Research@Ourso: Suffering in Silence
May 21, 2026
One in six couples will experience infertility at some point in their lives. It is a painful and often very private health struggle. But what happens when the mental toll from that issue follows an employee into the office?
Motivated by a personal connection to the condition, Michael Johnson, associate professor in the Rucks Department of Management, teamed up with colleagues nationwide to break new ground in work-family research. Their innovative study, recently published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior, establishes how infertility erodes an employee’s perception of self-worth, radically reshaping their professional identity and workplace behavior.
Michael Johnson
Associate Professor
Rucks Department of Management
Through the Looking Glass
In many cultures, parenthood is viewed as a fundamental rite of passage into adulthood. Infertility strikes directly at the heart of that experience; because of the heavy cultural and social weight attached to having a child, the inability to conceive can feel like a profound personal and social failure.
According to Johnson and his coauthors, the workplace impacts of infertility have been largely overlooked, often dismissed as a private struggle that mirrors common stress. However, they theorized that there was a more complex "cognitive route" that went beyond simple exhaustion. To test these impacts, the researchers conducted three sequential studies:
Study 1
Measuring harm.
Study 2
Mapping self-perception.
Study 3
Identifying impacts.
The findings were stark at each stage of the research. Participants with infertility struggles reported feeling less worthy than their peers in the first study, confirming harm to their self-concept. This feeling then snowballed into a perception that colleagues were rejecting or devaluing them because of their condition, leading to a final, self-fulfilling prophecy: the employee feels isolated, so they act in ways that ensure they stay isolated.
An additional surprise came when testing for differences between genders. "We originally expected a strong gender effect in our results ... [i.e.] the infertility experience to be stronger for women," Johnson said. "However, the results repeatedly showed that the experience was equally hard for both men and women. Men similarly struggled with the judgment that there was 'something wrong with them' as they processed the infertility experience."
What Can Organizations Do?
Proper support structures can help employees cope with adversity in a way that breaks the negative spiral. In organizations where it is safe to speak about personal worries, the spiral is interrupted, preventing an internal struggle from becoming an organizational crisis.
Empower Conversations
Shift towards a culture where employees feel empowered to share worries without professional penalty or judgment. The study found that doing so will likely help employees experiencing infertility avoid sinking deeper into isolation or perceived stigmatization.
Increase Affiliation & Awareness
Increasing interaction through workplace events or collaboration can boost an employee's overall sense of belonging, which in turn directly reduces the urge to act out. Additionally, managers should understand that infertility is a chronic disease that requires ongoing treatment and involves significant uncertainty.
Expand Resources
More comprehensive insurance coverage, which recognizes infertility as a chronic medical condition, as well as increased operational flexibility, such as work-from-home policies, can help employees mitigate the associated financial and social tolls.
Fast Facts
- Widespread Impact
17.5% of the world population suffers from infertility, according to the World Health Organization. - Limited Support
Approximately 40% of employers / health plans recognize infertility as a medical condition. (Source: Sternberg et al.) - Shared Hardship
The study found that the infertility experience was equally difficult for both men and women.
Future Avenues
Even with this study, infertility remains underexplored within work-family research. Johnson noted the limited angle their work took when it came to organizational support structures and the natural opening that in turn provides for future research efforts. "We only considered one intervention that companies could use ... a workplace environment characterized by acceptance of – and space to discuss – personal family issues," Johnson said. "We thought this variable was powerful because it shows the importance of coworkers providing a 'listening ear'. However, it would be useful for future research to consider what other ways organizations can support and accommodate these employees."
About the Researcher
Michael Johnson’s work examines the unique workplace consequences of issues like social class, gender, criminal histories, obesity, and unethical workplace behaviors. His research has been published in top management journals, including the Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Business Venturing, and Leadership Quarterly, and has also been featured in press outlets such as USA Today, Forbes, and the New York Post.
LEARN MORE ABOUT MICHAEL JOHNSON
About the Rucks Department of Management
The Rucks Department of Management at LSU's E. J. Ourso College of Business endeavors to prepare students for careers in fields such as international management, human resources, and strategic leadership. A generous donation by LSU alumnus William W. Rucks and his wife, Catherine, has aided the department in securing faculty who are repeatedly recognized for their research and has assisted student-affiliated organizations in achieving top honors nationally.