It Takes Three to Tango: Exploring the Interplay among Training Intensity,Job Autonomy,and Supervisor Support in Predicting Knowledge Sharing

This study explored whether the relationship between perceived training intensity and knowledge sharing is prone to combined moderating influences. We operationalized perceived training intensity as a challenge stressor, in accordance with the challenge‐hindrance framework of work stressors. The results of a study of 129 employees from three Norwegian service industries revealed a positive relationship between perceived training intensity and supervisor‐rated knowledge sharing for employees reporting high levels of perceived job autonomy and high levels of perceived supervisor support. In contrast, we found a negative relationship between perceived training intensity and supervisor‐rated knowledge sharing for employees reporting high levels of perceived job autonomy and low levels of perceived supervisor support. These findings suggest that supervisors are of vital importance in facilitating knowledge sharing among employees in settings where developmental challenges are prevalent and perceptions of job autonomy are high. Implications for future research and practice are also discussed. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Too much of a good thing: The interactive effects of cultural values and core job characteristics on hindrance stressors and employee performance outcomes

This study contributes to research on core job characteristics by examining when employees may perceive enriched jobs as a hindrance stressor and in turn may experience lower performance at work. Utilizing time-lagged data collected from a sample of 386 employee–coworker dyads and drawing on cognitive appraisal theory of stress and coping, we explore the mediating role of hindrance stressors on the relationship between core job characteristics and key employee performance outcomes (i.e., creativity, counterproductive work behaviors, in-role performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors) and the moderating roles of cultural values (i.e., power distance and uncertainty avoidance) in influencing this mediation. The results supported the hypotheses, providing evidence that the experience of hindrance stressors mediates the relationship between core job characteristics and job performance outcomes when employees score high on power distance and uncertainty avoidance cultural values, and not when their scores on these cultural values were low. Practical implications and future research are discussed.     

Job stressors and voluntary work behaviours: mediating effect of emotion and moderating roles of personality and emotional intelligence

Framed within an emotion‐centred model, the current study investigated the mediating role of negative and positive emotion between job stressors and counterproductive work behaviours (CWB) and organisational citizenship behaviours, and the moderating effects of personality and ability‐based emotional intelligence (EI) on the relationships between job stressors and emotions. Results from a sample of 202 Caribbean employees across eight public and private sector organisations showed that both positive and negative emotion mediated the relation between job stressors and citizenship behaviours, whereas only negative emotion was found to mediate the relation between job stressors and CWB. Some support was found for the moderating effects of personality and EI. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Work role stressors and turnover intentions: a study of professional clergy in Hong Kong

Work and occupational stress have long been concerns for employees and human resource managers as they cause many negative outcomes. Most of the previous studies on work stress were conducted in Western countries, while limited research has addressed this important topic in the Asian context. In this study, we examine the effects of several work role stressors (i.e. role ambiguity, role conflict, role overload and work–family conflict) on emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction and intentions to leave. Additionally, we test the mediating effects of emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction between the relationship of role stressors and intentions to leave. Data were collected from a sample of 887 professional clergy in Hong Kong. The results of regression analysis show that role stressors have a significant impact on both emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction, which in turn affect respondents' intentions to leave their organization.     

Reactions to abusive supervision: examining the roles of emotions and gender in the USA

Abusive supervision leads to many detrimental outcomes, yet the role of gender and emotions has received little attention. We applied affective events theory to study emotions in a new context. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, we tested a conditional process model of the effects of abusive supervision on subordinate work and job withdrawal as mediated by negative emotions and moderated by gender. We found support for our proposed model. Specifically, abusive supervision increased work and job withdrawal via victims’ negative emotional reactions. When negative emotions are low, women are more likely to engage in work withdrawal; when negative emotions are high, men are more likely to do so. Additionally, men experiencing high negative emotions are likely to quit their job.     

Intercultural competence and expatriates

This study examines the simultaneous effects of employees' fit with their organization, job and supervisor on their job satisfaction, organizational commitment and turnover intention in Turkish banks by paying special attention to the moderating role of perceived organizational support (POS) in these relationships. Survey data collected from 213 employees who work in five different banks operating in Istanbul, Turkey, show that employees' value fit with their organization increases their job satisfaction and organizational commitment significantly while having no direct effect on their turnover intention. The results also suggest a positive association between employees' fit with their job (needs–supplies fit) and their job satisfaction along with the negative, direct impact of job fit on turnover intention. The hypothesized relationships between employees' value fit with their supervisor and selected employee outcomes are not supported. With respect to the moderating role of POS, the overall findings indicate that a high level of organizational support suppresses the effects of employees' value fit with their organization on their job satisfaction and organizational commitment as well as reducing the relationship between their job fit and job satisfaction and turnover intention.     

