Teleworker knowledge sharing and the role of altered relational and technological interactions

Given the growing importance and complexities of telework and the challenges associated with knowledge sharing, in this study we investigate teleworkers and their propensity to share knowledge. We do so by investigating if the relational qualities of teleworkers in the form of trust, interpersonal bond, and commitment, act to impact teleworker knowledge sharing. We also investigate how telework's altered spatial and technical interactions shape knowledge sharing, by testing the contingent role of technology support, face-to-face interactions, and electronic tool use. Results using matched data from 226 teleworkers support the role of teleworker trust, interpersonal bond, and commitment in predicting knowledge sharing. Moreover, the impact of trust on knowledge sharing is found to be moderated by technology support, face-to-face interactions, and use of electronic tools, whereas the impact of commitment is contingent upon the use of electronic tools. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When control becomes a liability rather than an asset: Comparing home and office days among part‐time teleworkers

Past research has mainly examined differences between employees working under conventional versus teleworking arrangements or high‐intensity versus low‐intensity teleworking. Yet because many workers combine days worked from the office with days worked from home (part‐time telework), it may be more appropriate to examine within‐individual variation in office versus home days. Accordingly, we compare diary data from 77 employees on three home days and three office days. This setup enables us to contribute to the theoretical debate on the duality of control and accountability. Specifically, by comparing job locations (home versus office), we identify conditions under which job control (worktime control) is more likely to act as an asset or as a liability. Results suggest that ability to concentrate is higher and need for recovery is lower, on home days than on office days. However, on home days, generally high level of worktime control amplifies the association between job demands and need for recovery—whereas this association is reversed when worktime control is generally moderate. No similar differences are observed on office days. Finally, whereas employees experiencing high job demands are more able to concentrate during home days than during office days, worktime control has no differential effect in this respect. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A within‐individual study of interpersonal conflict as a work stressor: Dispositional and situational moderators

Focusing on interpersonal conflict as a work stressor, the authors used a within‐subjects research design to examine the effect of conflict episodes on employees' negative affect on the job. The roles of agreeableness and social support in moderating the negative effects of conflict episodes were also examined. A two‐week experience‐sampling study revealed that interpersonal conflict influenced employees' intraindividual fluctuations in negative affect. As predicted, agreeableness and social support influenced individuals' patterns of affective responses to conflict, such that conflict was more strongly associated with negative affect for agreeable employees, and for those with lower levels of social support at work. Overall, the results suggest that both personality (agreeableness) and context (social support) significantly moderate the affective implications of interpersonal conflict at work. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The process of burnout in white‐collar and blue‐collar jobs: eight‐year prospective study of exhaustion

This study tested three contrasting theories about the sequential process of the three dimensions of burnout (i.e., exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy) as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory—General Survey (MBI‐GS). The causal order of the burnout components was investigated by including job stressors as antecedents of burnout in structural equation models (LISREL). The predictive effect of exhaustion on burnout dimensions eight years later was also investigated. The longitudinal models were then tested in two occupational subgroups. The participants were 713 Finnish employees (415 white‐collar and 298 blue‐collar workers) from an international industry enterprise. The best fitting model of the associations between the three burnout dimensions was obtained by a path model where exhaustion predicted cynicism, and cynicism in turn predicted lack of professional efficacy. The symptoms of exhaustion were persistent over time. There were no differences between the two occupational groups in the process of burnout. Also the work‐related antecedents of burnout (job stressors) were very similar in both groups. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self‐leadership in the context of part‐time teleworking

Employees who work periodically in both a traditional office and home office (part‐time teleworkers) face opportunities and risks related to both working locations. As self‐leadership might play a crucial role in this context, we examined within‐person variations in self‐leadership (self‐reward, self‐punishment, self‐cueing, self‐goal setting, imagining successful performance, and evaluation of beliefs and assumptions) on home days and office days. In a typical workweek, 195 part‐time teleworkers filled out daily surveys (729 days), and we examined the relationship between working location (office and home) and self‐leading behavior as well as the mediating role of autonomy. Finally, we investigated whether self‐leading behavior relates to ego depletion and work satisfaction at the end of the working day. Multilevel analyses revealed that part‐time teleworkers reported higher use of self‐reward, self‐goal setting, and visualization of successful performance on home days than on office days. The association between working location and self‐reward, self‐goal setting, visualization of successful performance, and evaluation of beliefs and assumptions was mediated by autonomy. There were no indirect effects of working location on ego depletion through self‐leadership. However, we found that on home days, part‐time teleworkers were more satisfied with their job at the end of the workday through self‐goal setting.     

