Foster Employee Research Articles

Effectiveness of a Humor-Based Training for Reducing Employees' Distress.

An increasing number of studies have demonstrated that humor can impact interpersonal relationships in organizations and employee well-being. However, there is little evidence coming from intervention studies in organizational settings. In response, we developed a training following the principles of positive psychology that aims at improving employees’ adaptive use of humor as a successful mechanism to deal with stress. In this study, we assess the effectiveness of such training and its impact on employee well-being. Results from this one-group intervention study in an emergency ambulance service (N = 58) revealed that the participants reported higher levels of cheerfulness (Z = −3.93; p < 0.001) and lower levels of seriousness (Z = −3.32; p < 0.001) after being exposed to the training. Indeed, the participants reported lower scores on psychological distress after the training (Z = −3.35; p < 0.001). The effect size of the training was medium (r = 0.31 to 0.36), suggesting that interventions to improve adaptive humor at work can be a useful resource to deal with workplace stress and foster employee well-being. These results may have interesting implications for designing and implementing positive interventions as well as for developing healthy organizations.

The effect of workplace bullying on burnout: the mediating role of affective well-being

PurposeThis study aims to examine the impact of workplace bullying on employees’ burnout by investigating the mediating effect of affective well-being (AWB).Design/methodology/approachData of 532 employees from diverse organizations in Portugal were collected. These data were collected using anonymously completed structured questionnaires available online.FindingsThe results support the research hypotheses proposed, confirming that workplace bullying is related to both AWB and burnout. Moreover, affective workplace bullying partially mediates the relationship between workplace bullying and burnout, indicating that the victims have their AWB reduced, and, consequently, increase their burnout levels.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that organizations can foster employees’ AWB and reduce the level of burnout by encouraging organizations to develop preventive policies and practices to safeguard against bullying at work.Originality/valueTo this date, only a few studies have examined mediating and moderating variables (Nielsen and Einersen, 2018) and none include AWB as a mediator of the relationship between workplace bullying and burnout. This study answers the call for further empirical research from those who have argued that more information is needed to understand the workplace bullying phenomenon and contributes to the growing debate on this topic and its effects on employees.

How Does Group Climate Foster or Hinder Employee Voice? A Cross-Level Examination.

Although empirical evidence has accumulated showing that group climate has a significant impact on employee voice, knowledge about how different types of climates may influence voice is limited. Drawing upon the theory of planned behavior, we develop and test a model that explains whether and how the two group climates, cooperation and sanction, differentially predict employee promotive and prohibitive voice. We test the hypotheses using data collected from a sample of 274 full-time employees nested in 58 workgroups across two time periods. The empirical results show that group climate predicts employee voice in different ways: Group cooperation climate has a positive effect on both types of employee voice, whereas group sanction climate shows a negative effect on promotive voice. Individuals’ psychological capital is a cross-level mediator in the relationship between group climate and employee voice. Employees’ prevention focus negatively moderates the relationship between psychological capital and employee voice. These results highlight the important effect of group climate on employee voice in organization and calls on managers to create a favorable environment to increase employees’ psychological capital and voice behaviors.

Does authentic leadership stimulate organizational citizenship behaviors? The importance of affective commitment as a mediator

PurposeThis study aims to examine the impact of authentic leadership (AL) on employees’ organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) by investigating the mediating effect of affective commitment (AC).Design/methodology/approachData were collected on 194 leader-follower dyads in diverse organizations, using individual surveys. Followers reported their perceptions of AL and their AC, and leaders assessed each follower’s level of OCB.FindingsThe results support the research hypotheses proposed, confirming that employees’ perceptions of AL are positively related to both their AC and OCB. Moreover, AC completely mediates the relationship between AL and OCB, indicating that authentic leaders increase employees’ affective bonds to their organization, and therefore, strengthen workers’ tendency to engage in OCB.Research limitations/implicationsAdditional studies with larger samples are needed to clarify more fully not only AL’s influence on OCB but also other psychosocial variables affecting this relationship.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that organizations can foster employees’ AC and OCB by encouraging managers to adopt a more AL style. Authentic leaders are likely to focus on the collective as they care about their teams, the wider organization and even society’s welfare and sustainability.Social implicationsGrowing concerns about sustainability and business ethics and the crisis of trust in organizations can be addressed through further research on positive leadership forms such as AL. This study’s findings suggest that AL fosters employees’ affective bond to organizations and their willingness to engage in OCB, which are two indicators related to organizational sustainability.Originality/valueThis study integrated AL, AC and OCB into a single research model, thereby extending previous investigations. In addition, the data were collected from two sources (i.e. both leaders and followers in dyads) to minimize the risk of common-method variance.

