Issues with Romance in the Workplace Environment

Due to the increased interaction between coworkers on a daily basis, studies show there is a direct correlation with romance that stems from the workplace. While there can be benefits, this paper will show how romances in the workplace can result in negative effects on the workplace environments through a multitude of ways. Workplace Romances deal with issues originating from hierarchal relationships, including sexual harassment and favouritism, which further impacts job productivity and morale. The existence of these forms of relationships may be unavoidable, yet they can also be damaging to a company when relationships become unsuccessful. Workplace Romances can have a major effect on coworkers, including tension and conflict. Workplace policies are a divided subject, as they could perhaps prevent issues, while at the same time, they may create further issues.

Is Loafing at Work Necessarily Detrimental? - A Study of the Relationship between Loafing, Productivity, and Satisfaction

<p>For decades, employees’ loafing behaviour has been a concern for employers because by taking time away from work activities it is seen as detrimental to workers’ productivity (Bennett & Robinson, 200; Dixon, 2005). Prior to the 1990s, loafing occurred when workers physically allocated time to non-work activities (e.g. chatting with colleagues or running non-work related errands during work hours), but since the development of Internet and Social Networking Sites (SNS) loafing behaviour has moved to include the virtual world ('cyber' space). As a result, loafing has likely become less visible and harder to detect. Paradoxically, though, some types of loafing have recently been found to help employees to recharge their concentration and to improve their satisfaction toward their jobs (Coker, 2013; Lim & Chen, 2012; Messarra, Karkoulian, & McCarthy, 2011). Although the impact of cyber-loafing and SNS usage at work on employees’ productivity or satisfaction has been studied to some extent, little attention has been given to their combined effect with physical loafing. Existing studies have tended to evaluate the impact of loafing on either employees’ productivity or satisfaction, and very few examine both outcomes. Building from these empirical findings, this thesis examines the effects of three types of loafing collectively on both job productivity and job satisfaction via three distinct categorisations: 1) time spent loafing, 2) aggregated loafing activities, and 3) combinations of activities at particular times of the work day. On average, white-collar respondents in this research spent about 4 hours per week loafing at work. This number is comparable but slightly lower than the weekly average of 4.2 hours spent on cyber-loafing in the Asia Pacific region (Zhou & Zhuoqiong, 2005). As expected, the study also found that job satisfaction relates positively to productivity. Similarly, autonomy as part of a job’s characteristic has a positive relationship with job satisfaction. Regarding the relationship between loafing behaviour and job productivity, loafing in the morning was found to affect job productivity negatively, especially if it is cyber-loafing activities (except for checking SNS). However, if the same activities are being conducted in the afternoon, it affects productivity positively. As regards to the relationship between loafing behaviour and job satisfaction, when loafing behaviour, both cyber and physical loafing, occurs in the morning, this exhibits a positive relationship with job satisfaction. Conversely, these are negatively related to job satisfaction when they are happening in the afternoon. The findings of this study contribute to the organisational behaviour literature by considering the effects of the three types of loafing activities collectively on job satisfaction and job productivity. Furthermore, in drawing on international studies for measures of job productivity, job satisfaction, autonomy, and loafing behaviour, this study found appropriate levels of reliability and validity, which suggests that the New Zealand context is comparable to other studies using these measures internationally. This research also has implications for management practitioners in providing a better understanding of white-collar workers’ loafing behaviour, which could aid them in designing workplace policies related to loafing. It might also be used to inform employees on how particular loafing activities could in fact enhance their productivity without being detrimental to their organisations.</p>

Is Loafing at Work Necessarily Detrimental? - A Study of the Relationship between Loafing, Productivity, and Satisfaction