高危岗位矿工工作倦怠影响因素的结构方程模型

为探索高危岗位矿工工作倦怠形成机制,寻求合理的干预对策,在文献研究和实地调研基础上,提出矿工工作倦怠假设模型。采用多阶段分层随机抽样法,对1 800名高危岗位矿工进行问卷调查,并借助结构方程模型(SEM)技术验证假设模型。研究表明:组织管理和角色压力均正向影响工作倦怠,工作特征仅正向影响生理疲乏;社会支持是工作压力源到工作倦怠的中介变量;消极应对是工作压力源到工作倦怠的部分中介变量,其中介效应较社会支持大很多;工作压力源通过影响社会支持再影响应对方式进而正向影响工作倦怠。通过有效干预组织管理和角色压力可减缓工作倦怠。     

An intervention to reduce work-related burnout in teachers.

The objective of the study was to develop and evaluate a 2-day burnout intervention program focused at enhancing coping with stresses observed in teachers' work. Karasek's job stress model was used as the theoretical framework. The aim of the intervention was to teach participants to deal better with high job demands and low job control. Some cognitive-behavioural methods of overcoming workload and enhancing a sense of self-mastery and relations with students were introduced in the workshop. 59 teachers were randomly assigned to an experimental or to a control group. Results showed that emotional exhaustion, perceived workload and somatic complaints decreased significantly in the intervention group. The greatest effect of the intervention was observed with regard to increased behavioural job control. It was concluded that teaching participants how to manage their work environment better could help them in changing their perception of stressful job characteristics, reducing emotional exhaustion and somatic complaints.     

It is also in our nature: Genetic influences on work characteristics and in explaining their relationships with well‐being

Work design research typically views employee work characteristics as being primarily determined by the work environment and has thus paid less attention to the possibility that the person may also influence employee work characteristics and in turn accounts for the work characteristics–well‐being relationships through selection. Challenging this conventional view, we investigated the role of a fundamental individual difference variable—people's genetic makeup—in affecting work characteristics (i.e., job demands, job control, social support at work, and job complexity) and in explaining why work characteristics relate to subjective and physical well‐being. Our findings based on a national US twin sample show sizable genetic influences on job demands, job control, and job complexity, but not on social support at work. Such genetic influences were partly attributed to genetic factors associated with core self‐evaluations. Both genetic and environmental influences accounted for the relationships between work characteristics and well‐being, but to varying degrees. The results underscore the importance of the person, in addition to the work environment, in influencing employee work characteristics and explaining the underlying nature of the relationships between employee work characteristics and their well‐being. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The journey to leave: Understanding the roles of perceived ease of movement,proactive personality,and person–organization fit in overqualified employees' job searching process

Despite intensive research on perceived overqualification, empirical evidence on overqualified employees' job search behavior remains relatively insufficient. Notably, no studies have explored the possible link between perceived overqualification and internal job searching behaviors. In the present study, we consider whether—and more importantly when—employees with high perception of overqualification search for internal and external job opportunities. Applying the ability–motivation–opportunity (AMO) framework, we propose and test a model that specifies how motivation and opportunity to move or stay activate differential effects in overqualifiers' job searching process. Results from two studies surveying employees in Taiwan (Study 1: N = 268; Study 2: N = 210) show that overqualifiers displayed greater intentions to leave the current job and, in turn, engaged in more external job search behaviors; this relation was strongest for those whose perceived ease of movement and proactive personality increased or person–organization (PO) fit decreased. Furthermore, overqualifiers displayed greater intentions to leave the current job and also increased their internal job search behaviors; this relation was strongest for those whose perceived ease of movement and PO fit increased. A series of supplemental analyses also lends support to our theorizing.     

Source attribution matters: Mediation and moderation effects in the relationship between work‐to‐family conflict and job satisfaction

On the basis of the source attribution perspective of work–family conflict, this study aims to first test whether threat to the family role mediates the relationship between work‐to‐family conflict and job satisfaction. We then examine boundary conditions of the source attribution perspective by drawing on boundary management and gender role orientation theories to examine whether role segmentation enactment and gender role orientation moderate the relationship between work‐to‐family conflict and job satisfaction. Using a scenario‐based experiment in Study 1, we find that threat to the family role mediates the relationship between work‐to‐family conflict and job satisfaction. This finding provides evidence supporting the appraisal process proposed by the perspective of source attribution. Using survey data collected from 216 Chinese managers and their spouses in Study 2, we find that work‐to‐family conflict has a negative relationship with job satisfaction only among people with high levels of role segmentation between work and home. In addition, for male managers, the negative moderating effect of role segmentation enactment on the relationship between work‐to‐family conflict and job satisfaction is stronger for those with a nontraditional gender role orientation, compared with those with a traditional gender role orientation. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Micro‐break activities at work to recover from daily work demands

