The moderating role of personality characteristics on the relationship between job insecurity and strain

The experience of job insecurity has been linked to several different outcomes, such as negative attitudes towards work and the organization, turnover intention, as well as health complaints. However, since the strength of these effects have been found to vary across studies, it is vital to identify factors that could influence the relationships. The present study examines the moderating role of three personality characteristics (negative affectivity, positive affectivity, and external locus of control) on the relation between job insecurity and outcomes (mental health complaints, job dissatisfaction, and job-induced tension). Data from 400 nurses at a Swedish acute care hospital (response rate 71%; 91% women, aged 20-68 years) showed that both job insecurity and personality were related to strain. Also, the data indicated some buffering effect of personality. Despite the gender bias of the sample, the study provides additional support for the notion that job insecurity affects strain even after controlling for individual characteristics. The study also expands the literature on job insecurity by pointing out the influence of personality characteristics on the relationship between stressors and strain.     

Job insecurity and trust: Uncovering a mechanism linking job insecurity to well-being

Job insecurity has well-documented negative effects for individuals as well as organisations. However, the mechanisms by which job insecurity relates to its outcomes have received less research attention. The purpose of this study is to investigate trust in the organisation as a potential mechanism that may explain why job insecurity relates to two well-documented outcomes: decreased job satisfaction and lowered mental health. These hypotheses were tested in a Swedish longitudinal sample that consists of employees (longitudinal n?=?906) from three organisations, using structural equation modelling. Overall, the results showed support for our hypotheses. Our findings reveal an indirect effect of trust on job satisfaction, regardless of whether the previous levels of job satisfaction were controlled for. With regard to mental health, the indirect effect was only evident when previous levels of mental health were not controlled for. The results of this study contribute to our understanding about the intervening factors in the relationship between job insecurity and outcomes. Moreover, the results might be important for human resources departments and managers when there are indications that employees are worrying about the future of their jobs.     

Editorial: Soziologie der Emotionen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

The Liberalization of Maternity Leave Policy and the Return to Work after Childbirth in Germany

German federal law has increased the potential duration of maternity leave five times since 1985. A theoretical model demonstrates that the cumulative return probability at potential duration cannot decline unless the mother's employment conditions or career expectations change. We estimate return to work hazards from the German Socio-Economic Panel for women bearing children in the period 1984–1991 and predict cumulative return probabilities for first-time mothers and mothers with a previous birth. The pattern of cumulative return probabilities as potential duration increases is consistent with the hypothesis that employment conditions or career expectations frequently change for mothers taking longer leaves.     

Facilitating collaborative teacher learning: the role of “mindfulness” in video-based teacher professional development programs

In teacher professional development (PD), the component of collaborative participation among teachers is emphasized. Especially in video-based PD programs, the role of building up a teacher learning community and a trustful exchange among group members is important. Since general rules for productive collaboration do not exist at the beginning of a PD program, the role of a facilitator is pivotal for the successful development of a teacher learning community. In this paper, we present a new video-based PD program, the “Dialogic Video Cycle” (DVC), focusing on the improvement of classroom dialogue. In describing the DVC and the facilitation actions (“moves”), we highlight the role of the facilitator as mindful in providing teachers with new knowledge and with guiding the exchange among teachers about teaching practices and reflections. Results of a final evaluation of the program showed positive perceptions of the facilitation approach in the video-based PD program.     

The Downside of Downsizing

With the help of data obtained from open-endedinterviews conducted with the various stakeholders indownsizing operations and applied within a clinicalframework, individual reaction patterns are explored in the victims, the survivors (those stayingwith a company after layoffs), and theexecutioners (those responsible for theimplementation of downsizing). Special emphasis is givento the reactions of the executives implementing the downsizingoperation. Among this group of people, a number of waysof coping can be discerned, described ascompulsive/ritualistic, abrasive, dissociative,alexithymic/anhedonic, and depressive. The article ends with a numberof practical recommendations about how to facilitate thedownsizing process. From the interviews conducted, itappears that downsizing, in the more narrow sense of the word, can be a quite destructiveprocess. Reframing the concept so that downsizing isviewed as a continuous process of corporatetransformation and change, a way to plan for thecontinuity of the organization, seems to be a moreconstructive approach.     

Affective reactions influence investment decisions: evidence from a laboratory experiment with taxation

We experimentally investigate the effect of taxation of gains and losses on investment behavior. Based on the insights of economic research and psychological concepts, we expect subjects to react to taxation with behavioral and affective changes. Our main results are threefold: first, we show that taxation on gains and the possibility to deduct losses bias investment behavior, but in different directions. Since net payoffs are identical across all tax scenarios and therefore the same investment behavior is to be expected, these differences are in contrast to what a standard theory would predict. Second, we observe that different tax regulations have different effects on the affective and cognitive perception of our subjects. Third, with respect to possible connections of the affective and cognitive ratings, tax regulations, and investment decisions, we are able to show that arousal and risk perception fail to influence the decision making of participants, while there is a highly significant influence of valence perception on choice patterns.     

Performance Evaluation of Foreign Subsidiaries: A Review of the Literature and a Contingency Framework

During recent years, the literature on the international dimension of business has grown. In particular, the literature on headquarters–subsidiary relationships has expanded. This paper aims to review the literature on performance evaluation and elaborate an integrative contingency framework. This contingency framework helps to clarify the concept of performance evaluation and to classify existing contributions. Furthermore, the framework serves as a tool to identify potential influencing factors on performance evaluation at corporate and at subsidiary level. By reviewing existing studies, the paper analyses the impact of these influencing factors on performance evaluation and reveals mostly contradictory results or no significant impact at all. Based on the findings, more research outside the classical tradition of contingency approaches is suggested.