Work motivation, organisational identification, and well-being in call centre work

Previous work has not considered the interplay of motivational forces linked to the task with those linked to the social identity of employees. The aim of the present study is to combine these approaches. Two studies with call centre agents (N=211, N=161) were conducted in which the relationships of objective working conditions (e.g., inbound vs. outbound work), subjective measures of motivating potential of work, and organisational identification were analysed. Job satisfaction, turnover intentions, organisational citizenship behavior (OCB), health complaints, and burnout were assessed as indicators of the agents' work motivation and well-being. In both studies it was found that objective working conditions substantially correlated with subjective measures of work motivation. Moreover, employees experiencing a high motivating potential at work reported more OCB, higher job satisfaction, and less turnover intentions. As hypothesized, organisational identification was a further independent predictor of job satisfaction, turnover intentions, OCB, and well-being. Highly organisationally identified employees report higher work motivation and more well-being. Additionally, interactions between the motivating potential and organisational identification were found. However, all the results indicate that interventions seeking to enhance work motivation and well-being in call centres should improve both the motivating potential of the job and organisational identification. These two factors combined in an additive way across both studies.     

Emotional labour,collectivism and strain: a comparison of Turkish and U.S. service employees

ABSTRACT

Global growth in service employment highlights the need to understand how cross-cultural differences impact emotional labour processes for service employees. The current study investigates these differences by examining the impact of national and individual level collectivistic values on emotional labour strategies and employee strain (emotional strain, turnover intentions, job satisfaction, and organisational commitment). Cross-sectional data was collected from U.S. (n?=?191) and Turkish (n?=?249) customer service employees. Results indicate that collectivism impacts the process model of emotional labour via direct and interaction effects. Collectivism was associated with higher emotional labour engagement and lower employee strains. Surface acting was uncorrelated with Turkish employees’ strain, though moderated regression analyses revealed interaction effects associated with national and individual level collectivism. These results suggest that collectivistic values may serve as a buffer against harmful effects associated with surface acting. This study is the first to directly compare emotional labour processes in U.S. and Turkish service employees and expand the process model of emotional labour to include collectivism. The theoretical implications of this expanded model are discussed, along with future research directions and practical applications of these findings.     

Exploring turnover intentions among three professional groups of employees

Abstract

Although considerable research effort has been devoted to understanding work attitudes, behaviours and outcomes regarding turnover intentions, little has been done to explore it across different professions. This study takes a step in this direction and examines the effect of affective commitment, job satisfaction and job performance on turnover intentions across three professions. To this end, we surveyed three professional groups of employees and managers: financial officers and social workers employed in the public sector and lawyers employed in the private sector. The results of these three studies show that turnover intentions vary across these professions. Social workers exhibit lower turnover intentions than financial officers and lawyers, who tend to exhibit high turnover intentions. In addition, we found that job satisfaction and affective commitment are negatively associated with turnover intentions, while no significant relationship was found to exist between job performance and turnover intentions. The implications of this study suggest that both researchers and practitioners should take into consideration not only the organizational context, but also the occupational context while exploring the process of voluntary turnover.     

The prospective effects of work–family conflict and enrichment on job exhaustion and turnover intentions: comparing long-term temporary vs. permanent workers across three waves

This study investigated work–family conflict (WFC) and enrichment (WFE) in relation to job exhaustion and turnover intentions among long-term temporary (n = 384) and permanent (n = 430) workers. We used three-wave data collected among Finnish university employees in 3 consecutive years. The participants were either permanently or temporarily employed for the whole 3-year period. The results showed that permanent employees reported both higher WFC and WFE during the follow-ups than temporary employees. Temporary workers reported higher job exhaustion and turnover intentions compared to permanent workers. Job contract functioned as a moderator: high WFC showed a prospective effect on increased turnover intentions in permanent employees. In contrast, temporary employees benefited more from high WFE, which showed a prospective effect on reduced job exhaustion in temporary employees. The results suggest that measures taken to improve work–family balance could have different implications for long-term temporary and permanent workers.     

