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The positive psychology movement suggests organisational behaviourists should accentuate the positive by increasing the attention paid to the enhancement of employee wellness. This fits comfortably with the ethos of human resource management which is rooted in notions of social exchange, reciprocity and mutual gain. The purpose of this paper is to inject some positivity into HRM research by examining the mediating role of positive emotions in the HRM–performance relationship.

To examine the role played by positive emotions in the relationship between HRM and citizenship behaviours, the authors surveyed a sample of 250 employees from 14 organisations in New Zealand service industries. Sobel and bootstrapping tests were used to examine the mediation model.

Results show positive emotional states, both personal and job-related, to positively and partially mediate the HRM–contextual performance relationship.

Theoretically, this finding opens up HRM’s black box affording support for the inclusion of a wider range of psychological states than those presently studied.

Support is provided for HRM approaches which are more progressive than remedial in nature.

Emotions are malleable and this study suggests that fostering positive emotional states might hold the key to performance, unlocking desirable employee behaviours.

The connection between employees’ well-being and performance, although widely studied in organizational psychology, has received much less attention from HRM scholars. The purpose of this paper is to extend the literature by examining the impacts of the multidimensional structure of well-being consisting of psychological, social and health dimensions on employees’ task and contextual performance.

The authors collected data from 281 employees from the New Zealand service sector using a questionnaire survey. Factor analysis was used to determine items that form various facets of well-being and performance constructs. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test the well-being – performance relationship.

The findings show that different facets of well-being differentially contribute to employees’ task and contextual performance. Specifically, the facets of happiness and trust were positively associated with both task and contextual performance, while the effects of life satisfaction and work life balance on task and contextual performance were insignificant. Moreover, work intensification was only associated with task performance, in contrast, job satisfaction and over commitment were only related to contextual performance.

The implications of these findings are two-fold. For researchers, a review and overhaul of the conceptualization and operationalization of well-being in HRM studies is long overdue. For managers, improvements to employees’ job performance and the organization’s health can result from simultaneously enhancing multiple dimensions of employees’ well-being.

This study provides new insights into the complex relationship between well-being and performance by incorporating a multidimensional and multifaceted perspective of well-being and highlighting the distinctive effects of various facets of well-being on different types of employees’ performance.

This paper seeks to examine whether the decision to outsource human resource (HR) activities and the performance of the HR department are influenced by the particular business strategy espoused by the organisation. Four distinct strategies are considered: quality‐based, proactive, breadth, and reactive.

The data for the study were obtained from survey responses from 232 organisations, of which 113 were engaged in HR outsourcing.

The findings suggest that there is a significant relationship between organisations with proactive strategies and the decision to outsource both traditional and transactional HR functions. Breadth strategies demonstrate a negative significant relationship with outsourcing of traditional functions. Outsourcing of both functions has a significant relationship with HR performance – traditional with a positive impact and transactional with a negative impact.

The paper focuses on the perceptions, knowledge and experience of senior HR managers. Therefore there are understandable limitations in respect of generalisation. In addition, the impact of HR outsourcing on the performance of the HR department focuses only on the reduction of the number of HR employees from the department.

The results indicate that HR outsourcing has the potential to empower HR managers, allowing them to focus on strategic activities that add more value to their organisation. Also, the results show that HR reduces actual HR labour costs.

The study applies to a very under‐researched area.

This paper has two objectives. The first is to see whether “shared values” is an important intermediary, or part of the “black box” (along with organisational commitment and job satisfaction), between HRM practices and firm performance. The second is to assess whether the use of multiple levels of respondents produces different results compared with the usual practice of using senior HRM managers or, in lieu, another senior manager.

A survey methodology is used to obtain perceptual data on HRM practices and a variety of work‐related attitudes. The sample comprises managers, supervisors and workers from 27 New Zealand firms. Statistical analysis, using SPSS, was performed at the firm and individual level.

