Engaging leader – Engaged employees? A cross-lagged study on employee engagement

The goal of this study is to provide a cross-lagged examination of the relationships between engaging leadership, job resources and employee work engagement. We propose a mediation model and we postulate that engaging leadership can increase perceptions of three specific job resources (i.e. autonomy, support from colleagues and opportunities for learning and development) which theoretically correspond to the three facets of engaging leadership (i.e., inspiring, connecting and strengthening, respectively). Subsequently, in keeping with the extant body of Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) research, we link job resources to employee work engagement. Our hypotheses were tested on data collected at two time-points – T1 (N = 759) and T2 (N = 273) –from employees working for a hotel chain in the Netherlands. In line with our expectations, engaging leadership showed a significant cross-lagged relationship with autonomy and support from colleagues, but did not predict learning opportunities and work engagement across time. While we formulated specific hypotheses, we also tested reversed causation relationships. We found no direct effect from engaging leadership on employee work engagement, however, the reversed effect was significant; employee perceptions of engaging leadership were shaped by their own engagement experiences. Importantly, engaged employees at T1 reported more job resources at T2. By providing a cross-lagged examination of our model, we showed that engaging leaders as well as employees’ positive affective state of being engaged, are essential to shaping a resourceful work context. A comprehensive view on the triggers and outcomes of work engagement and engaging leadership is needed, as the traditional unidirectional cause-effect rationale fails to explain how these concepts relate to one another and to employee experiences of job resources.     

Temporal pattern in number of staff on sick leave: the effect of downsizing

Summary.  The pattern of absenteeism in the downsizing process of companies is a topic in focus in economics and social science. A general question is whether employees who are frequently absent are more likely to be selected to be laid off or in contrast whether employees to be dismissed are more likely to be absent for the remaining time of their working contract. We pursue an empirical and microeconomic investigation of these theses. We analyse longitudinal data that were collected in a German company over several years. We fit a semiparametric transition model based on a mixture Poisson distribution for the days of absenteeism per month. Prediction intervals are considered and the primary focus is on the period of downsizing. The data reveal clear evidence for the hypothesis that employees who are to be laid off are more frequently absent before leaving the company. Interestingly, though, no clear evidence is seen that employees being selected to leave the company are those with a bad absenteeism profile.     

回报计划感知价值及其与计划忠诚和品牌忠诚的关系研究

目前,客户回报计划已成为一种重要的关系营销手段,相关问题也开始引起学术界的关注。本文研究了回报计划的不同形式是如何影响客户对计划的感知价值的,同时回报计划的感知价值又是如何影响计划忠诚和品牌忠诚的,并且在研究的过程中考虑了产品或服务对客户涉入度的调节作用。结果显示,仅回报类型对计划感知价值的影响受到涉入度的调节,强涉入度下直接回报优于间接回报;而回报时间和回报额度对计划感知价值的影响不受涉入度的调节,延迟回报和差额回报优于立即回报和等额回报。同时,在强涉入度情况下,回报计划的感知价值通过直接和间接两务途径影响品牌忠诚;而在低涉入度争件下,回报计划感知价值对品牌忠诚没有直接影响,而是通过计划忠诚间接影响品牌忠诚。     

A classification of resources for employee-based value creation and a future research agenda

This conceptual paper aspires to provide a theoretically sound understanding of the value creation process of a specific value network (i.e., firm–employee context). Drawing on service-logic and resource-based frameworks, a classification of four diverse resource types in an organizational context is introduced (i.e., core, augmented, add-on, peripheral resources), based on their exchangeability and their contribution to employees’ value creation and co-creation. This classification enables a better understanding of the nature and the unique features of different firm–employee exchanges in an organizational context, and delineates each type’s distinctive role in employee-based value creation activities. Four propositions derive from this classification; this suggests that not all resource types can be exchanged and that the relative contribution of various firm–employee exchanges to value creation is asymmetrical. A future research agenda is also presented, discussing the potential implications of this classification for contemporary organizations.     