<p>For decades, employees’ loafing behaviour has been a concern for employers because by taking time away from work activities it is seen as detrimental to workers’ productivity (Bennett & Robinson, 200; Dixon, 2005). Prior to the 1990s, loafing occurred when workers physically allocated time to non-work activities (e.g. chatting with colleagues or running non-work related errands during work hours), but since the development of Internet and Social Networking Sites (SNS) loafing behaviour has moved to include the virtual world ('cyber' space). As a result, loafing has likely become less visible and harder to detect. Paradoxically, though, some types of loafing have recently been found to help employees to recharge their concentration and to improve their satisfaction toward their jobs (Coker, 2013; Lim & Chen, 2012; Messarra, Karkoulian, & McCarthy, 2011). Although the impact of cyber-loafing and SNS usage at work on employees’ productivity or satisfaction has been studied to some extent, little attention has been given to their combined effect with physical loafing. Existing studies have tended to evaluate the impact of loafing on either employees’ productivity or satisfaction, and very few examine both outcomes. Building from these empirical findings, this thesis examines the effects of three types of loafing collectively on both job productivity and job satisfaction via three distinct categorisations: 1) time spent loafing, 2) aggregated loafing activities, and 3) combinations of activities at particular times of the work day. On average, white-collar respondents in this research spent about 4 hours per week loafing at work. This number is comparable but slightly lower than the weekly average of 4.2 hours spent on cyber-loafing in the Asia Pacific region (Zhou & Zhuoqiong, 2005). As expected, the study also found that job satisfaction relates positively to productivity. Similarly, autonomy as part of a job’s characteristic has a positive relationship with job satisfaction. Regarding the relationship between loafing behaviour and job productivity, loafing in the morning was found to affect job productivity negatively, especially if it is cyber-loafing activities (except for checking SNS). However, if the same activities are being conducted in the afternoon, it affects productivity positively. As regards to the relationship between loafing behaviour and job satisfaction, when loafing behaviour, both cyber and physical loafing, occurs in the morning, this exhibits a positive relationship with job satisfaction. Conversely, these are negatively related to job satisfaction when they are happening in the afternoon. The findings of this study contribute to the organisational behaviour literature by considering the effects of the three types of loafing activities collectively on job satisfaction and job productivity. Furthermore, in drawing on international studies for measures of job productivity, job satisfaction, autonomy, and loafing behaviour, this study found appropriate levels of reliability and validity, which suggests that the New Zealand context is comparable to other studies using these measures internationally. This research also has implications for management practitioners in providing a better understanding of white-collar workers’ loafing behaviour, which could aid them in designing workplace policies related to loafing. It might also be used to inform employees on how particular loafing activities could in fact enhance their productivity without being detrimental to their organisations.</p>

A STUDY OF WORK LIFE BALANCE AMONG TEACHERS

Human resource departments have to deal with various policies, plans, and programs to help their employees to balance their work and family for success in their lives. The present paper envisioned to study to comprehend work life balance of school teacher of Umargam in Gujarat. The study collected data from 114 school teachers. Data analysis considers statistical techniques to test the hypotheses by ANOVA, T-test, and Pearson Correlation use to analysis relationship between work life balance and job productivity. The research attained a positive correlation between work life balance and job productivity among the school teachers. However, the institution and management of the school be aware that if employees' work life balance affects, it will affect their job productivity.

ZAKAT POTENTIAL MANAGEMENT STRATEGY IN INDONESIA

Management of Zakat has a great potential to fail to optimize the potential of Islamic philanthropy which is significant in tackling poverty and improving the welfare of the people. This article will analyze the effectiveness of zakat management in the modern economy. This research uses an empirical or sociological juridical approach and is analytically descriptive. Data collection methods in this research using documentation. Whereas the method of data analysis, carried out qualitatively juridical. The results of the research are the requirements for the fffectiveness of receiving zakat funds at Badan Amil Zakat Nasional; (1) Establish the concept of expansion in zakat obligations, (2) Management of zakat from fixed assets and non-permanent assets, (3) Accountable and professionally managed administration, (4) An accountable distribution; prioritizing domestic distribution, fair distribution, build trust between Muzakkī and Mustaḥiq zakat, (5) Job productivity through Islamic management and (6) Zakat distribution model in modern economy; distribution of zakat for poverty due to unemployment (a compulsion) and distribution of zakat for poverty due to unemployment of Khiyāriyah (an option).

Employees' Knowledge and Skills on Work Productivity at the Manpower Department

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the impact of improving staff knowledge and skills on job productivity. This study employs a descriptive quantitative approach. The findings of this research show that increasing knowledge has a positive and significant impact on job productivity, with tcount = 4.236 > ttable = 1.674 and a significance level of 0.000 0.05. While the employee competence variable has a positive and substantial impact on job production (tcount = 3.143 > ttable = 1.674 with a significant 0.003 0.05)

