Whatever It Takes: How and When Supervisor Bottom-Line Mentality Motivates Employee Contributions in the Workplace

Given that many organizations are competitive and finance centered, organizational leaders may lead with a primary focus on bottom-line attainment, such that they are perceived by their subordinates as having a bottom-line mentality (BLM) that entails pursuing bottom-line outcomes above all else. Yet, the field is limited in understanding why such a leadership approach affects employees’ positive and negative contributions in the workplace. Drawing on social exchange theory, we theorize that supervisors high in BLM can influence employees’ felt obligation toward the bottom line, which in turn can influence employees’ task performance and unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB). We also examine employee ambition as a moderator of this process. Using three-wave, multisource data collected from the financial services industry, our results revealed that high-BLM supervisors elevate employee task performance as well as UPB by motivating employees’ felt obligation toward the bottom line. Furthermore, we found that employee ambition served as a first-stage moderator, such that the mediated relationships were stronger when employee ambition was high as opposed to low. Our findings break away from the dominant dysfunctional view of BLM and provide a more balanced view of this mentality

A Reparatory Model of Ethical Silence

Drawing from the appraisal theory of emotion and self-conscious emotions literature, this study proposes a reparatory model of ethical silence at work. We posit that when employees maintain silence on ethical issues, they experience feelings of guilt. This guilt, in turn, propels them to engage in ethical performance as reparatory behaviors. Results from a multisource, three-wave field study supported these hypotheses. Overall, this research contributes to silence literature and provides insights into how and when ethical silence may, paradoxically, facilitate more ethical performance later on

Thriving at work but insomniac at home: understanding the relationship between supervisor bottom-line mentality and employee functioning

Bottom-line mentality (BLM) describes a one-dimensional frame of mind revolving around bottom-line pursuits, which pervades most organizations today. But how does working with high BLM supervisors affect employees’ functioning both at work and at home? Guided by this question, we draw on social information processing theory and insights from the person–environment fit literature for a nuanced understanding of the effects of supervisor BLM. Using data from two field studies conducted in China (340 employees) and the United States (174 employees), we find that supervisor BLM increases employee perceptions of a competitive climate that ultimately increases employee thriving at work and insomnia outside work. We further find that employee trait competitiveness moderated the indirect relationship (via perceived competitive climate) between supervisor BLM and thriving at work but not for insomnia; employees high (versus low) in trait competitiveness were found to thrive at work under the competitive climate stimulated by high BLM supervisors. Taken together, our findings highlight the need for organizational leaders to be cautious of being too narrowly focused on bottom-line outcomes and aware of the wider implications of BLM on different domains of their employees’ lives

Authoritarian leadership and employee creativity: The moderating role of psychological capital and the mediating role of fear and defensive silence

© 2018 Elsevier Inc. Drawing from the transactional theory of stress, we examined the relationships between authoritarian leadership, fear, defensive silence, and ultimately employee creativity. We also explored the moderating effect of employee psychological capital on these mediated relationships. We tested our hypothesized model in two studies of employee-supervisor dyads working in Africa (Nigeria; Study 1) and Asia (China; Study 2). The results of Study 1 revealed that the negative relationship between authoritarian leadership and creativity was mediated by employee defensive silence. Extending these findings in a three-wave study in Study 2, our results revealed a more complex relationship. Specifically, our results showed that both fear and defensive silence serially mediated the link between authoritarian leadership and employee creativity. In addition, we found that this mediated relationship was moderated by employee psychological capital such that the relationship was stronger when psychological capital was low (versus high). Implications for both theory and practice are discussed

PUTTING CUSTOMER SERVICE AT RISK: WHY AND WHEN FAMILY OSTRACISM RELATES TO CUSTOMER-ORIENTED BEHAVIORS

This study examines why and when family ostracism can have an adverse effect on employees’ customer service behaviors. Drawing on self-determination theory (SDT), we theorize the existence of moderated multi-mediation relationships between family ostracism and employees’ customer service behaviors (i.e., customer-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors and customer-oriented voice behaviors) through harmonious passion for work and customer orientation, with social skills playing a moderating role. We used a time-lagged design to collect data from service employees in China. Our results show that controlling for workplace ostracism at Time 1, the relationship between family ostracism and employees’ customer service behaviors is negative and serially mediated by both harmonious passion for work and customer orientation. Furthermore, employees who are less socially skilled are more prone to the adverse effects of family ostracism. Last, female employees are more vulnerable to the effects of family ostracism on their customer service

Perceived Effect of Agricultural Transformation Agenda on Livelihood of Cocoa Farmers in Osun State, Nigeria

