COR Theory Research Articles

This is fine: Using memes to examine resilience, coping, and community for sexual minority men and nonbinary individuals during COVID-19.

Creative and humorous activism, both online and offline, has historically been important for queer communities during public health crises like the AIDS epidemic. Online activism and affinity became critical during the COVID-19 pandemic due to reduced in-person healthcare, social support, and resources. General functions of online meme humor expanded during COVID-19, including using dark humor and defining in-group political values and positions. In the current study, we used a convergent, mixed methods approach informed by COR theory and Photovoice methodology to examine the use of memes by sexual minority men and nonbinary individuals (SMMNI; N = 43) during COVID-19, including the role of memes in promoting humor, coping, and online community-building. We analyzed the content of participant-selected memes (n = 53), their experiences described in semi-structured interviews, and surveys about demography, online networks, and technology use and attitudes. Almost all memes contained text- and/or image-based humor, and most used dark humor. Participants' descriptions of memes during interviews hierarchically clustered in four distinct meme-related strategies: Validation-seeking, Community-seeking, Personal coping and social advocacy, and Systemic advocacy. Current study findings have implications for community healthcare praxis and research, including the importance of participatory research, intervention development in collaboration with queer communities, and online resources to improve public health and health literacy.

Supervisor resilience promotes employee well-being: The role of resource crossover

Supervisor resilience promotes employee well-being: The role of resource crossover

Resource effects of COVID‐induced work‐from home: A qualitative study of parental and non‐parental white collar workers in Germany

AbstractGermany is a corporate environment that is sceptical towards digitalization and work‐from‐home, and in which it is customary to separate professional and personal spheres of life. The COVID‐19 pandemic, and ensuing government‐mandated shutdowns, changed all that by inducing extensive work‐from‐home conditions for most of the white collared workforce. These conditions blurred professional and personal spheres of life, introduced additional care‐work burdens and changed individual's contextual resources. Assuming that individuals seek to protect and conserve resources (COR theory), also across work‐home domains (W‐HR theory), our qualitative, interview‐based study highlights the resource implications which COVID‐induced extensive work‐from‐home had on parental and non‐parental white‐collar workers in Germany. We identify seven main ways in which individuals coped with COVID‐induced work‐from‐home. We find that parental workers, in particular, female employees who aim at work‐life integration, not work‐life separation, coped with the situation the best. Out of this emerge implications for the management of the workplace of the future, in particular the need to acknowledge that integrating parental responsibilities and work demands may bring about work‐home enrichment, and the requirement to facilitate and support this enrichment.

Impact of Job Demands and Resources on Idea Generation: A COR Theory Perspective

Impact of Job Demands and Resources on Idea Generation: A COR Theory Perspective

Does resilience buffer the negative effects of tolerance of workplace incivility in the hospitality context?

Does resilience buffer the negative effects of tolerance of workplace incivility in the hospitality context?

The double-edged sword of ambidextrous leadership for leaders themselves: A conservation of resources perspective

BACKGROUND: Many recent studies have proposed that leadership behaviors are attached to social exchange processes that influence not only their followers but also leaders themselves. Existing research has not adequately addressed how ambidextrous leadership affects the leaders themselves. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the extent to which ambidextrous leadership has benefits and costs for leaders’ work engagement. Additionally, it attempts to explore the moderating role of leaders’ emotional intelligence in the conceptual model. METHODS: Data were collected from a two-phase online survey of 153 managers in China. We tested our conceptual model using path analysis and bootstrapping methods based on Mplus. RESULTS: Results show that ambidextrous leadership is positively associated with leaders’ positive affect. Moreover, ambidextrous leadership has a positive indirect effect on leaders’ work engagement through positive affect. However, ambidextrous leadership also has devastating effects on leaders’ work engagement through ego depletion for leaders with low levels of emotional intelligence. CONCLUSIONS: Drawing on COR theory, we demonstrate that ambidextrous leadership can act as a double-edged sword for leaders. Specifically, ambidextrous leadership may cause different behavioral responses (promoting vs. inhibiting work engagement) via two distinct pathways (positive affect vs. ego depletion). Meanwhile, the extent to which this dark side appears depends on the characteristics of the manager. By integrating both the negative and positive sides of ambidextrous leadership, we hope the present paper sparks future research on the impact of leaders on themselves.

