The impact of personal characteristics, quality of working life and psychological well-being on job burnout among Iranian external auditors

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-205
Author(s):  
Mahdi Salehi ◽  
Fereshteh Seyyed ◽  
Shayan Farhangdoust

PurposeGiven the negative consequences of job burnout for both individual auditors and audit firms, the present study aims to examine the effect of auditors' personal characteristics, working life quality and psychological well-being on auditors' job burnout.Design/methodology/approachWe chose 240 auditors (junior, senior, manager and partner) who work at 53 audit and public accounting firms in Mashhad during 2015–2016 as our sample. The respondents were randomly selected and the data were gathered through the distribution of questionnaires of Walton’s (1973) quality of working, Ryff’s (1995) psychological well-being and Maslach and Jackson’s (1984) job burnout. We also employ structural equation modeling (SEM) along with statistical path analysis to test our hypotheses by using R statistical software.FindingsConsistent with our expectations and prior literature, our findings suggest that auditors' job burnout is significantly and positively influenced by auditors' personal traits, quality of working life and psychological well-being.Originality/valueThe present study is quite remarkable and unique in that it focuses on a specific audit market where there are significant differences in socio-economic, political and cultural factors with those of Western or European developed markets. The results provided in this paper could be fruitful for auditors, regulators and policymakers.

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 571-591
Author(s):  
Toyin Ajibade Adisa ◽  
Gbolahan Gbadamosi

Purpose In recent years, there has been a rapid decline in the quality of working life (QWL) of Nigerian workers at all levels. This phenomenon is cryptic and knowledge thereof is inadequate due to a dearth of compelling research on QWL in Nigeria. The purpose of this paper is to a deeper understanding of QWL among Nigerian workers by investigating the impact of corruption and regional crises on QWL in this non-western context. The study also examines what QWL means to Nigerian employees. Design/methodology/approach The study employs qualitative data gleaned from semi-structured interviews. Findings The research reveals that corruption has a strongly negative effect on employees’ QWL, which in turn affects their motivation, attitude towards their job and the psychological contract between them and their employers. Furthermore, the findings revealed that regional crises (such as the heinous activities of the Boko Haram sect in the north–east, the continuing agitation of the secessionists (e.g. the Indigenous People of Biafra), in the south–east, and the tumultuous activities of the Niger Delta Avengers in the south–south) have combined to reduce employees’ QWL. Research limitations/implications The extent to which the findings of this research can be generalised is constrained by the selected sample of the research (public sector employees). Originality/value These results and the practical implications thereof will be useful to the Nigerian Government, policymakers and organisations for creating and enhancing good QWL in Nigeria.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Auditya Purwandini Sutarto ◽  
Shanti Wardaningsih ◽  
Wika Harisa Putri

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore to what extent employees' mental well-being affects their productivity while working from home (WFH) during the COVID-19 crisis and whether mental well-being and productivity differ across some socio-demographic factors.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional study with online questionnaires was designed with 472 valid responses in Indonesia. Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ) were administered. Non-parametric tests and structural equation modeling were employed to analyze the data.FindingsThe prevalence of depression was 18.4%, anxiety 46.4% and stress 13.1%, with relatively good productivity. Gender, age, education level, job experiences, marital status, number of children and nature of the organization were associated with the employees' psychological health but not with their productivity, while the workspace availability influenced both outcomes. The study path model showed the negative correlation between WFH employees' psychological well-being and productivity.Research limitations/implicationsThis study may contribute to the implication of current mandatory WFH on mental well-being and productivity. Further studies need to address the representativeness and generalizability issues as well as incorporating potential stressors.Practical implicationsOrganizations may adopt WFH as a future working arrangement and identify the individual and occupational characteristics that provide the most impacts on productivity. It is also necessary for them to develop proper strategies to mitigate the psychological risks and overcome the WFH challenges.Originality/valueThere is still a lack of studies investigating the relationship between simultaneous effects of WFH on psychological well-being and productivity, and how they affect some socio-demographic variables in the context of COVID-19.


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.


2018 ◽  
Vol 170 ◽  
pp. 01064 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Frolova ◽  
A. Kopytova ◽  
E. Matys

The article is devoted to the problem of evaluation of the working life quality of personnel of a modern Russian enterprise. On the basis of a survey of employees of enterprises in various spheres of activity in the Tyumen region using a full (dispensing) questionnaire, satisfactory and unsatisfactory criteria characterizing the quality of their working life are revealed. The research shows that within the framework of the motivational system, the provision of employees of the Tyumen region enterprises with social benefits ranks last, while the state's social policy is aimed at raising this indicator, at material and physical well-being, and at social and legal protection of the person. Social benefits and social guarantees form an important sphere of working life and contribute to a significant improvement in the quality of working life. Satisfaction with the work activity is formed under the influence of a large number of factors. Detailed study and analysis of each factor will improve the quality of working life of employees of the Tyumen region enterprises. The conducted research confirms that there are no violations in the sphere of legislative provision with social guarantees at the enterprises of the Tyumen region. This means that the payment of sick leave sheets and payments provided in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation are fully implemented without violating the deadlines. In addition, the civil rights of employees are respected and leave is granted in accordance with the schedule. On the basis of the study, the authors proposed ways to improve the quality of working life of employees in the Tyumen region.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yen Thi Tran ◽  
Nguyen Phong Nguyen ◽  
Trang Cam Hoang