This study assessed the perceived effect of Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) on cocoa farmer’s livelihood in Osun State. Multi stage sampling technique such as purposive and simple random techniques were used for the selection of 120 respondents. Questionnaire instrument was used to collect data from the respondents and data analysis was carried out using descriptive (frequency counts, mean and percentages) and inferential (Pearson Product Moment Correlation) statistics. Results showed that average farm size was 2 acres. The major source of labour used by some of the respondents (37.5%) was family labour. The study revealed that more than half (68.3%) of the respondents had high knowledge of ATA programme and majority (61.7%) of the respondents utilize it. Majority (66.7%) of the respondents had various challenges against the utilization of ATA inputs. There was a significant relationship between the respondents’ farm size (r=0.387, p>0.000), years of farming experience (r=0.351, p>0.000), ATA inputs accessibility (r=0.734, p>0.000), utilization (r=0.720, p=0.000) and the perceived effect on their livelihood. The respondents had high level of knowledge about ATA programme with a favorable attitude towards ATA, though, the inability to access ATA inputs posed limitation on its utilization. It is recommended that ATA workers should pay necessary attention to the needs of the farmers in the study area and also employ well skilled extension agents to guide farmers to access and utilize ATA inputs effectively. Continuous family farming is encouraged to boast labour and reduce cost

Financially insecure and less ethical: Understanding why and when financial insecurity inhibits ethical leadership

With the recent COVID-19 pandemic among other crises (e.g., Russia–Ukraine conflicts and recession projections) threatening organizations’ financial conditions across the globe, supervisors may not only encounter challenges such as job cuts that test their ethical leadership, but also experience financial insecurity themselves. However, our knowledge of why and when supervisors’ ethical leadership behaviors may be affected in such a situation remains quite limited. In this research, we draw on uncertainty management theory (UMT) to examine the potential influence of financial insecurity on ethical leadership. Specifically, we suggest that financial insecurity triggers anxiety in supervisors, which inhibits their demonstration of ethical leadership. We also propose organizational pay fairness as a boundary condition for this process, such that supervisors who perceive their pay as fair are less susceptible to the anxiety resulting from financial insecurity than those who perceive their pay as unfair. Results from two multi-source, multi-wave studies supported our hypothesized model. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of our findings

Enhancing Employees’ Duty Orientation and Moral Potency: Dual Mechanisms Linking Ethical Psychological Climate to Ethically‐Focused Proactive Behaviors

Based on social cognitive theory (SCT), we develop and test a model that links ethical psychological climate to ethically‐focused proactive behavior (i.e., ethical voice and ethical taking charge) via two distinct mechanisms (i.e., duty orientation and moral potency). Results from multi‐wave field studies conducted in the United States, Turkey, France, Vietnam, and India demonstrate that an ethical psychological climate indirectly influences employees’ ethical voice and ethical taking charge behaviors through the dual mechanisms of duty orientation and moral potency. Additionally, we find that individuals’ moral attentiveness strengthened these mediating processes. Together, these findings suggest that ethical psychological climate is an important antecedent of ethically‐focused proactive behavior by stimulating individuals’ sense of duty and enhancing their moral potency, particularly when employees are already highly attuned to moral issues

Perceived Effect of Agricultural Transformation Agenda on Livelihood of Cocoa Farmers in Osun State, Nigeria

This study assessed the perceived effect of Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) on cocoa farmer’s livelihood in Osun State. Multi stage sampling technique such as purposive and simple random techniques were used for the selection of 120 respondents. Questionnaire instrument was used to collect data from the respondents and data analysis was carried out using descriptive (frequency counts, mean and percentages) and inferential (Pearson Product Moment Correlation) statistics. Results showed that average farm size was 2 acres. The major source of labour used by some of the respondents (37.5%) was family labour. The study revealed that more than half (68.3%) of the respondents had high knowledge of ATA programme and majority (61.7%) of the respondents utilize it. Majority (66.7%) of the respondents had various challenges against the utilization of ATA inputs. There was a significant relationship between the respondents’ farm size (r=0.387, p>0.000), years of farming experience (r=0.351, p>0.000), ATA inputs accessibility (r=0.734, p>0.000), utilization (r=0.720, p=0.000) and the perceived effect on their livelihood. The respondents had high level of knowledge about ATA programme with a favorable attitude towards ATA, though, the inability to access ATA inputs posed limitation on its utilization. It is recommended that ATA workers should pay necessary attention to the needs of the farmers in the study area and also employ well skilled extension agents to guide farmers to access and utilize ATA inputs effectively. Continuous family farming is encouraged to boast labour and reduce cost

A closer look at how managerial support can help improve patient experience: Insights from the UK’s National Health Service

Recent debates in healthcare have emphasized the need for more respectful and responsive services that meet patients’ preferences. These debates centre on patient experience, one of the most critical factors for measuring healthcare performance. In exploring the relevance of patient experience key questions need answers: what can managers or supervisors do to help improve the quality of healthcare? What is the role of employees? Addressing these questions, this study examines whether perceived supervisor support (PSS) promotes patient experience through a serial mediation involving perceived organizational support (POS), and positive employee outcomes such as engagement, involvement and advocacy. Using two-wave data from the British National Health Service, we show that PSS is strongly associated with POS, which in turn improves engagement, involvement and advocacy among employees. PSS also has a positive indirect influence on patient experience through POS and advocacy; but the indirect paths involving engagement and involvement are not supported. We offer useful guidance on how healthcare employers can support employees towards improving the quality of services rendered to patients