Organizational Psychology Research Research Articles

THE EFFECT OF JOB ATTITUDES ON EMPLOYEES' KNOWLEDGE SHARING BEHAVIOR IN TELECOMMUNICATION SECTOR OF PAKISTAN

The knowledge sharing behavior has received great attention in business world because of high critical role in improving organizational efficiency. The relationship between job attitudes and employees' knowledge sharing behavior is a significant area of research in organizational psychology and human resource management. The job attitudes, such as job satisfactions and organizational commitment, can influence employees' willingness to share knowledge with their colleagues. This study empirically investigates the relationship between job attitudes (i.e., organizational commitment, job involvement, and job satisfaction) and information sharing actions using a statistical procedure based on survey of 226 Mobilink telecommunication private limited employees from Pakistan's Hazara Division, KP, Pakistan. The findings showed that knowledge sharing behavior is linked with work satisfaction, organizational engagement and job participation positively. The study offered some recommendations that how managers can improve the knowledge sharing behavior in their organizations by considering the dynamic issues.

Digitally Connected, Evolutionarily Wired: An Evolutionary Mismatch Perspective on Digital Work

This paper makes the case for an evolutionary mismatch between digital work and the way human ancestors engaged in work. Psychological adaptations for producing things that early humans needed to survive and thrive, such as cognitive mechanisms for obtaining and processing food, toolmaking, and learning valuable working skills, evolved in the context of small networks of hunter–gatherers. These adaptations are central to understanding the significance of work in human evolution. Evolutionary mismatches operate when novel environments cue ancestral adaptations in ways that no longer provide adaptive benefits. We argue that digital work, although efficient and productive, is misaligned with some fundamental human needs, preferences, and routines, thereby illuminating a potential dark side. Yet digitalization also offers opportunities for matching the modern work environment to our evolved work psychology. We conclude with an agenda for advancing research in industrial and organizational psychology on digital work from an evolutionary mismatch perspective.

Are we ahead of the trend or just following? The role of work and organizational psychology in shaping emerging technologies at work

ABSTRACT This position paper elaborates on three core themes that emerged from a panel discussion that was held at the 21st Congress of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology. The authors of this paper discussed the status quo and the future of Work and Organizational Psychology (WOP) research and practice amidst the advent of emerging workplace technologies. The discussion centred on the question of what role WOP scholars and practitioners should take within this interdisciplinary field and how future research should evolve from previous studies on automation. The paper systematically examines: (1) emerging technologies as a new type of technological change, (2) WOP’s role in the design of emerging technologies and socio-technical systems, and (3) hindrances in WOP becoming more involved. Based on our reflections regarding each of these themes, we propose seven actionable recommendations to move forward and to encourage the involvement of WOP in the development and implementation of emerging technologies at work.

Designing key performance indicators (KPIs) for decent work in the pharmaceutical supply chain of Iran

While decent work has emerged as the central theme of the psychology of work theory and a global concept and directive for promoting social, political, and economic justice, it has garnered increasing scientific and political attention in the past two decades. However, until now, no defined measurement scale for the pharmaceutical supply chain exists. The present study aims to design and validate key performance indicators (KPIs) for 'decent work' in the pharmaceutical industry supply chain of Iran, using the Decent Work Daffi Scale (2017) as a reliable framework with five sub-scales and 15 items, tested and validated. For the validation of the Decent Work Scale, a quantitative survey study was conducted among selected pharmaceutical industry experts with a sample size of 228 individuals in the year 2023. The current study adopted an exploratory factor analysis approach using SPSS software and a confirmatory factor analysis through AMOS version 24 software. In this context, the factor structure, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and Cronbach's alpha coefficients were examined. The results showed that the five-factor structure outperforms the one-factor model with evidence supporting the convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of the five-factor scale. Thus, the measurement of decent work in the pharmaceutical industry of Iran comprises five sub-scales: occupational safety conditions, access to healthcare, adequate remuneration, Free time and rest, and alignment of organizational values with family and societal values. This scale can serve as a useful tool for industrial and organizational psychology research, as well as for studies on the sustainability of social supply chains.

