Authority in the workplace has its benefits. It is well-established that job authority generally yields higher earnings. In this study, the authors ask: Does that observation extend to other nonpecuniary rewards in the workplace? Using data from a 2011 representative sample of Canadian workers, results suggest it does—but there are some social status contingencies. In particular, the benefits of higher levels of job authority for job autonomy, challenging work, and income are stronger among men compared to women. By contrast, no age-based contingencies are observed. Collectively, observations about job authority's bundling with other rewards elaborate on the claim that job authority is a “highly coveted workplace resource”—but the degree of these payoffs differs for men and women.
AdlerMarina A.1993. “Gender Differences in Job Autonomy: The Consequences of Occupational Segregation and Authority Position.”The Sociological Quarterly34: 449–65.
2.
BabbieEarl. 2007. The Practice of Social Research, (11th edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
3.
BakkerArnold B.DemeroutiEvangeliaTarisToon W.SchaufeliWilmar B.SchreursPaul. 2003. “A Multi-Group Analysis of the Job Demands-Resources Model in Four Home Care Organizations.”International Journal of Stress Management10: 16–38.
4.
BakkerArnold B.GeurtsSabine A.2004. “Toward a Dual-Process Model of Work-Home Interference.”Work and Occupations31: 345–66.
5.
CarayonPascaleZijlstraFred. 1999. “Relationship between Job Control, Work Pressure and Strain. Studies in the USA and The Netherlands.”Work & Stress13: 32–48.
6.
ChoiSuengheeLeiterJeffreyTomaskovic-DeveyDonald. 2008. “Contingent Autonomy: Technology, Bureaucracy, and Relative Power in the Labor Process.”Work and Occupations35: 422–55.
7.
CohenAaronLowenbergGeula. 1990. “A Re-Examination of the Side-Bet Theory as Applied to Organizational Commitment: A Meta-Analysis.”Human Relations43: 1015–50.
8.
CohenPhilip N.HuffmanMatt L.KnauerStefanie. 2009. “Stalled Progress? Gender Segregation and Wage Inequality Among Managers, 1980–2000.”Work and Occupations36 (4): 318–42.
9.
CollinsMary H.HairJoseph F.Jr.RoccoTonette S.2009. “The Older Worker-Younger Supervisor Dyad: A Test of the Reverse Pygmalion Effect.”Human Resource Development Quarterly20: 21–41.
10.
CurtinRichardPresserStanleySingerEleanor. 2000. “The Effects of Response Rate Changes on the Index of Consumer Sentiment.”Public Opinion Quarterly64: 413–28.
11.
DeanJames W.Jr.SnellScott. A.1991. “Integrated Manufacturing and Job Design: Moderating Effects of Organizational Inertia.”Academy of Management Journal34: 776–804.
12.
DeLongDavid W.2004. Lost Knowledge: Confronting the Threat of an Aging Workforce. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
13.
DemeroutiEvangeliaBakkerArnold B.NachreinerFriedhelmSchaufeliWilmar B.2001. “The Job Demands: Resources Model of Burnout.”Journal of Applied Psychology86: 499–512.
ErosaAndresFusterLuisaRestuccia. 2002. “Fertility Decisions and Gender Differences in Labor Turnover, Employment and Wages.”Review of Economic Dynamics5: 856–91.
16.
FreeseJeremy. 2007. “Overcoming Objections to Open-Source Social Science.”Sociological Methods and Research36: 220–26.
17.
GrovesRobert M.2006. “Nonresponse Rates and Nonresponse Bias in Household Surveys.”Public Opinion Quarterly70: 646–75.
18.
HackmanJ. RichardOldhamGreg R.1975. “Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey.”Journal of Applied Psychology60: 159–70.
19.
HalabyCharlesWeakliemD.1993. “Ownership and Authority in the Earnings Function: Non-nested Tests of Alternative Specifications.”American Sociological Review59: 5–21.
20.
HodsonRandy. 2001. Dignity at Work. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
21.
