Positive Affective Climate Research Articles

The effects of relational human resource management: A moderated mediation model of positive affective climate and collective occupational calling

AbstractRelationship‐oriented human resource management (HRM) contributes to organizational functioning by promoting employee relationships, coordination, and cooperation. We propose unit‐level positive affective climate as a motivational mechanism through which relationship‐oriented HR systems can positively influence unit service quality and relationships with beneficiaries, and prevent individual emotional exhaustion. Moreover, we propose collective occupational calling serves as an alternative motivational source that can substitute for the positive effects of positive affective climate. In analyzing a sample composed of 742 nurses from 48 nursing units of two hospitals in China with data collection at three time points before and after the COVID‐19 outbreak, our results supported the substituting effects of unit‐level collective occupational calling on positive affective climate stemmed from relationship‐oriented HR systems. Our study connects strategic HRM and motivation research by shedding light on an affective mechanism from relationship‐oriented HR systems and the contingencies involving employees' various sources of motivation, such as occupational calling. We further discuss theoretical and practical implications of the research.

Saved by Society: The Compensatory Effects of Occupational Calling & Relational HRM for Nursing Work

This study examines whether the pre-pandemic established human resources (HR) can help nursing units deal with the challenges posed from the COVID-19 outbreak. Specifically, we investigate a mediation mechanism through which relational HR practices and related positive affective climate built prior to the COVID-19 pandemic help elevate nursing unit performance and attitudes amid the pandemic. Moreover, we take a contingency perspective and further examine the compensatory effects of unit-level nurse occupational calling triggered from the COVID-19 outbreak on relational HR practices, as relational HR practices on unit outcomes via affective climate are more pronounced for nursing units with low occupational calling. In testing a sample composed of 432 nurses from 46 nursing units of two hospitals in China, we found a significant indirect effect of relational HR practices on unit nurse-patient relationship via positive affective climate. The positive indirect effects of relational HR practices on unit post-outbreak outcomes were more evident for nursing units with lower levels of calling. We conclude the paper with implication for research and practice.

Is conflict useful after all? A scenario experiment on the antecedents and consequences of task and relationship conflict in military settings

PurposeUsing a within-subject vignette experiment, this study aims to disentangle the differential effect of task and relationship conflict on team effectiveness and interpersonal outcomes. In addition, the authors aimed to test the moderating role of the conflict inducing person’s gender on task and relationship conflict outcomes.Design/methodology/approachData were collected using four vignettes administered to 151 participants from an Air Force military organization.FindingsRelationship conflict was more damaging than task conflict for team effectiveness, the harmonious interpersonal relations and the expected positive affective team climate. Task conflict triggers more positive emotions than relationship conflict and, in consequence, team effectiveness is higher in scenarios with the task rather than relationship conflict. The groups in which conflict is induced by a woman are not expected to perform better than groups in which the conflict is induced by a man. The similarity between participant’s gender and the gender of the person that generated the conflict accentuates rather than attenuates the effectiveness decline associated with relationship conflict. Task conflict triggers cooperative, while relationship conflict triggers assertive conflict management strategies.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provided only a snapshot on how task and relationship conflict are perceived to relate to the various team and individual-level outcomes, particularly in military settings.Originality/valueThe findings evidence the differential effect of task and relationship conflict not only on team effectiveness but also on attitudinal and emotional team and individual-level outcomes.

THE STUDY ON GROUP WORK IMPLEMENTATION IN TEFL BY UKRAINIAN SCHOOL TEACHERS

The article reviles the potential of group work as an effective means for mastering EFL. This article aims to outline the definition of group work as methods of teaching notion, toanalyze the advantages of group work for learners and teachers on theoretical level and to contrast them with the results of the practical research on the group work experience inUkrainian school. The basic definition of group work is students working together with a number of other students rather in pairs or as a whole class. Numerous authors emphasize the advantages of group work as it makes learning more meaningful, namely, increase the time and opportunity to use the language and learners motivation; it provides positive affective climate and encourages a friendly relaxed learning environment. Despite the majority of theoretical works on the benefits and effectiveness of group work for EFL acquisition, our research reviles that teachers who work in Ukrainian schools still tend to implement traditional forms of whole class and individual work interaction types instead of group work. The received results logically prove that the prevailing number of teachers (63,5 %) of any experience level see no real benefits in harnessing group work in classroom interaction. They note more disadvantages than advantages in group work, such as noise and fall of discipline, difficulty in controlling and assessing the individual participation in the group work performance, difficulties in organizing and grouping learners. Altogether, the teachers tackle with the lack of methodology knowledgeon group work and experience due to the teacher-oriented approach dominating in teacher training higher schools in Ukraine.

