Employee Relations: An International Journal

Espasandín-Bustelo, Francisco; Ganaza-Vargas, Juan; Diaz-Carrion, Rosalia

2021 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-07-2020-0343

This research explores how does the organizational culture influence internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions and the effect of these actions on the level of happiness of employees.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts an employee perspective since the perception of employees is the unit of analysis. By relying on a sample of 921 workers of firms from different sectors and sizes headquartered in Spain, the empirical analysis is performed using partial least squares.FindingsThe findings evidence that clan and adhocracy cultures highly foster internal CSR practices and that internal CSR activities enhance employees' happiness. The mediating role of internal CSR in the relationship between organizational culture and employee happiness is also found. These results suggest that managers could play a proactive role in fostering internal CSR by designing the organizational culture according to features of clan and adhocracy cultures such as flexibility, innovation, creativity, autonomy, communication, training and support of supervisors.Research limitations/implicationsThe research focuses on a single country, which makes it difficult to generalize the results and guides future research into cross-cultural analysis. Including countries that present differences in their cultural and institutional context would allow to explore the influence of the national context on the business culture, on internal CSR and on employee happiness. This work is also limited in time, as the data used are of a cross-cultural nature.Practical implicationsA greater effort in internal CSR by companies translates into a higher level of happiness for their workers. Specifically, occupational health and safety practices have the greatest influence on employee happiness. Hence, organizations must develop cultures that contribute to promote internal CSR—adhocracy and clan—since this would enhance employees' happiness if the values and beliefs that characterize these cultural configurations are translated into internal CSR practices such as occupational health and safety, work–life balance and equal opportunities.Social implicationsThe improvement of employee happiness creates social value and can be enhanced through an organizational culture that promotes CSR. The research findings might be useful when defining institutional policies to promote job quality, as encouraged by the social policy agenda of the United Nations embodied in the Sustainable Development Goals.Originality/valuePromoting internal CSR through organizational culture will have positive effects for companies internally by enhancing employees' happiness. Therefore, the article contributes to overcome the lack of evidence about the antecedents of internal CSR and its relationship with employees' happiness, an emerging variable in the management literature.

Williams, Colin C.; Oz-Yalaman, Gamze

2021 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-05-2020-0218

The temporary enforced closure of businesses in response to the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in governments in Europe and beyond offering short-term financial support to the businesses and workers affected. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a group of workers unable to benefit from the short-term job retention schemes and support to the self-employed made available by governments, namely, those whose paid work is comprised wholly of undeclared work, and how this could be addressed.Design/methodology/approachTo identify those whose paid work is entirely undeclared, a Eurobarometer survey of undeclared work in Europe is reported conducted in September 2019, just prior to the pandemic, and involving 27,565 face-to-face interviews in 28 European countries.FindingsThe finding is that the paid work of one in every 132 European citizens is comprised wholly of undeclared work, and these workers are concentrated in non-essential businesses and activities severely affected by the lockdown. These workers whose paid work is comprised wholly of undeclared work are significantly more likely to be widowed or divorced/separated, living in households with three or more adults, without children and most of the time have financial difficulties in making ends meet.Practical implicationsGiven that businesses and workers in the undeclared economy are largely unable to work under lockdown, it is argued that providing access to short-term financial support, through a regularisation initiative based on voluntary disclosure, would not only provide the income support these workers need but also bring them out of the shadows and put them on the radar of the state authorities, thus transforming undeclared work into declared work.Originality/valueThis paper shows how in the current or repeat lockdowns, the short-term financial support made available by governments can be used to transform undeclared work into declared work.

Sarkar, Santanu; Chakraborty, Ranabir

2021 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-06-2020-0303

We were intrigued by the question of whether the convergence of businesses across nations in search of flexibility to survive economic crisis led to a convergence of the annual rate of change of union membership. The question emerged because the convergence theory was controverted, especially when the neo-capitalist idea failed to withstand the test of time during the economic crisis.Design/methodology/approachBy adopting the model from Bain and Elsheik (1976) and using time-series data from 1990 to 2014 for Finland and India that survived economic crisis during this period, whereby union membership remained steady in Finland but declined in India, we assessed the empirical distinction between the changes in union membership.FindingsWe argued that when hit by an economic crisis, different nations had divergent responses and chose different means of economic recovery because of which the countries have not withstood the crisis in one specific way/direction that at all times, marginalises unions. Our main finding is that in both the countries, the annual rate of change of union membership during the years of economic recovery was determined by the policy response. And, policy responses were determined not only by the causes of economic crisis but also by the strength of unique national institutional configurations and history of the country.Originality/valueThe annual rate of change of union membership during the years of economic recovery was determined by the policy response. And, policy responses were determined not only by the causes of economic crisis but also by the strength of unique national institutional configurations and history of the country.

