Status shields and pharmacy work: Differences among workers by role and context

Status and workplace context directly affect employee experiences at work. This study looks at an understudied essential health professional group: pharmacy workers. Using survey data from 298 pharmacy workers in the United States we test how status, status shields, and work context relate to perceptions of one's work. Specifically, we investigate how pharmacy roles (i.e., pharmacy technicians, pharmacists, and PharmD students) and pharmacy context (i.e., independent community, retail chain, and hospital care) affect feelings about work. Following research on status shields at work and the job characteristics model, we pose hypotheses about meaning in work, impact at work, as well as job satisfaction, and intent to quit. This study uses a conceptualization of status shields as both part of the pharmacy hierarchy and associated with work contexts. Further, testing the assumptions of the job characteristics model using varied work roles and contexts offers additional evidence the model's value. We offer implications for health and organizational social science across disciplines, as well as practical implications for scholars and practitioners.