scholarly journals The Roles of Work-Life Conflict and Gender in the Relationship between Workplace Bullying and Personal Burnout. A Study on Italian School Principals

Author(s):  
Ilaria Buonomo ◽  
Caterina Fiorilli ◽  
Luciano Romano ◽  
Paula Benevene

The present study sought to investigate the associations between workplace bullying and personal burnout both directly and indirectly via work-life conflict. Furthermore, the moderating role of gender in these relations was examined. Traditional research on stress at work focuses on the role of dimensions related to job tasks, demands, and organizational support in influencing the risks for stress-related problems in employees. At the same time, other experiences at work may reduce employees’ well-being, such as workplace bullying and family life. Specifically, considering the detrimental role of work-life conflict, it is possible to hypothesize that it would exacerbate workplace bullying’s harmful effects on employees’ health. Moreover, since previous studies have reported mixed or inconsistent results when considering gender differences with the above-mentioned dimensions, it seems worth investigating the role of employee gender in representing (and response to) the bullying experiences. Building on these considerations, this work verifies whether: (1) work-life conflict mediates the relationship between workplace bullying and burnout; (2) gender moderates all the possible relationships among the constructs. Such hypotheses are verified on a sample of school principals, in light of their peculiar job role. Overall, our findings showed that: (1) Workplace bullying and burnout are associated, both with and without the perception of a concurring work-life conflict; (2) Gender does not moderate all the possible relationships among workplace bullying, work-life conflict and burnout. Overall, being female heightens the risk to perceive work-life conflict in general, as well as to be burnt out, when bullied, with and without the presence of work-life conflict; being male heightens the risk to perceive work-life conflict when bullied. Furthermore, the current findings suggest that family demands may influence school principals’ feelings of exhaustion regardless of gender. These findings confirm and expand previous literature, especially concerning a less studied occupation, namely school principals, shedding a new light on their work experiences. Furthermore, the present study offers interesting implications for trainings on principal’s skills and professional identity.

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-152
Author(s):  
Emily Hammer

The Problem Balancing work and life can be difficult. In a new world of work amidst COVID-19, balancing work and life has become even more challenging. Employees are struggling to adjust their work-life obligations while maintaining performance expectations. Providing employee support to reduce stress and minimize adverse effects on performance outcomes requires employer action. The Solution HRD interventions are recommended as organizational support mechanisms. These interventions are designed to reduce stress produced by work life conflict, particularly during stressful organizational events. Through organizational support, employees are offered the opportunity to increase individual performance. The Stakeholders HRD and HRM professionals, scholars, organizational planners, organizational leaders and managers, and all others who have a vested interest in employee well-being.


2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 777-797
Author(s):  
Susana Pasamar ◽  
Karen Johnston ◽  
Jagriti Tanwar

PurposeThis paper aims to further the understanding about the relationship between work–life conflict and possible barriers to career progression due to the perception of anticipated work–life conflict, considering the unbounded nature of academic work through features such as its intensity, flexibility and perception of organizational support.Design/methodology/approachThe model was tested using survey data from academics in a public university in the south of Spain. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results reveal that current work–life conflict, job intensity and perception of support have a direct effect on the anticipation of work–life conflict in the event of progression in academic careers. The flexibility that academics enjoy is not sufficient to prevent the expected conflict. Academics' age is relevant, but gender or having childcare responsibilities have no significant effect of the anticipation of conflict.Research limitations/implicationsThis study addresses the gap in the literature on anticipated work–life conflict, expanding the focus to nonfamily commitments in unbounded jobs such as academic posts. The authors are not aware of any other study that focuses on the anticipation of work–life conflict in the case of career advancement among current employees with professional experience or accurate knowledge of what job they will be doing instead of students. Work–life balance should not be restricted to women with caring responsibilities, as conflict is no longer only related to gender roles.Originality/valueThis paper not only explores existing work–life conflict but also empirically analyzes anticipated work–life conflict in unbounded careers such as academia. It represents a significant contribution in an underresearched field and may lead to future research in other settings.


Author(s):  
Colleen Bernstein ◽  
Leanne Trimm

Orientation: Workplace bullying has deleterious effects on individual well-being and various organisational outcomes. Different coping styles may moderate the relationship between workplace bullying and individual and organisational outcomes.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the moderating role of four coping styles – seeking help, assertiveness, avoidance and doing nothing – in the relationship between workplace bullying and individual and organisational outcomes.Motivation for the study: There is a lack of South African research exploring the moderating role of different coping styles in the relationship between workplace bullying and individual and organisational outcomes.Research design, approach and method: The study used a cross-sectional design, quantitative approach and a convenience sampling method. One hundred white-collar respondents from a construction organisation in South Africa participated in this research. Moderated multiple regression (MMR) was used to analyse the data.Main findings: Results of the MMR indicated a direct negative impact of workplace bullying on psychological well-being, self-esteem, job satisfaction and intention to leave. Seeking help and assertiveness moderated the relationship between bullying and psychological well-being. Avoidance and doing nothing also moderated the relationship between bullying and psychological well-being but in a counterintuitive manner, exacerbating the negative impact of bullying on psychological well-being. Similarly, avoidance exacerbated the negative impact of bullying on self-esteem. Direct effects were also found for the coping strategy of seeking help on psychological well-being and for avoidance on job satisfaction. However, while seeking help improved psychological well-being, avoidance had a negative impact on job satisfaction.Practical/managerial implications: Different coping strategies may have different effects. Some may be productive in terms of leading to improved outcomes, while others may not. These findings have particular relevance for human resource departments and practitioners.Contribution/value-add: The findings of this research contribute to the limited body of South African research investigating different types of coping in moderating the bullying–well-being relationship.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 238
Author(s):  
ANTHONY FRANK OBENG ◽  
PRINCE EWUDZIE QUANSAH ◽  
ERIC COBBINAH ◽  
STEPHEN ABIAM DANSO

