Some Things I've Learned About Changing Behavior in a Fortune 100 Company

Abstract

The present study used a sign to increase the number of pushed in chairs within 2 sections of an undergraduate educational psychology course at a university in the southeastern United States. This may have increased the opportunity for students with mobility limitations to select from a wider variety of seating. After posting a sign, at least 20% more chairs were pushed in across each section. Following removal of the sign, chairs continued to be pushed in at a level consistent with intervention. Compared with other studies that have used signs to effect change, the fact that the same population of users was exposed to the sign may explain the discrepant results in the literature regarding level of behavioral persistence after signs had been withdrawn. Cost efficiency, support for using a behavioral prompt, and future research is discussed.     

Signs of struggle (SOS): The development and validation of a behavioural mental health checklist for the workplace

ABSTRACT

For managers to successfully support employee access to mental health resources, they must first be able to recognise if and when an employee may need help. To manage employees effectively, managers must be able to recognise changes in employees’ work behaviour that may indicate when an employee is struggling at work. In study 1, we develop and establish the structure of the 20-item Signs of Struggle (SOS) checklist as comprising five factors that describe the warning signs of health impairment at work (i.e. distress, withdrawal, reduced attendance, degradations in performance, extreme behaviours). In study 2, we show that manager-rated signs of struggle correlated substantially (r?=?.72) with participant-reported strain. The SOS tool provides managers a way to recognise when employees may be struggling and could benefit from workplace resources. We recommend that for maximal benefit, managers also receive training on how to use the SOS, and also on how to approach and assist employees who are displaying warning signs.     

Muscle pain and coping with working life in Norway: A review

ABSTRACT

Talking about work during leisure time is an important part of employees’ daily life and represents a behavioural pathway connecting work and home. However, past research has not paid much attention to this phenomenon of sharing work experiences during after-work hours, its possible antecedents and consequences. In the present study, we examine how interpersonal work experiences (i.e. social conflicts and perceived prosocial impact) are associated with work-related conversations during after-work hours, and how work-related conversations, in turn, are associated with affect at bedtime and in the next morning. A daily diary study with three measurement occasions per day over five consecutive workdays (N?=?144 employees) showed that negative work-related conversations during after-work hours were directly related to negative affect at bedtime and indirectly related to negative affect in the next morning. Positive work-related conversations were directly related to positive affect in the next morning. Moreover, perceived prosocial impact and positive work-related conversations during after work hours were negatively related to negative affect at bedtime. Our results suggest that employees actively shape their work-home boundaries by talking about work during after-work hours which show both beneficial and harmful associations with subsequent affective states.     

Weekly Feedback vs. Daily Feedback

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted in a retail setting to (a) assess the effectiveness of a multi-component performance management intervention and (b) compare the effectiveness of weekly and daily feedback. During the first experiment, a multiple baseline design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of task clarification, goal setting, access to preferred items contingent upon goal attainment, and weekly graphic feedback on the completion of routine maintenance tasks in a framing and art store. During phase 1 of the second experiment, an AB design was used to replicate the effects of this intervention on similar tasks in a new store location with the same participants. During phase 2 of the second experiment, a multiple baseline design was used to assess the effectiveness of the intervention when daily feedback replaced weekly feedback. Results indicate that the multi-component intervention was effective in both experiments, and that daily feedback may have enhanced the effectiveness of the intervention.     

Daily perceptions of relationship quality with leaders: implications for follower well-being

ABSTRACT

We examined how a key relationship at work, an employee’s relationship with their leader, affects employee daily well-being. In a study of 129 employees across a variety of industries, we examined how follower perceptions of their daily leader–member exchange (LMX) quality across a workweek influenced their well-being (n?=?468 observations). Results provided general support for our hypotheses. Specifically, we found that on days when employees perceived a higher quality LMX relationship with their leader, they were more likely to report a sense of belongingness, which was then positively associated with daily reports of vigor and negatively associated with emotional exhaustion. Lagged analyses showed that perceptions of LMX quality were also negatively associated with reports of emotional exhaustion the following workday suggesting that these effects may persist over time. Finally, we found that day-to-day variation in reports of LMX quality attenuated the beneficial effects of LMX on relatedness and vigor supporting our hypothesis that uncertainty related to resource availability may contribute to a threat mindset focused on resource conservation rather than engagement. Implications and future research on leadership and employee well-being are discussed.     