Bridging Boundaries Between Life and Sport: Exploring Sports Coaches’ Micro Role Transitions

Coach education notes the importance of effective transitions between life and sport, yet research evidence supporting coaches to make such transitions is lacking. The present study used a mixed-methods design to explore 41 highly qualified coaches’ perceptions of how responsibilities in life beyond sport spill over to coaching practice. Additionally, we examined coaches’ transitions between roles in life and sport and the implications for their health and coaching practice. Coaches completed questionnaires measuring perceived stress and emotion regulation, and a writing task about how roles outside of sport impacted their coaching practice. Linguistic analyses using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software revealed that coaches with lower levels of perceived stress expressed more positive emotions when writing about the influence of life commitments on their coaching practice. The findings also suggest that coaches’ perceptions of the coaching process can be both positively and negatively influenced by life commitments spilling over into sport. Further, coaches reported challenges with the process of undertaking micro role transitions and highlighted implications for their mental health, coaching effectiveness, and relationships in both sport and life. Integrating organizational and sport psychology research, we offer guidance to optimize coaches’ transitions between roles to promote health and optimal performance.

Religion, Spirituality, and the Workplace: A Review and Critique

Religion and spirituality strongly influence how most people experience the world, and opportunities to integrate faith and work abound. Yet research on religion, spirituality, and the workplace continues to have somewhat limited impact on mainstream organizational psychology and organizational behavior research. We review the most recent generation of research in this area. We describe high-level trends in the literature and summarize consistent patterns of results linking these constructs with usually beneficial attitudinal, behavioral, and other types of criterion variables. We identify four challenges that hamper progress in this area of research: conceptualizing and measuring core constructs, finding coherence amid theoretical diversity, integrating multiple levels of analysis and explanation, and navigating religion and spirituality in organizational practice. All of these challenges point to paths forward that may usher in a new wave of scholarship using meaning systems as an integrative framework, and practices that foster inclusion, integration, and both individual and organizational well-being.

Within-person personality variability in the work context: A blessing or a curse for job performance?

Only recently, the question whether within-person personality variability is a blessing or a curse for job performance has reached the agendas of industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology researchers. Yet, this limited stream of research resulted in inconsistent findings, and only little understanding exists about the role of rater source and mean-level personality in this relationship. Broadly following socioanalytic theory, the present study examined the extent to which self- and other-rated within-person personality variability predicts self- and other-rated job performance, and whether this is moderated by mean-level personality. Within-person personality variability indices and job performance evaluations were obtained from an experience sampling study including N = 166 teachers, N = 95 supervisors, and N = 69 classes (including 1,354 students). Results showed that-above and beyond the effects of mean-level personality-self-rated within-person variability was positively associated with self-rated job performance, while other-rated within-person variability was negatively associated with other-ratings of performance. Many interactions with mean-level personality were found, mainly demonstrating negative effects of variability for those with a less adaptive personality profile (cf. variability as a "curse"), while showing positive effects of variability for those with a more adaptive trait profile (cf. variability as a "blessing"). Importantly, however, additional analyses provided little evidence for associations across type of rater source. These findings contribute to the field of I-O psychology by highlighting that perceptions of within-person personality variability may impact performance evaluations beyond personality traits, although its desirability seems to depend on individuals' personality trait level. Implications and limitations are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The importance of understanding work-as-done: Implications for research and practice in organizational psychology

This paper aims to describe how the concept of ‘work-as’ proxies can offer important insights for work and organizational psychologists. We explore how routine work activities can reflect those that are actually carried out when following a work-as-done perspective, rather than through the commonly used perspective of work-as-imagined. In highlighting these different perspectives, we suggest that they allow for a more in-depth understanding of what workers do and the processes they use. The value of this approach is illustrated through three case studies of applied research that have examined work in practice across the different contexts of job interviews, clinical handovers and decision making in teams. The paper challenges some of our existing assumptions of how we view work and highlights the benefits of adopting a work-as-done approach for practitioners and researchers.

From Integrated Care to Integrating Care: A Conceptual Framework of Behavioural Processes Underlying Effective Collaboration in Care.

At all levels, effective collaboration between actors with different backgrounds lies at the heart of integrated care. Much attention has been given to the structural features underlying integrated care, but even under structurally similar circumstances, the effectiveness of collaboration varies largely. Social and organizational psychological research shows that the extent to which collaboration is effective depends on actors' behaviours. We leverage insights from these two research fields and build a conceptual framework that helps untangle the behavioural processes underlying effective collaboration. We delineate that effective collaboration can be realized when actors (1) speak up about their interests, values, and perspectives (voice behaviour), (2) listen to the information that is shared by others, and (3) thoroughly process this information. We describe these behaviours and explain the motivations and conditions driving these. In doing so, we offer a conceptual framework that can be used to explain what makes actors collaborate effectively and how collaboration can be enhanced. Fostering effective collaboration takes time and adequate conditions, fitting the particular context. As this context continuously changes, the processes and conditions require continuous attention. Integrated care, therefore, actually requires a carefully designed process of integrating care.

