Perceptions Of Coworkers Research Articles

Health-related quality management values – comparing manager and co-worker perceptions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to modify an existing survey that measures co-worker perceptions of health-related quality management (QM) values and perceived health and to measure both co-worker and manager perceptions of those values. The purpose was also to test the modified survey and then compare the results from managers and co-workers from two organizations in which the survey has been used to measure baseline data in a lean research project and to help managers understand the areas where improvement is needed.Design/methodology/approachAn earlier survey measuring co-worker perception of the dimensions of the health-related QM values “leadership commitment” and “participation of everybody” has been developed with corresponding statements for managers. The results of the survey were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences), the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated for each of the dimensions, and the correlations between the dimensions and the health index were investigated using the Pearson correlation. The mean and standard deviation were also calculated.FindingsThe modified survey is presented in the paper, and the results demonstrate that the managers’ perception of the presence of health-related QM values is higher than that of the co-workers. Seeing the leadership from the co-workers’ standpoint compared with the managers’ perspective provides novel insight for both the researcher and the managers.Originality/valueLeaders in organizations must develop greater efficiency to improve operational performance and develop healthy work environments. Practicing QM can benefit performance and is central for inspiring quality and efficiency within organizations, as well as for enhancing co-worker well-being. Earlier research found relationships between co-workers’ perception of their health and the health-related QM values “leadership commitment” and “participation of everybody.” With the survey presented in this paper, it is possible to measure these health-related QM values and provide a comparison between manager and co-worker perceptions.

Does Being Envied and Ostracized Make Employees Unethical?

Concern has been growing about employees’ poor ethical judgment, which hurts their organizations’ business interests. While leaders play significant roles in affecting employees’ ethical judgment, the roles of coworkers have been largely ignored. Addressing this gap, the goal of this study is to examine whether, why, and when perceptions of being envied and ostracized by coworkers are related to unethical judgment. Guided by Affective Events Theory, which proposes that affective events at work create emotions that produce affect-laden outcomes, we argue that an employee’s perception that coworkers are giving him or her the “silent treatment” breeds anger, which in turn promotes unethical judgment. Data collected from 258 college-graduate employees at three points over an 8-month period supported the proposed relationships. In addition, we found that ethical leadership buffered the effects of perceptions of being envied and ostracized on anger. These findings contribute to the literature by showing that perceptions of coworkers’ mistreatment can increase employees’ unethical judgment, but that managers’ ethical leadership is an important means of alleviating these effects.

Assessing Family-Like Dynamics in the Workplace as Possible Precursors of Workplace Bullying: Psychometric Analysis of a Modified Instrument.

Family-like dynamics in workplaces may serve as antecedents to workplace bullying. This study addressed the psychometric properties of an instrument modified to assess family-like dynamics in the workplace. The investigators used categorical principal components analysis (CATPCA) to investigate the psychometric properties of an instrument modified to measure coworker perceptions of family-like dynamics in the workplace. Primarily White (95%) study participants (N = 273) completed a brief, demographic form and the modified Family Relationships Index (FRI) of the Family Assessment Scale (FES) (Moos & Moos, 1981, 1986). Demographic data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and perceptions of family-like dynamics in the workplace were analyzed using CATPCA. The modified FRI served as a reasonable model for capturing coworker perceptions of family-like dynamics in the workplace. Further research is indicated to determine the overall utility of the modified FRI and to ascertain whether family-like dynamics actually are precursors to workplace bullying victimization.

Participatory communication on internal social media – a dream or reality?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore whether internal social media (ISM) introduces a new kind of participatory communication within organizations that is capable of influencing and moving the organization.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on two exploratory studies: a multiple case study in ten Danish organizations, and a single case study in a Danish bank.FindingsThe paper finds that different types of communication on ISM develop in different types of organizations. Participatory communication capable of changing the organization only develops when coworkers perceive that they have a license to critique. The paper, therefore, proposes to distinguish between three different types of communication arenas created by ISM: a quiet arena, a knowledge-sharing arena and a participatory communication arena.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is exploratory and based on two Danish case studies and the perceptions of coworkers and social media coordinators. A deeper, summative analysis of ISM across more and various organizations in multiple countries has to confirm the findings.Originality/valueThe paper conceptualizes ISM as an interactive and dynamic communication arena, and proposes that the participatory communication on ISM is a co-constructed process among coworkers, middle managers and top managers.

