Factors associated with responses to sexual harassment and satisfaction with outcome

This study examined contextual and behavioral factors and types of responses to sexual harassment in relation to harassed employees' satisfaction with the outcome of sexual harassment situations. Subjects were 105 male and female faculty and staff members (89.5% Caucasian; 5.7% multiethnic/multicultural; 4.8% unspecified) employed by a midwestern university who reported experiencing unwanted sexual attention on the job. Results undicated that employees responded more strongly to unwanted sexual behavior if they perceived it as sexual harassment and if they perceived their work climate as encouraging the problem. Harassed employees' gender, power, and perceptions of the work climate were all associated with their satisfaction with the situation outcome. Although making a formal or informal complaint was not associated with greater satisfaction, talking to the harasser without using aggressive communication strategies increased the likelihood of a satisfactory outcome for the employee. Talking to family or friends, a response used by women more often than men, was associated with dissatisfaction. Suggestions for further research are discussed.This research was primarily funded by the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The authors gratefully acknowledge the research assistance of Jami Winters, Gena Ritter, Sarah Holmes, Kim Gangwish, and Mary Lou Costanzo.     

A Compositional Analysis of the Organizational Climate-Performance Relation: Public Schools as Organizations

The present study examined specific aspects of organizational climate related to job satisfaction, employee turnover, and organizational performance in public elementary schools. Survey data were obtained from school staff and students and from school district archives. Hypotheses tested included: (1) Employee perceptions of organizational climate and job satisfaction, when aggregated to an organizational level, would represent group-level constructs; (2) Employee perceptions of positive organizational climate would be associated with higher levels of job satisfaction and organizational performance and with lower levels of employee turnover; (3) Relations of organizational climate to organizational performance and to employee turnover would be mediated by employee job satisfaction; and (4) Employee perceptions of positive organizational climate and job satisfaction would be associated with less achievement disparity between minority and non-minority students. Study results supported all but one hypothesis. There was no evidence for the mediating effects of job satisfaction on relations of organizational climate to organizational performance and to employee turnover. Results were consistent with the broader organizational literature, which has shown the importance of orderly work environments, collegial relations, and supportive leaders for effectively functioning groups and organizations.     

Nonresponse in Employee Attitude Surveys: A Group-Level Analysis

Purpose

Given the common practice of using employee attitude surveys as a group-level intervention, this study used a group-level approach to examine the relationship between group satisfaction and group nonresponse.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Samples from four large organizations enabled job satisfaction scores to be aggregated to the work group level and correlated with group-level response rates. Additional regression analysis was conducted to control for a number of confounding variables at the group level.

Findings

Aggregate job satisfaction showed significant associations with group-level response rates across each of the samples examined. Work groups with higher aggregate job satisfaction had significantly higher response rates. Regression analyses showed that, in addition to job satisfaction, work group size, heterogeneity in tenure, and heterogeneity in gender composition all had significant effects on response rates.

Implications

Social influence processes may operate at the group level to increase homogeneity of job-relevant attitudes and similarity in survey response behavior. Future research should be designed to investigate the effects of group-level variables on nonresponse.

Originality/Value

The current study adds to the literature by demonstrating that work group variables may play an important role in explaining nonresponse in employee attitude surveys. Because the processes underlying survey response are likely to be different at different levels of analysis, the investigation of nonresponse as a group-level phenomenon creates new opportunities for research and practice.     

An empirical study of some demographic and work-related variables on job satisfaction of academics in a Turkish university

The Job Satisfaction Survey was administered to 610 faculty in a university in North Cyprus. As expected, job satisfaction increased with rank, and those who held administrative positions were more satisfied than staff who did not. The longer the participants had served in the current university, the higher their rated job satisfaction. Job satisfaction of women in higher academic positions was higher than that of their male peers. Age was not correlated with increases in job satisfaction.     

Perceived organisational support influences on job satisfaction and organisational commitment among junior academic staff members

This study investigated the relationship between perceived organisational support, employee job satisfaction and organisational commitment among junior academic staff of a South African higher education institution (N =70; female = 41 .4%; masters qualification = 85 .7%). Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire on organisational perceptions, commitment and job satisfaction. Correlations investigated whether there were any relationships between variables. T-tests and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were also used to examine whether participants perceived organisational support differently based on their demographics. Results showed a significant and positive relationship among employee perceptions of support from their organisation, their level of job satisfaction and level of organisational commitment. Male academic staff showed higher levels of perceived organisational support, employee job satisfaction and organisational commitment than females. Gendered work participation appears to explain aspects of work participation in the context of the South African higher education sector.     