Benefits and Disadvantages of Individuals’ Multiple Team Membership: The Moderating Role of Organizational Tenure

Many employees in today’s organizations are involved in more than one team at the same time. Building on the challenge-hindrance stressor framework, this study investigates potential benefits and disadvantages of such multiple team membership (MTM) for individual employees. Furthermore, we extend this framework with insights from the job demands-resources model to propose that, depending on an employee’s organizational tenure, individual MTM will differentially shape his or her perceptions of work challenge and role ambiguity, subsequently influencing the employee’s job performance and absenteeism. We tested our conceptual model using time-lagged multi-source data from a large organization of applied research (N = 1211). Our results demonstrate that, for employees with relatively low organizational tenure, MTM was negatively associated with perceived work challenge and positively associated with perceived role ambiguity, which in turn associated with lower job performance and higher absenteeism. For employees with higher organizational tenure, by contrast, MTM associated positively with their work challenge perceptions and subsequent performance outcomes, whereas MTM was unrelated to perceived role ambiguity as well as absenteeism. These findings identify relevant psychological mechanisms and a key contingency factor that explain when and why MTM may have positive or negative individual-level consequences.     

Spatial versus social mismatch

The aim of this paper is to provide a new mechanism based on social interactions, explaining why distance to jobs can have a negative impact on workers’ labor-market outcomes, especially ethnic minorities. Building on Granovetter’s idea that weak ties are superior to strong ties for providing support in getting a job, we develop a model in which workers who live far away from jobs choose to have less connections to weak ties. Because of the lack of good public transportation in the US, it is costly (both in terms of time and money) to commute to business centers to meet other types of people who can provide other source of information about jobs. If distant minority workers mainly rely on their strong ties, who are more likely to be unemployed, there is then little chance for them of escaping unemployment. It is therefore the separation in both the social and physical space that prevents ethnic minorities from finding a job.     

The relationship between ‘high-performance work practices’ and employee attitudes: an investigation of additive and interaction effects

In order to improve our understanding of mediating variables inside the ‘black box’ of the firm's labour management, this paper examines the relationship between high-performance work system (HPWS) practices and employee attitudes. Using a randomly selected, national population sample, clear evidence was found for a positive relationship between HPWS practices and the attitudinal variables of job satisfaction, trust in management, and organizational commitment, implying that HPWS can provide win-win outcomes for employees and employers. However, the study also tests – from an employee perspective – the ‘complementarities thesis’ and finds negative interaction effects among HPWS practices. This strengthens the argument that there are likely to be limits to the positive outcomes of HPWSs for employees. Evidence of sequencing in the employee attitudinal responses to HPWSs was also found, with job satisfaction as the key mediating variable.     

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.     

Housing tenure and labor market impacts: The search goes on

We develop two search-theoretic models emphasizing firm entry to examine the Oswald hypothesis, the idea that homeownership is linked to inferior labor market outcomes, and compare their predictions to three extant theories. The five models have surprisingly different predictions about the labor market at both the aggregate and micro levels. Using a suitable instrumental variable strategy, we estimate both micro and aggregate level regression models of wages and unemployment and compare the estimates to those predictions. We find that while homeowners are less likely to be unemployed, they also have lower wages, all else equal, compared to renters. In addition, higher regional homeownership rates are associated with a greater probability of individual worker unemployment and higher wages. The outcome of a horserace between our new search-theoretic models is mixed—the wage-posting model predicts observed unemployment impacts while a bargaining variant does a better job explaining observed wages and aggregate labor market outcomes. Overall, we conclude that firm behavior is important for understanding the labor market impacts of homeownership. Because this is the case, regional homeownership rates are not good instruments for individual tenure choice in empirical work. And while individual homeowners may have inferior labor market outcomes as compared to renters, from the viewpoint of society, higher homeownership rates may result in greater job creation and overall production, among other benefits.     

