The mediating influence of work–family conflict and the moderating influence of gender on employee outcomes

Finding a balance between work and home continues to be a challenge for many employees. The influence of work–family conflict both from work interfering with family (WIF) and from family interfering with work (FIW) on employee outcomes is not well understood. Although substantial empirical research supports the general view that work–family conflict results from employees having conflicting roles, many previous studies examine work–family conflict and outcomes in the same, or ‘matching’ domains. Some studies on work conflict also have found cross domain outcomes that are largely unexplained. This research addresses this gap in the field by developing and testing the hypothesis that cross domain relationships will be mediated by conflict in the matching domains. Specifically, this study proposes that WIF mediates the relationship between FIW and four employee work outcomes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational citizenship behavior and task performance), and that FIW mediates the relationship between WIF and life satisfaction. This research also examines the moderating role of gender on the relationships while controlling for age and family status. The results of this study using a sample of 435 full time employees in the US provide support for most of the hypothesized relationships. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

The relationship between perceptions of HR practices and employee outcomes: examining the role of person–organisation and person–job fit

Human resource management (HRM) practices can play an important role in matching people with the organisations and the jobs they work in. However, little is known about how employees perceive and interpret HR practices and whether or how these perceptions relate to perceptions of person–organisation (P–O) and person–job (P–J) fit. This study aims to bridge strategic HRM and person–environment fit literature by examining possible mediating and moderating roles of P–O and P–J fit in the relationship between employee perceptions of a broad set of HR practices and employee attitudes and behaviours. Results from a sample of 412 employees support direct relationships as well as a mediating and moderating role of P–O and P–J fit in the relationship between perceived HR practices and employee outcomes.     

‘My People’: the potential of LGBT employee networks in reducing stigmatization and providing voice

Abstract

This paper explores the separation and isolation from the mainstream workforce that lesbian, gay, and bisexual employees can experience due to their sexual orientation, and how this can affect their voice and silence in the workplace. In response to perceived threats and actual experience of stigma in the workplace, we highlight the need for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) voice in organizations, while unpacking the complexities and concerns for LGBT employees in publicly voicing their sexual orientation at work. We explore how LGBT employee networks help mitigate LGBT isolation at work, and can directly and indirectly provide them with voice in the organization. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with LGBT employees across organizations in Ireland. The findings confirm that LGBT employees can experience isolation at work, affecting their voice, and that workplace networks may moderate this loneliness and stigma. However, the findings question the value of LGBT employee networks in providing voice for all sexual minority employees. Our research considers the individual-level responses of LGBT employees to participation in, and the value of, employee networks, and the perceived role of these networks in giving them visibility and voice.     

How does growth need strength influence employee outcomes? The roles of hope,leadership, and cultural value

Abstract

Strong growth need is essential if an employee is to be motivated to complete complex and challenging jobs. It is important for organizations to attract employees with high growth need strength and help them achieve positive outcomes. However, limited research has been conducted to examine the mechanism underlying growth need strength’s positive effect on employee outcomes. Based on hope theory, we hypothesized that hope mediates the effect of growth need strength on job performance and affective commitment by transforming employees’ general desire for personal growth into goal-related cognitive thinking, comprising both ‘will’ and ‘ways’. We further hypothesized the moderating effect of transformational leadership, and the joint moderating effect of transformational leadership and individual power distance on the relationship between growth need strength and hope. We tested our hypotheses with data from a sample of 265 subordinate–supervisor dyads from China. Data analysis results supported the mediating role of hope. We found that growth need strength has a stronger effect on hope when transformational leadership is higher, and this effect is the strongest when both transformational leadership and individual power distance are simultaneously higher. The implications of these findings for human resource management research and practice are discussed.     

The relationship between leader–member exchange and employee outcomes: review of past themes and future potential

Management Review Quarterly - Research on leader–member exchange (LMX) has gained momentum with a large number of studies investigating its impact on multiple levels. This article...     

Which work characteristics predict employee outcomes for the public-sector employee? An examination of generic and occupation-specific characteristics

The wide-ranging changes that have occurred in the public sector over recent years have placed increasing demands on public-sector employees. A survey of employees within a relatively commercially-oriented public-sector organization in Australia was used to test a demand-oriented generic model of employee well-being and a variety of situation-specific variables. The presence of support at work and the amount of control an employee had over their job were found to be key predictors of employee-level outcomes. Perceptions of pay and the perception of a lack of human resources (HR) were also found to predict employee outcome variables. The results emphasize the impact that middle managers and HR managers can have in terms of reducing the detrimental employee effects that can be caused by the introduction of new public management (NPM) and the potential for a positive impact on employees. In particular, public-sector managers can use the design of jobs and the development of social support mechanisms, such as employee assistance programmes, to maintain, if not improve, the quality of working life experienced by their employees. More broadly, this study has found that the job strain model is a useful tool in a public-sector environment and is likely to be of increasing utility with the continuing introduction or consolidation of NPM over time. Managing these issues in the new public sector could be a key means of protecting the key resource of the Australian public sector – the employees.     

