Showing papers on "Job design published in 2020"

Automation, Algorithms, and Beyond: Why Work Design Matters More Than Ever in a Digital World

Abstract: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Parker, S.K. and Grote, G. (2020), Automation, Algorithms, and Beyond: Why Work Design Matters More Than Ever in a Digital World. Applied Psychology, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12241. This article may be used for noncommercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.

Challenging the Universality of Job Resources: Why, When, and For Whom Are They Beneficial?

Abstract: In this paper we introduce the topic of job resources and elaborate on their relevance for research and practice in work psychology. We start out with a brief overview of the historic and current understanding of job resources. Next, we discuss the need for a more nuanced perspective on the effects of job resources and present some ideas on how to move this forward. After these conceptual preliminaries, we introduce the papers in the special issue and conclude with a brief summary of the special issue's key messages.

How coworkers attribute, react to, and shape job crafting:

Abstract: Job crafting, or proactive changes that individuals make in their job design, can influence and be influenced by coworkers. Although considerable research has emerged on this topic, overall, the wa...

The Nature of Crowd Work and its Effects on Individuals’ Work Perception

Abstract: Crowd work reflects a new form of gainful employment on the Internet. We study how the nature of the tasks being performed and financial compensation jointly shape work perceptions of crowd workers...

Exploring the mediating role of work engagement between the linkages of job characteristics with organizational engagement and job satisfaction

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to empirically test a hypothesized model establishing job characteristics as an antecedent of work engagement leading to job satisfaction and organizational engagement of employees working with public sector banks (PSBs) in India.,Based on responses to a survey questionnaire by a sample of 622 Scale I employees of Indian PSBs, the hypothesized mediation model was tested with SPSS macro (Preacher and Hayes, 2004).,The testing of hypotheses established that job characteristics positively influence work engagement, organizational engagement and job satisfaction. The full mediation by work engagement between the relationships of job characteristics with job satisfaction and organizational engagement is established after the testing of mediation hypotheses.,Jobs of banks (especially in the public sector) are recommended to be enriched with more emphasis on offering employees with identifiable and significant tasks that have autonomy in decision-making and feedback. PSBs should also focus on developing a positive perception of employees toward job design, to increase their levels of job satisfaction and organizational engagement through engaging them with work.,The contribution of this study should be understood in many ways. First, the study has introduced work engagement as a mediator in the study model (between job characteristics and job satisfaction) replacing the three psychological conditions (i.e. experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility and knowledge of results) of job characteristics model. Further, the main contribution of this study is the exploration of the linkage between work engagement and organizational engagement. The relationship between these two forms of engagement (i.e. work and organization) has been very rarely investigated in the literature. Finally, this study has attempted to hypothesize a model proposing work engagement as a mediator between the job characteristics and organization engagement which does not seem to be studied so far.

Use of work–nonwork supports and employee well-being: the mediating roles of job demands, job control, supportive management and work–nonwork conflict

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of the use of work–nonwork supports on well-being. It first develops hypotheses regarding how a reduction in job demands, and an increase in both job control and supportive management may explain this relationship. We then test these hypotheses using data from Britain’s Workplace Employee Relations Survey of 2011. The research reveals that the use of work–nonwork supports has a positive association with job control and supportive supervision. These in turn mediate a relationship between the use of supports and three dimensions of employee well-being, job satisfaction, anxiety-contentment and depression-enthusiasm, some of the effect being through their reducing work–to–nonwork conflict. Use of work–nonwork supports is, however, positively associated with job demands, but this effect of use on job demands does not affect well-being. Since job autonomy and supportive supervision are major mediators, and have a direct influence on work–nonwork conflict and well-being, policy should focus on integrating job quality and work–life balance issues.

Impact and Role of Motivation Theories in Continuous Improvement Environments: A Reflection of Literature

Abstract: A large number of the well-performing organizations in the world are believed to have better environments that produce highly motivated employees to attain their goals. As noted in the various literatures reviewed in this study, improved working conditions in companies, such as Dell Technologies and Apple Inc., are responsible for the overall organizational success within the highly contested market. When employees are motivated, they also work towards improving the conditions within the workplaces, so the relationship between the two is mutual. In addition, pay satisfaction, job design, and internal communication of an organization contributes to its workforce motivation, which results in improved productivity for the entire organization. On the other hand, highly motivated employees encourage organizational managers to offer better payment to their organizations, to attain satisfactory job design, and to improve internal communication. Even though this study utilized few articles in the literature review, its findings significantly contribute to the modern literature. However, future studies should consider using more materials and multiple variables to improve the quality and reliability of the outcomes.