Workplace decision-making in the trades: Impact of masculine attitudes

The majority of existing research on gender in the trades focuses on the personal experiences of women working in the trades. As the trades are still male dominated, the present study investigated tradesmen’s adherence to male role norms in relation to workplace safety behaviours and perceptions of co-worker competence. Participants were presented with a vignette that depicted a common, yet potentially unsafe, workplace task in which either a male or female hypothetical coworker was available to assist. Next, participants completed questions pertaining to the safety situation outlined in the vignette. Participants also completed questionnaires pertaining to the safety situation outlined in the vignette. Participants also completed questionnaires of adherence to male role norms, neosexist beliefs, perceptions of their actual male and female co-workers' abilities, and attitudes toward workplace safety. Results indicated that participants showed no gender bias when selecting a hypothetical helper in the situation; rather, adherence to safety protocls appeared to take precedence. Further analaysis revealed that for participants assigned to a vignette featuring a hypothetical male co-worker, there was a negative correlation between strength of adherence to male role norms and perceptions of actual female co-workers' general workplace abilities. For participants assigned to a vignette featuring a hypthetical male co-worker, there was a negative correlation between strength of adherence to male role norms and perceptions of actual co-workers' general safety behaviours on a job site. Possible reasons for these findings, limitations of this study, and future research directions are discussed.

Is Strategic Communication too important to be left to Communication Professionals?: Managers’ and coworkers’ attitudes towards strategic communication and communication professionals

The article is based upon empirical data from a Swedish three-year research project entitled “Communicative Organizations”, investigating the value of communication for organizations. The project is involves eleven organizations. Based upon empirical data from a quantitative survey (n=6486) the perceived value of strategic communication and communication professionals, mainly among managers and co-workers, is analyzed. Two conceptual models are used for analysis: the communicative organization and the four-by-four model of strategic public relations. The results shows that the self-identity of communication professionals and the normative model of strategic public relations partly mirror and partly collide with the perceptions of managers and coworkers. The study confirms that managers and coworkers find communication crucial for their organizations at a strategic level, but that the role of communication professionals is rather unclear. A majority of the respondents do not understand the core role or roles of communication professionals.

Impacts of security climate on employees’ sharing of security advice and troubleshooting: Empirical networks

While extant research has studied the motivations of individualistic security compliance, this study explains what motivates employees to share security advice and troubleshoot with others. We argue that such findings are crucial for the development of people-centric security workplaces, where desirable security behaviors are disseminated amongst the employees. In this research, we applied network analysis techniques to perform two tasks. First, we explored the structural patterns of employees’ sharing of security advice and troubleshooting. Second, we evaluated the effects of security climate perceptions, perceived accountability, and personal attributes on those sharing activities. While the sharing network was found to be thin and sparse, perceptions of a direct supervisor's security practices and accountability for security tasks can increase sharing. Age, seniority, and tenure—as well as having the same gender and department membership—can also motivate sharing. In contrast, security climate perceptions of coworkers and top management's security practices were found to discourage sharing. Our practical recommendations focus on strategies to maximize security engagement in the workplace. Potential ideas for future research are also discussed in detail. Most importantly, we hope to offer this research as the foundation for future network studies in the behavioral security field.

‘My workspace, not yours’: The impact of psychological ownership and territoriality in organizations

Despite the inherent need to own and widespread prevalence of owning and claiming in organizations, very little is known about the impact of psychological ownership and territoriality. Using a field survey across several organizations, we find that feelings of ownership and territorial behavior are directly related to positive feelings towards the object and that these feelings may also extend beyond the target object to feelings of commitment to the organization. On the downside, however, the impact of these claims also may affect coworker's perceptions of the territorial individual. The findings are consistent with past theorizing suggesting that territorial behavior may have positive psychological consequences but this same behavior may not be understood or may be viewed negatively by others. Specifically, we find that territorial behavior is negatively related to an individual's perceived power and performance. Thus, the benefits for the individual may be offset by other's negative perceptions of the people who are territorial. Implications of these findings and future research directions are discussed.

