Women now constitute a significant portion of the workforce, making the effects of pregnancy on professional image (others' perceptions of competence and character at work) more salient. While opinions regarding how pregnant women should manage others' impressions and the consequences of doing so abound (Noveck, 2012) research to substantiate or disconfirm these opinions has lagged. In this paper, we present three studies that develop and test a model of social identitybased impression management (SIM) techniques used by pregnant workers. In Study 1 (n ‫؍‬ 35), we utilized qualitative methods to identify the motives and strategies used by pregnant women to manage their professional images. In the second study, we collected two samples (n ‫؍‬ 199 and n ‫؍‬ 133) to develop and validate two scales based on the motives and strategies identified in Study 1. In Study 3 (n ‫؍‬ 200), we employed a time-lagged design to examine how SIM motives and strategies affect important workplace outcomes: perceived discrimination, burnout, and returning to one's job after maternity leave. Our findings demonstrate both positive and negative outcomes of the motives and strategies women use to manage their images at work when pregnant. Professional image is the aggregate of others' perceptions of an individual's competence and character in the workplace (Roberts, 2005). Because of the implications for achieving social approval, power, and career success, employees invest considerable time and energy into constructing their professional images (Baumeister, 1982; Ibarra, 1999; Roberts, 2005). Although research on professional image construction has historically focused on the personal attributes that influence an indi-vidual's professional image, such as dress, nonverbal cues, and verbal cues, more recently, Roberts (2005) has called attention to the role played by social identities. Social identities are the "various meanings attached to a person by self and others" (Ibarra, 1999: 766). An individual possesses multiple social identities-for example, as a woman, a mother, and an African American. Unfortunately, as a good deal of extant research on discrimination demonstrates, some social identities are devalued in various contexts, including the workplace (e.g., Button, 2001; Crocker, Major, & Steele, 1998). As a result, social identities can negatively affect professional image. Women, for example, are often stereotyped as emotional and nurturing, characteristics believed to be incompatible with effective leadership (e.g., Koenig, Eagly, Mitchell, & Ristikari, 2011; Nelson & Quick, 1985). As a group, African Americans have We would like to acknowledge the helpful comments of our associate editor, Joyce Bono, and three anonymous reviewers. We would like to thank the following people for their insights on previous versions of the manuscript: Danielle Dunne, Don Kluemper, and Hans Hansen. We would also like to thank Robert Vandenberg for his help with the means and covariance structure analyses. An earlier version of this paper was present...

Since its introduction to the social psychology literature 60 years ago, Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory (CDT) has been frequently applied to the management literature to explain and predict the motivational nature of dissonance in producing attitude and behavior change in managerial decision making and the broader organizational context. Yet many of the popular constructs that stem from CDT have since lost touch with more recent developments in the field of origin. In this paper, we provide a review of the key constructs and predictions associated with CDT from Festinger’s early work to the latest developments. We then review key management research that has incorporated CDT. Drawing from the latest refinements to CDT, we describe how future management studies could benefit by integrating these refinements into their theoretical frameworks, rather than simply relying on Festinger’s seminal work on the 60th anniversary of its publication (1957).

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Personal disclosure at work can help facilitate high-quality relationships; however, these results may depend on people's reactions to them. We suggest that reactions to a disclosure-particularly supervisor reactions-can relate to abrupt and enduring changes in perceptions of relationship quality. Drawing on theory related to relationship-defining memories [Alea N, Vick SC (2010) The first sight of love: Relationship-defining memories and marital satisfaction across adulthood. Memory 18 (7):730-742.], informational justice [Lind EA (2001) Fairness heuristic theory: Justice judgments as pivotal cognitions in organizational relations. Greenberg J, Cropanzano R, eds. Advances in Organizational Justice (Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, CA), 56-88.], and emotions [Van Kleef GA (2009) How emotions regulate social life. Current Directions Psych. Sci. 18(3):184-188.], we investigate the mechanisms through which supervisor reactions to pregnancy disclosure influence changes in employees' perceived supervisor support (PSS). The results from a longitudinal field study of over 100 pregnant working women and two experimental vignette studies suggest that the evocation of positive emotions from pregnant women at the time of the disclosure influences immediate and enduring changes in PSS.

Unfortunately, not all organizations are supportive of employees' family lives. Family unsupportive workplaces can be stressful for all employees and particularly for pregnant women, who carry a physical reminder of their family life. In the present study, we draw on conservation of resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1989, 2001) to investigate how women manage family unsupportive organizational perceptions during pregnancy via social identity-based impression management behaviors as well as how these strategies relate to changes in stress and changes in conflict between work and family. Specifically, we find that image maintenance strategies-impression management strategies aimed at maintaining one's prepregnancy image-are associated with decreases in work stress and work-family conflict over the course of pregnancy, while decategorization-impression management strategies aimed at avoiding negative outcomes by hiding the pregnancy or dodging the issue-are related to increases in work-family conflict. These results suggest strategies for both organizations and pregnant workers to decrease stress during a time when health is vital for both mother and baby. (PsycINFO Database Record