Work-Related Well-Being: From Qualitative Job Insecurity to Cognitive Reappraisal

This study contributes to the understanding of the moderating effect of cognitive reappraisal, as a personal resource, for the relationship between qualitative job insecurity (QJI) and work engagement. Data was collected from 190 employees (53% men) who work in a multinational company in Romania. Hypotheses were tested using a hierarchical regression analysis, with work engagement as the dependent variable. The results support the moderation hypothesis: a cognitive reappraisal, as an efficient type of emotion regulation strategy, moderates the relationship between qualitative job insecurity and work engagement. Practical implications of the present findings suggest that trainings aimed at improving emotion regulation skills can help to increase work engagement for employees that experiment job insecurity based on deteriorating work conditions, specific to the qualitative job insecurity

Too much love will kill you : the development and function of group emotional awareness

Purpose This paper aims to enhance clarity for the conceptualization and measurement of group emotional awareness by defining it as an emergent state. The authors explore the emergence of this state through two studies designed to explore the four characteristics (global, radically novel, coherent and ostensive) of emergent phenomena (Waller et al., 2016). Design/methodology/approach In Study 1, the authors explore in an experimental setting the formation of group emotional awareness and regulation as emergent states as a result of compositional effects (team members' self-perceptions of their individual emotional awareness capabilities) and group norms regarding emotional awareness. Study 2 uses an experimental design to explore how pre-existing expectations of group emotional awareness, based on previous dyadic interactions between team members, can prevent conflict escalation (from task to relationship conflict) in project teams. Findings Individual perceptions of members' own abilities and group norms interact in the emergence of group emotional awareness. Group emotion regulation can develop only under an optimal level of emergent group emotional awareness; groups that build emotional awareness norms compensate for their members' low awareness and develop equally efficient regulatory strategies as groups formed of emotionally aware individuals. However, the conjunction of personal propensity towards awareness and explicit awareness norms blocks the development of regulatory strategies. Group emotional awareness (both as a developed state and as an expectation) reduces the escalation of task to relationship conflict. Originality/value Designing for the exploration of the four characteristics of emergence allowed us to gain new insights about how group emotional awareness emerges and operates too much awareness can hurt, and affective group expectations have the power to shape reality. These findings have strong implications for practitioners' training of emotional awareness in organizations

A multilevel model of job insecurity and engagement

Purpose The purpose of this current study was to investigate the moderating effect of autonomy (individual-level job resource) and social supportive climate (group-level job resource) on the negative relationship between job insecurity and work engagement. Design/methodology/approach Cross-sectional data were gathered and analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling from 3,812 participants nested in 116 work units. Findings A significant interaction between job insecurity and autonomy offered support for the buffering hypothesis of autonomy. Hypotheses regarding both the direct and the buffering effect of social supportive climate were also supported, suggesting that shared perceptions of a supportive environment can reduce the negative impact of job insecurity on work engagement. Practical implications Focus on unit climate can aid practitioners in designing interventions that take into account the effects, and make use of resources that are shared in the work-group. Originality/value This study extends the job demands-resources theory, showing that resources exist not only at the level of the individual but also a group-level phenomenon, and interact with demands across levels.acceptedVersio

How to Increase Employees’ Proactive Vitality Management? Testing the Effect of a Training Intervention

Drawing on the Job Demands-Resources theory, we investigate the effectiveness of an online intervention based on training in energy management strategies using an experimental design. The intervention focused on creating awareness about the importance of energy in completing tasks, shaping the present state, and proactively identifying valuable strategies to manage vitality during work. Additionally, we expected an increase in work-related strategies (i.e., setting a new goal) and a decrease in micro-breaks (i.e., mental and physical). Participants were enrolled voluntarily in the intervention and randomly assigned to the experimental group (N = 42) and the control group (N = 44). Results of the ANCOVA showed that, in the experimental group, the intervention positively impacted changes in proactive vitality management. Furthermore, the results indicated that the participants from the experimental group used fewer physical micro-breaks after the intervention. Additionally, after the training and weekly level, the results showed a decrease in work-related strategies and physical micro-breaks in the experimental group. Thus, organizations could facilitate employees to learn to engage in different energy management strategies according to their preferences

How to Increase Job Satisfaction and Performance? Start with Thriving: The Serial Mediation Effect of Psychological Capital and Burnout

Based on the Job Demands-Resources and Broaden and Build theories, this study examines the role of thriving at work and psychological capital on burnout and, ultimately, job satisfaction and performance one year later. We used structural equation modeling to test the model on a sample of 317 Romanian correctional officers in a two-wave study at T1 and one year later (T2). The results indicate that thriving at work at Time 1 is positively linked to psychological capital at Time 1, and negatively related to burnout at Time 2. Meanwhile, burnout at Time 2 is negatively related to job satisfaction and performance at Time 2. The mediating chain effect of psychological capital at Time 1 and burnout at Time 2 is significant. Thriving at work and psychological capital are essential factors contributing to a decrease in subsequent burnout and increased job satisfaction and performance. In a thriving environment, correctional officers are more resilient, confident, optimistic, and hopeful at work, generating lower burnout over time and increasing job satisfaction and performance. Supervisors need to be encouraged to create a thriving work environment to increase psychological capital, reduce burnout, and improve correctional officers’ satisfaction and performance

A multilevel model of job insecurity and engagement

Purpose The purpose of this current study was to investigate the moderating effect of autonomy (individual-level job resource) and social supportive climate (group-level job resource) on the negative relationship between job insecurity and work engagement. Design/methodology/approach Cross-sectional data were gathered and analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling from 3,812 participants nested in 116 work units. Findings A significant interaction between job insecurity and autonomy offered support for the buffering hypothesis of autonomy. Hypotheses regarding both the direct and the buffering effect of social supportive climate were also supported, suggesting that shared perceptions of a supportive environment can reduce the negative impact of job insecurity on work engagement. Practical implications Focus on unit climate can aid practitioners in designing interventions that take into account the effects, and make use of resources that are shared in the work-group. Originality/value This study extends the job demands-resources theory, showing that resources exist not only at the level of the individual but also a group-level phenomenon, and interact with demands across levels

Perceptions of Customer Incivility, Job Satisfaction, Supervisor Support, and Participative Climate: A Multi-Level Approach

Perceived customer incivility can be a significant day-to-day demand that affects frontline service employees’ job satisfaction. The current research focuses on job resources on multiple levels that serve as buffers in the face of this demand. We tested a multi-level model in which supervisor support (at the employee level) and participative climate (at the work-unit level) moderate the negative relationship between perceived customer incivility and job satisfaction. We used multi-level analysis with self-reported cross-sectional data collected from 934 employees nested in 107 work units of a large clothing shop chain in Belgium. The results showed that both supervisor support and participative climate moderate the negative relationship between perceived customer incivility and job satisfaction. The theoretical contribution of this study resides in an extension of the JD-R theory to simultaneously conceptualize resources on multiple levels. In the meantime, we focus on practical, hands-on resources that organizations can implement to protect service employees from the adverse effects of perceived customer incivility