Showing papers in "Organizational psychology review in 2022"

Job demands-resources theory in times of crises: New propositions

Abstract: This theoretical paper presents an extended Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) theory aimed at understanding how organizations and their employees can best deal with COVID-19 and other crises in the workplace. The crisis showed that job characteristics alone are insufficient to explain employee health and motivation, i.e., the two focal outcomes of the JD-R theory. Rather, demands and resources of the individual, the family, the job and the organization interact with each other to predict outcomes. Moreover, next to individual regulatory strategies also the regulatory strategies of the family, the leader and organization/team are suggested to modify the impact of demands and resources on outcomes. This was possible by integrating the crisis management literature in JD-R theory. Viewing the crisis from a job design perspective helped us to introduce several new and testable propositions that specify how employee well-being and functioning are impacted by crises and turbulent times. Organizations have been struggling to find out how their employees are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and what they can do to support their well-being and improve their functioning during the pandemic and beyond. The well-being and job performance of individual employees are difficult to predict which becomes even more complicated during times of crisis. The Job Demands–Resources theory is a helpful means because it suggests that employee health and motivation are outcomes of two different processes, i.e., the health impairment process and the motivational process. Job demands, such as work pressure and demanding customers, exhaust the energy of employees and consequently diminish their health, whereas job resources, such as autonomy and social support, help employees to deal with the demands and to develop themselves. The pandemic showed that the interplay between demands and resources of the individual, the job, the family and the organization predict outcomes. Moreover, next to individual regulatory strategies also the regulatory strategies of the family, the leader and organization/team are suggested to modify the impact of demands and resources on outcomes. Viewing the crisis from a job design perspective helped us to introduce in the Job Demands–Resources theory several testable propositions that specify how employee well-being and functioning are impacted by crises and turbulent times.

It's the Theory, Stupid

Abstract: To the complex question of “What is the number one issue on which we should focus as producers, evaluators, and consumers of research?” our simple and blunt answer is: It's the theory, stupid. Accordingly, we offer guidance on how to produce, test, and use theory by answering the following questions: (1) Why is theory so critical and for whom? (2) What does a good theory look like? (3) What does it mean to have too much or too many theories? (4) When don’t we need a theory? (5) How does falsification work with theory? and (6) Is good theory compatible with current publication pressures? Our answers are useful to current and future scholars and journal editors and reviewers, as well as consumers of research including other researchers, organization decision makers, and policy makers, and other stakeholders in the theory production and testing process including deans and other university administrators.

The association of work-related extended availability with recuperation, well-being, life domain balance and work: A meta-analysis

Abstract: Work-related extended availability (WREA; the availability of employees for work-related matters in their leisure time) seems to be associated with decreases in well-being and life-domain balance, but to date there is no quantitative synthesis of the scattered evidence. We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis (113 articles with 121 studies relying on k = 117 independent samples with N = 131,872) on the associations between WREA and employee outcomes while examining potential moderators as well as differences between availability demands and behaviors. WREA was adversely associated with recuperation, well-being and private life, but favorably with some work-related criteria. There were no systematic differences in effect sizes between availability demands and behaviors; however, segmentation preferences were a moderator. Overall, these results suggest that WREA may pose a threat to employee recuperation, well-being and private lives, especially when employees prefer separating work and private life. However, positive potentials of WREA should not be overlooked. Plain Language Summary Work-related extended availability (WREA) refers to the availability of employees for work-related matters in their leisure time. Studies have shown that WREA may go along with primarily negative consequences for employees, but to date, there is no comprehensive overview of the literature statistically summarizing the current state of research, which was done in the study at hand. We assumed that WREA be related to problems with recovery, poorer well-being and difficulties to find a balance between work and private life. We also assessed in how far WREA goes along with attitudes towards work, absence from work and the intention to change jobs. Moreover, we considered differences between demands to be available and behaviors of actually taking care of work-related matters during leisure time. Finally, we investigated factors that may be associated with stronger consequences of WREA. We included 113 scientific papers with a total of 131,872 participants. WREA was related to problems with recovery, poorer well-being and difficulties to find a balance between work and private life, but also to more positive attitudes towards work. We did not find systematic differences between demands to be available and availability behaviors. However, we found that the relationship between WREA and work creating conflict with family life were stronger in samples with higher preferences to segment work and private life. Our findings suggest that WREA may pose a threat to employee recuperation, well-being and private lives, especially when employees prefer separating life domains. Still, positive potentials of WREA should not be overlooked.

Taking stock and moving forward: A textual statistics approach to synthesizing four decades of job insecurity research