Positive Affective Climate Inhibits Employee Prohibitive Voice: A Hedonic Contingency Perspective

Past research demonstrated a positive relationship between the individual-level expression of positive affect and voice behaviors between employees. Our research proposes a fresh perspective suggesting that positive affect, when construed as an organizational level climate, may be detrimental for employee voice, specifically prohibitive voice. Based on the hedonic contingency theory and organizational error theory, we contend that employees in a high (vs. low) positive affective climate experience greater motivation and pressure to maintain the existing positive vibes. This gives rise to an error aversion climate that favors the censorship and cover-up of questionable practices or behaviors, thus suppressing prohibitive voice. In sum, we expect positive affective climate to negatively predict prohibitive voice, but not promotive voice, via error aversion climate. We also argue that the negative relationship between error aversion and prohibitive voice will be more pronounced for employees who have leaders with high (vs. low) humility. Humble leaders influence employees to look out for deficiencies in the work environment, which should heighten their sensitivity to factors that shape prohibitive voice. We collected two-wave, multi-source data from a sample of 399 full-time employees and their supervisors. The results supported the hypotheses. When considered in conjunction with past findings, our findings uncovered oft-overlooked multilevel complexities inherent in the affective processes underlying why and when employees might express different forms of voice, and the importance of leader humility as an enabler of prohibitive voice. We discuss the implications, limitations, and future directions of the results.

Linking employer branding orientation and firm performance: Testing a dual mediation route of recruitment efficiency and positive affective climate

AbstractFaced with competitive labor markets, firms increasingly use employer branding to build a qualified workforce and engage their employees. However, our understanding of the impact of employer branding orientation on firm performance and the theoretical firm‐level mechanisms underlying this potential impact is very limited. To address this gap, we integrate brand marketing theory with human resource management (HRM) research to develop a model explicating how employer branding orientation is linked to firm performance through a dual route by enhancing both recruitment efficiency (i.e., external route: applicants) and positive affective climate (i.e., internal route: incumbent employees). The results of a multisource study (i.e., top management, human resource managers, employees) with 93 firms show employer branding orientation is positively related to firm performance through positive affective climate but not recruitment efficiency. Using a brand equity approach to HRM, our results advance the literature by demonstrating the generalizability of employer branding effects independent of concrete brand attributes and explaining the firm‐level mediating mechanisms linking it to firm performance.

The Implications of Managed-Workforce Diversity on Internal Supply Chain Integration and Business Performance

Today, workforce diversity management appears to attract strategic attention globally. Given this, a critical question that emerging research seeks to address is: is it even worth managing diverse workforce? Partly, this study addresses this question by examining the implications of managed-workforce diversity (MWD) on internal supply chain (SC) integration and business performance. Data was collected from one hundred and twenty six respondents using mainly questionnaires. The constructs employed to measure managed-workforce diversity, internal supply chain integration and business performance were together subjected to ANOVA, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and then confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Model (SEM) in LISREL 8.5. Analysis of the data gathered indicated that MWD is most likely to be beneficial in enhancing internal SC integration and then SC responsiveness; with the former benefit acting as a conduit through which the latter benefit is experienced. The study therefore argues that effective workforce diversity management is one that creates and maintains MWD (which is a positive affective climate where employees do not feel intimidated, looked down upon, or discriminated against just because of background differences), all of which are necessary for driving internal SC integration, SC responsiveness, and financial outcomes. The managerial implications and the theoretical relevance of the study’s findings are discussed in details.

Trait Affect and Individual Creativity: Moderating Roles of Affective Climate and Reflexivity

We extended the literature on mood and creativity by introducing a multilevel perspective to examine the trait affect of employees. More specifically, we identified group affective climate and group reflexivity as significant moderators of the relationship between trait affect and creativity. Multilevel analyses of data obtained from 306 employees in 50 organizational teams revealed that group affective climate and group reflexivity facilitated the creativity of those employees with positive trait affect. A positive affective climate had significant direct and interactive effects with positive trait affect in relation to predicting individual creativity. Further, group reflexivity significantly moderated the relationship between positive trait affect and creativity. By identifying and examining these contextual moderators, we have highlighted the context-dependent nature of the affect–creativity relationship. Our findings offer new theoretical insights into the critical role of group context in shaping the effect of trait affect on mood and creativity.

