Work–family conflict and crossover in volunteer emergency service workers

Abstract

A growing literature indicates that organizational and work demands place pressure on the partners and families of volunteer workers as it does on paid workers. This study evaluated a conceptual model integrating work–family conflict and stress crossover theoretical frameworks, to investigate the mechanisms by which emergency service volunteer work, specifically, predicts outcomes for the partners of volunteers. Matched data from 102 couples in which one partner was an Australian emergency services volunteer – firefighter, ambulance officer or emergency rescue volunteer – were analysed using structural equation modelling analyses. Findings suggested that one mechanism by which inter-role conflict related to partner adjustment was through elevated withdrawn marital behaviour and decreased intimacy reported by the couple, which indirectly affected partners’ distress. This finding regarding withdrawn behaviour appears to be novel and may also be applicable to paid workers. Alternative mechanisms involving role overload and angry marital behaviour were not supported. These findings extend limited research which has adapted organizational theory to understand processes affecting volunteer workers, and advance conceptual accounts of the mechanisms through which the partners and families of workers are impacted by inter-role conflict.     

2 Old Assumptions,New Work

Abstract

We review the literature on nonstandard work with three aims: to portray the breadth and nature of the research and theorizing to date, to document the challenges and opportunities this domain poses to both practice and theory, and to bring the study of nonstandard work more to the center stage of micro-OB. After defining nonstandard work and documenting scholarly interest in it, we discuss the literature on the experience of nonstandard workers, on managing the nonstandard workforce, as well as that on managing the interface between standard and nonstandard workers. We analyze the themes that are raised in these literatures and point to new research questions that need to be addressed. Research on nonstandard work can enhance our understanding of the nature of work, the relationship between individuals and organizations, and how organizations and individuals can undertake these new work forms.     

The Use of the Partnering Concept for Public–Private Collaboration: How Well Does it Really Work?

This paper critically scrutinizes the key success factors and tools described in the partnering literature by exploring how they are implemented in a public–private partnering collaboration. In addition to this the paper investigates to what extent these tools facilitate the relationship between the parties in a partnering process. The empirical data consist of two longitudinal case studies. Both cases are large and complex urban development projects in the Swedish water and sewage industry. The results from the cases were ambiguous and positive; as well, some negative outcomes were present. Further, the processes were in both cases far from easy and it required a lot of effort from the parties in the collaboration to make the collaboration work and establish a culture based on trust, especially higher up in the organization. As could be expected, the reality is thus far more complex and cumbersome than previous studies indicate.     

Employee-of-the-Month Programs: Do They Really Work?

This article investigates Employee-of-the-Month as a technique for sustaining improved performance on a data entry task in two experiments. In both experiments, participants competed as members of a fabricated team for a “Check Processor of the Week” incentive. The first experiment assessed the impact of receiving this incentive. In the second experiment, the incentive was enhanced to include a $50 bonus for the winner. Participants always placed between 2nd and 5th place in order to assess the impact of being an unrewarded runner-up. Overall, results suggest that Employee-of-the-Month programs do not sustain improved performance and may even have detrimental effects.     

Simulation analysis of cold chain performance based on time–temperature data

Perishable goods are a fundamental source of revenue for the retail sector; their management, however, constitutes a severe challenge for retailers and supply chain partners. A significant cost in particular is the fraction of products perished through the supply chain, which also constitutes an ethical and environmental concern. Supply chain organisation and operative characteristics have a significant influence on this matter, as in fact ensuring suitable temperature conditions for the stock-keeping units throughout the supply chain is mandatory for perishable products. Recent developments in sensing and communication technologies allow detailed monitoring and control of cold chain; however, depending on the characteristics of the supply chain, an inherent risk of perished products is often inevitable, even in the hypothesis of perfect control. This article proposes a methodology to evaluate the performance of a cold chain in terms of expected product quality at the retail store, and to estimate the expected fraction of perished products, according to the supply chain configuration. The approach is based on Monte Carlo simulation, and implements referenced shelf-life models. A real application is also presented, involving a preliminary analysis and mapping of the supply chain activities based on time–temperature data, in order to demonstrate the practicability of the approach proposed.     