Further Inspection Into the Effects of Correctional Officers’ Sex, Race, and Perceptions of Safety on Job-Related Attitudes

This article examines more closely the empirical relationships between correctional officers’ job attitudes and officer demographics and perceptions of safety. Bi-level analyses from 1,740 officers in 45 prisons revealed that officers’ sex and race mattered for shaping an officer’s pride with co-workers, consideration of transferring to another facility, and perceptions of co-workers’ job satisfaction, but only as they were linked to perceptions of sexism and racism. Perceptions of safety also mattered. Yet, levels of inmate crime and victimization were irrelevant for shaping attitudes. Positive attitudes were also more common in facilities housing higher risk populations, and in facilities for men.

Australian Employee Perspectives on Disability Management in Relation to Job Satisfaction, Physical and Mental Health, Workplace Morale and Reduced Sickness Absence

Disability management is now recognised as an effective means of managing the increasing global costs of injury and disability. However, research on disability management particularly employee perceptions of its value, are sparse. This paper reports on the Australian findings of a large international project that included Canada, China, Switzerland and Australia, which examined employee perspectives of disability management related to job satisfaction, physical and mental health, workplace morale and reduced sickness absence. Data was collected from 365 employees in 10 large private and public companies using an online survey tool that focused on three components of a disability management program — disability prevention (DP), stay at work (SAW) and return to work (RTW) programs — in relation to the dependent variables of job satisfaction, physical and mental health, workplace morale, sickness absence. Multivariate regression was used to predict disability management's influence on the dependent variables. Results demonstrated positive perceptions regarding the perceived benefits of disability management to both individual employees and their perceptions of coworkers. It was apparent that each component of a disability management program (DP, SAW, and RTW) is positively related to job satisfaction, physical and mental health, workplace morale and reduced sickness absence Disability management programs were perceived as more beneficial in private, as opposed to public, workplaces; however, no differences were evident according to union status or gender of the respondent. It is possible disability management may impact on organisational productivity via variables associated with workplace culture, as well as through the direct benefits flowing from preventing and managing injury. Given the significant costs associated with absenteeism, an outcome of interest to many employers was the finding that employees perceived SAW programs as the most beneficial in terms of reducing absenteeism for both themselves and their coworkers.

Linking Leadership to Green Behaviors Through Pro-environmental Work Climate

Although research has begun to identify the antecedents of employees’ voluntary green behaviors, little is known about the mechanisms through which they affect these behaviors, and the conditions under which any such effects are enhanced. The goal of the present research is to explain how and under what circumstance environmentally-specific transformational leadership affects employees’ voluntary green behaviors. Data from 125 employee dyads revealed that environmentally-specific transformational leadership directly affects employees’ voluntary green behaviors, and that this relationship is partially mediated by employees’ perceptions of their co-workers’ pro-environmental climate. The current study also shows that employees’ environmental locus of control moderates the effect of pro-environmental climate perceptions of co-workers. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Employment experiences of immigrant workers in aged care in regional South Australia

The contributions of immigrant workers to the aged care workforce cannot be overemphasised. The report of the National Institute of Labour Studies records a significant number of immigrants in the aged care industry in Australia. The number of overseas-born workers in the residential aged care sector had risen steadily, according to recent workforce statistics. However, the employment positions these immigrant workers fill have perennially been labelled as low-paying and low-status, warranting more research into the plight of immigrant workers, especially those in regional areas. This study investigates the current employment experience of immigrant workers working in aged care in regional South Australia. This qualitative study is based on a focus group consisting of seven immigrant workers (five personal carers, one home support worker and one allied health assistant), who shared their individual perceptions of their employment experience. The workers were employed by three aged care facilities run by a community-based not-for-profit organisation governed by one incorporated body. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the focus group data. This article reports on part of the findings of a larger research study where the authors have included the perceptions of co-workers and managers about working with immigrant workers. This study reveals mixed experiences of immigrant workers with employment in aged care. Satisfaction came from positive and encouraging client feedback, enriching work experience, flexible hours and simply having a job. Dissatisfaction came from constraints with time, workload, staffing, poor peer relations, discriminatory practices and the nature of the job itself. Immigrant workers do not experience a strong support infrastructure. Limitations of the study include the small sample size used and the focus on one regional city. This study suggests that aged care facility managers and executive officers can enhance positive work experience of immigrant workers by making some workplace reforms.

Sustaining adults with dementia or mild cognitive impairment in employment: a systematic review protocol of qualitative evidence.

