This paper presents a path analytic study of differences due to one's gender in the
perception of and meaning attributed to occupational involvement and alienation
among adult professionals. Within the study, gender differences are not considered
in isolation from interdependent age differences. The sample consists of 233 adults
employed at the same job level within a large professional organization. The path
model looks at the interplay between background variables, contextual/organizational
variables, personal/psychological variables, and work outcomes (powerlessness,
meaninglessness, normlessness, isolation from organizational goals, and job
satisfaction). The results indicate that the psychological structure of work
alienation is qualitatively different for women than for men. Quantitatively, the
men and women experience approximately the same amount of alienation. In general,
age is a negative factor for the women, but a positive factor for the men especially
in relationship with the contextual/organizational variables. The distinct meaning
of work alienation for women as opposed to men and the role of age and adult
identity are discussed in terms of further understanding the adult occupational experience.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Acker, J.
and
D.R. Van Houten
, 1974.
Differential recruitment and control: the sex structuring of organizations
. Administrative Science Quarterly19,
152-163
.
2.
Aiken, M.
and
J. Hage
, 1966.
Organizational alienation: a comparative analysis
. American Sociological Review31,
497-507
.
3.
Argyris, C.
, 1964. Integrating the individual and the organization.
New York: Wiley
.
4.
Barrett, N.S.
, 1979. 'Women in the job market: occupations, earnings,
and career opportunities'. In:
R.E. Smith
(ed.), The subtle revolution.
Washington, DC: The Urban Institute
.
5.
Blauner, R.
, 1964. Alienation and freedom: the factory worker and his
industry.
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press
.
6.
Cyrus-Lutz, C.
and
C.M. Gaitz
, 1972. Lifetime goals: age and ethnic considerations.
Houston, TX: Texas Research Institute of Mental Sciences
.
7.
Fiske, M.
, 1980. 'Changing hierarchies of commitment in
adulthood'. In:
N.J. Smelser
and
E.H. Erikson
(eds.), Themes of work and love in adulthood.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
.
8.
Forsyth, P.B.
and
W.K. Hoy
, 1978.
Isolation and alienation in educational organizations
. Educational Administration Quarterly14,
80-96
.
9.
Giele, J.Z.
, 1980. 'Adulthood as transcendence of age and
sex'. In:
N.J. Smelser
and
E.H. Erikson
(eds.), Themes of work and love in adulthood.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
.
10.
Gilligan, C.
, 1982. In a different voice: psychological theory and women's
development.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
.
11.
Golding, J.
,
A. Resnick
and
F. Crosby
, 1983.
Work satisfaction as a function of gender and job status
. Psychology of Women Quarterly7,
286-290
.
12.
Goldthorpe, H.H.
,
D. Lockwood
,
F. Bechhofer
and
J. Platt
, 1968. The affluent worker: industrial attitudes and
behavior.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
.
13.
Gutmann, D.
, 1977. 'The cross-cultural perspective: notes toward a
comparative psychology of aging'. In:
J.E. Birren
and
K.W. Schaie
(eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging.
New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold
.
14.
Holter, H.
, 1975. 'Sex roles and social change'. In:
M.T.S. Mednick
,
S.S. Tangri
and
L.W. Hoffman
(eds.), Women and achievement.
New York: John Wiley and Sons
.
15.
Kanungo, R.N.
, 1982. Work alienation: an integrative approach.
New York: Praeger
.
16.
Kimmel, D.C.
, 1980. Adulthood and aging: an interdisciplinary,
developmental view.
New York: John Wiley and Sons
.
17.
Kohn, M.L.
, 1980. 'Job complexity and adult personality'.
In:
N.J. Smelser
and
E.H. Erikson
(eds.), Themes of work and love in adulthood.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
.
18.
Kohn, M.L.
and
C. Schooler
, 1983. Work and personality.
Norwood, NJ: Ablex
.
19.
Land, C.K.
, 1969. 'Principles of path analysis'. In:
E.F. Borgatta
(ed.), Sociological methodology 1969.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
.
