Worker bees and their queens: The dynamics of ostracism and trait mindfulness

Abstract

”Queen bee” behavior is often conjectured as legitimization of intragender inequality that may or may not include ostracism. This study examines whether the psychological effect of exposure to a female superior with queen bee behavior could be moderated by the female subordinate (“worker bee”) being more mindful, and whether the moderation would occur when the superior later displays workplace ostracism. We used a randomized controlled experiment (queen bee X ostracism scenarios) and tested the result consistency on participants of female undergraduates from Australia (Study 1; N = 140) and Indonesia (Study 2; N = 222). A superior displaying queen bee behavior was considered more sexist and triggered more negative affect, especially by Australian females low in trait mindfulness. The moderation of trait mindfulness diminished once the superior ostracized, albeit lower trait mindfulness still predicted higher negative affect.