Pay level satisfaction and employee outcomes: the moderating effect of autonomy and support climates

The present study examined autonomy climate (AC) and support climate (SC) as moderators of the relationship between pay level satisfaction (PLS) and employee outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction, affective commitment and intention to stay). Survey data were collected from 5801 Belgian employees, representing 148 units. The hypotheses derived from distributive justice theory and from research on the meaning of money received partial support. Multilevel analyses revealed that AC buffered the negative effects of low PLS on all three outcomes, and that SC exacerbated the negative effects of low PLS on intention to stay. Theoretical and practical implications of this differential moderating effect are discussed.     

The relationship between high performance work systems and employee proactive behaviour: role breadth self‐efficacy and flexible role orientation as mediating mechanisms

Drawing on the contextual perspective, this study provides novel empirical evidence on how the organisational context (specifically, the firm's human resource strategy) has an effect on employee proactivity. We use matched data from managers and employees in 102 Spanish professional service firms to examine how high performance work systems contribute to enhance employee proactive behaviours through two motivational variables: role breadth self‐efficacy and flexible role orientation. Results of a multilevel study demonstrate that role breadth self‐efficacy mediates between HPWS and employee proactivity, but flexible role orientation does not mediate this relationship.     

A weekly diary study on the buffering role of social support in the relationship between job insecurity and employee performance

In this article, the authors used a within‐person design to examine the relationship between job insecurity and employee in‐role and extra‐role performance, and the buffering role of time‐varying work‐based support (i.e., supervisor and colleague support) in this relationship. Weekly diary data gathered over the course of three weeks from 56 employees confronted with organizational restructuring and analyzed with a hierarchical linear modeling approach showed that weekly fluctuations in job insecurity negatively predicted week‐level in‐role performance. As predicted, supervisor support moderated the intra‐individual relationship between job insecurity and in‐role performance, so that employees' in‐role performance suffered less from feeling job insecurity during weeks in which they received more support from their supervisor. No relationship between job insecurity and extra‐role performance was observed. This within‐person study contributes to research on job insecurity that has primarily focused on inter‐individual differences in job insecurity and their associations with job performance. Theoretical and practical implications for human resource management are discussed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The relationship between perceived training and development and employee retention: the mediating role of work attitudes

Abstract

This paper considers how utilizing a model of job-related affect can be used to explain the processes through which perceived training and development influence employee retention. We applied Russell’s model of core affect to categorize four different forms of work attitude, and positioned these as mediators of the relationship between perceived training and development and intention to stay. Using data from 1191 employees across seven organizations, multilevel analyses found that job satisfaction, employee engagement and change-related anxiety were significantly associated with intention to stay, and fully mediated the relationship between perceived training and development and intention to stay. Contrary to our hypotheses, emotional exhaustion was not significantly associated with intention to stay nor acted as a mediator when the other attitudes were included. These findings show the usefulness of Russell’s model of core affect in explaining the link between training and development and employee retention. Moreover, the findings collectively suggest that studies examining employee retention should include a wider range of work attitudes that highlight pleasant forms of affect.     

Gender and the subjective meaning of health: An integrated approach

Gender differences in the subjective meaning of HEALTH were investigated by means of free word association technique on a sample of 916, 8th, 10th, and 12fth grade rural and urban male and female high school students. Free associations to word HEALTH were classified into 11 previously determined categories. Each category data were analysed by hierarchical loglinear method of statistical analysis. None of the main effect was found statistically significant in any of the 11 analyses but the Gender by Area, and Gender by Area by Grade interactions were highly significant in all the 11 analyses. It was concluded that gender differences occur in the context of complex social and cultural environments and should be investigated integrated with other salient factors. Gender differences studied alone ignoring the other confounding factors may lead to misleading conclusions.     

The relationship between career plateauing,employee commitment and psychological distress: the role of organizational and supervisor support

This research examines the role played by an employee's supervisor and organization in the relationship between structural and content plateauing, affective commitment to the organization, and psychological distress. Our analyses, based on data taken from a sample of 575 hospital employees, reveal that there is a significant relationship between the two forms of plateauing and perceived supervisor support, whereas only hierarchical plateauing is related to perceived organizational support. Our results also highlight the mediating effect of perceived organizational support in the relationship between hierarchical plateauing, perceived supervisor support, and the consequences examined.     