Jayaweera, Thushel; Bal, Matthijs; Chudzikowski, Katharina; de Jong, Simon

2021 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-03-2020-0095

The purpose of this paper is to explore the macroeconomic factors that may moderate the psychological contract breach (PCB) and work outcome relationship.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducted a meta-analysis based on data from 134 studies.FindingsThe study revealed that the inflation rate and the unemployment rate of a country moderated the association among employee PCB, job performance and turnover.Research limitations/implicationsThe availability of more detailed macroeconomic data against the PCB and outcome relationship for other countries and studies examining the impact of micro-economic data for PCB and outcome relationship would provide a better understanding of the context.Practical implicationsThe authors believe that the results highlight the importance of the national economy since it impacts individual outcomes following a breach.Social implicationsEmployment policies to capture the impact of macroeconomic circumstances as discussed.Originality/valueOne of the valuable contributions made by this paper is that the authors capture the current accumulative knowledge regarding the breach and performance and breach and turnover relationship. Second, the study examines how the inflation rate and unemployment rate could moderate the association between PCB and job performance and turnover.

Mousa, Mohamed

2021 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-04-2020-0156

This paper aims to investigate how workplace fun is experienced in two public Egyptian banks by addressing the employees working there.Design/methodology/approachTo investigate workplace fun in the selected banks, the author employed virtual ethnographic field research by spending two weeks (virtually and full-time) inside each of the two selected public banks. Besides this virtual ethnographic experience, the author employed semi-structured interviews and focus groups with the bank employees. Moreover, the author digitally examined documents such as posters, cartoons, brochures and a WhatsApp group. A total of 188 respondents were contacted and involved in eight semi-structured interviews and 36 focus groups. All interviews and focus groups were conducted in Arabic, the mother tongue of all respondents. The author subsequently used thematic analysis to determine the main ideas in the transcripts.FindingsThe findings confirmed that workplace fun has not been carefully understood, developed and sustained in the selected public Egyptian banks. To the best of the author's knowledge, this study is the first of its kind in the context of a developing nation to focus on workplace fun, and subsequently, it is the first to address the banking sector in one of the leading developing nations in Africa and the Middle-East. Furthermore, based on the analysis of the focus groups and interviews the author created a model of four obstacles: work environment realities, managerial practices, bank-related behaviour and meaning-related obstacles. Managing those four obstacles secures a relevant foundation on which banks can develop and maintain a systematic implementation of workplace fun and humour.Originality/valueThis paper contributes by filling a gap in HR management, in which empirical studies on workplace fun have been limited so far.

Behravesh, Elaheh; Abubakar, A. Mohammed; Tanova, Cem

2021 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-08-2018-0228

Although there is general agreement that employee participation in decision-making (PDM) has individual and organizational benefits, an important question remains about the possibility that it may also have certain individual and organizational costs as well. This article presents an “episodic process model” that accounts for both the bright and possible dark sides of participation. The model explains how PDM might boost employee hope and self-efficacy, which in turn may lead to two distinct work outcomes–job satisfaction and behavior.Design/methodology/approachIn order to test the model, data (n = 269) were collected from bank employees in two waves. A variance-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was utilized to analyze the data.FindingsResults from variance-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) show that employee PDM indeed exerts a positive impact on positive psychological resource capacities: hope, self-efficacy and job satisfaction. Hope, in turn, has a positive influence on job satisfaction and a negative influence on job-search behavior. Bias-corrected bootstrapping analysis demonstrated that the relationship between employee PDM and job satisfaction is mediated by hope.Originality/valueInsights for practitioners in a developing economy and possible areas of future research are highlighted.

Felstead, Alan

2021 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-07-2020-0349

The purpose of this paper is to compare two ways of collecting job quality data in Britain using a common set of questions. One way is through a short quiz taken by a self-selected sample and completed by clicking on a web link www.howgoodismyjob.com. The other way is via an invitation to take part in a long-running survey of working life – the Skills and Employment Survey. The survey takes much longer to complete, is carried out face-to-face and is based on random probability principles.Design/methodology/approachTo be content-comparable, the quiz uses tried and tested questions contained in recent waves of the Skills and Employment Survey. Each survey comprises a nationally representative sample of workers in Britain aged 20–65 years. However, the quiz is based on uncontrolled convenience sampling prompted, in large part, by a Facebook advertising campaign, whereas survey participants are randomly selected. In this paper, the authors compare the profile of respondents and their responses to these two different modes of data collection and therefore shine a light on any biases in the samples and differences in the results respondents report.FindingsThe paper shows that while the number taking in the quiz is impressive, participation in the quiz – unlike the survey – is heavily skewed. Weighting can be used to correct some of these sample selection biases. But, even then, the picture painted by the quiz and survey data varies with the quiz under-reporting the intrinsic quality of jobs, while over-reporting on the extrinsic rewards. This suggests that how job quality data are collected can have a strong influence on the results produced.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings suggest that a number of biases are in operation, both in terms of those who take part and the answers they give. This makes comparison between data collected using radically different methods, at best, inadvisable and, at worst, misleading. Nevertheless, quizzes are a good way of engaging large numbers of people in public debates, gathering additional data, extending the reach of academic work and prompting action to improve working life. However, the limitation of this study is that it does not offer a true experiment of different ways of collecting the same data. The quiz and survey were, for example, not carried out at the same time, but were some 14 months apart.Practical implicationsOver 50,000 people took part in the quizzes reported in the paper and almost 1,300 investigated joining a trade union as a result. The reach of the quiz far exceeds the 3,306 people who took part in the Skills and Employment Survey 2017.Originality/valueThis paper focusses on how job quality data are collected and the consequences this has for the validity of the data gathered. This is a unique contribution to international debates about the measurement and monitoring of trends in job quality.

