David A. Richards, Lumina S. Albert and Aaron C.H. Schat
This paper aims to examine how individuals' attachment dispositions relate to interactional justice perceptions, how work stressors moderate this association, and how together…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how individuals' attachment dispositions relate to interactional justice perceptions, how work stressors moderate this association, and how together they associate with attitudes (satisfaction, turnover intention, commitment) and citizenship behaviors at work.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were used in an observed variable path analysis examining mediation by interactional justice and moderation by stressors on the associations between attachment dimensions and work outcomes.
Findings
Attachment avoidance was negatively related to interactional justice perceptions and attachment anxiety was also negatively related to interactional justice perceptions, but only under conditions of higher work stressors. Interactional justice mediated the associations between attachment avoidance and work outcomes, and between the interaction of attachment anxiety and work stressors on work outcomes.
Practical implications
These findings are particularly relevant to multiple aspects of HR practice, including performance feedback, managing stressors, building resilience, reward allocation and recognition, designing wellness programs and other aspects of human resource management.
Originality/value
This research goes beyond contextual predictors of justice perceptions and demonstrates that jointly considering attachment dimensions and work stressors uniquely contributes to understanding the formation of justice perceptions and their combined influence on work attitudes and behavior.
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Akanksha Bedi and Aaron C.H. Schat
This study aims to examine the relations between service employee blame attributions in response to customer incivility and revenge desires and revenge behavior toward customers…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the relations between service employee blame attributions in response to customer incivility and revenge desires and revenge behavior toward customers, and whether employee empathy moderated these relations.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used survey data based on the critical incident method provided by a sample of 431 customer service employees.
Findings
The results suggested that blaming a customer was positively associated with desire for revenge and revenge behaviors against the uncivil customer. In addition, the authors found that blame was less strongly associated with desire for revenge when employees empathized with customers. Finally, the results show that an employee who desired revenge against the uncivil customer and who empathized with the customer was more – not less – likely to engage in revenge.
Practical implications
The authors found that when employees experience mistreatment from customers, it increases the likelihood that they will blame the offending customer and behave in ways that are contrary to their organization’s interests. The results suggest several points of intervention for organizations to more effectively respond to customer mistreatment.
Originality/value
In this study, the authors make one of the first attempts to investigate the relationships between service employee attributions of blame when they experience customer incivility, desire for revenge and customer-directed revenge behaviors. The authors also examined whether empathy moderates the relations between blame attribution, desires for revenge and revenge behavior.
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Ritika Dongrey and Varsha Rokade
The social exchange theory (SET) and the principle of reciprocity advocate the give and take relationship between counterparts. Perceived justice and fairness engage employees in…
Abstract
Purpose
The social exchange theory (SET) and the principle of reciprocity advocate the give and take relationship between counterparts. Perceived justice and fairness engage employees in pro-organizational behavior, while perceived injustice or biases invoke anti-organizational behavior. On similar grounds, the current research aims to find the relationship between employee perception regarding “hiring and retention of diverse employees (HRDE),” “affective commitment,” and “counterproductive work behavior (CWB).” Furthermore, assessing differences in the perception of age diversity concerning studied variables.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for the current study were collected from various private organizations in India with a sample size (n = 457). The data were further analyzed using factor analysis, regression analysis and analysis of variance.
Findings
Unlike previous research, the findings suggested a positive effect of the variable “hiring and retention of the diverse workforce” on both “affective commitment” and “CWB.” Interestingly, “affective commitment” also indicated a positive relationship with CWB. Further, various age groups showed differences in the perception of “affective commitment” and not “HRDE” and “CWB”.
Originality/value
The findings of the study not only focus on the brighter side of becoming a more diverse workplace (i.e. higher affective commitment) but also highlights the side effects (i.e. CWB) aiding management to be mindful for effective, sustainable management and creation of psychological safe work environment for all.
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Khaldoun I. Ababneh, Evangelos Dedousis and Udo Braendle
Drawing upon social exchange theory and psychological contract (PC) research, this study aims to examine the impact of supervisors' fulfillment/non-fulfillment of transactional…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing upon social exchange theory and psychological contract (PC) research, this study aims to examine the impact of supervisors' fulfillment/non-fulfillment of transactional psychological contract (TPC) and relational psychological contract (RPC) promises on employees' reactions (e.g. feelings of violation, trust in the supervisor and organizational commitment) in a non-Western context, namely, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Design/methodology/approach
An experimental field design was used with a sample of employees (N = 234) from a wide range of nationalities and work backgrounds. Four conditions were developed by manipulating the fulfillment of three TPC promises (e.g. competitive salary) and three RPC promises (e.g. sufficient power and responsibility). Participants were randomly assigned to the four conditions and asked to complete the study materials as if they were experiencing a real employment situation with a real organization. Hypotheses were tested using multivariate analysis of covariance and follow-up univariate analysis with Bonferroni post hoc comparisons.
Findings
This study demonstrated that a supervisor's failure to fulfill promises pertinent to both TPC and RPC, or one of them, generated negative reactions among participants. Based on a comparison of means analysis, this study also established that breach of TPC promises produced a higher negative impact than breach of RPC promises on perceptions of breach, feelings of violation, trust in the supervisor, organizational perceptions, organizational commitment and recommendation intentions. Furthermore, these findings revealed that a supervisor's breach of RPC promises has no significant incremental (additive) effect above a supervisor's breach of TPC promises. On the other hand, a supervisor's breach of TPC promises has a significant incremental (additive) effect above a supervisor's breach of RPC promises.
Originality/value
This study is one of the very few studies that examined and established, under a controlled setting, the differential effects of fulfillment/non-fulfillment of both TPC and RPC promises on employees' breach perceptions, emotions, attitudes and behavioral intentions.
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Stephanie Gilbert and E. Kevin Kelloway
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether single-item measures of job stressor facets were as valid as multiple-item measures in predicting psychological strain. Single-item…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether single-item measures of job stressor facets were as valid as multiple-item measures in predicting psychological strain. Single-item measures are more time and cost efficient than multiple-item measures and may also have psychometric benefits.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 3,166 hospital employees were used to evaluate the validity of 11 single-item job stressor facet measures by applying five criteria for content and criterion validity.
Findings
Based on this data, six single-item measures of job stressors met all criteria, supporting their use as single-item facet measures.
Research limitations/implications
The use of a sample of employees from one female-dominated industry may limit the generalizability of the results to other industries. Future research should replicate the results of the current study in other industries and use longitudinal designs to examine the predictive validity of the single-item measures. Future studies may also develop single-item measures of each facet a priori and examine their validity.
Practical implications
Results support the use of single-item measures for the assessment of significance, recognition, workload, work-family conflict, skill use, and coworker relations, which can be included in research where a shorter survey is necessary. These six measures may facilitate more frequent assessment of job stressors, the assessment of job stressors as control variables, and the assessment of multiple job stressors simultaneously, while still minimizing survey space and cost.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine the validity of single-item measures of job stressors, which is a construct that is frequently assessed in organizations.