Better not look too nice? Employees' preferences towards (un)likeable managers

Recent research shows that, all else equal, most people prefer likeable colleagues. In this article, two experiments are employed to analyze preferences with respect to (un)likeable superiors. We thereby focus on perceptions of likeability based on appearance rather than as a behavioral characteristic, which allows us to concentrate on the impact of quick, unconscious evaluations in zero-acquaintance situations. The results indicate that, all else equal, managers of higher perceived likeability are less preferred than managers of lower perceived likeability. Such likeability-aversion emerges among male and female respondents, affects male and female managers, and holds both for preferences expressed from the perspective of employees (Experiment 1) or a HR department (Experiment 2).     

Socio-emotional and monetary employee-organization resource exchanges: Measurement and effects on daily employee functioning

ABSTRACT

Daily exchanges between employees and their organisation pertain mainly to socio-emotional resources. We investigate how daily employee-organizational resource exchanges relate to daily strain and work-related self-efficacy. We also examine the role of perceived organisational monetary investments on the relationship between daily employee resource investments and outcomes. To do so, we assess the psychometric properties of the Resource Exchange Scale (RES) that we developed for measuring general and daily employee and organisational resource investments (Study 1 and Study 2). Seventy-six health-care employees completed a general survey and a 10-day diary survey twice: at mid-shift and at the end of their shift (Study 3). Analyses supported the validity of the RES. Findings revealed that daily, under-reciprocal exchange related to increased physical symptoms. Mutual high daily resource investments related to greater work-related self-efficacy. The relationship between daily employee resource investments and self-efficacy was positive under conditions of both high and low perceived monetary investments. Lagged analyses showed that the previous day’s self-efficacy related positively to employees’ next day resource investments. Our findings suggest that socio-emotional resource exchanges matter for daily employee functioning, over and above between-person effects.     

Human capital practices of Russian enterprises

Abstract

The goal of this study was to explore current human capital (HC) management practices (including training and development, recruitment and selection, compensation, empowerment, diversity, and work/family balance) of Russian enterprises. The data were collected at 270 large, medium and small enterprises in Moscow and four representative regional centers. The study results suggest that Russian firms tended to emphasize current HC needs, not long-term HC development strategies. The firm size had an effect on differences in training, selection and compensation practices, with large firms being more long-term oriented. Correlation between elements of the HC management model provided some preliminary evidence that Russian firms tried to coordinate selection, compensation and training procedures. In addition, firms that empowered their employees were also putting more emphasis on long-term oriented training, selection and compensation practices. Finally, there were signs that diversity was gradually becoming an important issue for Russian enterprises of all sizes. However, compared to diversity, companies' emphasis on helping their employees to deal with the work/family balance issues was much stronger.     

Return to work among employees with mental health problems: Development and validation of a self-efficacy questionnaire

Abstract

Because of the costs to both the organization and the individual, it is important that employees who are sick-listed with mental health problems are facilitated in their return to work (RTW). In order to provide adequate interventions, it is necessary to obtain a better understanding of the RTW process of people with mental health problems. Work-related self-efficacy (SE) might play a key role within this process. This paper describes the development and validation of the return-to-work self-efficacy’ scale (RTW-SE) for employees with mental health problems. Three Dutch samples of sick-listed employees were used to validate the 11-item instrument (N=2214). Based on the factor structure and reliability results, RTW-SE was conceptualized as a unitary construct. The associations with general SE, locus of control, coping, physical workload and mental health problems support the construct validity of this scale. Most importantly, RTW-SE proved to be a robust predictor of actual return to work within three months. The encouraging preliminary psychometric properties of the scale make it a potentially valuable tool in research and in clinical practice and occupational health care settings, both before and after employees have returned to work.     

