Gender issues among academics: the role of resources Prof. Dr. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Gender issues among academics: the role of resources Prof. Dr. Evangelia Demerouti

Outline • Research on work environment, well-being & performance • Women participation in the academic context • Results of studies among academics • Conclusions / name of department 24-10-2013 PAGE 2

Work environment Well-being Performance

Unique work environment

Many Dem ands and Resources Etc. Etc. Physical Feedback Demands Mental Coaching Demands Emotional Social Demands Support Workload Autonomy

Job Dem ands-Resources ( JD-R) Model + Diminished Job Health/ Demands Energy - - Outcomes + Job Motivation Resources + Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner & Schaufeli (2000, 2001) Bakker, Demerouti et al. (2003ab, 2004ab, 2005ab, 2006, 2007ab, 2008, 2013)

Assum ptions • Unique work environment for every occupational group • 2 categories: Job demands and Job Resources • 2 processes: Health/Energy and Motivation • Resources may buffer the impact of job demands • Job resources become salient in the context of high job demands

Hum an Service Prof´ s, N= 1 4 6 .21 Workload .79 -.35 Job In-role Emotional Exhaustion Demands Performance Work-Family conflict -.51 .38 -.28 Autonomy .83 .30 Job Extra-role Dedication Self-growth Resources Performance Social Support Bakker, Demerouti, & Verbeke (2004)

Blue Collar W orkers, N= 2 1 4 Workload .63 .21 Job .92 T2 Absence Burnout Demands Duration Changes .58 -.68 .62 Autonomy Job .96 -.20 T2 Absence Commitment Resources Frequency Participation .67 Bakker, Demerouti, De Boer & Schaufeli (2003)

Greek fast-food restaurants N= 42 employees x 5 days • Branch • Trait Personal Resources • Trait Work Engagement Self-efficacy Financial Optimism Turnover (€) Self-esteem Autonomy Work Coaching Engagement Team Climate .30 Xanthopoulou, Bakker, Demerouti & Schaufeli, 2009

Technicians Xanthopoulou et al., 2009 10/24/2013 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com 11

Work Engagement Model Bakker (2010, 2011) Job Bakker & Demerouti (2008) Demands Job Resources + Work Performance Engagement + Personal + Resources + Job crafting

Conclusions • In the work environment are two important processes : - job demands  (reduced) health & energy - job resources  motivation • Work environment leads to performance through health and motivation (S-O-R) • Motivation & health may change over time the work environment

Women in the academic environment

Academic environment in the Netherlands • Women are underrepresented in academia (Stichting de Beauvoir, 2012) • 15% female full professors • Last decade, most graduates and PhD’s are women (CBS, 2013) • Male performance standards (Ackelsberg et al., 2004) • competitive, individualistic, long work hours 24-10-2013 PAGE 15

Not only a European phenomenon! • Study of New Scholars. Gender: Statistical Report [Universities]. By Cathy A. Trower & Jared L. Bleak. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2004. / name of department 24-10-2013 PAGE 16

/ name of department 24-10-2013 PAGE 17

Academic environment at universities (of technology) • Stereotype threat : fear negative treatment or devaluation because of gender (Murphy et al. 2007) • John Henry-ism : minorities actively pursue goal achievement by redoubling their effort and focus on larger career goals to overcome hurdles (Oyserman et al., 2007) • Are there facilitating factors for women’s performance? Human Performance Management 24-10-2013 PAGE 18

Studies among academics

Diary study among academic staff TU/e N=40 (24 women; 16 men; response 30%) 5 Prof 2 women; 3 men 7 Associate 4 women; 3 men 16 women; 10 men 26 Assistant 2 PostDoc 2 women

Job characteristics Men Women Job demand Workload 3.6 3.4 Job resources Autonomy 3.1 3.0 Supervisor coaching 1.8 1.9 Scales: Range 1 to 5  No gender differences  Job resources are rather low!

Personal resources Men Women Goal commitment 3.6 4.1 Mastery approach 3.7 4.1 Prevention focus 2.9 3.4 Scales: Range 1 to 5  Women score higher than men  No differences were found on self-esteem and self-efficacy.

Outcomes Men Women Work engagement* 3.4 3.8 Recovery* 3.2 3.6 Family-work 2.8 3.2 facilitation* Self-rewards* 2.3 1.9 Research time (hrs) 2.2 3.6 N of publications 3.25 5.29 *Scales: Range 1 to 5  Women score better except for self-leadership and number of publications

Work engagement • Performance antecedents for both men and women. Gender Work Research engagement Time Research Publications Time a year later PAGE 24

Results  Research time  number of publications the following year 24-10-2013 PAGE 25

Implications • Create engaging work environment / name of department 24-10-2013 PAGE 26

The role of the self Drivining force • Self-affirmation : focusing on positive aspects of the self to maintain positive self-image (Steele, 1988). Individual strategies • Self-regulation : regulates behavior in order to achieve important goals for individual (Carver & Scheier, 2001)

63 employees (academic and supportive staff) x 5 days Degree to which spending time on personal activities facilitates functioning at work

Results (1)

Results (2)  Daily self-work facilitation  daily task performance

Discussion • Self-domain as resource for self-affirmation • Self-regulation strategies help especially women • Offer opportunities to spend time on personal interests: • Courses • Sports • And distort personal life less!

Evaluation Tenure Track Policies Dutch Universities Sample 148 tenure trackers from 9 Dutch Universities Humanities 8 Social Sciences 44 Male 93 Natural Sciences 59 Female 55 Applied Sciences 37

Findings General experiences in tenure Female tenure trackers: tracks: •Less satisfied with their tenure track (>50% not satisfied) •Clear process and goals (clearer •Less experienced reasonability of in case of a permanent contract) goals (>50% consider research •Not flexible goals not reasonable) •High work pressure is the most important obstacle for good •Less experienced flexibility performance •Lower expectation of successful completion Differences between disciplines •Supportive policies more important (stop-the-clock, mentoring, travel •More experienced flexibility in budget, personal leave) natural sciences less in social sciences •More experienced obstacles •Teaching workload is more an (teaching workload, insufficient obstacle in social sciences and support, insufficient childcare less in natural sciences policies)

Conclusions

Remarkable findings  Daily job resources seem to be rather low among academics  Women have higher scores on important outcomes (e.g. personal resources, work engagement, recovery, research time)  Men and women have equal publication numbers.  Self-regulation helps especially women  Self-work facilitation beneficial for performance

Conclusions • Enrich jobs with job resources (e.g. coaching, feedback, developmental possibilities) • Strengthen personal resources (e.g. success experiences, coaching, reflection, interventions) • Facilitate participation in other life domains (e.g. personal interests, family) • Careful design of tenure tracks by considering the needs of women • Invest in culture change, disconfirm stereotypes • Important role of leaders! / name of department 24-10-2013 PAGE 36

Future Stereotype threat Job demands Wellbeing Job & Performance Proactivity organizational indicators (self- resources and other-ratings) Personal resources Gender  Develop and test a career crafting intervention to stimulate proactivity

Thank you for your attention! Contact: e.demerouti@tue.nl 24-10-2013 PAGE 38