Job demands and work-related psychological responses among Malaysian technical workers: The moderating effects of self-efficacy

Abstract

Job design has long been found to affect the work-related psychological responses of employees, such as psychological strain, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions, but scholars have begun to question whether established theoretical relations regarding job design continue to hold given the enormous changes in the nature of work during the past two decades. It is also increasingly recognized that individual differences affect work behaviours in substantial ways, but few studies on work design have investigated these differences. We addressed these concerns with a two-wave longitudinal study among 245 technical workers at a telecommunications company in Malaysia, a country that has a collectivist culture and a high power distance between managers and subordinates. We examined the moderating effects of job control and self-efficacy on the relationships between job demands and employee responses. The results failed to support the job demands-control model, as job control variables did not moderate the impact of demands on employee work-related psychological responses. However, self-efficacy moderated their impact on psychological strain (although not on job satisfaction or turnover intentions). Our findings provide insight into the moderating effect of self-efficacy, and suggest that practitioners interested in reducing psychological strain should consider making efforts to increase self-efficacy among employees.     

A Matter of Reputation and Pride: Associations between Perceived External Reputation,Pride in Membership,Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intentions

This study investigates how job satisfaction and turnover intentions are related to external reputation as perceived by employees and their pride in membership. Based on a cross‐sectional survey including 439 employees, it also provides insights into external reputation as a possible source of collective pride. Study results indicate that, in agreement with social identity theory, outsiders' views of the organization are closely associated with employees' pride in organizational membership as well as job satisfaction. Both pride and job satisfaction mediate the relationship between perceived external reputation and turnover intentions. Hence, a favourable reputation matters in managing turnover intentions and is closely related to employee pride and satisfaction. Tenure of employees is positively associated with pride while intensive customer contact is negatively related to perceived external reputation and pride. Implications pinpoint the need for alignment of reputation management and human resources management. Furthermore, managers need to focus on new staff and employees with frequent customer contact and should implement pride‐building strategies according to the tenure of employees and intensity of customer contact.     

The motivational mechanisms underlying active and high-strain work: consequences for mastery and performance

We test if the motivating potential of active work and the demotivating consequences of high-strain work can be explained by the “quality” of motivation experienced. Study 1, an experiment (N?=?205), revealed active work maintained intrinsic motivation and identified regulation (compared to baseline). High-strain work decreased these motivations. Moreover, demand was negatively related to mastery only at low control, through reduced intrinsic motivation. Demand was negatively related to task performance at low control, through reduced identified regulation. Study 2, an online survey (N?=?516 employees), revealed an energising effect of active work on intrinsic motivation and identified regulation, both of which had positive associations with job performance. A demotivating effect of high-strain work on intrinsic motivation was revealed, which had negative associations with job performance. In conclusion, internalised motivations are important mechanisms, through which active work protects and enhances mastery/performance, and through which high-strain work can deplete these outcomes.     

Please wait until I am done! Longitudinal effects of work interruptions on employee well-being

ABSTRACT

Work interruptions are contemporary job stressors that occur frequently in the workplace. Theories on work interruptions and the stressor–strain relationship over time suggest that work interruptions should have a lagged negative effect on well-being. However, we argue that continued changes in work interruptions may also be important for employees’ well-being. We investigated the mid- and long-term effects of work interruptions on employee job satisfaction and psychosomatic complaints across two studies (Study 1: N?=?415, four waves over five years; Study 2: N?=?663, five waves over eight months). Using latent growth modelling, we predicted job satisfaction and psychosomatic complaints with respect to the level of, and changes in, interruptions. Controlling for initial well-being, we found that the mean levels (intercepts) of work interruptions had negative effects on later well-being in Study 1, but not in Study 2. However, increases in interruptions over time (slopes) predicted later well-being consistently. An analysis on reversed effects revealed that only the initial level of psychosomatic complaints positively predicted work interruptions. The studies underscore not only the importance of interruptions for well-being over time in general, but also the particular importance of exposure to increases in interruptions.     

Linking perceived organizational support with employee work outcomes in a Chinese context: Organizational identification as a mediator

Perceived organizational support (POS) is viewed as an important explanatory framework for understanding the relationship between employees and the workplace, and is regarded by some researchers as central in understanding job-related attitudes and behaviors of employees. However, less research has taken into account the role of organizational identification, which reflects how individuals define the self with respect to their organization, as a potential influence on such relationships. Drawing on a cross-organizational sample of 238 subordinate-supervisor dyads from the People’s Republic of China, we examined whether organizational identification mediates the effect of perceived organizational support (POS) on work outcomes including turnover intentions, work performance, and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Results from the current study showed that organizational identification fully mediates the relation of POS to OCB-directed to individuals, and partially mediates relations between POS and other work outcomes (turnover intention, work performance, OCB-directed to organization). Implications for management theory and practice are discussed.     

