Organizational Climate, Social Support and Loneliness in the Workplace
26 Sep 2005-Vol. 1
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the relationship between organizational climate, social support, and loneliness in the workplace and found that a negative emotional climate and lack of collegial support adversely influences the experience of loneliness in workers.
Abstract: This chapter investigates the relationship between organizational climate, social support, and loneliness in the workplace. Data were collected from 362 employees from various occupational groups. Regression analyses presented support for predicted links between community spirit at work, a climate of fear in an organization, work-based support from co-workers and supervisors, and loneliness at work. The results support the hypothesis that a negative emotional climate and lack of collegial support adversely influences the experience of loneliness in workers. The results suggest that addressing interpersonal problems in the workplace and improving the psychological work environment within an organization may enhance the social and emotional well-being of employees.
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28 Mar 2016TL;DR: This article explored the principles of the Slow Movement to counter work-stress among university and college teachers and found that a slow approach to teaching and learning may be the most effective way to counter the erosion of humanistic education by the corporate ethos of consumerism, efficiency, accountability, and standardisation.
Abstract: This paper explores the principles of the Slow Movement to counter work-stress among university and college teachers. We believe that a Slow approach to teaching and learning may be the most effective way to counter the erosion of humanistic education by the corporate ethos of consumerism, efficiency, accountability, and standardisation We explore the principles of Slow not only to counter the consumer model of education but also to foster better teachers and learners. It is well-documented that changes in academic work have created significant stress among academic teachers (Catano, Francis, Haines, Kirpalani, Shannon, Stringer, & Lozanksi, 2007; Miller, Buckholdt & Shaw, 2008), and students (Dabney, 1995; Brown & Ralph 1999; Rowbotham and Julian 2006), but what requires further attention is the link between the corporate reliance on efficiency and the problem of lack of time in learning and teaching. Corporatisation has sped up the clock. The Slow Movement—originating in the Slow Food Movement—has gained recognition as a way to resist both globalization and the frantic pace of contemporary life. While slowness has been lauded in architecture, business, urban life and interpersonal relations, among others, it has yet to be applied to academia. Yet, if there is one sector of society that should be cultivating deep thought in themselves and others it is academic teachers. The consumerism that has taken hold in higher education propels the belief that time is money, resulting in superficial learning (Cote & Allahar, 2011b; Readings, 1996). Perhaps the most damaging effect of corporatisation in the universities is that individual educators feel paralysed in the face of overwhelming odds. Our focus on individuals and their own professional practice is conceived as political resistance to corporatisation.
243 citations
TL;DR: Based on the social exchange model, the authors hypothesize that in comparison with their non-lonely counterparts, lonely employees will experience lower quality leader-member and organization-member exchanges at work such that they will tend to be worse at in-role and extra-role workplace functions.
Abstract: Although prior literature reveals that loneliness is a pervasive problem among adults, little research has evaluated the impact of loneliness in the workplace. Given that workplace relationships underlie many important organizational phenomena, it is important to understand whether and how workplace loneliness affects employee behavior. Based on the social exchange model, we hypothesize that in comparison with their non-lonely counterparts, lonely employees will experience lower quality leader‐member and organization‐member exchanges at work such that they will tend to be worse at in-role and extra-role workplace functions. Drawing on the results of our survey of schoolteachers, we present findings to support our hypotheses.
111 citations
Cites background from "Organizational Climate, Social Supp..."
...Evidence showed thatworkplace loneliness is a result of competitive and uncooperative organizational climate (Wright 2005)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the relationship between social support, co-rumination, stress, and burnout and conclude that some social support can be less-than-beneficial, if the content of the supportive transaction focuses on excessive and negative p...
Abstract: Workers regularly report high levels of stress and burnout because of their daily interactions at work. They also tend to seek social support as a mechanism to reduce stress and burnout. Social support buffers the negative effects of stress on health-related outcomes and is inversely associated with burnout and perceived stress. However, recent research has revealed that not all social support is beneficial. Co-rumination, or excessive negative problem talk about an issue, has been linked to increasing levels of stress and burnout. Working adults (N = 447) completed a survey exploring the relationships between social support, co-rumination, stress, and burnout. Two mediation models predicted that co-rumination would suppress the relationships between social support and both burnout and perceived stress. Data supported both partial mediation hypotheses. This study concludes that some social support can be less-than-beneficial, if the content of the supportive transaction focuses on excessive and negative p...
