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1 – 10 of 254Fang Lee Cooke and Wenqiong Xu
Impoverished employee mental health is harmful to employees and organisational performance. There is emerging interest in employee mental health in the human resource management…
Abstract
Purpose
Impoverished employee mental health is harmful to employees and organisational performance. There is emerging interest in employee mental health in the human resource management (HRM) field. The majority of these studies mainly focus on the organisational and individual levels from the psychological and managerial perspectives without considering the sectoral characteristics and societal context.
Design/methodology/approach
This perspective paper draws on extant literature as well as 10 informal interviews with medical professionals, organisational leaders in the public sector, teachers and HR professionals to shed light on employee mental health research, practice and challenges in the Chinese context.
Findings
This paper reveals national, sectoral, occupational and individual factors that shape mental health problems, individual coping mechanisms and organisational interventions. It also shows international influence on employee mental health in the form of institutional pressure and knowledge transfer.
Research limitations/implications
There is limited research on employee mental health and HRM in the Chinese context, which restricts the scope of discussion in this paper, but at the same time presents rich future research opportunities that may be relevant to other national settings.
Practical implications
Managing the mental health of the workforce is part of the mental health management of the population, which means a holistic approach to building a mental health eco-system needs to be adopted. The authors call for more research on employee mental health in the Chinese context to provide evidence to support policy development and organisational efforts to scale up mental health services at the national and organisational levels. The authors also provide practical recommendations for policymakers and employing organisations.
Originality/value
The authors present a multi-level and multi-factor overview related to employee mental health in the Chinese context. The authors argue for a resource-based and multi-stakeholder approach, which will help inform and improve mental health policy and practice. The authors present several avenues for future scholarship and research. The authors extend the research frontiers of employee mental health issues by calling for the inclusion of a broader range of theoretical lenses including institutional theory, cultural and spiritual perspective and critical sociology to understand more fully how employee mental health conditions may be undermined or improved.
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Guiyao Tang, Bingjie Yu, Fang Lee Cooke and Yang Chen
The purpose of this paper is to examine the underlying mechanism through which high-performance work system (HPWS) influences employee creativity. In addition, this paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the underlying mechanism through which high-performance work system (HPWS) influences employee creativity. In addition, this paper aims to examine contingent factors in the relationship between perceived organisational support and employee creativity.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample of the study included 268 employees and matched supervisors from two pesticide chemical companies in China. Hypotheses were tested with linear regressions.
Findings
The study shows that HPWS enhances perceived organisational support, which in turn promotes employee creativity. Moreover, the results also indicate that devolved management positively moderates the relationship between perceived organisational support and employee creativity.
Research limitations/implications
The unique environment of China may limit the generalisability of the findings. Future studies can extend these findings by conducting studies in other societal contexts.
Practical implications
When trying to inspire employee creativity, organisations need to pay attention to employees’ perception of organisational support. One way of enhancing perceived organisational support is to implement HPWS. In addition, organisations need to encourage devolved management in order to inspire more creative behaviours.
Originality/value
This is the first study that explores the mediating role of perceived organisational support in the HPWS-employee creativity linkage. In addition, the study provides what is believed to be the first test of the moderating role of devolved management.
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Fang Yuan, Fang Lee Cooke, Xiaozhen Fang, Fansuo An and Yiming He
Despite the growing research interest in gender diversity, the presence of female executives and organizational outcomes, the relationship between female executives and employment…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the growing research interest in gender diversity, the presence of female executives and organizational outcomes, the relationship between female executives and employment relations outcomes remains under-researched. This study aims to examine the potential relationship between female executives and employment relations outcomes, with the gender gap as a focus.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from 2,682 workers from 119 manufacturing firms in Guangdong Province, southern China.
Findings
Results show that firms with female executives are more likely to comply with labor laws and promote staff development. The association between female executives and promotion opportunities is stronger for female employees than for male employees. However, there is no significant association between female executives and employee salaries.
Originality/value
This research contributes to employment relations literature and extends the application of social role theory to studies of employment relations in particular societal contexts. This study also provides possible boundary conditions for the existence of queen bee behavior by using data from Chinese factories.
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Alex Veen, Timothy Bartram and Fang Lee Cooke
This qualitative narrative review aims to identify and evaluate the potential, challenges and pitfalls of pay-for-performance (P4P) schemes for the home care of adults with a…
Abstract
Purpose
This qualitative narrative review aims to identify and evaluate the potential, challenges and pitfalls of pay-for-performance (P4P) schemes for the home care of adults with a disability. Due to a limited experimentation with P4P schemes in the context of the home and disability care sectors, the authors conducted a narrative review focusing on related areas of care, primarily nursing home care, to better understand the effectiveness of P4P schemes as a care intervention and evaluate the challenges associated with the introduction of these schemes.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employed a narrative review approach to examine the effectiveness of P4P schemes as a care intervention. The approach included a manual content analysis of the relevant academic and grey literature, focusing on the potential, challenges and pitfalls of P4P for care funders and providers.
