Unpacking AI at work: Data work, knowledge work, and values work

Purpose– This study aims to examine factors that may influence affective organizational commitment among knowledge workers. The five final factors considered in this study include knowledge-sharing culture, autonomy, workplace value identity, promotion practices and, finally, management support. Gender was included as the moderator for the aforementioned relationships.Design/methodology/approach– A sample of 522 knowledge workers from manufacturing, retail and service sector anonymously completed a structured questionnaire that included measures of the variables of this study. Hierarchical regression was used to test the hypotheses.Findings– The findings provide evidence on the possible factors that organizations need to focus on and improvise to ensure the “want to remain in the organization” sentiment is enhanced among knowledge workers. Workplace value identity and knowledge-sharing culture were identified as the pertinent factors in influencing affective commitment. Gender was found to moderate the relationship between unfair promotion practice, knowledge-sharing culture and affective commitment.Research limitations/implications– One obvious limitation is that the sample of this study is sourced from a pool of knowledge workers. This limits our ability to conduct a comparative analysis with non-knowledge workers. Hence, future research could expand the model of this study to compare these relationships among knowledge and non-knowledge worker.Practical implications– Understanding the impact of these factors in a knowledge-based context helps firms prioritize and focus on important factors that can improve the level of affective commitment among knowledge workers. Doing so facilitates knowledge retention and prevents loss of knowledge.Originality/value– From a knowledge-based view, this paper identified factors that play an important role in retaining knowledge workers through enhanced affective commitment. With the changing workforce, the findings of this study show how knowledge-sharing culture and achievement orientation dominate affective commitment in a knowledge-based context.

Introduction: This research studied the mediating role of job autonomy in the relationship between ethical leadership and knowledge workers’ innovative behaviour based on self-determination theory. Data were collected from 377 knowledge workers in the IT industry in Sichuan, Henan, and Guangdong province, China. A conceptual model was constructed and tested with the statistical software SMART-PLS. This paper concludes that job autonomy effectively mediates ethical leadership and knowledge workers’ innovative behaviour. The findings also reveal the strong and positive impact of ethical leadership on knowledge workers’ innovative behaviour. This paper enriched the leadership literature and extended the understanding of the predictors of employee innovative behaviour Objective: To investigate the impact of ethical leadership on knowledge workers’ innovative behaviour. To study the relationship between ethical leadership and job autonomy. To examine the impact of job autonomy on knowledge workers’ innovative behaviour. To investigate the mediating effect of job autonomy between ethical leadership and knowledge workers’ innovative behaviour. Theoretical Framework: Knowledge workers are highly skilled workers with professional knowledge, good education, or experience in their respective fields (Davenport, 2006). According to Correia & Dierendonck (2010), three core elements underpin the global meaning framework of knowledge workers: first, knowledge workers perceive their work as a calling; second, they have a strong desire for membership within a community of peers; third, they demand autonomy. These elements are in consistency with SDT. Method: This research used a quantitative approach to test the hypothesis, a closed questionnaire to collect the data, and SMART PLS version 4 to analyze the data. The survey questions were translated into Chinese with a back-translation approach (Brislin, 1986), as the respondents were all Chinese. Results and Discussion: Due to the single source, we first test common method bias. We adopted a full collinearity assessment approach to check the common method bias (Kock, 2015; Kock and Lynn, 2012). In this approach, the constructs were regressed on a new dummy variable with random values. As shown in table 4.1, the variance inflation factor (VIF) is lower than 3.3 (Kock, 2015), the model is indicated free of common method bias. Research Implications: The study constructed a research model to investigate the mediating effect of job autonomy between ethical leadership and knowledge workers' innovative behaviour. Management in knowledge-intensive industries, like the IT industry, can gain inspiration from the research to develop proper management strategies to promote knowledge workers’ innovative behaviour while guarding the ethical line.

