Change ubiquity: employee perceptions of change prevalence from three countries

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulette L. Brazzale ◽  
Helena D. Cooper–Thomas ◽  
Jarrod Haar ◽  
Roy K. Smollan

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to address assumptions about the prevalence of change in human resource management (HRM) and organizational change literature, providing evidence from employee perceptions across three countries. The results indicate change was commonplace even before the pandemic disruptions of 2020.Design/methodology/approachGiven this study's exploratory, employee perspective, a cross-sectional self-report survey was used. Three survey panel samples were collected in 2017: US (n = 718), Australia (n = 501) and New Zealand (n = 516). Analysis of variance was used to test whether the prevalence of change differed significantly between countries or specific groups of employees. An analysis of comments on change types and emotional response provides further insights.FindingsThe paper provides evidence of the ubiquity of change: 73% of employees are experiencing change at work and 42% perceived it as moderate to massive, with little variation between countries. Employees commonly experience more than one change, with those experiencing large amounts of change reporting predominantly negative emotional impacts.Research limitations/implicationsThe research provides a snapshot across three countries during a prosperous and relatively stable period, providing a point of comparison for the turbulent times we have faced in 2020” as the publication date will be 2021 the current text may not work as well. Since change can be arduous, the authors recommend that HRM researchers consider change prevalence as a contextual factor, and practitioners heed employee reactions to change, particularly during periods of significant change.Originality/valueIn providing foundational evidence of change ubiquity in contemporary workplaces, this paper enables more accurate discussions regarding change.

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannes Zacher ◽  
Heiko Schulz

Purpose – In many countries, both the number of older people in need of care and the number of employed caregivers of elderly relatives will increase over the next decades. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which perceived organizational, supervisor, and coworker support for eldercare reduce employed caregivers’ strain and weaken the relationship between eldercare demands and strain. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were collected from 100 employed caregivers from one organization. Findings – Results showed that eldercare demands were positively related to strain, and perceived organizational eldercare support (POES) was negatively related to strain. In addition, high POES weakened the relationship between eldercare demands and strain. Research limitations/implications – The cross-sectional design and use of self-report scales constitute limitations of the study. Practical implications – POES is a resource for employed caregivers, especially when their eldercare demands are high. Originality/value – This research highlights the relative importance of different forms of perceived support for reducing employed caregivers’ strain and weakening the relationship between eldercare demands and strain.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 540-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Gkorezis ◽  
Eugenia Petridou ◽  
Katerina Lioliou

Purpose – Substantial research has examined the pivotal role of supervisor positive humor in generating employee outcomes. To date, though, little is known about the relationship between supervisor humor and newcomers’ adjustment. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this gap by examining the effect of supervisor positive humor on newcomers’ adjustment. In doing so, the authors highlighted relational identification with the supervisor as a mediating mechanism that explains the aforementioned association. Design/methodology/approach – Data were drawn from 117 newcomers. In order to collect the data the authors used the snowball method. Also, hierarchical regression analysis was conducted. Findings – The results demonstrated that supervisor positive humor affects employees’ relational identification with the supervisor which, in turn, positively relates to newcomers’ adjustment. Research limitations/implications – Data were collected using a cross-sectional design and, therefore, the authors cannot directly assess causality. Moreover, the authors used self-report measures which may strengthen the causal relationships. Originality/value – To the best of the knowledge, this is the first study that illustrates the role of supervisor humor in enhancing both newcomers’ relational identification and adjustment.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Azad Shokri ◽  
Ghobad Moradi ◽  
Amjad Mohamadi Bolbanabad ◽  
Mitra Satary ◽  
Mahin Shabrandi ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of the study is to investigate the perceived stigma among residents of Sanandaj, west of Iran, following COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach This is a cross-sectional study conducted from March to April 2020. The sample consisted of 1,000 participants who live in Sanandaj. The data collection tool was a self-report electronic questionnaire. ANOVA and T-test were used to analyze the data. Findings The mean perceived stigma for COVID-19 was 5.50±2.24 (IQR: 3.75–6.87) out of 10-point scale. The highest point was seen for perceived external stigma (6.73±2.49, IQR: 5–8.75) followed by disclosure stigma (4.95±3.92, IQR: 0–10). Interestingly, self-employers were more concerned about disclosing their illness than those with governmental jobs (25±3.93 vs. 4.31±4.14, P<0.05), and also had an overall higher stigma score; 5.72±2.23 vs. 5.19±2.37, P<0.05). Originality/value COVID-19 stigma is high among Iranians and more common among men, youngsters and self-employers.