Inclusion climate: A multilevel investigation of its antecedents and consequences

This study investigates the antecedents and consequences of organization‐level inclusion climate. A national sample of human resource decision‐makers from 100 organizations described their firms' formal diversity management programs; 3,229 employees reported their perceptions of, and reactions to, their employers' diversity management. Multilevel analyses demonstrate that identity‐conscious programs (programs that target specific identity groups) generate an inclusion climate. Moreover, the analyses provide evidence of multilevel mediation: In organizations with an inclusion climate, individual employees perceive the organization as fulfilling its diversity management obligations and respond with higher levels of affective commitment. This study represents an important step toward understanding how a shared perception of organizational inclusiveness develops and how inclusion climate facilitates the achievement of diversity management objectives. The findings also shed light on the important role of identity‐conscious programs in promoting organizational commitment within a diverse workforce.     

The role of calculative attachment in the relationship between diversity climate and retention

This study enhances our understanding of the complex relationship between diversity and employee retention. The study found that positive perceptions of an organization's “diversity climate” were related to decreased turnover intentions and found support for the proposition that calculative attachment mediated this relationship. In addition, the study considered potential interactions with diversity climate perceptions in predicting calculative attachment and found support for satisfaction with pay as a moderator, but not supervisor effectiveness. Finally, the study determined that the benefits of a positive diversity climate may extend to all employees, including White men. ©2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

HRM and front line managers: the influence of role stress

With front line managers (FLMs) being critical in the delivery of human resource management (HRM) we would benefit from a better understanding of how and why these managers execute their human resources (HR) responsibilities in the way that they do. Without such knowledge we cannot fully identify the factors that contribute to the known gap between intended and implemented HRM and mediate the relationship between HRM and organizational performance. Yet FLMs have been largely overlooked in many studies of line management-HRM with very few employing a role-theoretic framework. To address this, interviews were conducted with FLMs in the retail industry to examine the relationship between their work role stressors and their implementation of HRM. FLMs were found to experience role overload, role conflict and role ambiguity, and in accordance with process role theory, engaged in role-making as a response. This resulted in FLMs deviating from intended HRM whereby role overload and conflict often brought about a renegotiation of the more intangible or costly HR policies, whereas role ambiguity undermined their ability to consistently and confidently implement HRM. The paper concludes by arguing that FLMs and their experiences of role stress are critical to our understanding of the gap between intended and implemented HRM.     

The role of employee HR attributions in the relationship between high‐performance work systems and employee outcomes

Although research has shown that the use of high‐performance work systems (HPWS) is associated with employee outcomes, our knowledge of the meanings employees attach to HPWS systems and how these shape employee outcomes is still limited. This study examines the signalling impact of enacted HPWS on HR well‐being and HR performance attributions, and how these influence happiness‐ and health‐related outcomes. Using multilevel data (1,065 employees nested within 150 work units) obtained from multiple sources (line managers and employees), our results show that coverage of HPWS was positively associated with the two HR attributions. In addition, HR well‐being attributions were associated with higher levels of commitment and lower levels of job strain. HR performance attributions were associated with higher levels of job strain. The findings of this study highlight the importance of taking into account how employees attach meaning to enacted HPWS in order to predict employee outcomes.     

Fluctuating levels of personal role engagement within the working day: A multilevel study

In this diary study, we examined a theoretical model in which the psychological conditions of meaningfulness, availability, and safety serve as mechanisms through which the work context during discrete situations within the workday influences “state” engagement. We further theorised that a person's “trait” level of engagement would exert cross‐level effects on the state level relationships. Multilevel analyses based on a sample of 124 individuals in six organisations and 1,446 situational observations revealed that meaningfulness and availability (but not safety) mediated the relationships between perceptions of the work context and state engagement. High levels of trait engagement strengthened the within‐person relation between availability and state engagement, yet weakened the within‐person relation between meaningfulness and state engagement, suggesting two different processes may be at play. Overall, the findings advance our understanding of engagement as a multilevel and temporally dynamic psychological phenomenon and promote a contextually based HRM approach to facilitating engagement.     