JansonPhilipMartinJack K.1982. “Job Satisfaction and Age: A Test of Two Views.”Social Forces60: 1089–102.
22.
KallebergAnre L.2011. Good Jobs, Bad Jobs: The Rise of Polarized and Precarious Employment Systems in the United States, 1970s to 2000s. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
23.
KallebergAnre L.LoscoccoKaryn A.1983. “Aging, Values, and Rewards: Explaining Age Differences in Job Satisfaction.”American Sociological Review48: 78–90.
24.
KarasekRobert. 1979. “Job Demands, Job Decision Latitude, and Mental Strain: Implications for Job Redesign.”Administrative Science Quarterly24: 285–306.
25.
KarasekRobert. 1985. Job Content Questionnaire and User's Guide. Lowell: University of Massachusetts Lowell, Department of Work Environment.
26.
KarasekRobertBrissonChantalKawakamiNoritoHoutmanIreneBongersPaulienAmickBenjamin. 1998. “The Job Content Questionnaire (JQC): An Instrument for Internationally Comparative Assessments of Psychosocial Job Characteristics.”Journal of Occupational Health Psychology3: 322–55.
27.
KarasekRobertTheorellTores. 1990. Healthy Work: Stress, Productivity, and the Reconstruction of Working Life. New York: Basic Books.
28.
KluegelJames R.1978. “The Causes and Cost of Racial Exclusion from Job Authority.”American Sociological Review43: 285–301.
29.
KrausVeredYonayYuval P.2000. “The Effect of Occupational Sex Composition on the Gender Gap in Workplace Authority.”Social Science Research29: 583–605.
30.
LawrenceBarbara S.1988. “New Wrinkles in the Theory of Age: Demography, Norms, and Performance Ratings.”Academy of Management Journal31: 309–37.
31.
LidenRobert C.StilwellDeanFerrisGerald R.1996. “The Effects of Supervisor and Subordinate Age on Objective Performance and Subjective Performance Ratings.”Human Relations49: 327–47.
32.
LincolnJames R.ArneKalleberg. 1990. Culture, Control, and Commitment: A Study of Work Organization and Work Attitudes in the United States and Japan, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
33.
LoscoccoKaryn A.1989. “The Interplay of Personal and Job Characteristics in Determining Work Commitment.”Social Science Research18: 370–94.
34.
MardsenPeter V.KallebergArne L.CookCynthia R.1993. “Gender Differences in Organizational Commitment: Influences of Work Positions and Family Roles.”Work and Occupations20 (3): 368–90.
35.
MathieuJohn E.ZajacDennis M.1990. “A Review and Meta-Analysis of the Antecedents, Correlates, and Consequences of Organizational Commitment.”Psychological Bulletin108: 171–94.
36.
MerkleDanielEdelmanMurray. 2002. “Nonresponse in Exit Polls: A Comprehensive Analysis.” Pp. 243–58 in Survey Nonresponse, edited by GrovesR. M.DillmanD. A.EltingeJ. L.LittleR. J. A.New York: Wiley.
37.
MirowskyJohnRossCatherine E.2003a. Social Causes of Psychological Distress, 2nd edition.New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
38.
MirowskyJohnRossCatherine E.2003b. Education, Social Status, and Health. New York: Aldine De Gruyter.
39.
MirowskyJohnRossCatherine E.2007. “Creative Work and Health.”Journal of Health and Social Behaviour48: 385–403.
40.
MirowskyJohnRossCatherine E.ReynoldsJohn. 2000. “Links between Social Status and Health Status.” Pp. 47–67 in Handbook of Medical Sociology, 5th edition, edited by BirdC. E.ConradP.FremontA. M.New York: Kluwer.
41.
MuellerCharles W.ParcelToby L.TanakaKazuko. 1989. “Particularism in Authority Outcomes of Black and White Supervisors.”Social Science Research18: 1–20.
42.
