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1 – 10 of over 9000Peter Lindeberg, Minna Saunila, Pia Lappalainen, Juhani Ukko and Hannu Rantanen
Work environments are undergoing a transition and COVID-19 accelerated this change. Prior studies have associated various physical, digital and social work environment elements…
Abstract
Purpose
Work environments are undergoing a transition and COVID-19 accelerated this change. Prior studies have associated various physical, digital and social work environment elements with occupational well-being. However, holistic approaches to the social work environment to compare the effects of the different elements have received less attention. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship of various social work environment elements with hybrid worker well-being. The findings help organizations design their work environments and cultures for the post-COVID era.
Design/methodology/approach
The study builds on a quantitative survey with 1,057 respondents. The respondents were randomly selected, the answers were anonymous and the results were based on regression analysis.
Findings
The analysis indicated that working methods and practices, leadership and management practices, organizational communality and social interaction associate with hybrid worker well-being. Organizational values, reward systems and organizational structures yield no association with hybrid worker well-being.
Originality/value
The value of this paper is in that it investigates elements of the social work environment, presents a research model that examines the relationship of social work environment elements with hybrid worker well-being and provides new empirical data on their implications in a comparative manner.
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Juliet Hassard, Weiwei Wang, Lana Delic, Ieva Grudyte, Vanessa Dale-Hewitt and Louise Thomson
In this paper, the authors apply the Job Demand-Resource Model to investigate the association between pregnancy-related discrimination (conceptualised as a job demand) and…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the authors apply the Job Demand-Resource Model to investigate the association between pregnancy-related discrimination (conceptualised as a job demand) and expectant workers' psychological well-being and work engagement, and the moderating role of workplace support (co-worker and supervisor social support and perceived organisational family support (POFS); conceptualised as job resources).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper conducted a cross-sectional online survey of vocationally active British workers in their second and third trimesters of pregnancy using purposive sampling techniques. Participants were recruited through online forums and social media platforms. A sample of 186 was used to conduct multiple regression and moderation analysis (SPSS v28 and STATA v17).
Findings
The authors observed that higher levels of pregnancy-related discrimination were associated with poorer psychological well-being and work engagement among surveyed expectant workers. Perceived co-worker social support moderated both these relationships for psychological well-being (demonstrating a buffering effect) and work engagement (an antagonist effect). POFS and supervisor support did not moderate this association.
Practical implications
This paper highlights the importance of pregnancy-related discrimination at work as a work stressor, necessitating its reduction as part of organisations' strategies to manage and prevent work-related stress above and beyond their legal requirements to do so under national-level equality legislation. It also sheds light on the potential value of resource-based interventions.
Originality/value
This is the first study to investigate pregnancy-related discrimination and work-related health outcomes within a British sample, and to explore the potential protective health and motivational value of job resources there within.
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Susanna Kultalahti, Riitta Viitala, Maija Hujala and Tauno Kekale
The purpose of this study is to gain more understanding of how competence might matter from the perspective of well-being at work. The authors explore how perceived competence is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to gain more understanding of how competence might matter from the perspective of well-being at work. The authors explore how perceived competence is connected to perceived work-related well-being among Baby Boomer, Generation X and Generation Y employees.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors explore how perceived competence is connected to perceived work-related well-being among Baby Boomer, Generation X and Generation Y employees. The frames of reference of the study are based on literature on employee well-being (measured with work engagement and overcommitment) and competence, as well as on generational discussions. The quantitative, questionnaire-based study was conducted in 88 companies in Finland, with the total number of respondents being 4,418.
Findings
The main finding was that perceived competence related to current duties is statistically significantly connected to employee well-being. The results indicate that high competence results in high employee well-being in all generational groups. Further, Generation Y estimated their work well-being, both in terms of work engagement and overcommitment, lower than Baby Boomers or Generation X. The results suggest that developing competence of employees in organizations seems to be an important means to also support work well-being. It is especially important to pay attention to that among Generation Y, who take their first steps in working life. Competence is a meaningful factor for coping in working life in continually changing work environments. Incompetence is not just a factor for poor performance but also a potential threat to employee well-being.
Originality/value
Most of the competence/workplace learning results research concentrates on cognitive competence and skills, often from the employers’ benefit viewpoint (useful skills, productivity increase). This study starts from the finding that new generations of workers rather look for a meaningful work life, and thus, a feeling of having the necessary competences directly improves their well-being and, thus, life quality. Furthermore, the study is based on an original questionnaire-based study conducted in 88 companies in Finland, with the total number of respondents being 4,418.
