Investment in staff development within an emergency services organisation: comparing future intention of volunteers and paid employees

Path models were evaluated to explore the impact of job satisfaction as mediator of the relationship between perceived investment in employee development (PIED) and the adequacy and availability of training on turnover intention. Models were compared for volunteers (n = 2,306) and paid employees (n = 274) within the one emergency services organisation. Results indicated that job satisfaction mediated the relationship between PIED and intention to stay for both volunteers and paid employees. PIED was a stronger predictor of job satisfaction for paid employees, while support and recognition was a stronger predictor of job satisfaction for volunteers. Results highlight the indirect role of PIED on turnover intentions. Findings also support the notion of tailored employee development programmes that enhance job satisfaction. Further, PIED may be more salient to the turnover intentions of paid employees, while support and recognition may be a key motivator of volunteers' ongoing commitment to the organisation.     

Marrying personality and job resources and their effect on engagement via critical psychological states

This study examined the process by which individuals become engaged with their jobs by integrating seminal engagement theory. More specifically, we suggest that an individual factor (i.e. autotelic personality) and two contextual factors (i.e. feedback environment, job autonomy) interact to predict work engagement through three critical psychological states – namely availability, meaningfulness, and safety. This moderated mediation framework was tested using a cross section of the US population (n = 284); data were collected at two points in time with 3 months in between. Availability and meaningfulness mediated the relationship between autotelic personality and work engagement. Autotelic personality’s indirect effect on work engagement through meaningfulness and safety was conditional such that the nature of feedback environment’s effect depended on job autonomy level. Theory and practice implications are discussed.     

Patterns of psychological contract and their relationships to employee well-being and in-role performance at work: longitudinal evidence from university employees

Abstract

This study identified patterns of psychological contract (PC) and examined how these patterns were related to employee well-being and in-role performance over time (T1–T3). PC was measured at T1 based on cross-sectional data and well-being and performance longitudinally in two consecutive years (T1?T3) among university employees. Latent profile analysis revealed six different patterns of PC at T1. These were labelled (1) strong and balanced (n = 131), (2) average and balanced (n = 382), (3) employer-focused (n = 79), (4) employee-focused (n = 59), (5) balanced transactional (n = 224) and (6) employee-focused relational (n = 322). The longitudinal findings showed that the employees in PC patterns 1 and 2 experienced more vigour at T1–T3 than those in pattern 5, while the employees in pattern 2 reported higher proficiency at work at T1–T2 than those in pattern 6. Employee job satisfaction did not vary between patterns. Altogether, the PC pattern that included many different obligations on the part of both employee and employer seemed to result in better employee well-being and in-role performance.     

The impact of international experience on objective and subjective career success in early careers

There is an ongoing debate in the literature on the long-term impact of international work experience on future career success. In this longitudinal study based on university graduates, we compare expatriates (n = 159), repatriates (n = 395) and domestic employees (n = 2697) with regard to their objective and subjective career success during the first five years of their careers. Results from propensity score matching and ordinary least-squares regressions show that expatriates and repatriates have a higher objective career success in terms of monthly wages. We further find a higher subjective career success for expatriates and male repatriates.     

Job security as a threatened resource: reactions to job insecurity in culturally distinct regions

As downsizing and restructuring have become global phenomena, the impact of job insecurity on employee attitudes has received significant attention. However, research examining the role of cultural dimensions has been largely unexplored. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, we investigated whether the relationships between both quantitative job insecurity (i.e. the perceived threat of job loss) and qualitative job insecurity (i.e. the perceived threat of losing valued job features) and employee attitudes (job satisfaction and turnover intention) differ in culturally distinct regions. This was examined using representative employee samples from two regions of Switzerland which differ in societal practices uncertainty avoidance and performance orientation: the German-speaking (n = 966) and the French-speaking (n = 307) regions. Our research indicates that whereas the relationship between quantitative job insecurity and turnover intention is stronger in the French-speaking region where there is higher societal practice uncertainty avoidance, the relationship between qualitative job insecurity and job satisfaction is stronger in the German-speaking region where there is higher societal practice performance orientation.     

