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.     

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 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.     

Family-supportive organizations and supervisors: how do they influence employee outcomes and for whom?

In the present study, we examine a model which seeks to specify the process through which work-family supportive organizations and supervisors influence important organizational outcomes, including commitment and performance. Findings indicated that family-supportive organization perceptions are best conceptualized as influencing family-supportive supervisor behaviors, which in turn influence subordinate self-efficacy, subordinate affective commitment to the organization and subordinate perceptions of supervisor work effort. Subordinate self-efficacy and affective commitment were also both found to independently mediate the relationship between family-supportive supervisor behaviors and self-rated performance. Interestingly, the model functioned similarly for employees with and without dependent care responsibilities, indicating that work-family policies and support are important for all employees, regardless of their familial status. Theoretical and practical implications, limitations and future research directions are discussed.     

How does the availability and use of flexible leave influence the employer–employee relationship?

In this article, we develop, and empirically test, a moderated mediation model of the effects of flexible leave on employees' organizational attachment. Drawing on a social exchange framework and signaling theory, we explore how the material and non-material nature of exchange between the employer and employee shapes their relationship. First, we show that the relationship between the availability of flexible leave and organizational attachment is shaped by two competing mediators, perceived organizational support (POS) and perceived flexibility stigma. Second, we delineate between availability and use of the policy, to show how the effect of POS is enhanced and perceived flexibility stigma reduced, with use. Our findings demonstrate that the relationship between the availability of flexible leave and organizational attachment is complex, but is enhanced through use of flexible leave. We contribute toward HRM scholarship about the relationship between employees' experience of HR practices and their corresponding impact on employees' subsequent behavior.     

How do flexible work arrangements alleviate work-family-conflict? The roles of flexibility i-deals and family-supportive cultures

Flexible work arrangements (FWAs) are becoming common in emerging economies, though it is not clear if and how employees benefit from them in terms of their work-family balance and well-being. In contrast to previous work that used structural-functional explanations, we argue that FWA implementation should be depicted within its socio-political and socio-cultural context. We used survey data collected from 213 professionals in Istanbul, Turkey to examine the roles of flexibility i-deals and perceived family-supportive culture in the relationship between FWA availability and these employee outcomes. Results supported the hypothesis that i-deals mediate the relationship between FWAs and work-to-family conflict. Furthermore, perceived family supportive cultures predicted both work-to-family and family-to-work conflict and moderated the relationship between i-deals and family-to-work conflict. Finally work-to-family conflict mediated the relationship of flexibility i-deals and family supportive cultures with perceived general health. These finding are discussed for their implications for employees who are trying to balance their work and family lives and for organizations who are considering implementing FWAs.     

Depletion or expansion? Understanding the effects of support policy use on employee work and family outcomes

Past research on the effects of employees' use of work–family support policies tends to draw on a depletion perspective suggesting that using these policies may reduce work–family conflict. The emphasis on depletion fails to consider the expansion perspective that assumes that using work resources may enrich family functioning. Using a sample of 113 matched employee–supervisor pairs and a 1‐month separation between predictor and criterion measurement, we found support for the expansion rather than the depletion perspective. Specifically, the relationships between support policy use and employee job satisfaction and family efficacy (but not organisational citizenship behaviour) were mediated by work‐to‐family enrichment; these effects were realised only for employees with high levels of family identity. In contrast, no support was found for family‐to‐work conflict as a mediator of the model.     

Which HRM practices enhance employee outcomes at work across the life-span?

Abstract

Based on the social exchange theory and on ageing and life-span theories, this paper aims to examine: (1) the relationships between perceived availability and use of HRM practices, and employee outcomes (i.e. work engagement and employability); and (2) how employee age moderates these relationships. Using a sample of Nmaximum = 1589 employees, correlational analyses and multiple hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. First, confirming our hypotheses, results showed predominantly positive relationships between work engagement and both perceived availability and use of development HRM practices, such as HRM practices related to learning, development, and incorporating new tasks. The study outcomes opposed, however, our hypotheses with predominantly negative relationships between work engagement and perceived availability and use of maintenance HRM practices. Predominantly positive relationships were furthermore found, as was hypothesized, between employability and perceived availability and use of development as well as maintenance HRM practices. Generally speaking, these results were not more pronounced for any of the age groups. That is, age appeared to not play any significant moderating role. Research limitations, implications for practice and directions for future work are also discussed.     

