Date of Conferral
5-10-2024
Date of Award
May 2024
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Psychology
Advisor
Barbara Chappell
Abstract
A common phenomenon witnessed in the United States health care industry is a division between skilled and unskilled workforces. The division results from skill bias perceptions that strip the appreciation and value of certain job titles and responsibilities. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study focused on the human capability approach theory was to ascertain the differences in perception between the two types of workers and whether skill bias perceptions predict self-perception and self-efficacy. The goal was to recognize and support the innate human capabilities of unskilled workers as valuable human capital resources. From stratified sampling, 172 skilled and unskilled voluntary U.S. health care workers completed four preexisting surveys. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and multiple linear regression analyses showed statistically significant differences in perception between the two types of workers’ skill bias perceptions, self-perception, and self-efficacy. Skill bias perceptions significantly predicted self-perception between the types of workers. Likewise, skill bias perceptions significantly predicted self-efficacy; however, the type of worker was not significant to predict self-efficacy. Results may be used for positive social change to reduce skill bias perceptions, improve working environments for all employees, emphasize unskilled workers’ human capabilities as more significant, address social disparities, increase unskilled workers’ self-perception and self-efficacy, and restore dignity and meaning to unskilled employment positions, especially those in the health care industry and future generations of unskilled workers.
Recommended Citation
Jackson, Cheryl M., "Skill Bias Perceptions of Unskilled Workers' Self-Perception and Self-Efficacy" (2024). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 15780.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/15780