Abstract: We collected the abstracts of manuscripts examining job insecurity published between 1984 and 2019 and carried out a textual analysis to investigate the defining clusters, their development over time, and whether there was evidence of siloed knowledge. Results suggested that job insecurity research seems to be fragmented into disciplinary foci (organizational psychology, public health, economics, and sociology). Further analyses on the organizational psychology corpus, revealed 25 topics with distinct temporal trajectories: some were increasing (analytical advances and differentiation between cognitive and affective job insecurity) while other were decreasing (scale development). The remaining abstracts revealed 15 topics with more stable trajectories. Based on these results, we identified five areas for future organizational research on job insecurity: the changing labor market, the need to better understand the experiences of marginalized workers and non-work outcomes of job insecurity, the added-value of qualitative research, and the need to critically evaluate our assumptions as researchers. Plain Language Summary Since the paper by Greenhalgh and Rosenblatt, research on job insecurity has burgeoned. Taking an interdisciplinary perspective, we collected the abstracts of all peer-reviewed manuscripts examining job insecurity published between 1984 and 2019 and carried out a textual analysis using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation and the Reinert method to investigate (a) the defining clusters of job insecurity research, (b) the development of such clusters over time, and (c) whether there was any evidence of siloed knowledge. Results suggested that indeed job insecurity research seems to be fragmented into four main disciplinary foci (organizational psychology, public health, economics, and sociology) with relatively little cross-fertilization. We conducted further analyses of the abstracts stemming from organizational research on job insecurity, revealing 25 topics with distinct temporal trajectories (e.g., “hot” topics including the increasing use of advanced analytic techniques and differentiation between cognitive and affective job insecurity) and “cold” topics including the development of job insecurity measures). The remaining abstracts revealed 15 topics with more stable research interests over time (e.g., a continued reliance on appraisal theories). Based on these results, we identified five areas for future organizational research on job insecurity based on: the changing labor market, the need to better understand the experiences of marginalized workers and non-work outcomes of job insecurity, the added-value of qualitative research, and finally the need to critically evaluate our assumptions as researchers.

Along for the ride through liminal space: A role transition and recovery perspective on the work-to-home commute

Abstract: The increase in remote work during COVID-19 has drawn attention to the function of commutes as work-home transitions. While prior work-home research has referenced commutes as an example of role transitions, little is known about how the characteristics of a commute or the behaviors and processes undertaken in a commute affect their nature. We integrate research on commute characteristics, role transitions, and psychological recovery to develop a transitional perspective of commuting. We provide a conceptualization of liminal space that differentiates its physical and temporal dimensions and its psychological dimension as characteristics of the space through which one transitions during the commute and the experience of rolelessness one may perceive while doing so. We argue that perceived liminality during the commute frees cognitive resources for psychological role transition and recovery. Based on our conceptual model, we discuss implications for role transitions, commuting, and telecommuting research. Plain Language Summary Commutes provide a regular opportunity for individuals to shift from the work domain to the home domain. While making this transition, commuters occupy a “liminal space” in which they are neither fully engaged with work or home thoughts and behaviors. We explain and explore the physical, temporal, and psychological dimensions of this space, how the characteristics of commutes shape these dimensions, and how these dimensions create an opportunity for individuals to both recover from work and more effectively shift into the home role domain after the commute.

Finally, some “me time”: A new theoretical perspective on the benefits of commuting

Abstract: Most research on commuting has focused on its negative aspects and consequences (i.e., stress). However, some work has also begun to recognize that there may be positive aspects to commuting. In this paper, we develop a perspective that has so far received limited attention, highlighting how the commute can be experienced as desired and beneficial “me time”, due to the fact that it inhabits a “third space” that is less associated with work or home role requirements. Drawing upon and integrating theories and research on commuting, leisure, recovery, and identity, we first define this construct and then develop a theoretical model that aims to address key questions regarding predicting motivation to engage in “me time”, beneficial outcomes of “me time”, and potential moderators of these effects. Consequently, our proposed model offers both research and practical implications for commuting employees as well as their employers, families, and society. Plain Language Summary The majority of research on commuting has focused on its negative aspects and consequences (i.e., stress). However, increasingly, some work has also begun to recognize that there may be some positive aspects of commuting. Despite some scholars acknowledging the potential benefits of commuting, most still conceptualize the commute as simply a necessary transition between domains (i.e., work and home). In this paper, we seek to bring a new perspective to the literature, highlighting how the commute can be experienced as desired “time to myself”. We therefore develop a theoretical model that aims to address key questions surrounding this phenomenon, including what is “me time” during the commute, who is more likely to uses the commute for “me time”, what are the situational factors that facilitate or inhibit choosing “me time”, what positive outcomes can be expected when engaging in “me time”, and what conditions are likely to affect this process. We also discuss the underlying mechanisms for this process. As a result, our proposed model presents both research and practical implications for commuting employees as well as their employers, families, and society.

The key features of workplace meetings: Conceptualizing the why, how, and what of meetings at work

Abstract: Given the focal role that group and team meetings play in shaping employees’ work lives (and schedules), the scarcity of conceptual and empirical attention to the topic in extant organizational psychology research is a major oversight that stalls scientific understanding of organizational behavior more broadly. With the explosion of meetings in recent years, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some even wonder why organizational psychology has not already figured out meetings from both a science and practice perspective. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the extant literature on the science of workplace meetings and sort the works by identifying the key features of the meeting phenomenon. The five key features of workplace meetings identified include Leading, Interacting, Managing Time, Engaging, and Relating. We couch these features within a larger framework of how meetings are the intersection of collaboration in organizations and indispensable to organizational success. Against this conceptual backdrop, we reviewed a total of 253 publications, noting opportunities for future research and discussing practical implications. Given the focal role that group and team meetings play in shaping employees’ work lives (and schedules), the scarcity of conceptual and empirical attention in extant organizational psychology research is a major oversight that stalls scientific understanding of organizational behavior more broadly. With the explosion of meetings that has occurred in recent years, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some even wonder why organizational psychology has not already figured out meetings from both a science and practice perspective. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on the science of workplace meetings by identifying the core features of the phenomenon and sorting the extant literature along these features. The five core features identified include leading, interacting, managing time, engaging, relating. We couch these features within a larger framework of how meetings are the intersection of collaboration in organizations and a major key to organizational success. Against this conceptual backdrop, we reviewed a total of 253 publications, noting opportunities for future research and discussing practical implications. We conclude our review with an overview of the special issue on workplace meetings, which is an overt attempt to launch research that will fill the theoretical and conceptual gap in the science of meetings.

