Work Values Among Lebanese Workers

Abstract

On the basis of a review of the existing literature, the authors tested 4 hypotheses to determine the applicability of work values in Arab societies to employees in Lebanese organizations. Only 1 hypothesis was supported: Organizational policies that ran counter to the worker's religious values had an adverse effect on job satisfaction. There was no support for the hypotheses (a) that workers' religiosity is inversely related to positive attitudes toward women's involvement at work, (b) that employee satisfaction is related to a mechanistic organizational design, or (c) that workers with an internal locus of control experience higher job satisfaction. The Lebanese workers, thus, did not appear to share some of the attributes claimed to exist in Arab societies.     

Identity Horizons Among Finnish Postsecondary Students: A Comparative Analysis

This article examines the identity horizons of postsecondary students in Finland—a country in which social welfare provisions buffer education-to-work transitions—comparing their identity horizons to those previously reported for U.S. and Japanese students. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed scalar invariance of the Finnish version of the Identity Horizons Scales with the English and Japanese versions. Latent mean comparisons found that Finnish students had the broadest educational and work horizons, and the lowest education-to-work identity anxiety. Finnish men reported lower levels of educational horizons and higher levels of identity anxiety than Finnish women, replicating previous findings. Social class differences were also detected, with higher levels of identity anxiety and narrower educational horizons among those whose parents had no postsecondary education. Based on the apparent impacts on identity development of the different educational policies in the three countries, results are discussed in terms of policy implications supporting more effective education-to-work transitions.     

Work orientation vs hygienic orientation: A bi-polar approach to the study of work motivation

Based on the work of Herzberg and associates 1959 a bi-polar measure of work orientation vs hygienic orientation was constructed. In addition to providing reliability estimates, the convergent and discriminant validity is shown through correlation of the measure with other measures of work motivation, personality measures, values, and abilities. Finally, criterion-related validity is shown by correlating the new measure with supervisor's ratings of how long it will take newly hired college graduates to reach the third level of management.     

Counterproductive Work Behavior Among Chinese Knowledge Workers

The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency and antecedents of Chinese knowledge workers’ counterproductive work behavior (CWB) by using a self‐developed indigenous scale. The paper consisted of two studies. Study 1 developed an indigenous measure of knowledge workers’ CWB. Study 2 investigated the frequencies and antecedents of Chinese knowledge workers’ CWB using the indigenous measure with a sample of 366 participants. The results showed that CWB among Chinese knowledge workers was rather prevalent. The results also showed that personality variables (i.e., agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and locus of control) were more important than other variables (e.g., demographic and job characteristics) in predicting CWB.     

Perceptions of Work Performance Recognition Among Educators

Educators from several states were surveyed to determine their perceptions about the importance of work performance recognition. Results suggested that educators want to receive recognition for their work performance and that recognition would assist in improving their overall work performance and professional development. Data from this study suggest that recognition of teacher performance may be a viable means for school administrators to improve teacher performance in a manner that is both effective and efficient. Implications and future research are discussed.     

The motivation question

Philosophical Studies - How does it happen that our beliefs about what we ought to do cause us to intend to do what we believe we ought to do? This is what John Broome calls the “motivation...     

The Impact of Work Resources on Job Stress Among Correctional Treatment Staff

In an exploratory study of the relationship between resources in the work environment and job stress, correctional treatment staff members reporting quality personal relationships in the work environment also experienced fewer stressors at work.     

Literacy Development Among Language Minority Background and Dyslexic Children in Finnish Orthography Context

This study examines the development of reading and writing from first to second grade in transparent orthography (Finnish) among three groups: language minority children (n = 49), Finnish children at risk of reading difficulties (n = 347), and Finnish speaking children (n = 1747). Findings indicated that reading and writing skills in the language minority group and the Finnish classmates’ group developed at the same level by the end of second grade, but the development of children at risk of reading difficulties was slower across time. This finding indicates that the transparency of written language has an effect on success in literacy development with language minority children.     

