Perceived occupational stigma and coping strategies among host club (male-company cabaret club) employees

Abstract

This study attempted to replicate Kamise, Hori, and Okamoto's (2010) survey on perceived occupational stigma among Japanese workers by conducting a survey with employees in a host club-a male cabaret club- in the Kansai region, Japan, to investigate their perceived occupational stigma, coping strategies, occupational self-esteem, and egalitarian sex-role attitudes. The results showed that host-club employees perceived extreme occupational stigma, where novices, part-time workers, and those with fewer work assignments showed higher levels of perceived stigma. Regarding coping strategies, attribution of discrimination and disengagement were used frequently, while valuing and group identification were used only rarely. Structural equation modeling showed that group identification positively enhanced occupational self-esteem. However, contrary to previous research, individuals who perceived more stereotyping rarely used group identification. Stigma awareness facilitated attribution of discrimination, resulting in lowered occupational self-esteem, and egalitarian sex-role attitude significantly influenced valuing and attribution of discrimination.