Temporal Aspects of Telework and its Impact on Work-Family Conflict

Telework is the engagement in work outside of a regular office setting by means of the use of information and communication technology (ICT). Findings reported in the literature are mixed with some studies having argued that telework provides workers the opportunity to better balance work and private roles. In contrast others have argued telework blurs the boundaries between work and private life thus creating competing objectives and conflict. This research in progress seeks to examine these inconsistencies by distinguishing between telework activity before and after office working hours. We predict that increased engagement in telework outside of office hours will contribute to stronger perceptions of work-family conflict, while greater engagement in telework during office hours will lessen perceptions of work overload and work-family conflict

Evolving Conceptions of Work-Family Boundaries: In Defense of The Family as Stakeholder

In the management and organization studies literature, a key question to explore and explain is that of the family as an organizational stakeholder, particularly when working-from-home became the “new normal”. Departing from meta-analytic studies on the work-family relation and connecting with scholarly conversation on work-family boundary dynamics, we identify three main narratives. In the separation narrative, work and family belong to different realms, and including the family in the domain of organizational responsibility is seen as pointless. The interdependence narrative stresses that organizations and families are overlapping domains in which it is important to acknowledge that the policies and practices of the former might have an impact on family life, and vice-versa. The embeddedness narrative, brought to the fore by the COVID-19 pandemic, sees employment and family as progressively convergent and hybrid work domains. The evolution of employment relations towards increased hybridity of the work situation being embedded in the familial/household context increasingly calls for consideration of the family/household as an integral rather than a peripheral stakeholder.publishedVersio

Evolving conceptions of work-family boundaries: In defense of the family as stakeholder

In the management and organization studies literature, a key question to explore and explain is that of the family as an organizational stakeholder, particularly when working-from-home became the “new normal”. Departing from meta-analytic studies on the work-family relation and connecting with scholarly conversation on work-family boundary dynamics, we identify three main narratives. In the separation narrative, work and family belong to different realms, and including the family in the domain of organizational responsibility is seen as pointless. The interdependence narrative stresses that organizations and families are overlapping domains in which it is important to acknowledge that the policies and practices of the former might have an impact on family life, and vice-versa. The embeddedness narrative, brought to the fore by the COVID-19 pandemic, sees employment and family as progressively convergent and hybrid work domains. The evolution of employment relations towards increased hybridity of the work situation being embedded in the familial/household context increasingly calls for consideration of the family/household as an integral rather than a peripheral stakeholder.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evolving conceptions of work-family boundaries: in defense of the family as stakeholder

In the management and organization studies literature, a key question to explore and explain is that of the family as an organizational stakeholder, particularly when working-from-home became the “new normal”. Departing from meta-analytic studies on the work-family relation and connecting with scholarly conversation on work-family boundary dynamics, we identify three main narratives. In the separation narrative, work and family belong to different realms, and including the family in the domain of organizational responsibility is seen as pointless. The interdependence narrative stresses that organizations and families are overlapping domains in which it is important to acknowledge that the policies and practices of the former might have an impact on family life, and vice-versa. The embeddedness narrative, brought to the fore by the COVID-19 pandemic, sees employment and family as progressively convergent and hybrid work domains. The evolution of employment relations towards increased hybridity of the work situation being embedded in the familial/household context increasingly calls for consideration of the family/household as an integral rather than a peripheral stakeholder.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Highly Effective Teams: A Relational Analysis of Group Potency and Perceived Organizational Support

Group potency is one key determinant shown to positively influence the effectiveness and performance of groups and teams. This article presents research on potency of work groups in higher education and perceived organizational support as an antecedent. A total of 192 working professionals who were either holding or earning advanced degrees in human resource development, education, or consumer and family sciences completed questionnaires to determine the association of these two variables. The data were analyzed at the individual and group levels, and findings reveal there is a significant positive relationship between group potency and perceived organizational support

Telecareer : antecedents and consequences of strategic career behaviours on iberian teleworkers