At group‐level there are wide differences in attitudes towards HRM activities. The desirability of using as many respondents as possible, and also respondents from different levels within organisations, was confirmed. “Shared values” is also deemed worthy of inclusion in the “black box” as it relates significantly to perceptions of HRM practices. However, organisational commitment and job satisfaction appear to have a stronger role.

Current writings suggest that certain HRM practices can foster a system of shared values amongst the workforce. The study finds this indeed to be the case at the individual level. However, the supposition that a shared value system significantly contributes to the promotion of other desirable attitudinal outcomes has not been supported by the study's findings. A limitation of the study is that it did not explore the HRM‐firm performance relationship in its entirety. Further research exploring all linkages in this relationship is now required.

The paper concludes that practitioners should be wary of pursuing an agenda that sees the development of a shared value system as the key to superior firm performance. Instead, it is suggested that the values of the organisation should be considered as the foundation from which a set of mutually reinforcing and supportive HRM practices is developed.

The paper provides much needed empirical data on shared values and their role in the HRM‐performance relationship.

Using the mutual gains model as a framework, the purpose of this paper is to explore the important issue of mutuality in employment relationships.

This study uses a sample of 215 New Zealand professionals to assess the relationships between commitment-oriented HRM practice, work intensification, work-life balance (WLB) and task and contextual performance.

The authors find commitment-oriented HRM practice does not intensify the work experiences of professionals, but nor does it contribute positively to the achievement of WLB. Both these well-being types do, however, contribute to explaining professionals’ task and contextual performance outcomes.

The findings suggest current narrow interpretations of well-being need to be revisited, with the meaning of well-being, its measurement and its role in delivering performance outcomes afforded greater attention within HRM studies.

A primary goal of managers is to deliver optimum performance outcomes. For professionals, the research suggests an important means to achieving this is by promoting positive well-being.

This study offers some important insights into the role mutuality plays in influencing performance outcomes. In addition, by exploring two contrasting facets of well-being, one health- and one happiness-related, the authors provide some empirical insights into how employees’ well-being affects performance outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate, from the perspective of knowledge workers (KWs), the factors which underpin worker performance. Although a broad array of factors is examined, the role played by the front-line manager (FLM) appears pre-eminent.

Using data collected in 2012 from a sample of 73 New Zealand KWs, the authors adopt a phenomenological approach to understanding how the FLM influences their performance motivations. A two-pronged research design was employed; stage 1 involved a paired statement exercise, which was immediately followed by stage 2, an in-depth interview.

The behaviour and support afforded to KWs by their FLM emerged as an important influence on their individual performance. Specifically, behaviours which convey value, trust and respect, and afford support, recognition and an appreciation for work completed seemingly empower and motivate KWs to superior performance.

The distinctive qualities of KWs and what constitutes their effective management needs to be given consideration in research. Identifying the depth and breadth of the FLM role contributes to this understanding.

FLMs need contemporary development and continued support across the broad spectrum of people management activities, to enable them to build positive relational ties, which are so important to KWs.

This paper contributes much needed empirical data to the understanding of how FLMs contribute to KW performance.

To test the relationship between HRM practice and employee work‐related attitudes and examine whether different approaches to measurement of HRM gives different results.

HRM practice was measured in three ways: additive measures of numbers of HRM practice, employer reports and employee reports of strength of practices. Employee attitudes were measured using organisational commitment, job satisfaction and organisational fairness scales. Matched data sets tested the relationships.

Statistically significant results were obtained between HRM practice and employee attitudes, but only when employee reports of the strength of HRM practice were used to measure HRM.

This study emphasises that care must be taken in HRM research to use suitable data sources, with employees being a valuable, but under‐used, source.

Effective HRM policies and practices should be measured by their perceived quality, not simply by the number of practices introduced.

This study highlights that there are perceptual differences as to the strength of HRM practices and emphasises the importance of allowing employee voice in HRM research.