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Article
Publication date: 1 August 2006

Mark Le Fevre, Gregory S. Kolt and Jonathan Matheny

To develop an argument for the retention of secondary approaches to stress management (those that focus on the individual within the organization) as first interventions, prior to…

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Abstract

Purpose

To develop an argument for the retention of secondary approaches to stress management (those that focus on the individual within the organization) as first interventions, prior to the employment of primary approaches (those that focus on the organization's processes and structures). This is based on a reconsideration of eustress versus distress and a review of current empirical evidence on the effectiveness of stress management interventions.

Design/methodology/approach

Major empirical studies and reviews are critically reviewed and placed within a theoretical framework derived from both early and more recent work in the field.

Findings

There is little empirical evidence on which to base recommendations for organization‐based stress management interventions as first or sole approaches and therefore the value of these as first or sole approaches is questioned. Instead secondary, individual‐focused, approaches are recommended as first‐line interventions prior to the adoption of organization‐based interventions.

Practical implications

In practice secondary stress management approaches are currently most common. Broader primary approaches appear to have excellent theoretical support and a growing body of supportive literature and accompanying recommendations for employment. We suggest, however, that secondary approaches be employed prior to the introduction of primary methodologies within a client organization.

Originality/value

This paper provides a review and framework for interpreting/understanding the research on the effectiveness of stress management interventions and makes recommendations relevant to practitioners in the field.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 21 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 October 2017

Edwina Pio, Rob Kilpatrick and Mark Le Fevre

The purpose of this paper is to illuminate enablers, barriers and vignettes of South Asian women leaders and possible paths to increase the influence and leadership of women in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to illuminate enablers, barriers and vignettes of South Asian women leaders and possible paths to increase the influence and leadership of women in South Asia.

Design/methodology/approach

Navratna, the nine precious gems of ancient Indian literature are used to frame reflections on South Asian women leaders, and the Global Gender Gap Report of 2015 is used to give context to five barriers and five enablers to women’s leadership in the region. Illustrative vignettes of South Asian women in leadership roles are presented. These vignettes have been selected based on a case study approach of South Asian women leaders.

Findings

Five enablers that may help empower women towards greater leadership and influence are proposed: involving men in what should change, greater economic participation by women, supportive family, country- and context-specific leadership training, and finally grassroots advocacy, mentoring and role models.

Originality/value

The paper shines new light on women leaders whose sparking excellence in their specific field illuminate paths for others to follow and thus contributes to promoting research on multifaceted women leaders in South-Asia.

Details

South Asian Journal of Business Studies, vol. 6 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-628X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 May 2022

Iqbal Mehmood, Keith Macky and Mark Le Fevre

The purpose of this paper is to examine perceptions of organisational politics (POP) as a mediator of the relationship between high-involvement work practices (HIWPs) and employee…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine perceptions of organisational politics (POP) as a mediator of the relationship between high-involvement work practices (HIWPs) and employee outcomes (trust in employer and employee engagement).

Design/methodology/approach

Using a longitudinal time-lagged quantitative survey design, data were collected in two waves (n = 1,554, time 1, and n = 970, time 2). Direct and indirect (mediation) effects were tested through structural equation modelling (SEM) in AMOS.

Findings

The results of SEM suggest that HIWPs are positively associated with trust in the employer and employee engagement and negatively associated with POP. The data supported a partial mediation model in which POP mediated the relationship between HIWPs and both trust in the employer and employee engagement levels.

Practical implications

HIWPs reduce employees’ perceptions of the degree to which their work environment is politicised, enhance employee engagement and develop a more trusting relationship between employee and employer.

Originality/value

Perceptions that workplace environments are characterised by political behaviours are ubiquitous and a large body of research has highlighted their detrimental effects on both employees and employers. This is the first study that has examined the potential of HIWPs in reducing such perceptions, which in turn, can foster employee engagement and enhance trust in the employer. Longitudinal studies of the effect HIWPs have on employee perceptions and attitudes are also still scarce.

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2015

Mark Le Fevre, Peter Boxall and Keith Macky

– The purpose of this paper is to identify whether there are particular employee groups that are more vulnerable to work intensification and its outcomes for well-being.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify whether there are particular employee groups that are more vulnerable to work intensification and its outcomes for well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper utilises data collected in two representative national surveys in 2005 (n=1,004) and 2009 (n=1,016), first to determine which employee groups are most vulnerable to work intensification and, second, to identify who is more vulnerable to the impacts of high work intensity on well-being, in terms of job (dis)satisfaction, stress, fatigue, and work-life imbalance.