Findings
There is some, albeit limited, evidence from other related areas of care to support the effectiveness of P4P to improve the quality of care or the efficiency of its delivery for the home care sector. The results of prior studies are, however, often mixed and inconclusive, due to flaws with the design of schemes, including the nature of the incentives. Limited duration and poor-quality evaluations have further hampered the ability of studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of P4P schemes, which diminishes the credibility of these care interventions. When undertaken systematically, there seems to be some evidence that P4P can work; however, it requires careful design, implementation, measurement and evaluation.
Practical implications
Based on the challenges associated with the successful implementation of P4P schemes, the authors identified lessons for the design, implementation, measurement and evaluation of P4P schemes for care funders and policymakers.
Originality/value
This study critically evaluates the potential of P4P as a care intervention for the home care and disability sectors. By evaluating the potential, challenges and pitfalls associated with P4P in related areas of care, the study provides guidance to home care funders, providers and policymakers in care settings.
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This study extends extant literature by establishing an integrative framework connecting different forms of HRM attributions (internal HRM well-being attributions and exploiting…
Abstract
Purpose
This study extends extant literature by establishing an integrative framework connecting different forms of HRM attributions (internal HRM well-being attributions and exploiting attributions, and external Labor Law attributions) and a specific single meta-feature of HRM system strength (consistency) to employee well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 279 paired and valid responses from eight manufacturing firms located in three cities in China were analyzed in this two-wave study. PROCESS macro tool was used to examine the mediating role of thriving at work and the moderating role of HRM system consistency in the relationship between HRM attributions and thriving at work.
Findings
Thriving at work mediated the relationship between internal HRM exploiting attributions, external Labor Law attributions and employee well-being. On the other hand, internal HRM well-being attributions did not indirectly influence employee well-being through thriving at work. HRM system consistency moderates the association between internal HRM attributions (rather than external Labor Law attributions) and thriving at work.
Research limitations/implications
This research is only concerned with a particular form of external attributions in one country. In fact, there is a wide range of other external HRM attributions (e.g. organizational intention to imitate their competitors in today’s global economy).
Practical implications
Managers should understand that managing the well-being of the workforce is an important part of HRM for responsible organizations and make efforts to improve employees’ affective-motivational states.
Originality/value
The authors offer insights into HRM attributions research by differentiating internal attributions from external Labor Law attributions based on their disparate implications for employee well-being.
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Timothy Bartram, Brian Cooper, Fang Lee Cooke and Jue Wang
Despite the utility of social identity and social climate theories in explaining individual and group behaviour within organizations, little research has been conducted on how…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the utility of social identity and social climate theories in explaining individual and group behaviour within organizations, little research has been conducted on how these approaches interconnect to explain the way high-performance work systems (HPWSs) may increase job performance. This study extends one’s understanding of the human resource management (HRM)–performance relationship by examining the interconnections between these disparate social approaches within the Chinese banking context.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on a sample of 561 employees working across 62 bank branches in China, the authors test four hypotheses: (1) HPWS is positively related to social climate; (2) social climate mediates the relationship between HPWS and social identification; (3) psychological empowerment mediates the relationship between social identification and job performance; and (4) social climate, social identification and psychological empowerment sequentially mediate the relationship between HPWS and job performance. Data were collected over two waves and job (in-role) performance was rated by managers.
Findings
The authors confirm the four hypotheses. Social climate, social identification and psychological empowerment sequentially mediate the relationship between HPWS and job performance.
Research limitations/implications
This study contains some limitations. First, the authors’ research sites were focussed on one main region in state-owned banks in China. Second, this study examined only one industry with a relatively homogeneous workforce (i.e. relatively young and highly educated employees).
Practical implications
HPWS may translate into individual performance through a supportive social climate in which staff identify themselves with their work team. This suggests that organizations should pay close attention to understanding how their HPWS system can foster a strong social climate to enhance employee identification at the work group level. Second, as the nature of work is becoming increasingly more complex and interdependent, enabling not just individuals but also work groups to function effectively, it is critical for departments and work groups to promote a collective understanding of HRM messages with shared values and goals.
Originality/value
This research contributes towards a more comprehensive understanding of the HRM–performance chain as a complex social process underpinned by social identity theory. The authors demonstrate that social identification and social climate both play an important role in explaining how HPWS positively affects psychological empowerment and subsequent job performance.
