Abstract
The current study examines the association between sex reassignment surgery (i.e., genital reconstruction surgery) and job satisfaction. For a period of 3 years (2012–2014), 23 biological male employees and 17 biological female employees who underwent sex reassignment surgery were periodically interviewed in the city of London (UK). By collecting longitudinal quantitative data before and after their sex reassignment surgery, associations between masculinity, femininity, pre- and post-sex reassignment surgery, life satisfaction and job satisfaction were analyzed. Utilizing random effect models the estimations suggest that, for both male to female, and female to male groups, sex reassignment surgery entails job satisfaction adjustments. In addition, interaction effects suggest that, with sex reassignment surgery life satisfaction, femininity for males to females, and masculinity for females to males can positively impact on transgender employees’ job satisfaction. We suggest that if sex reassignment surgery is correlated with better mental health, improved body and mental satisfaction in relation to gender identity, and more commitment to work due to better psychology, then job satisfaction might be positively affected by sex reassignment surgery since these factors are perceived to have a direct impact on the happiness individuals receive from their jobs.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Archer, J., & Lloyd, B. (2002). Sex and gender. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bem, S. L. (1981). Bem sex role inventory: Professional manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Bowling, A. (2004). Measuring health (3rd ed.). Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Bowling, N. A., Eschleman, K. J., & Wang, Q. (2010). A meta-analytic examination of the relationship between job satisfaction and subjective well-being. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83, 915–934.
Colton Meier, S. L., Fitzgerald, K. M., Pardo, S. T., & Babcock, J. (2011). The effects of hormonal gender affirmation treatment on mental health in female-to-male transsexuals. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health, 15, 281–299.
Davis, S. A., & Meier, C. B. (2014). Effects of testosterone treatment and chest reconstruction surgery on mental health and sexuality in female-to-male transgender people. International Journal of Sexual Health, 26, 113–128.
Drydakis, N. (2015). Effect of sexual orientation on job satisfaction: Evidence from Greece. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 54, 162–187.
Grant, J. M., Mottet, L. A., Justin, T., Harrison, J., Herman, J. L., & Keisling, M. (2011). Injustice at every turn: A report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey. Washington, DC: The National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
Law, C. L., Martinez, L. R., Ruggs, E. N., Hebl, M. R., & Akers, E. (2011). Trans-parency in the workplace: How the experiences of transsexual employees can be improved. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79, 710–723.
Leppel, K. (2014). Does job satisfaction vary with sexual orientation? Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 53, 169–198.
Likert, R. (1932). A technique for the measurement of attitudes. Archives of Psychology, 140, 1–55.
Locke, E. A. (1976). The nature and causes of job satisfaction. In M. D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organisational psychology. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Locke, E. A. (1984). Job satisfaction. In M. Gruneberg & T. Wall (Eds.), Social psychology and organizational behaviour (pp. 92–117). London: Willey.
McNeil, J., Bailey, L., Ellis, S., Morton, J., & Regan, M. (2012). Trans mental health study 2012. Edinburgh: The Scottish Transgender Alliance.
Meads, D. M., McKenna, S. P., & Doward, L. C. (2006). Assessing the cross-cultural comparability of the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Value in Health, 9, A324–A324.
Morton, J. (2008). Transgender experiences in Scotland. Edinburgh: Scottish Transgender Alliance.
National Archives. (1999). The sex discrimination (gender reassignment) regulations 1999. Norwich: National Archives.
Ozkan, T., & Lajunen, T. (2005). Masculinity, femininity, and the BEM sex role inventory in Turkey. Sex Roles, 52, 103–110.
Robbins, S. (1993). Organizational behaviour: Concepts, controversies, and applications. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Saari, L. M., & Judge, T. A. (2004). Employee attitudes and job satisfaction. Human Resource Management, 43, 395–407.
Schilt, K., & Wiswall, M. (2008). Before and after: Gender transitions, human capital, and workplace experiences. The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, 8, 1–28.
Whittle, S., Turner, L., Al-Alami, M., Rundall, E., & Thom, B. (2007). Engendered penalties: Transgender and transsexual people’s experiences of inequality and discrimination. London: The Equalities Review.
Xiumei, Y., Meifang, W., & Qing, Z. (2012). Effects of gender stereotypes on spontaneous trait inferences and the moderating role of gender schematicity: Evidence from Chinese undergraduates. Social Cognition, 30, 220–231.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Drydakis, N. (2016). Transgenderism, Sex Reassignment Surgery and Employees’ Job-Satisfaction. In: Köllen, T. (eds) Sexual Orientation and Transgender Issues in Organizations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29623-4_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29623-4_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-29621-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-29623-4
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)