Should HR managers allow employees to use social media at work? Behavioral and motivational outcomes of employee blogging

Abstract: There is a dilemma for HR executives concerning social media policies: Should HR managers allow employees to use social media while at work? The question has no easy answer because there ar...

The Quality of Work Index and the Quality of Employment Index: A Multidimensional Approach of Job Quality and Its Links to Well-Being at Work

Abstract: (1) Background: Job quality is a multidimensional and elusive concept that is back in vogue among social scientists and policymaker. The current study proposes a new job quality approach that is compared with the European Working Conditions Survey framework and structured with the help of the Job Demands-Resources model. Two new measures of job quality, the Quality of Work Index (QoW) and the Quality of Employment Index (QoE) are developed and validated in three different languages (German, French, Luxembourgish). The QoW is composed of 43 items, focusing on four areas of work-work intensity, job design, social conditions, and physical conditions (subdivided in eleven components)-which are particularly important for employees' well-being. The QoE is composed of 13 items that cover training opportunities, career advancement, job security, employability, work life conflict, and income satisfaction. (2) Methods: Data were collected via computer-assisted telephone interviews in a representative sample of 1522 employees working in Luxembourg (aged 17-67 years; 57.2% male). (3) Results: Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the proposed factors structure and scalar measurement invariance for the three different language versions. Internal consistencies were satisfactory for all subscales (Cronbach's α between 0.70 and 0.87). Correlations and hierarchical regression analyses with different psychological health measures (i.e., burnout, general well-being, psychosomatic complaints, work satisfaction, vigor) and subjective work performance confirmed the construct validity of the new instruments. (4) Conclusions: The QoW and the QoE are globally and on the level of the sub-categories effective tools to measure job quality, which could be used to compare job quality between organizations and different countries. Furthermore, the current study confirms associations between the different components of the QoW and QoE and employees' health.

Organizational Risk Factors of Workplace Bullying

Abstract: In this chapter, we summarize research findings on organizational risk factors of workplace bullying. In particular, we discuss risk factors associated with (1) job design and work organization, (2) organizational cultures and climate, (3) leadership and conflict management, (4) organizational change and (5) power and control. Overall, the studies reviewed provide strong evidence for the work environment hypothesis, that is, the notion that bullying largely stems from deficiencies in the work environment and in management practices. This also points to the importance of addressing underlying organizational factors if we want to reduce the risk of bullying.

The effects of job characteristics, organizational justice and work engagement on nursing care quality in China: A mediated effects analysis.

Abstract: Aim To analyse the structural associations among job characteristics, organizational justice, work engagement and nursing care quality in Chinese nurses. Background Nursing care quality helps ensure patient safety, which are core concerns. The explicit relationships among the study's variables from a management perspective can help hospital managers to implement effective strategies to improve nursing care quality. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the relationships among the variables in 1,615 nurses in eight Chinese tertiary hospitals. Structural equation modelling was used to test a proposed model of these relationships. Results The scores of job characteristics, organizational justice, work engagement and nursing care quality were 3.55 ± 0.41, 3.84 ± 0.77, 4.67 ± 1.30 and 3.42 ± 0.70. Job characteristics and organizational justice had direct effects on nursing care quality. Work engagement mediated the relationship of nursing care quality with job characteristics and organizational justice. The final model explained 24% of nursing care quality. Conclusion The results provide a better understanding of the associations between the study's variables. Perceived job characteristics and organizational justice can improve nursing care quality through work engagement. Implications for nursing management Reconfiguring work design to strengthen nurses' positive perceptions of job characteristics and organizational justice can enhance nursing care quality.

Artificial intelligence in the workplace – A double-edged sword

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to outline how artificial intelligence (AI) can augment learning process in the workplace and where there are limitations.,The paper is a theoretical-based outline with reference to individual and organizational learning theory, which are related to machine learning methods as they are currently in use in the workplace. Based on these theoretical insights, the paper presents a qualitative evaluation of the augmentation potential of AI to assist individual and organizational learning in the workplace.,The core outcome is that there is an augmentation potential of AI to enhance individual learning and development in the workplace, which however should not be overestimated. AI has a complementarity to individual intelligence, which can lead to an advancement, especially in quality, accuracy and precision. Moreover, AI has a potential to support individual competence development and organizational learning processes. However, a further outcome is that AI in the workplace is a double-edged sword, as it easily shows reinforcement effects in individual and organizational learning, which have a backside of unintended effects.,The conceptual outline makes use of examples for illustrating phenomenon but needs further empirical analysis. The research focus on the meso level of the workplace does not fully refer to macro level outcomes.,The practical implication is that it is a matter of socio-technical job design to integrate AI in the workplace in a valuable manner. There is a need to keep the human-in-the-loop and to complement AI-based learning approaches with non-AI counterparts to reach augmentation.,The paper faces workplace learning from an interdisciplinary perspective and bridges insights from learning theory with methods from the machine learning community. It directs the social science discourse on AI, which is often on macro level to the meso level of the workplace and related issues for job design and therefore provides a complementary perspective.