The linkage between cognitive diversity and team innovation: Exploring the roles of team humor styles and team emotional intelligence via the conservation of resources theory

Abstract: Researchers have displayed considerable interest in how and when team cognitive diversity leads to improved or impaired team innovation. When addressing this issue, scholars have adopted the information/decision making and social categorization theoretical perspectives. In contrast, we draw on conservation of resources (COR) theory when examining the cognitive diversity and team innovation relationship. We argue that in a team environment, cognitive diversity may result in the threat of losing valuable resources. This threat, in turn, encourages team members to engage in resource replenishment through the use of different humor styles (i.e., affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, self-defeating). We argue that, with such resource replenishment, four team-level humor styles emerge and mediate the relationship between cognitive diversity and team innovation. In addition, we expect team emotional intelligence to moderate the relationships between cognitive diversity and team humor styles. Our model has important theoretical implications for team diversity, humor, emotional intelligence, and innovation research. Plain language summary Team cognitive diversity can be defined as the extent to which team members differ in their ideas, perspectives, or values. Cognitive diversity is important for teams to cultivate innovation although it may also result in relationship conflicts and the formation of subgroups in a team. Our paper views cognitive diversity as a signal that drives team members to use humor to cope with diversity. This may then result in different humor styles (i.e., affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, self-defeating) that characterize the way the team uses humor. For instance, while working in a cognitively diverse team, team members might make a joke about work that the whole team laughs together (i.e., affiliative humor). However, some members might use sarcasm to insult others who are different from the group norms (i.e., aggressive humor). We argue that the team humor styles will influence team innovation, which in turn will link cognitive diversity with team innovation. Moreover, we suggest that team emotional intelligence will influence the extent to which the four team humor styles link cognitive diversity and team innovation.

Commuting demands and appraisals: A systematic review and meta-analysis of strain and wellbeing outcomes

Abstract: Research on commuting to work and its potential consequences for employee strain and wellbeing has accumulated across various disciplines. However, this has led to a narrow research scope with wide methodological variability. An integration of this literature is needed to understand the breadth of the commuting experience and interpret heterogeneous findings. Extending the transactional stress model, we propose that commuting is a demand that can have both negative and positive effects on outcomes through commuting appraisals. We present a systematic review (k = 109 studies) and meta-analysis (k = 39 studies) of these relationships. Our systematic review finds partial support for our hypotheses, and our meta-analysis suggests that objective commuting demands are positively associated with strain outcomes (r ̅_xy = .089; especially perceived stress, r ̅_xy = .153), but unrelated to wellbeing outcomes. Subjective commuting appraisals are unrelated to strain or wellbeing outcomes. We conclude with recommendations for methodological improvements and implications for research and practice. Plain language summary Commuting is a nearly ubiquitous part of contemporary employment. Over the last several decades, empirical research on commuting has accumulated across various disciplines. Our systematic review and meta-analysis take stock of relationships regarding commuting demands, appraisals of commuting, and strainand wellbeing-related outcomes. The results of the qualitative review indicate that there are both positive and negative implications of commuting. Commuting demands are related to favorable and unfavorable appraisals, and commuting demands are also related to both strain and wellbeing outcomes. However, the result of our quantitative meta-analysis suggests that time spent commuting is positively associated with strain outcomes, but unrelated to wellbeing outcomes. Subjective commuting appraisals are unrelated to strain and wellbeing outcomes. We outline implications for future research (e.g., commuting's role in boundary management), highlight methodological challenges (e.g., variability in reporting), and provide recommendations for practice (e.g., offer resources that mitigate consequences of commuting).

The meeting after the meeting: A conceptualization and process model

Abstract: This article offers initial theorizing on an understudied phenomenon in the workplace: the meeting after the meeting (MATM). As an informal and unscheduled event, the MATM takes place outside managerial control and has potentially far-reaching consequences. However, our current knowledge of the MATM relies primarily on practitioner observations, and conceptual work that integrates the MATM into the larger meeting science literature is missing. This article fills this gap by outlining key defining features of the MATM that can be used to structure future research. Moreover, and based on theorizing concerning the affect-generating nature of meetings, we develop an affect-based process model that focuses on the antecedents and boundary conditions of the MATM at the episodic level and shines light on meetings as a sequential phenomenon. Plain Language Summary This article sheds light on an understudied but rather common phenomenon in the workplace: The meeting after the meeting (MATM). Defined as an unscheduled, informal and confidential communication event, the MATM has the potential to create new structures in everyday organizational life. Yet, our current knowledge of this particular meeting type is very limited and largely based on anecdotal accounts by practitioners. To guide future research, this article first outlines key features of the MATM, focusing on when the MATM occurs, where it takes place, how it takes place, why it takes place, and who is involved in the MATM. Next, this article presents an affect-based process model of the MATM. To this end, antecedents and boundary conditions at the episodic level are outlined, highlighting that meetings should be seen as interconnected, sequential events.

