The Effect of Work Values on Absence Disciplinary Decisions: The Role of Fairness Orientation and Supervisor Attributions

The present study investigated the role of the work value of fairness and attributions regarding the causes of absence in supervisor disciplinary decisions. It was hypothesized that supervisors who valued fairness, and those who made internal attributions regarding the cause of a particular absence incident, render more severe disciplinary decisions than supervisors who value fairness less, and who make external attributions about the cause of a particular absence incident. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that the degree to which supervisors valued fairness moderates the relationship between external attributions and the severity of disciplinary decisions. Using a policy capturing approach, results were consistent with predictions. Implications of the results for research and practice are discussed

When We Don\u27t See Eye to Eye: Discrepancies Between Supervisors and Subordinates in Absence Disciplinary Decisions

This study provided a within-subjects assessment of the factors associated with absence disciplinary decisions for both supervisors and subordinates. In addition, this study examined discrepancies in disciplinary decisions between a supervisor and his or her subordinates based on differences in psychological and demographic attributes. A sample of non-academic employees from 19 intact triads (one supervisor; two subordinates) at a large Midwest university responded to hypothetical scenarios describing factors that might contribute to absence disciplinary decisions. The results demonstrated that both supervisors and subordinates consider the same set of factors as relevant to disciplinary decisions. Furthermore, with few exceptions, psychological and demographic differences between supervisors and subordinates related positively to discrepancies in disciplinary decisions. The implications of these findings for managing disciplinary programs in organizations are discussed

A Policy Capturing Approach to Individuals\u27 Decisions to be Absent

This study provided a within-subjects assessment of the factors associated with an individual\u27s decision to be absent, and examined whether there were differences between individuals in their decisions. A sample of maintenance and clerical employees at a large Midwest university responded to scenarios describing factors that might contribute to their decisions to be absent on a particular day. Illness explained more variance than any other factor in individuals\u27 absence decisions. Several other within-subject and between-subject influences were identified. The relative importance of the antecedents of absence decisions varied widely by individual, lending support to Johns and Nicholson\u27s (1982) argument that absence decisions are phenomenologically unique

What factors influence training opportunities for older workers? Three factorial surveys exploring the attitudes of HR professionals

The core research questions addressed in this paper are: what factors influence HR professionals in deciding whether to approve training proposals for older workers? What kind of training are they more likely to recommend for older employees and in which organizational contexts? We administered three factorial surveys to 66 HR professionals in Italy. Participants made specific training decisions based on profiles of hypothetical older workers. Multilevel analyses indicated that access to training decreases strongly with age, while highly-skilled older employees with low absenteeism rates are more likely to enjoy training opportunities. In addition, older workers displaying positive performance are more likely to receive training than older workers who perform poorly, suggesting that training late in working life may serve as a reward for good performance rather than as a means of enhancing productivity. The older the HR professional evaluating training proposals, the higher the probability that older workers will be recommended for training. keywords: training; older workers; HR professionals; factorial survey; multilevel model

Social Dominance Orientation Moderates the Effectiveness of Mindset Messages

In this work, we examine if difference in social dominance orientation (SDO) moderate the effectiveness of mindsets of intelligence messages. We suggest that SDO is a foundational ideological belief system, on which individuals vary, that maintains the desire to endorse fixed beliefs about the nature of human intelligence. Thus, attempts to change individuals\u27 mindsets should be met with resistance from those who strongly endorse the social dominance ideology-individuals high on SDO. In contrast, individuals low on SDO are less likely to use mindsets of intelligence to justify an ideological belief system, and thus mindset manipulations should be effective for them. We test these predictions across three experimental studies (NStudy1= 271, NStudy2= 207, NStudy3= 313). Across the studies, we find that individuals who are high, relative to low, on SDO have more fixed beliefs about the nature of intelligence and show smaller effects of manipulations of mindsets. However, when comparing to a control condition, there was no evidence that high SDO participants resisted the growth message that contradicts their ideology more than the fixed one that supports it; additionally, low SDO participants showed heightened responsiveness to a fixed message. We discuss implications for theoretical advances in our understanding of mindsets

Work-Unit Absenteeism: Effects of Satisfaction, Commitment, Labor Market Conditions, and Time

Prior research is limited in explaining absenteeism at the unit level and over time. We developed and tested a model of unit-level absenteeism using five waves of data collected over six years from 115 work units in a large state agency. Unit-level job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and local unemployment were modeled as time-varying predictors of absenteeism. Shared satisfaction and commitment interacted in predicting absenteeism but were not related to the rate of change in absenteeism over time. Unit-level satisfaction and commitment were more strongly related to absenteeism when units were located in areas with plentiful job alternatives

The Dark Side of Visionary Leadership in Strategy Implementation:Strategic Alignment, Strategic Consensus, and Commitment

Drawing from visionary leadership and strategy process research, we theorize and test the mechanism through which middle and lower-level managers’ visionary leadership affects their teams’ strategic commitment. The management literature extols the virtues of visionary leadership. In contrast to this positive stance, we reveal a dark side to visionary leadership. Our theoretical framework suggests that team manager visionary leadership harms team strategic consensus when the manager is not strategically aligned with the CEO, which in turn diminishes team commitment to the strategy. In contrast, when a team manager is strategically aligned with the CEO, team manager visionary leadership is positively related to team strategic consensus and subsequently to team strategic commitment. Data from 136 teams from two organizations support our moderated mediation model. A supplemental analysis of the content of strategic consensus and additional qualitative interviews with managers and employees in one of these organizations provide additional insights concerning the meaning of the theorized relations in practice

Thriving at work: Toward its measurement, construct validation, and theoretical refinement

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90225/1/job756.pd

Psychosocial job factors and biological cardiovascular risk factors in Mexican workers

BackgroundPsychosocial job factors (PJF) have been implicated in the development of cardiovascular disease. The paucity of data from developing economies including Mexico hampers the development of worksite intervention efforts in those regions.MethodsThis cross-sectional study of 2,330 Mexican workers assessed PJF (job strain [JS], social support [SS], and job insecurity [JI]) and biological cardiovascular disease risk factors [CVDRF] by questionnaire and on-site physical examinations. Alternative formulations of the JS scales were developed based on factor analysis and literature review. Associations between both traditional and alternative job factor scales with CVDRF were examined in multiple regression models, adjusting for physical workload, and socio-demographic factors.ResultsAlternative formulations of the job demand and control scales resulted in substantial changes in effect sizes or statistical significance when compared with the original scales. JS and JI showed hypothesized associations with most CVDRF, but they were inversely associated with diastolic blood pressure and some adiposity measures. SS was mainly protective against CVDRF.ConclusionAmong Mexican workers, alternative PJF scales predicted health outcomes better than traditional scales, and psychosocial stressors were associated with most CVDRF