Employee Relations: An International Journal

Bergbom, Barbara ; Vartia-Vaananen, Maarit ; Kinnunen, Ulla

2015 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-09-2014-0101

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether immigrants, when in the minority, are more exposed to bullying at work than natives, and whether immigrants’ cultural distance from the host culture increases the risk of being bullied. Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted as a cross-sectional survey. The participants were immigrant ( N =183) and native ( N =186) employees in a transport company in Finland. Findings – Whereas immigrants on average were more likely than natives to label themselves as being bullied, the culturally least distant group of immigrants did not differ in this regard from natives. Compared to natives, the risk of being bullied was nearly three times higher in the intermediate distance group of immigrants and nearly eight times higher in the culturally most distant group. The primary type of negative act immigrants were subjected to was social exclusion. Research limitations/implications – It would be advisable for future research investigating immigrants’ exposure to bullying to use quasi-objective measures along with a self-labelling measure, and to apply qualitative methods. Practical implications – The heightened risk of culturally distant immigrants to being exposed to bullying might be reduced by improving employees’ cross-cultural communication skills and by promoting an atmosphere of acceptance of cultural diversity. Originality/value – The study is an addition to the still scarce literature on immigrants’ exposure to workplace bullying, and takes into particular account immigrants’ cultural distance from their host culture.

Makri, Eleni ; Ntalianis, Filotheos

2015 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-07-2014-0084

Purpose – The current financial crisis in Greece has redefined the way organizations operate resulting in a dramatic increase in mergers and acquisitions (M&As). The purpose of this paper is twofold: first to explore, within the M&A context, the main effects of job-related stressors and perceived organizational support (POS) on merger survivors’ ill-health and second to examine the indirect links between these and commitment. Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained from 140 employees of two merged financial institutions in Greece post-combination. Findings – The results indicated significant direct relationships between work-related stressors and POS and ill-health. As regards the indirect relationships, only the mediation link between organizational support, ill-health and commitment was supported. Practical implications – Implications, limitations and further research issues are discussed in light of the M&A context. Originality/value – The intention is to extend current stress and M&A literature findings (e.g. Cartwright and Cooper, 1993; Cartwright et al. , 2007), and further investigate the relationship between stressors and ill-health within a turbulent context, since little is known about the behavioral reactions arising as an outcome of M&As in a Greek setting. Thus, the unique contribution of this study is to examine this relationship in a double crisis context: the organizational crisis following the M&A and the financial crisis currently facing Greece, since the area of M&As in Greece has so far received little scholarly attention (Bellou, 2007, 2008).

Clarke, Marilyn

2015 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-11-2013-0169

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how community aged care workers evaluate job quality using a job quality framework. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a qualitative approach. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and focus groups from a large aged care organisation. Findings – Perceptions of job quality are influenced by individual motivations, match between life-stage and work flexibility, as well as broader community views of the value of this type of work. Intrinsic factors (e.g. autonomy, job content) moderate the impact of extrinsic factors such as pay and job security. Research limitations/implications – The sample is relatively small and the study is based on data from one aged care organisation which may not reflect employment conditions in other organisations. Practical implications – Attraction and retention of community care workers can be improved by addressing factors associated with remuneration (including employment contracts and hours of work) and career structures. Skill and experience-based career structures would help build organisational capacity as well as making these jobs more attractive. Social implications – The demand for community care will continue to increase. Attracting, retaining and managing this workforce will be critical to meeting society’s expectations regarding the future care needs of older people. Originality/value – This research explores an under-researched workforce group in a critical area of aged care management. It highlights two key areas with the potential to improve employee perceptions of job quality and therefore address issues related to attraction, retention, job satisfaction and ultimately organisational performance.

Fu, Na ; Flood, Patrick C. ; Bosak, Janine ; Morris, Tim ; O'Regan, Philip

2015 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-10-2013-0155

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how a system of human resource management (HRM) practices, labelled high-performance work systems (HPWS), influences organizational innovation in professional service firms (PSFs). In this study, innovation in PSFs is seen as an indicator of firm performance and is calculated as the revenue per person generated from new clients and new services, respectively. Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative data were collected from 195 managing partners, HR managers or experienced Partners in 120 Irish accounting firms. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Findings – The analysis results indicate strong support for the mediating role of employees’ innovative work behaviours in the relationship between HPWS and two types of PSFs’ innovation performance. Practical implications – Managers need to effectively adopt and implement innovation-based HRM practices to encourage and support employees’ creative thinking and innovation. Through the adoption and utilization of these practices managers can enhance the firm’s innovation and its performance. Originality/value – This study contributes to our understanding of the link between HRM and firm innovation by explicating a pathway between these variables. This study also generalizes consistent findings on the HRM-firm innovation relationship to a different context, i.e. PSFs.

Rodwell, John ; Ellershaw, Julia

2015 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-06-2014-0075

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the currency underlying the employment relationship of allied health workers by investigating the mechanisms of their psychological contracts. Design/methodology/approach – Path analyses were conducted on the survey responses from Australian allied health professionals ( n =112; a 46 per cent response rate). Findings – The analyses revealed that psychological contract promises decreased organizational citizenship behaviours relating to the organization (OCBO), while contract fulfilment increased commitment and reduced psychological distress. Contract breach reduced organizational commitment. Originality/value – The results indicate that obligations may be the primary currency in their psychological contract, with career commitment forming a set of obligations by which employees determine their OCBO, highlighting the nature of the resources exchanged to be targeted to their perceived source, in this case organizational promises begetting discretionary contributions to the organization. Further, fulfilment may reduce uncertainty, which in turn can reduce strain and increase OCBO.

Tews, Michael J. ; Michel, John ; Xu, Shi ; Drost, Alex J.

2015 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-10-2013-0152

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend research on fun in the workplace by focussing on its relationship with job embeddedness among Millennials. This research examined the influence of four dimensions of fun, including fun activities, manager support for fun, coworker socializing, and fun job responsibilities, on embeddedness. In addition, this research assessed the impact of fun relative to other aspects of the employment experience. Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained from 234 full-time working Millennials via survey methodology. Findings – Fun job responsibilities were the most dominant predictor of embeddedness followed by perceived career opportunities and praise and rewards. The other dimensions of fun accounted for significant variance in embeddedness, yet their influence was more modest. Research limitations/implications – The research demonstrated that fun plays a role in enhancing Millennials’ embeddedness, accounting for significant additional variance beyond other important aspects of the employment experience. At the same time, some aspects of fun were more dominant predictors of embeddedness than others, and other aspects of the employment experience were more dominant predictors than certain aspects of fun. These findings should be interpreted in the context of the primary limitation that the data were cross-sectional. Practical implications – Workplace fun may play a role in enhancing embeddedness, but organizations should not lose sight of other human resource management practices. Originality/value – The present study examined the role of workplace fun in a more nuanced perspective by examining its relationship on embeddedness relative to other important constructs.