Ocular Surface Failure in Urban Syndrome

Background: Nowadays, the continuous increase in air pollution has significantly changed air quality, leading to the onset of the so-called urban syndrome (US), an allergic-like conjunctivitis triggered by pollutants. These patients are characterized by persistent dysregulation of ocular surface para-inflammation, causing chronic low-grade inflammation and ocular discomfort, with significant consequences for occupational health and job productivity prospects. This study aims to investigate the effects of topical glycerophosphoinositol (GPI) eye drops on the signs and symptoms of US. Methods: A multicenter prospective open interventional study was performed. Patients affected by US, enrolled from occupational medicine clinics, were treated with eye drops containing 0.001% GPI in 0.2% HA vehicle three times a day. Ocular surface disease index (OSDI), tear break-up time (T-BUT), Schirmer test, Oxford score, hyperemia and ocular surface symptoms were recorded at patient enrolment (T0), after 1 week (T1) and after 1 month (T2) of treatment. Results: A total of 113 consecutive patients (226 eyes) were included. OSDI score displayed a significant improvement after one week (T0: 39.9 ± 19, T1: 20.8 ± 17.9, T2: 18.4 ± 15.6, p < 0.0001); T-BUT (T0: 5.2 ± 2, T1: 7.7 ± 2.2, T2: 9.7 ± 1.8, p < 0.0001) and Schirmer Test (T0: 6.6 ± 2.4, T1: 9.7 ± 2.7, T2: 12.6 ± 2.6, p < 0.0001) progressively improved from T0 to T2. Conclusions: trice-daily topic instillation of 0.001% GPI in 0.02% HA vehicle resulted an effective and well tolerated treatment in US patients.

Explaining the Relationship of Organizational Health and Employee Depression with Productivity of Personnel ) A case study: Sporting and Youth Organizations Personnel in Isfahan Province)

Introduction: Today, the employee productivity is a crucial topic to achieve the organization goals. In this regard, considering the organizational health and employee depression by managers is an important issue in organizational productivity. So, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between organizational health and depression with the productivity of employees of sports and youth departments in Isfahan province and to present a structural equation model. Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, a partial least squares approach was applied for modeling. The research instruments were Hershey and Goldsmith (1980) Productivity Questionnaire, Hui and Fieldman (1996) Organizational Health Questionnaire, and Beck Depression Inventory (1961). Validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts and the reliability of the questionnaires was appropriate. The statistical population included employees of the sports and youth departments of Isfahan province (387 people). The statistical sample size was calculated based on the number of research factors based on the PL approach. As a result, 90 people were appointed and 78 complete questionnaires were collected and returned. Cluster random sampling method was used. Results: The results showed that organizational health had a positive and significant effect on job productivity (p <0/01), but depression had a negative effect on job productivity that was not significant. Depression also had a negative effect on organizational health, but this effect was not significant. Conclusion: The ability of the organization to maintain and improve organizational stability and improve this ability leads to improving the productivity of employees of sports and youth departments. In this regard, it is suggested that managers and supervisors of sports organizations emphasize the importance of communication with and among employees to improve organizational health and emphasize organizational psychological issues to improve productivity

Workplace Romances: Should Individuals Engage in Them or Should Individuals Try to Avoid Them?

The objective of this paper is to explore workplace relationships and conclude whether individuals should engage in workplace romances (WRs) or whether individuals should try and avoid them. Since individuals spend so much time at the workplace, the likelihood of individuals engaging in a WR is high. Nowadays, there are not many jobs that put restrictions on whether or not you can date or have a relationship with someone you work with, however, is this a problem? Should there be restrictions in place regarding dating coworkers or bosses for example? The findings suggest that even though there are some benefits to WRs, the majority of results show that WRs are dangerous as they can cause group dysfunctions, make other workers uncomfortable, affect team performance, ruin professional relationships, result in sexual harassment claims, and so much more. This paper is going to examine the effects of WRs at different hierarchical levels and whether favoritism or a conflict of interest is present. It is going to examine the effect of WRs on job productivity, morale, and privacy, as well as explore the effects WRs have on other coworkers and what happens when WRs end. Lastly, this paper will explore the question: should management step in when it comes to WRs?

Enhancing Organizational Performance: The Role of Training and Development

This study investigated the impact of training and development on employees’ productivity and organizational performance in the Asante Akim South Municipal Assembly as a case study. The study applied structured questionnaires to a sample size of 75 drawn by a convenient sampling technique. The study also employed the purposive sampling technique to generate respondents to be interviewed. The data generated was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings of the study show that majority (77%) of the respondents agreed that training and development has enhanced their efficiency and job productivity. Secondly, majority (68%) of the respondents agreed that training and development enhanced organizational performance. The effectiveness and quality of the training programmes have also been found to be appreciable. The study recommends that departments within the district assembly should conduct more training programmes for their employees on a continuous basis. Organizers of the training programmes should also ensure the effective organization of these programmes.