The Costs of Exhibiting Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) has been associated with positive organizational outcomes and with higher managerial ratings of employee performance. However, concerns have been raised about the possible personal costs of performing such activities. This paper examines the relationship between OCB and emotional exhaustion and work‐family conflict and explores the moderating role of job performance in shaping those relationships. In a time‐lagged field study of customer‐contact center employees the research found that one particular dimension of OCB—conscientiousness—was associated with higher emotional exhaustion and with work‐family conflict. The study also revealed that conscientious employees who performed their in‐role job responsibilities at a high level experienced greater emotional exhaustion and work‐family conflict than conscientious employees who performed their in‐role job responsibilities at a low level. Our findings suggest that organizational pressures to increase the level at which both discretionary and formal role obligations are performed can carry negative consequences for employees. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Career plateauing reactions: the moderating role of job scope,role ambiguity and participation among Canadian managers

The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating effect and the interactive effect of job scope, role ambiguity and participation in decision-making on relationships between career plateauing and outcomes. A cross-sectional survey of 3,065 Canadian managers shows that these job characteristics can contribute to limiting the negative consequences associated with career plateauing. Moreover, in accordance with the theory of work–situation fit, some double moderating effects are found. The attitudes and behaviours of plateaued managers are significantly more positive when their job is richer and offers an opportunity to participate in decision-making. However, contrary to evidence in the literature, results show that reactions to career plateauing are more positive for managers who perceive that their job is richer and their role more ambiguous. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Job involvement and performance among middle managers in Sri Lanka

This paper examines performance evaluation outcomes for middle managers in the garment sector in Sri Lanka and seeks to explain variations in levels of job involvement and perceptions of organizational support. Some 155 middle managers across three firms were segregated into high- and low-performing groups. High-performing managers tended to have higher perceptions of organizational support, resulting in a social exchange relationship with their employer, and expressed higher job satisfaction and lower turnover intentions. Managers assessed as low performers experienced more negative perceptions of organizational support, lower job satisfaction and an economic exchange relationship with their employer. Significantly, for both high and low performers these outcomes were moderated by job involvement. These findings highlight the need for organizations to pay careful attention to the factors influencing job involvement and perceived organizational support. The paper concludes with a discussion on the practical implications of the findings for human resource managers.     

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.     

Is Prestige Only Beneficial? A Cost of Perceived External Prestige Among Accounting Employees

Abstract

Perceived external prestige (PEP), which is an employee’s belief of how outsiders view his or her organization, has a positive effect on multiple employee job outcomes. However, we posit that PEP also carries costs that arise due to increases in the perception of coworker competitiveness that negatively affects some job outcomes. Prior research has not yet examined negative outcomes of PEP. Using structural equation modeling with survey data from a sample of 477 accounting professionals employed in public accounting firms, we find that PEP is negatively related to job satisfaction and positively related to turnover intentions through its relationship with perceptions of the competitiveness of coworker environment, thus documenting a cost of PEP. Overall, though, we find that the net effect of PEP on job outcomes remains positive. Additionally, we find these relationships hold with 383 accounting professionals in industry. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Work and non-work-related antecedents of expatriates' well-being: A meta-analysis

Studies show a reduction in expatriates' well-being while abroad which entails a risk of low performance or even termination of the assignment abroad. To extend the knowledge of antecedents of expatriates' well-being, this meta-analytic review combines the empirical results from 24 studies. Concerning the conservation of resources theory, we distinguish between work-related and non-work-related antecedents (resources) and expose their relationship with expatriates' work well-being and general well-being. The meta-analysis shows that work well-being is positively anteceded by organizational support, work adjustment, and spousal support, whereas job factors and work-family interference are associated with decreased work well-being. General well-being negatively relates to work-family interference factors. The antecedents with the highest relative effect size are job factors on the negative side (resource loss) and organizational support on the positive side (resource gain). Work-family interference has the broadest impact on both work well-being and general well-being.     

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.     

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.     

Mentoring as an antidote to stress during corporate trauma

This article examines mentoring as a potentially useful resource in an organization's adaptation to global competition and the need for improved learning capabilities. We were surprised to find that mentoring relationships were perceived as more desirable under conditions of corporate stress, low job challenge, and low job involvement. We were further surprised to find that individuals in early and later career stages were as likely, or more likely than, their midcareer colleagues to embrace the mentoring role. Thus, it appears that mentoring may be more readily available as an antidote to stress than previously considered, and that it may be an important form of coping with the stressful, nonrewarding conditions that typically characterize corporate downsizing. Not only is mentoring an important form of promoting development (for self and for others), but it also may represent a valuable vehicle for social support and learning during times of major corporate change.