A Changing World of Workplace Conflict Resolution and Employee Voice: An Australian Perspective

The authors contribute to dispute resolution theory and provide new insights on such important issues as employee voice, workplace disputes and employees’ intentions to quit. They conducted and analyzed a survey of managers in Australian workplaces. They apply Budd and Colvin’s (2008) path-finding dispute resolution framework to examine two research questions: first, is there a relationship between the resolution of disputes and employee voice as measured by employee perceptions of influence over decision-making? Second, is there a relationship between the resolution of workplace disputes and employees’ intentions to quit? These are important questions in view of the high costs of workplace conflict and employee turnover. The authors find that employee voice facilitates successful dispute resolution. Further, employee voice has the additional benefit of directly reducing employee turnover intentions, above and beyond its indirect effect by helping to resolve conflicts at work

Work-Unit Absenteeism: Effects of Satisfaction, Commitment, Labor Market Conditions, and Time

Prior research is limited in explaining absenteeism at the unit level and over time. We developed and tested a model of unit-level absenteeism using five waves of data collected over six years from 115 work units in a large state agency. Unit-level job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and local unemployment were modeled as time-varying predictors of absenteeism. Shared satisfaction and commitment interacted in predicting absenteeism but were not related to the rate of change in absenteeism over time. Unit-level satisfaction and commitment were more strongly related to absenteeism when units were located in areas with plentiful job alternatives

Targeted Employee Retention: Performance-Based and Job-Related Differences in Reported Reasons for Staying

A content model of 12 retention factors is developed in the context of previous theory and research. Coding of open-ended responses from 24,829 employees in the leisure and hospitality industry lends support to the identified framework and reveals that job satisfaction, extrinsic rewards, constituent attachments, organizational commitment, and organizational prestige were the most frequently mentioned reasons for staying. Advancement opportunities and organizational prestige were more common reasons for staying among high performers and non-hourly workers, and extrinsic rewards was more common among low performers and hourly employees, providing support for ease/desirability of movement and psychological contract rationales. The findings highlight the importance of differentiating human resource management practices when the goal is to retain those employees valued most by the organization

Human Resource Practices as Predictors of Work-Family Outcomes and Employee Turnover

Drawing on a non-random sample of 557 dual- earner white collar employees, this paper explores the relationship between human resource practices and three outcomes of interest to firms and employees: work-family conflict, employees’ control over managing work and family demands, and employees’ turnover intentions. We analyze three types of human resource practices: work-family policies, HR incentives designed to induce attachment to the firm, and the design of work. In a series of hierarchical regression equations, we find that work design characteristics explain the most variance in employees’ control over managing work and family demands, while HR incentives explain the most variance in work-family conflict and turnover intentions. We also find significant gender differences in each of the three models. Our results suggest that the most effective organizational responses to work-family conflict and to turnover are those that combine work-family policies with other human resource practices, including work redesign and commitment-enhancing incentives

An examination of the relationship between UT Extension Program Assistants\u27 use of communication technology in the workplace and their ability to successfully communicate with coworkers and the community

This study examined the relationship between the level of communication technology use in the workplace by University of Tennessee Extension program assistants and their interpersonal communication skills. There were seven quantitative research questions and one qualitative question. The main research question explored whether a significant difference existed in employees’ reported levels of communication skills in the workplace, as measured by the sociocommunicative orientation (SCO) scale, based on employees’ reported levels of communication technology use. Other questions explored whether there was a significant interaction between employees’ reported levels of communication technology use and their job positions on their levels of communication skills, a significant interaction between employees’ reported level of communication technology use and areas of foci on their levels of communication skills, a significant difference in employees’ assertiveness or responsiveness scores based on reported levels of communication technology use, and a significant difference in employees’ SCO scores based on their job position or areas of foci. Analysis of variance and chi-square tests were administered to determine relationships, if any. The qualitative question asked Extension administrators about their perceptions of differences or similarities in program assistants’ levels of communication skills relative to their associated job positions and areas of foci. Direct analysis was conducted on the telephone interview question to determine trends or common themes. Although analyses of data for the seven quantitative questions revealed no significant differences in level of communication skills based on level of communication technology use, common themes emerged relative to interpersonal communication skills for program assistants. Common themes that emerged specifically from analysis of the telephone interview transcripts give cause for recommendations for further study as relates to communication skills and communication skills development for program assistants

Cultural/Social Media Space of the Digital Generation

Taking the example of Kazakhstan, this study examines the formation and analysis of the cultural media space of the digital generation. Information and communication technologies are the basis of a communicative media environment that has an internal regulated structure, which affects the socialisation of a person. The content of the cultural media space of the digital generation is formed on the basis of digital technologies and represents people’s visual worldview with images, signs and symbols. The processes of transformation of society affect the young generation and the content of the media space that determines their social and ethnocultural identity. The study presents the results of working with schoolchildren and students aged 14-18 using focus groups to explore the impact of digital culture (media culture) on adolescents in Kazakhstan. Based on the interdisciplinary approach, the findings demonstrate intergenerational contradictions because of the active involvement of Kazakhstan in the global internet community. The cultural media space of Kazakhstan has been shaping the social communications of the digital generation that has grown up in a sovereign state. The theoretical concepts of P. Bourdieu, C. Mannheim and other scientists served as a methodology for this study. Based on the interdisciplinary approach, the findings demonstrate intergenerational contradictions because of the active involvement of Kazakhstan in the global internet community. The findings also unravel that the transformation of the value orientations of adolescents is influenced by the factors of geographical location and ethnicity

Business Leaders’ Strategies for Addressing Employee Turnover and Promoting Stability

One of the major issues that business leaders face are high rates of employee turnover. From 2013 to 2017, the annual total separation rate increased by 38.1 to 43.0 across all industries (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). This demonstrates that employee turnover is increasing over time in the United States. Turnover is problematic because it forces business leaders and managers to replace reliable and trained employees with new employees, which is a timeconsuming process that is often quite costly. Out of all industries that deal with employee turnover, the hospitality industry is known for having one of the highest employee turnover rates across all industries (Kavanaugh, 2018). This is evidenced by the fact that the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the turnover rate for restaurants and accommodations was 73% in 2016 (McNamara, 2018). The high rate of employee turnover within this industry is explained by a few factors. For one, seasonality leads to a higher turnover rate because many part-time employees are hired as seasonal workers during summer months, and these workers are often younger students who leave their restaurant positions to return to school in August and September (Navarra, 2018). The turnover rate may also be broken down by position, as roles involving performing counter service or working as the cashier had a turnover rate of 36%, which is much higher than the bar staff turnover rate of 25% or the managerial turnover rate of 23% (Navarra, 2018). Turnover is not something that is inherently inevitable to this industry however, and business leaders within the hospitality industry focus on implementing viable strategies to reduce turnover to a more manageable rate

Professors on the Board: Do They Contribute to Society Outside the Classroom?

According to our data, 38.5 % of S&P 1500 firms have at least one professor on their boards. Given the lack of research examining the roles and effects of academic faculty as members of boards of directors (professor–directors) on corporate outcomes, this study investigates whether firms with professor–directors are more likely to exhibit higher corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance ratings. Results indicate that firms with professor–directors do exhibit higher CSR performance ratings than those without. However, the influence of professor–directors on firm CSR performance ratings depends on their academic background—the positive association between the presence of professor–directors and firm CSR performance ratings is significant only when their academic background is specialized (e.g., science, engineering, and medicine). Finally, this positive association weakens when professor–directors hold an administrative position at their universities