Kashefi, M. (2009). Job Satisfaction and/or Job Stress: The Psychological Consequences of Working in 'High Performance Work Organizations' Current Sociology, 809-82

The rapid diffusion of high performance work organizations (HPWO) has attracted the attention of many scholars in sociology and psychology over the last three decades. One area in which ongoing debates and evidence are inconclusive is the linkage between HPWO and the ‘psychological functioning’ of employees, specifically the issues of job satisfaction and job stress. This study examines, and thereby extends our understanding of, associations between workplace restructuring — adopting an ‘internalization strategy’ within HPWO — with job satisfaction and job stress.

Questions to Consider:

1)How can employers use the results of this study to improve their workplace environment?

2)What is meant by internalization and externalization factors as described in the article?

Berlingieri, A. (2015). Workplace bullying: Exploring an emerging framework. Workplace Bullying: Exploring an Emerging Framework.

This article begins with a brief discussion of the theorization that currently predominates in the workplace violence and bullying literature and the outcomes of this theorizing. An emerging framework, conceptualizing violence broadly, is then outlined for understanding violence and bullying. 

Questions to Consider:

1)Think about the various occupations that are found in the United States.  Which type of violence, as described in the article, can be associated with specific occupations?  Why?

2)If you were a researcher studying the factors that are associated with workplace violence which research methods would you utilize?  Why would you choose this method?  Which method would be the least effective? Why?

Pedulla, D. S., and S. Thebaud. "Can We Finish the Revolution? Gender, Work-Family Ideals, and Institutional Constraint." American Sociological Review 80.1 (2015): 116-39.

A growing body of scholarship suggests that persistently gendered workplace norms and policies limit men’s and women’s ability to create gender egalitarian relationships at home. In this article, we build on and extend prior research by examining the extent to which institutional constraints, including workplace policies, affect young, unmarried men’s and women’s preferences for their future work-family arrangements. We also examine how these effects vary across education levels. 

Questions to Consider:

1)The individuals who were a part of this study did not have children.  How do you think the results of the study might have differed if the individuals had children?

2)How might the results of this study be used by those who are in charge of developing workplace policies?