Introduction: This research studied the mediating role of job autonomy in the relationship between ethical leadership and knowledge workers’ innovative behaviour based on self-determination theory. Data were collected from 377 knowledge workers in the IT industry in Sichuan, Henan, and Guangdong province, China. A conceptual model was constructed and tested with the statistical software SMART-PLS. This paper concludes that job autonomy effectively mediates ethical leadership and knowledge workers’ innovative behaviour. The findings also reveal the strong and positive impact of ethical leadership on knowledge workers’ innovative behaviour. This paper enriched the leadership literature and extended the understanding of the predictors of employee innovative behaviour Objective: To investigate the impact of ethical leadership on knowledge workers’ innovative behaviour. To study the relationship between ethical leadership and job autonomy. To examine the impact of job autonomy on knowledge workers’ innovative behaviour. To investigate the mediating effect of job autonomy between ethical leadership and knowledge workers’ innovative behaviour. Theoretical Framework: Knowledge workers are highly skilled workers with professional knowledge, good education, or experience in their respective fields (Davenport, 2006). According to Correia & Dierendonck (2010), three core elements underpin the global meaning framework of knowledge workers: first, knowledge workers perceive their work as a calling; second, they have a strong desire for membership within a community of peers; third, they demand autonomy. These elements are in consistency with SDT. Method: This research used a quantitative approach to test the hypothesis, a closed questionnaire to collect the data, and SMART PLS version 4 to analyze the data. The survey questions were translated into Chinese with a back-translation approach (Brislin, 1986), as the respondents were all Chinese. Results and Discussion: Due to the single source, we first test common method bias. We adopted a full collinearity assessment approach to check the common method bias (Kock, 2015; Kock and Lynn, 2012). In this approach, the constructs were regressed on a new dummy variable with random values. As shown in table 4.1, the variance inflation factor (VIF) is lower than 3.3 (Kock, 2015), the model is indicated free of common method bias. Research Implications: The study constructed a research model to investigate the mediating effect of job autonomy between ethical leadership and knowledge workers' innovative behaviour. Management in knowledge-intensive industries, like the IT industry, can gain inspiration from the research to develop proper management strategies to promote knowledge workers’ innovative behaviour while guarding the ethical line.

The concept of a new type of worker in the framework of the knowledge economy paradigm has been analysed. The evolution of knowledge economy theory in the 21st century has been illustrated, i.e. it has been demonstrated that the progress in the new generation of Millennials` attitude towards work, social interactions`\, innovation infrastructures, socio-economic, legal and institutional changes cause the emergence and further development of a specific environment for a new type of workers activity. The most substantial research works of foreign scholars have been generalized. The intangible nature of the main productive force of the economic society, the necessity to generate, accumulate and distribute knowledge by knowledge and learning workers by means of personal contacts through knowledge networks have been emphasized. It has been concluded that there is a number of characteristics, which distinguish manual worker productivity and knowledge worker productivity. Knowledge workers are task-oriented, seek for personal responsibility and thus autonomy, associate themselves with continuous innovations and the most valuable asset of an organization, take part in simultaneous training and teaching. It has been pointed out that it is impossible to assess knowledge workers` impact on organizational performance applying only quantitative approach. A new type of workers as problem-solving professionals opts for a new type of flexible organization which management is ready for changes. As a perspective which has its reflections right now it has been shown that modern employees look more for temporary employment and short-term contracts. It has been revealed that so-called boundaryless careers are perceived as inter-organizational development concept by managers. That is why boundaryless careers become the background to accumulate and implement numerous skills and habits garnered by knowledge workers. It has been analysed that imagination and creativity, which are inherent traits of every new type worker, assure that knowledge workers produce new knowledge-intensive products demanded in the world market by a new type of consumers.