Beyond chronological age. Examining perceived future time and subjective health as age-related mediators in relation to work-related motivations and well-being

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore whether the association between depression and work characteristics (demands and control) is free from the subjective bias of employees. This study examined the relation between psychosocial work characteristics (job demands and job control) and major depression in 343 participants employed in three occupational sectors in Germany. Participants were divided into a case group and a mentally healthy control group. Since depression itself may bias the reporting of work characteristics were assessed twice: (a) objectively, by job analysis experts and (b) by employees' self-reports. Major depression was assessed according to DSM-IV criteria using an international standard clinical interview. The results showed that objective demand but not control was significantly associated with major depression. Employees who had suffered an incidence of depression had higher objective job demands than those in the control group. Self-rated job demands partially mediated the relationship between objective demands and depression. Additionally, employees in the case group perceived significantly less job control than those classed as mentally healthy. The results indicate that high job demands were associated with major depression, a finding that cannot be better explained by distorted response behaviour due to the depression. However, objectively assessed job control was not found to be related to depression.     

Health habits,type A behaviour and job burnout

Abstract

This study examined the effects of health habits and type A behaviour on psychological health outcomes in the face of daily life stress. Measures of the experience of life stress, health habits, type A behaviour, job burnout and psychological distress were collected for 146 employees at the UCLA Medical Centre. Analyses of covariance revealed that health habits contributed significant main effects to psychological distress but not job burnout. Type A behaviour, but not life stress or health habits, directly affected both job burnout and psychological distress. The implications of the research for employee health programmes are discussed.     

The manager's role in employees' successful return to work following back injury

Abstract

This study reports on the short-term effects of an educational programme for immediate supervisors on employees' back pain problems. The course was designed to help supervisors more efficiently deal with employees returning to work after being treated for back pain. Forty-seven supervisors who had personnel either undergoing treatment for back pain problems or were candidates for this treatment were invited to attend a one-day course. This educational package consisted of information about back pain and stressed specific behaviours which supervisors could use to help their employees successfully return to work. The results showed that 78% of the supervisors found the course to be satisfactory enough to recommend it to a colleague without hesitation. Furthermore, independent ratings made by the supervisors and their employees suggested that supervisors complied with the recommended programme. Returning employees, moreover, gave their supervisors significantly higher ratings of support than a control group whose supervisors had not attended the educational programme. It was concluded that an educational programme which alters specific supervisory behaviours may be an effective method of assisting employee return to work after treatment for back pain. Further research is needed to determine the long-term effects of such a programme on absenteeism due to illness.     

Using Scorecards and a Lottery to Improve the Performance of Behavior Technicians in Two Autism Treatment Clinics

ABSTRACT

Performance scorecards are tools that measure staff performance across multiple criteria to produce a single, overall performance score, which can be used as feedback for employees. While scorecards are considered a low-cost and effective approach to improve performance, published research demonstrating the effectiveness of scorecards is limited. The current study attempted to first demonstrate the effectiveness of scorecard feedback to improve performance, then, evaluate the added effects of linking the scorecard feedback to a lottery. Current results suggest scorecard feedback can modestly improve average employee performance, and linking the scorecard to a lottery may result in further performance improvements.     

7 Getting There from Here: Research on the Effects of Work–Family Initiatives on Work–Family Conflict and Business Outcomes

Abstract

Many employing organizations have adopted work–family policies, programs, and benefits. Yet managers in employing organizations simply do not know what organizational initiatives actually reduce work–family conflict and how these changes are likely to impact employees and the organization. We examine scholarship that addresses two broad questions: first, do work–family initiatives reduce employees’ work–family conflict and/or improve work–family enrichment? Second, does reduced work–family conflict improve employees’ work outcomes and, especially, business outcomes at the organizational level? We review over 150 peer‐reviewed studies from a number of disciplines in order to summarize this rich literature and identify promising avenues for research and conceptualization. We propose a research agenda based on four primary conclusions: the need for more multi‐level research, the necessity of an interdisciplinary approach, the benefits of longitudinal studies that employ quasi‐experimental or experimental designs and the challenges of translating research into practice in effective ways.     