How does cultural intelligence affect organisational culture: the mediating role of cross-cultural role conflict,ambiguity, and overload

Drawing on the tenets of role stress theory for insight into the cross-cultural and relational effects of role stressors, adaptability and organisation, we explain the mediating effect of these stressors to identify the extent of relationships across a broad scope of cultural settings. The current study examines cross-cultural role conflict, ambiguity and overload – the three role stressors – as mediators of the relationship between cultural intelligence and organisational culture. Survey data were collected from 299 employees across high-risk industries in four countries: Australia, the United Kingdom, United States of America and Singapore. Results demonstrated that cultural intelligence is positively related to organisational culture, while cross-cultural role conflict, ambiguity and overload are negatively associated with organisational culture. Moreover, results from mediation analysis highlighted that cross-cultural role conflict, ambiguity and overload partially mediate the relationship between cultural intelligence and organisational culture, providing a broader understanding of its connective influence both locally and in a cross-border setting. Implications for theory and managerial practice, along with avenues for future research, are discussed.     

Understanding the relationship between experiencing workplace cyberbullying,employee mental strain and job satisfaction: a dysempowerment approach

Although the literature on traditional workplace bullying is advancing rapidly, currently investigations addressing workplace cyberbullying are sparse. To counter this, we present three connected research studies framed within dysempowerment theory (Kane, K., & Montgomery, K. (1998). A framework for understanding dysempowerment in organizations. Human Resource Management, 37, 263–275.) which examine the relationship between volume and intensity of cyberbullying experience and individual mental strain and job satisfaction; whether the impact is more negative as compared to traditional bullying; and whether state negative affectivity (NA) and interpersonal justice mediate the relationship. Additionally, we also considered the impact of witnessing cyberbullying acts on individual outcomes. A total sample comprised 331 UK university employees across academic, administrative, research, management and technical roles. Overall, significant relationships between cyberbullying exposure and outcomes emerged, with cyberbullying exposure displaying a stronger negative relationship with job satisfaction when compared to offline bullying. Analysis supported an indirect effect between cyberbullying acts and outcomes via NA and between cyberbullying acts and job satisfaction via interpersonal justice. No support for a serial multiple mediation model of experiencing cyberbullying to justice to NA to outcome was found. Further, perceived intensity of cyberbullying acts and witnessing cyberbullying acts did not significantly relate to negative outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications of the research are discussed.     

The role of change agent as mediator in the relationship between HR competencies and organizational performance

Human resource (HR) practitioners, as change agents, are responsible for easing the impact of changes in their organization and to protect employees against the side effects of these inevitable changes. Sometimes, the change helps to produce a significant increase in performance and the company can boost sales and production without additional cost. Several vital competencies that are reviewed in this paper include business knowledge culture management, effective relationship and human resource development skills. Based on the findings of this study, not all competencies are related to the role of change agent. HR practitioners who are unable to function as change agents will inevitably create a barrier against their becoming a well-integrated strategic partner. Therefore, the role of change agent also mediates the relationship between certain HR competencies and organizational performance.     

Health and work of the elderly: subjective health measures,reporting errors and endogeneity in the relationship between health and work

This paper explores the interrelation between health and work decisions of older workers. For this, two issues are of relevance. Firstly, health and work may be endogenously related because of direct causal effects of health on work and vice versa, and because of unobservables that may affect both observed health and work outcomes. Secondly, social surveys usually contain self‐assessed health measures and research indicates that these may be subject to endogenous, state‐dependent reporting bias. A solution to the ‘Health and Retirement Nexus’ therefore requires an integrated model for work decisions, health production and health reporting mechanisms. We formulate such a model and estimate it on a longitudinal dataset of older Dutch males. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Discretionary and transactional human resource practices and employee outcomes: The role of perceived organizational support