Recovery literature has focused predominantly on recovery processes outside the workplace during nonwork times. Considering a lack of research on momentary recovery at work, we examined four categories of micro‐break activities—relaxation, nutrition‐intake, social, and cognitive activities—as possible recovery mechanisms in the workplace. Using effort recovery and conservation of resources theories, we hypothesized that micro‐break activities attenuate the common stressor–strain relationship between work demands and negative affect. For 10 consecutive workdays, 86 South Korean office workers (842 data points) reported their specific daily work demands right after their lunch hour (Time 1) and then reported their engagement in micro‐break activities during the afternoon and negative affective state at the end of the workday (Time 2). As expected, relaxation and social activities reduced the effects of work demands on end‐of‐workday negative affect. Nutrition intake of beverages and snacks did not have a significant moderating effect. Post hoc analyses, however, revealed that only caffeinated beverages reduced work demands effects on negative affect. Unexpectedly, cognitive activities aggravated the effects of work demands on negative affect. The findings indicate not only the importance of taking micro‐breaks but also which types of break activities are beneficial for recovery. Implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The two faces of high self‐monitors: Chameleonic moderating effects of self‐monitoring on the relationships between personality traits and counterproductive work behaviors

This study examines whether and how self‐monitoring moderates the relationships between two personality traits (agreeableness and conscientiousness) and counterproductive work behavior directed toward the organization (CWB‐O) and toward other employees (CWB‐I). High self‐monitors strive to attain personal goals related to status and prestige enhancement by adjusting their behavior to what the situation requires or allows for. We propose that the status enhancement motive can take on two different yet related forms—impression management (interpersonal potency) and opportunism (win‐at‐all‐costs)—depending on relevant situational cues. We hypothesize that in public, interpersonal settings where their behavior is visible to others, high self‐monitors' desire to enhance their status by looking good to others suppresses the natural expression of low agreeableness via increased engagement in CWB‐I. Conversely, we hypothesize that in private, non‐interpersonal settings where their behavior is rarely visible to others, high self‐monitors' desire to enhance their status by doing whatever it takes to get what they want intensifies the natural expression of low conscientiousness via increased engagement in CWB‐O. On the basis of two independent samples of participants, results of moderated multiple regression analyses provided support for the hypotheses. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Towards a multi‐foci approach to workplace aggression: A meta‐analytic review of outcomes from different perpetrators

Using meta‐analysis, we compare three attitudinal outcomes (i.e., job satisfaction, affective commitment, and turnover intent), three behavioral outcomes (i.e., interpersonal deviance, organizational deviance, and work performance), and four health‐related outcomes (i.e., general health, depression, emotional exhaustion, and physical well being) of workplace aggression from three different sources: Supervisors, co‐workers, and outsiders. Results from 66 samples show that supervisor aggression has the strongest adverse effects across the attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. Co‐worker aggression had stronger effects than outsider aggression on the attitudinal and behavioral outcomes, whereas there was no significant difference between supervisor, co‐worker, and outsider aggression for the majority of the health‐related outcomes. These results have implications for how workplace aggression is conceptualized and measured, and we propose new research questions that emphasize a multi‐foci approach. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of job stressors on marital satisfaction in Finnish dual‐earner couples

The focus on the present study was to test a mediational model appropriate for explaining the effects of psychosocial job stressors, i.e., job insecurity, job autonomy, time pressures at work, leadership relations and work–family conflict, on marital satisfaction via job exhaustion and psychosomatic health. The study was carried out among 215 married or cohabiting dual‐earner couples. The proposed model was tested through structural equation analysis (LISREL). The results indicated that the job stressors, except for job autonomy, spilled over into marital satisfaction via job exhaustion and psychosomatic health for both men and women. However, no empirical support was found for the crossover of job stressors between partners, signifying that job stressors experienced by one partner did not influence the marital well‐being of the other. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emotional exhaustion and job performance: The moderating roles of distributive justice and positive affect

In a field study among 241 shop assistants and their 59 supervisors in fashion chain stores in Mainland China and Hong Kong, we found a negative relationship between emotional exhaustion and four indicators of job performance (overall performance, emotional display, OCB‐O, and OCB‐I) when employees perceived high levels of distributive justice in the exchange relationship with the organization, whereas emotional exhaustion was unrelated to any of these performance types when employees perceived low levels of distributive justice. In addition, this negative two‐way interaction effect of emotional exhaustion by distributive justice on job performance was buffered when employees were high on positive affect and intensified when they were low on positive affect. We used the conservation of resources (COR) theory, the attribution model of justice, and the broaden‐and‐build theory of positive emotions to clarify and discuss the moderating roles of distributive justice and positive affect in the relationship between emotional exhaustion and job performance. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When do emotionally exhausted employees speak up? Exploring the potential curvilinear relationship between emotional exhaustion and voice

