Factors Influencing a Manager's Decision to Discipline Employees for Refusal to Work with an HIV/AIDS Infected Coworker

Abstract

This research investigates the influence of gender, fear of AIDS, and the likelihood that a manager will share AIDS-related health information about an HIV/AIDS infected coworker with subordinates on a manager's decision to discipline an employee for refusing to work with the HIV/AIDS infected coworker. Data was obtained using questionnaires administered to 194 managers employed in service, manufacturing, and government organizations. Both fear of AIDS and sharing AIDS-related health information exhibited a significant unique negative relationship with the decision to discipline. No significant unique relationship was found between gender and the decision to discipline. However, gender was found to moderate the relationship between fear of AIDS and the decision to discipline. There was a significant negative relationship between fear of AIDS and the decision to discipline among male but not among female managers. Study findings, implications, and suggestions for future research are discussed.