Employee Relations: An International Journal

Salas-Vallina, Andres; Pozo, Manoli; Fernandez-Guerrero, Rafael

2020 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-04-2019-0185

The purpose of this paper is to measure and conceptualize the concept of well-being-oriented management (WOM), and to investigate the relationship between well-being oriented management (WOM), harmonious work passion, and innovative work behavior (IWB).Design/methodology/approachIn a sample of 362 senior managers, the authors used a two-wave structural equation model to verify whether the relationship between WOM and IWB was mediated by harmonious work passion.FindingsThis study reveals that human resource practices (HRM) oriented toward well-being, namely WOM, can be measured and conceptualized. In addition, WOM implemented over a period of one year, subsequently fostered IWB. Further, the role of harmonious passion as a catalyst in the relationship between these HRM practices and IWB was also examined.Originality/valueDrawing upon the social exchange theory and the Job Demands-Resources model, our contributions are threefold: to conceptualize and empirically measure WOM; to discover the effect of WOM on IWB, and to assess the mediating role of harmonious work passion in the relationship between WOM and IWB.

Poór, József; Engle, Allen D.; Kovács, Ildikó Éva; Morley, Michael J.; Kerekes, Kinga; Slavic, Agnes; Berber, Nemanja; Juhász, Timea; Zaharie, Monica; Legnerova, Katerina; Dvorakova, Zuzana; Stor, Marzena; Suchodolski, Adam; Buzády, Zoltán; Abdrazakova, Ainur

2020 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-01-2019-0082

We explore the effects of three organizational variables (country of origin of the multinational company (MNC), the timing of entry into the European Union and the mode of establishment of the MNC subsidiary unit) on the human resource management (HRM) practices being pursued by subsidiaries of large MNCs operating in selected countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Former Soviet Union. Furthermore, we examine whether the degree of autonomy afforded to the subsidiary over its preferred HR recipes is related to overall local unit performance.Design/methodology/approachWe profile the HRM practices of 379 foreign owned subsidiaries located in Bulgaria, Croatia, The Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. Using descriptive statistics, we present the general characteristics of the sample and we then use bivariate statistical analysis to test our hypotheses relating to the impact of different organizational factors on the HR practice mix implemented in the MNC subsidiaries covered in our survey.FindingsWe find a significant correlation between the annual training budget, the importance of knowledge flow from headquarters (HQs) to the subsidiary and the perceived criticality of training and development and whether the subsidiary is a greenfield site or an acquisition. A correlation was also found between the national timing of EU membership (older members, newer and then candidate countries and non-EU members) and three HR practice variables: the use of expatriates, external service providers and employee relations practices.Research limitations/implicationsOur research calls attention to the issue of balancing the efficiencies of standardization with the local preferences and traditions of customization which results in more successful MNC control and ultimately higher levels of performance. It also calls attention to the challenges in pursuing research of this nature over time in the CEE region, especially given the dynamic nature of the MNC mix in each of the countries.Practical implicationsOur findings serve to reduce the information gap on foreign-owned companies in CEE and the Former Soviet Union.Originality/valueDespite some 30 years of transition, there remains a paucity of empirical research on the HR practices of MNCs across a number of countries in the CEE region. For a decade and a half, the CEEIRT group[1] has been systematically gathering empirical evidence. The combination of the breadth (10 countries) and depth (numerous items related to MNC subsidiary relationships with corporate HQs and patterns of HR practices and roles) characterizing the ongoing research effort of the CEEIRT collaboration serves as a mechanism for augmenting the empirical base on HRM in the region.

Wang, Wendy; Albert, Leslie; Sun, Qin

2020 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-06-2019-0246

In light of the increasing popularity of telecommuting, this study investigates how telecommuters' organizational commitment may be linked to psychological and physical isolation. Psychological isolation refers to feelings of emotional unfulfillment when one lacks meaningful connections, support, and interactions with others, while physical isolation refers to physical separation from others.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was used to collect data from 446 employees who telecommute one or more days per week.FindingsThe results of this study indicate that telecommuters' affective commitment is negatively associated with psychological isolation, whereas their continuance commitment is positively correlated with both psychological and physical isolation. These findings imply that telecommuters may remain with their employers due to perceived benefits, a desire to conserve resources such as time and emotional energy, or weakened marketability, rather than emotional connections to their colleagues or organizations.Practical implicationsOrganizations wishing to retain and maximize the contributions of telecommuters should pursue measures that address collocated employees' negative assumptions toward telecommuters, preserve the benefits of remote work, and cultivate telecommuters' emotional connections (affective commitment) and felt obligation (normative commitment) to their organizations.Originality/valueThrough the creative integration of the need-to-belong and relational cohesion theories, this study contributes to the telecommuting and organizational commitment literature by investigating the dynamics between both psychological and physical isolation and telecommuters' organizational commitment.