2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 406-424
Author(s):  
John Dorey ◽  
Sangwan Kim ◽  
Yong-Chul Shin

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether abnormal returns to a fundamental signal (FS) strategy disappear after the publication of Abarbanell and Bushee (1998). Design/methodology/approach Using data on NYSE/AMEX firms from 1974 to 2012, this research estimates annual Fama and MacBeth (1973) cross-sectional regression of risk-adjusted buy-and-hold returns on the FSs after controlling for contemporaneous earnings changes and a proxy for market risk. Findings This paper finds that predictable hedge returns to the FSs substantially decrease and become statistically insignificant after the Abarbanell and Bushee’s publication date. This research also finds that the FSs have not lost their importance to equity valuation process; value relevance of the FSs has not diminished, and the FSs have retained their predictive ability over time. The evidence on changing information and trading environments appears to contribute to the disappearing abnormal returns to a FS strategy. Originality/value This paper adds to the growing body of literature on the persistence of pricing anomalies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 583-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brahim Herbane

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the experience, impact and likelihood of an acute business interruption, along with the perceived ability to intervene, influences the “threat orientation” of owner-managers in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK. The concept of “threat orientation” is introduced in this study as a way to eschew the binary view of whether an organisation does or does not have processes and capabilities to respond to acute interruptions. Design/methodology/approach – “Threat orientation” is operationalised and survey data are collected from 215 SMEs in the UK. Data from owner-managers are analysed using multiple regression techniques. Findings – The results of this study provide empirical evidence to highlight the importance of firm age rather than size as a determinant of the propensity to formalise activities to deal with acute interruptions. Recent experience and the ability to intervene were statistically significant predictors of threat orientation but the likelihood and concern about specific types of threat was not found to positively influence threat orientation. Research limitations/implications – Although the data are self-report in nature, the respondents in the study are the chief decision and policy makers in their organisations and thus it is essential to understand the influences on their threat orientation. Results are generalisable only to UK SMEs. Originality/value – The findings of the paper contribute to a nascent understanding of planning for acute interruptions in SMEs and (despite the cross-sectional nature of the study), the findings clearly reinforce the need for continuing longitudinal research into how resilience develops in smaller organisations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 274-290
Author(s):  
Natalia Volkova ◽  
Vera Chiker

Purpose The purpose of this study to establish what demographic characteristics (gender, generations and organisational tenure) play a role in employee perceptions of organisational culture, commitment and identification in Russian public organisations. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected electronically from 248 employees of two public organisations. Three questionnaires were used. Findings Organisational tenure plays a central role in the way how employees perceive organisational culture; tenure also shapes the levels of both commitment and identification. The specific finding of Russian settings is that the longer employees work for a company, the lower the levels of psychological attachments they demonstrate, while it is not the case for some existing international results. The other findings correspond with those in international studies, in which women were more psychologically attached to the organisation and showed a higher level of identification and lower rates of negative forms of this concept than men did. The older the employees are, the higher the level of identification they express. Practical implications Managers working in Russian settings can struggle with engaging and retaining employees. Understanding the demographic effects can help alleviate these challenges. Originality/value Based on empirical findings, this paper contributes to the literature on organisational socialisation by providing evidence of the damaging effects of the length of organisational tenure on psychological attachment to the company (in the form of commitment and identification). Additionally, tenure is the shaping factor of employee perception of organisational culture.