Understanding childcare satisfaction and its effect on workplace outcomes: The convenience factor and the mediating role of work‐family conflict

Building on Hobfoll's (1989, 2001) conservation of resources theory, we posit childcare is an essential resource to working parents. In addition to previously demonstrated childcare satisfaction (CCS) dimensions, we propose and demonstrate empirical support for a convenience dimension of CCS. Satisfaction with caregiver convenience refers to a parent's evaluation of the caregiver's location and availability. We hypothesize that time‐related dimensions of CCS (caregiver dependability and convenience) relate to employee well‐being and withdrawal, because they diminish time‐based family interfering with work (FIW). We also propose quality‐related CCS dimensions (caregiver attentiveness, communication, and cost) relate to psychological well‐being, because they reduce strain‐based FIW. Survey data from a sample of 316 university employees (faculty and staff) who were parents of under school‐age children (infancy through preschool) revealed time‐based FIW as an explanatory mechanism for the relationships between satisfaction with caregiver convenience and both turnover intentions and absenteeism (due to childcare issues). In addition, strain‐based FIW mediated the effects of satisfaction with caregiver attentiveness on well‐being and satisfaction with caregiver cost on well‐being. This study expands previous research on CCS by demonstrating that CCS is related to important work outcomes in part because it reduces time‐ and strain‐based FIW.     

Faculty Perceptions about Tenure at Private Christian Liberal Arts Colleges

This study investigates faculty perceptions of tenure at 38 institutions of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) with a sample of 988 faculty with tenure, 734 on a tenure track, 427 who are not on a tenure track, and 411 from institutions without tenure. Major findings that emerges are (1) more male have earned tenure; (2) the majority of tenures faculty agreed that the criteria for advancement and promotion are clear; (3) most disagree that tenure is an outmoded concept; (4) faculty with tenure are more likely to believe that tenure attracts the best minds; (5) CCCU faculty working toward tenure report lower levels of extensive stress than the national sample.     

BENEFIT COVERAGE AND EMPLOYEE COST: CRITICAL FACTORS IN EXPLAINING COMPENSATION SATISFACTION

This research examined the joint effects of benefit coverage and the costs borne by employees on multiple dimensions of compensation satisfaction. Information regarding pay and benefit practices was collected by interviewing personnel specialists and reviewing policy and procedure documents in eight organizations. At a later time, satisfaction data were collected from employees via mail surveys. The results indicated that satisfaction with benefits increased with improved coverage and decreased with higher employee costs. Employees were particularly sensitive to variation in the cost of health insurance. Also, for respondents possessing accurate information about actual coverage levels, the relationship between coverage and satisfaction was more pronounced. For the organizations studied here, salaries and benefits were being administered using compensatory allocation rules. Salary levels were negatively correlated with the levels of benefit coverage, and the various components of the compensation systems covaried in complex ways. The methodological implications associated with this research are emphasized and suggest that the interpretability of much of the past research devoted to employee benefits has been compromised.     

Capitalising on Positive Work Events by Sharing them at Home

The authors integrate existing theory on work–family integration and interpersonal capitalisation on positive work events by examining the effects of sharing positive work events with one's spouse on employee life satisfaction. A field study was conducted with 131 employees of a large Midwestern university, who completed surveys online. Participants provided accounts of their most important positive event during the prior week and indicated whether they had shared this event with their spouse. They also retrospectively rated their positive affect and life satisfaction over the course of the study. Results based on hierarchical regression analysis indicated that having shared that event with one's spouse was positively associated with positive affect and life satisfaction after controlling for personality and event characteristics. These results were corroborated in a subsample of 99 employees whose spouses provided independent reports of whether the event was shared with them. This research reveals that sharing positive events with others has unique and significant contributions to positive affect and life satisfaction. More importantly, these findings show that the interpersonal act of sharing is effective when conducted cross‐domain: the act of sharing positive work events with family members increases positive affect and life satisfaction.     

Momentary Work Happiness as a Function of Enduring Burnout and Work Engagement

The present study (N = 136) combined global measures with specific, experience-based measures to investigate how enduring job burnout and engagement influence the impact of daily work activities on momentary need satisfaction and happiness. We used the day reconstruction method (DRM) to ask employees from various occupations to reconstruct their working days. On the basis of employee work engagement and self-determination theories, we hypothesized that time spent on (a) core work tasks; (b) administrative work tasks; (c) client interactions; (d) interactions with colleagues; and (e) meetings would be negatively related to need satisfaction on the task level for employees high (vs. low) in enduring burnout; and positively related to need satisfaction on the task level for employees high (vs. low) in enduring work engagement. In addition, we predicted that psychological need satisfaction would mediate the relationships between time spent on work tasks and happiness during the tasks. The results of multilevel analyses largely supported these hypotheses. Our findings contribute to the literature by showing how those with high levels of burnout do not manage to satisfy their basic needs through their work, whereas those with high levels of work engagement satisfy their daily needs and stay happy.     