Organizational citizenship behaviour and employee retention: how important are turnover cognitions?

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between perceived job alternatives, intention to search, intention to leave and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB), with a view to determining the extent to which these variables are related. Two surveys using separate samples (Study 1, n = 651, and Study 2, n = 226) were used. First, in both studies, perceived job alternatives provided a better account of OCB towards the organization (sportsmanship and civic virtue) than OCB towards individuals (helping and altruism). Second, the results of Studies 1 and 2 indicate that the relationships between OCB and intention to search and between OCB and intention to quit are different. The findings suggest that one part of the research model appears to be generalizable, while the other part appears to be explained by the context of employment. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

A social exchange theory framework for understanding the job characteristics–job outcomes relationship: the mediating role of psychological contract fulfillment

This study integrated the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model and concept of psychological contract fulfillment into a social exchange theory process framework to improve our understanding how and when job characteristics interact to influence job outcomes. Using survey data (n = 334), we found evidence to support our hypothesized relationships between job characteristics (job demands and job resources) and job outcomes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment); and the mediating role of psychological contract fulfillment (transactional and relational), such that when job resources (job control and support) were high, the negative effects of high job demands on psychological contract fulfillment were attenuated. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Stuck at a workplace: What’s work control,demands and learning got to do with it? A longitudinal multilevel study on Swedish permanent employees in situations of ‘workplace locked-in’

Abstract

Whilst health consequences of being locked-in at the workplace have been documented in several research studies, it is largely unknown how work characteristics and their changes over time relate to risks for becoming locked-in at a certain workplace. Accordingly, this paper studied how perceived control, learning opportunities and quantitative demands at work associate with workplace-locked-in (WPLI). The study included permanent employees who participated in the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) study in wave 3 through 5 (n = 2918 individuals; n = 7460 observations). Results from multi-level analysis show that there was significant individual variation in WPLI changes over time, even though on average, WPLI decreased slightly. Differences in work characteristics between individuals (L2) and across time (L1) associated significantly with WPLI: higher levels of job control and learning opportunities related to lower odds ratios for WPLI, whereas higher quantitative job demands associated with higher odds ratios of WPLI. Moreover, differences in quantitative job demands, number of job changes and educational achievements explained the individual variations of WPLI developments over time. The result shows that WPLI can – to some extent – be prevented or reduced through good work design, and implications for HR managers and organizations are discussed.     

The inside effects of a strong external employer brand: how external perceptions can influence organizational absenteeism rates

In this study, we invoke a social identity and job resources perspective to investigate the impact of an organization’s internal and external employer brand images on employee absenteeism. Specifically, using workforce samples of 56 Belgian companies (n = 12670) and a second independent study sample (n = 4461), we assess the relative importance of the internal employer brand image (i.e. employee perceptions) and the external employer brand image (i.e. non-employee perceptions) in predicting the absenteeism rate in these organizations. Results show that corporate absenteeism decreases as internal (employee) views and external (non-employee) views of the organization decline. Results further show that the external employer brand image may be a more important driver of absenteeism than the internal employer brand image. Such results highlight that an organization’s external image may be a strong antecedent of important internal organizational behavior outcomes.     

Dealing with differences: the impact of perceived diversity outcomes on selection and assessment of minority candidates

Although many strategies have been employed to specifically recruit and select minority employees, the selection rates for designated minority groups are often lower than those for the majority group. Minority candidates with high cultural maintenance (CM) are particularly vulnerable to cultural bias in selection procedures, a process which has proved difficult to change. This paper aims to examine whether these effects may be moderated by recruiters’ perceived diversity outcomes; whether they view diversity as beneficial or threatening to the organization's performance. In an experimental study, participants belonging to a cultural majority group played the role of recruiters (n = 99). Their diversity perceptions were manipulated by asking them to think about, and discuss, either positive or negative outcomes of cultural diversity in the workplace. They were then asked to rate fictional profiles of minority candidates for a job opening. The results confirm that CM of minority candidates has a negative main effect on the ratings they receive in assessment procedures. However, as predicted, this effect is moderated by diversity perceptions. Recruiters who perceive individual differences in the workplace as positive and beneficial, give higher ratings to candidates who maintain their own culture. This provides a promising insight in possible ways to reduce cultural bias in selection procedures.     