89 citations
Cites background from "Organizational Climate, Social Supp..."
...For example, workers attribute global stress to perceived lack of organizational support and job pressure (Vagg & Spielberger, 1998), organizational climate (Wright, 2005), perceived job demands and job strain (Steptoe, Cropley, Griffith, & Kirschbaum, 2000), workplace bullying (Hansen et al....
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...…workers attribute global stress to perceived lack of organizational support and job pressure (Vagg & Spielberger, 1998), organizational climate (Wright, 2005), perceived job demands and job strain (Steptoe, Cropley, Griffith, & Kirschbaum, 2000), workplace bullying (Hansen et al., 2006;…...
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TL;DR: In this article, the mediating role of work engagement in the links between paternalistic leadership and workplace loneliness and workplace family conflict was examined, and the results of structural equation modeling analysis supported the hypothesis that work engagement fully mediated the links in the model.
60 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe different sentiments about loneliness and the myriad ways one can arrive at the conclusion that "I am all alone" and "I feel lonely at work".
Abstract: ‘I am lonely’, ‘I feel lonely’, ‘I am all alone’, ‘I feel lonely at work’. Each statement conjures up different sentiments about loneliness and speaks to the myriad ways one can arrive at the concl...
52 citations
Cites background from "Organizational Climate, Social Supp..."
...Organisational cultures rewarding interpersonal competitiveness, personal conflict, and mistrust may reduce the attainment and enjoyment of high-quality workplace relationships (Wright, 2005)....
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...These range from existential loneliness (Mijuskovic, 2012) to ontological, relational, emotional, and cultural loneliness (McGraw, 1995) and workplace loneliness (e.g. Ozcelik and Barsade, 2018; Wright, 2005)....
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...Although there is some empirical evidence of people reporting loneliness at work (Ozcelik and Barsade, 2018; Wright, 2005), we do not currently have a theoretical framework for understanding the processes which give rise to the phenomenon....
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TL;DR: The authors presented a revised version of the self-report UCLA Loneliness Scale, designed to counter the possible effects of response bias in the original scale, and reported concurrent validity evidence for the revised measure.
Abstract: The development of an adequate assessment instrument is a necessary prerequisite for social psychological research on loneliness. Two studies provide methodological refinement in the measurement of loneliness. Study 1 presents a revised version of the self-report UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) Loneliness Scale, designed to counter the possible effects of response bias in the original scale, and reports concurrent validity evidence for the revised measure. Study 2 demonstrates that although loneliness is correlated with measures of negative affect, social risk taking, and affiliative tendencies, it is nonetheless a distinct psychological experience.
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TL;DR: The authors examined relationships among race, organizational experiences, job performance evaluations, and career outcomes for black and white managers from three work organizations, and found that black managers had better career outcomes than white managers.
Abstract: This study examined relationships among race, organizational experiences, job performance evaluations, and career outcomes for black and white managers from three work organizations. Compared to wh...
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TL;DR: The distinction between friendship adjustment and acceptance by the peer group was examined in this article, where third- through 5th-grade children (N = 881) completed sociometric measures of acceptance and friendship, a measure of loneliness, a questionnaire on the features of their very best friendships, and their friendship satisfaction.
Abstract: The distinction between friendship adjustment and acceptance by the peer group was examined. Third- through 5th-grade children (N = 881) completed sociometric measures of acceptance and friendship, a measure of loneliness, a questionnaire on the features of their very best friendships, and a measure of their friendship satisfaction. Results indicated that many low-accepted children had best friends and were satisfied with these friendships. However, these children's friendships were lower than those of other children on most dimensions of quality. Having a friend, friendship quality, and group acceptance made separate contributions to the prediction of loneliness
2,003 citations