Workplace bullying, workplace relationships and job outcomes for police officers in Australia

© 2017 CIPFA. One alleged consequence of new public management (NPM) methods and practices, bullying, is seriously under-researched. The authors examined the impact of workplace relationships on police officer bullying and job outcomes. The quality of supervisor relationships seemed to buffer officers’ perceptions of bullying and, hence, their job outcomes. The consequences of the present post-NPM management practices are problematic, with negative implications for police officers in forming effective workplace relationships, which then negatively impact job outcomes, thereby affecting the quality of services delivered to the public

Management, bullying and the work outcomes of Australian paramilitary

© 2016, © The Author(s) 2016. This study compared the impact of perceived organisational support from management upon bullying of soldiers and police officers and their work outcomes (wellbeing, affective commitment and turnover intentions). Data from self-report surveys from 99 army personnel and 193 police officers were analysed using SEM. The results indicate that significant paths between most variables and perceived organisational support explained 6% of bullying (comprising intimidation and personal attacks). Together, (a) perceived organisational support and bullying explained almost a third (28%) of psychological wellbeing, (b) perceived organisational support, bullying and psychological wellbeing explained over two-thirds (68%) of affective commitment, and (c) bullying and affective commitment explained over half (53%) of turnover intentions. Also, bullying partially mediated the relationship between perceived organisational support and affective commitment. There were no significant differences between the two cohorts, except for perceived organisational support from management. Implications include that soldiers and police officers are likely to experience better workplace performance if management support is improved. Both soldiers and police undertake emotionally difficult tasks at times, and without adequate support, the stress of their jobs is likely to negatively impact their wellbeing and commitment. Poor perceived management support is not sustainable in the long-term without negative employee consequences

The role of support antecedents in nurses' intentions to quit: the case of Australia

Aims The study used Social Exchange Theory as a lens to examine associations between nurses' support antecedents (supervisor-nurse relationships and perceived organizational support) and their job attitudes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment and engagement). Background Similar to many other westernized countries, there is a shortage of nurses working as nurses in Australia. The attrition of nurses from the workplace continues to be a challenge for many countries, with resultant calls for improved retention rates. Design The design employed in this study was a Survey. Methods A self-report survey of 1600 nurses employed in five private sector hospitals throughout Australia was completed during 2010-2011, resulting in 510 completed surveys. Results A mediation path model was developed to test the hypotheses and results of Partial Least Squares analysis showed that both support antecedents (supervisor-nurse relationships and perceived organizational support) positively led to engagement and job satisfaction. Subsequently, nurses more satisfied with their jobs were also more committed to their organizations, ultimately leading to lower intentions to quit. In addition, job satisfaction was found to mediate the relationships between organizational commitment and turnover intentions, plus between supervisor-subordinate relationships and turnover intentions. Conclusion In the context of a shortage of nurses and higher than average turnover rates, the findings suggest that it is important to improve nurses' job satisfaction and organizational commitment to improve retention. However, the findings also suggest that workplace relationships and organizational management are currently far from ideal

Nurse safety outcomes: old problem, new solution – the differentiating roles of nurses’ psychological capital and managerial support

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the impacts of nurses’ psychological capital and managerial support, plus specific safety interventions (managerial safety priorities, safety training satisfaction), on nurses’ in-role safety performance. Background: Most hospitals in industrialized countries have adopted selective (often the least costly) aspects of safety, usually related to safety policies. However, patient safety remains a challenge in many countries. Research shows that training can be used to upskill employees in psychological capital, with statistically significant organizational and employee benefits, but this area is under-researched in nursing. Design: Data were collected using a survey-based, self-report strategy. The emerging patterns of data were then compared with the findings of previous research. Methods: Quantitative survey data were collected during 2014 from 242 nurses working in six Australian hospitals. Two models were tested and analysed using covariance-based Structural Equation Modelling. Results: Psychological capital and safety training satisfaction were important predictors of nurses’ in-role safety performance and as predictors of nurses’ perceptions of whether management implements what it espouses about safety (‘managerial safety priorities’). Managerial support accounted for just under a third of psychological capital and together, psychological capital and managerial support, plus satisfaction with safety training, were important to nurses’ perceptions of in-role safety performance. Conclusion: Organizations are likely to benefit from upskilling nurses and their managers to increase nurses’ psychological capital and managerial support, which then will enhance nurses’ satisfaction with training and in-role safety performance perceptions

Nurses' supervisors, learning options and organisational commitment: Australia, Brazil and England

Aim To examine the relationships between leader-member exchange (LMX), workplace learning options (teamwork, training and development), empowerment and organisational commitment, for nurses in Australia, England and Brazil. Background The supervisor-employee relationship is fundamental to management theory and practice within the work context of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Methods Survey-based, self-report data were collected from 1350 nurses in 23 acute-care hospitals during 2011. Results Significant relationships were found between key Social Exchange Theory antecedents (LMX and teamwork) and outcomes (organisational commitment) for nurses in Australia and England, but not in Brazil. As expected, the path between teamwork and organisational commitment was significant in the three countries. Conclusions The findings affirm the importance of LMX as a management tool affecting employee outcomes in OECD countries. In contrast, LMX cannot be assumed to play an important role within a context that operates a dual employment structure coupled with a culture accepting of 'Jeitinho' workplace relationships. Implications for nursing management Informal workplace relationships - 'Jeitinho' (similar to the Chinese 'guanxi') may be worthy of examination within BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries such as Brazil

Comparing the impact of management support on police officers’ perceptions of discretionary power and engagement: Australia, USA and Malta

© 2017, © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This paper uses Social Exchange Theory as a lens for comparing the impact of management support upon police perceptions of discretionary power and employee engagement, across three countries. A survey-based, self-report process collected data from 193 police officers in Australia, 588 from the USA, and 249 from Malta. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. The findings suggest a significantly different management support context across the three countries, as well as significantly different perceptions of discretionary power. Across the three countries, police perceived relatively poor satisfaction with organizational management support and only some engagement levels. However, USA police perceived significantly more discretionary power than the other country samples. These findings provide greater clarity about the link between management support, discretionary power and engagement for the police officers. Since employee engagement likely affects policing outcomes, the findings suggest that poor management support of police officers could negatively affect the provided service. Potential strategies to enhance police engagement include (a) training police managers about how to manage so as to promote greater engagement, and (b) modifying police managers’ performance indicators in line with achieving better police engagement