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Timothy Bartram, Brian Cooper, Fang Lee Cooke and Jue Wang
The development of sustainable employee-focused HRM approaches have grown in importance during and post-COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which…
Abstract
Purpose
The development of sustainable employee-focused HRM approaches have grown in importance during and post-COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which wellbeing-oriented HRM practices can transform workers’ feelings of burnout to enable thriving, and subsequently enhance in-role employee performance in high workload contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This study draws on data gathered from 561 employees in bank branches operating in China across two time periods. The authors test the following hypotheses: (1) wellbeing-oriented HRM is positively related to employee thriving; (2) perceived workload is positively related to employee burnout; (3) thriving will mediate the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance; (4) burnout will mediate the relationship between workload and employee performance; (5) thriving will mediate the relationship between workload and employee performance; and (6) burnout and thriving will sequentially mediate the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance.
Findings
This study confirmed hypotheses 1–5. Hypothesis 6 was not confirmed. The authors find that thriving mediates the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance, and burnout mediates the relationship between workload and employee performance. The authors also find workload was positively related to thriving (after controlling for burnout), consistent with the challenge–hindrance model of occupational stress.
Originality/value
The study builds on growing evidence that employees can thrive at work even when in stressful situations by using conservation of resources theory to examine how wellbeing-oriented HRM practices act as protective resources against demanding work situations. Findings demonstrate alternative pathways through which wellbeing-oriented HRM can enhance employee performance via reducing burnout and enhancing thriving.
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Qijie Xiao, Fang Lee Cooke, Felix Mavondo and Greg J. Bamber
The purpose of the research is to examine the antecedent and employee well-being outcomes of employees' perceptions of benefits schemes.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the research is to examine the antecedent and employee well-being outcomes of employees' perceptions of benefits schemes.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected using both paper-based and web-based questionnaires over two time points (one month apart). The sample included 281 participants in eight companies in China. Structural equation modelling was employed to investigate the relationship between Chinese traditionality, perceived benefits schemes, job involvement and emotional exhaustion.
Findings
Chinese traditionality is an antecedent of employees' perceptions of benefits schemes. Perceived benefits schemes are negatively associated with emotional exhaustion. Moreover, job involvement mediates the relationship between perceived benefits schemes and emotional exhaustion.
Research limitations/implications
The data were collected in eight manufacturing companies in China, which may raise concerns about the generalisability of findings across industries, nations and cultures. Larger, more representative and cross-contextual samples are needed for future research to test the results further.
Practical implications
Managers should anticipate that employees with different cultural values may develop dissimilar perceptions of the same benefits schemes. Hence, managers need to communicate the benefits schemes to distinct employee groups in different ways.
Originality/value
Based on the conservation of resources model, this research offers theoretical insights into the mechanisms through which perceived benefits schemes influence employee health well-being. In addition, this research tests an antecedent of perceived benefits schemes.
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Toyin Ajibade Adisa, Fang Lee Cooke and Vanessa Iwowo
By conceptualising patriarchy in the workplace as a social situation, the purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of patriarchal attitudes and their impact on women’s…
Abstract
Purpose
By conceptualising patriarchy in the workplace as a social situation, the purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of patriarchal attitudes and their impact on women’s workplace behaviour among Nigerian organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a qualitative research approach, drawing on data from 32 semi-structured interviews with female employees and managers in two high-street banks in Nigeria.
Findings
The study finds that patriarchy shapes women’s behaviour in ways that undermine their performance and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB). Furthermore, the study finds that patriarchal attitudes, often practised at home, are frequently transferred to organisational settings. This transference affects women’s workplace behaviour and maintains men’s (self-perceived) superior status quo, whereby women are dominated, discriminated against and permanently placed in inferior positions.
Research limitations/implications
The extent to which the findings of this research can be generalised is constrained by the limited sample and scope of the research.
Practical implications
The challenges posed by the strong patriarchy on women’s workplace behaviour are real and complex, and organisations must address them in order to create a fairer workplace in which employees can thrive. It is therefore essential for organisations to examine periodically their culture to ensure that all employees, regardless of gender, are involved in the organisation’s affairs. Furthermore, organisations need to help women become more proactive in combating patriarchal behaviour, which often affects their performance and OCB. This requires organisations to affirm consistently their equal opportunities, equal rights and equal treatment policies. It is essential that organisations take this problem seriously by attaching due penalty to gender discrimination, as this will go a long way in ensuring positive outcomes for women and providing a fairer workplace.
Originality/value
This study provides empirical evidence that a more egalitarian work environment (in Nigerian banking) will result in improved performance from female employees and organisations. It calls for greater policy and organisational interventions to create a more inclusive work environment and an equal society.
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