Search results

1 – 10 of over 18000
Article
Publication date: 27 November 2018

Saikat Chakraborty and Sushmita Chakravarti

The purpose of this study is to understand the teamwork of temporary employees by taking into consideration the impact and role of the management’s perspective, temporary employee

789

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to understand the teamwork of temporary employees by taking into consideration the impact and role of the management’s perspective, temporary employee’s perspective and contextual perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on reviews of workplace literature pertaining to temporary employments, conversations with managers and temporary and permanent employees of organizations engaging temporary employees on a perennial basis have been thematically analyzed.

Findings

Multiple perspectives of teamwork of temporary employees exist in organizations. However, one rarely finds the interaction and collective treatment of these perspectives, which are critical to understanding teamwork of temporary employees. The paper reports on these perspectives.

Practical implications

With rise in temporary employments in organizations and teamwork being crucial to participative work cultures, organizations need to consider multiple perspectives of the phenomenon before making an informed decision.

Originality/value

There is limited research that delves into teamwork of temporary employees despite the phenomenon becoming increasingly significant in organizations. This paper offers an approach to look at teamwork of temporary employees through multiple perspectives.

Details

Human Resource Management International Digest, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0967-0734

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 December 2022

Kishore Ashok Manelkar, Radha Iyer, Kiran Gupta and Brinda Sampat

Owing to business uncertainty, it is prudent for organizations to rely on temporary employees to achieve numerical flexibility. This paper investigates the effect of perceived…

Abstract

Purpose

Owing to business uncertainty, it is prudent for organizations to rely on temporary employees to achieve numerical flexibility. This paper investigates the effect of perceived investment in temporary employee development (PITED) on organizational performance (OP) through the mediation process of organizational identification (OI), work engagement (WE) and the moderation process of perceived human resource policies (PHRP). A conceptual framework was built on social exchange theory and job demands-resource theory.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected from skilled temporary employees deputed at client organizations in the information technology business process management (IT-BPM) industry. Analysis was done using the partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) method using SmartPLS 3.0 software.

Findings

The study established a significant association between PITED, OI and OP, in which OI acts as a partial mediator. In contrast, the mediating relationship of WE between PITED and OP was insignificant. PHRP moderated the relationship between PITED and OP.

Practical implications

This research suggests to top management and human resource leaders that PITED makes temporary employees identify with client organizations, resulting in increased OP.

Originality/value

This research builds on theoretical assumptions to adopt a temporary employee perspective on organizational initiatives and performance in the IT-BPM industry, which is uncommon.

Details

Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2051-6614

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 March 2012

Courtney von Hippel and Elise K. Kalokerinos

The purpose of this research is to examine the causes and consequences of permanent employees' perceptions that temporary employees are a threat to their job security.

1775

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to examine the causes and consequences of permanent employees' perceptions that temporary employees are a threat to their job security.

Design/methodology/approach

The underlying theme of the current research is that an important reason why temporary employees can disrupt the work environment is that permanent workers can perceive them as threatening. A survey of permanent (n=99) and temporary employees (n=62) was used to test hypotheses. Multiple sources were used to assess permanent employees' treatment of their temporary co‐workers.

Findings

Permanent employees felt more threatened when they perceived the layoff policy and motives for using temporary workers as inappropriate, and when the position of temporary employees was equal to or above their own rank. The relationship between these feelings of threat and their behavior toward the temporary employees was moderated by temporary employee type. Specifically, permanent employees who did not feel threatened treated involuntary temporary employees better, but permanent employees who felt threatened treated voluntary temporary employees better.

Research limitations/implications

The sampling procedure limits the generalizability of the findings.

Practical implications

This paper helps illuminate the dynamics between temporary and permanent workers to enable organizations to decide when temporary employees will be helpful and when they will be harmful. The results provide specific recommendations for when different types of temporary employees should be used.

Originality/value

This paper applies psychological and organizational theories to the workplace to uncover when blended workforces are likely to be problematic.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 May 2015

Su-Fen Chiu, Shih-Tse Lin and Tzu-Shian Han

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of employment status on service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) of customer contact employees. The authors…

1795

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of employment status on service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) of customer contact employees. The authors also investigate the mediating roles of internal mobility opportunity and job insecurity in the relationship between employment status and service-oriented OCB.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey methodology was used and data were collected from a dyad-sample of 270 employees and their supervisors of one retail and one banking companies in Taiwan. Product-of-coefficients approach and bootstrapping were used to test the multiple mediating model.

Findings

The results demonstrate that temporary employment related negatively to service-oriented OCB. Moreover, both internal mobility opportunity and job insecurity mediated the employment status – service-oriented OCB linkage.