How do high-involvement work processes influence employee outcomes? An examination of the mediating roles of skill utilisation and intrinsic motivation

How do high-involvement work processes influence employee outcomes? In this paper, we use Vandenberg et al.'s [Vandenberg, R. J., Richardson, H. A., & Eastman, L. J. (1999). The impact of high involvement work processes on organisational effectiveness: A second order latent variable approach. Group and Organisational Management, 24, 300–339] elaboration of Lawler's [Lawler, E. E. (1986). High-involvement management: Participative strategies for improving organizational performance. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass] model to test direct links and to explore skill utilisation and intrinsic motivation as mediators. Survey data were collected from a large New Zealand organisation providing distribution services and results were analysed through structural equation modelling. While there are important direct effects, the results demonstrate that both skill utilisation and intrinsic motivation transmit high-involvement processes into valuable outcomes for employees. The benefits to employees of such processes are direct but also lie in the way they make the work itself more motivating and enable them to deploy and grow their skills. This implies that forms of work organisation and supervision that offer workers greater opportunity for discretion, and involvement in the decisions that concern them, create the conditions for greater learning and, in turn, contribute to their well-being.     

Militant and moderate trade union orientations: what are the effects on workplace trade unionism,union-management relations and employee gains?

This paper presents survey findings exploring the claim that trade union militancy will deliver more advantages for unions than moderation (Kelly, 1996). Responses from representatives in two unions reveal militancy is associated with stronger union workplace activity and greater engagement with management in solving operational problems and long-term business strategies. However, there was no evidence that militancy significantly affects many terms and conditions. Moderate trade unionists in this sample were no more likely to hold a unitarist frame of reference. A further factor analysis of the militancy-moderation scale revealed two separate dimensions of militancy - a 'bargaining' and a 'mobilizing' approach. Although finding some expected benefits linked with militancy, different benefits appear to be associated with a bargaining approach and a mobilizing approach. It is suggested the approach taken in collective bargaining may be at least as important as mobilizing union members in securing gains from a militant union strategy.     

The relationship between employee performance management and civil servants’ turnover intentions: a test of the mediating roles of system satisfaction and affective commitment

In search of maximizing efficiency, public organizations found solace in the adoption of employee performance management (EPM) systems. While research supports that managing employees’ performance has favourable outcomes, it is still unclear why and under which conditions. Moreover, EPM systems might even create additional pressures and therefore increase turnover intentions and undermine public organization’s quest to maximize efficiency. We argue that when EPM systems are carried out consistently (i.e. internal consistency) and when they link civil servants’ individual goals to the organization’s strategic goals (i.e. vertical alignment), civil servants will be less likely to leave the organization. Hierarchical linear regression analysis shows that internal consistency relates to increased satisfaction with the EPM system and affective commitment to the organization. Vertical alignment relates to lower levels of turnover intentions. This relationship was mediated by EPM system satisfaction and affective commitment. These findings that contribute to our understanding of EPM systems can lead to favourable outcomes.     

The two faces of Nordic management? Nordic firms and their employee relations in the Baltic States

This study examines Nordic management styles in union and non-union industrial enterprises in the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) through case studies of nine Nordic subsidiary companies, based on on-site interviews with management and employees.1 1. Here, I refer to ‘Nordic’ countries denoting Denmark, Finland and Sweden, for the companies chosen for research are from these three countries and for the sake of common social and economic characteristics among these three countries, basing on the varieties of capitalism (VoC) literature. That is why Norway, a country seen usually in the composition of the Nordic countries, is left out of this investigation. The entity ‘Baltic States’ or ‘Baltic countries’ refers here to the three countries on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea: Estonia (population 1.4 million), Latvia (2.3 million) and Lithuania (3.4 million). This analysis construes the ‘Nordic model’ of management style as ‘bargained constitutional’ or ‘sophisticated consultative’, following Purcell and Ahlstrand's (1994) matrix of management styles in the highly unionized countries of origin, characterized as coordinated market economies. The case studies reveal that in the Baltic liberal-market environment, Nordic employers exhibit a variety of management styles, ranging from sophisticated human relations or paternalistic relations styles in non-union contexts, to an adversarial bargained style or modern paternalistic style in unionized subsidiary firms. The Nordic model's ‘bargained constitutionalism’ only occurs in those cases in the sample in which Soviet-era trade union structures survive, or where an in-firm union has fought for recognition and collective bargaining.     

Self-Organization and the Role of Government: How and why does self-organization evolve in the shadow of hierarchy?