The double-edged sword of ambidextrous leadership for leaders themselves: A conservation of resources perspective

BACKGROUND: Many recent studies have proposed that leadership behaviors are attached to social exchange processes that influence not only their followers but also leaders themselves. Existing research has not adequately addressed how ambidextrous leadership affects the leaders themselves. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the extent to which ambidextrous leadership has benefits and costs for leaders’ work engagement. Additionally, it attempts to explore the moderating role of leaders’ emotional intelligence in the conceptual model. METHODS: Data were collected from a two-phase online survey of 153 managers in China. We tested our conceptual model using path analysis and bootstrapping methods based on Mplus. RESULTS: Results show that ambidextrous leadership is positively associated with leaders’ positive affect. Moreover, ambidextrous leadership has a positive indirect effect on leaders’ work engagement through positive affect. However, ambidextrous leadership also has devastating effects on leaders’ work engagement through ego depletion for leaders with low levels of emotional intelligence. CONCLUSIONS: Drawing on COR theory, we demonstrate that ambidextrous leadership can act as a double-edged sword for leaders. Specifically, ambidextrous leadership may cause different behavioral responses (promoting vs. inhibiting work engagement) via two distinct pathways (positive affect vs. ego depletion). Meanwhile, the extent to which this dark side appears depends on the characteristics of the manager. By integrating both the negative and positive sides of ambidextrous leadership, we hope the present paper sparks future research on the impact of leaders on themselves.

Exploring the Moderating Effect of Musculoskeletal Pain on Technostress-Induced Burnout: A Cross-Sectional Study of Bank Employees.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) advancements and high customer expectations are boosting the use of digital transformation and tech tools in business processes in a competitive environment. This trend enhances business effectiveness and efficiency but also introduces technostress as a new workplace stress factor. Technostress, defined as stress induced by using ICT in the workplace, has become increasingly prevalent in modern work environments, especially in sectors such as banking, due to digital transformation. As technology use intensifies, it raises concerns about potential adverse psychological and physiological effects on employees, particularly in relation to burnout. From a physiological perspective, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are quite common among employees who use ICT for extended periods. MSDs can play a significant moderating role in the relationship between technostress and burnout. In this context, this study aimed to examine the moderating role of MSDs in the effect of technostress on burnout. This quantitative study surveyed a convenience sample of 220 bank employees, drawing on COR theory, the JD-R model, the P-E fit approach, and transactional stress theory. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling with SmartPLS 4.0 software, enabling examination of relationships between variables derived from these frameworks. The results reveal that technostress increases bank employees' burnout experience. Additionally, bank employees with MSDs experience higher burnout levels than those without MSDs. The study's findings provide valuable insights into managing workplace stress, addressing mental health problems, and promoting employee well-being in the digital age. These results have potential implications for academic understanding and practical applications in sustainable management.

The effect of career compromise on nurses’ turnover intention: the mediating role of job satisfaction

AimWe aimed to examine the relationships among nurses’ career compromise, job satisfaction, and turnover intention and the mediating role of job satisfaction in the relationship between career compromise and turnover intention.BackgroundNurses are prone to career compromise when there is a discrepancy between the reality of their job and their personal career expectations due to personal or family factors. High levels of career compromise may have a significant impact on turnover intentions through low job satisfaction, thereby affecting the stability of the nursing workforce. There is a paucity of research on the impact of nurses’ career compromise on turnover intentions.MethodThis was a cross-sectional research design of nurses in hospitals in Guangdong Province using a convenience sampling method. The Career Compromise Scale (CCS), Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS), and Turnover Intention Scale (TIS) were used. The obtained data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, Spearman’s correlation coefficient, and the mediating effect of perceived organizational support was tested through the PROCESS macro mediation model in SPSS.ResultsData from 821 nurses who met the inclusion criteria were analyzed. The total score of nurses’ turnover intention was 14.68 ± 4.32. Spearman’s correlation analysis showed that career compromise was negatively correlated with job satisfaction (r = -0.594, p < 0.01), job satisfaction was negatively correlated with turnover intention (r = -0.471, p < 0.01), and career compromise was positively correlated with turnover intention (r = 0.544, p < 0.01). The mediating effect of job satisfaction on the relationship between career compromise and turnover intention has been demonstrated. The mediating effect is significant, with a value of 0.056, representing 25.71% of the total effect.ConclusionsThe turnover intention of nurses in Guangdong Province is high. Job satisfaction mediated the relationship between career compromise and turnover intention. This study further enriches JD-R theory and COR theory and provides new perspectives for nurse managers to develop intervention strategies to stabilize the nursing workforce and reduce turnover.

