Job Rewards Research Articles

Relational Models of Organizational Inequalities

In recent years, theorists of social inequality have increasingly rejected analytic models using the individual as the unit of analysis, favoring “relational” models centered on the dynamic, group-level interactions that can account for disparities in the distribution of job rewards. In this article we scrutinize three distinct strands of relational thinking: categorical theories, analysis of symbolic boundaries, and theories of intersectionality. Our goals are twofold: first, to identify some of the major conceptual and methodological limitations in this field and, second, to begin the task of conjoining insights from each strand of thinking, fostering conceptually richer and more powerful theoretical formulations of organizational inequalities. The article sketches some potential avenues for empirical analysis that seem likely to advance relational models and highlight their advantages—advantages that provide rich sociological guideposts—compared to more individually centered or even aggregate descriptive models that have governed the field since World War II.

What's So Special about STEM? A Comparison of Women's Retention in STEM and Professional Occupations.

We follow female college graduates in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and compare the trajectories of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related occupations to other professional occupations. Results show that women in STEM occupations are significantly more likely to leave their occupational field than professional women, especially early in their career, while few women in either group leave jobs to exit the labor force. Family factors cannot account for the differential loss of STEM workers compared to other professional workers. Few differences in job characteristics emerge either, so these cannot account for the disproportionate loss of STEM workers. What does emerge is that investments and job rewards that generally stimulate field commitment, such as advanced training and high job satisfaction, fail to build commitment among women in STEM.

Investigating the High Turnover of Saudi Nationals versus Non-Nationals in Private Sector Companies Using Selected Antecedents and Consequences of Employee Engagement

Saudization became inevitable for domestic political stability; however, private organizations are suffering fromthe high turnover of Saudi nationals and less commitment towards their employers. The researcher set to examinethe reasons for the high turnover through examining employee engagement antecedents of the Saudi’s nationalsversus non-Saudis’. The purpose of this study is to examine selected antecedents and consequences of employeeengagement. The researcher distributed surveys among 104 employees working in the healthcare and informationtechnology industries in Saudi Arabia. The results indicate that job characteristics and rewards are the twoantecedents that have a positive relationship with employee engagement. Study findings reveal that jobcharacteristics induced employee engagement while reward and recognition induced organizational engagement.

Perception of Technology: A Study on Library Professionals of Anna University of Technology

Today's persistent information and communication technologies enable us to get connected almost anywhere at anytime. ICT, such as the internet, the advanced wireless technologies and mobile communications networks are becoming increasingly indispensable in many aspects of work and everyday life. But to keep with the fast advancing pace of new technology, library professionals have to constantly renew their technical skills as well as enduring pressures and higher expectations from management and users. This often leads to techno stress experienced by library professionals in many institutions. This study examines the effect of technology on library professionals of engineering colleges of Anna University, Coimbatore. The study deals with the following dimensions: 1) Demographical details, 2) Perceptions of technology, which includes impact of technology on work performance and job responsibility and rewards, perceptions about learning new technologies. A questionnaire distributed to 103 library professionals yielded a 95% response. Most of the respondents are employed in self financing institutions, of which 27.6% are female. Significant relationship exists between library professionals and impact of technology on job responsibility and rewards, impact of technology on work performance and perceptions about new learning technologies. This paper differs from previous literature in presenting statistical evidence to confirm relationship between effects of technology on library professionals.

Association between socio-demographic, psychosocial, material and occupational factors and self-reported health among workers in Europe

The aim of this study was to explore the associations between socio-demographic, psychosocial, material and occupational factors and self-reported health (SRH) in the European working population. Another objective was to examine whether these associations varied according to occupation and country. This study was based on data from the European quality of life survey 2007 including 17,005 workers from 31 European countries. SRH was measured using a single item. Factors were classified into four different groups: socio-demographic, psychosocial, material and occupational factors. The associations between these factors and SRH were examined using multilevel logistic regression analyses including interaction tests. When all four groups of factors were studied together, age, occupation, urbanization level, origin, trust level, social exclusion, material deprivation, financial and neighbourhood problems, access to medical services, quality of public services, psychological job demands, job reward, work-life imbalance and dangerous/unhealthy working conditions were associated with poor SRH. Almost no differences were found in these associations according to occupation and country. Various factors were associated with poor SRH. This study gave a first European overview of the associations between socio-demographic, psychosocial, material and occupational factors and SRH in Europe and could provide better advice to policy-makers at a European level.

