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1 – 10 of 432Patricia Martinez and Carolina B. Gómez
This study aims to examine how the amount and type of flexibility in work schedule (flextime) and work location (telecommuting) may be related to receiving fewer training and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine how the amount and type of flexibility in work schedule (flextime) and work location (telecommuting) may be related to receiving fewer training and development opportunities. Given that under flextime, employees remain at the work location, while under telecommuting employees are removed from the regular work site and social system, the paper expects that as employees have more telecommuting flexibility, they will receive fewer training opportunities, which in turn will be associated with more negative job attitudes and behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants (n=298) were recruited from a healthcare and a software development firm. Employees provided self-report ratings of their intentions to quit and supervisor supportiveness. Supervisors rated employees' citizenship behaviors and the flextime, telecommuting and training and development practices for the job positions.
Findings
As employees possess greater flexibility to telecommute, they received fewer training and development opportunities, while employees with greater work schedule flexibility (flextime) actually received more training opportunities. Additionally, the paper finds that training and development mediates the negative relationship between telecommuting flexibility and organizational citizenship behaviors. Thus, as employees had greater telecommuting flexibility, they exhibited lower levels of organization citizenship behaviors.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides evidence of how greater telecommuting flexibility that leads to decreased training and development opportunities may negatively influence employees' citizenship behaviors. The study also supports that flexibility to work away from the regular work location and not schedule flexibility, is the key antecedent. The findings suggest that supervisors should monitor the amount of training opportunities provided to employees with telecommuting flexibility.
Originality/value
This is one of the few studies to examine telecommuting flexibility: the extent to which employees can work at home and modify their schedule in order to do so. It is also one of the few studies to compare how work schedule and work location flexibility may be differentially related to training and development. The paper examines the potential trade-offs between this flexibility and receiving fewer training and development opportunities.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home (WFH) has become the norm for many employees and their families in Germany. Although WFH has been suggested as a form of flexible…
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home (WFH) has become the norm for many employees and their families in Germany. Although WFH has been suggested as a form of flexible work to foster work–life integration (especially for workers with greater care responsibilities), studies have also pointed to its risks when the boundaries between these two life spheres become blurred. To help disentangle these inconsistent findings in relation to work–family conflict, this study focuses on two main concerns: the relevance of additional forms of flexibility for those who work from home (i.e., temporal flexibility, job autonomy, fixed rules about availability) and the implications of WFH for employees’ social relationships with co-workers and supervisors. Based on linked employer–employee data collected in the spring of 2021, the study examined work-to-family conflict (WFC) and family-to-work conflict (FWC) among a sample of 885 employees who worked from home. The results indicate that three factors – temporal flexibility, job autonomy, and fixed rules about availability as a way to set boundaries between work and family life – are important predictors of fewer work–family conflict. This equally applies to employees with caring obligations who overall experience more work–family conflicts while WFH. For those who cared for relatives, autonomy contributed even to fewer work–family conflicts. Supportive relationships with supervisors and co-workers are certainly directly beneficial when it comes to avoiding conflict, but they also reinforce the positive implications of flexible work, whereas poor relationships counteract the benefits of such flexibility. Thus, employers need to provide additional forms of flexibility to employees who work from home and should pay attention to social relationships among their employees as a way to support families and other individuals.
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L. Thomas Winfree and Greg Newbold
Police in New Zealand have a well established community‐policing tradition. The current research is based on a survey of 440 officers, or roughly 6 per cent of the New Zealand…
Abstract
Police in New Zealand have a well established community‐policing tradition. The current research is based on a survey of 440 officers, or roughly 6 per cent of the New Zealand Police’s sworn personnel. We focused on the personal values, interpersonal relationships, and work situations of the officers as a way of understanding their respective levels of satisfaction with their jobs and assessment of their superiors. The goal was to determine the extent to which job satisfaction and perceptions of supervisory support varied within a national police force officially committed to community policing. The findings suggest that, even in a national police with an avowed community‐policing orientation, not all police officers perceived the work world in the same terms. We further address the policy implications of these findings.
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Ambiguity surrounding “follower competence and commitment” of Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership theory (SLT) has rendered validation difficult. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
Ambiguity surrounding “follower competence and commitment” of Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership theory (SLT) has rendered validation difficult. The purpose of this paper is to address this difficulty by presenting different perspectives for determining follower development level and applies these perspectives for testing the validity of SLT.
