According to the Department of Labor (2016), employment discrimination is when an employer treats an applicant or employee less favorably merely because of a person’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. An example of workplace discrimination is being passed over for a promotion due to sexual orientation. Although illegal discrimination in the workplace takes place every day and this is an ethical concern. Many researchers over the years have studied the impact discrimination can have on a person. The APA (2015) found discrimination-related stress is linked to mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression. Just as mental health issues are linked to discrimination stress, other studies have shown discrimination can lead to physical health related issues such as, high blood pressure, coronary calcification, and low birthweight. A study done by researchers Castro et al. examined the relationship between work discrimination and health related issues among Filipinos in the United States (de Castro et al., 2008, p. 521).
In examining the relationship between work discrimination and health related issues in Filipinos, researchers reviewed data from a previous study conducted called “The Filipino American Community Epidemiological Study.” This study was conducted in 1998 until 1999 and surveyed people in different Filipino households. Participants were selected based on the following criteria: Filipino heritage, age 18 years or older, and residence in either Honolulu, Hawaii, or San Francisco, California (de Castro et al., 2008, p. 521). Researchers created the survey in three different languages, English, Tagalog, and Ilocano to be distributed for completion. The Filipino American Community Epidemiological Study (FACES) had a total of 2285 participants with a total response rate of 78%. In reviewing this data Case et al. went on to exclude results from any participants who were unemployed and missing data on work discrimination, leaving only 1652 respondents results available to be analyzed (de Castro et al., 2008, p.521).
de Castro et al. (2008) set up his variables with the dependent variable being health conditions the participant may have or develop such as, asthma, diabetes, hypertension, high blood pressure, arthritis, rheumatism, cancer, neurological conditions, stroke, major paralysis, heart failure, angina or coronary artery disease, back problems, stomach ulcer, chronic inflamed bowel, enteritis, colitis, thyroid disease, kidney failure, trouble seeing, migraine headaches. (p. 521). Researchers de Castro et al. made their independent variables, Filipino-specific work discrimination, everyday discrimination, and job concerns. de Castro et al. measured Filipino-specific work discrimination by 2 items: “Since I am Filipino, I’m expected to work harder” and “Since I am Filipino, it is hard to get promotions/raises.” Everyday discrimination was measured with a 9-item questionnaire. Job concerns was measured by a subset of 10 job-oriented items from the Daily Hassles Scale. Also, demographic information was collected from participants such as age, gender, marital status, education, job status etc. (de Castro et al., 2008, p 521).
To summarize the results collected from the study, most participants fell under these buckets, 41 years old, male, married, resides in Honolulu (de Castro et al., 2008). Out of the entire population only a small number of participants were born in the US (17%). Also, at the time of this study majority of participants spent at least 47% of their lives in the US, had about 12 years of education, and belonged to a household earning less than $25,000 annually. I also think it is important to know that 74% of participants worked in service, 15% in manual labor and 12% in trade. Similarity to FACES 1999 study, de Castro et al. (2008) results show a strong association between reports of work discrimination and increased health conditions in Filipino Americans. (p. 523).
Now that we understand there is an association between workplace discrimination and physical health issues how can stop this relationship? McConnell shares some preventative measures businesses can take to stop workplace discrimination and promote health. For once, McConnell share it’s important for companies to familiarize themselves with anti-discrimination laws. That way, workforces can create and implement a clear anti-discrimination policy and mandate an anti-discrimination training. But above this, McConnell shares that us as employees should be familiar with anti-discrimination laws to understand when we are be discrimination against, and in turn be proactive in stopping it (McConnell, 2021).
References
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). The impact of discrimination. American Psychological Association. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2015/impact
de Castro, A. B., Gee, G. C., & Takeuchi, D. T. (2008). Workplace discrimination and health among Filipinos in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 98(3), 520–526. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2007.110163
How to prevent workplace discrimination in 5 ways. Modern ATS & collaborative recruitment software. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://recruitee.com/articles/prevent-workplace-discrimination
US Department of Labor. (2016). Know Your Rights. WASHINGTON, DC.
What is employment discrimination? US EEOC. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.eeoc.gov/youth/what-employment-discrimination