Ryan, Lorraine; Turner, Thomas

2021 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-05-2020-0198

Many familiar global corporations have well-developed corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies that enunciate socially caring values that include the dignity and well-being of their employees. Yet opposition to independent employee voice from companies with trumpeted CSR credentials indicates an uncomfortable contradiction between rhetoric and reality in the treatment of employees as valued stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to explore these contradictions using the lens of a libertarian tradition.Design/methodology/approachThe CSR statements of three companies are examined to provide the context for their espoused values towards employees. Media, trade union and academic publications on each of the companies are then considered to identify systematic evidence of anti-union practices.FindingsThe paper illustrates the paradox of companies with espoused CSR policies advocating the dignity and well-being of their employees with often explicit coercive anti-union practices. These practices are a constraint on the negative freedom/liberty of employees in the libertarian tradition and amount to unethical behaviour on the part of the firm.Originality/valueThe paper offers important insights into the disconnection common in many firms between normative ethical claims in CSR statements to treat employees as valued legitimate stakeholders and the reality in the workplace.

Topić, Martina

2021 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-03-2020-0126

This paper uses a Difference Approach and Bourdieu's habitus theory to analyse the experiences of women working in the advertising industry with a particular focus on employee relations such as social interactions in advertising offices, banter and career barriers.Design/methodology/approachThirty-eight qualitative interviews were conducted with women from the advertising industry in England, exploring both the employee and managerial perspectives on social interactions. Women were asked about their office culture, including networking expectations, dress code, banter, social interactions and potential career barriers such as exclusion from business decisions and having to work harder to succeed. Thematic analysis has been used to analyse data.FindingsThematic analysis revealed two themes, patriarchal culture in advertising offices and gendered social interactions and banter. Women believe they are excluded from business decisions and perceive career barriers in office culture grounded in masculine banter and masculine social interactions. Similar themes emerged regardless of women's length of experience or role within the organisation suggesting a problem with the masculine work culture in the advertising industry in England. Besides, women tend to prefer different social interactions to men, but find masculine interactions domineering advertising offices.Practical implicationsEmployers should consider implementing new internal policies on communication and behaviour in offices to create a more inclusive and respectful culture. More consciousness-raising is needed to make women aware that inequality is more than just a pay gap and glass ceiling, but also the structure of the organisation and the office culture.Social implicationsThe paper contributes towards a better understanding of the impact of social interactions in the office on the work culture with a case study from the advertising industry. The paper points towards differences in communication and social interactions between men and women and the fact the masculine form of social interactions and banter dominate advertising offices.Originality/valueTo the best of author's knowledge, this is the first paper tackling office culture in the advertising industry in England using the Difference Approach and Bourdieu's habitus theory.

Pasko, Raymond; Maellaro, Rosemary; Stodnick, Michael

2021 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/er-05-2020-0224

The purpose of this study is to examine the differences in preferred work-related attributes across generational cohorts. Specific focus is given to investigating whether millennials have different preferences than previous generations.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses cross-sectional survey data of 300 employees of a large firm in the southwest USA. Conjoint analysis is used to collect employee responses that are then subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA).FindingsThe results of this study demonstrate that employees from different generations have significantly different preferences on four work-related attributes: job security, potential for advancement, work/life balance and company leadership.Research limitations/implicationsThis study extends the generational cohort theory by employing psychological contract theory to discover and explain significant differences in preferences for varying work-related attributes for different generations. Like much cross-sectional research, these findings have to be validated and generalized.Practical implicationsFirms can use the results of this study to help understand how different generations value different work-related attributes, thus helping improve employee satisfaction and retention.Originality/valueThe originality of this research lies in its very unique approach, conjoint analysis, to be one of the first studies to test empirically the preferences for work-related attributes across generational cohorts. It lays the foundation for future research to expand upon while also giving practicing managers a useful tool to understand the needs of their employees.