Commute based learning: Integrating literature across transportation, education, and i-o psychology

Abstract: Though commuting is often seen as a source of stress, commuters may take advantage of travel time to pursue learning and developmental goals—a concept we refer to as Commute-Based Learning (CBL). We draw on self-regulation and learning and development theories to define CBL in terms of its context, content, and process and present the findings of a systematic review of multitasking activities in the transportation literature. This review demonstrates that (a) travel-based activities related to learning are increasingly prevalent, (b) people enjoy being productive during their commutes, and (c) commute mode and environmental characteristics impact multitasking and evaluations of the commute itself. We then integrate these review findings with psychological theories to propose a framework specifying the predictors of CBL, its benefits, and drawbacks, and the commute mode's moderating influence. These efforts yield several practical implications and future research directions to increase CBL's potential benefits while reducing potential harm. Plain Language Summary Although commuting can often be a source of stress, commuters may also take advantage of travel time to pursue learning and developmental goals—a concept we refer to as Commute-Based Learning (CBL).To emphasize the potential benefits and pitfalls of CBL, we draw on learning and development, self-regulation, multiple-goal pursuit, and multiple resource theories to define CBL in terms of its context (where it occurs), content (what it includes), and process (how it is done). Next, we present the findings of a systematic review ofresearch on multitasking activities in the transportation literature to gather evidence of the learning activities that commuters may pursue.This review demonstrates that (a) travel-based activities related to learning are increasingly prevalent, (b) people enjoy being productive during their commutes, and (c)commute mode and environmental characteristics impact multitasking and evaluations of the commute itself. We then integrate these findings from the transportation literature with psychological theories to propose a framework specifying the predictors of CBL (individual and organizational), its benefits (expertise, need satisfaction and well-being) and drawbacks (depletion, reduced safety), and the critical role of commute mode as a moderator of these relationships. Our definition and framework of CBL inform practical implications for improving the benefits of learning during the commute, while mitigating its potential drawbacks. We also present suggested directions for future multidisciplinary research. We hope this review provides insight into the state of the literature on commute-based learning and a clear research agenda for advancement in this broadly important, yet underdeveloped area.

Conducting organizational survey and experimental research online: From convenient to ambitious in study designs, recruiting, and data quality

Abstract: Conducting organizational research via online surveys and experiments offers a host of advantages over traditional forms of data collection when it comes to sampling for more advanced study designs, while also ensuring data quality. To draw attention to these advantages and encourage researchers to fully leverage them, the present paper is structured into two parts. First, along a structure of commonly used research designs, we showcase select organizational psychology (OP) and organizational behavior (OB) research and explain how the Internet makes it feasible to conduct research not only with larger and more representative samples, but also with more complex research designs than circumstances usually allow in offline settings. Subsequently, because online data collections often also come with some data quality concerns, in the second section, we synthesize the methodological literature to outline three improvement areas and several accompanying strategies for bolstering data quality. Plain Language Summary: These days, many theories from the fields of organizational psychology and organizational behavior are tested online simply because it is easier. The point of this paper is to illustrate the unique advantages of the Internet beyond mere convenience—specifically, how the related technologies offer more than simply the ability to mirror offline studies. Accordingly, our paper first guides readers through examples of more ambitious online survey and experimental research designs within the organizational domain. Second, we address the potential data quality drawbacks of these approaches by outlining three concrete areas of improvement. Each comes with specific recommendations that can ensure higher data quality when conducting organizational survey or experimental research online.

Fly-in-fly-out work: A review of the impact of an extreme form of work-related travel on mental health

Abstract: Large distances between work and home require many workers to stay away from home for work over extended periods. An extreme case of such work is fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) work. FIFO work requires workers to stay, over a fixed number of days or weeks, in remote employer-arranged accommodation. Given the disruptive nature of this work arrangement, it is important to develop an understanding of its implications for worker mental health. Based on a systematic review, we identify mostly negative mental health implications of FIFO work and propose an integrative model that brings together FIFO work's key features: the simultaneous fracturing and blending of personal and work lives. The model can guide future research. For example, we suggest that researchers investigate how FIFO workers and other work-related travelers experience fracturing and blending, and how they manage the frequent fluctuation between these two extremes. Plain language summary Fly-in-fly-out work represents a specific and extreme case of work-related travel in which workers are housed by employers and have fixed schedules that prescribe blocks of time at work followed by blocks of time at home, alongside other rules. This paper provides an overview of the literature regarding the mental health implications of FIFO work. Moreover, an integrative model of FIFO work is proposed that brings together its key defining attributes: the simultaneous fracturing and blending of personal and work lives, which FIFO workers, and by extension other work-related travellers, experience. The model identifies the key attributes of this type of work arrangement that shape fracturing namely the commute (i.e., duration, mode, distance) and rosters (i.e., length and ratio of time on and off) and blending experiences, namely accommodation (i.e., type and quality), extent to which autonomy is limited (i.e., via choice in food, activities, scheduling) and social isolation. While developed for an extreme, highly standardized, and specific case of work-related travel, the model may also be useful in research focused on work related travel more broadly,