Design/methodology/approach
The study population was drawn from 80 supervisors and 357 followers. Financial organizations were chosen because much of the existing research on SLT has so far focussed on service-oriented organizations in education, healthcare, and armed services.
Findings
Measuring the degree of agreement between leader rating of follower competence and commitment and follower self-rating was found to be a core issue for determining follower competence and commitment. SLT predictions are more likely to hold when leader rating and follower self-rating are congruent, rather than using leader rating alone, which has been applied in previous studies.
Practical implications
Both leader and follower need to diagnose follower competence and commitment, first individually and then together, to discuss similarities and differences and attempt to agree upon the determination of follower competence and commitment. If the rating is based on some mutual agreement, then it is assumed in accordance with SLT that the leader can provide the follower with an appropriate amount of direction and support.
Originality/value
The findings in the present study are of great importance for future research on SLT. It may change the approach for testing the validity of the theory. A leader-follower congruence approach will, in the authors view, constitute the future research avenue for research on SLT.
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Betül Sönmez and Aytolan Yıldırım
The purpose of this paper is to test the mediating role of autonomy in the effect of a pro-innovation organizational climate and supervisor supportiveness (SS) on the innovative…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the mediating role of autonomy in the effect of a pro-innovation organizational climate and supervisor supportiveness (SS) on the innovative behavior (IB) of nurses.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample of this cross-sectional, correlational study consisted of 332 nurses, who were selected, on the basis of the convenience sampling method, from among the nurses working at two public university hospitals in Istanbul. The data of the study were collected between February and May of 2015. Descriptive analysis and linear regression analysis were used for data analysis, and the bootstrapping method was applied to test the significance of the mediating role.
Findings
The model used for examining the mediating role of autonomy was found to be statistically significant, as it explained 36 percent of the variance of IB. When the significance of the mediating role was tested, its effect on both innovation climate and SS was observed to be significant.
Originality/value
The obtained results indicated that a pro-innovation organizational climate and SS functioned as premises for autonomy. In turn, the rise in autonomy level that served to innovative climate and SS increased the IB of the nurses through boosting their autonomy level. From these results, it can be argued that nurses with a high level of professional autonomy can create innovative outputs and provide added value through the IB they practice in providing patient care and general health services.
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Randall P. Bandura and Paul R. Lyons
The purpose of this paper is to present the concept of voluntary, helpful organizational behavior and offer a discussion of research that aims to help managers to encourage such…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the concept of voluntary, helpful organizational behavior and offer a discussion of research that aims to help managers to encourage such behavior among their employees.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper discusses voluntary, helpful organizational behavior based on a review of recent research, as well as findings from the authors’ research.
Findings
This paper explains that voluntary, helpful organizational behavior could include, for example, taking the initiative to increase one’s knowledge about the job, technology, tools, industry, competitors and so on; making constructive suggestions; taking the initiative to help solve unexpected problems; working diligently to meet some deadlines; and volunteering to help with some tasks that are not part of one’s normal task duties.
Practical implications
The authors reveal that for voluntary, helpful organizational behavior to flourish, manager or supervisor supportiveness is important; management should provide and reinforce procedural justice in the workplace; managers should help employees in attaining job satisfaction; and managers should use positive reinforcement.
Social implications
A set of behaviors that can be useful not only in the work environment but also in society as a whole has been described.
Originality/value
This paper points out that there is little information in practitioner journals addressing the behaviors in pragmatic terms. It also offers practical suggestions for human resource management.
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Drawing on existing literature and ongoing research in large corporations, examines the impact of employer work‐family policies on the career development of women. A summary of…
Abstract
Drawing on existing literature and ongoing research in large corporations, examines the impact of employer work‐family policies on the career development of women. A summary of evaluation research of work‐family policies and programmes, focusing on work‐related outcomes, reveals that relatively few studies have been conducted. Further, the primary focus of existing research has been to examine such outcomes as recruitment, turnover, absenteeism, morale and job satisfaction; few studies have examined the impact of use of family‐friendly policies on career advancement. Existing data indicate there is widespread belief that use of certain work‐family policies, particularly non‐traditional work arrangements, is detrimental to career advancement. Summarizes findings regarding the validity of this belief and deems them inconclusive. Discusses the influence of supervisors and corporate culture on the work‐family interface, and presents recommendations for further research.
