Employee Relations: An International Journal

Ollo-López, Andrea; Nuñez, Imanol

2018 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-04-2017-0074

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate and identify the organizational drivers of sexual harassment (SH).Design/methodology/approachDrawing on data from a representative sample of workers in Spain, this paper sheds light on the likelihood of SH influenced by: organizational environment and climate, organizational forms and structure, and job design parameters.FindingsThe analysis reveals that organizational climates where negative behaviors are tolerated are particularly advantageous for harassers. Furthermore, the profile of the victims of SH is that they work in isolation, are contracted through employment agencies, are not given training opportunities, and have low status in the firm. Analysis also reveals, however, that firms can reduce the risk of SH by empowering jobs and improving time flexibility.Research limitations/implicationsThe use of secondary data implies some constrains: the type of measure and the failure to control for the role of SH perpetrators.Practical implicationsManagers should adopt some organizational policies, such as empower job or improve time flexibility, since they reduce the risk of SH.Originality/valueThis paper identifies some objective organizational settings where SH is more likely and provides some easy to apply solutions to prevent it.

Obushenkova, Elena; Plester, Barbara; Haworth, Nigel

2018 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-02-2017-0040

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how company-provided smartphones and user-device attachment influence the psychological contract between employees and managers in terms of connectivity expectations and outcomes.Design/methodology/approachData were collected using qualitative semi-structured interviews with 28 participants from four organizations.FindingsThe study showed that when organizations provide smartphones to their employees, the smartphones become a part of the manager-employee relationship through user-device attachment and this can change connectivity expectations for both employees and managers.Research limitations/implicationsDue to participant numbers, these findings may not be generalizable to all employees and managers who receive company smartphones. However, the authors have important implications for theory. The smartphone influence on the psychological climate and its role as a signal for workplace expectations suggest that mobile information and communication technology devices must be considered in psychological contract formation, development, change and breach.Practical implicationsThe perceived expectations can lead to hyper-connectivity which can have a number of negative performance and health outcomes such as technostress, burnout, absenteeism and work-life conflict.Social implicationsSmartphone usage and user-device attachment have the potential to redefine human relations by encouraging and normalizing hyper-connected relationships.Originality/valueThis study makes an original contribution to psychological contract theory by showing that smartphones and attachment to these devices create perceived expectations to stay connected to work and create negative outcomes, especially for managers.

Smith, Marisa Kay

2018 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-07-2016-0143

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the experience of call centre employees who have been involved in high-involvement innovation (HII) activities to understand what frontline and managerial employees think of these involvement activities.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative case study approach is utilised, drawing on evidence from seven UK call centres. Various sources of data are examined, i.e. interviews, observation, call listening and documentary.FindingsFrom the analysis of the testimonies, it is found that job design, the mechanisms and practices as well as other people’s perceptions of involvement influence the experience of frontline and managerial employees. The findings highlight that HII has the potential to intensify jobs (both frontline and managerial employees) when the quantity of ideas submitted becomes a component of the employee performance appraisal system.Research limitations/implicationsThis research has shown that the heightened targets used in many of the cases have reduced the ability of employees to be involved in any innovation activities. What is not clear from the findings is that if performance measures can be used in a more participative way with employees so that they can have less time pressure allowing them to become more involved in innovation activities. Thus, an interesting direction for future research would be to consider the effects of performance measurement systems in the role they play in facilitating HII activities.Practical implicationsThe findings show that HII has the potential to enrich frontline employees’ jobs, making them feel more valued and giving them some variety and challenge in their job. Therefore, practitioners should approach employee involvement in the innovation process as something potentially fruitful and not just wasted time away from the phones.Originality/valueThis research is important as it explores what effects these involvement initiatives have on the employees and managers involved in them. This is valuable since there is no real consensus across human resource management, labour process and critical management fields resulting in a limited conceptualisation of the relationship between management practices, employee experiences and the outcomes. This research makes a contribution through the elaboration of current theory to understand the complexities and subtleties that exist between the high involvement management practices and the experience of workers and their managers.