PurposeAlthough existing studies demonstrate positive relationships between ethical cultures and innovativeness, their explanations of why an ethical culture leads to innovativeness are limited. This study explores the relationship between ethical organizational culture and knowledge workers' innovativenessDesign/methodology/approachBased on Kierkegaardian existential philosophy, this study proposes a research model that employs knowledge workers' existential affirmation as the link between ethical culture and innovativeness. The main hypothesis proposed in this study is that ethical organizational culture offers knowledge workers the opportunity to find their existential affirmation, which leads them to become more innovative. A structural equation modeling analysis is based on data collected from a survey of 348 knowledge workers from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in different hi-tech industries.FindingsThe findings suggest that among the four subdimensions of an ethical organizational culture, ethics training and awareness raising had the strongest relationships with knowledge workers' existential affirmation, which, in turn, had a significant relationship with their innovativeness.Originality/valueBased on this philosophical reflection, this study develops a research model that examines knowledge workers' existential affirmation as the factor that links ethical organizational culture and knowledge workers' innovativeness. The authors test ethical organizational culture as an environment that allows knowledge workers to validate their existential affirmation. Further, they test the link between knowledge workers' existential affirmation and their innovativeness.

Purpose: Knowledge work productivity is a key area of improvement for many organisations. Lean approach is a sustainable way to achieve operational excellence and can be applied in many areas. The purpose of this novel study is to examine the potential of using lean approach for improving knowledge work practices.Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review has been carried out to study how lean approach is realised in knowledge work. The research is conceptual in nature and draws upon earlier research findings.Findings: This study shows that lean studies’ in knowledge work is an emerging research area. This study documents the methods and practices implemented in knowledge work to date, and presents a knowledge work continuum, which is an essential framework for effective lean approach deployment and to frame future research focus in knowledge work productivity.Research limitations/implications: This study structures the concept of knowledge work and outlines a concrete concept derived from earlier literature. The study summarises the literature on lean in knowledge work and highlights, which methods are used. More research is needed to understand how lean can be implemented in complex knowledge work environment and not only on the repetitive knowledge work. The limitations of this research are due to the limited availability of previous research.Practical implications: To analyse the nature of knowledge work, we implicate the areas where lean methods especially apply to improving knowledge work productivity. When applying lean in knowledge work context the focus should be using the people better and improving information flow.Originality/value: This study focuses on adapting lean methods into a knowledge work context and summarises earlier research done in this field. The study discusses the potential to improve knowledge work productivity by implementing lean methods and presents a unique knowledge work continuum to frame previous research and give focus for future research.

The wicker handicraft is the local wisdom of the communities very essential for living. It represents the smart wisdom of local people in applying the things already existing in the communities to make the daily utensils beneficial for living. Besides, it can be seen that the wicker handicraft has existed for long time ago and has been continually developed by means of knowledge transfer from one generation to the following generations. The learning can be done by practicing, training, and telling. However, it lacks the system to record the information reflecting the learning accumulated and transferred from the past until present. Therefore, the knowledge transfer in the works is very important in maintaining such local wisdom. The results of study on the knowledge in the local wisdom works can be used in developing the process of knowledge transfer in the local wisdom of wicker handicraft more efficiently and sustainably. The researcher uses the mixed methodology which is the quantitative study to focus on finding the facts of information in numbers to confirm the correctness. The questionnaires are used for the data collection on 400 samples from the population in the municipal area of Phanat Nikhom District, Chonburi Province. The qualitative study is also conducted from the in-depth interview on 10 persons from the group of leaders and members. The data is analyzed by using the descriptive statistics including percentage, mean, standard deviation, and inferential analysis. The causal relationships are analyzed to find the relationships of factors of organization and the factors of knowledge in works. The research results reveal that the factors of organization in the leadership, technology, and communication including the organizational culture are all important to the knowledge in works. Such factors have direct influences on the effectiveness of development of local wisdom in handicraft. If it is supported, promoted, and developed in the knowledge process in the works which respond the organization’s demand appropriately. This can yield more efficiency and effectiveness. Therefore, these factors are necessary to be used in developing the knowledge in local wisdom for handicraft for the locality and community people to have continual development with the maximum efficiency.

