Search results

1 – 10 of 336
Article
Publication date: 11 January 2024

Pilar Mosquera and Maria Eduarda Soares

Work overload has become a relevant issue in the Information Technology (IT) industry, with negative effects for individuals and organizations alike. This study aims to analyse…

Abstract

Purpose

Work overload has become a relevant issue in the Information Technology (IT) industry, with negative effects for individuals and organizations alike. This study aims to analyse the role of personal resources in a broad model regarding the effects of work overload on performance and well-being for the particular case of IT professionals. Considering the specificities of the IT industry, three personal resources were included in this study: one stable personality variable (conscientiousness) and two more malleable variables (work-life balance and psychological detachment).

Design/methodology/approach

To test the model, the authors use a sample of 144 IT Portuguese professionals. The authors collected data through an online questionnaire shared in social networks and IT social network communities. The authors use partial least squares (PLS) for data analysis.

Findings

The results show that work overload negatively impacts on employees’ life satisfaction, psychological detachment, work-life balance and task performance. Conscientiousness is positively related with two positive outcomes: task performance and life satisfaction. Work-life balance has a mediating effect in the relationship between work overload and life satisfaction.

Practical implications

These findings emphasize the need to promote conscientiousness in IT professionals, as well as reduce workload and promote family-friendly working environments to foster work-life balance and life satisfaction.

Originality/value

By testing this model, the authors aim to contribute to the current knowledge on the role of personal resources in the Job Demands-Resources model, which is still unclear and under-researched.

Details

Management Decision, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 December 2023

Qin Yuan, Jun Kong, Chun Liu and Yushi Jiang

While the phenomenon of technostress has received significant attention from researchers in recent years, empirical findings concerning the consequences of specific forms of…

Abstract

Purpose

While the phenomenon of technostress has received significant attention from researchers in recent years, empirical findings concerning the consequences of specific forms of techno-stressors have remained scattered and contradictory. The authors aim to integrate the conclusions of previous studies to understand the effects of specific techno-stressors on strain and job performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs meta-analytic techniques to calibrate the findings of 67 studies investigating more than 63,100 employees.

Findings

In general, not all techno-stressors have adverse effects. In particular, techno-uncertainty does not impact job performance. In addition, relative weight analyses reveal the relative importance of techno-complexity and techno-insecurity as predictors of both strain and job performance. Finally, this study finds that the effects of specific techno-stressors on job performance vary depending on research participants' gender, educational attainment and employment status.

Originality/value

First, this study provides a more nuanced view of the effects of specific techno-stressors. Second, this research clarifies the relative importance of specific techno-stressors as predictors of strain and job performance. Finally, this study reveals the moderating effects of demographic variables on the relationships between specific techno-stressors and job performance.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 February 2024

Jing Jiang, Huijuan Dong, Yanan Dong, Huimin Gu and Yina Lv

This study aims to use event system theory and job demands–resources (JD-R) model to examine the double-edged sword effect of event strength of Beijing Winter Olympics (BWO) on…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to use event system theory and job demands–resources (JD-R) model to examine the double-edged sword effect of event strength of Beijing Winter Olympics (BWO) on volunteers’ in-role performance and proactive behavior as mediated by work overload and meaningfulness.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample included 193 volunteer–leader dyads working at one BWO venue. The authors conducted a multitime and multisource study using Mplus 8 to examine the hypotheses.

Findings

Volunteers’ perceived BWO event strength was positively related to work overload, which reduced in-role performance and proactive behavior. Volunteers’ perceived BWO event strength was also positively related to work meaningfulness, which promoted in-role performance and proactive behavior. Perceived organizational support served as a moderator by mitigating the positive relationship between perceived BWO event strength and work overload; however, it did not strengthen the positive relationship between perceived BWO event strength and work meaningfulness.

Originality/value

This study developed a comprehensive model of how BWO event strength affected volunteers’ performance from the perspective of event system theory and the JD-R model, which enriches theoretical application and research in the context of mega sport events.

研究目的

本研究运用事件系统理论和工作需求-资源(JD-R)模型, 探讨了2022年北京冬奥会(BWO)事件强度通过工作负荷和工作意义感知进而对志愿者角色内绩效和主动性行为的双刃剑效应。

研究设计

我们在冬奥会场所之一实施了多时点、多来源的收集数据的方式, 最终样本包括193份志愿者-领导配对数据, 并使用Mplus 8来检验我们的假设。

研究发现

志愿者感知的BWO事件强度与工作负荷呈正相关, 进而会降低他们的角色内绩效和主动性行为。志愿者感知的BWO事件强度与工作意义感也呈正相关, 进而会促进他们的角色内绩效和主动性行为。感知的组织支持通过弱化BWO事件强度与工作负荷之间的正相关关系, 进而调节了志愿者的角色内绩效和主动性行为; 然而, 感知的组织支持并没有强化BWO事件强度与工作意义感之间的正相关关系。