Hennekam, Sophie; Richard, Sarah; Grima, François

2020 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-05-2019-0211

This exploratory qualitative study examines both the impact of mental health conditions on self-perceived job performance and how individuals with mental health conditions cope with their conditions at work.Design/methodology/approachA total of 257 responses to a qualitative questionnaire and 17 in-depth interviews with individuals with mental health conditions are analyzed.FindingsThe findings show that mental health conditions can negatively impact self-perceived job performance in the form of lower quality of one's work, slower pace, and more mistakes. In addition, the findings reveal coping strategies that positively and negatively affect one’s performance at work. Strategies that negatively influence one’s performance include substance abuse and self-harm, suppressing and hiding one's symptoms, and forcing oneself to continue to work when feeling unwell. Coping strategies that tend to positively affect their performance include accepting one's condition and taking time off, medication and counseling, mindfulness activities, transparent communication, humor, and a compensation strategy.Originality/valueA growing number of individuals struggle with mental health conditions at work, impacting both organizations and employees. However, little is known about the influence of mental health conditions on one's performance at work, how individuals cope with their mental health conditions at work, and what effect those coping strategies have on organization-relevant outcomes.

Arifeen, Shehla R.

2020 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-04-2018-0110

Networking is deemed important for women in careers. The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the interaction of a specific networking practice with a religious practice and its implications on British Muslim women (BMw). The practice ‘happy hours’ is closely linked with drinking alcohol (Flores-Pereira et al., 2008), while alcohol consumption is forbidden in Islam.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research approach was used to interview 37 participants who were in managerial or professional positions.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that the presence of alcohol in work-related socializing is a norm, making the practice of ‘happy hours’ invisible and legitimate (Acker, 2006), thereby contributing inadvertently to reinforcing inequality regimes in organizations. Furthermore, the interaction of contradictory religious beliefs/practices of individual employees and organizational practices presents challenges for Muslim women, who feel they have to participate in happy hours as a networking practice in order to progress in careers. While it involves emotional effort, as they persuade themselves to join in activities where alcohol is being served, it paradoxically results in feelings of exclusion and marginalization within the group, as they do not drink alcohol.Originality/valueThis paper focuses on the micro/individual level of analysis, singling out the Muslim female voice while positioning ‘happy hours’ as a ‘networking practice’. It also contributes to the underexplored area of the role of religion and individual behaviour in organizations (Tracey, 2012).

Li, Jie; Sekiguchi, Tomoki; Qi, Jipeng

2020 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-06-2019-0240

The literature on job crafting has paid scant attention to the role of skill variety, one dimension of job characteristics, as a predictor of employee job crafting. By integrating regulatory focus and social exchange perspectives with job crafting literature, the authors investigate how skill variety promotes employee job crafting and the moderating roles of employee's promotion focus and procedural justice climate.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted two questionnaire surveys, one with a sample of 205 employees from a variety of organizations in China, and the other one with a sample of 265 employees within 44 work groups at a state-owned enterprise in China, to examine the hypotheses.FindingsResults suggest that a high level of skill variety within a job promotes employee job crafting, that such an effect is stronger when the employee's promotion focus is high rather than low, and that procedural justice climate mitigates the negative influence of a low level of promotion focus.Originality/valueThe authors' findings suggest that both self-regulatory and social exchange mechanisms play a critical role in promoting employee job crafting when individuals are engaged in jobs that entail a high level of skill variety.

Franca, Valentina; Doherty, Michael

2020 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-03-2019-0146

The article focuses on the role that ‘confidential information’ plays in relation to the work of board-level worker representatives, and their interaction with other worker participation mechanisms. Thus, the purpose of the paper is to explore the implications of confidentiality of board-level information for effective worker participation. The main argument is that if board-level worker representatives are excessively constrained by confidentiality provisions, their capacity to work effectively is brought into question.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research was undertaken on a sample of 12 public limited companies in Slovenia. In each company, three interviews were conducted: with the CEO or board member, with a board-level worker representative and with a works councilor, who was not a board-level worker representative (36 interviews in total). Each of these interviewees has a particular role, and interest, in handling confidential information. Thus, a method of triangulation by groups was employed. The interviews were conducted at the company premises during October and November 2017. The results were analysed by the content analysis method.FindingsThis research confirms that in the majority of companies, nearly all of the material and information discussed by the board is deemed to be ‘confidential’. Consequently, communication between board-level worker representatives and the works council is rendered difficult, if not impossible. The results indicate an urgent need to redefine the concept of confidentiality and to reinforce the level of communication between management boards and works councils.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is limited to one country, which, by no means, is fatal, as international comparisons, although of greater breadth, often lose some depth of analysis (especially, for example, where there are differences in legal contexts). Although the issues discussed in the paper are of relevance to all those with an interest in worker participation mechanisms, they cannot be generalised mostly due to national specificities.Originality/valueThe question of confidentiality as between the board, board-level worker representatives, works councils, trade unions and other form of worker representation, despite its importance, has been raised quite rarely in research. In this research, three groups of stakeholders (CEO/board member, board-level workers representative and works council members) have been covered, with the aim to extend the understanding of how confidentiality obligations impact relationships between these.