Rivalry and performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract: Rivalry, a relational competition, is known to increase motivation and performance. However, a systematic review and meta-analysis that examines the effect sizes is lacking. Further, most research on this topic has not considered the type of rivalry (individual versus collective) and the research field as potential moderators. We conducted a wide-scale search, looking for rivalry and performance studies, which yielded 22 papers (k = 35) with 27,771 observations that were systematically reviewed. Eighteen papers (k = 28) were eligible for a further meta-analysis, including a total of 26,215 observations. The systematic review indicated that rivalry is usually positively related to performance. Results of the meta-analysis revealed that this effect is significant and that the relationship between rivalry and performance is more robust for individual rivalry compared to group rivalry. Further analyses indicated that for group rivalry, correlations are positive and significant only in the domains of sports and donation-raising. Plain Text Abstract Rivalry is a unique and common type of competition in which the competing parties have longstanding relationships. When rivalry is present, the competing actors have an increased desire to win and invest extra effort into the competition, leading to enhanced performance. However, an integration of studies that examine the effects of rivalry, as a relational competition, is lacking. Here, we scanned studies from diverse research fields that claimed to measure rivalry and actor's performance. We considered only research that specifically measured rivalry as a relational competition and its association with performance. We systematically reviewed eligible studies and found that, generally, rivalry is positively related to performance. We then performed a meta-analysis that confirmed that this relationship is statistically significant. We further found that this relationship is more robust for rivalries in the context of individuals compared to groups. The association between rivalry and performance is most prominent in certain domains, such as sports rivalry. These findings can guide scholars in designing research on rivalry. Specifically, considering the various effect sizes found here in different contexts of rivalry will allow researchers to plan for more appropriate sample sizes designed to reveal the relationship between rivalry and performance in a targeted domain. Further, these results can inform managers about the effects of rivalries in or between their organizations, distinguishing among the different contexts of rivalries and their specific outcomes.

Pursuing multiple goals during the commute: A dynamic self-regulatory perspective

Abstract: The current review theorizes that self-regulatory principles can be applied to the commute experience to better understand how spatial navigation and role transition processes interface with each other. Using a multiple goal framework, spatial navigation and role transitions are conceptualized as simultaneous goals, each with their own set of effort allocation processes. Furthermore, the review describes how dynamic and stable features of the commute and of the different roles individuals enact come together to impact spatial navigation and role transition effectiveness, along with well-being and effectiveness in individuals’ “home” and “workplace” roles. The proposed framework offers novel predictions about how and why these two activities impact each other in different ways, providing testable propositions that will help researchers begin to better understand the commute as a time for multiple goal regulation. The review concludes with suggestions for future research aimed at investigating these processes. Plain Language Summary The commute represents a time when individuals are focused on physically moving from one location to another to meet the goal of arriving at one's destination in a safe and timely manner (Calderwood & Mitropoulos, 2020). At the same time, individuals may also have the goal of transitioning between roles, which involves mentally detaching from one role (e.g., deactivating goals involved with being a spouse) and reattaching to a second role (e.g., activating goals relevant to being an employee). As such, the current review views the commute as a time and place in which individuals may be striving for multiple goals that involve shifting attention and energetic resources between goals (Louro et al., 2007). The review uses a multiple goal framework (e.g., Louro et al., 2007) to explain how dynamic and stable features of the commute and of individuals’ roles come together to influence commute and role transition effectiveness and work and home outcomes. Further, the review concludes with suggestions for future research aimed at investigating these dynamic processes.

One-on-one meetings between managers and direct reports: A new opportunity for meeting science

Abstract: Meeting science has advanced significantly in its short history. However, one-on-one (1:1) meetings have not been studied empirically as a focal topic despite making up nearly half of all workplace meetings. While some meeting science insights may apply to 1:1 meetings, others may not (or may function differently) due to conceptual, theoretical, and practical differences between meetings involving dyads and groups. Although 1:1 meetings come in various forms (e.g., peer-to-peer, employee-to-customer), we chose to use manager-direct report 1:1 meetings as an exemplar given their prevalence, theoretical relevance, and practical implications. In this paper, we first review some conceptual differences between dyads and groups. We then discuss how these differences likely manifest in the meeting context (before, during, and after meetings), and outline related propositions. Last, we leverage this conceptual framework and subsequent propositions to provide guidance for future research and theory on 1:1 meetings. In doing so, we hope this paper will act as the impetus for research and theory development on 1:1 meetings. Meeting science has flourished over the past two decades, with research and theory exploring best practices for leading and attending workplace meetings. However, a large portion of this research has focused on meetings of three or more people – despite the fact that meetings are often defined as a gathering between two or more people. Ignoring the one-on-one (1:1) meeting is a missed opportunity, as 1:1 meetings have a large presence in industry. It has been estimated that nearly half (47%) of all meetings are 1:1s, and these dyadic meetings often have unique purposes (e.g., performance appraisals) and involve different interactions (e.g., more interpersonal) outside of larger group meetings. Industry and practice have begun to explore these 1:1 meeting-especially meetings between managers and direct reports. For example, internal studies conducted at Microsoft and Cisco found that direct reports who had more frequent and effectively run 1:1 meetings with their managers were more engaged than their counterparts. While companies have seemingly acknowledged the importance of these meetings, research lags behind. Little empirical or theoretical investigations have explored 1:1 meetings. Yet, with the continued growth in the number of meetings worldwide, it is important to obtain empirical insights specific to 1:1 meetings. Doing so will help inform best practices when it comes to leading and attending 1:1 meetings. Thus, in this conceptual review of 1:1 meetings, we provide a future research agenda encouraging researchers (and practitioners) to investigate this unique (and important) meeting type – the one-on-one meeting between a manager and their direct report.