How and when do prior international experiences lead to global work? A career motivation perspective

While research suggests a link between individuals' prior international experiences and their future participation in global work, we know little about how and the conditions under which this relationship occurs. Drawing on career motivation theory, we conceptualize global identity as a mediator between individuals' density of prior international experiences—defined as the extent to which time spent in culturally novel countries has provided individuals with developmental opportunities—and their global work aspirations, which in turn leads to their global work involvement. Further, this multi-stage mediation model holds mainly when individuals receive positive feedback regarding their intercultural competencies (i.e., cultural intelligence) from their peers. We test our model using a multi-wave multi-source dataset spanning 6 years. We discuss implications for the literatures on prior international experiences and global careers.     

Does supervisor-perceived authentic leadership influence employee work engagement through employee-perceived authentic leadership and employee trust?

The issue of authentic leadership has been generating increased interest in both practical and academic domains. This study examines the influence of authentic leadership on employee trust and employee work engagement from the dyadic supervisor–employee viewpoint. The sample data consists of responses from 77 team supervisors and 345 employees in 36 companies. We utilize hierarchical linear modeling to test the hypotheses. The cross-level results show that employee trust fully mediates supervisor-perceived authentic leadership and employee work engagement, and that employee-perceived authentic leadership fully mediates the relationship between supervisor-perceived authentic leadership and employee trust, as well as the relationship between supervisor-perceived authentic leadership and employee work engagement. On the individual level, employee trust has a partial mediating effect on the relationship between employee-perceived authentic leadership and employee work engagement.     

How do industrial relations climate and union instrumentality enhance employee performance? The mediating effects of perceived job security and trust in management

In this study, we examine the effects of two key variables associated with union effectiveness on the job performance of employees, and the mechanisms that explain such effects. More specifically, we investigate whether employees' perceptions that their union has a constructive relationship with management (industrial relations climate) and is able to act as an agent for their concerns (union instrumentality) promotes their job performance by enhancing their perceived job security and trust in management. Drawing on three waves of data from 303 employees and their immediate supervisors within 17 private enterprises in China, we find employees' perceptions of union effectiveness influence their job performance by enhancing both their perceived job security and trust in management. These findings are consistent with social exchange theory and conservation of resources theory. This article contributes to the literature by improving our understanding of how unions influence employees' work performance and by explaining how employees' perceptions of the industrial relations climate and union instrumentality influence their job performance. It also sheds light on the important issue of the effectiveness of unions in China, a country where the centrality of the Chinese Communist Party is often considered to have reduced the instrumentality of unions.     

When and why does transformational leadership influence employee creativity? The roles of personal control and creative personality

This study develops and tests a model of the underlying mechanisms linking transformational leadership and employee creativity using a sample of 240 matched middle‐level manager and front‐line supervisor dyads from a large foreign joint‐venture company in China. We propose that personal control and employee creative personality serve as a unique psychological mechanism and an important boundary condition to simultaneously influence the relationship between transformational leadership and employee creativity. Results of moderated‐mediation analyses provided support for our conceptual model, showing that transformational leadership was positively related to personal control, which also had a positive impact on employee creativity. Furthermore, creative personality was found to moderate the relationship between transformational leadership and personal control, which in turn, mediated the joint effect on employee creativity. Findings of this study provide insights into the research on leadership development and work design in HRM, which can inform human resource managers to design effective strategies and systems that can increase employees' creativity.     

