When are workload and workplace learning opportunities related in a curvilinear manner? The moderating role of autonomy

Building on theoretical frameworks like the Job Demands Control model and Action Theory we tested whether the relationship between workload and employees’ experiences of opportunities for workplace learning is of an inverted u-shaped nature and whether autonomy moderates this relationship. We predicted that – at moderate levels of autonomy - workload was positively associated with learning opportunities at low levels of workload, but negatively at high levels of workload. Also, we predicted that low autonomy prevents positive effects of moderate workload from materializing whereas high autonomy makes high workload less destructive to the learning process. Furthermore, we examined whether learning opportunities increase particularly as a function of higher matched levels of workload and autonomy and whether mismatch between workload and autonomy is particularly detrimental to the learning process. We found support for these ideas in two large and heterogeneous samples of working adults using moderated and polynomial regression analysis and subsequent response surface methodology. These results integrate conflicting prior findings and extend Karasek's (1979) active learning hypothesis. They also have clear implications for job redesign practices aiming to promote workplace learning opportunities. For this study, the researchers made use of SERV-data from the Flemish Workability Monitor. Only the authors are responsible for the content of this article

Wanneer bevordert en wanneer hindert werkdruk het werkplek leren?

Building on theoretical frameworks like the Job Demands Control model we tested whether the relationship between workload and employees’ experiences of opportunities for workplace learning is of an inverted u-shaped nature. Furthermore we researched whether autonomy moderates this relationship. We predicted that at moderate levels of autonomy rising workload was associated with increasing learning opportunities at low levels of workload, but with decreasing learning opportunities at high levels of workload. Also, we predicted that low autonomy prevents positive effects of moderate workload from materializing whereas high autonomy makes high workload less destructive to the learning process. We found support for these ideas in a large and heterogeneous sample of Flemish working adults (FWM, 2010). These results integrate conflicting prior findings and extend Karasek’s (1979) active learning hypothesis. They also have clear implications for job redesign practices aiming to promote workplace learning opportunities

What value ethical leadership?

What is ethical leadership? What are the benefits of developing an ethical culture within an organisation? And how can leaders implement such a culture? These are just some of the issues that are discussed in the second RSM Discovery debate

Make me want to pay! A three-way interaction between procedural justice, distributive justice, and power on voluntary tax compliance

Tax compliance involves a decision where personal benefits come at the expense of society and its members. We explored the roles of procedural and distributive justice and citizens’ perceptions of the tax authority’s power in stimulating voluntary tax compliance. Distributive and procedural justice have often (but not always) been shown to interact in such a way that high distributive justice or high procedural justice is sufficient to predict positive responses to authorities and the social collective they represent. We examined whether this interaction predicts voluntary (but not enforced) tax compliance, in particular among citizens who perceive the tax authority’s power as high (vs. low). The results of two field studies among Ethiopian (Study 1) and United States (Study 2) taxpayers supported our pre

Understanding Immoral Conduct in Business Settings: A Behavioural Ethics Approach

__Abstract__ In the past decades, the world has observed a large variety of business scandals, such as those at ENRON, WorldCom, AHOLD, Lehman Brothers, and News of the World. These scandals caused economic damage and undermined the trust that governments, shareholders, and citizens have in the corporate and financial world. In response, the scientific study of moral and immoral conduct of organizational managers and employees - referred to as “behavioral ethics” - has rapidly grown into an accepted field of scientific enquiry. In this inaugural address, I distinguish behavioral ethics from traditional philosophical views of business ethics, and present a brief overview of the history and the current status of the field. I illustrate how progress can be made in the field of behavioral ethics using examples from my own research in the areas of organizational justice, ethical leadership, and power / hierarchy. I then present a research program that addresses some critical limitations of the field. I close by addressing how insights from behavioral ethics research can be made more practically relevant by integrating them in the curricula of business schools and by applying them to design interventions aimed at improving the moral conduct of organizational managers and employees