This George �鶹��Ƶ psychology researcher is clocking in to make workplaces safer for all

Sarah Holland — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 20:09:11 +0000

This George �鶹��Ƶ psychology researcher is clocking in to make workplaces safer for all Sarah Holland Thu, 06/26/2025 - 16:09

Researchers have estimated that the average American will spend approximately one-third of their life at work. With more than 90,000 hours of our lives spent in our places of employment, we want those spaces to be as safe and welcoming as possible.

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Yijue Liang, assistant professor of industrial/organizational psychology at �鶹��Ƶ, has made occupational health the focus of her work. Now, she’s working to develop a better understanding of workplace sexual harassment and how companies can protect their employees.

Liang started her career in finance, but an interest in workplace dynamics led her to shift to psychology. “I was interested in gender topics, exploring how women can thrive in the workplace and how we can make the workplace more friendly and safer for women,” she said. Specifically, the #MeToo movement inspired her to investigate sexual harassment in the workplace.

“After the #MeToo movement, we realized that this issue is more prevalent than many of us thought,” Liang said. “And we haven’t seen much improvement.” Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) data show sexual harassment claims remain high and have yet to trend downwards; as Liang notes, that only includes what is considered severe enough to be reported to the EEOC and is therefore limiting.

But by expanding the relevant research on workplace sexual harassment, Liang hopes to see those numbers start to decrease.

Liang found that most of the previous research has focused on the victims or targets of sexual harassment in the workplace, leaving a gap in understanding the bystanders’ role. “There isn’t enough research about what people can do to help the victim, whether a direct bystander who witnesses the event, or a secondary bystander who hears about the event.”

Building on the research she completed for her dissertation, she developed a scale of different bystander behaviors—confronting the harasser, distracting the harasser, supporting the target, reporting the incident to an authority, and discussing the incident with a coworker—including identifying combinations of those behaviors. From there, Liang, along with YoungAh Park at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, developed three latent profiles based on the combinations of behaviors: no or limited intervention, low-risk intervention, and active intervention.

According to this paper, all forms of intervention are received positively by victims, which she hopes will encourage more people to engage in low-risk or active intervention.

Organizations should also work toward a zero-tolerance policy toward sexual harassment, Liang said. She suggests looking at policies and procedures to make sure the situation is treated seriously, with protection for the reporters and the victims and meaningful consequences for the harasser.

“We want to see more encouragement of active intervention, while emphasizing that even low-risk intervention can make a difference,” she said. “Hopefully, we can reduce or break the myth about intervention not being welcomed by the target or victims.”

Liang has another ongoing project to assess how harassers respond to different forms of intervention in order to map which interventions could be most effective in different use cases.

Liang is expanding her research beyond the office as well, with an ongoing project on gig workers and their experiences with customer sexual harassment. Preliminary research shows gig employees—such as rideshare and delivery drivers, dog walkers, care assistants, independent contractors, etc.—are particularly vulnerable to harassment, due to their proximity to customers, a lack of bystanders, and lack of collective representation or support.

“If people have negative experiences at work, that can lead to negative work behaviors,” Liang explained. “Having a healthy, supportive, and safe workplace for everyone is critical for higher employee performance.

“We spend so many hours at work each week, and our workplace experiences have a great impact on our well-being. We need to do what we can to make these places safe and supportive for all.”

Learn more about the Industrial-Organizational Psychology Program

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How to repair work relationships after making a social blunder

Colleen Rich — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 14:35:05 +0000

How to repair work relationships after making a social blunder Colleen Rich Thu, 02/24/2022 - 09:35

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If you feel your social skills have gone downhill, you’re not alone. After nearly two years of working from home, and much less social activity outside of work, we’re likely to commit more unintentional lapses in etiquette, or social gaffes. This is true whether your organization is trickling back to the office or still mostly remote.

Heather Vough. Photo provided

Distilling decades of previous research on human emotions, Heather Vough, associate professor of management at �鶹��Ƶ, recently published “Oops, I did it (again)! The emotional experience, personal responses and relational consequences of social gaffes in the workplace” in the Journal of Organizational Behavior, presenting frameworks for predicting the consequences of a gaffe.

Vough said gaffes are a complex issue and not to be taken lightly. Even minor social gaffes like forgetting to greet someone in a Zoom meeting or not waving at someone that you don’t recognize because they’re wearing a mask can have consequences.

“Even relatively minor gaffes can become what my [�鶹��Ƶ] colleague Kevin Rockmann calls "anchoring events"—decisive moments that change a relationship's trajectory for better or worse,” she said.

Vough theorizes that if both parties are on the same page and the gaffe-maker acts appropriately, initial awkwardness could result in a stronger emotional bond.

So the next time you goof up in front of your colleagues, don’t kick yourself. Also, don’t make things worse by acting on impulse or allowing awkwardness to overwhelm you. Instead, take Vough’s research-backed advice on how to turn a faux pas into a fast friendship.

—If you commit a gaffe, don’t be ashamed. “Shame-driven interpretations lead us to believe the situation is irreparable because it stems from flaws in our deepest self,” Vough said. “So instead of reaching out, we withdraw from the colleague we may have offended. If our feelings of shame are especially strong, we may also withdraw in a more general sense, disengaging from the organization as a whole.”

—Ask yourself whether the gaffe was likely to have hurt someone else, or if it only wounded your ego. This is important because ego- or embarrassment-based reactions can lead to compensatory showing-off. If those around you don’t realize that you’re trying to rehabilitate your reputation because of the gaffe you just committed, they may be put off by your behavior. “This won’t be good for the long-term working relationship,” said Vough. So if you make an embarrassing social error, your best bet is to just let it go. People will likely forget about it very quickly, if they noticed it at all.

—Most of the time, gaffes are minor enough that a direct apology, promptly delivered, is good enough to re-establish rapport. But some gaffes are much more delicate. Imagine asking a woman when she is due to give birth, and she responds that she isn’t pregnant. Fortunately, Vough’s research suggests that extending emotional support—e.g. by inviting the person to lunch or offering to pick up a shift—can be a serviceable substitute for an apology. "[In most cases] the kind gesture will be appreciated. The relationship between the two people will probably blossom as a result.”

—Don’t forget to be kind to yourself, as well as the person or people affected by your gaffe. In these extraordinary times, Vough believes everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt and a good deal of understanding.

—However, what feels like a mere social gaffe to one person could be more serious for another. “The key thing to remember is that gaffes are unintentional by nature. Managers should be able to distinguish between incivility and honest mistakes,” Vough said. When in doubt, focus on the experience of the victim.

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This George �鶹��Ƶ psychology researcher is clocking in to make workplaces safer for all

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How to repair work relationships after making a social blunder

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