This study complements existing longitudinal research on voice and silence in organizations by addressing how Implicit Voice Theories (IVTs)—for example, the belief that speaking up is risky—can spread and become deeply embedded in organizational culture. Based on a qualitative longitudinal study conducted over nearly 3 years at an automotive production site in Germany, 48 managers at various hierarchical levels were interviewed repeatedly, resulting in a total of 128 interviews. One specific event emerged as particularly significant, providing the basis for an abductive exploration of how IVTs disseminate within organizations. The findings highlight two key mechanisms: storytelling and Coactive Vicarious Learning (CVL). These processes contribute to shaping colleagues’ communication behavior in organizations, fostering a generalized tendency toward silence—persisting even years later and beyond those directly involved.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, knowledge workers have transitioned from passive occupants of corporate spaces to active agents navigating diverse workspaces. As organizations attempt to recall employees to central offices, they encounter widespread reluctance, as the company premises now compete with other locations. This study examines how knowledge workers navigate the growing array of work location choices and the resulting mobilities. Through 25 semi-structured interviews with knowledge workers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland who have flexible working arrangements, we explore the factors influencing employees’ location choices. Specifically, we examine the underlying drivers of location selection, work preferences, and the associated geographic mobility within the context of the ongoing remote work transformation. Our results show that employees experience flexibility as a daily negotiation shaped by personal preferences, resource constraints, and evolving definitions of “workplace.” From this, we develop a decision-making framework that maps how resource allocation shapes mobility patterns along a continuum—from micromobility through mesomobility to macromobility. Furthermore, we have conceptualized effective and ineffective organizational responses to shaping employee mobility. By bridging the gap between organizational policies and employee agency, this research advances the geographic mobility literature, offering actionable insights for firms grappling with hybrid work models. It encourages practitioners to reconsider “flexibility” as a strategic resource rather than a perk, suggesting that aligning spatial policies with employee-driven needs can mitigate attrition and support sustainable productivity.

Low-skilled migrant workers make up a significant portion of the workforce in many countries, yet their well-being remains underexplored in mainstream human resource literature, particularly in relation to stress and coping mechanisms. This study examines how low-skilled migrant workers navigate stress while working and living overseas, identifying key stressors and coping strategies. Focussing on Bangladeshi male migrant workers in Malaysia, a country shaped by migration, the study responds to calls for a more inclusive perspective in human resource management research. Drawing on 44 semi-structured interviews, our findings indicate that low-skilled migrants predominantly rely on support-seeking strategies, particularly from family, peers, and faith. This is followed by problem-solving and accommodation strategies. Additionally, religion emerges to be a key personal resource in their coping efforts. These insights offer implications for human resource management practices and government policies aimed at enhancing the well-being of foreign semi-skilled and unskilled workers.

The Federal Vacation Act stipulates a minimum entitlement of four weeks’ vacation, yet the average entitlement in Germany is considerably higher, at approximately 28 days. The present study examines the factors that influence the amount of vacation entitlement at firm level, with a particular focus on the relationship with the dual system of interest representation. The analysis is based on firm data from the IAB-Job Vacancy Survey 2023, with a linear ordinary least square regression being utilised to identify the determinants of the amount of vacation entitlement. Collective bargaining coverage plays a decisive role: On average, firms with collective agreements have 1.3 days more vacation entitlements and firms oriented towards collective agreements have 0.8 days more vacation entitlements than firms that are not bound by collective agreements. Furthermore, a positive correlation is identified between the existence of a works council and vacation entitlements. The ‘works council premium’ is equivalent to 0.8 days. In particular, firms that are not bound by collective agreements benefit from the existence of a works council in the form of more vacation entitlements. In East Germany, the average vacation entitlement is significantly lower than that in West Germany, especially in firms that are not bound by collective agreements. Higher wage levels are associated with greater vacation entitlements; this correlation is less pronounced in firms with collective bargaining agreements. Longer full-time working hours are associated with fewer vacation entitlements, a trend that is more pronounced in firms without a works council. The results show that the dual system of interest representation in Germany is central to the amount of vacation entitlements at firm level and safeguards better working conditions in Germany.

Employee time theft is a prevalent negative work behavior in telework contexts. Empowering employees to work independently can be an effective strategy for managers to prevent employee time theft while working from home (TTWH). However, a growing body of research has questioned whether, in all cases, empowering leadership is beneficial. Thus, the primary goal of this research is to provide greater insight into both why empowering leadership may be an effective leadership style to prevent employee TTWH and when empowering leadership may not be effective but instead promote employee TTWH. Applying a social exchange perspective, I develop a theoretical model that incorporates a beneficial mediating effect and a detrimental moderating effect between empowering leadership and employee TTWH. On the one hand, telework employees who experience leader-bestowed benefits (i.e., empowerment) are more satisfied in their job and therefore respond positively to empowering leadership by engaging in less TTWH (beneficial mediating effect). On the other hand, if telework employees experience high levels of job ambiguity, they are likely to perceive their leader as passive and unhelpful and therefore respond negatively to empowering leadership by engaging in more TTWH (detrimental moderating effect). I found support for these predictions in both a time-lagged field study (Study 1) and a scenario-based experiment (Study 2). Taken together, these findings reveal the double-edged nature of empowering leadership by demonstrating that it has the potential to prevent and promote employee negative work behavior in telework contexts. Implications for future research and professional practice on empowering leadership are discussed.