Assessing the Impact of Atopic Dermatitis on the Patients' Parents with the Visual Instrument ‘Caregiver-PRISM'

Background: There is a need to improve the quality of communication between clinicians and parents of young patients with atopic eczema (AE). Objective: To create a tool to measure the suffering that caregivers experience in association with their child's AE (Caregiver Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self-Measure, Caregiver-PRISM), assess the validity and reliability, and identify factors associated with caregiver suffering. Methods: Caregiver-PRISM was administered to 45 parents of patients from an AE outpatient service (Padua, Italy). Results: Caregiver-PRISM had a good test-retest reliability (r = 0.85; t₇ = 4.13; p < 0.05), content validity and construct validity when used in parents of AE children. Parents with a less positive family affective climate, higher education, or with children following a diet experienced higher suffering associated with their child's AE, demonstrated by lower Caregiver-PRISM scores (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Our results support the use of Caregiver-PRISM in parents of AE patients to assess suffering associated with patients' illness.

How and when customer feedback influences organizational health

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore how and when customers influence organizational climate and organizational health through their feedback. Based on affective events theory, the authors classify both positive and negative customer feedback (PCF and NCF) as affective work events. The authors expect that these events influence the positive affective climate of an organization and ultimately organizational health, and that the relationships are moderated by empowerment climate.Design/methodology/approach– Structural equation modeling was utilized to analyze survey data obtained from a sample of 178 board members, 80 HR representatives, and 10,953 employees from 80 independent organizations.Findings– The findings support the expected indirect effects. Furthermore, empowerment climate strengthened the impact of PCF on organizational health but does not affect the relationship between NCF and organizational health.Research limitations/implications– The cross-sectional design is a potential limitation of the study.Practical implications– Managers should be aware that customer feedback influences an organization’s emotional climate and organizational health. Based on the results organizations might actively disseminate PCF and establish an empowerment climate. With regard to NCF, managers might consider the potential affective and health-related consequences for employees and organizations.Social implications– Customers are able to contribute to an organization’s positive affective climate and to organizational health if they provide positive feedback to organizations.Originality/value– By providing first insights into the consequences of both PCF and NCF on organizational health, this study opens a new avenue for scientific inquiry of customer influences on employees at the organizational level.

Capturing the temporal sequence of interaction in young siblings.

We explored whether young children exhibit subtypes of behavioral sequences during sibling interaction. Ten-minute, free-play observations of over 300 sibling dyads were coded for positivity, negativity and disengagement. The data were analyzed using growth mixture modeling (GMM). Younger (18-month-old) children’s temporal behavioral sequences showed a harmonious (53%) and a casual (47%) class. Older (approximately four-year-old) children’s behavior was more differentiated revealing a harmonious (25%), a deteriorating (31%), a recovery (22%) and a casual (22%) class. A more positive maternal affective climate was associated with more positive patterns. Siblings’ sequential behavioral patterns tended to be complementary rather than reciprocal in nature. The study illustrates a novel use of GMM and makes a theoretical contribution by showing that young children exhibit distinct types of temporal behavioral sequences that are related to parenting processes.

Absolute and Comparative Cancer Risk Perceptions Among Smokers in Two Cities in China

Knowledge about health effects of smoking motivates quit attempts and sustained abstinence among smokers and also predicts greater acceptance of tobacco control efforts such as cigarette taxes and public smoking bans. We examined whether smokers in China, the world's largest consumer of cigarettes, recognized their heightened personal risk of cancer relative to nonsmokers. A sample of Chinese people (N = 2,517; 555 current smokers) from 2 cities (Beijing and Hefei) estimated their personal risk of developing cancer, both in absolute terms (overall likelihood) and in comparative terms (relative to similarly aged people). Controlling for demographics, smokers judged themselves to be at significantly lower risk of cancer than did nonsmokers on the comparative measure. No significant difference emerged between smokers and nonsmokers in absolute estimates. Smokers in China did not recognize their heightened personal risk of cancer, possibly reflecting ineffective warning labels on cigarette packs, a positive affective climate associated with smoking in China, and beliefs that downplay personal vulnerability among smokers (e.g., I don't smoke enough to increase my cancer risk; I smoke high-quality cigarettes that won't cause cancer).