Pre-migration adaptation of highly skilled self-initiated foreign employees: the case of an EU agency

This study analyzes pre-migration adaptation among highly skilled self-initiated foreign employees (SFEs) of the EU Chemicals Agency in Finland (N = 95). Organizational, expatriate and acculturation perspectives were integrated to develop a model of factors predicting SFEs' psychological, socio-psychological and work adaptation in the pre-migration stage. Previous international work experience, perceived organizational prestige, satisfaction with the time, information and assistance to prepare for the relocation and quality of contact with Finns during recruitment positively predicted SFEs' pre-migration adaptation. European identification, self-esteem and relocation stress acted as mediators. The study emphasized the importance of a multidimensional approach to SFE adaptation prior to relocation.     

Citizenship behavior in project-based organizing: comparing German and Portuguese project managers

This study seeks to understand the possible relationship between citizenship behavior and project managers' performance in a comparative context. The sample consists of German (n = 119) and Portuguese (n = 128) project managers working in various sectors. The results support the hypotheses derived from the discourse on effectiveness in temporary organizations and show a significant contribution of citizenship behaviors to project goal achievement and future personal and organizational opportunities. When comparing the samples, results substantiate that this contribution was higher in Portuguese project managers. Interpretations of this finding are offered, limitations of the study addressed and suggestions for future research discussed.     

Offshoring versus backshoring: Empirically derived bundles of relocation drivers,and their relationship with benefits

This paper describes an empirically derived classification of the various factors that influence offshoring and backshoring decisions based on data from 275 offshoring and 160 backshoring projects. The study developed one set of factor bundles for offshoring and another set of such bundles for backshoring; these sets were then compared, and their relationships with post-relocation benefits were analyzed. These benefits were also grouped into bundles based on the empirical relationships. This research contributes an empirically derived classification scheme of decision factors for both offshoring and backshoring as well as an analysis of the relationships between decision factors and benefits for each type of relocation direction.     

Job characteristics,work–home interference and burnout: testing a structural model in the South African context

The aim of this study was to test a structural model that included job demands and job resources, negative work–home interference (WHI) and burnout (exhaustion, cognitive weariness and cynicism). A cross-sectional survey design was used. Random samples (n = 330) were taken of workers employed in the earthmoving industry in eight provinces of South Africa. Job characteristics (including job pressure, job control and job support) were measured by items that were adapted from the Job Content Questionnaire and a validated questionnaire on experience and evaluation of work. The Survey Work–Home Interaction – Nijmegen was used to measure negative WHI, while the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey and cognitive weariness scale were administered to measure exhaustion, cognitive weariness and cynicism. Structural equation modelling with Amos showed that job demands (e.g. job pressure) and job resources (job control, supervisor support and colleague support) contributed to negative WHI. Negative WHI mediated the relationship between job demands and burnout and partially mediated between job resources and burnout.     

Core processes and applicant reactions to the employment interview: an exploratory study in Greece

This research explores the employment interview in Greece with two aims: first, to look at the practice of the employment interview from the interviewer perspective, exploring a number of issues, which have been identified as important for increasing interview's effectiveness and second, to look at the role of interviewers' characteristics on applicant reactions and their behavioral intentions to the actual interview, using two independent samples of interviewers (N = 131) and actual job applicants (N = 122), respectively. The results of the first study were quite supportive regarding the effective use of the employment interview in Greece. In the second study, interviewers' personal characteristics were related to applicants' post-interview attitudes and intentions, although this relationship was fully mediated by the overall perception of the interview held by the job applicant. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Family-friendly work practices and their outcomes in China: the mediating role of work-to-family enrichment and the moderating role of gender