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David J. Prottas, Cynthia A. Thompson, Richard E. Kopelman and Eileen W. Jahn
This paper aims to analyze the factors contributing to employee professed knowledge of work‐family practices offered by employers and the accuracy of their knowledge.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze the factors contributing to employee professed knowledge of work‐family practices offered by employers and the accuracy of their knowledge.
Designed/methodology/approach
Survey data from four studies (ns=276, 2,877, 2,810, and 310) were used to relate employee demographics to their professed knowledge regarding the availability from their employing organizations of work‐family practices. For a subset of one study (n=140) the accuracy of employee perceptions was compared to the practice availability as reported by HR counterparts.
Findings
Women, employees with dependent care responsibilities and individuals with longer organizational tenure professed greater knowledge of practice availability. Employee attitudes were more related to employee perceptions than to the actual practices as reported by their HR manager. Employees who perceived their organization as family supportive were more likely to over‐report practices that their HR managers said did not exist, rather than to under‐report them. Professed knowledge and accuracy of the knowledge varied substantially among practices.
Researchlimitations/implications
This study suggests that the relationships between practices as reported by organizations and attitudes of their employees are likely attenuated by inaccurate employee knowledge.
Practical implications
Organizations likely fail to reap full benefits of their enacted practices and should have strategies to better communicate their existence.
Originality/value
In summary, the results of this research give suggestions to reap the benefits of programs, it behooves organizations to think creatively about how best to communicate their existence, as well as reduce the time and effort that employees must expend to learn about program availability.
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Muhammad Farrukh, Fanchen Meng and Ali Raza
A leader's job is not to put greatness into people, but rather to recognize that it already exists and to create an environment where that greatness can emerge and grow (Smith…
Abstract
Purpose
A leader's job is not to put greatness into people, but rather to recognize that it already exists and to create an environment where that greatness can emerge and grow (Smith, 2014). Based on Brad Smith's quote, the purpose of this study is to investigate the role of the leader's expectations, leader-member exchange (LMX) and organizational climate for innovation in fostering the intrapreneurial behavior (IB) of employees.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from employees and their supervisors working across industries such as pharmaceutical, chemical, engineering and manufacturing. Collected data were then analyzed using the structural equation modeling technique.
Findings
The authors’ results show that LMX and leaders' expectations are positively linked to employees' IB. Moreover, this association is mediated by organizational climate.
Practical implications
This study's findings contribute to the literature on intrapreneurship and may also help practitioners formulate interventions to foster IB in organizations that will ultimately lead to higher performance.
Originality/value
This study attempted to investigate the effect of LMX and the Pygmalion effect on IB through employees' perception of organizational climate for innovation. The literature in this field is scarce and theoretical development is weak because traditional collaborative or participative leadership approaches are more relevant to an outcome than innovation.
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Upasna A. Agarwal, Sumita Datta, Stacy Blake‐Beard and Shivganesh Bhargava
This study aims to examine the relationships among leader‐member exchange (LMX), innovative work behaviour (IWB), and intention to quit. The mediating role of work engagement is…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the relationships among leader‐member exchange (LMX), innovative work behaviour (IWB), and intention to quit. The mediating role of work engagement is tested within the relationship of LMX, IWB, and intention to quit.
Design/methodology/approach
Respondents to a survey were 979 Indian managerial employees working in six service sector organisations in India. Structural equation modelling was used to test hypothesised relationships.
Findings
Results suggest quality of exchanges between employees and their immediate supervisors influences engagement. Work engagement correlates positively with innovative work behaviour and negatively with intention to quit. Work engagement mediates the relationship between LMX and innovative work behaviour, and partially mediates intention to quit.
Research limitations/implications
A cross‐sectional design and use of self‐reported questionnaire data is a limitation of this study. Since the study focuses only on service‐sector organisations, the results of this study should be interpreted with caution.
Originality/value
This study makes important theoretical contributions in three ways. In the domain of work engagement, it addresses factors that influence employee engagement and its outcomes. It expands knowledge about organisational resources that foster work engagement. For LMX, this study complements existing research by investigating work engagement as an outcome. Identifying LMX and work engagement as antecedents of innovative work behaviour, it also extends research in that domain. An important contribution is positioning work engagement as a means through which job resources are linked to employee outcomes. The study is also a rare examination of the Indian context.
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