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The purpose of this study is to examine how individuals cognitively process work‐family conflict (WFC), specifically whether differences in tolerance for uncertainty and cognitive complexity influence individuals' affective response to WFC.

Using a sample of 157 employees who completed a survey on work‐family issues, the hypotheses were tested using correlation and regression analyses.

The results suggest that cognitive differences may moderate the negative impacts of WFC. It was found that while WFC (i.e. work interference with family) lowers job satisfaction, this effect is less strong for those high in tolerance for uncertainty. The same was true for the ameliorating effect of cognitive complexity and tolerance for uncertainty on the link between WFC and (i.e. family interference with work) organizational commitment.

Because of its cross‐sectional design, the causality of the findings cannot be confirmed. Further, while the sample contained both parents and non‐parents, and men and women, due to power concerns, our analyses did not account for these demographic differences. Future research should be designed to correct for these issues.

Organizations may need to rethink their programs and policies aimed at assisting employees in balancing work and family. Simple options (e.g. time off) may appeal to all employees; however others (e.g. job sharing and flextime) require complicated arrangements or behavior changes and may only appeal to or be utilized successfully by employees with high tolerance for uncertainty and cognitive complexity.

Within work‐family research, few studies look at how individual cognitive processes influence whether and how potentially conflictual situations are perceived and their impact on individual outcomes such as satisfaction and commitment. The research investigates two such cognitive differences and demonstrates the role that tolerance for uncertainty and cognitive complexity may play in reducing the negative impact of work‐family conflict.

This special issue honors the life and legacy of Michael J. Driver, a renowned scholar whose contributions to research on careers, decision‐making, and cognitive style made an indelible impact on these fields. His often‐groundbreaking work spanning more than 40 years impacted the lives of those whom he taught, mentored, consulted and collaborated with. Dr Driver's impact continues to be felt, as can be seen in the pages of this special issue, which highlights the Driver‐inspired research of several former students who later became colleagues.

Over the last four decades, Mike Driver has helped shape the way we think about and research careers and career‐related issues. To illustrate some of this impact, we provide a first broad retrospective of his life and career and then four articles – written by former students and colleagues of his – that build on Mike's work in careers, decision making and cognitive style. Reflecting on this collection allows the reader to take stock of Driver's research that is responsible for shaping some of the careers research that continues now and in the future.

As it would take several special issues to cover the breadth and depth of Mike's scholarly contributions, this collection of five articles is intended to showcase a sampling of Dr Driver's legacy. The articles – representing such fields as leadership, careers, entrepreneurship, and work‐family conflict – demonstrate the reach of Driver's work while providing new insights and offering new avenues for research and practice.

These articles are authored by individuals ranging from junior faculty to senior faculty, scholar to practitioner, and colleague to wife. Individually, each article contributes to our understanding of the many fields Driver's work influences. Together, this collection of articles provides important insights that it is hoped encourage even further research that informs career scholarship and its impact on the development of individuals and their careers within and beyond national boundaries.

This paper aims to explore generational effects on work‐family conflict and synergy

The design is cross‐sectional and investigates large US national probability samples. Multiple regressions and ANOVAs were used in the analyses.

Generational differences in work‐family conflict and synergy were found. Mental health and job pressure were the strongest predictors of work‐family conflict for each group. Matures were significantly more satisfied than baby boomers and generation Xers.

All measures were self‐reports collected at one point in time. Thus, common method variance may be an issue and causal inferences cannot be made. Life stage and family stage differed for the generational groups and this should be explored in subsequent research.

Managers and human resource professionals need to consider generational differences in work‐family program design and monitor patterns of program usage for each group. Generation X members are particularly concerned about work/life balance.

This is the first paper to investigate generational issues affecting work‐family conflict and synergy. The findings are particularly relevant to managers and human resource professionals.

While mentoring plays an important role in Japanese working places, formal mentoring programs have only recently been introduced. This chapter provides an overview of the development of mentoring in Japan and presents a conceptual model to comprehend mentoring in Japan and beyond. The chapter begins with the illustration of how the characteristics of Japanese organizations and Japanese-style human resource management (HRM) promoted the naturally occurring informal mentoring in the Japanese workplace in early years. In response to the stagnating economy and declining demographics during the last few decades, many Japanese firms adopted Western-style HRM practices, including formal mentoring programs. We provide statistical data to demonstrate the widespread adoption of formal mentoring programs in recent years. We then report the results of the systematic review of the academic literature on mentoring in Japan, suggesting that research on mentoring in Japan is still in the early stage. Based on the historical overview, current data and the systematic review of the academic literature, we develop a conceptual model of how the socio-cultural and economic context as well as organizational characteristics influence the adoption of Japanese-style naturally occurring informal mentoring and/or Western-style formal mentoring practices. We conclude this chapter with practical and theoretical implications.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating role of the emphasis placed by individuals on scheduling of activities on the relationship between task structure and work outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction and job involvement).

Data were collected using surveys from 387 employees working in US‐based organizations. Regression analyses were used to test the hypothesized relationships.

