Perceived sexualization of the work environment's influence on well-being, attitudes, and behaviors: The roles of organizational dehumanization and enjoyment of sexualization

Abstract

The present research investigates whether employees' perceptions of being dehumanized by their organization act as an underlying mechanism in the relationship between sexualized work environments (SWE) and their detrimental consequences. The research also examines the moderating role of enjoyment of sexualization (ES) in the relationship between SWE and organizational dehumanization (OD). First, a cross-sectional study (N = 350) showed that SWE positively relate to OD which, in turn, negatively affects employees' well-being (i.e., increased emotional exhaustion, increased psychological strains), attitudes (i.e., decreased job satisfaction), and behaviors at work (i.e., increased turnover intentions). A second study (N = 433) replicated these findings and further revealed the moderating role of employees' ES. Specifically, the relationship between SWE and OD proved to be stronger at lower levels of ES. Finally, additional exploratory analyses highlighted that the moderating role of ES was not conditional upon employees' gender. Theoretical contributions and promising avenues for future research as well as are discussed.