Khoreva, Violetta; Wechtler, Heidi

2018 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-08-2017-0191

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the associations between the skill-, motivation- and opportunity-enhancing dimensions of human resource (HR) practices and in-role and innovative job performance. Furthermore, it considers the mediating effects of psychological, physical and social employee well-being on these associations.Design/methodology/approachStructural equation modeling was utilized to analyze multi-source survey data from a sample of 300 employees and 34 immediate supervisors in a professional service company in Finland.FindingsThe results indicate that whereas physical and social employee well-being partially mediate the association between skill- and opportunity-enhancing HR practices and in-role job performance, psychological employee well-being partially mediates the association between motivation-enhancing HR practices and innovative job performance.Research limitations/implicationsGiven its cross-sectional nature, the authors cannot completely exclude the possibility of common method bias influencing the study results. The authors thus call for longitudinal research to examine the nature of causality within the associations analyzed in the study.Originality/valueThis study does not support the notion of trade-offs between HR practices, employee well-being and employee performance. Instead, it illustrates that even though different dimensions of HR practices enhance different dimensions of employee well-being, which, in turn, increase different types of employee performance, the different dimensions of HR practices work in the same direction and do not generate any unintended consequences in terms of reduced employee physical well-being.

Verheyen, Tanja; Guerry, Marie-Anne

2018 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-01-2017-0024

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the practice of demotion. This study aims to do so in two ways: first, by investigating Belgian HR professionals’ key motives for practicing and not practicing demotion and second, by examining the reasons why HR professionals choose for these specific motives.Design/methodology/approachThe explanatory mixed methods design is used: survey data are analyzed through cluster analysis resulting in insights into the motives for practicing demotion. Follow-up qualitative focus group interviews provide an explanatory understanding of the motives for practicing and not practicing demotion.FindingsLow employee performance, optimization of the organization, employer branding and career possibilities are motives for practicing demotion. Demotivation, salary issues, a taboo and a lack of vacancies are motives for not practicing demotion. A cultural change, walk the talk, carefully selected vocabulary and transparent communication could possibly counter the motives for not practicing demotion.Research limitations/implicationsThe use of terminology such as “downward career twist” instead of “demotion” in some questions of the survey might have influenced the answers of the Belgian HR professionals. In a focus group, no matter how small, participants sometimes tend to give socially desirable answers under group pressure, and this could influence the accuracy. Moreover, the HR professionals often expressed their own opinions, which they clearly dissociate from the views of the organization.Practical implicationsOrganizations need to explore alternatives to motivate their employees in general and in particular in case of a demotion. This can be emphasized through a demotion policy. However, these alternative ways to motivate are important as extrinsic motivators such as salary are not the only way to motivate employees.Originality/valueMotives for practicing and not practicing demotion are to the authors’ best knowledge never studied from a recent, Belgian HR perspective. These motives are contextualized in organizational justice theory. This study contributes to the demotion literature by elaborating the list of motives for practicing and not practicing demotion.

McCormack, Darcy; Djurkovic, Nikola; Nsubuga-Kyobe, Apollo; Casimir, Gian

2018 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-07-2016-0147

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine if the gender of the perpetrator and the gender of the target have interactive effects on the frequency of downward workplace bullying to which targets are subjected.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional design was used on a sample of 125 schoolteachers in Uganda. Self-report data on downward workplace bullying were obtained using the Negative Acts Questionnaire.FindingsThe perpetrator’s gender and the target’s gender have interactive effects on the level of downward bullying to which targets are subjected. Although targets in within-gender dyads reported higher levels of overall downward workplace bullying than did targets in between-gender dyads, a significant gender-gender interaction was found for personal harassment and work-related harassment but not for intimidation nor organisational harassment.Research limitations/implicationsThe generalisability of the findings is limited due to the sample consisting entirely of schoolteachers in Uganda. Self-report data are a limitation as they are subjective and thus susceptible to various perceptual biases (e.g. social desirability, personality of the respondent). Examining the interactive effects of gender on workplace bullying helps to provide a better understanding of the potential influence of gender in bullying scenarios. The findings from research that considers only the main effects of gender whilst ignoring interactive effects can misinform any theory or policy development.Practical implicationsOrganisations need to resocialise their members so that they learn new attitudes and norms regarding aggressive behaviour in the workplace.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature on workplace bullying by examining the interactive effects of gender on the frequency of downward workplace bullying.