Engaging employees and being supportive in enhancing their well-being in an organization is very paramount. Past studies show that these practices and policies are beneficial to the commitment level of the employer and the employee in the attainment of employee performance. This study was then conceptualized to examine the moderating effect of perceived organizational support on the relationships between organizational climate and organizational commitment and organizational commitment and employee performance. Also, the mediating effect of organizational commitment in the relationship between organizational climate and employee performance. Drawing on employees from the power generation companies in Ghana, a systematic sampling method was employed in choosing 371 respondents for the study. Hierarchical regression in SPSS software (version 23) was employed to analyze the hypotheses. It was observed that organizational commitment partially mediated the relationship between organizational climate and employee performance. However, perceived organizational support had no moderation effect on the relationship between organizational climate and organizational commitment. Furthermore, perceived organizational support had no moderation effect on the relationship between organizational commitment and employee performance. These results suggest that with an effective organizational climate, organizational support does little to strengthen or weaken employee performance. The practical implication is also discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Dominguez ◽  
María José Chambel ◽  
Vânia Sofia Carvalho

Abstract Research has shown that affective commitment, one of three components of organizational commitment defined by Meyer and Allen (1991), can act as a moderator in relationships between job stressors and worker´s psychological tension. However, due to the scarcity of studies that investigate the moderating effect of this commitment component on relationships between positive variables, the purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of affective commitment in the relationship between autonomy, peer support, supervisory support and perceived organizational support (POS), as job resources, on engagement. In this sense, we analyzed the data provided by a sample of Portuguese employees (N = 554), from an organization belonging to the consultancy sector. Firstly, we aimed to examine the direct effects of those job resources on engagement, and, then, examine the impact of affective commitment as a moderator on these relationships. The results partially support the hypotheses formulated. Indeed, there was a positive relationship between the job resources studied - work autonomy, peer support, supervisory support and POS - and engagement. Furthermore, according to our hypothesis, the interaction established between affective commitment and autonomy, significantly exacerbates the positive effect of this job resource on workers well-being, that is, on their engagement (b = .08, p < .05). However, contrary to our hypothesis, the affective commitment does not moderate the relationship between the other job resources and engagement. This study contributes to a deepest knowledge about the potentialities of affective commitment, reinforcing the importance of consider it as a contextual resource.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aamir Hayat ◽  
Leila Afshari

PurposeDrawing from conservation of resources theory, this study explores how perceived organizational support mitigates the adverse consequences of workplace bullying on employee well-being mediated through burnout.Design/methodology/approachThe data (N = 360) were collected from the hotel sector in Pakistan. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the data.FindingsThe findings demonstrated that workplace bullying not only has a direct negative impact on employee well-being but it also indirectly leads to diminished employee well-being by increasing employee burnout. In addition, the findings confirmed the moderating role of perceived organizational support, revealing that perceived organizational support plays a mitigating role in linking workplace bullying to employee well-being and burnout. Employees who experience workplace bullying may compensate for the depletion of their cognitive resources if they feel supported by their organization.Practical implicationsThis study highlights the utility of managing workplace bullying to improve employee well-being and encourages human resource practitioners to develop policies that prevent workplace bullying.Originality/valueThe current research contributes to the validation of theory by examining the impact of workplace bullying on employee well-being in a cultural context with high power distance and subsequently, higher tolerance for workplace bullying. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this research is the first to investigate the moderating role of perceived organizational support on the meditated relationship between workplace bullying and employee well-being in Pakistan. Furthermore, the current study employs the conservation of resources theory to explore how employees obtain external resources such as organizational support to enhance their resource repository in handling workplace bullying.


2018 ◽  
pp. 0143831X1775047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrieta Hamilton Skurak ◽  
Sanna Malinen ◽  
Katharina Näswall ◽  
Joana C Kuntz

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith R. Gordon ◽  
Elizabeth Hood

PurposeThis study examines the relationship of organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) to work-life conflict and enrichment. It considers whether work engagement mediates this relationship and whether organizational support moderates the relationship.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from surveys completed by 271 academic life scientists and an MTurk sample of 197 full-time employees.FindingsOverall, OBSE is significantly associated with work-life conflict and work-life enrichment, although the relationships between OBSE and life-work conflict and life-work enrichment were not significant for the academic scientist sample. Work engagement mediated the relationship between OBSE and work-life conflict and enrichment to varying extents. Organizational support moderated the relationship between OBSE and life-work conflict.Research limitations/implicationsThe research extends the literature on work-life and life-work conflict and enrichment through demonstrating how personal resources at work, specifically OBSE and work engagement, impact the work-life interactions. It also extends the JD-R theory to show how personal resources may operate sequentially and whether organizational resources may interact with personal resources. Limitations include the lack of longitudinal data and the specific characteristics of the sample.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that organizations should institute human resources practices that increase an individual’s OBSE because it is negatively associated with work-life conflict and positively associated with work-life enrichment.Originality/valueOur research expands the limited study of how personal resources affect work-life conflict and enrichment. In particular, we look at previously unstudied but still important relationships of OBSE with work-life conflict and enrichment and whether work engagement mediates and organizational support moderates this relationship.


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