20.
Laws, J.L.
, 1976.
Work aspiration of women: false leads and new starts
. Signs1,
33-49
.
21.
Laws, J.L.
, 1979. The second X: sex role and social role.
New York: Elsevier North-Holland
.
22.
Lefcourt, H.M.
, 1976. Locus of control: current trends in theory and
research.
Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
.
23.
Levinson, D.J.
, 1978. The seasons of a man's life.
New York: Ballantine Books
.
24.
Lortie, D.C.
, 1975. Schoolteacher.
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press
.
25.
Miller, G.A.
, 1967.
Professionals in bureaucracy: alienation among industrial scientists and engineers
. American Sociological Review32,
755-767
.
26.
Miller, J.
, 1980.
Individual and occupational determinants of job satisfaction: a focus on
gender differences
. Sociology of Work and Occupations7,
337-366
.
27.
Miller, J.
,
S. Labovitz
and
L. Fry
, 1975.
Inequities in the organizational experiences of women and men
. Social Forces54,
365-381
.
28.
Miller, J.
,
C. Schooler
,
M.L. Kohn
and
K.A. Miller
, 1979.
Women and work: the psychological effects of occupational conditions
. American Journal of Sociology85,
66-94
.
29.
Neal, A.G.
and
S. Rettig
, 1967.
On the multi-dimensionality of alienation
. American Sociological Review32,
54-64
.
30.
Neal, A.G.
and
M. Seeman
, 1964.
Organizations and powerlessness: a test of the mediation hypothesis
. American Sociological Review29,
216-226
.
31.
Neugarten, B.L.
and
G.O. Hagestad
, 1976. 'Age and the life course'. In:
R.H. Binstock
and
E. Shanas
(eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences.
New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold
.
32.
Nieva, V.F.
and
B.A. Gutek
, 1981. Women and work: a psychological perspective.
New York: Praeger
.
33.
Pedhazur, E.J.
, 1982. Multiple regression in behavioral research:
explanation and prediction.
New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston
.
34.
Perun, P.J.
and
D.D.V. Bielby
, 1981.
Towards a model of female occupational behavior: a human development approach
. Psychology of Women Quarterly6,
234-252
.
35.
Rabinowitz, S.
and
D.T. Hall
, 1977.
Organizational research on job involvement
. Psychological Bulletin84,
265-288
.
36.
Rabinowitz, S.
,
D.T. Hall
and
J.G. Goodale
, 1977.
Job scope and individual differences as predictors of job involvement:
independent or interactive?Academy of Management Journal20,
273-281
.
37.
Saal, F.E.
, 1978.
Job involvement: a multivariate approach
. Journal of Applied Psychology63,
53-61
.
38.
Seeman, M.
, 1967.
On the personal consequences of alienation in work
. American Sociological Review32,
273-285
.
39.
Shanan, J.
and
R. Sagiv
, 1982.
Sex differences in intellectual performance during middle age
. Human Development25,
24-33
.
40.
Shepard, J.M.
, 1973.
Technology, division of labor, and alienation
. Pacific Sociological Review13,
61-88
.
41.
Shepard, J.M.
, 1977.
Technology, alienation, and job satisfaction
. Annual Review of Sociology3,
1-21
.
42.
Shepard, J.M.
and
T.R. Panko
, 1974.
Alienation: a discrepancy approach
. Sociological Quarterly15,
253-263
.
43.
Smelser, N.J.
, 1980. 'Issues in the study of work and love in
adulthood'. In:
N.J. Smelser
and
E.H. Erikson
(eds.), Themes of work and love in adulthood.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
.
44.
Stockard, J.
,
P.A. Schmuck
,
K. Kempner
,
P. Williams
,
S.K. Edson
and
M. Smith
, 1980. Sex equity in education.
New York: Academic Press
.
45.
Van Dusen, R.
and
E. Sheldon
, 1976.
The changing status of American women
. American Psychologist31,
106-116
.
