South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management, Ahead of Print.
The COVID-19 pandemic posed unprecedented challenges to healthcare employees worldwide. As part of combatting the disease, they were often confronted with numerous physical and psychological job demands. Studies have explored the experiences of and responses to a COVID-19-related job demand–resource (JD-R) interplay of Western hospital-based healthcare staff. However, whether community-based, non-clinical healthcare workers experienced and responded to the COVID-19-related JD-R interplay similarly to hospital-based clinical healthcare employees is severely under-researched. This article explores how Sri Lanka’s public health inspectors (PHIs), a group of community-based, non-clinical healthcare workers experienced and responded to the COVID-19-related JD-R interplay. Using 18 in-depth interviews, this study found that PHIs were confronted with COVID-19-specific physical and psychological job demands including work pressure, workload, ambiguities in authority and job responsibilities, fear of contracting and passing on the disease to family members and social rejection which they managed with limited training, minimal rewards and less recognition. This JD-R incompatibility led to stress, exhaustion and coping inflexibility to which PHIs responded through approach and avoidance coping. While most coping strategies enabled PHIs to ease their stress and exhaustion, there were others that exacerbated the feelings of burnout.
Category Archives: South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management
Expectations and Management of Technology-Assisted Supplemental Work: A Managerial Perspective
South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management, Ahead of Print.
Limitless connectivity enabled by Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) has aided organisations to keep their employees linked to work even after hours. Drawing from work boundary theory and sociomaterial theory, this study explores what leads to technology-assisted supplemental work (TASW) expectations and how these expectations are managed in organisations. In the analysis of qualitative data collected from 20 senior-level managers from two organisations in Sri Lanka, we found that organisational norms developed through top management influence led to TASW expectations among lower-level managers. These expectations are then imposed by managers, and nonresponses are controlled by means of confrontations and punishments. These punitive regimes could especially create discriminative effects on married female employees if they cannot meet the after-hour expectations due to gender roles associated with the home domain. However, having formal policy guidelines on TASW could reduce the negative consequences on employees. This study contributes to the literature by including the managerial perspective on TASW expectations.
Limitless connectivity enabled by Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) has aided organisations to keep their employees linked to work even after hours. Drawing from work boundary theory and sociomaterial theory, this study explores what leads to technology-assisted supplemental work (TASW) expectations and how these expectations are managed in organisations. In the analysis of qualitative data collected from 20 senior-level managers from two organisations in Sri Lanka, we found that organisational norms developed through top management influence led to TASW expectations among lower-level managers. These expectations are then imposed by managers, and nonresponses are controlled by means of confrontations and punishments. These punitive regimes could especially create discriminative effects on married female employees if they cannot meet the after-hour expectations due to gender roles associated with the home domain. However, having formal policy guidelines on TASW could reduce the negative consequences on employees. This study contributes to the literature by including the managerial perspective on TASW expectations.
Superior-subordinate Trust Affecting Quit Intentions: Mediation of Job Satisfaction and Affective Commitment
South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management, Ahead of Print.
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of superior-subordinate trust on employee quit intention through the mediation of job satisfaction and affective commitment among the executives working in Indian cement industries. We have adopted social exchange theory as base theory, in which trust in superiors is treated as an exogenous variable and intention to leave as an endogenous variable, with affective commitment and job satisfaction considered as mediating variables. Sequential mediation was performed. The data was collected from 305 executives through questionnaires from eight top Indian cement-producing organisations. According to the findings, trust in superiors predicted job satisfaction significantly. Furthermore, affective commitment was influenced by both trust in superiors and job satisfaction. Further, all three predictors (i.e., trust in superiors, job satisfaction, and affective commitment) predicting intention to quit. Interestingly, we also observed that both job satisfaction and affective commitments serially mediate trust in superiors and the intention to quit. The results can be used to make executives happy and satisfied at work and make them more emotionally committed to their jobs, which will lead to a low rate of attrition.
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of superior-subordinate trust on employee quit intention through the mediation of job satisfaction and affective commitment among the executives working in Indian cement industries. We have adopted social exchange theory as base theory, in which trust in superiors is treated as an exogenous variable and intention to leave as an endogenous variable, with affective commitment and job satisfaction considered as mediating variables. Sequential mediation was performed. The data was collected from 305 executives through questionnaires from eight top Indian cement-producing organisations. According to the findings, trust in superiors predicted job satisfaction significantly. Furthermore, affective commitment was influenced by both trust in superiors and job satisfaction. Further, all three predictors (i.e., trust in superiors, job satisfaction, and affective commitment) predicting intention to quit. Interestingly, we also observed that both job satisfaction and affective commitments serially mediate trust in superiors and the intention to quit. The results can be used to make executives happy and satisfied at work and make them more emotionally committed to their jobs, which will lead to a low rate of attrition.