Questions and Answers From IRI's Members

Q: Do shared service centers work? Our company is considering moving to a shared service center model for several of our functions. We would like to hear from individuals with experience of shared service centers. What are the pros and cons? How long have their shared service centers been up and running? Would they consider them to be successful? Manager, information technology services company Answers: We have used shared services for Corporate Engineering for around 8 years. Engineering gets their priorities through the stage-gate process or through our capital planning process. Engineers are assigned projects and then put their hours into SAP so they are directly charged out to the appropriate business unit. When resources in engineering aren't sufficient to cover all the needs, engineering fills the gaps with external engineers who also are charged directly to a business via SAP. The biggest advantage is being able to leverage skills and expertise across business units (for example, we have one civil engineer who is shared across the company). In addition, everyone is working off of one set of engineering standards, project management process, drawing and equipment filing system, etc. It's been so successful that we've been rolling out this approach to Research and Development, Quality Assurance, and Analytical Methods Development. We're gradually getting everyone access to SAP and including projects of all types. Linda M. Hicks, Vice-President Corporate Engineering and Technology Vertellus Specialties Inc. In this space, we will occasionally publish queries and answers from IRI's email-based community forum. Questions and responses are selected for completeness, relevance, and interest and edited for format and grammar and to fit the available space. The community forum is available to IRI members via the IRI website; from the home page, select Collaboration Center, then Community Forum. For more information about IRI membership, visit our website. http://www.iriweb.org I manage a shared facilities services organization across four sites. We created this organization in 1999 after working with several consultants and considering all options, such as total outsourcing. With the shared services concept and the use of LEAN methodologies, we continue to drive our overhead cost down. We eliminated many redundancies and used the pay as you need concept. Standardization of procedures, including safety, has proven to be a great benefit. The shared services concept worked so well that it grew into IT, HR, Library Services, and Analytical. Mostly pros, one con; if possible, organize your shared services organization under one group from a headcount standpoint so everyone can be treated the same. Gary Hyek Manager, R&D Facilities Services PPG Q: How do you establish dual career ladders? I am looking at establishing dual career ladders within R&D. I am particularly interested in how the responsibility for managing people on the managerial and managing technology on the technical is made equivalent within the organization. Kathleen O'Leary Havelka, Sr. Director Global Research Dev. & Engineering Diversey, Inc. Answers: To have a viable dual career path in an R&D organization, you need: 1. A similar career structure in the business units of the company or a way for the R&D people's status to be understood and acknowledged by their business unit peers. 2. Job descriptions and rewards that are matched to the skill sets and personality profiles of the most productive types of people on the different paths. This comment comes from the perspective of Hughes Electronics (and Hughes Aircraft). Hughes had a well-established triple career ladder in its business units-line management, technical specialists, and project/ program management. …

Do factors of emotion-focussed patient care and communication impact job stress, satisfaction and burnout in radiation therapists?

AbstractObjectivesTo investigate levels and sources of job stress, job satisfaction and burnout experienced by radiation therapists (RTs) in an Australian cancer hospital, and determine the factors of emotion-focussed patient care and communication that contribute to RTs’ stress and burnout.MethodsOne hundred and thirteen RTs working in a dedicated cancer hospital in Australia completed a self-report questionnaire.ResultsTwelve percent of RTs reported job stress while 73·5% reported job satisfaction in their current work roles. Up to 19% of RTs experienced burnout as measured on the Maslach Burnout Inventory scales. Emotion-focussed care and communication with patients was found to have links with job stress and burnout, but also with job reward and satisfaction. A range of organisational, personal and support factors were associated with RTs’ experiences, including training and confidence in emotion-focussed patient communication.ConclusionEmotion-focussed care and patient communication contributes to both job stress and burnout, as well as job satisfaction. RTs’ experience of job stress, satisfaction or burnout are likely to vary according to a range of personal, demographic and organisational factors.

