Perceptions of Relational Practices in the Workplacegwao_561 359..376

We examined the intersection of gender and work through an investigation of relationally motivated behaviour in the workplace. Using Fletcher’s ethnography of women’s relational practices in a masculine work environ-ment as a springboard, we examined Fletcher’s typology of relational prac-tice, participants ’ perceptions of employees who perform these forms of behaviour and whether these perceptions were related to gender. Working adults (N = 128) completed online surveys containing workplace scenarios and rated how effective and submissive they perceived the behaviour to be. Overall, participants rated relational practices as ineffective and submissive, regardless of whether a man or a woman had performed them. However, they reported that they would behave the same way as the target and they offered relationally oriented reasons for their choice. Rela-tional practices remain paradoxical in the workplace, both necessary and devalued