Setting the conditions for open innovation in the food industry: unravelling the human dimension of open innovation

PurposeThe human dimension of open innovation is paramount for organisational excellence. However, there is scant evidence of the implications of human resource management practices on employees' orientation towards open innovation. The article shows how such practices facilitate the development of an open innovation climate among food companies.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical study was designed to obtain insights into the approach to open innovation of a large sample of food companies (n = 2,458). Secondary data were collected from the sixth European Working Condition Survey. A parallel mediation analysis allowed us to investigate the human resource management practices' implications on individual perceptions of an open innovation-oriented organisational climate through the mediating effect of employees' involvement and engagement.FindingsHuman resource management practices have an impact on employees' skills, motivation and interpersonal relationships, but they do not have direct implications on the employees' perception of an open innovation-oriented organizational climate. As they solicit employees' involvement and engagement, human resource management practices indirectly nurture a favourable perception of an open innovation-oriented organisational climate.Practical implicationsTailored human resource management practices should be crafted to increase employees' capabilities and motivation and, therefore, to sustain open innovation in the food sector. Human resource management practices foster employees' involvement and engagement, which pave the way for a greater proclivity to open innovation at the individual and collective levels.Originality/valueThe article discusses the implications of human resource management practices on the perception of an organisational climate conducive to open innovation, envisioning aspects to focus on and avenues for future research.

Transformational Leadership, Knowledge Sharing and Innovation Capability: An Empirical Study from Lao Firms

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of transformational leadership and knowledge sharing on innovation capability in term of individual and organizational innovation capability. This study used Structural equation modelling (SEM) to check proposal hypotheses using empirical data collected from 216 participants at 45 small and medium enterprises in Laos. The research findings revealed that knowledge sharing mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and innovation capabilities. Notably, the findings highlight the greater influence of TL on organizational innovation capability in comparison with its effect on individual innovation capability. In contrasts, knowledge sharing activities induce greater influence on individual innovation capability compared with its effect on organizational innovation capability. The paper has, therefore, significantly advanced our insights of how transformational leaders foster employee knowledge sharing activities for stimulating innovation capabilities of organizations. Keywords: Transformational Leadership; Knowledge Sharing; Individual Innovation Capability; Organizational Innovation Capability

From high school to workplace: investigating the effects of soft skills on career engagement through the role of psychological capital in different age groups

PurposeThis study aims at investigating the indirect effect of soft skills on career engagement through the role of psychological capital (PsyCap) in different age groups. The social cognitive theory (SCT) and job demands-resource model (JD-R) were employed to explain the effect of perceived skill mastery on PsyCap and career engagement.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected from 707 high school students, 150 university students and 165 employees using a three-wave data collection technique. This study measured soft skills, PsyCap and career engagement at different age groups (i.e. high school students, university students and employees). The data were analysed using a moderated-mediation technique.FindingsThe results showed that soft skills positively influenced PsyCap and eventually increased career engagement in all age groups. However, the effect was stronger for students (both in high school and university) than employees in the workplaces. Unlike most students, employees related soft skills to performance. Regardless of the effect on performance, students would be more likely than employees to perceive soft skill mastery as a source of efficacy.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, the education system should direct more attention to developing students' non-cognitive skills. Second, people should understand that their career advancement continues in the workplace context. Organizations can foster employees' soft skills by providing more opportunities to develop new skills.Originality/valueThis study sheds light on the importance of soft skills beyond academic and workplace performance. This study is among the few empirical investigations that reveal career engagement factors across different career development stages.

Changes in public service motivation: Can public administration education help cultivate it?

This study aims to investigate the influence of public administration education on the development of college students' public service motivation over time. The data come from a four-wave panel survey of 868 Taiwanese undergraduate students who enrolled in college in 2015; 418 of them majored in public administration and 450 majored in business administration. Latent growth modeling was employed to capture a change of overall public service motivation and individual public service motivation dimensions. Our findings show that students' public service motivation tends to change during the college years, while public administration education may not significantly contribute to its development. Points for practitioners Research findings offer some implications for practice. Given that public service motivation seems to be changeable, it becomes relevant for public managers to invest in developing employees' motivation to serve and make a positive difference in others' lives. However, any in-service training aiming to foster employee public service motivation should not focus too much on knowledge delivery, but rather accentuate the establishment and practice of service values.