THE LINKAGES BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE HIDING &amp; KNOWLEDGE SHARING VIA LMX &amp; AGREEABLENESS: A MEDIATED MODERATED MODEL

The study will contribute to the knowledge hiding literature by providing interesting insights in trickledown effect of supervisor knowledge hiding on subordinate knowledge sharing behavior with the co-workers, while; here, LMX as mediator would extend literature of knowledge hiding. Drawing on SET &amp; COR theory by using cross-sectional data collected over structured questionnaire from employees of TEVTA organization, the research will be a considerable addition in both knowledge hiding and knowledge sharing literature. It would also provide the considerable knowledge in OB studies where personality traits i.e., agreeableness as moderator will influence upon relationship of LMX and knowledge sharing by subordinate with coworkers. It argues that, the effects of supervisor knowledge hiding (predictor) not stop at subordinate end while it transmits (trickledown) in coworker and badly affect their social well-being (outcome). More interestingly, agreeableness will moderate relation of LMX &amp; subordinate knowledge sharing behavior with co-workers while the COR will support to author’s stance. In addition, theoretical and practical implications of the study are also a key point of the present research.

Servant leadership and service recovery performance: influence of creative adaptability and employee psychological well-being

PurposeThis study draws on insights from the theory of conservation of resources to explore the impact of servant leadership (SL), creative adaptability (CA), and psychological well-being (PWB) on the service recovery performance (SRP) of employees. More specifically, the objective of this study is twofold: one to ascertain whether employees' service recovery performance would increase significantly after their exposure to SL, and two, to determine whether CA and PWB serially mediate the link between SL and SRP.Design/methodology/approachTo analyze the data collected from a sample of 371 air service providers’ front-line employees (FLEs), partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was performed.FindingsThe result indicated that SL was positively related to SRP. Likewise, the results of the serial mediation analysis showed that CA and PWB independently and serially mediated the SL-SRP relationship. This study makes significant contributions to the literature on SL and SRP.Originality/valueThis study adds to the growing body of research on how FLEs effectively deal with customers who are dissatisfied with their service failure experiences. Specifically, this research expands on previous results by proving the favorable effect of leadership style on FLE’s service recovery performance. In addition, the current study examines how effective service recovery is by assessing the employee’s resources based on COR theory. Finally, this research provides new insight into the influence of SL on SRP through the serial mediation of CA and FLE’s well-being.

Enforced work-from-home and its impact on psychological conditions: a qualitative investigation in India

PurposeEnforced work-from-home (EWFH) was the norm during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to be implemented by many organizations owing to its long-term financial benefits. This study aims to understand the consequences of EWFH on the three psychological conditions of employee engagement: psychological safety, psychological availability and psychological meaningfulness.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 employees from different Indian companies. Thematic analysis was adopted to understand the consequences of EWFH on employee psychological safety, availability and meaningfulness.FindingsThe findings demonstrated that psychological meaningfulness, availability and safety were adversely impacted owing to limited choice and autonomy in EWFH.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to the literature by examining the concept of EWFH in relation to psychological conditions, which is novel and relevant. Also, the job demands and resources framework and the COR theory are used together to explain the findings, which strengthens the concept of EWFH.Practical implicationsOrganizations should consider various aspects of EWFH and make decisions to improve employees’ engagement at work.Originality/valueThis study focuses on an unexplored area and facilitates a better understanding of the concept of EWFH and its impact on employees’ psychological conditions. This study is valuable for both management professionals and organizations considering the continuation of EWFH after the pandemic. It also offers new avenues for future research.

