Employee Relations: An International Journal

Athanasios N. Tsirikas; Kleanthis K. Katsaros; Christos S. Nicolaidis

2012 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425451211236814

Purpose – The aim of this research is to investigate the influence of hybrid knowledge management in workers' productivity and tolerance of ambiguity. Design/methodology/approach – The research was conducted before and after the implementation of the Communication and Knowledge Motivator (CKM) model in Hellenic Railways Organization (2004 and 2008). Survey data were collected from 352 workers. In the first phase (2004), workers' productivity, ambiguity tolerance and demographical characteristics were examined. In the second phase (2008), the same measurements were performed. Ordinary regressions (enter and stepwise) were used to explore the research hypotheses. Findings – The paper finds that workers' productivity and tolerance of ambiguity is positively affected by the CKM model. Further, it confirms the significant influence of workers' ambiguity tolerance in their productivity, before and after the implementation of the CKM model. Research limitations/implications – Workers' productivity might be influenced by the Hawthorne effect or by other emotional/cognitive attitudes. There is no such earlier measurement in Greece to compare and appraise the research findings and overall, the CKM model. Further research needs to be conducted in the Greek public sector. Practical implications – The research findings suggest that the CKM model affects positively workers' productivity and ambiguity tolerance. Additionally, they note that workers' tolerance of ambiguity affects significantly their productivity. Originality/value – The originality of this study lies in the CKM model that may influence positively workers' productivity and ambiguity tolerance. The study was carried out in Greece where few relevant studies have been conducted.

Reelika Irs; Kulno Türk

2012 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425451211236823

Purpose – The article aims to provide an insight into the perspectives and possibilities of implementing the performance‐related pay in the Estonian general educational schools. It also aims to test two propositions regarding factors that influence school performance and teachers' and school managers' opinions about performance management. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 298 school managers and 2,165 teachers from general educational schools in Estonia participated in the study. The factor, regression and correlation analysis, independent samples t ‐test and one‐way ANOVA analysis were used to study claims related to school management and performance and educational processes. Findings – The results of the analysis show that besides teachers' activities and effectiveness factors, various school management factors play an important role in the shaping of the school performance and the opinions towards the implementation of performance appraisal and performance‐related pay. Research limitations and implications – The main limitation to the research is that it is difficult to measure the schools' outcome. Second, the study was mainly quantitative, with only a few open questions and thus, the respondents were neither able to give full answers nor provide explanations. Therefore, further case studies are needed to obtain a more precise overview. Originality/value – Although performance‐related pay is seen as an important management tool for increasing schools' outcome, there is no clear overview as to how the school managers and teachers in Estonia look at the issue and which factors should be considered in implementing performance‐related pay.

David Martínez‐Iñigo; Antonio Crego; Silvia Garcia‐Dauder; Roberto Domínguez‐Bilbao

2012 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425451211236832

Purpose – This study aims to analyze the relationship between the culture in one of the majority national trade unions in Spain and the difficulties in accomplishing the desired changes and innovations. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 15 focus groups comprised of trade union leaders were conducted. Transcriptions of the groups were analyzed from a grounded theory approach Findings – The presence of an “inconclusive dialectic” structure (thesis‐antithesis‐no synthesis) in the leaders' rhetoric was identified. From a dialectic perspective of organizational change, this can be interpreted as a factor slowing change within the organization. Research limitations/implications – The study reflects the role played by organizational culture in maintaining this inertia and in the delay of the reduction of divergence between internal and external dimensions implied in the working and survival of trade union organizations. The results of the study reflect the need to introduce changes in the trade union's language and to redefine some of the terms in the discourse. New standards for the evaluation of the efficiency of trade unions as a whole, teams and their members are also necessary. This redefinition implies proposals able to synthesize tensions between the ideological and instrumental and between activism and professionalism. Originality/value – In order to face workers' demands in the current framework of labor relations, there is general consensus on the need for change and development in trade union organizations. There are numerous factors involved that have been analyzed and some initiatives have been implemented from different levels with unclear success. Although literature on organizational development gives culture a central role, in the case of trade unions this dimension has been neglected.