Involving or informing? Negotiating employee participation in organizational change

Language and communication are fundamental for management attempts to engage employees in decision-making on organizational change. However, we still know little about how the meaning of employee participation is negotiated between different organizational groups, and how this effects joint decision-making. Adopting an organizational discourse perspective, our ethnographic study of a relocation of a Nordic University shows how management and employees battle for the control of discourse about employee participation by employing and renegotiating the contextual meanings of communicational practices that foster employee involvement in decision-making. As a contribution, we demonstrate the discursively constructed character of employee participation and illustrate how it can act as a source of both consensus and dissensus in decision-making on organizational change issues.

How and when servant leaders foster employee work meaningfulness

Understanding how and when leaders foster employee work meaningfulness is theoretically and practically important. Drawing on the theoretical underpinnings of servant leadership and person-environment fit, we propose that servant leaders, with an emphasis on putting followers first, would help employees fit into their job (i.e., person-job fit) and subsequently promote their work meaningfulness. Moreover, we argue that working under servant leaders who possess high rather than low prototypicality would make employees more likely find congruence with their jobs and experience more work meaningfulness as a result. A full-time working sample from China evidenced our hypotheses. Our findings provide important contributions to extant management literature and carry vital practical implications for organizations to develop employee work meaningfulness.

Challenge Demands and Resilience

Abstract. This study investigates the relationship of challenge demands (i. e., time pressure, job complexity) on employee resilience. We provide insights into potential pathways (i. e., learning, cognitive irritation) for how challenge stressors influence employee resilience. We employed a two-wave, time-lagged design to examine the influences of challenge stressors and explanatory pathways on employee resilience 2 months later. The data from 359 participants (52.1 % male) were analyzed using a Bayesian time-lagged path model. Results indicate that time pressure and job complexity are negatively related to employee resilience via cognitive irritation. In contrast, we found a positive, indirect effect of job complexity and resilience via learning. This paper contributes to existing employee resilience and stress research by highlighting the roles of learning and cognitive irritation to explain the relationships of challenge stressors on employee resilience. Moreover, the results provide us with a deeper understanding of which factors foster or drain employee resilience.

The Interactive Effect of Organizational Identification and Organizational Climate on Employees’ Taking Charge Behavior: A Complexity Perspective

In the view of complexity theory, the emergency behavior of individual is nonlinear and influenced not only by individual variables but also by many other environmental variables. Based on complexity perspective, this article explored why employees’ taking charge behavior occurs in organizations from a multilevel approach. Specifically, this study has explored the cross-level interactive effect of organization-level factor (organizational justice climate and psychological safety climate) and individual-level factor (organizational identification) on employees’ taking charge behavior. Using a total of 806 valid matching questionnaires from 91 firms in China, this study found that first, organizational identification is positively related with employees’ taking charge behavior. Second, distributive justice climate positively moderates the influence of organizational identification on employees’ taking charge behavior. Third, psychological safety climate negatively moderates the influence of organizational identification on employees’ taking charge behavior. According to our results, organizational policies and practices should be made to foster employees’ identification with the organization, to construct a fair environment within the organization, and to convince employees that taking charge behavior will not entail political risks, especially for those employees with low organizational identification.

The Relationship between Leader-Member Exchange andInnovative Work Behavior: The Mediating Role of the Voice Behavior

Purpose - This research aims to examine the mediation mechanism between leader-member exchange (LMX) and innovative work behavior (IWB) through employee voice behavior. Specifically, this research exploited the social exchange theory (SET) to examine the influence of LMX on IWB through employee voice behavior. Within this context, employees performing in higher quality LMX relationships with IWB are likely to exhibit more voice behavior. Design/methodology/approach – Self-reported questionnaires were applied to obtain data from 360 employees mainly with engineering qualifications from four companies in the defense sector in Turkey. Data were collected with a simple random sampling method in November and December 2020. Hypotheses were tested using correlation and regression analysis. The reason why the defense sector was selected for this study is the fact that the defense industry field has characteristics that make for a unique working environment. Findings - The findings show that LMX positively and significantly affects IWB and additionally voice behavior has a mediating role in this relationship. LMX had a significant influence on employee voice behavior that was ultimately associated with IWB. Finally, Voice behavior mediated the positive correlation between LMX and IWB, and stronger voice behavior boosted the indirect relationship. Discussion - This research reveals the effects of LMX and provides practical suggestions to help employees express their opinions in the organization to enhance innovation performance. Based on the SET, this research helps to understand how certain LMX which encourage high-quality exchange relationships with the supervisors and foster employee voice behaviors, may nurture employee IWBs in the organizations.