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Ana Junça Silva, Patrícia Neves and António Caetano
This study draws on the affective events theory (AET) to understand how telework may influence workers' well-being. Hence this study aimed to (1) analyze the indirect relationship…
Abstract
Purpose
This study draws on the affective events theory (AET) to understand how telework may influence workers' well-being. Hence this study aimed to (1) analyze the indirect relationship between telework and well-being via daily micro-events (DME), and (2) test whether procrastination would moderate this indirect effect.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the goals, data were gathered from a sample of teleworkers in the IT sector (N = 232). To analyze the data, a moderated mediation analysis was performed in SPSS with PROCESS macro.
Findings
The results showed that micro-daily events mediated the positive relationship between telework and well-being; however, this relation was conditional upon the levels of workers' levels of procrastination, that is, this link became weaker for those who were procrastinators.
Practical implications
By highlighting the importance of telework, DME and procrastination, this study offers managers distinct strategies for enhancing their employees' well-being.
Originality/value
Despite the existing research investigating the effect of telework on well-being, studies investigating the intervening mechanisms between these two constructs are scarce. Moreover, there is a lack of research investigating the moderating effect of procrastination in these relations. Hence, this study fills these gaps and advances knowledge on the process that explains how (via DME) and when (when procrastination is low) teleworking influences workers' well-being.
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Ana Junça Silva, António Caetano and Rita Rueff
Drawing upon the conservation of resources theory, the authors expected that daily micro-events, daily hassles and uplifts at work influenced well-being via work engagement at the…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing upon the conservation of resources theory, the authors expected that daily micro-events, daily hassles and uplifts at work influenced well-being via work engagement at the daily level.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted two diary studies. In study 1, 181 workers answered a daily questionnaire for four working days (N = 181 × 4 = 724). In study 2, 51 workers filled in a questionnaire for ten consecutive working days (N = 51 × 10 = 510).
Findings
In study 1, the results demonstrated that work engagement fully mediated the effects of daily uplifts on well-being and partially mediated the effects of daily hassles on well-being. The results of study 2 revealed a full mediation for both kinds of daily micro-events. Hence, daily uplifts stimulated work engagement, which, in turn, enhanced well-being, and daily hassles minimized work engagement and, consequently, well-being.
Originality/value
The relationships explored provide new theoretical elements for models that explain well-being.
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Azka Umair, Kieran Conboy and Eoin Whelan
Online labour markets (OLMs) have recently become a widespread phenomenon of digital work. While the implications of OLMs on worker well-being are hotly debated, little empirical…
Abstract
Purpose
Online labour markets (OLMs) have recently become a widespread phenomenon of digital work. While the implications of OLMs on worker well-being are hotly debated, little empirical research examines the impact of such work on individuals. The highly competitive and fast-paced nature of OLMs compels workers to multitask and to perform intense technology-enabled work, which can potentially enhance technostress. This paper examines the antecedents and well-being consequences of technostress arising from work in OLMs.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors draw from person–environment fit theory and job characteristics theory and test a research model of the antecedents and consequences of worker technostress in OLMs. Data were gathered from 366 workers in a popular OLM through a large-scale online survey. Structural equation modelling was used to evaluate the research model.
Findings
The findings extend existing research by validating the relationships between specific OLM characteristics and strain. Contrary to previous literature, the results indicate a link between technology complexity and work overload in OLMs. Furthermore, in OLMs, feedback is positively associated with work overload and job insecurity, while strain directly influences workers' negative affective well-being and discontinuous intention.
Originality/value
This study contributes to technostress literature by developing and testing a research model relevant to a new form of work conducted through OLMs. The authors expand the current research on technostress by integrating job characteristics as new antecedents to technostress and demonstrating its impact on different types of subjective well-being and discontinuous intention. In addition, while examining the impact of technostressors on outcomes, the authors consider their impact at the individual level (disaggregated approach) to capture the subtlety involved in understanding technostressors' unique relationships with outcomes.
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Mentoring is an essential tool for teacher education, not least because it allows knowledge and experience sharing. Research findings suggest a close relationship between…
Abstract
Purpose
Mentoring is an essential tool for teacher education, not least because it allows knowledge and experience sharing. Research findings suggest a close relationship between mentoring and the well-being of those involved. However, little is known about this relationship or the mechanisms involved. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Through an integrative literature review, important links between mentor and mentee well-being and certain aspects of mentoring are explored. The results of the review are then synthesised into a theoretical framework.
