Enhancing quality of work life in India: the role of workplace flexibility

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 234-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mansi Rastogi ◽  
Santosh Rangnekar ◽  
Renu Rastogi

PurposeIt has been claimed that workplace flexibility is beneficial for employees as well as employers. However, not many studies have attempted to examine the impact of workplace flexibility on employees. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of flexibility dimensions on quality of work life (QWL) of employees.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from a sample of 380 middle-level employees from service and manufacturing sector in India. Analyses were carried out using multiple regressions with the help of SPSS AMOS 21.FindingsFlexibility in time and place as well as operations has a significant impact on QWL of middle-level employees. Additionally, flexibility in time and place is indicated to be a strong predictor for enhanced QWL particularly for married female employees as compared to their male counterparts. The type of organisation and sector also influences QWL of middle-level employees.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has projected theoretical justification indicating how workplace flexibility satisfies needs of middle-level employees and promotes their QWL. It contributes to positive psychology literature by illustrating empirical evidence supporting the crucial role of flexibility at workplace in enhancing QWL of employees in India.Practical implicationsThe findings may be valuable in all kinds of organisational settings when reviewing and proposing motivational employee well-being related policies. The empirical findings may have practical implications when it comes to designing jobs for enhanced work engagement.Originality/valueThe variables examined in this study reflect an understanding about how support mechanism at workplace creates a positive effect in employees’ well-being in unique cultural settings of India. Thus, this study is a significant contribution to the well-being literature in India.

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 396-408
Author(s):  
Mohit Yadav ◽  
Santosh Rangnekar ◽  
Anugamini Priya Srivastava

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of quality of work life (QWL) on organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) of employees. Also, the paper examines the role of demographic variables, i.e. gender, position and type of organization as moderators of relationship between QWL and OCB. Design/methodology/approach A survey with sample of 375 was used in this study. PROCESS tool by Hayes (2013) was used to analyze the relation between QWL, OCB and demographic variables. Findings QWL was found to positively influence OCB. Gender and type of organization were found to moderate the relationship, whereas position failed to moderate the relation significantly. Practical implications The study reinforced the significance of QWL practices by organizations to improve extra-role behaviours of employees. Also, importance of considering gender and the industry you are in is emphasized in using and designing the QWL programme for employees. Originality/value While many antecedents have been studied in relation to OCB, QWL is rarely discussed. The paper attempts to reemphasize QWL’s importance in doing so in light of demographic variables as moderators.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vartika Kapoor ◽  
Jaya Yadav ◽  
Lata Bajpai ◽  
Shalini Srivastava

PurposeThe present study examines the mediating role of teleworking and the moderating role of resilience in explaining the relationship between perceived stress and psychological well-being of working mothers in India. Conservation of resource theory (COR) is taken to support the present study.Design/methodology/approachThe data of 326 respondents has been collected from working mothers in various sectors of Delhi NCR region of India. Confirmatory factor analysis was used for construct validity, and SPSS Macro Process (Hayes) was used for testing the hypotheses.FindingsThe results of the study found an inverse association between perceived stress and psychological well-being. Teleworking acted as a partial mediator and resilience proved to be a significant moderator for teleworking-well-being relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based at Delhi NCR of India, and future studies may be based on a diverse population within the country to generalize the findings in different cultural and industrial contexts. The present work is based only on the psychological well-being of the working mothers, it can be extended to study the organizational stress for both the genders and other demographic variables.Practical implicationsThe study extends the research on perceived stress and teleworking by empirically testing the association between perceived stress and psychological well-being in the presence of teleworking as a mediating variable. The findings suggest some practical implications for HR managers and OD Practitioners. The organizations must develop a plan to support working mothers by providing flexible working hours and arranging online stress management programs for them.Originality/valueAlthough teleworking is studied previously, there is a scarcity of research examining the impact of teleworking on psychological well-being of working mothers in Asian context. It would help in understanding the process that how teleworking has been stressful for working mothers and also deliberate the role of resilience in the relationship between teleworking and psychological well-being due to perceived stress, as it seems a ray of hope in new normal work situations.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saira Hanif Soroya ◽  
Tehmina Sarwar ◽  
Muhammad Shahid Soroya