Job satisfaction of journalists: Professional aspirations, newsroom culture and social context

Job satisfaction is one of the most popular topics in organisational behaviour research, as it affects organisational productivity and job commitment. This study examines various factors contributing to the job satisfaction of journalists by contextualising the research in the unique Singapore environment, where the news media, as state-protected monopolies, provide journalists with job security and good monetary rewards. Singapore’s news media clearly deviate from the liberal norms in terms of the legal framework within which they operate, yet the Singapore journalists compete well against professionals from other countries for international awards for editorial excellence. The newsroom culture ensures that the local journalists see themselves as supporters rather than adversaries of the government but at the same time require them to question the government about its policies and decisions. Singapore thus serves as an interesting context to test various factors that may contribute to journalists’ satisfaction with their job. Through a survey of 447 Singapore journalists, this study examines various factors that may affect the job satisfaction of journalists, including individual characteristics, job rewards, newsroom culture, perceived role of journalism, and the performance of their news organisations. The findings show that what matters most to Singapore journalists is how they see their institution perform in informing the public. Journalists who feel greater autonomy and believe in the adversarial role of the press are more satisfied with their job as journalists. In the meantime, monetary reward, job security and demographic differences are not significant factors in determining job satisfaction.

The role of rewards and demands in burnout among surgical nurses

Job rewards have both, an intrinsic and an extrinsic motivational potential, and lead to employees' development as well as help them to achieve work goals. Rewards can balance job demands and protect from burnout. Due to changes on the labour market, new studies are needed. The aim of our study was to examine the role of demands and individual rewards (and their absence) in burnout among surgical nurses. The study was conducted in 2009 and 2010 with 263 nurses who worked in surgical wards and clinics in hospitals in Southern Poland. The hypotheses were tested by the use of measures of demands and rewards (Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire by Siegrist) and burnout syndrome (Maslach Burnout Inventory). A cross-sectional, correlational study design was applied. Nurses experienced the largest deficiencies in salary and prestige. Exhaustion was explained by stronger demands and lack of respect (large effect). Depersonalization was explained by stronger demands, lack of respect and greater job security (medium effect). Reduced personal achievement was explained by more demands and greater job security (small effect). Excessive demands and lack of esteem are key reasons for burnout among surgical nurses. Job security can increase burnout when too many resources are invested and career opportunities do not appear. These results may help to improve human resource management in the healthcare sector.

Good Jobs in Public Research Organizations: Job Characteristics and Rewards of Research Work

Following recent work that has focused on distinctions between good and bad jobs in the labor force, this paper examines determinants of job satisfaction among STEM workers. We propose that STEM workers represent a previously unconsidered type of logic in employment, sharing some (e.g., relatively high pay and job security) but not all (e.g., high levels of job autonomy) characteristics of other good jobs. We developed and administered to STEM workers in a public research center a research environment survey which replicated many of the items assessed in Kalleberg’s (2011) analysis of distinctions between good and bad jobs while also adding new items. Results show that as with workers in the general labor force, authority to make decisions, freedom to pursue new ideas, and promotional opportunities are important determinants of job satisfaction among the STEM workers we studied. Combining various indicators shows that intrinsic rewards emerge as particularly important in affecting satisfaction of STEM wor...

Individual differences in the relationship between satisfaction with job rewards and job satisfaction

Although previous research often showed a positive relationship between pay satisfaction and job satisfaction, we dispute the universality of this finding. Cluster-wise regression analyses on three samples consistently show that two types of individuals can be distinguished, each with a different job reward–job satisfaction relationship. For the first person type, job satisfaction relates to financial and psychological reward satisfaction, whereas for the second person type job satisfaction relates to psychological reward satisfaction only. In addition, between-person type differences were found for the work value financial security but not for recognition, which suggests that differences in work values may lie at the basis of between-person differences in the rewards–satisfaction relationship. Moreover, person types 1 and 2 differ in turnover intention and affective organizational commitment, which implies that differences in the rewards–satisfaction relationship relate to important organizational outcomes as well. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Dualism, Job Polarization, and the Social Construction of Precarious Work

Publication of Arne Kalleberg’s Good Jobs, Bad Jobs provides a welcome opportunity to re-examine the theoretical and conceptual frameworks that scholars bring to bear on precarious employment. An exemplar of what was once called the “new structuralism,” Kalleberg’s book provides a rigorous, multidimensional analysis of the changes impinging on job stability and security. Although it identifies a vitally important trend toward a growing polarization in the distribution of job rewards, it does so in ways that illustrate the limits of the genre of research to which it belongs. Constrained to view the subjective experience of work as merely dependent variables, the book cannot explore how social, political, and cultural processes have both shaped and legitimated the rise of precarious employment. Drawing on recent studies of the popular business press and other media representations, we document the rise of a culture of enterprise that has idealized the uncertainties that have come to grip the labor market, defining the latter as a site on which individual agency can freely unfold. Only by addressing the interplay between job structures and such discursive and political developments can we hope to understand the rise of labor market precarity, let alone expand workers’ rights to protection against market uncertainty.