Self-organization is a concept that is often used to legitimize a government’s retreat from sectors in which it has traditionally played a vital role. In this article, we analyse how the emergence of new welfare services is mutually shaped by factors that stimulate self-organization among citizens and by meta-governing interventions by local governments. Self-organization seems to takes place in the shadow of a government hierarchy: either a fear-based one or a benevolent one. Boundary spanners play an important role in establishing these new arrangements, thereby making use of, and developing, trustworthy relationships between citizen groups and government.     

Troubling some assumptions: A response to “The role of perceived organizational justice in shaping the outcomes of talent management: A research agenda”

This Commentary is a response to the paper by Gelens, Dries, Hofmans, & Pepermans in this Special Issue on the development of a theoretical framework for talent management. The authors' central argument and hypotheses remain essentially untroubled here as this Commentary instead problematizes a central assumption of their paper which is commonly taken for granted in the talent literature—i.e., that talent is in shortage. In addition, suggestions for theory development are given and a more critical approach to the assumptions upon which talent management is based is advocated.     

A relational view of climate adaptation in the private sector: How do value chain interactions shape business perceptions of climate risk and adaptive behaviours?

Studies exploring climate change adaptation in the private sector have seldom investigated the effect of business network interactions on climate vulnerability and adaptation outcomes. This paper proposes a novel theoretical framework to explore how business–network dynamics affect risk perceptions and adaptive behaviours in business firms. The framework is empirically grounded in a comparative analysis of business–network dynamics from three agricultural value chains in Jamaica that are vulnerable to climate change impacts. The results illustrate how the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of value chain actors are influenced by business interdependencies and interfirm relationships. We find that the level of formality of business exchanges (contractual or noncontractual), the level of resource interdependency, and the ability to diversify access channels to critical resources can influence the propagation of climate‐related risks and influence actors' exposure and sensitivity to those risks. The study also offers evidence of the role played by bonding and bridging relational ties on adaptive capacity. The framework and findings provide a foundation for a new research agenda exploring a relational view of firm adaptation strategy in response to climate risks.     

Cultural intelligence and voice behavior among migrant workers: the mediating role of leader–member exchange

Abstract

This empirical study is the first to explicitly examine cultural intelligence (CQ) as an antecedent of voice behavior and to explore the mediating role of leader–member exchange (LMX) in the CQ–voice relationship. Two hundred and sixty-one usable questionnaires were collected from migrant workers in Australia using an online survey. The data were analyzed with regression analyses and structural equation modeling. Results showed that migrant employees with higher CQ were more likely to engage in voice behavior. The positive relationship between CQ and voice behavior was partially mediated by LMX. These findings verify a relatively new individual antecedent (i.e. CQ) of voice behavior and reveal the underlying mediation mechanism that explains the effects of CQ on employee voice. This study also carries important implications for managing culturally-diverse workforces (i.e. migrant workers) regarding the promotion of voice.     

The importance of education for the reallocation of labor: Evidence from Swedish linked employer–employee data 1986–2002

Using Swedish employer–employee data we study job and worker flows for different educational groups, as well as the cyclicality of such flows. Due to the long period studied, from 1986 to 2002, and the widely fluctuating business cycle during this period, we have a unique opportunity to analyze the cyclical pattern of job and worker flows. We especially look at the big downturn in the Swedish economy in the beginning of the 1990s. When workers are treated as homogenous, we find job reallocation to be countercyclical. However, when we estimate correlations for different educational groups, we find job reallocation to be countercyclical for the lowest educated, and acyclical for higher educated workers. Contrary to job flows, we find worker flows to be acyclical, with a strong procyclical pattern in hiring rates, and an acyclical pattern in separation rates. When decomposing worker flows into educational groups, the acyclical pattern is prevalent for all groups, except for the highest educated. For the highest educated, worker reallocation is strongly pro-cyclical due to both more hirings and separations during up-turns.     

The firm,the platform and the customer: A “double mangle” interpretation of social media for innovation

The aim of this article was to explore the relationship between human actors and technology in the context of a social media platform, developed by a leading Italian firm in the food industry, and created to keep in contact with its customers, while gathering innovative ideas from them.In order to address these issues, we adopt a theoretical approach that is deeply rooted in Pickering's “mangle” theory, and Jones' subsequent metaphor of “double dance of agency” i.e. human and material agencies. A longitudinal case study has been developed with two rounds of interviews with marketing and R&D managers. A total of 8 recorded interviews, for 22 h overall.We examined conditions in the ongoing functioning of the platform, and considered how the website's dynamic materiality configures and reconfigures the practices and possibilities of different modes of engagement by multiple users (i.e. firm employees and customers) and vice versa. Specifically, dealing with the case of a social media platform developed by a firm to gain clearly defined organizational ends, the entanglement is considered to be double. One entanglement is between the human agency of customers and the material agency of the social media platform. The other is between the human agency of the firm and the material agency of the social media platform, including all actions that human agents (i.e. firm employees) undertake in seeking to channel material agency and shape actions of other human agents, i.e. customers.