When and why does status threat at work bring out the best and the worst in us? A temporal social comparison theory

Abstract: This paper seeks to explain when and why people respond to status threat at work with behaviors oriented toward either self-improvement or interpersonal harming. To that end, we extend the established static social comparison perspective on status threat. Specifically, we introduce the notion of temporal proximity of status threat, which is informed by five temporal social comparison markers. We argue that people construe distal future status gaps as a challenge (and thus show self-improvement-oriented responses), but construe a more proximal status gap as a threat (and thus engage in negative interpersonal behaviors). Further, we introduce three factors of uncertainty that may render the underlying temporal comparison less reliable, and thereby less useful for guiding one's response. Overall, our temporal social comparison theory integrates and extends current theorizing on status threat in organizations by fully acknowledging the dynamic nature of social comparisons. Plain Language Summary Employees often compare themselves to others to evaluate their status. If they perceive that their status is at threat or risk losing status, they engage in behaviors to prevent status loss. These behaviors can be positive, aimed at improving one's position or they can be negative, aimed at harming others. This paper develops a theoretical framework to examine when employees engage in more challenge- vs. threat-oriented behaviors. We argue that an important question how employees react to status threat is its temporal proximity—will an employee's status be threatened in the near versus distal future? We propose that the more distal (vs. proximate) the status threat is, the more employees gravitate towards challenge- and less threat-oriented behaviors. But how do employees know when a status threat occurs in the future? We argue that employees will compare their past status trajectories to co-workers’ status trajectories to mentally extrapolate the temporal proximity of such a threat. More specifically, we propose five characteristics (temporal markers) of social comparison trajectories that inform employees about the temporal proximity: their relative current position, the relative velocity and acceleration of their status trajectory, their relative mean status level, and their relative minimum and maximum status. Moreover, we suggest that employees’ conclusions from these markers are weakened by uncertainty in the “data stream” of social comparison information over time, that is, the length of the time span available, the amount of interruptions in this data stream, and the number of fluctuations in their own and others’ status trajectories.

Clarifying dynamics for organizational research and interventions: A diversity example

Abstract: Interventions backfire for many reasons, one being that the dynamics governing a system are not well-understood. To better explain organizational phenomena, and to intervene in ways that yield desired consequences, an appreciation of the core insights from dynamics may be necessary to include into a researcher's toolkit. Although substantial buzz surrounds the term dynamics in organizational science, conceptual missteps are present in the literature, ultimately limiting its application. We provide a coherent description of what dynamics encompasses by (1) advancing a definition and of dynamics and comparing it to other longitudinal concepts, (2) proposing theoretical principles to help researchers apply dynamics concepts to their own research, and (3) demonstrating how dynamics may refine our ability to explain organizational phenomena and devise practical implications. Plain Language Summary Organizational researchers and practitioners are faced with many complex issues and understanding how they unfold over time is difficult. Those difficulties often lead to unexpected results when we try to address those issues. Viewing organizations from a more dynamic lens can shed light on how phenomena evolve over time as governed by the iterative application of mathematical rules. Illumination of dynamics can assist with better targeting interventions and understanding their potential effects. A dynamics lens also emphasizes continuing needs to improve research methods, such as collecting longitudinal data and engaging in computational modeling. To illustrate these points, we discuss how diversity interventions in organizations may be better understood once dynamics are applied. For example, organizations wishing to improve the diversity of their work forces must focus both on why underrepresented groups enter the organization and why they might leave. Focus on only one or the other is unlikely to generate the desired effect. Once identifying the drivers of both entering and leaving and how those factors might reinforce each other, interventions to improve diversity might be better targeted.

Autonomous or controlled self-regulation, that is the question: A self-determination perspective on the impact of commuting on employees’ domain-specific functioning

Abstract: The few studies that have considered psychological processes during the commute have drawn an ambiguous picture, with some emphasizing the negative and others the positive consequences of commuting. Drawing on self-determination theory, we develop a framework that expands on the costs and benefits of commuting for employees’ subsequent domain-related functioning at work and home. Specifically, we propose employees’ basic needs satisfaction and processes of autonomous and controlled self-regulation as mechanisms that explain how psychological commute characteristics spill over to domain-related functioning through experienced subjective vitality. In doing so, we introduce a taxonomy of psychological commute characteristics and highlight the importance of separating these underlying subjective characteristics from objective aspects of the commuting environment. Our research encourages scholars to conduct within- and between-person studies to examine how the objective commute environment and associated psychological commute characteristics affect employees’ self-regulation. Plain Language Summary What happens during the commute does not stay within the boundaries of the commute: Aversive experiences such as being stuck in a traffic jam may spill over to lower engagement in work or home activities. Similarly, positive incidents such as flowing to work uninterruptedly can positively impact subsequent experiences such as flowing (i.e., being fully engaged) when performing tasks at work or at home. How can this be explained? Our article suggests that commuters enter motivational states when going and coming from work. For instance, they feel that everything is going easy and under one's control (autonomous self-regulation) or they feel that the commute is effortful and externally determined (controlled self-regulation). These motivational states influence subjective vitality after the commute, which in turn predicts how employees function at work or at home. Importantly, while objective aspects of the commute environment (for instance, the length of one's commute or one's means of transportation) have an impact on these motivational states, we argue that they do so via psychological commute characteristics perceived by the commuter. We focus on the latter and predict employees’ motivational state during the commute in the form of the fulfillment of their basic needs (i.e., feeling autonomous, competent, and related during the commute) as determined by different psychological commute characteristics (decision latitude, psychological stimulation, social characteristics, physical aspects, insecurity). Our work can inspire research that investigates why different employees perceive their commute differently as well as why the same employee may experience different motivational states during their commute from day to day. We end with practical recommendations for communities, organizations, and the commuter themselves.