Utilizing perceived organizational support (POS) as the mechanism linking HR practices to employee behaviors in the workplace, we examine a broad set of HR practices in order to understand the relative importance of each HR practice (i.e., those that explain incremental variance over other practices) in influencing employee behaviors. We differentiate between discretionary and transactional HR practices to test the discretionary investment requisite of POS theory. The results show that of the eight discretionary practices, only participation and decision making directly influenced the extra‐role behaviors that employees exhibit, and only training and development directly impacted the customer‐oriented behaviors. Furthermore, one of the transactional HR practices was found to have a direct effect on organizational citizenship behavior. Our findings indicate that the performance management process, promotional opportunities, participation, and involvement in decision making affect how employees behave toward the customer and the extra‐role behaviors they exhibit. Furthermore, this occurs through the view employees develop of the organization as a place to work. That is, these four HR practices demonstrate to employees that they are valued, and, in turn, this feeling of being appreciated impacts their commitment to delivering high‐quality service to the customer and going beyond their job responsibilities. Implications for research and practice are discussed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Sense‐giving in health care: the relationship between the HR roles of line managers and employee commitment

In this article, we examine line manager prioritisation of HR roles and the consequences for employee commitment in a health‐care setting. Our analysis is based on a quantitative, multi‐actor study (509 employees and 67 line managers) in four Dutch hospitals. Using sense‐giving as a theoretical lens, we demonstrate that, in addition to the effects of high commitment HRM, prioritising the Employee Champion role alone and the Employee Champion and Strategic Partner roles in combination is associated with higher employee commitment. We argue that through performing roles that are evocative of deep‐seated values, such as excellent patient care and concern for others, line managers can have a positive effect on staff attitudes. In a sector often beleaguered by staff turnover, exhaustion and burnout, we offer an important, empirically based framework that has the potential to improve employee commitment and, from there, enhance performance.     

Multi‐foci CSR perceptions,procedural justice and in‐role employee performance: the mediating role of commitment and pride

This study explores differential employee responses to perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) treatment of social and non‐social stakeholder foci of the community, customers, shareholders and environment along with first‐party employee justice perceptions. At a finance‐sector multinational, we test the mediating role of commitment and pride in accounting for the relationship between perceptions of stakeholder treatment and in‐role performance. We propose and pilot a new multi‐foci CSR measure and include this in a mediated model within a separate study. Socially responsible treatment of customers and the environment play a role in predicting performance; these foci are related to either pride or commitment. Community CSR, first‐party justice perceptions and commitment predict performance either directly or indirectly. Our research shows an absence of any positive employee response associated with CSR towards shareholders. The study uncovers new insights into our understanding of complexities in employee responses to CSR activities.     

The problem of employees' network centrality and supervisors' error in performance appraisal: A multilevel theory

This article reveals an unexplored paradox for HR managers: the centrality of an employee in the social network benefits performance but hampers performance appraisal because it affects supervisors' rating errors. Central employees can be erroneously rated high on performance even when they are not high performers because supervisors tend to overappraise their performance. A distinction is made between rating precision, which depends on supervisors' uncertainty regarding employees' performance, and rating accuracy, which depends on supervisors' bias in favor of employees. Employee centrality is posited to be beneficial to precision but deleterious to accuracy because it regulates the diffusion of positive information, status, and power, all of which distort supervisors' capacity and motivation to accurately appraise performance. It is then argued that rating errors caused by network centrality affect aggregate perceptions of justice in organizations. When employees are highly connected to each other in a dense network, organizations have a strong and positive justice climate. Yet when some employees are more central than others in a centralized network, organizations have a negative and weak justice climate. The article contributes to the literature because it identifies an unexplored dark side of network centrality and offers recommendations for HR managers to cope with its deleterious consequences and for scholars to study them.     

The effect of employee share ownership on employee commitment and turnover: comparing the cases in Britain and South Korea and the role of the economy

Despite the consensus in the employee share ownership (ESO) literature for the need to explore contexts that influence ESO outcomes, studies examining two important factors, national context and status of the economy, are limited. In this study, the authors compare the outcomes of ESOs in Britain and South Korea during economic expansion and downturn. The results demonstrate that, during an economic expansion, the effect of ESOs in increasing employee commitment is stronger in South Korea, while their effect in decreasing employee turnover is stronger in Britain. However, during an economic downturn, the authors find no evidence for these effects in both societies. The findings lend support to the contingency perspective in managing ESOs and provide meaningful implications and guidance to the literature.