原创性

本研究结合事件系统理论和JD-R模型, 发展了一个BWO事件强度对志愿者绩效表现影响的综合模型, 丰富了有关大型体育赛事志愿者的理论应用和研究。

Objetivo

Este estudio utiliza la teoría del sistema de eventos y el modelo de demandas de trabajo-recursos (JD-R) para examinar el efecto de doble filo de la fuerza del evento de los Juegos Olímpicos de Invierno de Pekín (BWO) sobre el rendimiento en el rol y el comportamiento proactivo de los voluntarios, mediado por la sobrecarga laboral y la significatividad del trabajo.

Diseño/metodología/enfoque

Nuestra muestra incluyó 193 díadas de voluntarios-líderes que trabajaban en una sede de BWO. Realizamos un estudio multitemporal y multifuente utilizando Mplus 8 para examinar nuestras hipótesis.

Resultados

La intensidad percibida por los voluntarios en los eventos de BWO también se relacionó positivamente con la significación del trabajo, que promovió el rendimiento en el rol y el comportamiento proactivo. Además, el apoyo organizativo percibido sirvió como moderador al mitigar la relación positiva entre la intensidad percibida del evento BWO y la sobrecarga de trabajo; sin embargo, no reforzó la relación positiva entre la intensidad percibida del evento BWO y la significatividad del trabajo.

Originalidad/valor

Este estudio desarrolló un modelo integral de cómo la fuerza del evento BWO afectaba al rendimiento de los voluntarios desde la perspectiva de la teoría del sistema de eventos y el modelo JD-R, lo que enriquece la aplicación teórica y la investigación en el contexto de los megaeventos deportivos.

Article
Publication date: 15 August 2023

Debolina Dutta and Sushanta Kumar Mishra

The fear of the pandemic, confinement at home and the need to work created a unique situation. The pandemic catalyzed work-from-anywhere practice by adopting information and…

Abstract

Purpose

The fear of the pandemic, confinement at home and the need to work created a unique situation. The pandemic catalyzed work-from-anywhere practice by adopting information and communication technologies (ICT) across all industries. While ICT saved organizations, it increased technostress among the workforce. A better understanding of the adverse effects of ICT usage might enable organizations to manage the mental well-being of the workforce. While technostress is gaining increasing interest, scholarly work investigating the dimensions of technostress and its impact on creating stress across various employee demographics and industry types is missing. Contrary to the prevalent assumptions, the authors theorized and tested the adverse moderation effect of the home-work interface on the linkage between technostress dimensions and stress. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned objective.

Design/methodology/approach

The study captures dimensions of technostress and the resulting stress at work using a survey-based analysis of 881 working employees in India, representing multiple industries and functions.

Findings

The study indicates that techno-overload, techno-complexity and techno-invasion significantly impact employees during the pandemic. The authors further found that the home-work-interface is a powerful factor in understanding the complex linkage between dimensions of technostress and its outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

Based on the Conservation of Resources Theory and the Job-Demand-Resources model, this study highlights the adverse impact of this trend on employee well-being. However, the study suffers from a cross-sectional research design. The technostress research has focused primarily on static, at-premise environments and mostly on high ICT usage industries. Due to the pandemic, it has neglected the impact of various technostress dimensions across employee cohorts subjected to rapid technology-enabled working. Further, most studies focus on the voluntary choice of remote work. Employees struggle with the unexpected and involuntary shift to technology-enabled remote work. This study contributes to the literature by examining the consequences of technostress in the context of non-voluntary remote work. Contrary to prevailing assumptions, this study highlights the adverse effect of organizational home-work interface in influencing ICT-created stress.

Practical implications

The increasing use of ICT enables telecommuting across the workforce while increasing organizational productivity. Due to the pandemic, these trends will likely change the future of work permanently. To minimize employee stress, practitioners need to reconsider the dimensions of technostress. Further, the study cautions against the prevalent interventions used by practitioners. While practitioners facilitate a home-work interface, it could have adverse consequences. Practitioners may consider the adverse consequences of home-work interface while designing organizational policies.

Social implications

This study during the pandemic is crucial as research forecasts the likelihood of other cataclysmic events, such as future pandemics and political or climate change events, which may sustain technology-driven remote work practices and remain a feature of the future workplace. Hence understanding the implications of the dimensions of technostress would help organizations and policymakers to implement necessary interventions to minimize employee stress.