A meta-analysis of polychronicity: Applying modern perspectives of multitasking and person-environment fit

Abstract: We apply modern theory on multitasking and person-environment fit to holistically explain the relations of polychronicity as well as provide justifications for disparate results found in prior studies, such as undetected differences regarding task-switching and dual-tasking. We then conduct a meta-analysis of polychronicity's relations. We show that the nomological net surrounding polychronicity matches our proposed fit perspective. We likewise demonstrate that differences in task-switching and dual-tasking indeed influence the observed results of polychronicity, and the growing complexity of businesses may have caused the association of polychronicity and job performance to strengthen over time. Our discussion highlights that polychronicity plays an important role in personal well-being and employee performance, which can be understood by our person-environment fit perspective. We apply modern theory on multitasking and person-environment fit to holistically explain the relations of polychronicity as well as provide justifications for disparate results found in prior studies, such as undetected differences regarding task-switching and dual-tasking. We then conduct a meta-analysis of polychronicity's relations. We show that the nomological net surrounding polychronicity matches our proposed fit perspective. We likewise demonstrate that differences in task-switching and dual-tasking indeed influence the observed results of polychronicity, and the growing complexity of businesses may have caused the association of polychronicity and job performance to strengthen over time. Our discussion highlights that polychronicity plays an important role in personal well-being and employee performance, which can be understood by our person-environment fit perspective.

The entitativity underlying meetings: Meetings as key in the lifecycle of effective workgroups

Abstract: As more employees work in different locations, meetings become the primary opportunity for workgroup interactions. We explore how workgroup entitativity develops within successful meetings and grounds positive employee and group outcomes between meetings. Social identity theory and self-categorization processes explain how entitativity develops during meetings and activates workgroup identification between meetings. Further, construal level theory, which establishes that physical and psychological distance are positively related, affects entitativity and social identity for dispersed and hybrid workgroups. We propose that entitativity develops in meetings through interactions, co-presence, leader behavior, and meeting size. Between meetings, the frequency of self-categorization into a workgroup identity maintains and even increases workgroup entitativity. Further, task interdependence, informal interactions, and time between meetings affects frequency of self-categorization and, thus, employees’ workgroup entitativity between meetings. We conclude that meetings serve as the primary formal occasion in which workgroup entitativity can be maintained or repaired for optimal workgroup performance. Plain Language Summary Successful meetings lead to productive workgroups but we do not know why or now. We suggest that entitativity (a person's perception of a “group”) develops during successful meetings and explains productive workgroups. Specifically, when people start to work, they can either think of their group or themselves. If they think about their group, a process follows such that the employee comes under the influence of all of the positive characteristics of their group. Because successful meetings influence how people think about their group, entitativity explains successful groups.

Memory-based change management: Using the past to guide the future

Abstract: Scholars have suggested that individual change recipients affectively respond to change events but have yet to examine how change recipients’ memories influence those affective responses. Drawing from prior scholarship on memory, we propose that two theoretically distinct forms of memory – explicit and schematic – produce different forms of affective and behavioral responses when recipients process change events consciously or non-consciously. Given this proposed importance of memory to affective and behavioral responses, we then develop a stage model of memory-based change management, which we define as the managing of change recipients’ responses to change events through memory work. We theorize four discrete strategies – guided consolidating, schematic re-framing, contextual delimiting, and selective re-instating – that, based on recipients’ memory-based actions during particular stages of a change, would be likely to enhance positive affective responses and support for change. Plain Language Summary This paper explains how memories of organizational change influence affective and behavioral responses to ongoing change initiatives. We identify two types of memories related to change contexts: 1) abstracted, comprehensive schematic memory (i.e., “change is chaotic”) and 2) anecdotal, specific explicit memory (i.e., “I was demoted in a restructuring process last year”). We suggest that, when change events are highly ambiguous, schematic memories non-consciously influence employees’ general moods and a broad range of work behaviors which may or may not relate to the change (i.e., feeling unpleasant for an unknown reason and becoming less cooperative with coworkers than usual). When change events are less ambiguous, explicit memories play a larger role by eliciting discrete emotions triggering change-targeted behaviors (i.e., feeling angry at a change agent and confronting them about it). Since these responses are rooted in memory, we further suggest how change agents can manage affective and behavioral responses through four types of memory-based change management. We explain how during four stages of change – gestation, preparation, implementation, and aftermath – change agents can engage in guided consolidating (i.e., having recipients behaviorally engage in sharing positive experiences of change), schematic re-framing (i.e., framing a change as a continuation of past precedent), contextual delimiting (i.e., generalizing positive memories of change while isolating negative ones) and selective reinstating (i.e., having recipients selectively recall positive experiences in the recent change initiative), respectively. Our model complements existing studies focusing on the conscious, future-oriented processing of change events to provide an alternative view of change management.

