Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Monograph

Degree

Master of Arts

Program

Psychology

Supervisor

Scott, Katreena

Abstract

As innately social beings, individuals crave acceptance and yearn to find a sense of purpose in life. More often than not, this sense of purpose is linked to careers or roles within a system. Examination of individuals’ perception of self-worth following acts of violence in the workplace is limited. The gap in the literature on self-worth following experiences of violence and harassment is critical to explore because not only is self-worth linked to overall well-being, but individuals also vary in outcomes following the survival of violence (Breines et al., 2008; Sojo et al., 2016). Violence within the workplace is evident within all systems and becomes increasingly difficult to navigate as power, intersectionality, and organizational structure intertwine (Sojo et al., 2016; Gunnarsson, 2018). Each of these pieces plays a role in how individuals conceptualize their identity and their beliefs around their self-worth. This project aimed to identify how workplace violence impacts self-worth, including how identity factors contribute to the perception of self-worth and violence. Results demonstrated that harassment directed toward intersectional aspects of identity was comprehended as an attack on the entire group of individuals who share that identity factor and contributed to feelings of ostracization. Additionally, survivors of workplace harassment and violence reported negative outcomes on their self-worth and overall mental well-being. Overall, participants perceived harassment in the workplace as necessary to ignore in order to avoid additional conflict and consequences.

Summary for Lay Audience

Individuals are social by nature and wish to be accepted and find a sense of purpose in life; this may be linked to one's future career or work. Scientific information on individuals’ self-worth after experiencing violence in their workplace is limited. This gap in information on self-worth after experiences of violence and harassment is important to explore because not only does self-worth contribute to overall well-being, but individuals experience varying outcomes following the survival of violence (Breines et al., 2008; Sojo et al., 2016). Workplace violence appears within all organizations and becomes more difficult to interrupt and identify when individual power, intersectionality, and the workplace environment overlap (Sojo et al., 2016; Gunnarsson, 2018). Each of these pieces plays a role in how individuals envision their identity and their beliefs around how worthy they are to themselves and others. The goal of this research project was to identify how workplace violence impacts self-worth, including how intersectionality changes an individual's approach to self-worth and violence. This project demonstrated that violence directed toward identifying characteristics, such as race or gender, was seen as an attack on the entire group of individuals who share that identity factor. This contributed to feelings of being rejected and ignored by peers. Additionally, survivors of workplace harassment and violence reported a decrease in their self-worth and overall mental well-being. Overall, participants perceived harassment in the workplace as an act that was necessary to deal with in order to protect themselves from more conflict or consequences.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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