The wicker handicraft is the local wisdom of the communities very essential for living. It represents the smart wisdom of local people in applying the things already existing in the communities to make the daily utensils beneficial for living. Besides, it can be seen that the wicker handicraft has existed for long time ago and has been continually developed by means of knowledge transfer from one generation to the following generations. The learning can be done by practicing, training, and telling. However, it lacks the system to record the information reflecting the learning accumulated and transferred from the past until present. Therefore, the knowledge transfer in the works is very important in maintaining such local wisdom. The results of study on the knowledge in the local wisdom works can be used in developing the process of knowledge transfer in the local wisdom of wicker handicraft more efficiently and sustainably. The researcher uses the mixed methodology which is the quantitative study to focus on finding the facts of information in numbers to confirm the correctness. The questionnaires are used for the data collection on 400 samples from the population in the municipal area of Phanat Nikhom District, Chonburi Province. The qualitative study is also conducted from the in-depth interview on 10 persons from the group of leaders and members. The data is analyzed by using the descriptive statistics including percentage, mean, standard deviation, and inferential analysis. The causal relationships are analyzed to find the relationships of factors of organization and the factors of knowledge in works. The research results reveal that the factors of organization in the leadership, technology, and communication including the organizational culture are all important to the knowledge in works. Such factors have direct influences on the effectiveness of development of local wisdom in handicraft. If it is supported, promoted, and developed in the knowledge process in the works which respond the organization’s demand appropriately. This can yield more efficiency and effectiveness. Therefore, these factors are necessary to be used in developing the knowledge in local wisdom for handicraft for the locality and community people to have continual development with the maximum efficiency.

Background: The workers are exposed to workplace hazards arising from various activities involved in sugar production. Aim: study aims to assess effect of health education program on knowledge and practice of workers regarding occupational health hazards at sugar factory. Design: Quasi-experimental design was utilized for this study with pre/posttest. Sample: A purposive sample with number of 130 workers according to specific criteria. Setting: The present study was carried out in Minia sugar factory in Abu Korkas district, Tools: Data were collected using three tools; the first tool included questions related to demographic characteristics, health history, health habit and occupational health services. The second tool is a questionnaire regarding knowledge of workers about occupational health hazards and the third tool is a self-reported practice questionnaire about using workers personal protective equipment and most commonly first aid in the factory. Results: the mean age was 44.7 ± 8.7, 37.7% years. All workers of the study sample had poor knowledge about occupational health hazards and unsatisfactory self-reported practice regarding personal protective equipment and first aids. Conclusion: post implementation of health education program the workers knowledge and self-reported practice improved. Recommendation: on-site training programs for workers have to be implemented to improve their working skills. Training programs should include awareness about safety measures and orientation regarding work hazards and how to avoid work related injuries as well as first aid measures.

This paper reviews existing literature on motivation and knowledge work, and empirical studies in different environments and industries on knowledge work and worker. It also surveys 150 Nigerian knowledge workers with diverse characteristics. It holds that the optimal strategies for managing and motivating knowledge workers are job redesign to increase the intrinsic motivational value of the jobs; competitive financial rewards, empowerment and flexibility, equity, fairness, respect and regard; a conducive environment that would enable them to bloom and exercise their intellect unhindered, including making mistakes and learning from it in a connected organisation; leadership practices that are responsive to their peculiarities; a leader that is a coach, mentor and enabler and who should be able to convincingly explain why a knowledge worker should agree to be managed by him, and an organizational structure that is devoid of undue bureaucracy and protocols and frees them for optimal performance.

The creative class thesis of economic development has had a major impact on the understanding of knowledge and creative workers and on the analysis of the mobility of human capital. Using quantitative and qualitative material, our paper examines the influence of quality of place and career opportunities on the mobility of students in science and technology fields as a proxy for the professional category of 'the knowledge workers'. Our results show that the criteria linked to quality of place has a greater impact on the attraction and retention of students from abroad than for the domestic-born groups. These results could partly confirm some of the assumptions of the creative class about the attraction of knowledge workers. However, we remain sceptical about urban policies that create incentives based solely on this thesis of economic development to attract talents or knowledge workers.