Purpose By drawing on the institutional theory and contingency theory, this study aims to examine the effects of leadership and accounting capacity on the quality of financial reporting and accountability of public organisations in Vietnam. Furthermore, this paper is to determine the impact of financial reporting quality on accountability. Design/methodology/approach The research model and hypotheses have been tested by partial least squares structural equation modeling, with 177 survey samples obtained from accountants and managers working in the public sector in Vietnam. Findings The research results indicate that leadership and accounting capacity have a positive effect on financial reporting quality; leadership and accounting capacity positively influence accountability; and the quality of financial reporting has a positive impact on accountability. Research limitations/implications The research results provide empirical evidence of the direct impact of leadership and accounting capacity on financial reporting quality and accountability of public organisations in a developing country. Moreover, the current work also provides important evidence for the impact of financial reporting quality on accountability. Practical implications Public sector organisations must realise that leadership and accounting capacity play a vital role in the accounting reform process. Public institutions likewise need to pay attention to develop accounting capacity and promote leadership. Moreover, the results respond to the continuing call for increased citizen trust in public organisations. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the chain from leadership, accounting capacity, financial reporting quality and accountability in the context of public sector organisations in an Asian transition market.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 1823-1843
Author(s):  
Mastura Ab Wahab ◽  
Ekrem Tatoglu

PurposeThis study aims to examine the impact of chasing productivity demands on worker well-being and firm performance in manufacturing firms in Malaysia. Flexible work arrangements and human resources support are used as moderators to mitigate the adverse impacts associated with chasing productivity demands.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 213 workers from manufacturing firms through a survey questionnaire utilizing structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings of the study show that flexible work arrangements play a significant role in moderating the relationship between chasing productivity demands and well-being, and between chasing productivity demands and firm performance. The study also shows that flexible work arrangements are important to buffer the adverse effects of chasing productivity demands on worker well-being. In addition, flexible work arrangements strengthen the positive effect of worker well-being on firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis study highlights the importance of flexible work arrangements in overcoming the negative impact of the relationship between chasing productivity demands and worker well-being and strengthening the positive impact of the relationship between worker well-being and firm performance.Originality/valueThis study has extended the variable of chasing productivity demands in the existing literature on the job demands–job control model, specifically in manufacturing firms.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Avanish Bhai Patel

Purpose The incidents of elder victimisation and cases of victimisation, in general, are increasing fast in the society. These incidents have had negative impact on the sense of well-being and way of life of the older people. Therefore, fear of crime is being considered as a most concerning psycho-social problem amongst the older people in contemporary time. The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of crime rate on the well-being of the older people and examine the linkage between psychological factors and fear of crime amongst the older people. Design/methodology/approach The present study is based on the mixed method approach and an exploratory research designed applied to conduct the study. The field survey has been done from October 2012 to January 2013 on a sample of 220 older people of rural and urban areas of Lucknow in the state of Uttar Pradesh through purposive sampling. For the study, researcher has interviewed 137 male older people and 83 female older people through interview schedules and case studies. The data have been analysed through descriptive and narrative analysis. Findings The study finds that those older people have direct or indirect experience of victimisation, they have anxiety and feel insecurity that someone can victimise them. The study also finds that the happiness of older people is more affected due to anxiety and phobia and have higher level of feeling of fear of crime in their neighbourhood and home. The study also finds whenever anti-social elements are active in the neighbourhood and they commit crimes, fear of crime and anxiety grasp the older people to a large extent causing a fracture in their psychological well-being. Originality/value This work is the original work of researcher. This paper is related to the researcher’s PhD dissertation work. This paper talks about how the psychological well-being of older people affects due to nature of crime in neighbourhood, phobia of crime and anxiety due to criminal activities.


2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamta Kazemi Koohbanani ◽  
Atefeh Zarei ◽  
Nasrolah Erfani

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the librarians’ quality of working life (QWL) in the Iranian public libraries. Design/methodology/approach The present study is an applied research in terms of purpose and an analytical survey in terms of data collection and analysis method. The Walton standard questionnaire was used as the data collection tool. The statistical population of this research consists of librarians in the Iranian public libraries. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in order to analyze the data. Findings The findings showed that the dimensions of organizational social integration, constitutionalism in the organization and the capacity for human development are at a good level; the dimensions of the environment opportunity for continued growth and security and safe and healthy work are at a moderate level. Finally, the dimensions of fair and adequate payment, social relevance of work life and total life space are at a weak level are shown. Originality/value The findings of the confirmed hypothesis indicated that the librarians at the Iranian public libraries have a desirable (high) QWL.


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