Ever Thought About Strikes? Development of a Scale to Assess Attitudes and Behavioral Reactions to Strikes

Strikes are a recurrent phenomenon in many countries. However, research on strikes from a psychological perspective has been limited. By developing a sound measure to assess attitudes and behavioral reactions to strikes, we will be in a better position to evaluate these constructs in individuals and compare across studies. Therefore, we developed a scale to assess attitudes and behavioral reactions to strikes following classic scale development guidelines using four samples (total N=1369; N1=304, N2=209, N3=443, N4=413). In Study 1, we used exploratory factor analysis to reduce the generated items to a scale and showed that the strike attitude and behavioral reactions scale consists of one afective factor (negative reactions towards strikes), one cognitive factor (legitimacy of strikes), and three behavioral factors (informing oneself about strikes, strike-related social network behavior, and support of strikers). Study 2 confrmed these fve factors and showed acceptable psychometric properties. Study 3 supported the construct validity of the developed scale: the fve factors were correlated with willingness to strike and attitudes towards unions, among other variables. Study 4 further showed that the scale can also capture attitudes and behavioral reactions towards specifc strikes. Overall, these studies indicate that the strike attitude and behavioral reactions scale is a psychometrically sound measure consisting of fve factors

Does Electronic Monitoring Pay Off? - Influences of Electronic Monitoring Purposes on Organizational Attractiveness

Applicants often take great care in deciding where to apply and may refrain from applying or accepting a job offer if they hear about privacy-invading practices at a future workplace. Based on communication privacy management theory, the present work examines how applicants react to different purposes of electronic monitoring. In a scenario study, we found higher privacy concerns and lower organizational attractiveness in a situation with controlling monitoring procedures as compared to supportive monitoring procedures. Furthermore, competitive participants evaluated only noncontrolling monitoring procedures more positively. This demonstrates that organizational attractiveness is harmed by controlling monitoring procedures, and decision makers should keep in mind how electronic monitoring is implemented, used, and may be perceived within and outside the organization

The impact of electronic monitoring on employees' job satisfaction, stress, performance, and counterproductive work behavior : A meta-analysis

Organizations all around the world increasingly use electronic monitoring to collect information on employees’ working behavior. To investigate the effects of electronic monitoring on employees’ job satisfaction, stress, performance, and counterproductive work behavior (CWB), we collected data of 70 independent samples and 233 effect sizes for this meta-analysis. Results indicate that electronic monitoring slightly decreases job satisfaction, r = − 0.10, and slightly increases stress, r = .11, supporting the notion that electronic monitoring negatively affects employees’ well-being and work attitudes. Moderator analyses suggest that performance targets and feedback may further exacerbate these negative effects on workers. Furthermore, maintaining and improving the performance of employees is an important justification of electronic monitoring. However, the current meta-analysis found no relationship between electronic monitoring and performance, r = − 0.01, but a small positive relationship with CWB, r = 0.09. These results question the benefits of electronic monitoring for organizations. Thus, decision-makers in organizations should pay attention to what ends employees are monitored. Beyond that, the current meta-analysis shows that laboratory studies probably underestimate the relationship between monitoring and employees’ job satisfaction, stress, and performance in field studies. In addition, current research on the effects of electronic monitoring lacks the examination of processes why organizations implement electronic monitoring and how electronic monitoring and work design are related to each other

Changing the means of managerial work: effects of automated decision support systems on personnel selection tasks

To enhance the quality and efficiency of information processing and decision-making, automation based on artificial intelligence and machine learning has increasingly been used to support managerial tasks and duties. In contrast to classical applications of automation (e.g., within production or aviation), little is known about how the implementation of automation for management changes managerial work. In a work design frame, this study investigates how different versions of automated decision support systems for personnel selection as a specific management task affect decision task performance, time to reach a decision, reactions to the task (e.g., enjoyment), and self-efficacy in personnel selection. In a laboratory experiment, participants (N = 122) were randomly assigned to three groups and performed five rounds of a personnel selection task. The first group received a ranking of the applicants by an automated support system before participants processed applicant information (support-beforeprocessing group), the second group received a ranking after they processed applicant information (support-after-processing group), and the third group received no ranking (no-support group). Results showed that satisfaction with the decision was higher for the support-after-processing group. Furthermore, participants in this group showed a steeper increase in self-efficacy in personnel selection compared to the other groups. This study combines human factors, management, and industrial/ organizational psychology literature and goes beyond discussions concerning effectiveness and efficiency in the emerging area of automation in management in an attempt to stimulate research on potential effects of automation on managers’ job satisfaction and well-being at work

Could job insecurity (also) be a motivator?