This study examines the nature, causes and consequences of using strategic career management behaviours on Iberian teleworkers. The objective of this study is to develop an explanatory model of career self-management for teleworkers, using the Kaleidoscope Careers parameters developed by Sullivan and Maineiro (2008) — authenticity, balance and challenge — as the model’s strategic behaviours. This entails examining (a) the role of perceived selfefficacy, desire for career control and perceived organizational control as predictors of strategic career behaviours, and (b) the extent to which strategic behaviours determine perceived career control, objective career success, subjective career success and career satisfaction. The results of this study are intended to provide a framework for human resource development (HRD) programs, directed at aiding newcomers to telework, as a result of Covid-19 measures.Este estudo avalia a natureza, causas e consequências da utilização de comportamentos estratégicos de carreira em teletrabalhadores da Península Ibérica. Pretende-se desenvolver um modelo explicativo da gestão pessoal de carreira para teletrabalhadores, utilizando os parâmetros do Modelo Caleidoscópico de Carreira desenvolvido por Sullivan e Maineiro (2008) — autenticidade, equilíbrio e desafio — como principais comportamentos estratégicos de carreira. Neste sentido, analisa-se (a) o papel da perceção de autoeficácia, do desejo de controlo sobre a careira, e da perceção de apoio organizacional, como preditores dos comportamentos estratégicos de carreira, e (b) em que medida esses comportamentos de estratégia de careira determinam a perceção de controlo sobre a carreira, o sucesso objetivo e subjetivo de carreira e a satisfação com a carreira. Os resultados deste estudo visam sustentar a criação de programas de desenvolvimento na área dos recursos humanos, com a intenção de ajudar novos teletrabalhadores, como resultado das medidas da Covid-19

Trust in Management under Post-bureaucratic Conditions: The Case of Finnish Civil Servants

The Finnish state administration has recently undergone a wave of reformstowards decentralized decision-making and increased flexibility in organizing work.Traditional bureaucracy, however, has its virtues. Based on a survey and qualitativeinterview material, the results presented in this paper indicate that many characteristicsof bureaucracy, such as well-defined work roles and hierarchical control, facilitate trustamong employees. In contrast, the current post-bureaucratic model of organizing workmay increase insecurity and decrease trust

Leading from a Distance: Advancements in Virtual Leadership Research

Although leadership has long been recognized as critical in virtual environments, observers have noted that a surprisingly small number of studies have focused on virtual leadership. In the current chapter we examine what we currently know about virtual leadership and identify promising future research directions. We begin by examining changes in the leadership context, most notably advances in technology and the growing adoption of virtual work arrangements. We then trace the evolution of the research that has examined virtual leadership at both the dyadic and team levels, highlighting key conceptual and empirical advances. Finally, we conclude the chapter by discussing future research directions that have the potential to make important contributions to both theory and practice in the area of virtual leadership

Work attitudes and well-being among virtual workers

The present study examined how certain characteristics of flexible work, the home environment, and the individual impact the outcomes of work-family conflict, job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and psychological strain. A questionnaire measuring perceptions of control, flexibility, job involvement, family involvement, work to family and family to work conflict, organisational commitment, job satisfaction, family support, physical boundaries, workplace isolation, psychological strain, personality, and demographic information was created and posted online. An email was circulated to 390 virtual sales employees from one large organisation in the United States inviting them to participate in the study, and 278 people responded. Results identified characteristics of the type of work, work enivronment, and the individual that are predictive of individual and organisational outcomes. Findings supported hypotheses that control, flexibility, and family support positively impact the outcomes of conflict, satisfaction, and strain for virtual workers. Job involvement was found as predicted to positively impact work to family conflict, and family involvement was positively related to family to work conflict. Contrary to predictions, a negative relationship was found between job involvement and strain, suggesting that those who identify more highly with their job also experience less strain. Consistent with earlier studies, workplace isolation was associated with reduced job satisfaction and organisational commitment (Marshall, Michaels, and Mulki, 2007). In line with boundary theory (Voydanoff, 2005), it was hypothesised that the presence of physical boundaries between work and non work domains would significantly impact measures of conflict and strain for virtual workers. However, results indicated no significant effects. A comparison of perceptions of work-family conflict between individuals with children at home and those without illustrated no significant differences between employees with children at home and those without. Speculated explanations for inconsistent findings are addressed in the discussion chapter. Work to family conflict was predicted to mediate the relationship between flexibility and job satisfaction for virtual workers, and analysis supported the presence of partial mediation. Family to work conflict was also predicted to mediate the flexibility and job satisfaction relationship, however, results were not significant in this case. Uses of workspace (i.e. for work, leisure, family activities, etc.) were tested as mediator for the relationship between family to work conflict and job satisfaction, and results did not support a mediation effect. In sum, findings of this study identify sources of both positive and negative outcomes for people working from home. Although individuals' experiences working virtually differ greatly, this study identifies common challenges and issues they face. By pinpointing the sources of conflict, satisfaction, commitment, and strain in the home office, organisations and individuals can take steps to protect workers against negative outcomes, and maximise positive outcomes. Implications and limitations of this study are discussed in the final chapter