Cultivating Global Health: Exploring Mindfulness Through an Organisational Psychology Lens

AbstractThe interface of public health and mindfulness as presented in Oman’s review (Mindfulness for Global Public Health: Critical Analysis and Agenda) holds great promise and reveals fertile ground for future research and interdisciplinary exploration. Oman’s framework is supported by compelling arguments, offering a balanced critique of mindfulness that identifies genuine applications and potential. This commentary notes key ideas in Oman’s paper that carry important lessons for organisational research on mindfulness and explores how organisational psychology research and theory can contribute to this proposed integration of mindfulness into global health efforts. It begins by reviewing the close relationships between work, mindfulness, and health, identifying commonalities between mindfulness, health, and organisational research. This is followed by an illustration of organisational psychology’s potential contributions to the alignment of mindfulness and health, focused on 2 of the 14 dimensions proposed by Oman (Concern for Equity and Addresses Attentional Environments). The commentary then draws on recent research and theoretical developments in mindfulness research within the workplace context to discuss the role of resilience and challenges in measuring mindfulness. Overall, this commentary aims to provide insights for organisational research while contributing to the integration of mindfulness and public health.

Best practices for weight at work research

AbstractPopular and influential social commentators have called organizations complicit in perpetuating weight-based bias and mistreatment. Although our field has advanced our understanding of the economic consequences of being fat at work (e.g., salary; job performance; and promotions), we urgently need more research on the interpersonal experiences of this swath of workers so that we can appropriately advise organizations. In this article, we describe how organizational psychology researchers can answer this call to do more research on weight at work (a) even while feeling uncomfortable with a topic that can feel personal, medicalized, and/or overly intertwined with other DEI-based topics; (b) by incorporating insightful research from outside disciplines that centers weight controllability and weight-based mistreatment deservedness; and, critically, (c) while approaching weight at work research with a respectfulness that conveys an understanding of the complexities intertwining weight, health, and personal agency. In culmination, this article offers to our field a flexible, living document entitled Best Practices for Weight-Based Research in Organizational Studies.

A Systems-Led Approach to Developing Psychologically Informed Environments

In this manuscript we offer an organizational or systems-led lens on psychological support for team performance. Specifically, we draw on approaches adopted within the United Kingdom (UK) high performance system to develop psychologically informed environments. In an attempt to contextualize this approach, we offer an insight into the professional landscape in the UK and the emergence of systems-led approaches. Finally, to support those responsible for advancing team performance in elite sport, we draw on the most recent practice innovations to propose the Head of Performance Environment (HOPE) role. By sharing the scope for HOPE’s roles and responsibilities, we hope to capitalize on the confluence of organizational sport psychology research developments and contemporary practice innovations and catalyze the future evolution of applied psychology in high performance sport.

The better work, better care framework: 7 strategies for sustainable healthcare system process improvement

ABSTRACT Healthcare systems are under pressure to control costs and improve performance. Efforts to apply improvement trends such as “Lean” and other industrial engineering approaches have led to degradation of the working environment for healthcare professionals. Research is increasingly demonstrating how poor working environments contribute to declines in care quality and has led to calls for a “quadruple aim” with a focus on the working environment alongside quality, cost, and patient experience factors. This paper contributes to the debate by using a “systems” perspective to propose seven strategies by which healthcare systems might be improved without compromising the working environment. This article presents a rationale for these strategies based on current organisational psychology and human factors research and how these strategies might be deployed in practice. The authors argue that better working conditions leads to better care for patients and presents a viable approach for both practitioners and researchers to pursue the “Better Work, Better Care” agenda.

Back-translation practices in organizational research: Avoiding loss in translation.

As organizational research continues to globalize, scholars increasingly must translate established scales into languages other than those in which the scales were originally developed. In organizational psychology research, back-translation is the dominant procedure for translating scales. Back-translation has notable strengths in maintaining the psychometric properties of an established scale in a translated version. However, cross-cultural methodologists have argued that in its most basic form, back-translation often does not result in translations with acceptable levels of equivalence between original and translated research materials. Fortunately, there are complementary procedures to back-translation that can evaluate and strengthen the extent to which scale translations have achieved equivalence between original and translated versions of scales. But how often organizational researchers use and report these procedures in tandem with back-translation is unclear. This article aims to address this lack of clarity by evaluating the state of the use of back-translation in organizational psychology research by reviewing every study in Journal of Applied Psychology that has employed translation over the past nearly 25 years (k = 333). Our findings suggest that the majority of the time that researchers engage in translation procedures, they report having done so. At the same time, the details of these procedures are commonly underreported, making it unclear whether additional techniques beyond back-translation have been used to examine and demonstrate equivalence between original and translated versions of scales. Based on the results of our review, we develop a set of recommendations for conducting and reporting scale translations in organizational research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Design thinking as an effective method for problem-setting and needfinding for entrepreneurial teams addressing wicked problems