高承诺组织与员工建言:双过程模型检验

以来自36个组织的223名员工为被试,通过上级、同事和员工自评三方配对的问卷数据,研究探讨了高承诺组织与员工建言行为之间的关系。采用多层结构方程模型等方法进行数据分析,结果发现:(1)高承诺组织对员工建言行为(包括上行建言和平行建言)有显著的促进作用;(2)员工知觉到组织内的职业机会在高承诺组织和上行建言之间起部分中介作用;工作满意度在高承诺组织和平行建言之间起部分中介作用;(3)工作绩效在知觉到职业机会和上行建言之间起正向调节作用;人际关系在工作满意度和平行建言之间起正向调节作用;(4)不光如此,工作绩效还调节着"高承诺组织-知觉职业机会-上行建言"这一中介路径;人际关系还调节着"高承诺组织-工作满意感-平行建言"这一中介路径。文章最后对所得结果、理论和实践意义及未来研究做了讨论。     

Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure: Can They Survive in the Market Place of Ideas?

Recently academic freedom and academic tenure have been in the media spotlight because of concerns that academic freedom is being misused and that academic tenure provides job security to a select few. First, this paper provides a brief history of these two institutions and follow with an analysis using Stone’s (2002) policy analysis format. Second, this paper examines the university through two lenses: (a) an economic market lens; and (b) a community lens. These two lenses offer contrasting views of the university and help explain the different views of academic freedom and tenure. The authors suggest that faculty make use of the economic model to increase their chances of maintaining tenure in a university atmosphere frequently characterized by a business approach rather than a collegial one. Recommendations for future research are also provided.     

Turnover intentions of the faculty at a teaching-focused university

Research on turnover in academia suggests faculty primarily resign to obtain higher salaries and for personal reasons; however, the samples of most such studies have been from research institutions. Correlates were examined for turnover intentions among 190 faculty members at a university that emphasized teaching. Although current turnover intention was low, seven measures of satisfaction explained 31.5% of the variability in turnover intent, and satisfaction with pay, work itself, and teaching/service load together explained 26% of the variance. Findings support the hypothesis that salary is an important element in explaining turnover consideration at teaching institutions. Although satisfaction with collegial relations was related significantly to turnover intent, it was not as important as some of the other characteristics.     

Predicting staff retention from employee motivation and job satisfaction

This study investigated the role of employee motivation and job satisfaction as predictors of staff retention in a foreign exchange bank. Participants were 341 employees of a South African foreign exchange bank division (female?=?62.8%; black?=?31.1%; managers?=?37%, mean years of experience?=?10 years). The employees completed the following self-report measures: Work Preference Inventory, Job Satisfaction Survey, and Employee Retention Questionnaire. Structural equation modelling was applied in the analysis to test the prediction effect of employee motivation and job satisfaction on staff retention. The findings of the model fit revealed that the model (employee motivation and employee job satisfaction) explained an estimated 46% of the variance in the employee retention construct. The job satisfaction construct in the model explained an estimated 66% of the variance in the employee retention construct; while the employee motivation construct explained only 8% of the variance. Organisational talent management should seek to identify employee motivation and job satisfaction interventions that might help to retain talented staff.     

Dysfunctional beliefs, self-monitoring, and marital conflict

Relationships among relationship beliefs, self-monitoring and conflict behavior were examined in 74 married couples. It was predicted that dysfunctional relationship beliefs would be negatively correlated with marital satisfaction and that high self-monitoring spouses would endorse more dysfunctional relationship beliefs and display more disagreeing and leadership conflict behavior. Dysfunctional beliefs were negatively correlated with satisfaction but low and high self-monitors did not differ in their conflict behavior. Discriminant analyses indicated that marital distress was a function of endorsement of dysfunctional relationship beliefs; decreased satisfaction with decisions; increased conflict relevance; and increased impression management reflected in high self-monitoring orientations among husbands and wives’ beliefs that their husbands were not behaving “normally.” The contribution of gender and impression management to marital distress is discussed. This study was funded by a University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty research grant awarded to the author.     

