The transmission of work-related attitudes: a social learning analysis.

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to focus on personal and social background factors as potential channels for the transmission of work related attitudes in young adults. The paper aims to examine the extent to which gender, parental job type, job status, and education, as well as school experience, influence the development of attitudes towards work and family life. Design/methodology/approach – The study comprised a quantitative (questionnaire based) survey with a sample of 782 final year undergraduate students attending various third level institutions in Ireland and the USA. Findings – The results indicated that individuals who had grown up in traditional mixed families had more positive attitudes towards balancing work and home roles than did those who had grown up in traditional single earner families. Father’s educational level also emerged as a significant factor in the career-family attitudes of the participants. Research limitations/implications – The results of this research indicate that young people have developed attitudes towards managing the work/family interface on entering the workforce, which they acquire through a social learning process. Limitations included the cross-sectional nature of the design and future longitudinal research is needed. Practical implications – Organizations and managers need to be aware of the well-developed attitudes of new entrants in order to address early issues of psychological contract and person-organizational fit, which have an impact on career success and career management. Originality/value – The findings of the paper break new ground on the role of social learning on the formation of attitudes towards managing the work-family interface. Such attitudes proceed to inform behavioral patterns and decisions in the harmonious management of the two domains

Investigating the role of discrete emotions in silence versus speaking up

Silence in the workplace is a highly prevalent behaviour, but more is needed to understand the causes and consequences of such behaviour. In this article, we draw on theory and research to examine the role of discrete emotions in decisions to remain silent or to speak up. Three studies with full-time employees were carried out utilizing both qualitative and experimental methodologies. Study 1 (n = 110) demonstrated that there are many reasons for being silent and established fear as the main emotion associated with silence behaviour. Building on the results of Study 1 and using a quasi-experimental vignette design, Study 2 (n = 142) confirmed that different silence motives provoke different emotional experiences. Exploring the behavioural effects of emotions using a further experimental design, Study 3 (n = 80) showed that anger is an antecedent to speaking up about an observed transgression, whereas less intense anger was associated with staying silent. This pattern was not evident for fear. Taken together, these three studies provide empirical data regarding the relationship between silence, emotions, and actions. We contribute to theory and research at the intersection of silence, emotions, and behaviour and offer valuable insights into the dynamics of these concepts in the workplace