如何在电子文档中用好Work分节符

在处理电子文档的过程中，我们时常需要在同一个文档中使用不同的纸张类型、不同的纸张方向、不同的版式、不同的页边距等来排放文本、图片、表格等文档信息，需要在同一个文档中的不同页面上排放不同的页眉或页脚（如文档的分类信息、章节标题、日期、作者姓名和页码等），需要在同一页面上分别采用横排、竖排或分栏等不同版式编排文档信息。在编辑复制一些带有特殊版式或页眉页脚的文档时，常会发现当前文档的格式发生了莫名其妙的变化，文档中已经设置好的页眉页脚发生了变化，想要恢复到原来的格式却很难控制。     

Do Parental Transfers Reduce Youths' Incentives to Work?

Abstract. This paper uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to examine the effects that parental transfers from a family have on a youth's labor supply. The results from a fixed‐effects two‐stage least squares estimator suggest that: (i) parental pocket money reduces youths' incentives to work; (ii) parental allowances have a non‐linear effect on hours worked; (iii) the subsample of siblings shows similar patterns that parental transfers have a negative impact on hours worked, although the magnitudes are slightly weaker than the full sample; and (iv) the response to parental transfers varies by age.     

Approximation algorithms on 0–1 linear knapsack problem with a single continuous variable

The 0–1 linear knapsack problem with a single continuous variable (KPC) is a natural generalization of the standard 0–1 linear knapsack problem (KP). In KPC, the capacity of the knapsack is not fixed, but can be adjusted by a continuous variable. This paper studies the approximation algorithm on KPC. Firstly, assuming that the weight of each item is at most the original capacity of the knapsack, we give a 2-approximation algorithm on KPC by generalizing the 2-approximation algorithm on KP. Then, without the above assumption, we give another 2-approximation algorithm on KPC for general cases by extending the first algorithm.     

Looks and Labor: Do Attractive People Work More?

Using the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS) 2008, I investigate how looks affect an individual's labor supply decision. My results are, by and large, in line with predictions derived from the neoclassical model of labor supply. Applying regular probit, bivariate probit, Tobit and Heckman selection regression models, I find that good looks go hand in hand with higher employment probabilities and more hours of market work. Furthermore, physical attractiveness is positively associated with spousal income and spousal employment. Hence, beauty appears to affect labor supply decisions both directly and through the marriage market.     

Note on: An integrated vendor–buyer cooperative inventory model for items with imperfect quality

Huang [Huang, C., 2002. An integrated vendor–buyer cooperative inventory model for items with imperfect quality. Production Planning and Control, 13 (4), 355–361] proposes an integrated inventory model which allows a vendor and a buyer to minimise their expected integrated total cost function when the vendor's production process is not perfect. This note identifies two errors in the paper and provides a reformulation of the model.     

The importance of self-efficacy in the moderating effects of social support on stressor–strain relationships

Abstract

Occupational stress research offers inconsistent findings on the moderating effects of social support on the stressor–strain relationship. This study contributes to the research literature by examining how social support's moderating effect is dependent on one's self-efficacy. Ninety-six US military police soldiers completed two surveys 3 months apart. The results showed that three out of four regression equations had significant three-way interactions. Organizational constraints×supervisor support×self-efficacy had statistically significant interactions in the prediction of job satisfaction and psychological well-being. Organizational constraints×co-worker support×self-efficacy had a significant interaction in the predicted of psychological well-being. These interactions explained between 5% and 10% of the variance in the dependent variables. Social support buffered the stressor–strain relationship when self-efficacy was high and reverse buffered the relationship when self-efficacy was low. These results indicate that interventions aimed at reducing strains by increasing social support should consider an individual's self-efficacy. Future research should consider incorporating content of communication to determine if high and low self-efficacy individuals receive or react differently to different types of communication content.     