"This study tested the idea that there is not only a negative effect of job insecurity on performance but also a positive one. The positive effect can be expected because job insecurity might also motivate people to work hard because good performance might be believed to lessen the chance of being made redundant. We assume that both effects work simultaneously but that the negative effect is stronger than the positive one. Furthermore, we assume that the negative effect is mediated by work attitudes. Job insecurity, performance (in-role behavior and organizational citizenship behaviour), and work attitudes (job satisfaction, commitment, and justice perceptions) data were collected from 132 German nonmanagerial employees. Structural equation modeling provided some evidence for the hypothesized relationships. In addition, our data replicate the finding of Borg & Elizur (1992) that there are two separate dimensions of job insecurity with different correlational patterns: cognitive job insecurity (i.e., the probability estimate of loosing one's job) and affective job insecurity (i.e., being worried about loosing one's job)." (author's abstract

Executive Search Consultants' Biases Against Women (or Men?)

Women remain under-represented in leadership positions in many countries. Since executive search consultants (also known as headhunters) act as gatekeepers in the hiring process, headhunters' biases might influence the female under-representation. There is preliminary evidence that suggests headhunters favor men, but direct evidence is missing. Thus, this study directly tested this assumption using implicit and explicit measures (an implicit association test and a gender role attitudes survey), completed by 123 German executive search consultants. Although neither measure showed an anti-women bias (with the explicit measure being compared to a match sample from a representative survey using propensity score matching), the implicit association test showed an in-group bias (i.e., male headhunter had a stronger association of men and competence than of women and competence). The latter is worrisome because the majority of consultants in this business are men. Thus, organizations interested in more female managers need to carefully consider who they hire as their executive search consultants

Executive Search Consultants' Biases Against Women (or Men?)

Women remain under-represented in leadership positions in many countries. Since executive search consultants (also known as headhunters) act as gatekeepers in the hiring process, headhunters' biases might influence the female under-representation. There is preliminary evidence that suggests headhunters favor men, but direct evidence is missing. Thus, this study directly tested this assumption using implicit and explicit measures (an implicit association test and a gender role attitudes survey), completed by 123 German executive search consultants. Although neither measure showed an anti-women bias (with the explicit measure being compared to a match sample from a representative survey using propensity score matching), the implicit association test showed an in-group bias (i.e., male headhunter had a stronger association of men and competence than of women and competence). The latter is worrisome because the majority of consultants in this business are men. Thus, organizations interested in more female managers need to carefully consider who they hire as their executive search consultants

Job Insecurity and Performance over Time: The Critical Role of Job Insecurity Duration

Purpose: Research on the relationship between job insecurity and job performance has thus far yielded inconclusive results. The purpose of this paper is to offer a more dynamic perspective on the effects of job insecurity on job performance. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing from cognitive appraisal theory, research on critical life events, and stress reactions as well as more general theorizing around the role of time, this paper proposes that individuals’ job performance reactions to job insecurity will be dynamic over time. Findings: Adopting a person-centered perspective, this paper suggests that there are seven subpopulations that differ in their intra-individual job performance change patterns over time. Research limitations/implications: This paper presents potential predictors of subpopulation membership and presents an agenda for future research. Originality/value: We contribute to the literature by introducing a dynamic perspective to the study of job performance in the context of job insecurity. Delineating a set of open questions that follow from the presented theoretical arguments, the authors also hope to stimulate future research in the context of job insecurity and job performance

Is use of the general system justification scale across countries justified? Testing its measurement equivalence

System justification is a widely researched topic in social and political psychology. One major measurement instrument in system justification research is the General System Justification Scale (G-SJS). This scale has been used, among others, for comparisons across social groups in different countries. Such comparisons rely on the assumption that the scale is measurement equivalent. However, this assumption has never been comprehensively tested. Thus, the present two studies assessed the measurement equivalence of the G-SJS following classic measurement equivalence guidelines (i.e., multigroup confirmatory factor analyses) in Study 1 and using a new method for comparing larger numbers of groups in Study 2 (i.e., alignment optimization). In Study 1, we analysed the measurement equivalence in Great Britain (n = 444), Germany (n = 454), and France (n = 463). In Study 2, we used a publicly available dataset consisting of 66 samples from 30 countries (N = 13,495) to again assess the measurement equivalence of the scale. Results indicated (partial) metric equivalence, but not scalar equivalence in both studies. Overall, the studies indicate that mean comparisons across the examined countries are not warranted with the current form of the G-SJS. The scale needs to be revised for valid cross-country comparisons of means