PurposeJob performance (JP) of employees is a key indicator of success for any organization; however, job performance is dependent on many factors including personal and organizational. The current study aims to investigate this phenomenon concerning the quality of work-life (QoWL).Design/methodology/approachThe study design was quantitative, and a questionnaire was filled by 130 professional librarians based on a convenient sampling technique. The research population was academic information professionals (IPs) serving the university libraries of Lahore, Pakistan. Data were analyzed using SPSS (20.0).FindingsJob career satisfaction is proved a key indicator of JP along with job control and general well-being (GWB). Counterproductive work behavior (CWB), which is a negative behavior, is significantly affected by poor job satisfaction (JS), stress, feelings of unhappiness and low workplace autonomy.Practical implicationsThe study suggests that if poor JS, stress, feelings of unhappiness and low workplace autonomy could be manipulated positively, CWB may be reduced and there are chances to improve the JP of IPs.Originality/valueThis is one of the first attempts that focuses on QoWL and its impact on JP of IPs. The study findings may help leaders and library administration to take employees' friendly decisions to provide a conducive work environment.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shazia Nauman ◽  
Connice Zheng ◽  
Ameer A. Basit

PurposeThis study contributes to the leadership literature by examining how and when despotic leadership jeopardizes employees' performance. Specifically, we examine whether employees' job performance could be harmed by despotic supervision through employees' work withdrawal behaviour. Moreover, we investigate whether the quality of work-life (QWL) helps in toning down the harmful effects of despotic supervision on work withdrawal.Design/methodology/approachWe used a multi-wave research design with data collected from 195 employees and their supervisors working in Pakistan's manufacturing sector. At time 1, we measured the independent variable (i.e. despotic leadership) and moderator (QWL), whereas, at time-2, the mediator (work withdrawal) was tapped by the same respondent with a time interval of three weeks between them. At time 3, the outcome (supervisor-rated job performance) was assessed directly by the supervisors.FindingsThe results support the mediating effect between despotic leadership and employees' performance through an enhanced level of work withdrawal behaviour. The effect of despotic leadership on job performance via work withdrawal behaviour was found to be weaker among employees with a higher level of QWL.Practical implicationsFor individuals, QWL serves as an enhancement of personal resources to deal with despotic leaders at the workplace; for organizations, our study results alert managers and leaders at the workplace to address employees' need for QWL as this positive resource may discourage work withdrawal behaviour and stimulate employees to perform well in their jobs despite facing despotic supervision.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the leadership literature by introducing work withdrawal as an underlying mechanism to explain the despotic leadership – job performance relationship. Further, we examined how the harmful effects of despotic leadership can be toned down through the moderating variable of QWL thus having practical implications for both employers and employees.


2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 1638-1657 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taegoo (Terry) Kim ◽  
Osman M. Karatepe ◽  
Gyehee Lee ◽  
Seungjae Lee ◽  
Kyungsuk Hur ◽  
...  

Purpose This study aims to investigate quality of work life (QWL) as a partial mediator of the impact of psychological capital (PsyCap) on service recovery performance (SRP) and turnover intentions (TI). Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained from 288 frontline employees in ten five-star hotels with a one-month time lag in three waves in Busan, Korea. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the direct and mediating effects. Findings As expected, PsyCap heightens QWL and SRP, while it reduces propensity to leave the current organization. QWL partially mediates the association between PsyCap and the two critical outcomes. Practical Implications Management of hotels should recognize the importance of PsyCap and assess candidates’ PsyCap during selection process. Using the PsyCap questionnaire, organizations can select candidates who possess positive personal resources. In addition, hotels may consider the assessment of frontline employees’ PsyCap to ascertain which employees can succeed in challenging situations. It is also important to create a healthy and happy environment where employees are willing to be more productive and contribute more to organizational performance. Originality/value The extant hospitality research is devoid of empirical evidence about the outcomes of PsyCap and QWL such as SRP.