An optimal run-mode scheduling for oil refinery production–a case study on Taiwan CPC Corporation

The refinery industries have been going through very difficult time from fierce competition and high price of crude oil. To increase compatibility, it is essential to increase efficiency in the inventory, production and transportation. Refineries start generating revenues while their products are sold in the market. This article examines the possible costs of additional inventories and recurrent times of refineries derived from early or late shipment in a continuous production system. Then, based on the developed mathematical programming model, an optimal production structure with the minimum total cost of production, inventory and start-up is proposed. Tolerance analysis is conducted to cope with uncertain environment. A case study on applying the proposed model to perform scenario analysis for CPC Corporation, Taiwan is demonstrated. The results show that the developed model is able to provide useful information towards developing cost-effective oil refinery strategies.     

Work Absence — A Signalling Factor for Temporary Workers?

This paper investigates whether low levels of absence increase the probability of permanent employment and reduce that of unemployment for Swedish temporary workers. We investigate two reasons for absence: worker sickness and sickness of a dependent child. Using a competing risk estimation model, we find that sick leave reduces the probability of permanent employment for women and increases the probability of unemployment for men. Absence due to child sickness increases the risk of unemployment for women. Although the influence of sick leave varies substantially among different temporary jobs, replacement and probation workers are generally the most affected.     

Organization and Work Situations: Which sources for the learning process?

ABSTRACT: The observation of economic activity grants an equally important place to learning as some recent theoretical problems. However, what is meant by learning, and what in the productive activity enables the application of the learning process? This paper examines the notion of learning, as far as the firm is concerned, putting the emphasis on two main directions. On one hand, learning is not only a dynamic but also a process: it is not only a matter of going from one point to another, but also a process of construction of knowledge and rules. On the other hand, this process must be understood as an articulation between individual and organizational learning.     

10 Sociomateriality: Challenging the Separation of Technology,Work and Organization

Abstract

We begin by juxtaposing the pervasive presence of technology in organizational work with its absence from the organization studies literature. Our analysis of four leading journals in the field confirms that over 95% of the articles published in top management research outlets do not take into account the role of technology in organizational life. We then examine the research that has been done on technology, and categorize this literature into two research streams according to their view of technology: discrete entities or mutually dependent ensembles. For each stream, we discuss three existing reviews spanning the last three decades of scholarship to highlight that while there have been many studies and approaches to studying organizational interactions and implications of technology, empirical research has produced mixed and often‐conflicting results. Going forward, we suggest that further work is needed to theorize the fusion of technology and work in organizations, and that additional perspectives are needed to add to the palette of concepts in use. To this end, we identify a promising emerging genre of research that we refer to under the umbrella term: sociomateriality. Research framed according to the tenets of a sociomaterial approach challenges the deeply taken‐for‐granted assumption that technology, work, and organizations should be conceptualized separately, and advances the view that there is an inherent inseparability between the technical and the social. We discuss the intellectual motivation for proposing a sociomaterial research approach and point to some common themes evident in recent studies. We conclude by suggesting that a reconsideration of conventional views of technology may help us more effectively study and understand the multiple, emergent, and dynamic sociomaterial configurations that constitute contemporary organizational practices.     

Part-Time Work in the Nordic Countries: A Trap for Women?

Abstract. The aim of the study is to examine the consequences of part-time employment at the individual level, especially for women. Are part-time jobs precarious as compared to full-time jobs, and are they traps, or perhaps rather bridges, in the labour market? The results indicate that the situation of part-timers varies in the Nordic countries. On one hand, the gap between part-time and full-time work has narrowed in Sweden and Norway, which may reflect a normalization of part-time work in these countries. On the other, part-timers' situation in the Finnish labour market still seems more precarious than that of full-timers. However, in most cases part-time work is a bridge rather than a trap in the Nordic labour market.