Aspirations and wellbeing in Romanian and US undergraduates

Updating cross-cultural research of the past decade on the relationship between life aspirations and wellbeing, we compared Romanian (N=69) and US (N=64) undergraduates on the contribution of the importance and likelihood of attaining intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations to psychological maladjustment and life satisfaction, and on the qualitative meaning they assign to financial success. Similarly to prior studies, we found that extrinsic and intrinsic aspirations tended to be either negatively or positively correlated with life satisfaction, respectively; however, wealth predicted life satisfaction for Romanian students. Unlike previous research, we found generally negative relationships between intrinsic aspirations and psychological maladjustment. Although there were no differences between Romanian and US undergraduates on extrinsic and intrinsic orientation, on the overall importance of attaining aspirations, or on specific extrinsic and intrinsic aspirations, Romanian students expressed weaker expectations of fulfilling intrinsic aspirations than did US students. Finally, the groups produced similar rankings of aspirations and assigned similar meaning to financial success. The results favored a social cognitive rather than a self-determination model of psychological wellbeing in that expectations for attaining aspirations were more often predictive of life satisfaction than were their content. We interpret these findings and their convergence and departure from earlier research in terms of political economic, demographic, and cultural factors. We encourage future cross-cultural investigations of the social construction of aspirations, subsidiation of seemingly contradictory aspirations to each other, and cognitive and ecological mediation of the complex relationship of aspirations to psychological functioning.     

A dark side of leadership: Corporate psychopathy and its influence on employee well-being and job satisfaction

Although psychopathy often is considered the most toxic of the “types” that make up the Dark Triad of personality (psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism), its role in organizational leadership is the least explored. Using the B-Scan 360, a measure of corporate psychopathy, we investigated the relationships among employees’ perceptions of psychopathic traits in their supervisors, employee psychological distress, work–family conflict, and job satisfaction. Participants in two different samples, one civic and the other financial, rated their supervisors with the B-Scan 360, and completed self-report measures of psychological distress, work–family conflict, and job satisfaction. Structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that in each sample B-Scan 360 scores of supervisors were directly and negatively related to employee job satisfaction. The two samples differed somewhat in the associations of the B-Scan 360 with employee psychological distress and work–family conflict. Overall, the results illustrate the effects of perceived psychopathic traits in supervisors on employee well-being and job-related attitudes.     

Job Satisfaction of Child Welfare Workers in an Urban Setting: Status and Predictors

Large urban areas present many challenges to those children and adults who reside in those settings. The social service workers in urban areas have clients with complex, multiple needs. Reliable and consistent workers are essential to successfully working with these families. In the current study, the job satisfaction of 29 social service workers in an urban child welfare agency was assessed using the Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS). The JSS measures satisfaction in 7 areas of one's job (i.e., work, supervision, coworkers, pay and promotion, work environment, training, and position). Data indicated that the staff were relatively satisfied, that satisfaction did not vary by staff position (family worker vs. social worker/supervisor), and that neither demographic factors nor prior experiences were predictors of job satisfaction. Implications for agency management and the provision of social services to urban families are discussed.     

Be mindful in love: Exploring the interpersonal effects of spouse mindfulness on employee work and family outcomes

Mindfulness has received increasing attention from scholars and practitioners, and considerable research has demonstrated the intrapersonal effects of mindfulness at work or at home. Research to date, however, has overlooked potential interpersonal effects of mindfulness across the work and family domains. Drawing on the spillover-crossover model and the mindfulness literature, we investigate the effects of spouse mindfulness at home on employee work and family outcomes. We test our model using dyadic experience-sampling data collected from 125 focal employees and their spouses over 10 consecutive workdays. The results indicated that, at the within-person level, spouse mindfulness at home was positively associated with employee authentic emotional sharing at home, which, in turn, was positively associated with employee positive effect at home but negatively associated with employee negative affect at home. The results also indicated that spouse mindfulness at home had a positive indirect effect on family satisfaction at home and work engagement during the next morning through enhancing employee authentic emotional sharing at home. We discuss the implications of these findings and directions for the mindfulness research.     

APPLYING UNCERTAINTY MANAGEMENT THEORY TO EMPLOYEE VOICE BEHAVIOR: AN INTEGRATIVE INVESTIGATION

Drawing on uncertainty management theory, this study integrates justice research with the elaboration likelihood model and considers employee voice behavior as a function of 3 (interpersonal, procedural, and distributive) facets of justice perceptions in combination. Specifically, a positive relationship is hypothesized between interpersonal justice and employee voice behavior, which is buffered by high procedural justice. This 2‐way interaction effect is also examined to determine whether it would be mitigated by low distributive justice. Results from a sample of 395 manager–employee dyads provide support for these predictions. Furthermore, results from a supplementary analysis show that the 3‐way interaction effect on employee voice behavior was more pronounced for those who had a high feeling of uncertainty (i.e., those with a shorter job tenure or occupational tenure). Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.