Findings

Professionals reported significantly higher levels of work intensity than all other occupational groups, and higher levels of stress and work-life imbalance. In addition, full-time employees experienced greater work intensity than part-timers, and union members than non-union members. Public-sector employees reported greater stress and work-life imbalance than those in the private sector. There was also a small, but significant and consistent, interaction effect that identified women as more negatively impacted by high work intensity than men.

Research limitations/implications

Professionals have become vulnerable workers, in the sense of high levels of work demand, and the notion of worker vulnerability needs to recognise this. Future research on vulnerable employees would benefit from a broader conception of what constitutes vulnerability, exploring a wider range of employee groups who might be considered vulnerable, and including a wider range of potential outcomes for the lives and well-being of the individuals concerned. In particular, a more finely grained examination of the working conditions of professionals would be desirable, as would a more detailed examination of the reasons for the higher negative impact of work intensity on women.

Practical implications

One way of improving the sustainability of professional working is to foster higher rates of part-time working, which brings better outcomes in terms of stress and work-life balance. This, however, is hardly a societal remedy and the question of how to reverse deteriorating job quality among professionals, particularly those struggling to balance work and family demands, is something that needs much greater attention.

Originality/value

The paper expands the notion of “vulnerable workers” to recognise those groups most at risk of work intensification, and the outcomes of that intensification for satisfaction, stress, fatigue, and work-life balance. The authors add to the small group of studies highlighting the degradation of professional work, as well as identifying other types of employee who are more vulnerable to work intensification. The use of two large-scale surveys, with a four-year gap, has allowed a high degree of consistency in the patterns of vulnerability to be revealed.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 36 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2003

Mark Le Fevre, Jonathan Matheny and Gregory S. Kolt

We examine the concepts of stress, distress, and eustress and develop three tenets that are used to relate these concepts to three major theories or models of occupational stress…

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Abstract

We examine the concepts of stress, distress, and eustress and develop three tenets that are used to relate these concepts to three major theories or models of occupational stress. Selye's concept of eustress or “good stress” appears to be largely ignored in the literature, while the Yerkes Dodson Law is illustrated as a model for management practice. We suggest that the meaning assigned to the word stress has shifted from Selye's original formulation, and that this shift, in conjunction with the use of the Yerkes Dodson Law leads to inappropriate management of stress in organizations. We conclude that the concept that some stress is good and enhances performance should be rejected in favour of more useful and accurate concepts.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 18 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 November 2022

Nicolas Brisset, Raphaël Fèvre and Pierre Jean

This chapter aims to address the question of the evolution of economists’s reception of Marxism in France, and thus to complete the more general history of the development of…

Abstract

This chapter aims to address the question of the evolution of economists’s reception of Marxism in France, and thus to complete the more general history of the development of Marxism among French academics. To do so, we follow the relationship to Marx’s work of the economist François Perroux, a priori typical of the reversal reception of Marxist ideas in the 1950s, moving from open hostility to enthusiasm. Indeed, an incisive critic of Marx’s writings before the war, then head of the scientific institution of the Vichy regime, Perroux became in the postwar period a leading figure in the diffusion of Marx’s ideas in France. He founded the ISMEA (Institute of Mathematical and Applied Economic Sciences) which published the journal Études de marxologie, and eventually penned the preface to Marx’s economic works in 1963 for the Pléiade. By following this sinuous path, we show that the way Perroux related to Marx’s work helps us shed light on the various shifts in Perroux’s relationship to the science and politics of his time.

Details

Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology: Including a Symposium on the Work of François Perroux
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-715-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 July 2020

Nicolas Brisset and Raphaël Fèvre

The chapter analyzes François Perroux’s institutional and intellectual activities under the Vichy regime (1940–1944) mainly by drawing on archival insights from Perroux’s papers…

Abstract

The chapter analyzes François Perroux’s institutional and intellectual activities under the Vichy regime (1940–1944) mainly by drawing on archival insights from Perroux’s papers. The authors argue that Perroux used his strategic position as general secretary of the Carrel Foundation (created by Marshal Pétain) to reshape French economics along a twofold trend: unifying economics with other social sciences, on the one hand; and developing its most analytical aspects, on the other hand. Thus, Perroux seized the opportunity to push for the introduction and dissemination of foreign theoretical studies within French economics, quite counter-intuitively to the expected nationalistic fallback accompanying authoritarian rule. In the end, the Vichy regime proved a suitable vehicle for the advancement of Perroux’s ideas and career: he managed in fact to make the best of a highly uncertain situation in 1940 and especially in 1944, with the impending Liberation of France. The authors show that Perroux used different strategies to neutralize those aspects of his work associated to Vichy’s ideology.