The impact of learning opportunities and decision authority on occupational health

In an investigation of 418 employees in the Norwegian Postal Service, employees with high learning opportunities and high decision authority were found to be better off on psychological functioning, health and organizational outcome variables than employees with low scores on these variables. Decision authority and learning opportunities had specific and independent impact on subjective health, psychological functioning, coping style and organizational outcome variables. There were, however, also interaction effects between demands, learning opportunities, and decision authority on subjective health. Learning opportunities and decision authority were operationalized with a questionnaire, supplemented with questions on the opportunities to learn skills beyond the present job situation. It is suggested that this is a particularly important dimension for coping with the present day rapid changes in working life, where the objective for many workers will be to broaden their repertoire and competence to increase their flexibility in the labour market.     

Perceptions of organization development in South Korea: the use of a sensemaking approach

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study explores how employees engage in sensemaking during Organization Development (OD) initiatives in chaebols, that is, large family-owned firms in South Korea. In adopting a case study approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 37 respondents drawn from different levels of a chaebol to address three research questions. First, what key contextual factors are associated with employees’ sensemaking at different levels of an organization? Second, how do individuals at different levels of the organization make sense of an OD initiative through the ‘searching for plausibility’ property of sensemaking? Third, what contextual cues are influential when employees engage in ‘identity construction’ in sensemaking in response to an OD initiative? The findings and implications of the study demonstrate multiple subjective realities, which employees from different levels construct, indicating that the prevailing norms and practice within the existing culture, which have been influential in constructing the identities of employees should be identified when attempting to implement OD to change the organizational culture.     

The role of stress and social support in Sick Building Syndrome

Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) involves seemingly healthy individuals experiencing long-lasting symptoms of physical distress in their work settings and is estimated to exist in 20 to 30% of all work settings in the USA. We examined differences in stress, social support and both physical and psychological symptoms reported by hospital personnel working in known SBS sites in Halifax, Nova Scotia (n = 297) with control employees working in relatively SBS-free settings (n = 228). We found that employees reporting that their health had been affected by the building in which they worked and those complaining of poor air quality were more likely to be found in SBS locations. In addition, those people with higher levels of organizational support and marginally higher levels of union support were also more likely to be found in SBS locations. Further analyses revealed that employees with higher role overload and greater family support, but lower levels of organizational support were more likely to report that their own health had been adversely affected by their place of work. Perceptions of poor air quality were predicted by higher levels of role conflict, role overload, and organizational stress and lower levels of organizational support. These results suggest that SBS may not be solely dependent on environmental factors.     

Associations between overtime and psychological health in high and low reward jobs

This study focused on the relationship between overtime and psychological health in high and low reward jobs, and in jobs with high and low external pressure to work overtime. Data were collected for 535 full-time employees of the Dutch Postal Service. In general, overtime was associated with negative work-home interference and negative home-work interference. Split-sample logistic regression analyses showed that employees reporting low rewards had elevated risks of burnout, negative work-home interference and slow recovery. In addition, the combination of overtime and low rewards was associated with negative home-work interference. A second analysis was conducted separately for employees who reported overtime in order to study the effects of external pressure to work overtime. In this subgroup, low rewards were associated with elevated risks of health complaints, emotional exhaustion and negative home-work interference. Moreover, employees who reported overtime and a high pressure to work overtime in combination with low rewards had elevated risks of poor recovery, cynicism, and negative work-home interference. The results suggest that even a limited number of hours of involuntary overtime is associated with adverse mental health, but only in low reward situations.     

Individual and organizational strategies for coping with organizational change

Abstract

During times of significant change to organizations in strategies and structures, employees can experience high levels of stress as their jobs, areas of responsibility and roles also change. Yet research is curiously silent about how people react to organizational change, especially towards promoting healthy responses to change. As a first step to outlining areas for future research this paper considers a range of individual and organizational strategies that may be effective in reducing employee stress and related problems. Prior to the implementation of these strategies, however, organizations must empower employees to adopt the role of change agent and encourage them to take action to solve the problems that stress them. At the individual level, employees can respond to the stress created by organizational change by using problem- and emotion-focused strategies. Also important in coping with change are the personal resources of employees, including a sense of hardiness, beliefs about having control over their work environment, and the availability of social supports within and outside the organization. Although few organizations fully acknowledge their role in helping employees cope with change, there are a number of initiatives that organizations can pursue. Several strategies are discussed in relation to communication, leadership, job-related tasks and stress management programmes.     

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

Abstract

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.