Person–job fit matters in parastatal institutions: Testing the mediating effect of person–job fit in the relationship between talent management and employee outcomes

Abstract: This article responds to recent calls for research examining the mechanisms through which talent management affects talented employee outcomes. Drawing insights from attraction–selection–attrition and ability, motivation and opportunity theories, the article examines one such mechanism, person–job fit, through which talent management influences talented employees’ affective commitment and quit intentions in parastatal institutions in Ghana. A sample of 232 talent pool members was used to test a partial mediation model using structural equation modelling. Our findings suggest that talent management has not only a direct effect, but also an indirect effect, on talented employee outcomes of affective commitment and quit intention via person–job fit. Implications of these finding are discussed.Points for practitionersHuman resource practitioners can attempt to increase affective commitment and reduce quit intentions by seeking to match job tasks with talented employees’ knowledge, skills and abilities while, at the same time, addressing their needs by the supplies that emanate from their jobs using talent management practices. Human resource professionals can choose to assess the person–job fit of talented employees during the pre-selection phase to their talent pool. Human resource practitioners can achieve the person–job fit of current talent pool members by using job design and career planning, as well as career progression. For human resource professionals concerned with the retention of talented employees and increasing their commitment, attention to creating person–job fit through talent management practices may be useful in reducing employee intentions to leave and maintaining high commitment.

Playful Work Design: Introduction of a New Concept

Abstract: This article introduces the concept of playful work design—the process through which employees proactively create conditions within work activities that foster enjoyment and challenge without changing the design of the job itself First, we review play theory and the motives people may have to play during work In addition, we use the literature on proactive work behavior to argue that individuals can take personal initiative to increase person-job fit Combining these literatures, we provide a theoretical framework for playful work design We discuss the development and validation of an instrument to assess playful work design, and review recent studies to elucidate the psychological effects of playful work design and its possible outcomes Finally, we briefly discuss practical implications

The Ambivalence of Job Autonomy and the Role of Job Design Demands

Abstract: With its positive influence on such outcomes as performance, work motivation and health, job autonomy has long been considered one of the most important job resources by different models of job design (e.g., Bakker & Demerouti, 2007; Gagné & Deci, 2005; Hacker, 2003; Hackman & Oldham, 1976; Humphrey et al., 2007; Karasek & Theorell, 1990; Spector, 1986). Most models of job design assume a linear relationship between autonomy and the abovementioned outcome variables, which implies that the more autonomy workers have, the better off they are. However, some scholars also state that there can be negative side effects or too much of a good thing (TMGT; Grant & Schwartz, 2011; Pierce & Aguinis, 2013). The vitamin model (Warr, 1994) assumes curvilinear relationships between workers’ autonomy and well-being. ‘Too much autonomy as well as too little is often seen as undesirable’ (Warr, 1987: 30). According to Warr (1987), too much autonomy may entail difficult decision making and unremitting personal responsibility, which can lead to an overload of strain. Some recent studies have found empirical evidence for this assumption (e.g., Joensuu et al., 2010; Kubicek, Korunka, & Tement, 2014; Meyerding, 2015). Although the vitamin model and the TMGT approach offer a general theoretical framework for potentially negative effects of autonomy, they do not provide evidence for specific explanations of these effects on employee well-being. We still do not know why, under what conditions and through which processes autonomy may have detrimental effects. The present study tries to fill this research gap by uncovering the path by which autonomy may have demanding effects. We introduce the concept of job design demands (JDD), which is the demand to make decisions on various aspects of one’s own job design. We propose that high autonomy is associated with this need to make decisions regarding the design and pursuit of one’s job. This can be considered a job demand, as it can be associated with supplemental efforts and psychological costs (Bredehoeft et al., 2015). By investigating the intervening role of JDD within the association between autonomy and impaired well-being in a cross-sectional and longitudinal study, this paper expands the existing research on job autonomy. The paper challenges the assumption that autonomy is related to well-being only in a positive way by demonstrating that autonomy can—at least partially—lead to increased effort and experiences of stress. Thus, this paper provides a more differentiated view of job autonomy as a fundamental job characteristic.