Details

Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology: Including a Symposium on Economists and Authoritarian Regimes in the 20th Century
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-703-9

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 March 2017

Frauke Meyer, Deidre M. Le Fevre and Viviane M.J. Robinson

The notion of vulnerability underlies relationships of trust. Trust between leaders and staff is needed to solve concerns that hinder equity and excellence in teaching and…

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Abstract

Purpose

The notion of vulnerability underlies relationships of trust. Trust between leaders and staff is needed to solve concerns that hinder equity and excellence in teaching and learning. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how leaders show vulnerability by disclosing own possible contributions to concerns they try to resolve.

Design/methodology/approach

Data included transcripts of conversations held by 27 educational leaders about a concern with another staff and a questionnaire about the nature, causes and history of the concern. Questionnaire analysis identified if and how leaders described their own possible contribution prior to the conversation. Transcript analysis identified instances of leaders’ contribution disclosure.

Findings

Results indicate that while two-thirds of leaders identified an own contribution, when prompted prior to the conversation, one-third saw no own contribution. Leaders indicated contributing by not acting on the concern, by acting in ways inappropriate or insufficient to resolve the concern, or by not clearly communicating their concern in the past. Eight of the 27 leaders publicly disclosed their contribution in the actual conversation. In some conversations this disclosure prompted reciprocal disclosure of information about the concern and its causes by the other person, aiding a more effective concern resolution.

Originality/value

Through examining leaders’ interpersonal behavior in difficult conversations, the importance of leaders’ acknowledgments of own mistakes and communication of their own vulnerability is highlighted. A positive view of vulnerability is argued for, epistemic vulnerability, which manifests itself in the willingness to be honest and open to learning by accepting one’s own fallibility.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 31 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

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Article
Publication date: 19 April 2017

Kaye Twyford, Deidre Le Fevre and Helen Timperley

The purpose of this paper is to explore how perceptions of risk influenced teachers’ sensemaking and actions during a professional learning and development (PLD) initiative where…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how perceptions of risk influenced teachers’ sensemaking and actions during a professional learning and development (PLD) initiative where teachers were expected to change their practices.

Design/methodology/approach

A risk perception lens, focussed on uncertainty, was used to capture the on-going experiences of teachers as they participated in PLD. The PLD, delivered by one organisation, focussed on developing teacher use and understanding of formative assessment practices. Data for this three-school qualitative exploratory case study of teachers’ perceptions of risk primarily utilised qualitative interviews.

Findings

Findings identified that teachers perceived risk and experienced feelings of vulnerability as a result of their on-going assessment and evaluation of the uncertainty in the professional learning context. The perceived risk informed teachers’ responses and actions, ultimately impacting on teachers’ learning.

Practical implications

The risk perception process model developed from the findings and conceptual framework provides a tool for educators to navigate and reduce perceived risk and enhance learning in change.

Originality/value

This research advances the conceptualisation of perceived risk in PLD. It challenges the current concept of teachers’ resistance and instead considers the role of their perceptions of risk, broadening the understanding of responses to educational change.

Details

Journal of Professional Capital and Community, vol. 2 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-9548

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2015

Kay Whitehead

The purpose of this paper is to explore Australian educators’ work with “other people’s children” (OPCs) (Delpit, 2006) from the informal education market of the 1840s to the mass…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore Australian educators’ work with “other people’s children” (OPCs) (Delpit, 2006) from the informal education market of the 1840s to the mass education market in contemporary times.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is structured as a narrative about the expansion of the educational state and the concomitant development of technologies of inclusion and exclusion. Snapshots of various educators’ work with “OPCs” are woven into the narrative.

Findings

Notwithstanding contemporary efforts to “confront educational disadvantage” and an ever increasing array of technologies with which to differentiate students, OPCs remain on the margins of Australian education.

Originality/value

This paper is a unique look at Australian educators’ work with “OPCs” over the past 175 years.

Details

History of Education Review, vol. 44 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0819-8691

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