men? Analyses of a national sample of American workers reveal that underreward is more strongly associated with depression among women with higher levels of job authority compared to similarly situated men. The authors then demonstrate that this pattern is amplified when other status elements are considered: income, skill level, autonomy, and decision latitude. These patterns are observed net of a range of sociodemographic measures, work stressors, and workplace sex composition. The findings of this study provide new insights about the gendered ways that job authority and other forms of status shape the association between underreward and depression. In doing so, the authors speak to diverse theoretical traditions related to distributive justice and engage with key ideas of reward expectation states theory. The efforts of the authors dovetail with recent interest in the gendered implications of authority and status as well as their connections to psychological distress.

Organizational hierarchical position, perception of unfair pay, and job satisfaction: evidence from large nation-wide surveys in Poland

“…Begley et al. (2006, p. 707) conclude that “authorities pay significant attention to resource allocation and generation as a basic indicator of their social standing in the organization.” Schieman et al. (2020, p. 50) stress that “for workers with greater authority, having a sense of appropriate pay reflects the legitimation of their higher status – but feeling underpaid violates it.”…”

“…Both theoretical and empirical literature suggest that financial concerns have a strong influence on employees' feelings towards their job. Of all the stressors in the workplace, the research regards perceived injustice of pay as a central element of chronic stress, depression, negative emotions, physical and mental health (Falk et al, 2018;Pfeifer, 2015Pfeifer, , 2017Schieman et al, 2020;Schunck et al, 2015). Given that wages and salaries are set by the company, the experience of pay unfairness may continue for a prolonged period of time, cannot be easily resolved, and hence may have a particularly profound impact on employees' sense of job satisfaction.…”

The other side of the coin: An integrative review connecting pay and health.

“…Given the various challenges faced by women in the workplace, perceptions of underpayment appear particularly impactful for women. Indeed, underpayment was a stronger predictor of depressive symptoms for women, and especially those occupying higher leadership positions whose legitimacy is often questioned (Schieman et al, 2020). Relatedly, after propensity-matching men and women based on individual-level characteristics related to workplace participation (e.g., age, education, occupation, employer type, full time vs. part time, marital and parental status), the residual (unexplained) wage difference predicted worse mental health for women (Platt et al, 2016).…”

How do Russian companies’ top managers shape their job expectations?

“…В изучении топ-менеджмента достаточно четко прослеживается разделение на социологический и «менеджериальный» дисциплинарные подходы . Так, социологические исследования управленцев высшего звена представлены в контексте социальной мобильности, социальных и карьерных траекторий [Useem, Karabel, 1986;Hartmann, 2000;Mastekaasa, 2004;Ellersgaard, Larsen, Munk, 2012;Fitzsimmons, Callan, Paulsen, 2014;Legrand, Al Ariss, Bosionelos, 2019], гендерных аспектов менеджмента, прежде всего дискриминационных стереотипов, затрудняющих женщинам путь к вершине организационной иерархии [Reskin, McBrier, 2000;Чирикова, 2003;Vinkenburg et al ., 2011;Brands, Fernandez-Mateo, 2017;Schieman et al ., 2020], профессионализации управленческой деятельности [Московская, 2011] .…”