Sex in the News: Empathy For Your Fellow Coworker

January 17, 2012     Posted in Sex, News


By Leah

If you’ve ever had a job you’ve likely been in the situation where one of your coworkers gets reprimanded by a boss or supervisor over something. And even though it’s not you getting in trouble, it still kind makes you cringe, right? If they’re being treated unfairly, it probably also has you feeling not so great.

According to a new study published in Sex Roles, if your coworker is the same sex as you and being treated poorly, it’s likely to have an affect on you. For example, if you worked with other women and your boss treated them rudely, it would be apt to make you feel more anxious or upset than if you were a man. Now how’s that for female solidarity?

The study surveyed 453 workers from the restaurant industry. It also showed that when women are being bashed, their female coworkers tended to feel demoralized.

If you’re working somewhere and it’s only your female coworkers that get picked on, it’s likely you’ll feel empathetic towards them. If it continues, or only women are being treated poorly, it’s likely to really affect your attitude to work.

What do you think? Have you had a situation where only coworkers that are the same sex as you were treated poorly?

3 Comments on "Sex in the News: Empathy For Your Fellow Coworker"

  1. Rachel says:
    Thu, 19th Jan 20129:46 am 

    Yes! It's very true and I've definitely worked places where women get treated like shit and don't stand up for themselves because they're scared of getting fired. The workplace is still pretty sexist and it's pretty scary.

  2. Ceecee says:
    Thu, 19th Jan 20121:01 pm 

    This is sadly what I work with daily. The guys at my job get free reign to do what they want, and yet the girls get yelled at simply for laughing. It's despicable! And yet, there's no one to report this kind of behavior because our boss condones and supports it! This is why we need to stop playing the "hate other women" card and start befriending our fellow sex. We're the only one's who can fully understand and support each other.

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