Positive Influence of Organisational Politics on Job Performance in Indian Higher Education Context: A Qualitative Inquiry
South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management, Ahead of Print.
The job performance of academics in the higher education context has transcended from the prime focus of teaching to the concurrence of learning facilitation, research and publication. These reforms address a central research question: What are the emerging factors influencing job performance in the Indian higher education context? This study adopts a qualitative research design to explore the emerging factors affecting job performance. Thirteen academic researchers from Indian universities participated in the focus group discussions. The results of focus group discussions unravel five themes: demographics, behaviours, motivation, context and skills. The focus group discussions foregrounded the debate on knowledge-sharing behaviours, organisational politics and networking skills. However, what remains unknown is whether the organisational actors’ political characteristics influence their knowledge sharing, affecting their job performance. In this regard, the authors propose a new model that binds organisational politics to knowledge sharing and its impact on job performance. This novel approach to examining job performance contributes to theory by providing insights into the emerging themes that affect job performance and emphasising the role of political characteristics in understanding the job performance of academic researchers.
The job performance of academics in the higher education context has transcended from the prime focus of teaching to the concurrence of learning facilitation, research and publication. These reforms address a central research question: What are the emerging factors influencing job performance in the Indian higher education context? This study adopts a qualitative research design to explore the emerging factors affecting job performance. Thirteen academic researchers from Indian universities participated in the focus group discussions. The results of focus group discussions unravel five themes: demographics, behaviours, motivation, context and skills. The focus group discussions foregrounded the debate on knowledge-sharing behaviours, organisational politics and networking skills. However, what remains unknown is whether the organisational actors’ political characteristics influence their knowledge sharing, affecting their job performance. In this regard, the authors propose a new model that binds organisational politics to knowledge sharing and its impact on job performance. This novel approach to examining job performance contributes to theory by providing insights into the emerging themes that affect job performance and emphasising the role of political characteristics in understanding the job performance of academic researchers.
Is Too Much Work Intensification Harmful? Impact on Psychological Health and Work Engagement of Employees
South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management, Ahead of Print.
The article empirically investigates the relationship between work intensification (WI) and employee well-being by considering high-performance work systems (HPWS) and perceived organisational support (POS) as mediators. An integrated model is designed to discover the interactions between WIs, indicators of employee well-being (psychological health and work engagement), POS and HPWS. Our sample consists of 411 executives working in Indian IT organisations. Data analyses were performed by structural equation modelling. The research found that WI adversely impacts employee well-being. The findings revealed that POS and HPWS mediate the linkage between WI and employee well-being. The research findings make significant contributions by demonstrating how WI affects employee well-being and by assisting organisations in implementing sustainable HRM practices and constructing a congenial atmosphere. Finally, we sum up the impact of WI on workers, their families and society, and present a broad variety of implications for researchers and practitioners to comprehend sustainable HRM and its role in enhancing employee well-being.
The article empirically investigates the relationship between work intensification (WI) and employee well-being by considering high-performance work systems (HPWS) and perceived organisational support (POS) as mediators. An integrated model is designed to discover the interactions between WIs, indicators of employee well-being (psychological health and work engagement), POS and HPWS. Our sample consists of 411 executives working in Indian IT organisations. Data analyses were performed by structural equation modelling. The research found that WI adversely impacts employee well-being. The findings revealed that POS and HPWS mediate the linkage between WI and employee well-being. The research findings make significant contributions by demonstrating how WI affects employee well-being and by assisting organisations in implementing sustainable HRM practices and constructing a congenial atmosphere. Finally, we sum up the impact of WI on workers, their families and society, and present a broad variety of implications for researchers and practitioners to comprehend sustainable HRM and its role in enhancing employee well-being.
We’re Monitored Too Much! Workplace Bullying or Managerial Control in the Maldivian Tourist Resorts
South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management, Ahead of Print.