Research limitations/implications

This study has three limitations. First, this study examined only fixed-term direct-hire temporary employees. Future research should explore voluntary job behaviors of different categories of temporary employment to confirm the results of the present study. Second, this study examined internal mobility opportunity and job insecurity as two mediators. Other alternative avenues may exist by which employment status may lead to service-oriented OCB. Future research may explore additional possible mediators. Finally, the participants of this study were selected by the human resource departments of the participating companies. This option could have introduced selection bias in this study.

Practical implications

This study suggests that management should be aware of why temporary customer contact employees have lower levels of service-oriented OCB. As service-oriented OCB may be vital for organizational success in the service context, management must consider the benefits and costs when hiring temporary employees. Moreover, management can motivate temporary employees to display higher service-oriented OCB by shaping their expectations of internal mobility possibilities, or reducing temporary employees’ perception of job insecurity to enhance their service-oriented OCB.

Originality/value

This study makes two contributions. First, this study extends the effect of employment status in the OCB literature by investigating the relationship between employment status and service-oriented OCB for customer contact employees. The results of the present study lend support for the partial exclusion theory to predict that socially excluded group (i.e. temporary employees) tends to be less engaged in service-oriented OCB. Second, this study contributes to the literature by investigating two important links (i.e. internal mobility opportunity and job insecurity) to explain why temporary employment may lead to lower service-oriented OCB.

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2004

Ovidiu Tinca

Looks in depth at Romania’s Labour Code and lists out in more detail all the relevant points, to show how employees and employers may work better together without conflict, Using…

Abstract

Looks in depth at Romania’s Labour Code and lists out in more detail all the relevant points, to show how employees and employers may work better together without conflict, Using guidelines from the European Union. Uses countries as a flagstaff for what could be done to improve matters for temporary employees.

Details

Managerial Law, vol. 46 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0558

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2006

Mark N.K. Saunders and Adrian Thornhill

To explore the implications for all employees' psychological contracts of a forced change from permanent to temporary employment status for some employees within an organisation.

6818

Abstract

Purpose

To explore the implications for all employees' psychological contracts of a forced change from permanent to temporary employment status for some employees within an organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

A random sample of 30 employees, stratified by employment status was selected. Each employee undertook a structured card sort of possible emotional responses to change followed by an in‐depth interview to explore and explain their categorisation of these responses.

Findings

The nature of psychological contracts and organisational attachments for both permanent employees and forced temporary workers is complex. Permanent employees generally continue to exhibit relational forms of attachment to the organisation. These, they believe, are reciprocated by the organisation. Reactions from forced temporary workers are more varied. After a period of denial, some develop a more calculative approach to their interactions. Others maintain aspects of their previously developed relational attachments. Only some temporary workers appear to recognise that their future direction is no longer a concern of the organisation.

Research limitations/implications

Although only based upon one organisation, the findings suggest that the process of psychological contract adjustment is likely to emerge through gradual re‐interpretation, rather than through re‐negotiation.

Practical implications

Management actions need to be recognised as important in re‐defining the nature of psychological contracts. The transitional nature of this process may be prolonged where management imposes transactional contracts and where communication and negotiation to create clear expectations is lacking.

Originality/value

The findings provide new insights into the implications of forcing employees from permanent to temporary contracts for their, and remaining permanent employees', psychological contracts.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 28 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 May 2011

Ulla Kinnunen, Anne Mäkikangas, Saija Mauno, Katri Siponen and Jouko Nätti

The purpose of the present study is to examine how perceived employability relates to job exhaustion, psychological symptoms and self‐rated job performance in involuntary and…

4169

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the present study is to examine how perceived employability relates to job exhaustion, psychological symptoms and self‐rated job performance in involuntary and voluntary temporary employees compared to permanent employees.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on a cross‐sectional design using a sample of university teachers and researchers (n=1,014) from two Finnish universities. Of the sample, 40 percent (n=408) are permanent employees, 49 percent (n=495) involuntary and 11 percent (n=111) voluntary temporary employees. Most respondents (54 percent) have education above a Master's degree, the average age is 43 years, and 58 percent are women.

Findings

The results of general linear model analyses show that perceived employability promotes favorable outcomes among all respondents. However, the negative relationship between perceived employability and job exhaustion and psychological symptoms is stronger among voluntary than among involuntary temporary employees.

Originality/value

The study indicates that although perceived employability seems to be important to all employees, involuntary temporary employees benefit least from high perceived employability in terms of individual well‐being.