Returning to Work One Year After Childbirth: Data from the Mother–Child Cohort EDEN

The amount of time women spend out of work postpartum has implications for both health and economic trajectories which may result in long-term social inequities or exacerbate those already existing. The purpose of this investigation was to describe the characteristics of women who return to work within the first year postpartum and to identify specific occupational and health factors associated with returning to work among women who worked during pregnancy. The EDEN cohort is comprised of pregnant women recruited in two French university hospitals before 24weeks gestation with a singleton pregnancy. Questionnaires were administered at 4, 8, and 12months after birth. Multivariate logistic regression was used to model the odds of returning to work within 1year of childbirth with inclusion of sociodemographic, health, and occupational variables that were significantly related to returning to work at the level of p<0.05 in bivariate analysis. Eighty percent of the women who worked during pregnancy in our sample had resumed work before their infant's first birthday. After adjustment, occupational level, full-time work, standing position, job reward, desire to change job, education, and father's occupational level remained significantly associated with returning to work. Women's perception of their work as rewarding was the strongest predictor of resuming employment (OR comparing high reward to low reward: 2.48, 95% CI: 1.60-3.83 for women with parity 0 or 1). Experiencing an adverse birth outcome had no relation to returning to work within 1year postpartum. Across all indicator variables, women of higher socioeconomic status or with greater resources had greater odds of returning to work compared to those of lower status. This suggests that the crucial period of employment transition around the time of childbirth may intensify preexisting social inequalities.

Burnout Among Public Service Workers

Current literature remains inconclusive regarding the adverse impact of emotional labor requirements on burnout. To address the discrepancy, this study revisited this relationship as well as investigated the potential additive and interactive effects of job resources, namely job control, social support, and rewards. In the sample of 208 public service workers, regression results revealed that display rules that require expression of positive emotions did not account for variance in emotional exhaustion whereas display rules that require suppression of negative emotions were emotionally taxing. Job resources were uniformly associated with decreased emotional exhaustion. Moreover, coworker support significantly attenuated the harmful impact of emotional demands. Based on these findings, this study suggests, rather than emphasizing negative display rules, it is more favorable for organizations to specify appropriate expressions of job-related emotions. When workers are at risk of burnout, provision of job resources can help ease the burden and reduce job stress.

Task-shifting: experiences and opinions of health workers in Mozambique and Zambia.

BackgroundThis paper describes the task-shifting taking place in health centres and district hospitals in Mozambique and Zambia. The objectives of this study were to identify the perceived causes and factors facilitating or impeding task-shifting, and to determine both the positive and negative consequences of task-shifting for the service users, for the services and for health workers.MethodsData collection involved individual and group interviews and focus group discussions with health workers from the civil service.ResultsIn both the Republic of Mozambique and the Republic of Zambia, health workers have to practice beyond the traditional scope of their professional practice to cope with their daily tasks. They do so to ensure that their patients receive the level of care that they, the health workers, deem due to them, even in the absence of written instructions.The “out of professional scope” activities consume a significant amount of working time. On occasions, health workers are given on-the-job training to assume new roles, but job titles and rewards do not change, and career progression is unheard of. Ancillary staff and nurses are the two cadres assuming a greater diversity of functions as a result of improvised task-shifting.ConclusionsOur observations show that the consequences of staff deficits and poor conditions of work include heavier workloads for those on duty, the closure of some services, the inability to release staff for continuing education, loss of quality, conflicts with patients, risks for patients, unsatisfied staff (with the exception of ancillary staff) and hazards for health workers and managers. Task-shifting is openly acknowledged and widespread, informal and carries risks for patients, staff and management.

초등교사의 직무스트레스와 스트레스 대처방식이 직무만족도에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study was to verify the influences among job stress, stress-coping style and job satisfaction of the elementary school teachers. An objective of study is 256 elementary school teachers. After choosing 7 schools located in Busan, 283 teachers participated in this study. The measurements used in this study were the teachers' job stress scale, coping ability scale against stress, and the Korea Teacher Opinionnaire Test. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS 14.0 program. For handling data, correlations and Multiple Regression Analysis was conducted. Major findings were summarized as follows: First, it is found that reward & personnel management in sub-variables of job stress and control method in sub-variables of stress-coping style has significantly predicted job satisfaction level. Second, in sub-variables of job satisfaction, reward & personnel management, control method, management system, learning establishments has significantly predicted duties, increase of specialty, human relationships, and work atmosphere, respectively. Finally, the limitation of this study and suggestion for further research are presented.