Review question/objective The aim of the systematic review is to identify and synthesize the best available qualitative evidence regarding the needs, experiences and perspectives of people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment who are either in employment or wish to gain employment and other significant stakeholders. This is a review of qualitative evidence as qualitative studies are known to be the most effective in elucidating needs, experiences and perspectives and may permit the reviewers to address the following questions: What are the needs, experiences and perceptions of people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment who are in employment or seeking employment? What are the needs, experiences and perceptions of people who care for, partner or otherwise informally support people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment who are in employment or seeking employment? What are the needs, experiences and perceptions of employers and co-workers of people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment? What are the needs, experiences and perceptions of employees of statutory health, social care and other governmental and voluntary agencies on the employment of people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment? What are the needs, experiences and perspectives of people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment who are in employment or wish to gain employment and other significant stakeholders in regards to self and agency facilitated management strategies utilized to sustain people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment in employment? What are the needs, experiences and perspectives of people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment who are in employment or wish to gain employment and other significant stakeholders in regards to the factors that predict or facilitate the sustained employment of individuals with dementia or mild cognitive impairment? What are the needs, experiences and perspectives of people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment who are in employment or wish to gain employment and other significant stakeholders in regards to the factors that impede or preclude employment in individuals with dementia or mild cognitive impairment? Inclusion criteria Types of participants This review will consider people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment who are in employment or seeking TRUNCATED AT 350 WORDS

Age differences in the perception of new co-worker benevolence

Purpose– Large numbers of older workers are remaining in the global workforce, raising questions concerning age-related differences in perception and behavior. The purpose of this paper is to examine the interplay between employee age, gender and ethnicity on benevolence perceptions of new co-workers.Design/methodology/approach– Data were obtained through scenario methods from a sample of 215 full-time, team-based employees across nine North American business organizations. Participants evaluated three provocative scenarios depicting initial meetings with new colleagues.Findings– Workers of greater age perceived significantly less benevolence in all three scenarios. In evaluating a new boss, women perceived lower benevolence than men, and gender moderated the relationship between age and perceived benevolence, where aging was associated with significantly lower levels of perceived benevolence only among men.Research limitations/implications– Deeper understandings are needed concerning the behavioral and cognitive mechanisms related to age and workplace perceptions.Practical implications– Older employees, guided by experience, are skeptical of the intentions of a wide variety of newly acquainted colleagues, signaling organizational leaders to customize behaviors and develop programs to encourage awareness and positive relationships across age- and gender-diverse employee groups.Originality/value– This research uniquely explores age influences, and interactions with gender and ethnicity, on benevolence perceptions of diverse new coworkers. The results are robust, considering that age was related to lower benevolence perception across three disparate scenario interpretations.

Increasing Morale

Job morale is often mentioned in literature on correctional staff, but its antecedents have seldom been investigated. In this study, survey data were collected from 975 facility and community staff working for the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice to determine the relationship of personal characteristics (educational level, gender, race, tenure, and age) and workplace variables (input into decision-making, job stress, organizational communication, perceptions of coworkers, workplace cooperation, and public support) with job morale. Type of staff (community or facility) had a non-significant association with job morale. In multivariate analyses controlling for nested data, educational level, race, tenure, age, input into decision-making, organizational fairness, perceptions of coworkers, and workplace cooperation each had a positive relationship with morale, while job stress had a negative association. Workplace variables accounted for far greater variance in the job morale variable than did personal characteristics, which holds implications for efforts to improve correctional staff morale.

Engaging field-based professionals in a qualitative assessment of barriers and positive contributors to breastfeeding using the social ecological model.

Despite broad recognition of benefits associated with breastfeeding, rates in the United States continue to be below targets established by Healthy People 2020, especially for economically disadvantaged women. This study engaged field-based professionals through a focus group process to collect perceptions on factors that determine a woman's decision to breastfeed. Field-based professionals participated in one of six focus groups. Following the social ecological model (SEM), focus group questions addressed barriers and contributors to breastfeeding at the individual, interpersonal, community, organizational, and public policy levels. Thematic content analysis was used in identifying, analyzing, and reporting on themes within the focus group data. Commonly reported themes were identified that negatively influence a mother's decision to breastfeed such as modesty/general discomfort to breastfeed in front of others, negative breastfeeding perceptions of family members, friends, boyfriends and co-workers, breastfeeding not being viewed as the societal "norm", and the availability of free formula samples. Despite identified barriers, commonly reported themes that positively influence a mother's decision to breastfeed included general knowledge on the benefits, positive breastfeeding perceptions of family members, friends, boyfriends, and co-workers, the availability of "mom and baby" groups, and Baby Friendly hospital practices. The findings provide field-based perspectives that identify opportunities to support breastfeeding through the lens of the SEM. Opportunities to better support breastfeeding include educating mothers and their social support systems on the specific benefits of breastfeeding, challenging existing breastfeeding norms, and working with hospitals on establishing policy to not provide free formula samples.