Cultivating employee creativity through strategic internal communication: The role of leadership,symmetry, and feedback seeking behaviors

Using a survey of 405 full-time employees, this study examined how organizations’ internal communication influenced by leadership communication at the supervisory- and senior-levels impacts employee creativity and how employees’ feedback-seeking behaviors mediate these relationships. The results suggest that leadership communication at the supervisory and senior levels positively influence symmetrical internal communication system. The analysis also shows that symmetrical internal communication and leadership communication cause employees to seek more feedback from different interpersonal sources including supervisors, coworkers, and peers in other departments, which in turn enhances creativity. This paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for public relations and internal communication.     

Enhancing the social capital in industrial workplaces: Developing workplace interventions using intervention mapping

Social capital in the workplace has been found to be associated with employee wellbeing and work engagement. Yet, evidence of effects of interventions to enhance the social capital are lacking. The intervention mapping method has been described as a useful tool for developing workplace interventions but it is very resource consuming. We aimed to develop an adapted version of the intervention mapping method which is more practically feasible to apply. To get insight into strengths and weaknesses of the adapted method, we applied it and conducted interviews with staff at six companies. The interviews revealed that the action plans developed using the adapted intervention mapping method were generally perceived as relevant and that the action plans had a positive effect on the social capital. However, the implementation of the action plans had been a challenge. In conclusion, the adapted intervention mapping method appears to be suitable for developing interventions to enhance the social capital in the workplace. However, more attention to the implementation of the action plans needs to be incorporated into the method. Suggestions to enhance the implementation included the involvement of the management in the implementation and monitoring of the implementation of the action plans as well as integrating the action plans into existing procedures in the workplace.     

“共享员工”制度常态化可行性研究

新冠疫情期间,企业为了缓解各方面压力,探索出"共享员工"新型用工形式,具体表现为企业间共享模式、用工单位直接与劳动者签订劳务合同以及在第三方介入下实现员工共享。中央及地方政府也纷纷推出鼓励"共享员工"发展的政策。但是"共享员工"制度是否能在常时条件下成为一种用工形式仍存在一系列问题。"共享员工"制度常态化的可能性应从其对劳务派遣制度"三性"的突破、对传统员工借调主体范围的扩大以及对共享经济用工模式的补充等方面分析。"共享员工"制度实现常态化需要以平台经济为依托,借助政府监督机构,对其他用工制度的不足进行修复式移用。     

Crisis perceptions,relationship, and communicative behaviors of employees: Internal public segmentation approach

This study examines when and why employees engage in external communicative behaviors during the periods of a corporate crisis. Combining a cross-situational factor (i.e., pre-crisis relationship quality) and a situational factor (i.e., crisis-specific perceptions), this study segments internal publics to understand employees’ motivations of becoming advocates for or adversaries of their organization. The results of an online survey demonstrated that employees’ pre-crisis relationship to their organization plays a critical role in encouraging them to advocate for their company; meanwhile, their crisis-perception—whether they feel fewer constraints in solving a crisis—is more likely to make them share negative information externally. Segmented groups of employees with high levels of both relationship and activeness are most likely to engage in both positive and negative external communication behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications for public relations and internal crisis communication are suggested.     

阅读任务投入量对二语词汇附带习得的影响

以Laufer＆Hulstijn的＂投入量假设＂为理论基础,采用定量和定性相结合的研究方法,考察不同投入量的任务对英语词汇知识附带习得的成效,结果表明：阅读任务促成了较高的词汇习得和保持效果;投入量相同的任务的即时词记忆效果存在显著差异;任务完成时间能够影响目标词的习得效果：高投入量的写作任务耗时较高,优势被其投入的时间所抵消,而填空任务是＂低投入高回报＂经济高效的任务。     

The role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and internal CSR communication in predicting employee engagement: Perspectives from the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

This study examined relationships among employees’ perception of CSR, three models of internal CSR communication and employee engagement. The findings, based on 516 valid survey responses from employees across different sectors in the United Arab Emirates, revealed that internal communication of CSR, both one-way and two-way symmetrical, predicted employee perceptions of CSR, with two-way asymmetrical communication being a negative predictor; perceptions of CSR predicted employee engagement; social and sustainable dimensions of CSR most strongly predicted social and affective dimensions of employee engagement; and both two-way symmetrical communication of CSR and employee perceptions of CSR strongly predicted employee engagement. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.