Work–Family Interference: Nurses in Norway and Finland

Abstract The aim of the study is to investigate the level of work–family inter-ference (WFI) for part-time nurses in Norway and Finland. Part-time work is usually cited as a desirable way in which to facilitate work and family harmony. However, the opportunity to work part-time in professions may be associated with greater difficulties and challenges than commonly presumed. Part-time professionals are often stigmatized as being less committed to work and report fewer job rewards than colleagues in full-time positions. This study challenges the notion of the desir-able consequences of work hour flexibility concerning the integration of work and family. Part-time nurses in Norway and Finland report an equal level or even higher levels of interference than nurses in full-time positions. A disproportional distri-bution of inconvenient work schedules appears to be a central explanation for the results reported by Norwegian nurses, but to a lesser degree by Finnish nurses.

The Influence of Couple Emotional Intimacy on Job Perceptions and Work–Family Conflict

The purpose was to investigate the influence of couple emotional intimacy on job perceptions (job concerns and job rewards) and work–family conflict (both work‐to‐family conflict and family‐to‐work conflict). Data on 567 couples came from a subset of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Study of Early Child Care taken when the target children were fifth graders. The researchers used an actor–partner interdependence model (APIM) to examine mothers’ and fathers’ couple emotional intimacy and its influence on self‐ and partner perceptions of job concerns and job rewards as well as work‐to‐family conflict and family‐to‐work conflict. Both mothers’ and fathers’ couple emotional intimacy predicted fewer job concerns, more job rewards, less work‐to‐family conflict, and less family‐to‐work conflict for her‐ and himself. No partner effects were found in the model.

The role of intelligence in the formation of well-being: From job rewards to job satisfaction

In a longitudinal study, we investigate the moderating role of intelligence on the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards and intrinsic and extrinsic satisfactions on global job satisfaction. The results support our hypotheses that: (1) intrinsic rewards and intrinsic satisfaction are more strongly related to global job satisfaction among individuals who are higher rather than lower in intelligence; and (2) extrinsic rewards and extrinsic satisfaction are more strongly related to global job satisfaction among individuals who are lower rather than higher in intelligence. We also suggest that these effects could be viewed in terms of a moderated mediation model in which facets' satisfaction mediate the effects of rewards on global satisfaction, and intelligence moderates the relationship between facets' satisfaction and global satisfaction. Implications of the results were discussed.

Effect of the Interaction Between Employment Level and Psychosocial Work Environment on Insomnia in Male Japanese Public Service Workers

Little is known about the combined risk of socioeconomic status and psychosocial environment for insomnia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the combined risk of employment level and psychosocial work environment for insomnia in a large Japanese male working population. We investigated 5,951 male employees aged 34-59 years from two local governments in Japan. Data were obtained from a questionnaire distributed in advance of their annual health check-up. Employment level was categorized as higher-level non-manual workers, lower-level non-manual workers, and manual workers. Psychosocial work environment was assessed using the Demand-Control Model and the Effort-Reward Imbalance Model (ERI). Insomnia was assessed using the Athens Insomnia Scale. The results showed that 1,382 (23.2 %) participants suffered from insomnia. Lower employment level was significantly associated with a higher risk of insomnia. Job strain (ratio of job demand to job control), E/R (ratio of job effort to job reward), and OC (over commitment) were also significantly associated with insomnia. The relative excess risk due to the interaction between employment level and psychosocial environment (job strain, E/R, and OC) was 0.09 (95 % CI -0.57 to 0.76), 2.61 (0.74 to 4.48), and 3.14 (0.82 to 5.45), respectively; synergy index = 1.07 (0.66 to 1.74), 1.99 (1.37 to 2.90), and 2.25 (1.46 to 3.46), respectively. We found supra-additive interactions between employment level and psychosocial environment, assessed by the ERI (E/R and OC). Our findings suggested that lower level workers are more vulnerable to an adverse psychosocial environment than those at a higher level.