Understanding the effects of perceived organizational support and high-performance work systems on health harm through sustainable HRM lens: a moderated mediated examination

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical investigation into the mediating effect of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on health harm (HH). The paper also examines the role of perceived organizational support (POS) and its indirect effect on work intensification (WI) and HH through HPWS. Further, the implications of the HH on individuals, organizations, families and societies are also presented. Recognizing the need for sustainable human resource management (HRM) practices that drive employee well-being and reducing HH is also highlighted.,Data for the study were collected using four established scales. The data collected from 345 executives were analyzed using the SPSS 25.0 Version and Amos 21.0.,The study confirmed that work intensification causes HH. The results also indicate the significant mediation of HPWS and the moderation of POS between WI and HH, thus suggesting the inevitability of HR intervention for implementing sustainable HRM practices, which reduce the negative harm of the work.,Data were collected from executives working in IT organizations in India. However, IT work exhibits broadly similar technology/platforms across the world and hence, applicable to the other contexts as well.,The study suggests that organizations should formulate policies and initiate interventions toward the care of employees, motivating toward higher performance and support them to prevent HH of work. It is difficult to categorize what comprises the care of employees in the current context of HPWS and treating employees as an end in itself. Generally, it is seen in terms of health and safety, work–life balance, remuneration, workload, job role and job design. People are core to sustainable development, and the HR must design and develop systems so that the organization can retain a healthy and productive workforce from a sustainability perspective. Moreover, sustainable work performance is a function of high resource levels of employees (energy, time and competences) and the allocation of resources, leading to resource regeneration. Hence, organizations need to source from a variety of sources and balance it for the sustainable performance of employees.,The HRM literature reveals the positive effect of POS on employee health, but studies that investigated the adverse impact of POS are notably absent. The study bridges this gap and is novel, as it explores the moderating role of POS on HPWS and HH and reaffirms the need for building sustainable organizations and sustainable HRM practices. Moreover, the paper provides contextual support to the literature, where studies relating to sustainable HRM practices in developing countries like India are absent.

Transformational Leadership, Career Adaptability, and Work Behaviors: The Moderating Role of Task Variety.

Abstract: Career adaptability is a set of individual resources that benefit one's sustainable development in his/her lifelong careers, especially in today's turbulent environment. However, how to foster employees' career adaptability through managerial strategies and eventually contribute to organizations remains to be studied. Guided by the career construction theory, we posit a moderated mediation model that transformational leadership (TFL) could strengthen employees' career adaptability and further foster their task performance and organization-directed citizenship behavior (OCBO), with task variety moderating the mediation effect. We conducted a three-wave survey with 558 supervisor-employee dyads to test the overall model. The results validated that career adaptability mediated the links between TFL and task performance as well as OCBO. Furthermore, the mediation effect was stronger for employees who had higher levels of task variety. In short, our study offers the groundwork to understand that employees' career adaptability can be activated by transformational leaders and is self-regulatory to benefit work behaviors in the task variety context. It enlightens organizations to cultivate employees' career adaptability in the way of TFL and job design, with the objective of promoting the sustainable development for both the employees and the organizations.

Exploring the link between management training and organizational performance in the small business context

Abstract: This study aims to explore the impact of management training on organizational performance in the small business context to evaluate whether formal management learning interventions bring organizational benefits to small enterprises.,A qualitative approach was adopted consisting of 100 interviews with small firm owners/managers and employees working in 50 Greek small enterprises operating in the manufacturing and services sectors. Participant firms consisted of 25 small enterprises (9 manufacturing firms and 16 firms in the services sector) whose owners/managers have completed various formal training interventions (i.e. accredited seminars and workshops, business and management courses, etc.,) and 25 small enterprises (16 manufacturing firms and 9 firms in the services sector) whose owners/managers have not completed any sort of formal business training and have never attended formal management courses.,The findings revealed that management training in small businesses had a positive impact on organizational performance. In particular, those respondents that completed formal training interventions argued that their firms achieved increased profitability during 2017 and 2018; improved staff productivity; very low staff turnover rate; and enhanced staff satisfaction and motivation compared with the less-trained owners of small firms in the same sector. The participants pointed out that their formal education in business and management has enabled them to realize the importance of employee learning and job design for staff motivation, whereas it has helped them to manage change more effectively.,The present findings have major implications for practitioners (i.e. small firm owners/managers), as they point to a positive link between management training and organizational performance, thus encouraging them to invest in their self-development.,The existing evidence around the impact of management training on firm performance has been based mostly on quantitative research in large organizations. However, the available empirical studies fail to explore in-depth how formal management training can help smaller enterprises achieve improved organizational performance. Against this background, the present study sheds new light on this area.