A meta-analysis of the correlates of turnover intent in criminal justice organizations: Does agency type matter?

PurposeThe study synthesizes the literature on turnover intentions to assess what domains (e.g., personal characteristics, work environment, and job attitudes) account for the strongest association with turnover intent, what are the characteristics of these relationships, and how do these relationships differ by criminal justice practitioner type. MethodsThe current study utilizes a systematic review to obtain studies for conducting a meta-analysis. The researchers utilized the r family/correlation coefficient. Studies were weighted by sample size, correlations converted to Fisher’s z, analyses performed, and results converted back to r for interpretation. ResultsIn terms of the individual predictors for law enforcement, the five strongest variables included alternative job search behavior, job satisfaction, psychological distress, emotional exhaustion, procedural and distributive justice. The five strongest predictors of turnover intent for institutional corrections were normative commitment, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, affective commitment, and job satisfaction. The five strongest predictors for community corrections included experience, alternative job search behavior, perceptions of coworkers, growth need strength, and job satisfaction. ConclusionsThe results of the meta-analysis confirmed the domain of personal characteristics, overall, has the weakest association with turnover intent whereas work environment and job attitude domains consistently display moderate-to-large effects for both law enforcement and corrections.

Ethical Dilemmas Faced in the Selling of Complex Services: Significant Others and Competitive Pressures

The purpose of this research is to examine the ethical beliefs and practices of salespersons of complex services. A Nominal Group Technique was utilized to identify 9 major ethical issues confronting insurance agents. Agents who have received ethics education perceived more unethical activities among others; however, ethics training had no impact on individual ethical behavior. Support was found for the theory of differential association as individual ethical misconduct was found positively related to perceptions of co-workers, successful agents, and other industry agents ethical misconduct. In addition, partial support was found for the increased incidence of unethical activity in competitive environments- perception of unethical behavior among co-workers was found positively related to the size of the firm, negatively related to the age of the agent, unrelated to job tenure, and more prevalent in exclusive as compared to independent agencies. Sales agent age was also found negatively related to percepti...

Contextual Factors and Help Seeking Behaviors of People With Disabilities

The objective of this article is to provide a framework of contextual factors that affect help seeking expectancies and behaviors of people with disabilities. In particular, drawing on theories from disciplines such as social, cognitive, and educational psychology, I outline work unit norms (i.e., dependence, inclusion) and coworker perceptions (i.e., similarity, fairness) that influence help seeking expectancies and behaviors of people with disabilities. I discuss theoretical extensions of the framework in terms of attributes of the person with a disability, effects of time, and the notion of an inclusionary environment for people with disabilities. Finally, I discuss implications for human resource development professionals.

Latina/o Food Industry Employees’ Work Experiences

The present study explored the work experiences, job satisfaction, and work behaviors of Latina/o restaurant workers. A total of 10 semistructured focus group ( N = 75) interviews were conducted in the Midwest and Southwest. Data were analyzed using a combination of Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR; Hill et al., 2005; Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997) and phenomenology approaches. Five themes emerged across the data: work-related barriers (i.e., time, language, negative perceptions of training, and managers and coworkers), work facilitators (i.e., formal training and informal training), motivation for performing tasks (i.e., recognition, concern for others, concern for job security, personal values, and tangible rewards), cultural context (i.e., perceptions of Latina/o workers), and training preferences (i.e., practice, audiovisual, comfort/discomfort with computers, and language preferences). Some of these themes have traditionally been considered industrial/organizational concerns, but they are becoming increasingly relevant for career counseling practice. Findings suggest that Latina/o workers face considerable barriers in implementing requisite work behaviors, which may impact the maintenance of employment. Recommendations for career counseling practice and research with Latina/o workers are provided.