scholarly journals Playful work design: A diary study on its correlates in white collar workers

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-53
Author(s):  
Laura Petrescu

The present study addresses playful work design as the consistent initiative of employees to integrate game-like elements into their day-to-day work in order to reach theirimposed work-related goals. We adapted a short measure for daily playful work design and followed 55 white-collar workers over 5 consecutive working days. We hypothesized that playful work design would be predicted by contextual factors and an individual factor (i.e. job autonomy, manager support for fun and growth need strength). Furthermore, we predicted that, across days, playful work design would relate positively with work engagement and positive affect and negatively with negative affect. Additionally, we tested for the moderation of growth need strength in the relationship between work engagement and playful work design. Results indicated that playful work design was not predicted by job either job autonomy, manager support for fun or growth need strength. We found that playful work design was related positively to work engagement and positive affect, but not related to negative affect. Moreover, growth need strength didn’t moderate the relationship between daily playful work design and daily work engagement. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of our findings for the work design literature.

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-53
Author(s):  
Laura Petrescu

The present study addresses playful work design as the consistent initiative of employees to integrate game-like elements into their day-to-day work in order to reach theirimposed work-related goals. We adapted a short measure for daily playful work design and followed 55 white-collar workers over 5 consecutive working days. We hypothesized that playful work design would be predicted by contextual factors and an individual factor (i.e. job autonomy, manager support for fun and growth need strength). Furthermore, we predicted that, across days, playful work design would relate positively with work engagement and positive affect and negatively with negative affect. Additionally, we tested for the moderation of growth need strength in the relationship between work engagement and playful work design. Results indicated that playful work design was not predicted by job either job autonomy, manager support for fun or growth need strength. We found that playful work design was related positively to work engagement and positive affect, but not related to negative affect. Moreover, growth need strength didn’t moderate the relationship between daily playful work design and daily work engagement. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of our findings for the work design literature.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mari Svendsen ◽  
Christine Unterrainer ◽  
Thomas Faurholt Jønsson

Although there is a vast amount of research on leadership and improvement-oriented voice behavior, the amount of cross-lagged research on leadership that also incorporates more challenging forms of voice is sparse. This article reports on a two-wave study of white-collar workers in a Norwegian medical technology company, investigating the relationship among employees’ perceived transformational leadership behaviors, job autonomy, and promotive and prohibitive voice. Testing our results cross-lagged, we demonstrate that perceived transformational leadership is significantly related to prohibitive voice over time, whereas this effect worked in the opposite direction for promotive voice. We also explore the boundary conditions of transformational leadership, demonstrating that perceived job autonomy strengthens the effect of transformational leadership on prohibitive voice. Implications for theory and research are discussed.


Sangyo Igaku ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 269-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimio TARUMI ◽  
Akihito HAGIHARA ◽  
Kanehisa MORIMOTO

Author(s):  
Paola Spagnoli ◽  
Cristian Balducci ◽  
Liliya Scafuri Kovalchuk ◽  
Francesco Maiorano ◽  
Carmela Buono

Although the interplay between workaholism and work engagement could explain several open questions regarding the Heavy Work Investment (HWI) phenomenon, few studies have addressed this issue. Thus, with the purpose of filling this literature gap, the present study aimed at examining a model where job-related negative affect mediates the relationship between the interplay of workaholism and work engagement, and anxiety before sleep. Since gender could have a role in the way the interplay would impact on the theorized model, we also hypothesized a moderated role of gender on the specific connection concerning the interplay between workaholism and work engagement, in relation to job-related negative affect. Conditional process analysis was conducted on a sample of 146 participants, balanced for gender. Results supported the mediating model and indicated the presence of a moderated role of gender, such that engaged workaholic women reported significantly less job-related negative affect than disengaged workaholic women. On the contrary, the interplay between workaholism and work engagement did not seem significant for men. Results are discussed in light of the limitations and future directions of the research in this field, as well as the ensuing practical implications.