Adisa, Toyin Ajibade; Oruh, Emeka Smart; Akanji, Babatunde

2020 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-08-2019-0344

Despite the fundamental role of culture in an organisational setting, little is known of how organisational culture can be sometimes determined/influenced by professional culture, particularly in the global south. Using Nigeria as a research focus, this article uses critical discuss analysis to examine the link between professional and organisational culture.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses qualitative research approach to establish the significance of professional culture as a determinant of organisational culture among healthcare organisations.FindingsWe found that the medical profession in Nigeria is replete with professional duties and responsibilities, such as professional values and beliefs, professional rules and regulations, professional ethics, eagerness to fulfil the Hippocratic Oath, professional language, professional symbols, medicine codes of practice and societal expectations, all of which conflate to form medical professionals' values, beliefs, assumptions and the shared perceptions and practices upon which the medical professional culture is strongly built. This makes the medical professional culture stronger and more dominant than the healthcare organisational culture.Research limitations/implicationsThe extent to which the findings of this research can be generalised is constrained by the limited and selected sample of the research.Practical implicationsThe primacy of professional culture over organisational culture may have dysfunctional consequences for human resource management (HRM), as medical practitioners are obliged to stick to medical professional culture over human resources practices. Hence, human resources departments may struggle to cope with the behavioural issues that arise due to the dominant position taken by the medical practitioners. This is because the cultural system (professional culture), which is the configuration of beliefs, perceived values, code of ethics, practices and so forth. shared by medical doctors, subverts the operating system. Therefore, in the case of healthcare organisations, HRM should support and enhance the cultural system (the medical professional culture) by offering compatible operating strategies and practices.Originality/valueThis article provides valuable insights into the link between professional culture and organisational culture. It also enriches debates on organisational culture and professional culture. We, therefore, contend that a strong professional culture can overwhelm and eventually become an organisational culture.

Guinot, Jacob; Miralles, Sandra; Rodríguez-Sánchez, Alma; Chiva, Ricardo

2020 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-07-2019-0275

Based on a new management paradigm rooted on care and compassion, this study explores the consequences of compassion at work on organizational learning and firm performance.Design/methodology/approachStructural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the research model by using data from two different samples.FindingsResults confirm that compassion increases firm performance through organizational learning capability; however, compassion do not enhances directly firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study findings indicate that when compassion is propagated among organizational members, organizations are better able to learn so they obtain a competitive advantage that is difficult to imitate and leads to higher firm performance.Originality/valueThis study takes a step forward on literature by providing empirical evidence for a promising area of management research such is compassion in organizations.

Bos-Nehles, Anna; Van der Heijden, Beatrice; Van Riemsdijk, Maarten; Looise, Jan Kees

2020 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-10-2018-0263

Many HRM practices are never thoroughly implemented, or are implemented ineffectively. To better understand what line managers need to implement HRM practices effectively, the authors have developed and validated a psychometrically sound measurement instrument dealing with line managers' attributions for effective HRM implementation. Based on the theory of causal attributions, the authors distinguish between internal and external attributions that determine how line managers implement HRM practices on the work floor.Design/methodology/approachA multidimensional approach has been used, and, after collecting data from 471 line managers, thorough scale development guidelines and validation procedures have been applied for instrument development.FindingsThe instrument's psychometric qualities have been assessed by calculating the reliability and validity of line managers' internal attributions – including its composing dimensions of desire and competences – and their external attributions – including the dimensions of support, capacity and policy and procedures. In particular, both convergent and discriminant validity as well as intra-class correlations have been established. The newly developed measures are found to be of good quality. The scales appear to discriminate well between the distinguished groups and show a good variation within groups.Practical implicationsThe developed measurement instrument helps HRM professionals to better understand line managers' attributions to effectively implement HRM practices and to provide them with support and training for effective HRM implementation.Originality/valuePrevious research has already identified weaknesses in HRM implementation, but lacked addressing the causes of this. The study presents antecedents for HRM implementation effectiveness, based on the causal attribution theory, and a psychometrically validated instrument to measure these antecedents.