No one is safe! But who’s more susceptible? Locus of control moderates pandemic perceptions’ effects on job insecurity and psychosocial factors amongst MENA hospitality frontliners: a PLS-SEM approach

Background The research aimed to formulate and test a model concerning COVID-19 perceptions effects on job insecurity and a set of psychosocial factors comprising anxiety, depression, job burnout and job alienation in the Middle East and North African (hereafter, MENA) regional context. Also, the study attempted to examine whether locus of control can moderate these hypothesised linkages amongst customer service employees working in MENA hospitality organisations. Methods The study is based on a sample of 885 responses to an online survey and Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Results The main findings show the existence of a significant correlation between COVID perceptions and job insecurity and all psychosocial factors, i.e., more intense COVID-19 perceptions accompany higher levels of job insecurity, anxiety, depression, job burnout and job alienation. Furthermore, our results revealed that, in pandemic time, hospitality customer service employees with external locus of control are more likely to suffer higher alienation, anxiety and depression than those with internal locus of control. Conclusions The research originality centres on the establishment that COVID-19 has a severe negative impact within the hospitality customer service labour force (in the MENA region). These effects were more profound for participants who claimed external locus of control than those with internal locus of control

The reincarnation of work motivation: Millennials vs older generations

Abstract: This study examines generational differences in valuing the sources of motivation in workplace behaviour between millennials and older generations, with a view to assist managers in making employment decisions and maintaining multigenerational staff in the services sector. Based on systematically sampled data, the authors used Gagné et al.’s Multidimensional Work Motivational Scale (MWMS) to measure the different facets of work motivators alongside a three-item measure of employee overall work motivation (designed for this study) to address the hypotheses. Using structural equation modelling procedures to analyse the data, the authors found that four out of six motivators regress differently to overall work motivation. In other words, both extrinsic regulation–material and identified regulation are valued more by millennials compared to older generations, while extrinsic regulation–social and introjected regulation are valued less by millennials compared to older generations. Résumé Dans cette étude, nous analysons les différences générationnelles d’appréciation des sources de motivation dans le comportement au travail entre la génération des millénials et les générations plus âgées, dans l’objectif d’aider les gestionnaires à prendre des décisions en matière d’embauche et à maintenir des équipes multigénérationnelles dans le secteur des services. À partir de données ayant fait l’objet d’un échantillonnage systématique, nous avons utilisé l’Échelle multidimensionnelle de la Motivation au Travail (MWMS) de Gagné et al. (2015) pour mesurer les différents aspects des facteurs de motivation au travail, ainsi qu’une échelle de mesure en trois points de la motivation globale des employés au travail (conçue pour cette étude) pour examiner les hypothèses formulées. En utilisant des modèles d’équations structurelles, nous avons constaté que quatre des six facteurs de motivation pèsent différemment sur la motivation globale au travail : la régulation extrinsèque (matérielle) et la régulation identifiée sont plus valorisées par les millénials que par les générations plus âgées, tandis que la régulation extrinsèque (sociale) et la régulation introjectée sont moins valorisées par les millénials que par leurs aînés. Resumen Este artículo analiza las diferencias generacionales en la valoración de las fuentes de motivación en el comportamiento en el trabajo entre la generación de los millenials y las generaciones mayores, con el objetivo de ayudar a los gerentes a tomar decisiones de reclutamiento y mantener una plantilla multigeneracional en el sector servicios. Usando datos muestreados sistemáticamente, se utiliza la Escala de Motivación Laboral Multidimensional (MWMS) de Gagné et al. (2015) para medir las diferentes facetas de los motivadores laborales junto con una medida de 3 ítems de la motivación laboral general de los empleados (diseñada para este estudio) para abordar las hipótesis formuladas. Utilizando modelos de ecuaciones estructurales, se ha hallado que cuatro de los seis motivadores tienen un peso diferente sobre la motivación laboral general. Tanto la regulación extrínseca (material) y la regulación identificada son más valoradas por los millennials en comparación con las generaciones anteriores, mientras que la regulación extrínseca (social) y la regulación introyectada son menos valoradas por los millennials que por las generaciones anteriores

Examining generational differences as a moderator of extreme-context perception and its impact on work alienation organisational outcomes—implications for the workplace and remote work transformation

There is no doubt that extreme contexts (e.g. warzones and pandemics) represent substantial disruptions that force many companies to rethink the way they do business. With so much workforce now working remotely and concerns about resulting work alienation, the question becomes: how can this be translated into the generational divide in workplaces based in extreme contexts? Using COVID-19 as an example trigger of extreme-context experience, therefore, we investigate generation as a moderator of the effects of extreme-context perception upon anxiety leading to alienation with subsequent behavioural outcomes on job insecurity, job satisfaction, and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB). A time-lagged survey procedure yielded 219 valid responses from a three-generation sample of employees working in multiple service organisations. The data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Our analysis suggested that intense extreme-context perception led to elevated anxiety and alienation, which, in turn, heightened job insecurity and worsened job satisfaction and OCB outcomes. Finally, during the experience of extreme-context times, generation was found to moderate our model, such that both Generation Y and Generation Z experienced higher anxiety due to extreme-context perception and hence higher job insecurity due to alienation compared to Generation X respondents. Our results endorse the criticality of implementing agile and generationally-non-sectarian management for effectively functioning generationally-diverse workforces in pandemic times

Entrepreneurial Marketing Intentions and Behaviours among Students: Investigating the Roles of Entrepreneurial Skills, Entrepreneurial Self-efficacy, and Family Business Exposure

This study investigates the relationships between entrepreneurial skills (ES), entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE), entrepreneurial marketing intentions (EMI), and entrepreneurial marketing behaviours (EMB) of university students while considering the influence of family business exposure as a moderating factor. A sample of 149 Malaysian university students was analysed using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to assess the roles of ES, ESE, and EMI in predicting EMB. Our findings reveal that EMI partially mediates the effects of ES and ESE on EMB. In addition, having a family-owned business background did not affect the relationships in our model. However, students with friends involved in family businesses exhibited significantly higher levels of EMB due to acquired entrepreneurial skills than those without such connections