Two studies were conducted to address the potential nonlinear relationship between emotional exhaustion and voice. Study 1 developed and tested a model rooted in conservation of resources theory in which responses to emotional exhaustion are determined by individual‐level and group‐level conditions that influence the perceived safety and efficacy of voice and drive prohibitive voice behaviors by giving rise to either resource‐conservation‐based or resource‐acquisition‐based motivation. Specifically, there was a curvilinear (U‐shaped) relationship between emotional exhaustion and prohibitive voice under conditions of (i) high job security and (ii) high interactional justice climate, but a linearly negative relationship when these resources were low. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings to include an empirical examination of these effects on promotive versus prohibitive voice. Results confirmed the findings of Study 1, provided evidence of differences in the nomological networks of promotive and prohibitive voice, and indicated that prohibitive voice is more salient to the experience of high emotional strain. Implications of the findings and areas for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Managers' coping resources,perceived organizational patterns,and responses during organizational recovery from decline

This study proposes that individual coping resources and organizational patterns explain the responses of mid‐level managers to organizational recovery after decline. The study sample consisted of 252 managers in Israeli enterprises recovering from organizational decline. The responses studied were—citizenship responses, negative responses, the wish to exit and acts to exit the organization. Hypotheses were developed relating these responses to individual coping resources of job involvement, self‐esteem and locus of control, and to organizational factors of organic processes, top management support, and organizational opportunities. Findings indicated that most coping resources and organizational patterns correlated with type of response: citizenship behaviors were related to job involvement, internal locus of control, self‐esteem and to perceptions of opportunities and organic processes in the organization. They were negatively related to external locus of control. Negative behavior was negatively related to job involvement, self‐esteem, perceived organizational opportunities and organic processes. The wish to exit related negatively to job involvement, external locus of control, and perceived opportunities. It related positively to self‐esteem. Actual exit behavior was not predicted by the coping resources, nor by organizational factors. Three‐stage multiple regression analyses revealed that individual coping characteristics reduced the impacts of organizational factors for most responses. Implications for management are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emotional social support and job burnout among high‐school teachers: is it all due to dispositional affectivity?

The authors investigated whether the relationship between the contents of emotional social support and job burnout among high‐school teachers is spurious because of the role of dispositional positive and negative affectivity. A national sample of 339 teachers was surveyed via a web‐based procedure. Hierarchical regression analyses did not support spuriousness; emotional social support was uniquely predictive of three dimensions of burnout controlling for affectivity. As positive emotional social support increased, emotional exhaustion and cynicism decreased, and professional efficacy increased. As negative emotional social support increased, emotional exhaustion and cynicism also increased. Commonality analyses based on the present data and data reported by K. L. Zellars and P. L. Perrewé (2001; Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 459–467) provided additional support for the unique role of emotional social support on burnout, but these analyses suggest a greater role of affectivity than emotional social support. These findings have implications for research on burnout as well as the prevention of burnout among teachers. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Patient demands,lack of reciprocity,and burnout: a five‐year longitudinal study among general practitioners

This study among a sample of 207 general practitioners (GPs) uses a five‐year longitudinal design to test a process model of burnout. On the basis of social exchange and equity theory, it is hypothesized and found that demanding patient contacts produce a lack of reciprocity in the GP–patient relationship, which, in turn, depletes GPs' emotional resources and initiates the burnout syndrome. More specifically, structural equation analyses confirmed that—both at T1 and T2—lack of reciprocity mediates the impact of patient demands on emotional exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion, in turn, evokes negative attitudes toward patients (depersonalization), and toward oneself in relation to the job (reduced personal accomplishment). Moreover, this process model of burnout was confirmed at T2, even after controlling for T1‐scores on each of the model components. Finally, T1 depersonalization predicted the intensity and frequency of T2 patient demands, after controlling for T1 patient demands. This major finding suggests that GPs who attempt to gain emotional distance from their patients as a way of coping with their exhaustion, evoke demanding and threatening patient behaviors themselves. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Teenagers' part-time employment and their work-related attitudes and aspirations

We assessed the relationship between the quality (i.e., job characteristics, role stressors, and interpersonal relationships) and quantity of part-time employment, and work-related attitudes and aspirations among 349 students. Neither the linear nor the quadratic components of employment quantity predicted any of the outcome variables. Motivation to do good work was predicted both by role stressors and by family achievement orientation. Career maturity was predicted by role stressors at work, and cynicism by role stressors and satisfaction with interpersonal relationships. In contrast, job involvement was significantly related to family achievement orientation but not to any perceived job factors. These findings question the assumption that only intensive work during high school exerts negative effects for teenagers, and support the importance of employment quality for teenagers as well as adults. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.