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1 – 10 of 21Else Ouweneel, Pascale M. Le Blanc and Wilmar B. Schaufeli
The main objective of this study is to apply broaden‐and‐build theory to occupational wellbeing. More specifically, it seeks to test whether positive emotions “build” resources…
Abstract
Purpose
The main objective of this study is to apply broaden‐and‐build theory to occupational wellbeing. More specifically, it seeks to test whether positive emotions “build” resources and to what extent they contribute to work engagement through an increase in personal or job resources. Additionally, it aims to hypothesize that positive emotions, resources, and work engagement are reciprocally related to each other in a way akin to a gain cycle.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to test whether positive emotions, personal and job resources, and work engagement are related over time, a structural equation model was constructed. The model was based on two waves of data, with a time lag of six months.
Findings
Results show a reciprocal relationship between positive emotions and personal resources. Furthermore, there is a causal effect of personal resources on work engagement and a reversed causal effect of work engagement on positive emotions. Most surprising is the fact that no relationships with job resources are found to be significant.
Research limitations/implications
Because the authors exclusively used self‐report measures to assess positive emotions, resources, and work engagement, the cross‐paths might have been inflated.
Practical implications
The results underline the importance of increasing both positive emotions and the level of personal resources in order to create an engaged workforce.
Originality/value
The study adds to the existing literature in the sense that the research model entailed positive emotions as a “novel” variable in the context of resources and work engagement. The model recognized the building capacity of positive emotions as well as the potential of personal resources in predicting work engagement.
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Else Ouweneel, Pascale M. Le Blanc and Wilmar B. Schaufeli
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of an individual oriented positive psychology intervention on positive emotions, self‐efficacy, and work engagement.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of an individual oriented positive psychology intervention on positive emotions, self‐efficacy, and work engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
The online self‐enhancement intervention program consists of three types of online assignments: happiness assignments, goal setting assignments, and resource building assignments. The authors expected the self‐enhancement intervention group to show a significantly stronger increase in the outcome variables compared to a self‐monitoring control group.
Findings
The results revealed that the self‐enhancement group showed a stronger increase in positive emotions and self‐efficacy compared to the control group, but not on engagement. Additional analyses showed that the positive effects of the self‐enhancement intervention are present for employees who are initially low in engagement, but not for those medium or high in engagement.
Research limitations/implications
The study was conducted via a semi‐public web site. The participants were all working in different organizations throughout the country and did not have the advantage of having the support of their supervisors and colleagues who were participating in a similar intervention.
Practical implications
Positive psychology interventions should target employees who are low in engagement, because they have the most unused potential and therefore have more to gain.
Originality/value
Traditionally speaking, individual interventions are carried out when something is wrong or malfunctioning, and with the sole objective of fixing it. The intervention presented in this paper includes the entire workforce, because it is based on the belief that improving employee well‐being is relevant for all.
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Muhammad Qamar Zia, Julian Decius, Muhammad Naveed and Adnan Anwar
The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between transformational leadership (TL), informal learning and job involvement. The study delineates two pathways from…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between transformational leadership (TL), informal learning and job involvement. The study delineates two pathways from TL to job involvement. The first is an indirect link through informal learning on job involvement, while the second pathway focuses on the moderating role of self-efficacy on the relationship between TL and informal learning.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were gathered from 596 employees of small services firms in Pakistan. The proposed hypotheses were examined using structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results reveal that TL is indirectly related to job involvement through informal learning. The study also shows that self-efficacy strengthens the relationship between TL and informal learning.
Originality/value
Previous studies have overlooked the potential influence of TL on job involvement through the mechanism of informal learning. The current study addresses this gap by examining informal learning as a mediator between TL and job involvement. Furthermore, the study provides several theoretical and managerial implications for research and practice.
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Although managers and academicians have recognised the importance of high-commitment work systems (HCWS), work engagement and psychological capital (PsyCap) in service firms, many…
Abstract
Purpose
Although managers and academicians have recognised the importance of high-commitment work systems (HCWS), work engagement and psychological capital (PsyCap) in service firms, many questions remain unanswered. This study aims to fill the gaps in the area of work engagement by considering the relationships among HCWS, PsyCap and work engagement. In this cross-sectional study, the author drew on the social exchange theory to analyse these relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
Cross-sectional data from 309 employees from India’s services sector was collected to investigate HCWS and work engagement associations. The data were analysed by structural equation modelling.
Findings
The study findings integrate the existing literature on human resource (HR) systems and positive psychology by identifying the critical role of PsyCap in passing the positive effects of HCWS to engage employees in their work. Further, it supports the assumption that PsyCap is formed primarily based on organisational practices, thereby addressing the paucity of research that examined the antecedents of PsyCap.
