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1 – 10 of over 2000Handan Kunkcu, Kerim Koc and Asli Pelin Gurgun
Work–family conflict is one of the most challenging stressors for construction industry professionals to cope with emotional problems. This study aims to propose a model linking…
Abstract
Purpose
Work–family conflict is one of the most challenging stressors for construction industry professionals to cope with emotional problems. This study aims to propose a model linking work–family conflict and high-quality relationships among project team members and explore mediating effects of life and job satisfactions.
Design/methodology/approach
A theoretical framework was established based on the spillover theory and social exchange theory. Data were obtained by a questionnaire survey conducted with 328 respondents working in construction projects. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test interrelationships among work–family conflict, job satisfaction, life satisfaction and high-quality relationship.
Findings
The results indicate that work–family conflict is negatively associated with both job and life satisfactions of construction professionals. In addition, there were direct and positive relationships between satisfaction domains and high-quality relationship capacity. The findings further support that job satisfaction plays a mediating role between work–family conflict and high-quality relationship among construction professionals, while life satisfaction does not mediate the relationship.
Originality/value
The effects of interrole conflicts on the context of satisfaction have been investigated previously; however, there is a lack of knowledge regarding its influence on high-quality relationship among project team members. This study extends the body of knowledge on high-quality relationships among project team members to understand how conflict and satisfaction factors influence interpersonal relationships in construction project management.
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Ángela Ximena Campos García, Victoria Eugenia Cabrera-García, María del Carmen Docal-Millán, Lina María Acuña Arango and Fernando Riveros Munevar
Remote work has been intensifying in organizations, and the recent pandemic forced an immediate increase in it, ignoring its effect on the family. The purpose of this study was to…
Abstract
Purpose
Remote work has been intensifying in organizations, and the recent pandemic forced an immediate increase in it, ignoring its effect on the family. The purpose of this study was to analyze the work and personal-family life balance of Colombian workers during the lockdown and the effects on post-pandemic times.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative correlational study with a non-probabilistic sample of 1,069 participants: 349 (32.64%) men and 720 (67.35%) women.
Findings
A total of 44.8% of the participants reported that their work interfered with their personal life; 61.6% reported that their work exceeded their habitual time; 72.2% felt comfortable with the remote work; and women perceived more affectation, as did participants with children. No interaction was present between these variables. There are more interruptions for workers with children younger than 12 years.
Practical implications
There is satisfaction with remote work. However, there are difficulties regarding work-personal life balance that must be addressed to improve quality of life, with an emphasis on women and workers with children, especially younger children.
Social implications
This study provides empirical evidence for the foundation of public and organizational policies aimed at managing remote work and the work-personal life balance to reduce the risk of loss of female labor force and effects on the quality of life of workers.
Originality/value
Studies on the work-personal life balance with Latin American samples are scarce. This research contributes to the literature about satisfaction with working from home modality and the work-personal life balance during COVID-19 confinement, with a look at the differences by gender and the evaluation of the family conditions of Colombian workers, contributing to a regional perspective.
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Shubhi Gupta, Sireesha Rani Vasa and Prachee Sehgal
This study aims to explore how information technology (IT) professionals perceive work-life balance (WLB) in a work-from-home (WFH) setup. Additionally, it explores what emotions…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how information technology (IT) professionals perceive work-life balance (WLB) in a work-from-home (WFH) setup. Additionally, it explores what emotions one may associate with such changing work environments, which have high implications for organisational success.
Design/methodology/approach
The two primary research questions guided this research. An online questionnaire-based survey was conducted to collect the data so that respondents’ both subjective and objective perceptions were documented. Purposive cum snowball sampling was used to collect data from 262 IT professionals. However, the data was analysed using both qualitative (content analysis) and quantitative (chi-square) techniques.
Findings
The findings of this study are interesting in nature and reported the work-life experiences at various socio-demographic levels (age, gender, educational qualification, designation, work experience, income, type of family and the number of children). The comprehensive examination of the data obtained from diverse aspects related to remote work environments has shed light on crucial facets impacting IT professionals. A predominant observation derived from the study reveals a significant disparity in working hours between male and female respondents during remote work. This discrepancy is notable, with male employees tending to work longer hours (i.e. 10 or more hours daily) than their female counterparts. The investigation into respondents’ sleep patterns revealed that the majority slept between 5 h and 7 h daily, underscoring reduced sleep hours for IT professionals during remote work. This comprehensive study thus emphasises the multifaceted nature of gender-associated influences on work patterns, health and well-being during remote work scenarios among IT professionals. As remote work is the new normal, this study has high implications for future work arrangements and organisational success.
Practical implications
The findings of the study will assist managers in dealing with the work conflict issue of remote workers. Importantly, these managers should try eliminating or reducing workplace conflict, emotional exhaustion and social overload associated with remote work.
Originality/value
This study is a humble attempt to highlight the employee’s WLB in the context of WFH in an emerging market (i.e. India). Furthermore, emphasises practical issues associated with changing work paradigms and concludes with interesting recommendations for future work arrangements.