Motivational antecedents, employee engagement and knowledge management performance

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the causal relationships between organisational practices, employee knowledge management (KM) engagement and organisational KM performance.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a quantitative research approach, an online survey of 536 knowledge workers from multinational knowledge-based organisations located in Sri Lanka was carried out. The data were analysed with structural equation modelling.FindingsTeamwork, reward structure, learning, performance management and employee empowerment are found to be motivational antecedents of KM engagement while, subsequently, organisational KM performance is affected by employee KM engagement.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this study are based on the use of five key organisational practices derived from the literature. Further research is needed to establish whether the findings extend to other organisational practices such as resourcing strategy, organisational culture and communication. Further, the sample for this research comprised knowledge workers in Sri Lankan organisations which limit the generalisability of the findings.Practical implicationsTeamwork, rewards structure, learning, performance management and employee empowerment are organisational practices that foster employee KM engagement. Organisational practices and employee KM engagement are imperative for the organisational success of KM initiatives.Originality/valueThis research introduces the term KM engagement as the indicator of individual-level KM success and integrates the sequential linkage between individual-level KM outcomes (i.e. KM engagement) and organisational KM outcomes (KM performance) which has not yet been investigated.

Identity Leadership, Social Identity Continuity, and Well-Being at Work During COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread remote working that has posed significant challenges for people’s sense of connection to their workplace and their mental health and well-being. In the present work, we examined how leaders’ identity leadership is associated with the well-being of employees in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we examined how both leaders’ and team members’ identity leadership is associated with employees’ social identity continuity, and through this with their job satisfaction, burnout and loneliness at work. Employees (N = 363) participated in a field study during the COVID-19 pandemic, completing measures of their leader’s and team members’ identity leadership (i.e., entrepreneurship and impresarioship), social identity continuity, job satisfaction, burnout, loneliness at work. Results revealed that to the extent that employees perceived greater social identity continuity, they were more satisfied with their work and felt less lonely. Furthermore, mediation analyses revealed indirect effects of team members’ identity entrepreneurship on job satisfaction and loneliness via an increase in social identity continuity. Results suggest that to foster employees’ health and well-being in times of disruption, organizations might put in place practices that allow employees to maintain a sense of ‘we-ness’ at work by involving not only formal leaders but also other members of the organization.

Human Resource Management (HRM) Practices and Employee Job Satisfaction at a Public Corporation in Qatar

Recognizing the importance of human resource management (HRM) practices, and their effects on employee behaviors and attitudes, many studies investigated the correlation between HRM practices and employee job satisfaction. The overall objective of this research is to investigate the impact of HRM practices (training and development and performance management) on employee satisfaction in case of a public corporation in Qatar. In order to meet the objectives of the research, and in order to answer its questions, a survey questionnaire was developed and distributed to a simple random sample of (92) employees, who work for a public corporation in Qatar. The total number of the returned surveys was (78) surveys. This means that the response rate was 84%. Results of data analysis revealed that there is positive and strong correlation between HRM practices and employee job satisfaction. HRM practices explain 22% of employee job satisfaction, while other factors explain 78%. Based on that, it was suggested to develop HRM practices in order to foster employee job satisfaction. It was also suggested to carry future researches to investigate other factors that may drive employee job satisfaction.

Influence of Authentic Leadership on Employees' Taking Charge Behavior: The Roles of Subordinates' Moqi and Perspective Taking.

How to motivate employees to break through the role constraints and show more initiative determines the success or failure of a company’s future development. Taking charge behavior refers to the behavior where individuals influence the change of organizational function through voluntary and constructive efforts, which is a challenging organizational citizenship behavior. This study investigates the underlying mechanism and boundary condition of authentic leadership (AL) on employees’ taking charge behavior based on the role identity theory and literature concerning perspective taking. Matched data were collected from a multi-source sample that included 146 direct supervisors and 328 subordinates in mainland, China. The empirical results indicate that AL has a positive influence on the employees’ taking charge behavior, and subordinates’ moqi mediates the relationship between them. In addition, the employees’ perspective taking positively moderated the positive relationship between AL and subordinates’ moqi, as well as the mediating effect of subordinates’ moqi in the relationship between AL and employees’ taking charge behavior. Compared with the low levels of perspective taking, high levels of that made the influence of AL on subordinates’ moqi stronger, so is the whole indirect effect. This study is the first to explore the influencing mechanism of AL on employees’ taking charge behavior from the perspective of the role identity theory, thereby enriching the relevant studies and providing practical insights for organizational leaders regarding on how to foster employees to take charge.