Organizations in a wide array of fields and disciplines are increasingly using design thinking as an innovative process to create products or services that address wicked problems in their industries. Design thinking, a method of creative and collaborative problem solving originating in the tactics of designers, is a product design and development process that is, more and more, being used as a tool to move innovation forward and structure creation processes in diverse disciplines, from product development to food creation to social science research. Increasingly design thinking has become popular beyond the confines of creative and design disciplines and into the realm of wicked problems in social and ecological systems. While design thinking has many forms and applications, this study uses a refined version built upon the key themes of inspiration, ideation, and implementation as defined by Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO (2009), and situates it within the social science discipline—namely, systems thinking, organizational learning, and action research. Through a distilled design structure this flexible methodology combines insights from organizational development, social psychology, systems theory, and design research. By embedding learning and reflective practices into the structure of design thinking, a hybrid model of design thinking emerges that is a more effective tool for framing, setting in context, and solving these types of problems within teams.

Presenteeism Is Reloaded and Ready for Further Research – A Commentary on Priebe, J. and Hägerbäumer, M. (2023)

Presenteeism Is Reloaded and Ready for Further Research – A Commentary on Priebe, J. and Hägerbäumer, M. (2023)

Perceived weirdness: A multitrait-multisource study of self and other normality evaluations

Research in personality and organizational psychology has begun to investigate a novel evaluative trait known as perceived normality, defined as an overall perception that one is normal (vs. strange or weird). The current work evaluates a brief measure of this trait (i.e., a “weirdness scale”), extending past work by assessing both self-reports and peer reports of these normality evaluations. Results confirm the measurement equivalence of self- and peer-reports of perceived weirdness, and discriminant validity of self- and peer-reports of perceived weirdness from Big Five traits. A multitrait-multisource analysis further reveals that trait loadings are larger than self-report and peer-report method loadings for the measure of perceived weirdness. Implications for measurement of self-perceptions and social perceptions of weirdness/normality are discussed.

Cyberloafing: Investigating the Importance and Implications of New and Known Predictors

Cyberloafing occurs when employees use technology to loaf instead of work. Despite mounting organizational concern and psychological research on cyberloafing, research provides little actionable guidance to address cyberloafing. Therefore, the present study builds on previous cyberloafing investigations in three primary ways. First, we utilize a person-situation framework to compare personological and situational construct domains. Second, we extend the cyberloafing nomological network by investigating previously unexamined, yet powerful, predictors. Third, we employ a multivariate approach to identify the most important cyberloafing antecedents. From seven cyberloafing constructs, we found that boredom, logical reasoning, and interpersonal conflict were the most important correlates. Our results highlight novel, important predictors of cyberloafing and allow us to provide empirically-based recommendations for developing cyberloafing interventions.

ASSESSING INTEGRITY AT WORK: DEVELOPMENT AND PSYCHOMETRIC EVALUATION OF THE OCCUPATIONAL INTEGRITY SCALE

Interest in the diagnostics of integrity by work and organizational psychology researchers and practitioners alike has been steadily increasing. In two studies we report results on the development of the Occupational Integrity Scale (OIS), a novel, openly available scale. The first study tested the psychometric properties of the OIS in a sample of 870 adult public education employees. The second study replicated the factor structure of the OIS in a sample of 147 company employees and tested the validity against self-reported Big Five and supervisor-reported employee CWB two months later. A three-factor solution was identified. The OIS demonstrated consistent relationships with personality criteria and limited associations to supervisor assessment of CWB.

The key features of workplace meetings: Conceptualizing the why, how, and what of meetings at work

Given the focal role that group and team meetings play in shaping employees’ work lives (and schedules), the scarcity of conceptual and empirical attention to the topic in extant organizational psychology research is a major oversight that stalls scientific understanding of organizational behavior more broadly. With the explosion of meetings in recent years, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some even wonder why organizational psychology has not already figured out meetings from both a science and practice perspective. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the extant literature on the science of workplace meetings and sort the works by identifying the key features of the meeting phenomenon. The five key features of workplace meetings identified include Leading, Interacting, Managing Time, Engaging, and Relating. We couch these features within a larger framework of how meetings are the intersection of collaboration in organizations and indispensable to organizational success. Against this conceptual backdrop, we reviewed a total of 253 publications, noting opportunities for future research and discussing practical implications.