The results of the study show that for individuals who place high emphasis on scheduling of work and non‐work activities, the negative impact of highly structured tasks was weaker than for individuals who do not emphasize scheduling of activities. The results also provide support for the hypotheses concerning the direct relationships between task structure and work outcomes.

Past research has largely ignored the role of individual differences in examining task structure. By providing empirical support for the moderating role of emphasis on scheduling on the task structure outcome relationships, this study not only paves the way for future studies but also emphasizes the importance of incorporating the role of time in examining task structure.

Organizational culture is defined as the shared values and beliefs that guide behavior within each organization, and it matters because it is related to performance. While culture is generally considered important, it is mysterious and intangible to most leaders. The first step toward understanding organizational culture is to measure it properly. This chapter describes methods for measuring culture in health care organizations and how these methods were implemented in a large academic medical center. Because of the consistent empirical link between the dimension of communication, other culture dimensions, and employee satisfaction, special attention is focused in this area. Specifically, a case study of successful communication behaviors during a major “change management” initiative at a large academic medical center is described. In summary, the purpose of this chapter is to demystify the concept of culture and demonstrate how to improve it.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the inverted U-shaped relationship that exists between exploitative leadership styles and innovation implementation. In addition, drawing on the social cognitive theory, the paper explores the effect of the three-way interaction between exploitative leadership style (ELS), work–family balance (WFB) and family-friendly workplace practices (FFWPs) on innovation implementation.

A quantitative study of 440 employees from 38 medium and large companies based in Italy and Croatia was conducted, using an online survey. The proposed hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression analysis.

The results show that there is an inverted U-shaped curvilinear relationship between ELS and innovation implementation. Furthermore, the findings support the existence of the three-way interaction suggesting that the combination of high-level WFB and high-level FFWPs strengthens the relationship between ELS² and innovation implementation.

This is the first contribution that examines a curvilinear relationship between ELS and innovation implementation. Additionally, it contributes to the work–family literature by providing the first empirical examination of the joint impact of WFB and FFWPs in enhancing innovation implementation. Our results suggest that individuals who perceive a high level of WFB and who work in an organization with family-friendly practices are more accepting of an exploitative leader, and that the positive feelings from the family domain encourage the implementation of innovation. These results may change the attitudes of managers, encouraging them to consider WFB and FFWPs as important for the implementation of innovation.

Whilst significant evidence of western work-life balance (WLB) challenges exists, studies that explore Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are scarce. The purpose of this paper is to explore how organisational culture in Nigerian medical organisations influences doctors’ WLB and examine the implications of supportive and unsupportive cultures on doctors’ WLB.

The paper uses qualitative data gleaned from semi-structured interviews of 60 medical doctors across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria in order to elicit WLB challenges within the context of organisational culture.

The findings show that organisational culture strongly influences employees’ abilities to use WLB policies. Unsupportive culture resulting from a lack of support from managers, supervisors, and colleagues together with long working hours influenced by shift work patterns, a required physical presence in the workplace, and organisational time expectations exacerbate the challenges that Nigerian medical doctors face in coping with work demands and non-work-related responsibilities. The findings emphasise how ICT and institutions also influence WLB.

The paper addresses the underresearched SSA context of WLB and emphasises how human resource management policies and practices are influenced by the complex interaction of organisational, cultural, and institutional settings.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive measure of social support to include within and across domain support from the organization, supervisor, coworkers, and family for two types of support, emotional, and instrumental.

Four diverse samples were used in an iterative process to develop and provide an initial validation of the 16 dimensions of social support.

The results provide support for the development and initial validation of the 16 dimensions of social support.

A cross-sectional design was used and may be problematic when examining relationships that occur over time. Further, capturing all scales with a single survey could result in common method bias, which may inflate predictive relationships.

A comprehensive measure of social support can assess the differential effect of various types of social support, which can help in identifying unique work-family variables. The multidimensional measure will allow organizations to better diagnose and address performance issues related to a particular type of support.

The study develops a comprehensive measure of social support that can be useful for organizations wanting to diagnose potential support-related issues that may impact important outcomes.

The understudied psychosocial factors affecting Airbnb hosts are examined in this study by focusing on social isolation and willingness to remain as an Airbnb host. The espoused benefits of host flexibility and autonomy have not been fully contextualized in relation to the real demands and costs of hosting.

This study uses Social Support Theory to examine hosts’ perceptions of their positions. Data from 136 Airbnb hosts were analyzed using a structural model to explore relationships between social isolation, work-family conflict, mental wellbeing, and life satisfaction.

The results indicate that higher levels of social isolation were linked to greater work-family conflict, lower mental wellbeing, and reduced life satisfaction. Furthermore, social support was negatively correlated with social isolation.

As a result of social isolation, Airbnb hosts will need to find outside support (e.g. online gig worker communities, mental wellbeing apps) to meet work/life challenges. Gig work platforms should provide tools for gig workers to cultivate social support.

This research presents a needed focus on the paradox of gig work. Airbnb hosting can provide flexible employment and extra income, but it may also lead to social isolation, work-family conflict, and reduced wellbeing. These findings have significant implications for gig workers and contracting organizations, underlining the need to prioritize workers' social connections and overall wellbeing in the increasingly pervasive gig economy.