The Role of the Program of Development of Corporate Culture in Moderating the Values of The Company against the Employee Engagement in PT PLN (Persero) Parent Unit is the Region of North Sumatra

This research included in the study puantitatif. While the research design used in this research is the analysis of correlation, namely the type of research conducted with the aim of detecting the extent to which variations in one factor are associated (correlated) with one or more other factors based on the correlation coefficient. The purpose of the research, namely to explain the influence and hypothesis testing by analyzing the various data in the field. In the context of this study is to obtain the facts of the phenomena that exist and find information in a factual description of the factors increase employee engagement in PT PLN (Persero) Parent Unit is the Region of North Sumatra. The population in this research is all employees PLN (Persero) Parent Unit is the Region of North Sumatra. This time recorded as many as 181 employees with the status of a permanent employee. The technique of determining the number of samples used Method Slovin so that the number of samples in this study amounted to 65 respondents. Data Collection method used in this research are primary data and secondary data. The results showed that the Values of the Company as a significant influence on the formation of Employee Engagement in PT PLN (Persero) Parent Unit is the Region of North Sumatra. PT PLN (Persero) also has a program to foster employee engagement, namely: Employee Gathering, the Visit of a Senior Leader, LIQUID and Code of Conduct. On the basis of this, the researchers enter the Program of Development of Corporate Culture as a moderating variable, with the assumption that the program is able to drive employee engagement through the value of the company. The results showed that the Program of Development of the Culture of the Company contained in PT PLN (Persero) to be able to participate moderating variable value of the Company in influencing employee engagement. This means that the understanding of the employees against the Values of the Company will be more effective with the Program of Development of Corporate Culture in PT PLN (Persero) Parent Unit is the Region of North Sumatra. Keywords: Corporate Culture, Corporate Values, Employee Engagement.

Determinants of radical and incremental innovation: the influence of transformational leadership, knowledge sharing and knowledge-centered culture

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to clarify the effects of transformational leadership (TL) on radical and incremental innovation through the mediating roles of knowledge sharing (KS) behaviors. This study also attempts to bring deeper insight of the correlation among the latent factors by examining how knowledge-centered culture (KCC) moderates the effects of TL on KS behaviors and innovation capability.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducts a questionnaire survey and Structural Equation Modeling to test the proposal research model based on a sample of 321 participants in 85 service and manufacturing firms.FindingsThe results revealed that KS behaviors significantly mediate the relationship between TL and two types of innovation. Specifically, knowledge collecting has more significant effect on incremental innovation compared with influence of knowledge donating. By contrast, knowledge donating has a greater effect on radical innovation compared with effect of knowledge collecting. The paper also highlights the important role of KCC in enhancing the effects of TL on KS activities and innovation capabilities.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has highlighted the important role of KCC as it positively moderates the influences of TL on KS and innovation capability.Practical implicationsThe study provides evidence that TL style is the main driving force of KS processes. Managers should prioritize practicing this leadership style to improve employees' KS behaviors and firm's innovation capability.Originality/valueThe study significantly fills the gaps in the literature that emphasizes how KS behaviors induce different impacts on specific aspects of innovation capability. By exploring the moderator of KCC, the paper significantly contributes to advancing the understanding of how transformational leaders foster employees' KS behaviors for improving radical and incremental innovation.

Retention and Engagement of Human Capital: Causal Contribution of Perceived Organizational Prestige and Job Characteristics

Reducing turnover intention and increasing work engagement is not just "nice-to-have" but has been shown to relate to financial and behavioural gains. The present study focused on investigating the causal contribution of perceived organizational prestige (POP) and job characteristics in turnover intention and work engagement. The study involved 107 mid-level managers. Results revealed that POP explained a significant variance in turnover intention and work engagement. Meaningfulness and autonomy were substantial in increasing work engagement, whereas feedback was instrumental in reducing turnover intention. The findings are important for HR executives who seek ways to sustain human capital and foster employee engagement.