In the Maldives, the tourism accommodations offer a unique working environment, which makes employees vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and likely to create its own profile of bullying. Therefore, this study places the spotlight on a setting about which little is known by the broader community of academics and professionals working in the field of human resource management. We used both quantitative and qualitative methods in this study to understand the phenomenon of workplace bullying, where participants faced an interview and then complete a questionnaire. Our study reveals that workplace bullying can be a strategy used by management to get work done in the short term. The managers’ primary goal is to achieve an organisational objective by leveraging the formal power and control structures they possess within the organisation. This approach gives off the impression of being unfair and inherently unjust towards those lower in the organisational hierarchy. As a result, individuals fail to report bullying incidents to the appropriate authorities and do not receive the necessary assistance; instead, they suffer in silence. Workers regard bullying as inherent to the system and ‘natural’ and ‘normal’ in this environment, as a result of the systems and the processes that they see operating.
In the Maldives, the tourism accommodations offer a unique working environment, which makes employees vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and likely to create its own profile of bullying. Therefore, this study places the spotlight on a setting about which little is known by the broader community of academics and professionals working in the field of human resource management. We used both quantitative and qualitative methods in this study to understand the phenomenon of workplace bullying, where participants faced an interview and then complete a questionnaire. Our study reveals that workplace bullying can be a strategy used by management to get work done in the short term. The managers’ primary goal is to achieve an organisational objective by leveraging the formal power and control structures they possess within the organisation. This approach gives off the impression of being unfair and inherently unjust towards those lower in the organisational hierarchy. As a result, individuals fail to report bullying incidents to the appropriate authorities and do not receive the necessary assistance; instead, they suffer in silence. Workers regard bullying as inherent to the system and ‘natural’ and ‘normal’ in this environment, as a result of the systems and the processes that they see operating.
Does Shared Leadership Inspire Team Citizenship Behaviour Through Team Psychological Capital?
South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management, Ahead of Print.
Understanding organisational citizenship behaviour at the team level has gained importance in recent years, as organisations place greater emphasis on teams and teamwork. Although contemporary literature acknowledges shared leadership as a significant antecedent of organisational citizenship behaviour, existing studies rarely consider the underlying mechanisms through which shared leadership produces organisational citizenship behaviour. This study investigates the influence of team psychological capital on the relationship between shared leadership and team citizenship behaviour using data collected from team members and supervisors belonging to 48 teams from diverse industries in India. An analysis using the team as the unit of analysis and partial least squares structural equation modelling technique revealed that team psychological capital acts as a partial mediator in the relationship between shared leadership and team citizenship behaviour. Based on the insights from this study, the authors suggest that managers should nurture both shared leadership and team psychological capital to promote team citizenship behaviour.
Understanding organisational citizenship behaviour at the team level has gained importance in recent years, as organisations place greater emphasis on teams and teamwork. Although contemporary literature acknowledges shared leadership as a significant antecedent of organisational citizenship behaviour, existing studies rarely consider the underlying mechanisms through which shared leadership produces organisational citizenship behaviour. This study investigates the influence of team psychological capital on the relationship between shared leadership and team citizenship behaviour using data collected from team members and supervisors belonging to 48 teams from diverse industries in India. An analysis using the team as the unit of analysis and partial least squares structural equation modelling technique revealed that team psychological capital acts as a partial mediator in the relationship between shared leadership and team citizenship behaviour. Based on the insights from this study, the authors suggest that managers should nurture both shared leadership and team psychological capital to promote team citizenship behaviour.
Linking Workplace Incivility and Emotional Exhaustion: A Moderated Mediation Examination
South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management, Ahead of Print.
Ignorance in cultivating a harmonious work culture and not addressing the negative misconduct at the workplace is highly undesirable for the organisations and taxing for individual and team-level performances. Drawing upon conservation of resources theory, a moderated mediation framework is hypothesised where workplace incivility predicts emotional exhaustion in employees, and organisational social capital is identified as a critical resource mediating the mechanism. In addition, irresponsible leadership is tested as a boundary condition influencing this relationship. A cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire collected data from a heterogeneous sample of 410 Indian service sector employees providing evidence for the hypothesised relationships. Results confirm that participants experiencing higher levels of incivility reported greater levels of emotional burnout. This outcome is affected by irresponsible leadership such that the higher the levels of irresponsible leadership, the more the social capital is undermined and emotional exhaustion rises in employees.