Organizational Dehumanization Impact on Knowledge Hiding and Employee Theft Time: Moderating Effect of Psychological Capital

This study illustrates when organizational dehumanization leads to infrequent (deviant) job behavior. So, this study aims to investigate the impact of organizational dehumanization on perceived incivility, knowledge hiding, and employee theft time. In addition, the moderating effect of psychological capital is examined among organizational dehumanization and perceived incivility, as well as the mediation of perceived incivility about organizational dehumanization and deviant (abnormal) job behavior (time theft and knowledge hiding). This study is based on the COR and SET theory. The information was gathered from manufacturing sector employees utilizing the time-lag method of intervals T1/T2/T3 correspondingly. The data demonstrate that organizational dissent is a problem. Additionally, the psychological capital of the workforce reduced the negative impacts of organizational dehumanization on perceived rudeness. This study offers insights into reducing organizational stressors to buffer employee deviant behaviors by considering behavioral results of organizational dehumanization or management. This study also provides directions for new manufacturing industry research

Unveiling the interplay between leadership behavior and leader well-being: a person-centered approach

PurposeDrawing on COR theory and based on a person-centered approach, this study aims to explore profiles of both leadership behavior (transformational leadership, abusive supervision) and well-being indicators (cognitive irritation, emotional exhaustion). Additionally, we consider whether certain resource-draining (work intensification) and resource-creating factors (leader autonomy, psychological contract fulfillment) from the leaders' work context are related to profile membership.Design/methodology/approachThe profiles are built using LPA on data from 153 leaders and their 1,077 followers. The relationship between profile membership and correlates from the leaders' work context is examined using multinomial logistic regression analyses.FindingsLPA results in an interpretable four-profile solution with the profiles named (1) Good health – constructive leading, (2) Average health – inconsistent leading, (3) Impaired health – constructive leading and (4) Impaired health – destructive leading. The two groups with the highest sample share – Profiles 1 and 3 – both show highly constructive leadership behavior but differ significantly in their well-being indicators. The regression analyses show that work intensification and psychological contract fulfillment are significantly related to profile membership.Originality/valueThe person-centered approach provides a more nuanced view of the leadership behavior – leader well-being relationship, which can address inconsistencies in previous research. In terms of practical relevance, the person-centered approach allows for the identification of risk groups among leaders for whom organizations can provide additional resources and health-promoting interventions.

Are my wife's recovery activities related to my subsequent recovery activities at work?

We proposed a model where a male employee's wife's engagement in recovery activities results in the husband's own enactment of recovery activities while in the workplace, via emotional contagion, based on the COR theory and broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. We expected wives may experience positive emotions after engaging in social interactions, which has a contagion effect on husbands' positive emotions. Further, husbands were expected to leverage their positive emotions to engage in future recovery activities (better lunch nap and meal quality while at work). Lastly, we examined whether power imbalance in the married couple has a moderating effect on emotional contagion processes. To test our model, we used an experience-sampling method in which 110 dyads completed daily diary questionnaires for 8 consecutive days (N = 768, after removing 112 invalid observations). As expected, wives' social interactions are linked to husbands' positive emotions via wives' positive emotions. Further, husbands' positive emotions predict the quality of two workplace recovery activities (lunch naps and meals). Finally, power imbalance moderates the association between wives' (donors) emotions and husbands' (recipients) emotions such that the crossover of emotions is stronger when wives (donors) have relatively more power than when they have less.

Flourish, fight or flight: health in self-employment over time—associations with individual and business resources

PurposeUsing COR theory to study developments of health and other key resources in self-employed workers in Sweden over 6 years, this study: (1) explored whether the heterogenous group of self-employed workers contained subgroups with different health trajectories, (2) investigated whether these were more typical for certain individuals (with respect to age, gender, sector, education, employment status), and (3) compared the different health trajectories regarding resource development in mental well-being, business resources, employment status, work ability.MethodThe study used data from the Swedish longitudinal occupational survey of health (SLOSH) and included participants working as self-employed or combiner (N = 2642).ResultFive trajectories were identified with latent class growth curve model analysis (LCGM). Two health trajectories with (1) very good, respective (2) good stable health (together comprising 78.5% of the participants), (3) one with moderate stable health (14.8%), (4) one with a U-shaped form (1.9%), and (5) one with low, slightly increasing health (4.7%). The first two trajectories flourish: they maintained or increased in all key resources and were more likely to remain self-employed. Trajectories three and five consist of those who fight to maintain or increase their resources. Workers in the U-shaped health trajectory show signs of fight and flight after loss in health and other key resources.ConclusionsStudying subgroups with different resource developments over time was suitable to understand heterogeneity in self-employed workers. It also helped to identify vulnerable groups that may benefit from interventions to preserve their resources.

