Job insecurity climate's influence on employees' job attitudes: Evidence from two European countries

An important amount of literature about job insecurity and its consequences has been developed during the past few decades (Sverke, Hellgren, & Näswall, 2002 Sverke, M., Hellgren, J. and Näswall, K. 2002. No security: A meta-analysis and review of job insecurity and its consequences. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 7(3): 242–264. [Crossref], [PubMed] , [Google Scholar]). Most of this research has focused on an individual-analysis perspective, without taking into account social context. Although job insecurity climate has not been empirically examined, several authors have implicitly assumed that job insecurity contexts exist in some organizations where layoffs have occurred. Therefore, they examined layoff survivors' reactions. From this perspective, the aim of this study was to validate the job insecurity climate concept and examine its influence on employees' job attitudes. In order to provide additional support, this objective was examined in two samples: 428 employees belonging to 20 Spanish organizations and 550 employees in 18 Belgian organizations. The results showed that job insecurity climate emerged within the organizations in both samples, and that it influenced employees' job satisfaction and organizational commitment above and beyond individual perceptions of job insecurity in the Spanish sample. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed.     

Authenticity,employee silence,prohibitive voice,and the moderating effect of organizational identification

Authenticity is an important concept in positive psychology and has been shown to be related to well-being, health, and leadership effectiveness. The present paper introduces employee authenticity as a predictor of relevant workplace behaviors, namely employee silence and prohibitive voice. Converging evidence across two studies using cross-sectional and longitudinal designs demonstrates that when responding to hypothetical problematic workplace events (Study 1) or actual workplace experiences (Study 2), individual differences in employees’ authenticity predicted more self-reported voice behaviors and less silence that emanated from various motivations. Furthermore, authenticity scores consistently yielded predictive utility over and above the contribution of a broad set of individual and organization-based characteristics. Finally, organizational identification moderated the relation between authenticity and silence, such that for employees with high levels of identification, the relation between authenticity and silence was stronger.     

Positive organizational psychology,behavior, and scholarship: A review of the emerging literature and evidence base

The positive psychology movement seems to have stimulated new research and applications well beyond the discipline of traditional psychology. Among the various areas of inquiry, research and scholarship about positive organizations have received considerable attention from both researchers and practitioners. The current review examined the scholarly literature published between 2001 and 2009 on positive organizational psychology to provide a detailed picture of the current state of the field. This review sought to discover the overall growth rate, trends, and prevalent topics in the literature. It also aspired to provide an understanding of the empirical evidence for each topic through in-depth reviews. The findings suggest that there is a growing body of scholarly literature and an emerging empirical evidence base on topics related to positive organizations. Strengths, limitations, and implications of building a practical knowledge base for making significant improvements in the quality of working life and organizational effectiveness are discussed.     

Implementing climate equity: the case of Europe

For over two decades, international environmental equity – the fair and just sharing of the burdens associated with environmental changes – has been the subject of much debate by philosophers, activists and diplomats concerned about climate change. It has been manifested in many international environmental agreements, notably the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. The question arises as to whether it is being put into practice in this context. Are the requirements of international environmental equity merely words and principles in international instruments, or are they having a practical effect on the policies of state governments? This article aims to start answering these questions. It examines whether the European Union (EU) and its member states are sharing the burdens of climate change. The article introduces equity in the context of the climate change agreements and looks at some normative and practical considerations. It suggests that Europe has been a leader on international equity in the climate change negotiations over the last decade, and it points to what European states and the EU have done to take on some of the burdens of climate change. Europe's actions are briefly assessed from practical and normative perspectives. Europe is doing more than any other part of the world to address climate change and to share the burdens associated with it. Nevertheless, Europe is not doing as much to address this problem as it can and should do. Both practical and normative imperatives demand more urgent action by Europe to implement climate equity.     

Effects of Organizational Level and Gender on Stress in the Workplace

Occupational stress adversely affects productivity, absenteeism, and job turnover, and contributes to health-related problems. The effects of organizational level and gender on the specific sources of occupational stress assessed by the Job Stress Survey (JSS) were evaluated for a heterogeneous sample of 1,791 working adults (860 males, 931 females) employed in 2 industrial companies and a large state university. Significant main or interactive effects of organizational level and/or gender were found for the JSS Item Index, Severity and/or Frequency scores of 29 of the 30 JSS items. Organizational level effects were both more numerous and larger in magnitude than gender effects. Employees at higher organizational levels reported that they experienced stress more often while making critical decisions and dealing with crisis situations than did workers at lower levels, for whom inadequate salary and lack of opportunity for advancement were more stressful. For males, work stress was more strongly related to concerns about their role in the power structure of an organization, whereas female employees reported experiencing more severe stress when there was a conflict between job requirements and family relationships.     