Morning Passages from Home to Work Among Managers in Israel: Intergender Differences

This paper presents a study on morning passages from home to work. The sample consisted of 226 Israeli parents working in managerial positions (136 men and 90 women). Eighty percent of the participants were Israeli-born, and the rest immigrated to Israel at a young age. In the study, I examined gender differences in emphasis on domestic and work activities at 3 main transitional stages in the morning: home transitions (30 min before leaving for work), on the way to work, and at work (the first 30 min after arrival at work). The findings indicate that in the home-transition women focused more on domestic tasks than on work tasks, whereas men showed the opposite tendency. On the way to work, women tended to intensify their involvement in work activities, but remained strongly concerned with domestic activities. Men, however, focused primarily on work tasks during this transition. In the work transition, both men and women were more concerned with work tasks than domestic tasks. Therefore, even though men and women focused on different tasks in the initial transition, by the time they arrived at the workplace, they were immersed to the same extent in work activities. Furthermore, the participants' age, children's ages, and years of marriage correlated negatively with emphasis on domestic tasks during the home transition regardless of gender.     

Crossover of Weekly Work Engagement Among Dual-Working Couples

Purpose

Based on crossover theory and the actor-partner interdependence model, the purpose of this study was to investigate the crossover process of work engagement among Chinese dual-working couples.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Fifty-one dual-working couples first completed a general questionnaire to collect basic demographic information and then completed a weekly diary over five consecutive work weeks.

Findings

The results of multilevel analyses showed that (1) actor’s work engagement had a significant impact on his or her own work performance, (2) communication quality between the dual-working couples moderated the crossover of work engagement, but this effect was only found from husbands to wives and when women scored high on communication quality, (3) when men were treated as actors, the actor’s work engagement interacted with communication quality to relate to the partner’s work performance, through the mediating mechanism of the partner’s work engagement.

Implications

Dual-working couples should communicate with each other frequently through sharing positive experiences, and each member of the couple should support the partner through concrete actions. Organizations should adequately facilitate employees’ engagement, as engaged employees can not only positively influence their colleagues but also their partners at home.

Originality/Value

Previous research on work engagement has focused mainly on static and cross-sectional studies, and most studies on crossover have been conducted primarily in the context of western cultures, whereas systematic and empirical study of oriental cultures, especially Chinese cultures, is relatively scarce. The current study explored the crossover process of work engagement among Chinese dual-working couples using a diary study methodology.

     

The Nature of Satisfaction With Subordinates: Its Predictors and Importance to Supervisors

Two studies examined supervisors' satisfaction with subordinates, and its predictors and importance to supervisors. Study 1 found entity relationships in the form of similarity between supervisors' and subordinates' values were uniquely related to satisfaction with subordinates. Liking of subordinates (from LMX theory) appears to link leadership and job-satisfaction domains. In Study 2, entity relationships, functional relationships, and job performance of subordinates were related to supervisors' satisfaction with subordinates. Functional relationships were the strongest and job performance the next strongest predictors. Performance was related moderately to similarity of supervisors' and subordinates' values and functional relationships. Satisfaction with subordinates was not related to supervisors' global satisfaction and turnover intention in either study, suggesting that subordinates may not be very important to supervisors.     

Relationships Among Conflict Management Styles,Levels of Conflict,and Reactions to Work

Abstract

Relationships among (a) conflict management styles, (b) levels of conflict, (c) two general reactions to work, and (d) four types of individual outcomes experienced by employees in the United States were assessed in two studies. In Study 1, subordinates using a high-obliging style with supervisors experienced more intrapersonal conflict, supervisors using a high-integrating style with subordinates reported more intrapersonal and intragroup conflict, and low-dominating supervisors reported significantly greater intragroup conflict. In Study 2, high-integrating subordinates experienced less intrapersonal, intragroup, and intergroup conflict than low-integrating subordinates did. The results of analyses also indicated that there was a strong relationship between integrating and all six organizational outcomes. Lower job satisfaction and fewer interpersonal rewards were associated with a high-dominating style. Both integrating and compromising were positively related to interpersonal outcomes, and dominating and avoiding were negatively related to interpersonal outcomes. Finally, the more conflict individuals experienced on the job, the lower their job satisfaction and their outcomes were.     

Measurement of Religiosity and Work Obligations Among Israeli Youth

Abstract

The relationship between religiosity and the obligation work norm (Harpaz, 1985, 1986) was studied using a sample of Jewish respondents in Israel. The participants were 102 students, half of them religious and the rest secular. All the subjects had had some work experience. A 15-item questionnaire presented hypothetical events for which declared obligation (intrinsic and extrinsic) was measured. Level of obligation was significantly higher in the religious group than in the nonreligious group. However, extrinsic obligations that were not considered as relevant to Jewish ethical laws (e.g., paying taxes) were not higher in the religious group.