Planes, trains, and automobiles: Commuting in the 2020s and beyond

Abstract: In this introduction to the special issue about commuting, we invite readers to consider how this frequently occurring worker activity should be integrated and investigated within the organizational sciences. Commuting is ubiquitous in organizational life. Yet, despite this centrality, it remains one of the most understudied topics in the organizational sciences. This special issue seeks to remedy this oversight by introducing seven articles that review the literature, identify knowledge gaps, theorize through an organization science lens, and provide directions for future research. We introduce these seven articles by discussing how they address three cross-cutting themes (Challenging the Status Quo, Insights into the Commuting Experience, The Future of Commuting). We hope that the work within this special issue informs and inspires organizational scholars to engage in meaningful interdisciplinary research on commuting going forward. Plain Language Summary This special issue aims to encourage readers to consider how commuting research can and should be investigated within the organizational sciences. Commuting is a frequently occurring activity of daily living, but remains one of the most understudied topics in the organizational sciences. This special issue aims to address this issue through seven papers which review the literature, identify knowledge gaps, offer theoretical advancement, and yield future research directions. We introduce these seven articles via the presentation of three cross-cutting themes (Challenging the Status Quo, Insights into the Commuting Experience, The Future of Commuting). Our goal is that this special issue will inform and inspire future organizational science research on commuting.

Culture-driven scripts for meetings: An integrative theoretical lens for studying workplace meetings

Abstract: The current research conceptualizes workplace meetings as socially embedded forms of organizing and proposes that cross-cultural comparisons of workplace meetings offer insights into differences in meeting structures and processes. This provides a deeper understanding of how meetings drive organizing in different cultural settings. Specifically, we build programmatic theory proposing cognitive and behavioral scripts as a promising theoretical lens through which to capture and integrate sociocultural influences on workplace meetings. We adapt Cramton et al.'s (2021) cultural coordination scripts formulation (consisting of the task setting, role structure, temporal structure, and cues) to develop an interpretive framework for workplace meeting processes that orients future research on cross-cultural meetings. We further integrate existing research on cross-cultural meeting differences to develop a generic prototype meeting script and two illustrative examples of culturally specific meeting scripts (for German and U.S.-American meetings) to demonstrate the practical usefulness and usability of this programmatic theory. Workplace meetings are used by organizations to maintain their overarching goals and purpose. They are an important, maybe the most important, tool through which members of the organization ensure its functioning and the pursuit of its purpose. The form of meetings and the processes involved in carrying out meetings are influenced by the cultural context(s) in which the meeting is held and the organization resides. Previous research has identified meeting characteristics and processes that differ across cultures. Comparisons of meeting structures and processes embedded in different cultural contexts can help researchers explore how variations in meeting characteristics contribute to organizing in organizations. This in turn allows researchers to better illuminate, explain, and guide the management of meetings to support their core goals and purpose. In the current paper, we propose a novel way of conceptualizing, capturing, and studying cross-cultural variations in meeting structures and processes, using the lens of cognitive and behavioral scripts. Scripts are cognitive structures that organize knowledge around how events typically unfold and provide prescriptions for the ways in which actors should interact over time to achieve coordinated action in a task situation. We employ Cramton et al.'s (2021) cultural coordination scripts formulation to create a definition of meeting scripts as well as prototype meeting scripts that can provide the foundation for future meetings research and for improved facilitation of cross-cultural meetings in organizations. Furthermore, we build an overarching, integrative theoretical framework for understanding cross-cultural meeting differences, which will guide future research endeavors into and theorizing about meetings in different cultural contexts.

The science of workplace meetings: Integrating findings, building new theoretical angles, and embracing cross-disciplinary research

Abstract: The purpose of this special issue is to bring more theory into meeting science by reviewing literature, identifying knowledge gaps, developing theoretical propositions drawing from different disciplines, and providing direction for future research. The special issue will open with a general overarching review of the literature on meeting science provided by the co-editors. Each subsequent article will focus on a particular domain within meeting science, provide a focused review of the literature, identify knowledge gaps, and push towards theories that will drive future research. Plain Text Abstract This is the introduction to the special issue of Organizational Psychology Review that positions meetings at the core of organizations and provides a roadmap for the future science of workplace meetings.

Toward an organizational theory of meetings: Structuration of organizational meeting culture

Abstract: Although research on meetings generally regards them as noteworthy organizational events, studies tend to focus on an individual or group level of analysis, conceiving of meetings as a phenomenon that happens in organizations but does not shape them. Integrating research on work meetings, structuration theory, and organizational culture, this paper develops the concept of organizational meeting cultures and suggests structuration theory as a framework for explaining their emergence, reproduction, and alteration. We propose a model of organizational meeting culture that theorizes work meetings as a foundational activity that shapes and reifies organizational cultures over time, contributing to their distinctiveness, and influencing patterns of perception regarding what is valued, expected, rewarded, and supported in specific work environments. It concludes with an agenda to be pursued in future research on the structuration of meeting culture. Although research on meetings seems to assume they are an important element of organizational life, studies tend to focus on an individual or group level of analysis, which results in theories that only construe meetings as a group phenomenon that happens in organizations but does not constitute them. We propose a model of organizational meeting culture that portrays work meetings as a foundational activity that doesn't just happen to occur within “already organized organizations” but instead also shapes organizational cultures over time, influencing their distinctiveness, shared views of what is valued, expected, rewarded and supported in specific work environments. Integrating research on meetings, structuration theory, and organizational culture, this paper develops the concept of meeting culture and proposes structuration theory as a way to explain how meeting cultures emerge, are sustained, and changed. It concludes with suggestions for future research.