Based on a survey of a sample of employees (n = 726), we examine whether work-to-family enrichment mediates the relationship between two types of flexible work arrangements (i.e. flextime and a compressed workweek) and two work-related outcomes (job satisfaction and turnover intention). In addition, we examine the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between flexible work arrangements and work-to-family enrichment and between work-to-family enrichment and the work-related outcomes. The results show that work-to-family enrichment acts as a mediating factor between flexible work arrangements and outcomes. In addition, the relationship between work-to-family enrichment and turnover intention is stronger for female employees. Finally, the implications for research and practice are discussed.     

A survey study on weights of decision criteria for job rotation in Thailand: comparison between public and private sectors

Five hundred Thai organizations (from both public and private sectors) were surveyed to learn how decision criteria were weighed when conducting job rotation. The organizations were categorized into three groups, namely, government agency (GA), private service company (PSC), and private manufacturing company (PMC). Three purposes of job rotation were considered: (1) restructuring of the organization, (2) periodic reshuffling of employee-job assignments, and (3) efficiency/productivity improvement. The findings from responded questionnaires (with a response rate of 41.40 per cent) show that the criterion weights are significantly dependent on both the organization type and the purpose of job rotation. It is found that organizations from both sectors considered ‘knowledge, skills, and abilities’ as a predominant decision criterion, irrespective of the purpose of job rotation. For the organizations that periodically reshuffled their current employee-job assignments, ‘job seniority’ was also considered as an important criterion. Regarding the other two job rotation purposes, organizations from the public sector consistently gave more attention to ‘job seniority,’ ‘years of service,’ and ‘age’ than did those from the private sector.     

Satisfied with red tape? Leadership,civic duty,and career intention in the military

We examine how the coerciveness of HR procedures and leadership behaviours affect job satisfaction (JS) and career intention (CI), and how civic duty (CD) mediates these relationships. Within the framework of the human resource management performance chain, we draw on leadership and motivational theories and test the proposed relations in a structural equation model with data from a survey of the Federal Armed Forces Germany (n = 1,331). The findings show that the behaviour of supervisors, rather than red tape, influences JS and CI. The results extend our understanding of the interplay between leadership behaviours and followership attitudes under high degrees of organizational coercion.     

What makes them move abroad? Reviewing and exploring differences between self-initiated and assigned expatriation

Only in recent years have self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) been distinguished from assigned expatriates (AEs). But there is still a lack of empirically based comparative results. Statistical analysis, performed on data from 193 expatriates (N_AE = 67; N_SIE = 126), indicates that self-initiated foreign work experience is significantly more likely to be chosen by women and those having lower job levels. Furthermore, boundaryless and protean career orientation only partially predicted which career path is chosen. SIEs have higher organizational mobility preferences, but do not differ from AEs in their boundaryless mindset and protean career attitude. Implications of these findings for research in expatriation are discussed.     

Prerecruitment organizational perceptions and recruitment website information processing

Despite the prevalent use of the Internet for recruitment purposes, little is known about how job seekers process presented information, particularly before organizations have actively recruited these job seekers. In this study, we examine the effects of prerecruitment perceptions of familiar organizations before exposure to information on organizational recruitment websites using a combination of undergraduate students and employees of a large university located in the southwestern USA (N = 75). Participants completed a three-part study that allowed us to investigate how these prerecruitment perceptions impact the reported time spent viewing recruitment websites and the ability to recall website information. We used two hierarchical moderated multiple regression models to test study hypotheses. Our results suggest that job pursuit intentions may influence processing of job and organizational information presented on recruitment websites, and this influence is moderated by subjective fit perceptions. Specifically, we find that participants who indicated high job pursuit intentions and low perceptions of subjective fit were more likely to spend time on a recruitment website and recall presented information one week after viewing it. We discuss the implications of these findings for organizations as they design and implement early recruitment activities.