Thai conceptualizations of forgiveness within a work context : comparison with Western models

Forgiveness research has focused almost exclusively on individualistic Western culture despite acknowledgement of the importance of cultural factors. Conflict at work is common yet studies of forgiveness in work contexts are rare, as are qualitative studies. Addressing these short-comings, this study examines the forgiveness process as experienced by Thai nurses in a hospital within a collectivist culture heavily influenced by Buddhism. Thirty nurses were interviewed about a situation at work where the need for forgiveness arose. Qualitative methods were used to identify participants' cognitions, emotions, and behaviors in relation to the offensive event. Definitions of forgiveness were also elicited. Four continuous stages of the forgiveness process emerged: an experiencing stage, re-attribution stage, forgiveness stage, and behavioral stage. There were similarities with Western individualistic models but also some important differences related to Buddhism and Thai culture. Five dimensions of forgiveness emerged from the Thai definitions: overcoming negative approaches towards the offender, abandonment of negative judgment, fostering of positive approaches and loving-kindness towards the offender, awareness of the benefits of forgiveness, and forgiveness as incorporated within Buddhist beliefs. The results highlight the need to consider cultural influences when examining concepts like forgiveness

Linking self-leadership to proactive work behavior: A network analysis

AbstractProactive work behavior (PWB) is a complex phenomenon that individuals exhibit self-initiative and taking anticipatory action in multiple forms including taking charge, voice, individual innovation, and problem prevention. The current study used a network analysis approach to investigate the associations between self-leadership and the forms of PWB through the lens of the Performance Mechanism Model. Data were collected from 256 operational employees from a state-owned enterprise in Thailand, and a partial correlation network was estimated by using EBIC Graphical LASSO. Findings showed positive associations between self-leadership and two forms of PWB, i.e. taking charge and individual innovation, and also were positively related to psychological empowerment and role-breadth self-efficacy (RBSE). Centrality indices indicated that voice and individual innovation were the most central behaviors in the network. Furthermore, RBSE has emerged as a significant pathway in the link between self-leadership and PWB. Practical implications and future research are discussed

A Psychometric Analysis of the Workplace Forgiveness Scale

Though there are measures of forgiveness published in the behavioural science literature, very few scales are available to measure forgiveness in workplace relationships. The Workplace Forgiveness Scale aimed to measure forgiveness of a specific offense. Data from 348 professional nurses in Thailand were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and the psychometric properties of the scale were examined. Results from EFA suggested retaining four underlying factors of the forgiveness construct: Overcoming Negative Thought and Feeling toward the Offender, Seeking to Understand the Offender’s Reasons, Fostering Positive Approaches towards the Offender, and Belief in the Benefits of Forgiveness. Reliability coefficients for the total scale and subscales were adequate. Evidence of construct validity is presented. Scores on the forgiveness scale were positively associated with other related forgiveness constructs. Nomological validity analysis supported the theoretical networks of the forgiveness construct. Forgiveness played the complete mediating role in the relationship between dispositional forgiveness and willingness to reconcile, and played a partial mediating role in the relationship between rumination and seeking to revenge the offender. Bootstrap analysis on the parameter estimates of the sample results revealed satisfactory level of internal replicability and stability of the results across the samples. Implications for future research are discussed