Perceived Consequences of Employing Aids Victims: Development and Validation of a Scale

Abstract

Preliminary results in the development of a 15-item scale to measure managers' beliefs about the consequences of employing AIDS victims are reported. Study participants included 248 managers in southeastern U.S. manufacturing, government, and service organizations. Principal components analysis of the proposed scale yielded three dimensions including reduced revenues, workplace disruptions, and increased insurance costs. Evidence of predictive validity is presented and support is also provided for the hypothesis that fear of AIDS in the workplace is a construct distinct from perceived consequences of AIDS in the workplace.

The Influence of Fear of AIDS and Expectancies About Employees With AIDS on the Decision to Fire Employees With AIDS

“…Measures utilized in this research were developed as part of a larger research project to investigate fear of AIDS in the workplace (O'Brien, 1989) and the perceived consequences of employing individuals with AIDS (Vest et al, 1990). The approach advocated by Kim and Mueller (1978) is used to establish the SO** .49** .37** .I3 (.86) .13 .15* .21** .09 (27) .63** .41** .22** (.91) .37** .05 (31) .20** Note.…”

“…The organizational consequences measure utilized by Lim (2003) is composed of items proposed by Vest, O'Brien, and Vest (1990) that address disruptions in the workplace, impact on revenue, and impact on insurance costs. Thus, we propose that as managers' fear of AIDS increases, so will their expectancies that (a) EWAs will have reduced ability to perform the job; (b) there will be increased disruptions in the workplace; (c) there will be reduced revenue; and (d) there will be increased insurance costs.…”

“…While not addressed specifically in Stone and Colella's model, the argument can be made also that disabilities such as AIDS can result in other types of disruptions in the workplace. For example, Vest et al (1990) suggested that EWAs can result in disruptions such as refused work assignments, employee turnover, lowered morale, and disruptions in the flow of work. Stone and Colella predicted that the more disruptive the disability, the more negative the elicited effect.…”

“…There are two additional expectancies that were not addressed in Stone and Colella's (1996) model that are likely influences on the decision to fire EWAs. Vest et al (1990) argued that decreased revenue and increased insurance costs are potential consequences of EWAs. As organizations become increasingly concerned about the cost of lawsuits, so too are they concerned about the potential impact of EWAs on revenue and insurance costs.…”

Aids Related Attitudesamong Government Employees

“…The questionnaire, compiled on the basis of a comprehensive review of the literature (Bouton et al, 1989;O'Brien, 1989;Carroll, 1990;McDevitt et al, 1990;Vest and O'Brien, 1990), consisted of four blocks of questions which measured respondents' fear of AIDS, knowledge of its transmission, possible consequences of having a coworker with AIDS, and AIDS-related public policy questions. All questions were forced choice.…”