How and when does customer feedback influence organizational health? An organizational-level study

This study explores how and when customer feedback influences organizational health, conceptualized as a combination of employee health and organizational performance. Based on affective events theory, we classify both positive and negative customer feedback as affective work events. We expect that these events influence organizational health through their impact on positive affective climate, and that the relationships are moderated by empowerment climate. We tested the model in a dataset consisting of 80 independent organizations with 178 board members, 80 HR representatives, and 10’953 employees. The findings support the expected indirect effects. Furthermore, empowerment climate strengthened the impact of positive customer feedback on organizational health but does not affect the relationship between negative customer feedback and organizational health. By providing first insights into the consequences of both positive and negative customer feedback on organizational health, this study opens a new avenue for scientific inquiry of customer influences on employees at the organizational level.

Effects of trait affect on creativity: Moderating role of group affective climate and reflexivity

This study extends mood-creativity literature by examining the trait affect of employees, identifying group contexts moderating the relationship between affect and creativity, and introducing a multilevel perspective. Multilevel analyses of data on 306 employees from 50 organizational teams reveal that group affective climate and group reflexivity facilitate creativity of employees with positive trait affect. Positive affective climate has significant direct effect as well as its significant interactive effect with positive trait affect on individual creativity. In addition, group reflexivity proves to be a significant predictor of individual creativity as well as a contextual moderator of the individual-level affect-creativity relationship. This study integrates trait affectivity into affect-creativity research that has focused only on momentary moods or state affect. Based on the mood-as-input model, the present study opens the possibility for potential benefits of both positive and negative affect; however, the present analysis shows dominance of positive trait affect for employee creativity. Through identifying and examining these contextual moderators, this study highlights the context-dependent nature of the affect-creativity relationship.

Transformational leadership climate: Performance linkages, mechanisms, and boundary conditions at the organizational level

Transformational leadership (TFL) climate describes the degree to which leaders throughout an organization engage in TFL behaviors. In this study, we investigate performance linkages, mechanisms, and boundary conditions of TFL climate at the organizational level of analysis. In a sample of 158 independent organizations, 18,094 employees provided data on TFL climate, positive affective climate, trust climate, and employees' task performance behavior and organizational citizenship behavior. In addition, human resource managers rated overall employee productivity. Study results yielded a pattern of moderated mediation for overall employee productivity and employees' aggregate task performance behavior, in that an organization's TFL climate was indirectly (through positive affective climate) related with these outcome variables under conditions of high trust climate, but not under conditions of low trust climate. Further, we found an organization's TFL climate to indirectly relate with employees' aggregate organizational citizenship behavior through positive affective climate, largely independent of the level of trust climate.

Components and Correlates of Family Burden in Schizophrenia

Components and Correlates of Family Burden in Schizophrenia

Family interactions as targets for intervention to improve social adjustment after epilepsy surgery.

To identify family interactions associated with psychosocial outcome of epilepsy surgery, to design interventions to improve patient outcome. A cross-sectional, case series study of relations among observed family behavior and psychosocial outcome of 43 patients after temporal lobectomy. Videotaped family behavior during family discussion tasks was rated for predominant family affect, affective range, and support of patient autonomy. Multiple regression analyses tested the relation of observed family characteristics to outcomes, controlling for seizure control and other psychological and disease characteristics. Predominant family affect predicted patients' social adjustment independent of postoperative seizure status and other disease characteristics. The relation between predominant affect and social adjustment was stronger among patients with persisting complex partial seizures (CPSs; r = -0.91), versus patients with auras (r = -0.38) and seizure-free patients (r = -0.28; multiple R = 0.71; p < 0.05). Families with a positive affective climate supported patients' autonomy. Two potential targets were identified for family intervention to improve postsurgical social adjustment: (a) family interactions that support a predominantly positive affective climate, and (b) family interactions that support patient autonomy. These findings are consistent with findings in normal and other clinical populations. They identify specific interactions that give rise to positive versus negative affective climate and support versus undermining of autonomy. These results lay the groundwork for intervention studies targeting these specific family interactions. Such intervention studies would clarify the direction of effect of the observed relationships and would test the efficacy of family intervention for improving psychosocial outcomes for patients with epilepsy.

E-mail Exchanges: Teaching Language, Culture, and Technology for the 21st Century

How can e-mail be integrated into a college preparatory ESL curriculum? Classroom e-mail exchanges between the University College of the Cariboo in Kamloops, BC and the University of Wisconsin, the University of Northeastern fllinois, and Carleton University demonstrate that e-mail can be effective in teaching intercultural awareness, creating a more positive affective climate by providing greater privacy and intimacy, and in making the EAP curriculum more relevant to the needs and aspirations of young people looking ahead to the 21st century.