Details

Career Development International, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 December 2004

Cynthia L. Gramm and John F. Schnell

Traditionally, hiring indefinite duration contract employees has been the dominant method used by U.S. organizations to staff their labor needs. Indefinite duration contract…

Abstract

Traditionally, hiring indefinite duration contract employees has been the dominant method used by U.S. organizations to staff their labor needs. Indefinite duration contract employees, hereafter referred to as “regular” employees, have three defining characteristics: (1) they are hired directly as employees of the organization whose work they perform; (2) the duration of the employment relationship is unspecified, with a mutual expectation that it will continue as long as it is mutually satisfactory; and (3) the employment relationship provides ongoing – as opposed to intermittent – work. When their demand for labor increases, organizations staffed exclusively by regular employees can respond by having their employees work overtime or by hiring additional regular employees. Conversely, when their demand for labor decreases, such organizations can either maintain “inventories” of excess regular employees or reduce labor inputs by laying-off or reducing the work hours of regular employees.

Details

Advances in Industrial & Labor Relations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-305-1

Article
Publication date: 6 September 2021

Nimitha Aboobaker, Manoj Edward and K.A. Zakkariya

This study aims to examine the influence of workplace spirituality on employee loyalty toward the organization, mediated through well-being at work. Furthermore, the study…

1883

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the influence of workplace spirituality on employee loyalty toward the organization, mediated through well-being at work. Furthermore, the study endeavors to test the difference in conceptual model estimates, across two groups of employees: those who work on contract/temporary and permanent basis. The study gains relevance particularly in the context of the emerging sharing economy, where jobs are primarily characterized by short-term contracts and freelancing.

Design/methodology/approach

This descriptive study was conducted among a sample of 523 educators working in private educational institutions in India. Self-reporting questionnaires were administered among the respondents, who were selected through the purposive sampling method. Structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis were done to test the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

The analysis revealed that workplace spirituality enriched employee well-being and loyalty toward the organization and evidence were found for indirect effects too. Variances were observed in the relationships, with respect to the different employment statuses of the personnel. Significant differences in the relationships were not found across temporary and permanent employment statuses. Interestingly, temporary employees experienced stronger influences between meaningful work, well-being and word-of-mouth. Results suggest the relevance of understanding employees' differential work experiences and attitudes and thus facilitate human resource strategies accordingly.

Originality/value

This study is pioneering in conceptualizing and testing a theoretical model linking workplace spirituality, well-being at work and employee loyalty, particularly in the context of employees who differ in their employment status, which is a critical aspect of modern-day organizations. Unlike traditional workplaces, in recent times, people come together and work along for shorter terms, as the case of a sharing economy and the thus emergent interpersonal dynamics between each other and with the workplace has significant repercussions on the organization. Theoretical and managerial implications with regard to the experience of workplace spirituality and job outcomes are elaborated, thus striving to fill a gap in the existing literature.

Article
Publication date: 8 October 2018

Yuchao Zhang, Ting Ren and Xuanye Li

This paper aims to investigate the Chinese employment relationship under the framework of psychological contracts. The authors explored the effects of firm ownership (in terms of…

1267

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the Chinese employment relationship under the framework of psychological contracts. The authors explored the effects of firm ownership (in terms of state-owned and private enterprises) and employment type (in terms of permanent and temporary employees) on employee perceptions of psychological contract. In addition, the associations between fulfilled psychological contract and various dimensions of employee attitudes were examined.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopted a questionnaire as the primary instrument to investigate the impact of firm ownership and employment type on psychological contract perceptions and outcomes. The analysis was based on a Chinese sample of a size of 363 employees.

Findings

The results indicate that state-owned employees overall reported fewer promises (employer under-obligation promised psychological contract), while private employees tended to have more promises (mutual high obligation, employer over-obligation and quasi-spot obligation promise-based psychological contract). Permanent employees reported high fulfillment (employer over-obligation, mutual high obligation and employer under-obligation fulfilled psychological contract). In contrast, temporary employees presented many promises (mutual high obligation promised psychological contract) and low fulfillment (quasi-spot fulfilled psychological contract). In general, firm ownership had weak effects on permanent and temporary employees’ perceptions of promise-based psychological contract, but no significant influence on fulfillment-based psychological contract. Moreover, psychological contract fulfillment was positively related to employees’ fairness perception and job satisfaction, while negatively related to the intention to quit. The authors failed to find comprehensive statistical support for the moderating effects of firm ownership or employment type.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the literature through a number of ways. First, instead of psychological contract breach, the authors use psychological contract fulfillment as a direct measure to examine the relationship between psychological contract and employees’ attitudes. Second, they investigate the effects of firm ownership on employment relationship under the psychological contract framework, enriching the institutional lens of the issue. Third, while majority of psychological contract studies concerning employment type concentrate on either permanent or temporary employees, the authors take both types into account. Fourth, they integrate perspectives of firm ownership and employment type. Finally, the authors perform the study in the Chinese context, which offers extra evidence to the body of psychological contract literature.

Details

Chinese Management Studies, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-614X

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 18000