Originality/value

The present study examines the dimensions of technostress across multiple industries and job functions in an emerging market marked by a high economic growth rate and an Eastern cultural context. This study presents the dark side of excessive ICT adoption and indicates how organizations and HRM practices can help mitigate some of these effects.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 September 2023

Liang Ma, Xin Zhang and Peng Yu

One of the most important challenges confronting enterprise managers is that of controlling employees' social cyberloafing. The use of enterprise social media entails…

Abstract

Purpose

One of the most important challenges confronting enterprise managers is that of controlling employees' social cyberloafing. The use of enterprise social media entails opportunities for cyberloafing. However, previous research on how enterprise social media use affects cyberloafing is rather limited. Using the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, this paper proposes a research model to investigate the relationship between enterprise social media usage and employees' social cyberloafing behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modeling was performed to test the research model and hypotheses. Surveys were conducted in an online platform in China, generating 510 employees' data for analysis.

Findings

First, both public social media and private social media used for work-related and social-related purposes have a positive effect on employees' job engagement. Further, job engagement has a negative effect on employees' social cyberloafing. Second, the use of public social media for work-related and social-related purposes has no effect on employees' emotional exhaustion. However, work-related private social media usage has a negative effect on employees' emotional exhaustion, and social-related private social media usage has a positive effect on employees' emotional exhaustion. Further, employees' emotional exhaustion has a positive effect on employees' social cyberloafing. Third, there are significant differences in the effects of enterprise social media on employees' social cyberloafing between male and female employees.

Originality/value

First, this paper contributes to the social cyberloafing literature by establishing a relationship between enterprise social media usage and social cyberloafing in relation to the dual influence mechanism. Second, it contributes to the JD-R model by clarifying how the use of enterprise social media with different motivations affects social cyberloafing through a mediation mechanism, namely, an enabling mechanism and a burden mechanism. Third, this paper also contributes to the social cyberloafing literature by revealing the boundary condition, namely gender, between enterprise social media use and employees' social cyberloafing.

Details

Internet Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 December 2023

Justin B. Keeler, Noelle F. Scuderi, Meagan E. Brock Baskin, Patricia C. Jordan and Laura M. Meade

The purpose of this study is to investigate the complexity of how demands and stress are mitigated to enhance employee performance in remote working arrangements.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the complexity of how demands and stress are mitigated to enhance employee performance in remote working arrangements.

Design/methodology/approach

A time-lagged snowball sample of 223 full-time remote working adults in the United States participated in an online survey. Data were analyzed using R 4.0.2 and structural equation modeling.

Findings

Results suggest remote job resources involving organizational trust and work flexibility increase performance via serial mediation when considering information communication technology (ICT) demands and work–life interference (WLI). The findings provide insights into counterbalancing the negative aspects of specific demands and stress in remote work arrangements.

Practical implications

This study provides insights for managers to understand how basic job resources may shape perspectives on demands and WLI to impact performance. Specific to remote working arrangements, establishing trust with the employees and promoting accountability with their work flexibility can play an important part in people and their performance.

Originality/value

This study contributes theoretically to the literature by evidencing how components of the E-Work Life (EWL) scale can be used with greater versatility beyond the original composite measurement because of the job-demand resource (JD-R) framework and conservation of resources theory (COR). This study answers several calls by research to investigate how ICT demands and WLI play a complex role in work performance.

Details

Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2051-6614

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 July 2023

Man Cao, Shuming Zhao, Jiaxi Chen and Hongjiang Lv

Although prior research has documented substantive knowledge of the benefits of high-performance work systems (HPWS), results regarding both sides of HPWS are inconsistent. To…

Abstract

Purpose

Although prior research has documented substantive knowledge of the benefits of high-performance work systems (HPWS), results regarding both sides of HPWS are inconsistent. To reconcile these inconsistencies, the authors identified two specific HR attributions—employee well-being HR attribution and performance HR attribution, and examined their roles in the relationship between team-level HPWS and employees' thriving at work and emotional exhaustion.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected multi-source data from 36 team leaders and 181 individuals. Given the nested nature of the data, the authors used Mplus 7.4 to conduct multilevel structural equation modeling for hypothesis testing.

Findings

The results showed that team-level HPWS and employee well-being HR attribution interact to affect psychological availability, which subsequently promotes thriving at work. However, team-level HPWS and employee performance HR attribution do not interact to influence role overload/psychological availability; team-level HPWS and employee well-being HR attribution do not interact to affect role overload.

Originality/value

Current literature has overlooked identifying key contingencies for both sides of HPWS effects on employee outcomes. Therefore, this study developed a mediated moderation model and incorporated HR attributions to explore two distinct pathways by which HPWS affects employees' thriving at work and emotional exhaustion. The present study helps to reconcile the inconsistent findings regarding the HPWS double-edged sword nature. In addition, the authors focused on HPWS at the team level, which is also underexplored in the existing HPWS research.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 September 2023

Luminita Hurbean, Louie H.M. Wong, Carol XJ Ou, Robert M. Davison and Octavian Dospinescu

The authors investigate the relationship between instant messenger (IM) use and work performance, mediated by interruptions and two key indicators of the stress associated with…

Abstract

Purpose

The authors investigate the relationship between instant messenger (IM) use and work performance, mediated by interruptions and two key indicators of the stress associated with technology use: overload and complexity.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors validate this research model using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with data collected through a survey of 416 working professionals.

