A resource pathway against to action against discrimination: How burnout and work-family balance form obstacles to action.

Why is it difficult for targets to act out against individual experiences of discrimination? Whereas prior research focuses on normative concerns or failure to perceive discrimination as determinants of (lack of) action, we hypothesize that perceiving frequent discrimination at work undermines the potential to act out against discrimination because it depletes one's resources. We study a sample that is underrepresented in research on discrimination, yet forms a large percentage of the working population: parents experiencing disadvantage in a working context. We measured self-reported disadvantage because of parenthood, action against disadvantage, levels of burnout and work-home self-efficacy. Results reveal that perceptions of discrimination are related to lower levels of action. Importantly, lack of resources could explain this effect: we found simultaneous (and separate) mediation of the exhaustion (but not distancing) burnout subscale as well as separate mediation of work-home self-efficacy. The implications of these results and the importance of studying potential resources in relation to action against discrimination are discussed.