中澳企业员工离职与激励认知的跨文化比较研究

将HOFSTEDE提出的国家文化理论运用到人力资源管理中进行实证检验,对中国和澳大利亚两国企业员工的离职和激励行为背后的文化影响进行了分析研究。研究分析显示,相比澳大利亚企业员工,中国企业员工的离职倾向较低;可选择工作机会的主观感知对中国企业员工离职倾向的影响较小;中国企业员工认为职业发展是较重要的激励因素,而澳大利亚企业员工认为工作本身是较为重要的激励因素。研究结果表明,国家文化理论提出的5个文化差异维度中的"权利距离"、"不确定性规避"和"长期取向",在中澳两国企业员工的离职和激励问题上基本得到印证。     

Merit‐based Rewards,Job Satisfaction and Voluntary Turnover: Moderating Effects of Employee Demographic Characteristics

This paper draws on the reflection theory of compensation (Thierry, H. (1998). ‘Compensating work’. in P. J. D. Drenth, H. Thierry and C. J. de Wolff (eds), Handbook of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2nd edn, pp. 291–315, Psychology Press: Hove; Thierry, H. F. (2001). ‘Job evaluation systems and pay grade structures: do they match’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 8, pp. 1313–1324) to examine the influence of individual merit‐based rewards on voluntary turnover via job satisfaction. It also tests the moderating effects of employees’ gender, age and education level between merit‐based rewards and job satisfaction. Data were collected from 636 employees in Japan at three points in time over a 12‐month period. The findings show that merit‐based rewards have a direct, positive effect on job satisfaction and an indirect effect on voluntary turnover. The effect of merit‐based rewards on job satisfaction was moderated by gender and education, providing evidence that merit‐based rewards are more important for male and highly educated employees. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Pride in task completion and organizational citizenship behaviour: Evidence from the ethnographic literature

Abstract

Pride in task completion has been observed to be consistently important to workers, although these self-conscious emotions have received little attention as a construct worthy of investigation in the workplace. Organizational ethnographies provide a unique opportunity for an in-depth look at pride and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB), An analysis of the existing set of published book-length workplace ethnographies (n = 108) reveals that both job satisfaction and pride in task completion are significantly associated with OCB. Associations between pride and OCB appear to be stronger than associations between job satisfaction and OCB. Workers' characteristic mood states, such as the pleasurable emotions created by pride in work and unpleasant feelings of shame from perceptions of chronic failure, appear to be highly relevant to the promotion of desirable outcomes for organizations. The results of this study illustrate the value of ethnographic data in the study of workplace emotions, cognitions, and their potential behavioural sequelae     

The Job Demands-Resources Model in emergency service volunteers: Examining the mediating roles of exhaustion,work engagement and organizational connectedness

Using a sample of 887 volunteer emergency service workers in South Australia, we conducted a study based on the JD-R framework to examine the roles of three mediators in the relationship between job characteristics and volunteer well-being. These were (i) exhaustion as a mediator in the relationships between job demands and both poor mental health and turnover intentions; and (ii) work engagement and organizational connectedness as mediators in the relationships of job resources (training and organizational support) with happiness and turnover intentions. Organizational connectedness, a relatively new construct, is a positive state of well-being that involves an emotional connection with other workers, with service recipients and with aspects of the task and the organization's values. Results indicated that all three mediators were important in explaining volunteer well-being. Specifically, job demands were positively related to exhaustion, which, in turn, was linked to ill-health and turnover intentions. Job resources were positively related to work engagement and organizational connectedness, which were, in turn, negatively related to turnover intentions. However, while organizational connectedness mediated the relationship between job resources and happiness, this was not the case for work engagement. The roles of these variables in future research in paid and voluntary work are discussed.     

Cross-lagged relationships between workplace bullying,job satisfaction and engagement: Two longitudinal studies

Abstract

Workplace bullying has been defined as a stressor that has negative consequences. However, the direction of the bullying–well-being relationship has been largely based on cross-sectional findings, which does not permit conclusions in terms of causality. The purpose of this research was to investigate the cross-lagged relationships between bullying and job-related well-being. We hypothesized that Time 1 bullying predicted Time 2 job-related well-being over time (normal causation model). In addition, we compared alternative models (baseline or stability, reversed, and reciprocal models). Our hypothesis was examined in two longitudinal studies with full two-wave panel designs in Belgian employees. In Study 1 (N=312), the time lag was six months, and in Study 2 (N=369), the time lag was two years. Results of structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses partially supported our hypothesis. Specifically, it was found that Time 1 bullying predicted Time 2 dedication in Study 1, and Time 2 job satisfaction in Study 2. There was no significant cross-lagged effect of job-related well-being on bullying at work. Overall, these findings suggest that bullying can be considered as a cause, rather than aconsequence of job-related well-being.     