Kybernetes ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 40 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 369-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
William F. Christopher

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explain how the system science and cybernetics in Stafford Beer's viable system model (VSM) will help management structure and manage their company to achieve on‐going success in a fast‐changing world.Design/methodology/approachThe author worked with Stafford Beer in the 1970s, applying his VSM in the corporation he then worked for and has used the VSM ideas in work with companies in 16 countries, always with success. The VSM instructs in how to structure and how to manage. For what to manage the author used Peter Drucker's key performance areas, and has more than 50 years of experience working in these areas.FindingsThe author has found, during his long career in industry and in consulting, that the VSM is the best available guide for structuring and managing a business enterprise for success in turbulent times.Practical implicationsIn the 1950s, Ralph Cordiner “decentralized” General Electric into 120 businesses, pioneering a new, better way to structure and manage a corporation. After 50 years, we have the next revolutionary advance in management, the system science and cybernetics in Stafford's VSM. The VSM includes information and environments in structure, enabling companies to change as appropriate for achieving on‐going success in a world of huge and fast‐growing variety.Originality/valueThe paper shows how a simple form of the VSM includes all the system science company management needs to structure and manage their company for enduring success in fast‐changing times.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Uma Warrier ◽  
Cyril Foropon ◽  
Melinda Chehimi

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of mindfulness on organizational role stress (ORS) based on the Monitor Acceptance Theory (MAT) perspective.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on a cross-sectional data analysis collected from 137 employees working at an Indian IT organization located in Bangalore (India). ORS and MAAS scales have been used for measuring ORS and mindfulness, respectively.FindingsOverall, the study findings have indicated a negative relationship (r = −0.588) between mindfulness (M) and ORS. First, both personal inadequacy (PI) and self-role distance (SRD) are found to be predominantly impacted by M, whereas both role erosion (RE) and role overload (RO) appear to be less affected by mindfulness. Second, SRD appears to be the highest ORS sub-dimension among IT employees. Third, building on the extant literature, it can be inferred that “no one size fits all”, ORS is both organization and context specific.Originality/valueThis study pioneers to establish empirical evidence between M and ORS. Training employees on M can help in effectively handling ORS.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Obay A. Al-Maraira ◽  
Sami Z. Shennaq

Purpose This study aims to determine depression, anxiety and stress levels of health-care students during coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic according to various socio-demographic variables. Design/methodology/approach This cross-sectional study was conducted with 933 students. Data were collected with an information form on COVID- 19 and an electronic self-report questionnaire based on depression, anxiety and stress scale. Findings Findings revealed that 58% of the students experienced moderate-to-extremely severe depression, 39.8% experienced moderate-to-extremely severe anxiety and 38% experienced moderate-to-extremely severe stress. Practical implications Educational administrators can help reduce long-term negative effects on students’ education and mental health by enabling online guidance, psychological counseling and webinars for students. Originality/value This paper is original and adds to existing knowledge that health-care students’ depression, anxiety and stress levels were affected because of many factors that are not yet fully understood. Therefore, psychological counseling is recommended to reduce the long-term negative effects on the mental health of university students.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maarit Laiho ◽  
Essi Saru ◽  
Hannele Seeck

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the interplay between human resource management (HRM) and emergent factors in constructing a strong HRM climate. Specifically, the paper aims to shed light on how employee perceptions of the HRM process and emergent factors together construct a strong HRM climate, i.e. employees' shared perceptions of HRM.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses qualitative interview data (managers and employees) from two organisations operating in Finland. The data are analysed based on a systematic data analysis and gives an illustration of the interplay between high-performance work system and the emergent factors.FindingsThe findings illustrate the three types of interplay between HPWS and emergent factors – supplementation, substitution and suffocation – that construct employee experience.Originality/valueThe paper extends earlier discussions on the relationship between HRM and employee experience by empirically examining how the HRM process – together with emergent factors – constructs a strong HRM climate. The present study contributes to further theorising and increasing our understanding of the creation of employee experience.


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