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Sreenu Telu and Rama Krishna Gupta Potnuru
In today’s competitive environment, understanding employee well-being and work engagement (WE) is crucial. This study explores the relationship between values, well-being and WE…
Abstract
Purpose
In today’s competitive environment, understanding employee well-being and work engagement (WE) is crucial. This study explores the relationship between values, well-being and WE within positive organizational behavior (POB). The research aims to provide insights for promoting employee well-being and enhancing WE.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a cross-sectional approach, three hundred and seventy-two teachers from higher education institutes in India participated by completing questionnaires. Covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) was employed to examine the mediation effect.
Findings
Human values i.e. benevolence (BE) and universalism (UN) significantly impacted teachers' WE. These relationships were mediated by positive emotions (PE), negative emotions (NE) and satisfaction with life (SWL). Interestingly, UN exhibited a positive relationship with PE and SWL and a negative relationship with NE. These findings contradict existing theories and may be attributed to India’s cultural aspects, particularly the concept of karma orientation.
Research limitations/implications
The quantitative results obtained through CB-SEM could be complemented by future qualitative studies. Employing longitudinal research might yield different results. Generalizing the findings to other populations requires caution.
Practical implications
Institutions should prioritize human values in teacher recruitment and development to improve engagement. Promoting PE, managing NE and enhancing SWL can boost WE. Future research should explore mediation with other variables and use longitudinal studies to understand cultural impact and intervention strategies.
Originality/value
The study contributes to knowledge on WE within positive organizational behavior by examining BE and UN. Additionally, exploring the mediating effect of PE, NE and SWL adds further value.
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Begoña Urien and Amaya Erro-Garcés
The swift and unanticipated integration of telework by European companies due to COVID-19 gave rise to distinct features of telework. These attributes underscore the necessity of…
Abstract
Purpose
The swift and unanticipated integration of telework by European companies due to COVID-19 gave rise to distinct features of telework. These attributes underscore the necessity of analysing its impact on employees’ well-being. This paper explores how telework experiences impact well-being by influencing work–life balance and job satisfaction. Additionally, it investigates whether employee preferences for telework are a contributing factor.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the data provided by the “living, working and COVID-19” e-survey, structural equation models (SEM) were used to test the hypotheses. Specifically, a multiple-mediation approach and path analyses were applied to measure the relationship between the variables under study. The moderating role of preference for telework was also tested.
Findings
Key findings support that telework experience has a positive impact on well-being, both directly and indirectly, particularly via work–life balance. Although preference for telework strengthens the relationship between telework experience and well-being, it does not enhance the predictive power of the mediated model.
Practical implications
These results have important implications from an applied perspective. Human capital departments as well as managers should design telework programmes to create a positive experience since this will ensure a positive influence on the perception of work–life balance, job satisfaction and well-being.
Originality/value
COVID-19 as a sudden environmental constraint forced the implementation of telework without proper planning and training. Thus, how the employees experience this major change in their working conditions has affected their well-being. The present paper contributes to clarifying how the proposed variables relate under such constraints.
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The purpose of this qualitative study is to identify and highlight the challenges faced by the dual-career couples with one or multiple child/children in maintaining their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this qualitative study is to identify and highlight the challenges faced by the dual-career couples with one or multiple child/children in maintaining their work–family balance based on family systems theory.
Design/methodology/approach
The author purposely selected 26 families (52 participants) in Bangladesh where both husbands and wives work on a full-time basis having one or multiple child/children. The author used focus group discussion (FGD) technique to identify the challenges encountered by them.
Findings
After summarising the FGD results, the study identified several challenges faced by those dual-career couples, such as inability to differentiate between professional and family lives, lack of quality time for partners/children, challenges to raise children, lack of childcare centres and lack of professionalism of care workers; and tension and anxiety for their child/children while at offices.
Originality/value
The author expects the results of this qualitative study to be conductive as groundwork for upcoming research studies concerning dual-career couples with child/children. The author also hopes that such results will assist the human resource managers in efficiently crafting and executing some policies regarding dual-career couples with one or multiple child/children.
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This paper aims to explore how employees reconceptualized their time and space to order and structure their lives in an unprecedented scenario of nonvoluntary work from home.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how employees reconceptualized their time and space to order and structure their lives in an unprecedented scenario of nonvoluntary work from home.
Design/methodology/approach
Set in the context of lockdowns due to the pandemic scenario, the study uses a constructivist approach to collect data through in-depth online interviews to understand how employees coped with the challenges emanating in a nonvoluntary work from home situation. The respondents were purposively selected to reflect a diverse pool in terms of gender, familial responsibilities and age/tenure.
Findings
The findings present temporal and spatial themes that provide several insights into how employees made sense of time and space as resources to navigate their challenging work-home roles.
Research limitations/implications
In the present study, the authors found that when boundaries get violated, it does not necessarily manifest in the form of dissatisfaction with one or the other domain. The respondents in the current study show-cased adjustment mechanism to cope with the boundary permeability that happened. They adopted ways in which they could safe-guard their multiple identities in the situation they found themselves in, do justice to the salient roles in their lives, emerge as more empathetic humans and look forward to a brighter and more hopeful future. This opens-up a possibility of studying the theory behind human behavior in crisis-like situations and the degree of acceptance that people show when they find themselves in undesirable-unalterable situations.