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Explaining Turnover Intentions with Organizational Identification and Job Satisfaction*

The social identity approach is a powerful theoretical framework for the understanding of individuals' behaviour. The main argument is that individuals think and act on behalf of the group they belong to because this group membership adds to their social identity, which partly determines one's self‐esteem. In the organizational world, social identity and self‐categorization theories state that a strong organizational identification is associated with low turnover intentions. Because identification is the more general perception of shared fate between employee and organization, we propose that the relationship between identification and turnover will be mediated by job satisfaction as the more specific evaluation of one's task and working conditions. In four samples we found organizational identification feeding into job satisfaction, which in turn predicts turnover intentions.     

Beyond leader–member exchange (LMX) differentiation: An indigenous approach to leader–member relationship differentiation

The existing literature has established that leaders differentiate among their followers; however, the focus has long been on the Western leader–member exchange (LMX) theory. This paper examines leader–member relationship differentiation from an indigenous, leader–member guanxi (LMG) perspective. Using a sample of 60 groups and 228 employees, we examined the dual effects of LMG differentiation on employee job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intention, and co-worker helping behavior after controlling for LMX, LMX median, and LMX differentiation. The results of this study supported the proposed dual effects of LMG differentiation, demonstrating that LMG differentiation, in general, is detrimental to employees' work attitudes and their intentions to stay in an organization. On the contrary, interestingly enough, LMG differentiation can accentuate the positive relationship between LMG and job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and co-worker helping behaviors.     

A note on defining organisational systems for contingency theory in OM

Abstract

This paper aims to improve the applicability and relevance of contingency theory research in the field of Operations Management. Based on the results of previous studies, we have identified a systems-based single definition of organisation types that could describe the fit between organisational environment and organisational structure. This definition of organisation type, which we call an ‘organisational system’, regards the organisation as an integrated whole instead of as a sum of its parts and can help to better classify organisations in order to identify fits between organisation types and emerging practices in Operations Management.     

Exploring work- and organization-based resources as moderators between work–family conflict,well-being,and job attitudes

Abstract

In modern Western life it is difficult to avoid work–family conflict. Therefore the resources that might reduce its negative outcomes on well-being and job attitudes come into focus. Our study contributes to the work–family conflict literature by exploring the indirect (moderator) and direct role of three work- and organization-related resources, i.e., job control, family supportive climate, organization-based self-esteem (OBSE), in the work-to-family conflict and well-being/job attitude relationship. Theoretically, the study tested the recently developed Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model in the Scandinavian context. Data for the study were gathered from three differing Finnish organizations (health care district, ICT company, Cardboard mill; n=1252). In line with the predictions of the JD-R model, job demands (time- and strain-based work-to-family conflict) were more robustly associated with strain-based outcomes (physical symptoms), whereas job resources (job control, family supportive climate, OBSE) were more strongly linked to motivational-based outcomes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment). Both job control and family supportive climate moderated the relationships studied; high job control and family supportive climate buffered against the aversive effects of work-to-family conflict on well-being and job attitudes. These indirect effects also varied in relation to the independent, moderator, and dependent variables. However, OBSE did not operate as a buffering factor, although it showed significant direct effects. From a practical viewpoint, our findings suggest that job control and family supportive climate are resources that help employees to reduce the negative effects related to work–family conflict.     

Relations between stressors and group perceptions: Main and mediating effects

Most orgnizations these days utilize groups for the performance of at least some tasks. There is therefore a need to examine the relationthip between job stressors and group functioning. Until now it has been proposed that employees who perceive high levels of stress in their jobs will have negative perceptions of the groups in which they work, in the form of reduced altruism and collective efficacy. They may also have higher levels of psychological strain. This study examined relations between job-related stressors and group perceptions (collective efficacy 3rd the prevalence of altruistic behaviour) in a sample of 2403 mililitary personnel, comprising 31 companies in two US Anny combat brigades. We also examined whether group perceptions mediated the relationship between stressors and both job satisfaction and subjective well-being. Results indicated that stressors were negatively associated with measures of group perceptions, and both job satisfiction and well-being. Furthermore, mediated regression analyses suggested that relations between interpersonal conflict and both job satitfaction and well-being were partially mediated by both group perception measures. These finding suggest that work-related stressors may negatively impact on group functioning, which may lead to employee strains. Implications of these finding are discussed, and suggestions are made for future research.