NosekBrian A.SpiesJeffrey R.MotylMatt. in press “Scientific Utopia: II. Restructuring Incentives and Practices to Promote Truth over Publishability.”Perspectives on Psychological Science.
43.
ReskinBarbaraRossCatherine. 1992. “Authority and Earnings among Managers: The Continuing Significance of Sex.”Work and Occupations19: 341–65.
44.
RidgewayCecilia L.2002. “Status Construction Theory.” Pp. 301–23 in Contemporary Social Psychological Theories, edited by BurkeP. J.Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
45.
SchiemanScott. 2002. “Socioeconomic Status, Job Conditions, and Well-Being: Self-Concept Explanations for Gender-Contingent Effects.”The Sociological Quarterly43: 627–46.
46.
SchiemanScottReidSarah. 2008. “Job Authority and Interpersonal Conflict in the Workplace.”Work and Occupations35: 296–326.
47.
SchiemanScottYoungMarissa. 2010. “The Demands of Creative Work: Implications for Stress in the Work-Family Interface.”Social Science Research39: 246–59.
48.
SchmidtStefan. 2009. “Shall We Really Do it Again? The Powerful Concept of Replication Is Neglected in the Social Sciences.”Review of General Psychology13: 90–100.
49.
SchwalbeMichael L.1985. “Autonomy in Work and Self-Esteem.”The Sociological Quarterly26 (4): 519–35.
50.
SmithRyan A.1997. “Race, Income, and Authority at Work: A Cross-Temporal Analysis of Black and White Men (1972–1994).”Social Problems44: 19–37.
51.
SmithRyan A.2002. “Race, Gender, and Authority in the Workplace: Theory and Research.”Annual Review of Sociology28: 509–42.
52.
SmithRyan A.2012. “Money, Benefits, and Power: A Test of the Glass Ceiling and Glass Elevator Hypothesis.”Annals of the American Academy639: 149–72.
53.
SmithRyan A.ElliottJames R.2002. “Does Ethnic Concentration Influence Employees' Access to Authority? An Examination of Contemporary Urban Labor Markets.”Social Forces8: 255–79.
54.
SpaethJoe L.1985. “Job Power and Earnings.”American Sociological Review50: 603–617.
55.
TausigMarkFenwickRudy. 2011. Work and Mental Health in Social Context. Springer, New York.
56.
TsuiAnne. S.XinKatherine R.EganTerri D.1995. “Relational Demography: The Missing Link in Vertical Dyad Linkage.” Pp. 97–129 in Diversity in Work Teams: Research Paradigms for a Changing Workplace, edited by JacksonS. E.RudermanM. N.Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
57.
Van der DoefMargotMaesStan. 1999. “The Job Demand-Control(-Support) Model and Psychological Well-Being: A Review of 20 years of Empirical Research.”Work and Stress13: 87–114.
58.
WinshipChristopherRadbillLarry. 1994. “Sampling Weights and Regression Analysis.”Sociological Methods and Research23: 230–257.
59.
WolfWendy C.FligsteinNeil D.1979. “Sex and Authority in the Workplace: The Causes of Sexual Inequality.”American Sociological Review44: 235–52.
60.
WrightErik OlinBaxterJaneenBirkelundGunn E.1995. “The Gender Gap in Workplace Authority: A Cross-National Study.”American Sociological Review60: 407–35.
61.
WrightErik OlinPerroneLuca. 1977. “Marxist Class Categories and Income Inequality.”American Sociological Review42: 32–55.
62.
WrightErik OlinHachenDavidCostelloCynthiaSpragueJoey. 1982. “The American Class Structure.”American Sociological Review47: 709–726.
63.
WrightJames D.HamiltonRichard F.1978. “Work Satisfaction and Age: Some Evidence for the ‘Job Change’ Hypothesis.”Social Forces56: 1140–58.
64.
YaishMeirStierHaya. 2009. “Gender Inequality in Job Authority: A Cross-National Comparison of 26 Countries.”Work and Occupations36: 343–66.
