Wednesday 26 May 2021
2pm – 3:15pm
Presenters:
- Dr Boyka Bratanova
- Shuting Liu
- Dr Juliette Summers.
This seminar will be presented by colleagues from the University of St Andrews School of Management. Their talk will discuss research that uses data from Scotland and the USA, and provides evidence that pay inequality, both perceived and actual, has harmful effects for employees. The analysis shows that high CEO pay and high pay inequality are linked to the following for employees:
• perceptions of their employer as less caring and competent
• lower engagement
• lower trust
• feelings of not being treated fairly, valued, or respected at work
• heightened perception of prejudice, discrimination, bullying and harassment at work
• lower wellbeing.
The study demonstrates that these effects are partly or fully explained by a perceived culture of competition within the organisation, marked by heightened social comparison and a focus on performance over learning and ethics.
The presentation will consider reasons that organisations may struggle to foster a culture conducive to engagement, inclusion and wellbeing. The researchers will acknowledge the limitations of the current research, and discuss the challenges and opportunities for future study.
This CREDI event has been organised jointly with the School of Management’s series of brown bag research seminars. The series aims to provide opportunities to showcase ongoing research and offer a regular space for colleagues across the School to come together and open up research conversations across the thematic groups and research centres.