Does structuring of human resource management processes enhance employee creativity? The mediating role of psychological availability

In this study, we develop a theoretical conceptualization and an operational definition of structuring of human resource management (HRM) processes and examine how this structuring enables employee creativity at work. Analyzing the data collected from employees and their managers in knowledge‐intensive workplace settings, we examine a mediation model that suggests that the relationship between structuring of HRM processes and employee creativity is best explained in terms of the intervening variables of perceived uncertainty, stress, and psychological availability. Results suggest that structuring of HRM processes is negatively associated with perceived uncertainty and stress. These perceptions produce a sense of psychological availability, which in turn enhances employee creativity. This study offers new insights about diagnosing the level of structuring of HRM processes and the ways managers and HR directors facilitate its implementation in their organization. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Development or maintenance? Dual-oriented human resource system,employee achievement motivation,and work well-being

Drawing on the person–organization fit theory, this study elaborates a dual-oriented human resource (HR) system and explores when and how two HR bundles (development vs. maintenance) influence work well-being. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis with a sample of 1,946 supervisors from a Chinese high-tech firm show that the dual-oriented HR model fits the data better than a holistic HR system. In another study with a multilevel sample of 64 corporate branches and 434 employees, the findings confirm the proposed joint effect of the dual-oriented HR system and achievement motivation on well-being. Specifically, development-oriented HR practices are more positively related to work well-being only when individual achievement motivation is high; by contrast, maintenance-oriented HR practices are more positively related to work well-being only when individual achievement motivation is low. Work meaning mediates these effects. These findings provide guidance on the effective design of HR practices.     

How do interregional spillovers influence the distribution of technology? The case of Chinese manufacturing

The Chinese economy displays considerable inequality across regions. In this paper, we analyzed the distribution of intermediate input shares in China. We use regional input–output tables from 2007 and find that regions with higher GDP per capita generally had higher input shares, regardless of sector. Then, using intermediate input shares as a proxy of technology, we analyzed the pattern of regional technology distributions across manufacturing sectors as well as the extent of interregional technology spillovers. Our results indicate that interregional backward spillovers have significantly positive impacts on the shape of the technology distributions in eastern (coastal) regions. By contrast, the vertical spillovers of the central and western regions are largely dominated by intra-regional forward effects. Our results suggest that the shift of Chinese manufacturing from coastal to inland regions with lower production costs cannot reduce the imbalance among regions unless the technology gap is narrowed.     

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.     

Farewell to the salaryman? The changing roles and work of middle managers in Japan

The 1990s and 2000s witnessed significant organizational change in Japanese firms and accompanying readjustments to the employment system. Such changes potentially have major implications for middle managers, or salarymen, in Japanese corporations. A survey of human resource managers and middle managers in eight medium sized Japanese organizations pointed to fairly significant, if not radical, change. This did, indeed, impact upon middle managers in those organizations. While the middle managers felt reasonably secure in their jobs, the nature of their jobs had reportedly changed, with a greater range of tasks, work intensification, longer hours, greater stress, more accountability, and a worsening work–life balance.     

Why do employees keep choosing the high-premium health care plan? An investigation of the financial consequences and logic of employee health care plan selections

In 1991, Dannon employees had the choice to stay with their current health care plan or switch to a new plan which offered a lower premium and less hospital cost coverage that better fit the needs of most employees. Both plans were the same in all other respects. Only 25% of employees chose the new lower-premium plan over the old plan. This article reports a collaborative effort between The Dannon Company and Cornell University's Center for Advanced HR Studies to identify the patterns of employee choices, and the effects of those choices on the actual costs that employees incurred. The actual decisions of 287 Dannon employees were examined, and the out-of-pocket costs that they actually incurred in the two years after the plan was introduced were calculated. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

How do top executives handle their work and family life? A taxonomy of top executives' work–family balance

Aiming to increase understanding of work–family balance at the executive level and to derive implications for human resource management, this study analyses patterns of the way in which different top executives handle the interface between work and family domains. Drawing on role theory, research on work–family linkages and a qualitative study with 42 top executives, the authors identify eight constructs that constitute top executives' work–family balance. By applying cluster analysis to dyadic data from 220 top executives and their life partners, they detect five top executive work–family balance types, according to the interplay of the top executives' satisfaction and functioning at work and at home, as well as the conflicts between the two life domains. The balance types imply significant variance in highly relevant outcomes, such as job performance and job attitudes.