2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 458-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hansika Singhal ◽  
Renu Rastogi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discover the role of psychological capital (PsyCap) as a predictor of subjective well-being (SWB) and career commitment (CC). Further, it aims to analyze the mediating role of SWB in the relationship between PsyCap and CC in the Indian manufacturing sector. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative survey-based research design employing data from 300 employees in the National Capital Region (NCR) of India was used in the present research. Findings The results demonstrated that PsyCap acted as a predictor for SWB and CC. Additionally, SWB partially mediated the relationship between PsyCap and CC. Research limitations/implications The limitations of the present research would have to do with the purposive sample set chosen during the data collection. The sample consisted of middle- and upper-middle-class Indian employees working in the NCR having knowledge of English language and computer skills. Perhaps, future research works should take into account a wider sample in terms of the regions across India and not only the NCR. Although the findings showed that SWB reduced the relationship between PsyCap and CC, still that relationship was significant statistically. Further research studies might also explore various moderators while simultaneously studying SWB. In the research, SWB acted as a significant mediator of the relation between PsyCap and CC, yet at the same time, it may be the scenario that employees who are committed toward their career would be more inclined to espouse a greater sense of SWB (i.e. mediator is caused by the outcome). Hence, the authors duly recognize the need to test this substitute model. Since, SWB places chief emphasis on respondent’s own experiences and perspectives; it does not denote a consummate understanding of their mental health as people may have psychological disorders even if they experience happiness. Hence, the use of other measures in addition to SWB in comprehending a person’s psychological health is desirable (Diener et al., 1997). Practical implications This study suggests that in order for organizations to have a workforce committed to their career and hence, their profession, the supervisors will need to train the employees having a higher incidence of PsyCap to increase their SWB. Consequently, the supervisors will, in turn, need to recruit employees already having the four dimensions of PsyCap, i.e. hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism at the workplace in order for them to have a higher life satisfaction, positive affect, reduced negative affect (three components of SWB) and increased CC. Social implications Employees who develop within themselves a state of being hopeful, efficacious, resilient and optimistic will also be strongly oriented toward having greater life satisfaction, positive affect and lower levels of negative affect. This, in part, would help them achieve the required commitment toward their career and hence, help them in sticking with their jobs. Originality/value The present study advances the existing work on positive organizational behavior by exhibiting the noteworthy role of PsyCap in predicting SWB and CC. Further, it helps in demonstrating the inevitable role of SWB in partially mediating the relationship between PsyCap and CC.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 1083-1099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashita Goswami ◽  
Prakash Nair ◽  
Terry Beehr ◽  
Michael Grossenbacher

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine affective events theory (AET) by testing the mediating effect of employees’ positive affect at work in the relationships of leaders’ use of positive humor with employees’ work engagement, job performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs); and the moderating effect of transformational leadership style on the relationship between leaders’ use of positive humor and subordinate’s positive affect at work. Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained from 235 full-time employees working for a large information technology and business consulting corporation. Moderated mediation (Hayes, 2013) was performed to test the proposed model. Findings Leaders’ positive humor was related to creation of subordinates’ positive emotions at work and work engagement. Positive emotions at work did not mediate between leaders’ humor and performance or OCBs. In addition, leaders’ use of transformational leadership style made the relationship between leaders’ positive humor and employees’ positive emotions at work stronger. Research limitations/implications This study provides evidence of the positive relationship of leaders’ positive humor with employees’ positive emotions at work and work engagement. Such knowledge may help to inform the training workshops in humor employed by practitioners and potentially create a more enjoyable and fun workplace, which can lead to greater employee engagement. Originality/value AET helps explain effects of leader humor, but the effects of are complex. Leader’s use of even positive humor is most likely to have favorable effects mainly depending on their leadership style (transformational) and if their humor successfully leads to positive emotions among employees.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Liu ◽  
Lei Ren

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between challenge-hindrance stressors and employees’ career initiative while incorporating the mediating role of positive affect and the moderating role of job autonomy.Design/methodology/approachFive proposed hypotheses were tested using path analysis with two waves of data collected from 136 part-time MBA students.FindingsThe findings show that challenge stressors indirectly facilitate career initiative, whereas hindrance stressors indirectly inhibit career initiative, both with positive affect as mediators. Job autonomy enhances the direct relationship between positive affect and career initiative, as well as the indirect relationships among challenge/hindrance stressors, positive affect and career initiative.Originality/valueThe study brings a new perspective to understanding why an employee conducts career initiative, thereby widening the scope of the antecedents of career initiative. The study discloses positive affect as the mediator that transmits the opposite effects from challenge-hindrance stressors to career initiative. It also identifies job autonomy as an important boundary condition for positive affect to exert its influence on career initiative, as well as challenge-hindrance stressors that influence career initiative via positive affect.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 280-289
Author(s):  
María Vicent ◽  
Cándido J. Inglés ◽  
Ricardo Sanmartín ◽  
Carolina Gonzálvez ◽  
María del Pilar Aparicio-Flores ◽  
...  

This study analyses the relationship between the perfectionism dimensions, i.e. Self-Oriented Perfectionism-Critical (SOP-C) and Self-Oriented Perfectionism-Striving (SOP-S), and affect and the Big Five traits of personality in a sample of 804 Spanish students aged 8 to 11 (M  = 9.57; DE = 1.12). Student’s t test, Cohen’s d index and logistic regression analysis were used. The high SOP-C group scored significantly higher than their peers having low SOP-C on Negative Affect and Neuroticism, and lower on Positive Affect, Agreeableness, Consciousness and Openness to Experience. To the contrary, students with high SOP-S scored significantly higher on all adaptive dimensions (i.e. Positive Affect, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Consciousness and Openness to Experience), and lower on Negative Affect and Neuroticism. Effect sizes were small for most of statistically significant differences. These findings were also supported by regression analysis. Results are discussed in light of the debate on the adaptive or maladaptive nature of Self-Oriented Perfectionism.


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