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G GINA GRANDY
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STIGMAS, WORK AND
ORGANIZATIONS
Palgrave Explorations in Workplace Stigma
Series Editor
Julie Gedro
Empire State College
Rochester, New York, USA
This series is a call to action for organizations to not only recognize but
include, support, and value employees of all walks of life, regardless of the
social stigmas that might create material, affective, or psychological divi-
sions between them and their ostensibly “normal” counterparts. It fills
the gap in scholarship surrounding the difficult issues employees or job
seekers might face based on their demographics, life events, or other
factors. The series explores issues such as mental illness and wellness; and
alcohol and drug addiction and recovery. It explores the complex and
often times nuanced issues that face sexual minorities, or those who are
formerly incarcerated, or military veterans in the context of employment
or career decision making.
Through rigorous research and contributions from the foremost schol-
ars in human resources, books in the series will provide an in-depth explo-
ration of each population and challenge HR scholars and practitioners to
effectively consider and embrace these explorations. and consider expand-
ing their own awareness. The series speaks on behalf of anyone who has
ever been affected–directly or indirectly–by discrimination or exclusion in
the context of work, and promotes a positive, productive, and purposeful
working environment for employees at all levels.
More information about this series at
http://www.springer.com/series/15458
S. Bruce Thomson • Gina Grandy
Editors
Stigmas, Work
and Organizations
Editors
S. Bruce Thomson Gina Grandy
MacEwan University University of Regina
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Palgrave Explorations in Workplace Stigma
ISBN 978-1-137-57571-5 ISBN 978-1-137-56476-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-56476-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017945677
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the
p ublisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to
the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made.
The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and
institutional affiliations.
Cover illustration: F1online digitale Bildagentur GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo
Printed on acid-free paper
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature
The registered company is Nature America Inc.
The registered company address is: 1 New York Plaza, New York, NY 10004, U.S.A.
Dedicated to the memory of Doreen and Stanley Thomson
A
cknowledgments
We first must express our sincere appreciation to the contributors to this
book. Simply put, without you there would be no book. We would also like
to thank the editorial team at Palgrave who took delays in stride with utmost
professionalism and kindness. Thank you to our friends and family for their
undying support and encouragement. Thank you all for your patience; it
took us longer than we expected but the final result is a wonderfully rich,
interesting and diverse collection of perspectives that offers practitioners,
researchers and students alike valuable insights into stigma and work.
The coming together of this book is an example of how one should
never underestimate the possibilities that emerge from chance encoun-
ters. We crossed paths ever so briefly about ten years ago. At that time
we immediately connected because of our mutual research interests in
the area of stigma at work. This collaboration unfolded many years later
because Bruce felt that more needed to be said about stigma and work at
various levels. We both believe that in enhancing our understanding of
stigma and work, we offer an opportunity to unsettle underlying assump-
tions that serve to disadvantage particular individuals and groups. This
book is a reminder that we must always strive to be better and challenge
ourselves to be reflexive, asking why and how, in our everyday working
lives, we categorize by markers of difference and how such ‘marking’ has
far reaching negative implications for individuals, groups and organiza-
tions. For us this is book is an interesting read, but more importantly we
hope it stirs something within the reader, a desire to make change in some
way that moves us all to greater empathy, equity and respect in and out of
the workplace.
vii
c
ontents
1 Introduction 1
S. Bruce Thomson and Gina Grandy
Part I Stigma at the Individual/Micro Level 9
2 Obesity and Stigmatization at Work 11
Lisa Watson, Tatiana Levit, and Anne Lavack
3 Chronic Illness Stigma and Its Relevance
in the Workplace 35
Joy Beatty
4 The Complex Nature of Disability Stigma
in Employment: Impact on Access and Opportunity 55
Rebecca S. Dalgin
5 The Dynamic Recursive Process of Community
Influences, LGBT-Support Policies and Practices,
and Perceived Discrimination at Work 71
Raymond N. C. Trau, You-Ta Chuang, Shaun Pichler,
Angeline Lim, Ying Wang, and Beni Halvorsen
ix
x CONTENTS
Part II Stigma at the Occupational/Meso Level 99
6 Sinners and Saints: Morally Stigmatized Work 101
Gina Grandy and Sharon Mavin
7 Does Necessity Shield Work? The Struggles of Butchers
and Waste Management Workers for Recognition 123
Natasha Slutskaya, Rachel Morgan, Ruth Simpson,
and Alex Simpson
8 Once More, with Feeling! Working with
Emotional Taint 143
Kendra Rivera
9 Stigma and the Journey of Extreme Social Mobility:
Notes on the Management of Discreditable Identities
in a High Status University Degree 165
Erica Southgate
Part III Stigma at the Organization/Macro Level 185
10 Organizational Stigmas: Where Now? 187
S. Bruce Thomson
11 Stigma and Multinational Corporations 207
S. Bruce Thomson, Chris Nyland,
and Helen Forbes Mewett
12 Conclusion 229
Gina Grandy and S. Bruce Thomson
Erratum: Stigmas, Work and Organizations E1
Index 241
l f
ist of igures
Fig. 4.1 Convergence of micro (individual), mesa (employer),
and macro (society) levels of disability 66
Fig. 5.1 The dynamic recursive process of community influences,
LGBT-support policies and practices, and perceived
discrimination at work 76
xi
