The Impact of #MeToo: A Review of Leaders with Supervisor Power on Employee Motivation

Abstract

This manuscript intends to advance existing research, specifically, in gender dissimilar supervisor-employee workplace dyads by integrating #MeToo with our existing knowledge concerning supervisor power and employee motivation. With the #MeToo movement re-energized in 2017, power in leadership positions was redefined. As a result, power held by a supervisor is likely to influence outcomes based on gender and the employees’ source of motivation. Supervisors who believed they were successful through influence were more likely to exhibit power to achieve success. However, employees’ source of the motivation was identified as a moderating factor in those outcomes. Therefore, outcomes were dependent on the type of power the supervisor was using, as well as the source of the motivation that the employee held. Thus, presumptions could be made that those exhibiting influence in the #MeToo movement maintained an intrinsic motivation, believing they could control the outcomes of these situations. Compelling Phenomenon & Origination In late 2017, the #MeToo social media campaign empowered women to come forward against prior sexual assault/harassment/inappropriate behavior they experienced, often in business settings. It began in 2006 with Tarana Burke; then, actress Alyssa Milano is credited as revitalizing it October 15, 2017 (Pflum, 2018). Within 24 hours, the “me too” phrase was used by nearly 5 million people in 12 million posts and tweeted more than 200,000 times (500,000 more times the following 24 hours) (France, 2018; Sini 2017). The #MeToo campaign highlighted situations when men in positions of power took advantage of their rank. In turn, this placed women in compromising circumstances including in the hiring and/or promotion process, among others. Prior to the #MeToo movement, victims of sexual harassment or other unwelcomed (often sexual) encounters did not feel as though they had much of a voice. They did not feel as though they could stand up for themselves after falling victim to these situations and kept silent, not reporting the instance(s) to the proper authorities. Because of the #MeToo movement, these women collectively stood together to create a voice. They were not afraid to make accusations and hold accountable those who abused their power. This movement influenced the 2018 Golden Globe Awards, as well as the 2018 State of the Union, where attendees wore black to show support and solidarity for these victimized women and other women who had not yet come forward. The survivors of the #MeToo campaign were victims of a negative power influence, often from those in leadership roles, which affected their motivation – how they approached various situations, with whom they communicated, how they interacted with others – achieving outcomes to go all in as they normally would have or just enough to satisfy requirements. These women may or may not have been hired or promoted because of their #MeToo experience, but in each situation, the power enacted upon them made an impression on the trajectory of their professional careers, emotional well-being, and motivation. Mary Kovach