2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 1348-1362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saima Ahmad ◽  
Syed Muhammad Fazal-E-Hasan ◽  
Ahmad Kaleem

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between ethical leadership and academics’ retention in universities. It draws on the conservation of resources theory to deepen the understanding of a process underlying this relationship whereby academics are more likely to stay in universities through the practice of ethical leadership. Specifically, it advances academics’ job-related affective well-being as a potential mediating mechanism, fostered by ethical leadership, which lowers their intention to leave. Design/methodology/approach This study is conducted through a cross-sectional survey of 303 academics in Australian universities. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis procedures are deployed to analyse academics’ data. The research hypotheses are tested through a bootstrapped regression analysis of academics’ perceived ethical leadership, affective well-being and intention to leave. Findings The findings lend support to the hypothesised relations, indicating a significant role of ethical leadership on enhanced intentions of academics to stay in universities by directly conserving their job-related affective well-being. Research limitations/implications This paper contributes to knowledge of the relationship between ethical leadership and academics’ retention by identifying job-related affective well-being as an underlying mechanism in the university sector. Practical implications This paper has practical implications for higher educational institutes seeking to retain their academic staff. Its findings show that the practice of ethical leadership in universities matters, because it lowers academics’ intentions to leave by nurturing their well-being at work. Originality/value This is the first study to examine the impact of ethical leadership on academics’ well-being and intentions to leave in the context of universities in Australia. It is one of the first studies to explore the mediating role of affective well-being in the ethical leadership and leadership and intention to leave relationship.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chien-Chih Kuo ◽  
Chih-Ying Wu ◽  
Chia-Wu Lin

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of supervisor gossip in the workplace. This paper proposes a hypothetical model in which supervisor gossip has an effect on leader-member exchange (LMX), in turn resulting in perceived supervisor ostracism among subordinates. Design/methodology/approach A dyadic research design was applied to collect data from Taiwanese employees. Supervisors participated in a survey containing measures of supervisor gossip and control variables, whereas subordinates responded to a questionnaire on LMX, perceived supervisor ostracism, and control variables. Findings The results indicated that positive supervisor gossip significantly affected LMX. Furthermore, healthy LMX reduced subordinates’ perceptions of supervisor ostracism. Research limitations/implications All participants were recruited in Taiwan, which is a limitation for generalising the research findings. Future studies should investigate multiple societies of various cultural profiles. Practical implications To improve the quality of the supervisor-subordinate relationship, supervisors should adopt a positive informal communication style, and organisations should provide supervisors with information regarding the implications of workplace gossip, illustrating the substantial benefits of positive gossip and the potential drawbacks of negative gossip. Originality/value The present study highlighted the role of supervisor workplace gossip in the field of leadership and empirically investigated the impact of supervisor gossip on subordinates’ reactions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 294-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Nordin ◽  
Marina Romeo ◽  
Montserrat Yepes-Baldó ◽  
Kristina Westerberg

Purpose Hierarchical and flat organizational types are predominant in Spain and Sweden, respectively. To study how managers’ commitment and work overcommitment (WOC) affect employee well-being, and job perception in these different countries can shed insight on how to improve eldercare organization. The purpose of this paper was to study the association between eldercare employee exposure to managers’ commitment and WOC, and employee mental well-being and job perception and how these associations differed between Spain and Sweden. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire with validated questions on commitment, WOC, mental well-being and job perception, operationalized as the perception of quality of care and turnover intent, was sent out to eldercare managers and employees in Spain and Sweden. t-Tests, χ2 and linear regression were applied to study the associations and differences between the countries. Findings Interaction analyses revealed that Spanish employees’ mental well-being and job perception were influenced by their managers’ commitment and WOC in that manager commitment improved and WOC impaired well-being and job perception. However, the Swedish eldercare employees were not influenced by their managers on these parameters. Practical implications The impact of managerial commitment and WOC differed between employees in Spain and Sweden, possibly because the preconditions for leadership varied due to differences in organizational type. Originality/value This study compares the managers’ impact on employee health and job perception in two countries with different organizational prerequisites. Moreover, managers’ commitment and WOC were estimated by the managers themselves and did not rely on the employees’ perception, which improved ecological validity.


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