Practical implications
A mental reorientation is required on the part of both employees and employers to navigate smoothly in this new “normal” and find more sustainable solutions to the problem if the remote working or hybrid mode of working becomes mainstay. Clear demarcations between work and nonwork time are a key element to ensure proper work schedules for remote workers. Offline meetings and get-togethers can be organized on a periodic basis to facilitate employee interaction and engagement. Participation of employees in key decisions becomes more important in such situations as it makes employees feel more connected with their work space.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is original as it is set in a completely unprecedented situation of lockdowns (during the pandemic) that affected the lives of everyone in some way or the other. The findings of the study are unique and insightful, as they help understand the sense-making mechanism adopted by people to successfully navigate through the crisis.
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Mirela Cătălina Türkeş, Aurelia Felicia Stăncioiu, Mihai Cristian Orzan, Mariana Jugănaru, Roxana-Cristina Marinescu and Ion Dănuț Jugănaru
Almost four years after the COVID-19 pandemic, the changes in the labour market and legislation, but also in people's lives, do not stop. At the same time, employees' perceptions…
Abstract
Purpose
Almost four years after the COVID-19 pandemic, the changes in the labour market and legislation, but also in people's lives, do not stop. At the same time, employees' perceptions regarding the change in the legislative and contractual framework, as well as in the working conditions and the use of telework, also change. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to identify the perceptions of employees regarding the use of telework in the post-pandemic period.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was based on a survey carried out on 128 teleworkers in the post-pandemic period. The statistical hypotheses were tested using Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Kruskal–Wallis tests, multiple linear regression and pairwise comparison analysis.
Findings
The results of the study demonstrate that the modification of the legislative and contractual framework and of the working conditions, as well as of the way of using information and communication technology in the post-pandemic era, generates a positive and significant impact on the use of telework by employees. Some of the main advantages valued by teleworkers included the possibility of benefitting from a flexible work schedule and the possibility of reducing transport costs.
Originality/value
The study highlights the need to continuously develop and update labour policies and strategies in line with current and future labour market requirements, considering the implications of telework on the perceptions of employees, so that government organisations and managers who want to protect the rights and interests of teleworkers, aspects of their lives and organise an appropriate work environment manage to do so in order to achieve the expected results.
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Mounika Mude and J. Reeves Wesley
Research on work–family interface (WFI) is almost two decades old. It is widely believed that the archetype of work and family after COVID has changed. Post-COVID emphases and…
Abstract
Purpose
Research on work–family interface (WFI) is almost two decades old. It is widely believed that the archetype of work and family after COVID has changed. Post-COVID emphases and outcomes would be different. Accordingly, a bibliometric analysis of the research would help to understand the state of the research and positive WFI patterns that guide further investigations. The present study used measures such as journals, citations, etc. to determine the bibliometric patterns from 2003 to August 2023 using VOSviewer software.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were obtained from Scopus. 1,601 works were found in the first search. This figure was narrowed down to 525 based on a few conditions. The most commonly referenced journals, sources, authors, etc. were used for the analysis.
Findings
Research on positive WFI has increased in recent years. The total number of articles in positive WFI was 525 between 2003 and August 2023. Greenhaus, Powell and Carlson were the most cited authors in this field. Carlson had produced the highest number of documents in WFI. Most WFI authors focused on antecedents, treating positive WFI as the outcome variable.
Research limitations/implications
This is the first bibliometric analysis conducted on a positive WFI, although there have been a few on work–family conflict. However, other sources such as the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) and Web of Science may throw different results on journals, citations, etc. Hence, future researchers might emphasize if the same results originate from data in other databases. Other analytical tools may be used in the place of VOSviewer.
Originality/value
This is the first article on bibliometric analysis of positive WFI. This paper’s primary objective is to understand the patterns of literature available on positive WFI and its significance comprehensively.
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Philippe Orsini, Toru Uchida, Remy Magnier-Watanabe, Caroline Benton and Kimihiko Nagata
We empirically assessed the antecedents of subjective well-being at work for French permanent employees.
Abstract
Purpose
We empirically assessed the antecedents of subjective well-being at work for French permanent employees.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology includes qualitative and quantitative data analyses. In the first phase, interviews elicited the antecedents of subjective well-being at work among permanent French employees. In the second phase, a questionnaire survey was used to confirm the relevance of the antecedents uncovered in the first phase.
Findings
We found 14 distinct elements that influence French employees’ subjective well-being at work: corporate culture, job dissonance, relationships with colleagues, achievement, professional development, relationships with superiors, status, workload, perks, feedback, workspace, diversity and pay. Moreover, we identified discrete antecedents for the three components of subjective well-being at work: work achievement and relationships with superiors and colleagues for positive emotions at work, job dissonance and workload for negative emotions at work and organizational culture and professional development for satisfaction with one’s work.
Originality/value
The original contribution of this study is to have unpacked the black box of the antecedents of subjective well-being in the French workplace and to have uncovered discriminant predictors for each of the three components of subjective well-being at work. Furthermore, we specifically linked each of these three components with their most significant antecedents.
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