Ignorance in cultivating a harmonious work culture and not addressing the negative misconduct at the workplace is highly undesirable for the organisations and taxing for individual and team-level performances. Drawing upon conservation of resources theory, a moderated mediation framework is hypothesised where workplace incivility predicts emotional exhaustion in employees, and organisational social capital is identified as a critical resource mediating the mechanism. In addition, irresponsible leadership is tested as a boundary condition influencing this relationship. A cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire collected data from a heterogeneous sample of 410 Indian service sector employees providing evidence for the hypothesised relationships. Results confirm that participants experiencing higher levels of incivility reported greater levels of emotional burnout. This outcome is affected by irresponsible leadership such that the higher the levels of irresponsible leadership, the more the social capital is undermined and emotional exhaustion rises in employees.
Leaders’ Part in Boosting Change Encouraging Attitude of Employee: The Sequential Mediation Model of Dealing Change in the Organisation
South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management, Ahead of Print.
The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of transformational leadership on employees’ change championing behaviour, and the mediating roles of employees’ trust in leadership and employees’ work engagement in the relationship between transformational leadership and employees’ change championing behaviour. The research was conducted among 379 employees in the banking sector of Bangladesh. The findings revealed a significant and positive impact of transformational leadership on employees’ change championing behaviour. Furthermore, the study identified that employees’ trust in leadership and work engagement play important mediating roles, individually and sequentially, in the relationship between transformational leadership and employees’ change championing behaviour during change management in the Bangladesh banking sector. This study contributes to our understanding of how transformational leadership promotes employees’ change championing behaviour and underscores the effectiveness of transformational leadership in fostering employees’ trust in leadership and work engagement. Additionally, this study emphasises the importance of employees’ trust in leadership and work engagement in the context of organisational change implementation.
The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of transformational leadership on employees’ change championing behaviour, and the mediating roles of employees’ trust in leadership and employees’ work engagement in the relationship between transformational leadership and employees’ change championing behaviour. The research was conducted among 379 employees in the banking sector of Bangladesh. The findings revealed a significant and positive impact of transformational leadership on employees’ change championing behaviour. Furthermore, the study identified that employees’ trust in leadership and work engagement play important mediating roles, individually and sequentially, in the relationship between transformational leadership and employees’ change championing behaviour during change management in the Bangladesh banking sector. This study contributes to our understanding of how transformational leadership promotes employees’ change championing behaviour and underscores the effectiveness of transformational leadership in fostering employees’ trust in leadership and work engagement. Additionally, this study emphasises the importance of employees’ trust in leadership and work engagement in the context of organisational change implementation.
Why Do Employees Negotiate Personalised Work Arrangements? Examining the Motives and Outcomes of Idiosyncratic Deals in an Indian IT Industry Context
South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management, Ahead of Print.
Idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) are personalised work arrangements negotiated between employees and employers. In most contemporary organisations, i-deals have achieved desirable employee behaviour and positive work-related outcomes. Although recent literature has given increased attention to i-deals, a lack of clarity exists regarding what drives i-deal negotiations and the perceived outcomes of such individualised negotiations in emerging economies like India, which falls in the middle zone of negotiability. Therefore, the study investigates what motivates employees for i-deal negotiations and the outcomes of such i-deals from an employee perspective by following a qualitative methodology. Data for the study were collected through in-depth interviews among 30 IT sector employees in India who successfully negotiated i-deals. Axial coding was used for data coding, resulting in two main themes for the study: motives for i-deal negotiation and outcomes of those negotiations. The study findings show that career advancement and job autonomy are the critical drivers of i-deal negotiations. Besides, the benefits experienced by the employees from such negotiations include reduced work–family conflict, enhanced work engagement and job satisfaction. Theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.
Idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) are personalised work arrangements negotiated between employees and employers. In most contemporary organisations, i-deals have achieved desirable employee behaviour and positive work-related outcomes. Although recent literature has given increased attention to i-deals, a lack of clarity exists regarding what drives i-deal negotiations and the perceived outcomes of such individualised negotiations in emerging economies like India, which falls in the middle zone of negotiability. Therefore, the study investigates what motivates employees for i-deal negotiations and the outcomes of such i-deals from an employee perspective by following a qualitative methodology. Data for the study were collected through in-depth interviews among 30 IT sector employees in India who successfully negotiated i-deals. Axial coding was used for data coding, resulting in two main themes for the study: motives for i-deal negotiation and outcomes of those negotiations. The study findings show that career advancement and job autonomy are the critical drivers of i-deal negotiations. Besides, the benefits experienced by the employees from such negotiations include reduced work–family conflict, enhanced work engagement and job satisfaction. Theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.