Practical implications
Owing to study findings, service firms are encouraged to carry out human resource development intervention(s) to make their employees psychologically capable. Since PsyCap is a state-like construct, it can be developed among individuals. Thus, managers can develop their employees’ PsyCap through various training interventions.
Originality/value
The mediating role of PsyCap in the HCWS and work engagement in India’s service industries settings was tested. The present study’s findings contribute to the theory of strategic human resource management by explaining how HCWS can help employees engage better in their work.
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Qiao Hu, Wilmar B. Schaufeli and Toon W. Taris
The purpose of this paper is to differentiate between two types of job resources (i.e. task resources and social resources) and extends the job demands-resources (JD-R) model with…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to differentiate between two types of job resources (i.e. task resources and social resources) and extends the job demands-resources (JD-R) model with a typically Chinese form of social exchange – guanxi exchange – to increase its applicability in the Chinese context.
Design/methodology/approach
Multigroup structural equation analysis was used to test the hypotheses in two cross-sectional Chinese samples of 463 police officers and 261 nurses.
Findings
Results supported the distinction between social resources and task resources. Social resources were positively related to engagement and organizational commitment (for police officers), task resources were positively related to engagement (for both nurses and police officers), organizational commitment (for police officers), and negatively to burnout (for police officers). Guanxi exchange with supervisors was positively associated with social resources (for both nurses and police officers), task resources (for nurses), and organizational commitment (for police officers). Moreover, guanxi exchange was positively related with work engagement in both nurses and police officers. Unexpectedly, guanxi exchange was positively related with burnout in police officers.
Research limitations/implications
Due to its cross-sectional design, longitudinal replication of the findings is desirable in order to establish causality.
Practical implications
The effects of informal interpersonal relations (i.e. guanxi exchange) on employees’ well-being and organizational commitment should be acknowledged, especially when developing strategies to reduce burnout and increase work engagement.
Originality/value
For the first time, task resources and social resources are distinguished and a Chinese traditional concept (guanxi exchange) is integrated into the JD-R model.
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Paolo Boccagni, Luis Eduardo PéRez Murcia and Milena Belloni
Brad Shuck, Jesse Owen, Megan Manthos, Kelley Quirk and Galena Rhoades
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between employee engagement, decisions to be in a relationship with a co-worker, and commitment uncertainty in a sample of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between employee engagement, decisions to be in a relationship with a co-worker, and commitment uncertainty in a sample of adults who identified they were currently working with their romantic partner.
Design/methodology/approach
Because workplace romance can be a taboo topic among working adults, we recruited participants anonymously from online social media websites (n=68). The use of non-experimental design limits the ability to draw causal references in relation to the variables of interest.
Findings
Participants who reported they were motivated to be in a romantic relationship with a co-worker to increase status also reported lower levels of engagement, even after controlling for other relationship (e.g. relationship adjustment) and workplace variables (e.g. intent to turnover).
Practical implications
Romantic relationships within the workplace will most certainly transpire yet the topic remains underexplored in the management literature. This work provides scholars and practitioners insight into the psychological mechanisms that influence workplace relationships and more, explores how relationships between co-workers impact performance variables such as employee engagement.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine the influence of workplace romantic relationships in the context of employee engagement. Moreover, this is one of only a handful of studies that has documented the empirical linkage between workplace relationships and performance variables.
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Neha Bellamkonda and Murugan Pattusamy
Drawing from the self-determination theory (SDT) model of work motivation (Gagné and Deci, 2005), the paper aims to examine the relationship between employee intention to stay and…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing from the self-determination theory (SDT) model of work motivation (Gagné and Deci, 2005), the paper aims to examine the relationship between employee intention to stay and happiness through work engagement and analyses how hope acts as a boundary condition in this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study a survey was conducted among the individuals working in the Information Technology (IT) and Information Technology Enable Services (ITeS) sector across India. The data were assessed through PROCESS v.3.3 macros in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).
Findings
The moderated mediation results from 256 responses reveal that the intention to stay is positively related to happiness and that this relationship is mediated by work engagement. The indirect effect of intention to stay on happiness is seen to be strengthened by hope, thus substantiating the moderated mediation hypothesis.
Practical implications
The empirical insights will be valuable for managers and organisations in the IT/ITES sectors around the globe. Happy employees are productive employees, and practitioners should focus on creating a positive environment.
Originality/value
This study aids in understanding the outcomes of intention to stay and moderating the role of hope between intention to stay and work engagement. It highlights how the positive construct of intention to stay and the negative construct of intention to quit, while essentially different, also appear to be two sides of the same coin. If an employee has decided to quit, it would be futile to bear further costs on them, whereas, if they intend to stay, they are unlikely to engage in deviant behaviours.
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