Gian Casimir; Darcy McCormack; Nikola Djurkovic; Apollo Nsubuga‐Kyobe

2012 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425451211236841

Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to examine the psychosomatic model of downward workplace bullying in different cultures. Design/methodology/approach – A cross‐sectional design was used. Participants were teachers in government and non‐government high schools in Australia and the Republic of Uganda. Participants completed a self‐report questionnaire. Findings – The psychosomatic model is supported for both the Australian and the Ugandan samples. However, the relationship between bullying and physical symptoms is fully mediated by negative affect for the Australian sample but partially mediated for the Ugandan sample. The correlation between bullying and negative affect is stronger for the Australian sample than for the Ugandan sample. Research limitations/implications – The psychosomatic model was extended by including culture as a moderator of the bullying‐negative affect relationship. The findings show that the psychosomatic model of workplace bullying is a variform universal. All participants are schoolteachers and the findings may therefore not be generalisable to employees in other occupations. The validity of the findings is questionable as the data are self‐reported. The cross‐sectional design used precludes any conclusions being made about cause‐effect relationships. Future studies should consider other personality dimensions that may influence the psychosomatic model of bullying and the use of a longitudinal design. Practical implications – Downward bullying reduces employee effectiveness because the ensuing negative affect and physical symptoms hamper employees from performing optimally. Furthermore, targets may adopt avoidance strategies, such as absenteeism and turnover, to avoid being bullied. Originality/value – The psychosomatic model of workplace bullying was examined cross‐culturally for the first time.

Alison Collins; Susan Cartwright

2012 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425451211236850

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of managers and employees, in one private and one public sector organization, towards an individual's decision to go to work, despite being unwell, a phenomenon known as presenteeism in the literature. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative interviews ( n =33) were used to investigate the personal beliefs and attitudes of managers and employees towards presenteeism in an attempt to understand why individuals come into work, despite being unwell, rather than taking time off work. Findings – This paper explores the factors that influence an individual's decision to come into work despite being ill. Employees who are unwell are likely to take into consideration a combination of factors before deciding whether to come into work or take sick leave. The study's findings highlight the importance of both the work environment and an individual's personal motivation, including their work ethic, on presenteeism, providing further evidence that context is important. Originality/value – The study's findings support previous research that attendance management mechanisms implemented by the organization can lead to absenteeism. However, well‐designed and managed return to work policies can be of reciprocal benefit to both the organization and the employee.

Kay Greasley; Paul Edwards; Denise Baker‐McClearn; Jeremy Dale

2012 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425451211236869

Purpose – Many studies look at the effects of human resource (HR) initiatives. Yet very few consider why organisations adopt them in the first place. Health and wellbeing interventions offer a critical case because they offer apparent benefits for all. Assessing the process of engagement reveals variations in managerial commitment, which has implications for studies of “effects”. This paper seeks to address these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The study offered a free health intervention to organisations; this was separate from the research study, which aimed to assess the effects. A total of 86 organisations were approached, of which 53 indicated some interest in involvement. After further withdrawals and selection against criteria of size and sector, nine remained. The paper assesses the degree of engagement with the study, looking in detail at three organisations. The methods utilised included structured telephone interviews, qualitative interviews and observation. Findings – The organisations underwent a rigorous selection procedure to ensure their full commitment to the study. On this basis it is expected that the participating organisations would be highly engaged. However, it became clear that there were considerable variations in how they engaged. This reflected the favourability of the organisational context, but also the enthusiasm and commitment of key actors. Originality/value – Engaged organisations were a highly self‐selected group. Studies of effects of interventions may thus be systematically biased. The interventions studies here were also shaped by how they were put into practice; they were not fixed things whose effects could be understood independently of their implementation. The study was also able to make predictions of the subsequent effects of the interventions based on the process of implementation. The results of a follow‐up study to test these predictions will be reported in a further paper.