The Relationship Between Personal Resources and Work Engagement and the Mediating Role of Home Resources/Demands

Personal resources have been widely investigated in studies on work engagement. They have been mainly viewed as affected by individuals’ situated environments and as the most proximal predictor of work engagement. Unlike those studies, we aimed to investigate whether personal resources can be crafted by individuals and whether there are mechanisms embedded in the relationship between personal resources and work engagement. Using a diary study conducted over seven consecutive days with 70 individuals who were either married or living with a partner and who were considering and subsequently underwent cosmetic surgery on their pelvic region during the survey period (n = 490 observations), we investigated differences in the individuals’ personal resources (i.e., self-efficacy, self-esteem, and optimism) pre- and postsurgery. We further investigated the relationship between individuals’ personal resources after surgery and their work engagement by using home elements (i.e., home resources and home demands) as mediators. The proposed hypotheses are underpinned by the conservation of resources theory (COR theory) and are empirically supported. We claim that individuals’ personal resources can be crafted outside the work environment (i.e., nonwork environment) and that such personal resources contribute to work engagement by motivating individuals to develop a nonwork environment (e.g., home) that allows them to successfully control and influence their work environment by increasing/decreasing home resources/demands.

Mitigating Facets of Team Knowledge Hiding: A Collaborative View of Psychological Safety and Team Embeddedness through the Lens of COR theory

Mitigating Facets of Team Knowledge Hiding: A Collaborative View of Psychological Safety and Team Embeddedness through the Lens of COR theory

Change in Newcomers’ Perceived Insider Status Over Time: An Examination of its Relationships with Abusive Supervision and Well-Being

In a time when organizations must cope with an increasingly volatile and spatially dispersed workforce, understanding how to facilitate newcomers’ perceptions of insider status is of both theoretical and practical importance. However, knowledge regarding how and why these desirable perceptions unfold over time during the socialization period is limited. Drawing on affective event theory and feelings-as-information theory, this research derives predictions about the influence of change in newcomers’ perceptions of abusive supervision and change in newcomer negative affect toward their supervisors on change in newcomers’ perceived insider status. Furthermore, considering perceived insider status through the lens of COR theory, its change is expected to have an impact on newcomers’ well-being. To test our predictions, we used a latent growth modeling (LGM) approach to analyze longitudinal data collected from newcomers working in a variety of organizations at four times across a year after organizational entry. Our results reveal a temporal process whereby change in perceptions of abusive supervision influence newcomers’ well-being and demonstrate that changes in newcomers’ negative affect toward the supervisor and in newcomers’ perceived insider status sequentially mediate these relationships. Overall, this research illustrates the temporal dynamics of the socialization process and highlights the key role of supervisors and newcomers’ affect on newcomers’ transition from outsiders to organizational insiders as well as the corresponding impact on their well-being.

The mediating role of Emotional Exhaustion between Workplace Bullying and Employee Voice in the Banking Sector

Drawing on the Conservation of resources theory, this study tried to establish an empirical relationship between workplace bullying and employee voice with the mediation of Employee emotional exhaustion. This study is quantitative in nature and data was collected from 157 employees from the banking sector of Pakistan. The analysis was done using SPSS-24 and Smart-PLS4 software. The purpose of the study is to stimulate the bullied victims to speak up against this negative act to eradicate it. The study’s findings suggest that a significant relationship exists between workplace bullying and employee voice. The negative act of bullying motivates the victims to speak up against it. The relationship between workplace bullying and emotional exhaustion was also significant. Moreover; the intervening effect of emotional exhaustion motivates victims of bullying to speak up and it shows Partial-mediation. It is recommended that organizations must make a “Zero-tolerance” policy against workplace bullying and relevant measures should be taken. The COR theory holds that people work to get, preserve, and safeguard important resources, which might include not only material possessions but also psychological and social resources. Moreover, limitations and future areas of research have also been discussed.