Help! Lonely at work: Managerial interventions to combat employee loneliness

Loneliness is a rampant and modern epidemic that affects the majority of employed adults and shows no signs of subsiding. Loneliness not only contributes to numerous health problems—including anxiety, depression, heart failure, and suicide—but can also cause greater employee stress, cynicism, distrust, and decreased job performance, as well as higher turnover and absenteeism. Loneliness-prompted absenteeism singlehandedly costs employers billions of dollars a year in lost productivity. Consequently, understanding and managing workplace loneliness is of paramount importance for leaders. A review of the causes and outcomes associated with workplace loneliness is provided in this article, as well as three evidence-based interventions that can help reduce workplace loneliness: (1) fostering opportunities for relationship building, (2) increasing support around evolving work contexts, and (3) fortifying a people-focused organizational culture. By presenting research-based guidance, we help leaders combat on-the-job loneliness faced by employees, as well as managers; generate healthier work environments; and cultivate improved individual, team, and organizational performance.     

Crafting a paying-it-forward mindset in business: Five principles for a competitive employer branding advantage

Kindness can strengthen your employer brand. The business environment is changing, and the value of kindness in the corporate world is garnering increased attention. Paying it forward is a way to pass acts of kindness on to others. This allows employees and business partners to go above and beyond formal expectations that not only benefit the individuals involved but also the businesses they represent. Paying it forward can potentially create competitive advantage for firms from an employer branding perspective (to attract and retain talent) and in the broader market sense. This behavior can strengthen the employer brand in numerous and effective ways, and managers must understand, engage in, and encourage such conduct. In this article, we discuss different examples, benefits, and risks of paying kindness forward on a micro-, meso-, and macro-level. After providing this foundation, we introduce practical guidelines for managers on how to foster a paying-it-forward mindset among employees and the broader organization. The guidelines were created using insights from interviews we conducted with stakeholders in a business ecosystem in northern Sweden.     

Expatriates on the run: The psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on expatriates’ host country withdrawal intentions

Extant research on expatriation in high-stress environments where stress is caused by ongoing and unexpected natural crises remains limited. Drawing on stress theory, in this study, we develop a model to examine the stress-inducing effects of intra-family concerns and workplace discrimination on the intentions to leave the host country among expatriates in the high-stress environment of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We also explore whether gender and the level of work adjustment moderate the propensity of intra-family health concerns and workplace discrimination to induce psychological stress. Based on our analysis of 381 expatriates living and working in the United Arab Emirates, we find the model to be generally supported. We also reveal an intriguing moderating effect of work adjustment on the relationship between intra-family health concerns and psychological stress. Overall, the analysis is among the first ones to shed light on the role of natural crises’ stressors in defining expatriate outcomes.     

领导底线心智对新生代员工创造力的影响：一个有调节的中介模型

领导底线心智在工作场所中的破坏性影响逐渐受到学者和管理者关注。基于创造力成分理论和自我决定理论，从个体层次、动机视角探究领导底线心智对新生代员工创造力的作用机制和边界条件。对629份新生代员工问卷数据进行分析，结果证实：领导底线心智对新生代员工创造力具有显著负向影响；职场精神力在领导底线心智与新生代员工创造力间发挥部分中介作用；独立型自我建构负向调节领导底线心智与职场精神力间关系，并增强职场精神力的中介作用；个人—组织价值观匹配正向调节领导底线心智与职场精神力间关系，并弱化职场精神力的中介作用。     

Can behavioral biometrics make everyone happy?

The market for behavioral biometrics—a technological evolution whereby patterns in human movement and activities can be identified, captured, and analyzed—is expected to exceed US $11 billion by 2031. We highlight the evolution from early physiological biometrics (e.g., fingerprints and iris scans used to verify the identity of individuals) to today’s behavioral biometrics. Technological advancements now turn our retail stores, offices, and warehouses into live data streams that let us closely and automatically monitor employees’ conduct at work. Although this development raises several legitimate surveillance and privacy concerns, behavioral biometrics can potentially benefit organizations and employees alike. Such mutual benefits compel managers to approach behavioral biometrics using our TRUST framework: transparency of intentions, respect for concerns, understanding the importance of choice, sharing the data benefits, and proactively timing the development. Managers who do so will gain a clear focus on organizational and employee well-being.