Developing managerial competencies: integrating work design characteristics and developmental challenge

Abstract: There have been growing speculations about the nature of challenging work in influencing the way individuals develop in an organization by acquiring competencies crucial for the job. The objective ...

Knowledge sharing in ISD projects: role of task interdependence and social capital

Abstract: Extant literature on design theory has little empirical evidence about how work characteristics affect team interaction processes. This paper examines the knowledge-sharing process in information systems development (ISD) projects.,Task interdependence from work design theory was used as an antecedent of knowledge sharing for collaboration for the empirical analysis. Data were collected from 203 ISD project teams in South Korea to examine team social capital and knowledge sharing among team members.,The results indicate that task interdependence has a statistically significant impact on the knowledge-sharing process. The mediating roles of social capital and knowledge sharing are critical. Additionally, the effects of social capital change over time as long-term projects have different mechanisms than short-term ones.,The paper introduces a novel perspective (i.e. the adoption of task interdependence from work design theory) and integrates it with the research constructs that play important roles in ISD projects: knowledge sharing and teams’ social capital. In an ISD project team, which represents knowledge-intensive collaboration and has heterogeneous team characteristics, task interdependence has a positive impact on the team as predicted by work design theory. It verifies the mediating effect of social capital, particularly the changing influence of social capital with time.

Ethical leadership and positive work behaviors: a conditional process model

Abstract: This study's purpose is to examine ethical leadership's effect on followers' positive work behaviors, as mediated by prosocial motivation and moderated by job autonomy.,Two-wave survey data were collected from 200 Chinese employees working in various industries. A hierarchical regression and a bootstrapping test were used to test the hypotheses.,Ethical leadership is positively related to followers' positive work behaviors, and prosocial motivation partially mediates this relationship. Job autonomy moderates the relationship between ethical leadership and prosocial motivation, as well as the indirect effect of ethical leadership on positive work behaviors via prosocial motivation.,The findings' generalizability is limited because only Chinese employees were investigated and a snowball sampling method was used. Future research should utilize other sampling methods and explore other contexts to determine whether the results can be replicated.,Organizations should provide employees with greater behavioral discretion to benefit from the positive effects of ethical leadership. They should use selection and job design tools to boost their employees' prosocial motivation.,The extant literature has largely applied the cognitive process approach to link ethical leadership and positive behaviors, treating ethical leadership as a risk-reducing or reciprocity-inducing factor. This study introduces a responsive process approach whereby prosocial motivation is established as a mediator between ethical leadership and positive work behaviors. Also, job autonomy is identified as a boundary condition of ethical leadership's effect.

Responsible Job Design Based on the Internal Social Responsibility of Local Governments.

Abstract: Sustainability needs the socially responsible orientation of public institutions, but not only externally. How civil servants and municipal employees consider what local governments do in relation to their internal social responsibility is the main question of this study. Through structural equation modelling and a sample of 294 employees in local governments in a Spanish region (Extremadura), it is demonstrated that responsible job position design, as well as good communication and team building, both have positive and significant effects on the personal identification of employees with the city council. That has been interpreted as the essence of internal social responsibility and the first step for building external social responsibility at the municipal level. Practical implications and future directions are discussed.

Does job design make workers happy

Abstract: Using linked employer-employee data for Finland we examine associations between job design, employee well-being and job-related stress. Three key findings stand out. First, in accordance with the theory of Karasek and Karasek and Theorell, job control and supervisory support are positively correlated with employee well-being and negatively correlated with job-related stress. Second, as predicted by theory, job demands are positively correlated with job-related stress. Third, there is no association between job demands and employee well-being and, contrary to expectations, neither job control nor supervisory support alleviate the negative relationship between job demands and job-related stress. Our results confirm the importance of job design for employee well-being.

Organisational processes and COVID-19 pandemic: implications for job design

Abstract: This is a reflective essay on how lockdowns during COVID-19 pandemic have exposed internal organisational processes and work practices.,The essay is based on the author's reflections on organisational work practices during the coronavirus mandatory social distancing period.,This reflective essay shows how COVID-19 pandemic challenges the existing organisational systems and processes. It produces thoughtful considerations of different options for managing organisational activities in the post-COVID-19 period.,The reflective essay underscores various issues relating to organisational job design and work practices and the impact on future management accounting research.,This essay provides personal insight into how the recent pandemic influences organizational work practices.