Findings
The framework developed here posits that the well-being of teachers relates to the quality of mentoring. This includes teachers' perceptions of mentoring and their decision to get involved, their contributions to functional mentor–mentee relationships and the selection and use of mentoring styles that support both mentor and mentee well-being. Moreover, the framework hypothesises that the quality of mentoring received by mentees is related to their well-being, which is in turn connected to their professional development. Most of these relationships appear to be bidirectional, meaning that mentee well-being also contributes to mentoring quality and mentor well-being. Finally, it is hypothesised that the well-being of both mentors and mentees is connected to the school context in which the mentoring takes place.
Originality/value
This work provides a novel, comprehensive framework for future examinations of the connections between well-being and mentoring. It synthesises the prior work on this topic by integrating findings from both the mentor and mentee perspectives into a single framework.
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Ning Sun, Sai Liang, Hui Li and Haiyan Song
This study aims to examine the effect of several types of ex post idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) on work–life balance and work well-being, focusing on the mediating effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effect of several types of ex post idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) on work–life balance and work well-being, focusing on the mediating effect of work–life balance on the relationship between ex post i-deals and work well-being as well as the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between ex post i-deals and work–life balance in the hospitality industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a questionnaire survey of 642 hotel managers from developed cities in China and analyze the data with structural equation modeling. This study also conducts on-site interviews among 20 hotel managers to support conclusions of the survey.
Findings
The results indicate that task i-deals as well as career and incentives i-deals significantly promote work–life balance, thereby indirectly improving work well-being. However, the impact of flexibility i-deals on work–life balance and work well-being is insignificant. The influence of career and incentives i-deals on work–life balance for males is slightly stronger than that for females.
Practical implications
This study has practical implications for hotel employers in terms of using various ex post i-deals to motivate and retain hotel managers by improving personal work–life balance and work well-being.
Originality/value
As one of early attempts to highlight the potential of i-deals to serve as solutions for work–life conflicts and unhappiness issues among hotel managers, this study provides novel insights into the mediating process between ex post i-deals and work well-being from the work–life balance perspective as well as distinct influences of various ex post i-deals on work–life balance for male and female managers.
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Minna Hurmekoski, Arja Häggman-Laitila, Johanna Lammintakanen and Anja Terkamo-Moisio
This study aimed to describe nurse leaders’ experiences of remote leadership in health care sector.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to describe nurse leaders’ experiences of remote leadership in health care sector.
Design/methodology/approach
Semistructured interviews were conducted among nurse leaders (N = 12) between January and March 2022. All of the interviewees had experiences of remote leadership and worked as immediate – (n = 5) or middle-level (n = 7) leaders in health care organizations across four provinces in Finland. The collected data were analyzed by inductive content analysis.
Findings
The leaders had experienced a rapid transition to remote leadership and highlighted the need for guidelines and joint discussions with different stakeholders. The interviewees felt that working life has changed in the last two years and that remote leadership will now be a key part of leadership in health care. The leaders’ experiences highlighted how important trust is in remote leadership. Furthermore, the interviewees pointed out a need for face-to-face contact and described other good practices for remote leadership. Overseeing work-related well-being was also stressed as important in the remote context; however, the interviewees expressed a need for instructions and tools concerning the management of employee well-being. The sudden change to remote leadership was not only described as interesting but also challenging, which has affected the leaders’ work-related well-being. Support – both from the organization and other employees – was found to be crucial to health care leaders’ work-related well-being.
Originality/value
The current study complements the little-researched topic of remote leadership in the health care sector. The results provide insights that can be used to develop remote leadership and/or guide future research.
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Matthew B. Perrigino, Benjamin B. Dunford, R. Wayne Boss, Matt Troup and David S. Boss
For decades, organizational research has primarily considered instrumental technology perceptions (ITP) – emphasizing how technology impacts the personal interests of end users…
Abstract
Purpose
For decades, organizational research has primarily considered instrumental technology perceptions (ITP) – emphasizing how technology impacts the personal interests of end users themselves – to understand technology acceptance. The authors offer a complementary paradigm by introducing deontic technology perceptions (DTP), defined as the degree to which individuals believe that the technology they use is beneficial to other individuals beyond themselves (e.g. beneficial to customers).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected quantitative survey-based data from three different hospitals located in the United States. On the basis of conservation of resources theory, the authors investigated whether both DTP and ITP were associated with improved work-related well-being.
Findings
Two pilot studies (n = 161 and n = 311 nurses) substantiated our DTP conceptualization. Our primary study (n = 346 nurses) found support for the association between DTP and improved work-related well-being. Evidence for the relationship between ITP and work-related well-being was mixed and the authors did not find a statistically significant interaction between DTP and ITP.
Originality/value
The authors build on decades of research on technology acceptance by complementing it with our deontic perspective. Our work demonstrates that technology users pay attention and react meaningfully to how their use of technology impacts not only themselves but also external parties like patients, customers and members of the general public.
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