Hybrid work increasingly shifts collaboration toward technology-based virtual interactions parallel to traditional face-to-face contacts. Since trust dynamics are a crucial part of collaboration in organizations, we investigate how they develop in this hybrid approach to collaboration. Findings from a case study conducted during an innovation contest at a large university reveal that alternating between collaboration modes in hybrid work can intensify trust dynamics, as online practices that supplement offline practices can shape the trust dynamics relevant to effective collaboration. We identify five stages of trust dynamics: formation, facilitation, establishment, acceleration, and reinforcement of trust. While we consider operating practices to support trust intensification, we find that users’ embrace of both offline and online spaces is the driving force that triggers the transition from one stage of trust dynamics to the next. Our findings demonstrate the Janus-faced nature of technological affordances: while technologies such as instant messaging are typically used for task-related exchanges in teams, in our hybrid collaboration setting, we found that these technologies were also used for non-task-related exchanges, which we usually observe in face-to-face settings. This finding presents a significant theoretical puzzle related to the evolution of trust, which is greatly determined by the trust and reliance behavior of people: Whereas disclosure behavior has historically been linked to in-person interactions and reliance behavior to operational duties, the growing use of technology in hybrid work environments seems to blur these concepts of trusting behavior. This requires a more thorough investigation of how disclosure and reliance behaviors and trust dynamics shift in hybrid work environments, especially where operational and emotional behaviors converge. The study contributes to research by developing a novel framework for the dynamics of trust in hybrid work.

This study provides new insights into the structural changes in family firm executive teams around succession events. Specifically, we analyze the probability of hirings and turnover of executives in family firms with planned succession events compared to those without a succession. We distinguish furthermore between family-internal or family-external succession arrangements and analyze the hired and dismissed executives’ personal characteristics. We use data on 70,421 executive observations primarily working in SMEs (German “Mittelstand”) from the German Linked Employer-Employee Panel (LIAB) in the period 2009–2019. Applying probit regression models, we find that succession arrangements in family firms exhibit strong differences depending on the occasion, especially in terms of preparation for the type of succession. Family-internal successions are associated with greater continuity among executives, as the probabilities to leave the firms are generally lower. If executives leave a company before internal succession arrangements, they are typically of older age, suggesting a retirement-motivated dismissal. Furthermore, we find evidence that both the qualification profile of executives and their compensation vary depending on the path chosen for the longevity of the firm. Our study aims to establish an empirically strong foundation for future research on the effects of succession events on family firm executives and the resulting changes in firm behavior. JEL : M12, D22, G32, & C23

Prior research has proposed detrimental but also beneficial effects of Technology-Assisted Supplemental Work (TASW) for employees’ recovery. The beneficial effects of TASW have been attributed to its autonomy-enhancing potential. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), we distinguish two forms of TASW (reactive and proactive), depicting external and relative autonomous regulation of TASW, to explain its opposing associations with recovery. Based on SDT and the stressor-detachment model we predict detrimental effects for daily recovery experiences as TASW might comprise externally motivated behaviors that are internalized over time. We propose that external pressures (work stressors and normative pressures) serve as antecedents to TASW. Furthermore, we predict that more autonomous TASW has less detrimental effects on recovery experiences. Results from two consecutive diary studies with two and three daily measurements ( N Persons = 43, 65; n observations = 514, 1211) largely support our hypotheses. Quantitative (overtaxing) and qualitative (hindering) work stressors and injunctive, but not descriptive norms, predicted TASW. Proactive TASW, but not reactive TASW, had a negative indirect effect on relaxation via lower levels of psychological detachment. Our findings provide insights into the temporal dynamics of external pressures, supplemental work, and subsequent impairment of recovery. Overall, our results did not support a beneficial effect of more autonomous TASW for recovery experiences.

Digital Transformation technologies (DT technologies) are reshaping work processes, including personnel selection, an area traditionally viewed as inherently human-centric. While prior studies have examined various digital technologies in personnel selection, they have not provided sufficient evidence on the different levels of digitalization in selection processes and the factors influencing organizations’ adoption decisions. To address these gaps, this study systematically reviews 94 Scopus-indexed studies to analyze how DT technologies are applied across selection stages, categorizing practices into Manual, Digitalized, and Digitally Transformed approaches. By further distinguishing between Digital Technologies and AI Enhancements, this study offers a structured framework for understanding how organizations integrate digital technologies into selection and what drives or hinders their adoption. The findings highlight both the benefits (efficiency gains, potential bias reduction, improved candidate experience) and challenges (ethical concerns, algorithmic bias, technical and cultural barriers, and candidate perceptions) associated with these technologies, providing insights for both academic research and HR practice.