Findings

The data reveal that while IM use contributes minimally to work interruptions and to a greater extent to technological complexity, these two constructs fully mediate the direct influence of IM use at work on technology overload, and meanwhile significantly and directly contribute to work performance.

Research limitations/implications

This research provides theoretical insights into the deployment of IM and its actual impacts in the workplace. To improve the generalisation of the findings, the authors call for more IM-related research in other countries, with more native theories and various methodologies in this domain.

Practical implications

The level of stress generated through IM use is moderate, considering IM is not a significant contributor to work interruptions. Thus, despite the potential negative effects of IM communication, the positive effects of using IM at work prevail. As a result, the technology can be promoted as long as employees, their managers and the organisation as a whole are well prepared. Employees can transfer skills and behaviour from the personal setting to their work environment and thus may find an intrinsic motivation to make better use of the IM technology at work.

Originality/value

The authors argue that this research model is novel for its perspective on evaluating the actual impacts of IM use at work instead of the reasons of using it. The authors conceptualise the process to explain how IM contributes to interruptions and other technostress indicators in the working context, and the impact on performance. Contrary to some prior research, the authors find that overall IM applications do not have a negative impact on work performance, and instead may enhance it.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 July 2023

Elmira Zahmat Doost and Wei Zhang

This study aims to investigate whether social media use (SMU) at work has a curvilinear effect on job performance and whether Cyberloafing (non-work-related use) and job…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate whether social media use (SMU) at work has a curvilinear effect on job performance and whether Cyberloafing (non-work-related use) and job complexity moderate this effect.

Design/methodology/approach

Online surveys were conducted in China among WeChat users from multiple organizations working in the office environment, generating 350 valid responses.

Findings

The results revealed that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between SMU at work and job performance through mediations of communication, information sharing and entertainment; such that the relationship is initially positive but becomes weaker as SMU increases and exceeds the optimal level. Notably, it is found that Cyberloafing negatively moderates the relationship between SMU and job performance, and there is a significant joint moderating effect of job complexity and Cyberloafing.

Practical implications

This study improves the research of information system use. It also provides implications for organizations concerned about formulating policies related to individuals' SMU and suggests that SM users and managers should find strategies to arrive at without surpassing the optimal level to maximize productivity.

Originality/value

This paper enriches the job demands-resources model to extend the literature on the advantages and disadvantages of SMU at work, which indirectly affect performance through two job conditions (job resources and demands). The study finds that employees benefit from a moderate amount of SMU at work, once it surpasses the optimal level, job demands surpass job resources and counterproductivity will appear. In addition, Cyberloafing and job complexity moderate the optimal level of SMU at work, which have not yet been investigated.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 March 2023

Carol K.H. Hon, Chenjunyan Sun, Kïrsten A. Way, Nerina L. Jimmieson, Bo Xia and Herbert C. Biggs

Mental health problems are a grave concern in construction. Although the distinction between high job demands and low job resources, as reflected in the Job Demands-Resources…

Abstract

Purpose

Mental health problems are a grave concern in construction. Although the distinction between high job demands and low job resources, as reflected in the Job Demands-Resources (JD–R) model, has been used to examine the extent to which psychosocial hazards influence mental health for construction practitioners, limited research has reflected on the nature of these psychosocial hazards by exploring experiences of site-based construction practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted a phenomenological approach to examine people’ experiences and thoughts of the complex phenomena of psychosocial hazards and mental health in construction. In total, 33 semi-structured interviews were undertaken with site-based construction practitioners in Australia to unveil construction-focused psychosocial hazards and their effects on mental health. The data were analysed via content analysis, employing an interpretation-focused coding strategy to code text and an individual-based sorting strategy to cluster codes.

Findings

Eighteen psychosocial hazards were identified based on the JD–R model. Six of these represented a new contribution, describing salient characteristics inherent to the construction context (i.e. safety concerns, exposure to traumatic events, job insecurity, task interdependency, client demand and contract pressure). Of particular importance, a number of interrelationships among psychosocial hazards emerged.

Originality/value

The significance of this qualitative research lies in elucidating psychosocial hazards and their complex interrelatedness in the context of the mental health of construction practitioners, enriching the understanding of this central health and safety issue in the high-risk setting of construction work. The findings contribute to addressing mental health issues in the Australian construction industry by identifying higher order control measures, thereby creating a mentally healthy workplace.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

1 – 10 of 336