The Fuzzy Evaluation of Knowledge Workers’ Satisfaction

PurposeInnovative behavior is a microfoundation of an organization’s innovation. Knowledge workers are the main creators of innovations. With the boundaries between work and family becoming increasingly ambiguous, the purpose of this study is to explore how the work–family conflict affects knowledge workers’ innovative behavior and when such a conflict arises.Design/methodology/approachTo test the theoretical model, this study collected data from a time-lagged matched sample of 214 dual-career couples. The data were analyzed with the bias-corrected bootstrapping method.FindingsThe results of this study showed that work-to-family conflict had not only a direct negative effect on knowledge workers’ innovative behavior but also an indirect effect through spouses’ within-family emotional exhaustion and knowledge workers’ family-to-work conflict. If wives’ gender role perceptions are traditional, then the indirect serial mediating effect is weakened, but if such perceptions are egalitarian, then the mentioned effect is aggravated.Practical implicationsIn terms of organizational implications, managers could alter their approach by reducing detrimental factors such as work–family conflict to improve knowledge workers’ innovative behavior. Emotional assistance programs for both knowledge workers and their spouses can be used to prevent the detrimental effect of work–family conflict on innovative behavior. As to social implications, placing dual-career couples into a community of likeminded individuals and promoting their agreement on gender role identity will greatly reduce the negative effects of work–family conflict.Originality/valueStarting from the perspective of the behavior outcome of knowledge management, this study advances the existing knowledge management literature by enriching the antecedents of knowledge workers’ innovative behavior, illuminating a spillover–crossover–spillover effect of work–family conflict on knowledge workers’ innovative behavior and identifying the boundary condition of this transmission process.

Knowledge workers help organizations improve productivity and gain competitive advantage in the market. Since organizations have realized the importance of knowledge workers in organizational development, management has been focusing on the knowledge workers’ job performance, which ultimately improves the organizational performance. The purpose of this study is to investigate the mediating effects of the knowledge workers’ career satisfaction among career values, perceived organizational support and job performance. In this regard, data was collected from 284 knowledge workers working in Saudi Arabian organizations and it was analyzed using regression and Sobel test. The result of the analysis explain that career satisfaction play a key role in knowledge workers’ job performance, and work as mediator between career values, perceived organizational support and the knowledge workers’ job performance. The findings of this study will be helpful for top management and HR professionals to manage the knowledge workers’ job performance. Furthermore, the mediating role of career satisfaction contribute to the body of knowledge and offer future researchers opportunities to investigate other factors, which influence career satisfaction of knowledge workers. This study also discussed some limitations which could be an avenue for future research. Research on Saudi Arabian knowledge workers has never been done before. Therefore, this study explores the effects of career values, perceived organizational support and career satisfaction on Saudi Arabian knowledge workers’ job performance.

Introduction Family focused practice is thought to lead to positive outcomes for all family members. However, there are multiple barriers and enablers in adult mental health services to practitioners undertaking these actions. Aim The aim of this study was to examine the relative importance of worker, workforce and family factors to predict family focused practices (FFPs) in adult mental health services. Method Three hundred and seven adult mental health workers completed a 45 items family focused practice measure of 16 family focused practices. Thesis It was found that worker skill and knowledge about family work and an ability to assess the degree of parental insight into the child's connections to other family members and the community were important predictors of FFP, along with the closely related-worker confidence. While aspects of the worker, workplace and family each contribute to FFPs, this study highlighted the importance of worker skill, knowledge and confidence as central issues for adult mental health workers. Implications for practice Study implications include the need for training in specific FFPs, the provision of time to engage with clients on parenting issues and the need 5 to ensure that there are adequate services for workers to refer family members to.