当代情绪发展理论述评

本文从情绪的定义、情绪发展的实质、情绪在个体发展中的作用等方面,评述了当代比较有影响的情绪发展理论不同的情绪发展观。这些情绪发展理论有生物观点、机能主义观点、认知观点、组织观点和社会文化观点。     

Rule Violations in Intercollegiate Athletics: A Qualitative Investigation Utilizing an Organizational Justice Framework

Cheating and rule violations in intercollegiate athletics continue to be relevant issues in many institutions of higher education because they reflect upon the integrity of the institutions in which they are housed, causing concern among many faculty members, administrators, and trustees. Although a great deal of research has documented the numerous rule violations in NCAA intercollegiate athletics, much of it has failed to combine sound theory with practical solutions. The purpose of this study was to examine the possible extensions of the organizational justice framework to the problem of rule violations in intercollegiate athletics. In doing so, the current study examined (a) perceived areas of injustice among coaches at NCAA Division I institutions, (b) avenues by which coaches resolve these injustices, and (c) potential solutions for resolving injustices in an attempt to reduce NCAA violations. Six NCAA Division I basketball coaches from various parts of the country (four from men's teams and two from women's teams) were interviewed using a semi-structured format. Despite the NCAA's efforts to create parity, results showed that coaches perceived several areas of inequities in recruiting, including financial resources and academic standards. The interviewed coaches described several means that are currently used to resolve these inequities and offered recommendations for changes to reduce injustice in the future.     

Applicant Perceptions of Test Fairness: Integrating Justice and Self-Serving Bias Perspectives

The justice perspective is the current dominant framework for research on applicant perceptions of test fairness. Recently, an emerging perspective suggests that self-serving bias mechanisms may be operative in the development of test fairness perceptions. Using data from 494 actual applicants to an entry-level State Police Trooper position, this study integrates both the justice and self-serving bias perspectives to achieve a better understanding of test fairness perceptions. Results from structural equation modeling show that perceived job-relevance affects perceived fairness. In addition, test performance affects both perceptions indirectly through perceived performance.     

Predictors of Participation in Performance Appraisal: A Voluntary System in a Blue-Collar Work Environment

Organisations have long acknowledged the value of performance appraisal in both administration decisions and in motivating employees. However, it would appear that most empirical research has focused on compulsory systems designed for use with executives and managers (Bannister and Balkin 1990; Ilgen, Fisher and Taylor 1979; Klein 1989). The reluctance to implement appraisal systems with lower level and base-grade employees may be due to several factors, including employee and union resistance to compulsory systems of appraisal (Nankervis 1990). Faced with this problem, appraisal can be viewed by appraisees and appraisers as an `innovation'. In a climate with growing emphasis on participative management styles, self-regulated or voluntary systems of performance appraisal may become increasingly prevalent and important. Thus, 476 base-grade (shop floor) employees of an Australian government business enterprise completed a survey regarding issues such as attitude to performance appraisal, source credibility, system satisfaction, anticipated feedback, perceived consequences of participation and intention to enter the system. Roger's (1983) innovation-decision model was utilised in the structure and analysis of the data and provided useful insights regarding the factors which are related to participation in a voluntary system of performance appraisal. Findings indicated that attitude towards, and support of, performance appraisal in general, perception of consequences of performance appraisal, satisfaction with the supervisor, anticipated feedback, and awareness and knowledge of the system in place in the organisation, were important in predicting the decision to adopt or reject the performance appraisal scheme.     

Can Civility Norms Boost Positive Effects of Management Commitment to Safety?

We proposed that civility norms would strengthen relationships between management commitment to safety and workers' safety motivation, safety behaviors, and injuries. Survey data were obtained from working adults in hazardous jobs—those for which physical labor is required and/or a realistic possibility of physical injury is present (N = 290). Results showed that management commitment positively related to workers' safety motivation, safety participation, and safety compliance, and negatively related to minor injuries. Furthermore, management commitment to safety displayed a stronger positive relationship with safety motivation and safety participation, and a stronger negative relationship with minor worker injuries when civility norms were high (versus low). The results confirm existing known relationships between management commitment to safety and worker safety motivation and behavior; furthermore, civility norms facilitate the relationships between management commitment to safety and various outcomes important to worker safety. In order to promote an optimally safe working environment, managers should demonstrate a commitment to worker safety and promote positive norms for interpersonal treatment between workers in their units.