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Article
Publication date: 7 September 2023

Graeme Ditchburn and Rachel Evangeline Koh

COVID-19 forced organizations to implement protective measures changing how employees worked; however, empirical evidence is needed to explore how employees responded. This study…

Abstract

Purpose

COVID-19 forced organizations to implement protective measures changing how employees worked; however, empirical evidence is needed to explore how employees responded. This study examines the impact of COVID-19-related organizational changes in Singapore on employees’ perceptions of work pressure, stress and mental well-being (MWB) and the mediating role of resilience.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a cross-sectional, anonymous online survey of 157 full-time employees who had worked for at least one year.

Findings

The results found that work pressure and stress had increased, and MWB had declined. Resilience acted as a buffer against increases in work pressure and stress while promoting the maintenance of MWB. Resilience significantly mediated the relationship between stress and MWB.

Research limitations/implications

The study does not allow for an assessment of causality but infers possible, albeit probable, casual relationships. Furthermore, stress and well-being could be influenced by a multitude of factors beyond organizational change. Future research should seek to account for additional factors and establish the generalisability of the findings beyond Singapore.

Practical implications

This study supports the engagement of resilience-based interventions to improve employees’ MWB during pandemic related organizational change.

Social implications

Policies that promote work-life balance, positive interpersonal relations and staying connected are some of the ways employers can bolster MWB and work-life balance to support employees who are engaged in remote work.

Originality/value

Given the unique context of COVID-19, this study allows for a better understanding of how a novel worldwide pandemic has transformed employees' experience of work and its associated impacts.

Details

Evidence-based HRM: a Global Forum for Empirical Scholarship, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-3983

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 December 2015

Graeme Ditchburn and Elizabeth R Brook

Expatriate workforces are growing as a result of globalisation and the considerable cost associated with expatriation is a strong incentive to identify which employees are most…

1226

Abstract

Purpose

Expatriate workforces are growing as a result of globalisation and the considerable cost associated with expatriation is a strong incentive to identify which employees are most likely to adjust to the host nation. One area relevant to cross-cultural adjustment is interpersonal needs. The theory of fundamental interpersonal relations orientation as measured by the fundamental interpersonal relations orientation-behaviour (FIRO-B) may offer insights as to the relationship between interpersonal needs and cross-cultural adjustment. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 180 paper and pencil measures of the FIRO-B and expatriate adjustment scales (general, work, and interaction) were distributed via informed international associates and convenience and snowball sampling. In total, 112 expatriates from the UK (44 percent), South Africa (22 percent), India (20 percent), and other nations (14 percent) returned completed questionnaires.

Findings

Expatriates with higher levels of wanted affection were higher on all subscales of cross-cultural adjustment. Those who wanted and expressed the need for inclusion were significantly higher in interaction adjustment while those who expressed and wanted control were less adjusted to work.

Research limitations/implications

The cross-sectional design limits the extent to which these findings can be interpreted as causal and the small sample size may limit the generalisability of the findings and common method via self-report may also inflate inter-relationship. However, the underlying theoretical premise would strongly support the hypothesised directional relationships in the normal population. A number of factors beyond the scope of this study may play a fundamental role including cultural similarity.

Practical implications

Whilst not predictive, and acknowledging that environmental factors may vary, these results give an indication that interpersonal needs are related to successful adjustment in expatriates. As such these findings could be used to help inform the recruitment and training of expatriates in areas of interpersonal interaction taking into consideration intrapersonal needs.

Originality/value

No study to date has explored the inter-relationship between the interpersonal needs and expatriate adjustment. This is the first paper to do so and identify that there is a significant association between expatriate’s motives for interaction and their level of cross-cultural adjustment.

Details

Journal of Global Mobility, vol. 3 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-8799

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 14 December 2015

Jan Selmer

238

Abstract

Details

Journal of Global Mobility, vol. 3 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-8799

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