Brandon W. Smit and Katie M. Lawson
Although flexible work arrangements (FWAs) are widely regarded as a desirable employee benefit, questions remain about which factors drive (or attenuate) applicant attraction to…
Abstract
Purpose
Although flexible work arrangements (FWAs) are widely regarded as a desirable employee benefit, questions remain about which factors drive (or attenuate) applicant attraction to them. The authors offer a novel theoretical account by advancing the concept of lay theories (i.e. mindsets) around an individual's ability to juggle work and life responsibilities, defined as beliefs that the ability to juggle is either malleable (i.e. growth) or cannot be changed (i.e. fixed), which suggests greater efficacy increases attraction.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilizing an experimental policy-capturing design, 86 participants each rated a series of 64 job offers (N = 5,376) with several manipulated job attributes. Participants were randomly assigned into a growth or fixed mindset condition.
Findings
Multilevel regressions revealed that a growth (vs fixed) mindset caused participants to place greater weight on flexible work scheduling policies by reporting greater attraction to jobs with flexible arrangements.
Practical implications
Organizations may increase applicant attraction by taking steps to ensure that the value of work–life benefits is salient, such as offering concrete examples of how policies have been used.
Originality/value
This study questions the assumption that those who need flexibility are more attracted to FWAs and demonstrates that beliefs around one's ability to juggle work–life demands are a unique mechanism shaping applicant attraction.
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Woody Caan, Nicky Stanley and Jill Manthorpe
Widespread effects are reported on UK economic productivity through poorly managed depressive illness in the workplace. Starting in 1999, the authors have investigated the onset…
Abstract
Widespread effects are reported on UK economic productivity through poorly managed depressive illness in the workplace. Starting in 1999, the authors have investigated the onset, treatment and recovery from depression as experienced personally by members of the caring professions, using first‐hand accounts to generate a composite picture of ‘what works for me’ in managing depression, and in particular ‘what works’ in maintaining or returning to employment in health and social care. This paper reports findings from a survey of 500 social workers. Negative perceptions of previous help from professional sources (such as general practitioner, psychiatrist or psychotherapist) were related specifically to three persisting, negative effects at work: lack of concentration, low confidence, and irritability (with tiredness). These occupational effects were strongly associated with each other. In relation to occupational health, inadequate treatment of depression may allow these negative effects on performance to persist. The findings are discussed in relation to conceptual frameworks about well‐being taken from ‘positive psychology’ that suggest future approaches to both prevention and rehabilitation of these occupational problems.
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Noel Scott, Brent Moyle, Ana Cláudia Campos, Liubov Skavronskaya and Biqiang Liu
Helene Loe Colman and Randi Lunnan
Serial acquirers take on multiple acquisitions as part of an acquisition program. Recently, serial acquirers have received scholarly attention from several streams of research. In…
Abstract
Serial acquirers take on multiple acquisitions as part of an acquisition program. Recently, serial acquirers have received scholarly attention from several streams of research. In this chapter, the authors review this research, focusing on the antecedents, processes, and performance of serial acquisitions. The authors develop a conceptual model that integrates the various streams of research. Based on this review, the authors argue that future research on serial acquirers should consider the complexity of integrating multiple acquisitions, by broadening the scope to include the organizational implications and long-term consequences when evaluating the performance of serial acquirers.
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Pamela Louise Graham, Nicole Fisher, Connie Dalton and Richard Lee
Poverty is a pervasive issue, which has wide-reaching, negative impacts on a range of outcomes including health, wellbeing, and education. Understanding poverty is therefore…
Abstract
Poverty is a pervasive issue, which has wide-reaching, negative impacts on a range of outcomes including health, wellbeing, and education. Understanding poverty is therefore critical for students preparing to work in public-facing roles, many of whom have little knowledge or direct experience of poverty. Drawing on a student’s account of their own educational experiences and reflections on the Widening Participation agenda, this chapter outlines key considerations for educators planning to teach about poverty. While greater diversity within classrooms can be an enriching experience, this chapter acknowledges the additional educational, social, and emotional demands placed on some students in further and higher education as a result of their backgrounds. The inadvertent exacerbation of poverty-related stigma through the expression of certain attitudes, assumptions and behaviours within classrooms is also discussed.
Blockchains, also known as “distributed ledger technologies” (DLT) are perhaps the emerging innovation that, in the years leading up to and including 2019, is raising the highest…
Abstract
Blockchains, also known as “distributed ledger technologies” (DLT) are perhaps the emerging innovation that, in the years leading up to and including 2019, is raising the highest expectations for HRM in the 4.0 business environment. In essence, a blockchain is a very specific type of database, with characteristics that made it the ideal application for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Within the context of digital- or e-HRM, there is potential to improve human resource management (HRM) processes using blockchains for employment screening, credential and educational verification, worker contracts and payments, among others, notwithstanding questions about its efficiency vis-à-vis conventional alternatives (Maurer, 2018; Zielinski, 2018). The research questions examined in this chapter include the following: What are the main characteristics of blockchains? Will they be adopted in a widespread form, specifically by HRM departments? Constructs from Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory (Rogers, 2003) are used to inform the Human Resources scholarly and practitioner communities; this robust theory may help companies allocate resources (e.g., budgets, personnel, managerial time, etc.) in an evidence-informed manner. As of this writing, very few blockchain applications, such as credential verification and incident reporting, seem to hold a strong potential for adoption.
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BODLEY came into the news royally last month when the King opened the extension. This had been ready early in the war, but was too attractive to the Government as refuge offices…
Abstract
BODLEY came into the news royally last month when the King opened the extension. This had been ready early in the war, but was too attractive to the Government as refuge offices to be allowed to be used for its own work. It rendered excellent war service, not all of it quite unconnected with library work. Now it stands as the first considerable library building to come into action in the post‐war era. It is significant that the Bodleian, from the days of the Founder, has always been pressed for space and its experiments in underground storage and in bookcases on rails, packed like the drawers in a cupboard have been useful to many other libraries. One of the newspapers tells us that the new building has solved the problem of storage for two hundred years. This is an interesting attempt at prophecy. There is no library building on a great scale in England, except the Bodleian, which has survived in its original form for even a hundred years and we may safely leave the librarians of two centuries hence with the conviction that no building devised today will, unaltered, continue to satisfy their needs. It is one of the disturbing certainties that libraries will continue to grow beyond the expectations of any present moment now or hereafter. Meanwhile we rejoice with Oxford that at least one of our national libraries is for the present housed adequately.
Purpose – This chapter outlines a six-week graduate level writing practicum that fosters collaboration among teachers, elementary school writers, and families.Design – Through the…
Abstract
Purpose – This chapter outlines a six-week graduate level writing practicum that fosters collaboration among teachers, elementary school writers, and families.
Design – Through the voices of teachers, students, and families, the authors describe a newly developed writing practicum where teachers engage in the writing process to build communities of writers and develop partnerships with families.
Practical implications – Teacher educators can use the practices presented in this chapter as a springboard to create their own school-based writing practicum.
Originality/value – This approach to teacher education values communities of writers and family partnerships to build on student writers’ strengths and interests.