Li, Ji; Zhang, Ying; Chen, Silu; Jiang, Wanxing; Wen, Shanshan; Hu, Yanghong

2018 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-07-2016-0133

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between demographic diversity on boards and employer/employee relationship (EER) and to test the moderating effect of contextual factors such as a firm’s financial situation.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyzes data from over 1,000 publicly listed US firms and uses hierarchical regression.FindingsDemographic diversity on boards of a given firm, such as ethnic diversity and gender diversity, should have positive effects on EER, which can be considered as an important dimension of overall human resource management performance in a given firm. Contextual factors such as a firm’s financial situation should moderate the relationship between demographic diversity on boards and the EER.Originality/valueFirst, this research contributes to the current literature by showing that EER can be influenced by demographic diversity on boards, which further helps to highlight the beneficial effect of demographic diversity in top management team. Second, this study uncovers the moderating role of some contextual factors such as a firm’ financial situation. Third, this study also contributes to the corporate governance literature by studying the link between demographic diversity on boards and EER.

Wylie, Nick; Sturdy, Andrew

2018 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-10-2016-0194

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify, describe and evaluate the different ways in which formal collective change agency is structured in specialist units inside 25 diverse organisations. As such it is oriented towards a range of practitioners operating in HR, project management or with responsibility for delivering change in public and private sectors.Design/methodology/approachUsing a qualitative design, exploratory interview and case study research was conducted in organisations across the UK public and private sectors to explore how different change agency units operate within organisational structures.FindingsFour dominant types of internal change agency unit are identified, varying in terms of their change impact scope and degree of structural embeddedness in the organisation. These units are described as transformers, enforcers, specialists and independents and share key concerns with securing client credibility and added value, effective relationship management and the use of consulting tools. Their roles and the tensions they experience are outlined along with hybrid forms and dynamic shifts from one type to another.Research limitations/implicationsThe study could be extended outside of the UK and conducted longitudinally to help identify outcomes more precisely in relation to context.Practical implicationsEach of the four types of change agency unit identified is shown to be suited to certain conditions and to present particular challenges for collective change agency and for specialist management occupations engaged in such work. The analysis could usefully inform organisation design decisions around internal change agency.Originality/valueThe authors extend debates around the nature of internal change agency which has typically focussed on comparisons with external change agents at the level of the individual. Developing the work of Caldwell (2003), the authors reveal how emergent, team-based or collective approaches to change agency can be formalised, rather than informal, and that structural considerations of change need to be considered along with traditional concerns with change management.

Hung, Chao-Chih; Huan, Tzung-Cheng; Lee, Chun-Han; Lin, Hsin-Mei; Zhuang, Wen-Long

2018 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-12-2016-0237

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship of regulatory foci (promotion focus and prevention focus) to expatriate adjustments (general, interaction, and work adjustments) and explore whether mentoring functions (psychosocial support, role modeling, and career development) moderate the aforementioned relationship.Design/methodology/approachUsing 141 questionnaired primary data (response rate 32.25 percent) gathered from at least six months experienced expatiates of multinational companies in six industries, this study adopts regression method to examine the moderating effect.FindingsThis study found that promotion focus was positively related to the interaction and work adjustment, respectively; prevention focus was positively related to the general, interaction, and work adjustment, respectively. Psychosocial support function moderates the relationship between promotion focus and general adjustment. Career development function moderates the relationships between promotion/prevention foci and work adjustment.Originality/valueAccording to the interactionism perspective, behavior is a result of the interaction between personality and situational influences, has a long history in social and personality psychology. This study extends this perspective to the interactive effects of mentorship (situational factor) and expatriates’ regulatory foci (personality factor) on expatriate adjustment.

Park, Rhokeun

2018 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-06-2017-0137

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of organizational commitment in the relationship between job demands and job search behavior. The study also explores the moderating role of worker cooperatives in the relationship between job demands and organizational commitment. There is little extant research on the relationships of job demands with employee behaviors, and the roles of worker cooperatives in those relationships.Design/methodology/approachUsing the multi-level moderated mediation model, this study analyzed surveys conducted in capitalist firms and worker cooperatives in the metropolitan area of Seoul in 2016.FindingsThis study provided evidence that organizational commitment mediated the relationship between job demands and job search behavior in the total sample. The findings revealed that worker cooperatives moderated the relationship between job demands and organizational commitment. In other words, while the negative relationship between job demands and organizational commitment was significant in capitalist firms, it was not maintained in worker cooperatives.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides implications on how job demands are related to job search behavior, and how worker cooperatives may alleviate the adverse effects of job demands on employee attitudes and behaviors. A potential limitation of the present study is that individual-level variables were measured by self-reports.Originality/valueWhile previous studies on the JDR model have examined the interaction between job demands and individual levels of resources, the current study investigated the interaction between job demands and organizational levels of resources.