Process to performance

Employees can make the difference between success and failure in organizations. Employee performance represents the means towards creating successful organizations. However, performance is a rather complex phenomenon that can be influenced by different work and non-work related factors. It is suggested that employee performance is the outcome of two processes: motivation and health impairment. A successful process to performance is triggered by job demands and facilitated by resources; it initiates the appropriate work and task strategies that ultimately lead to performance. Decision making in terms of work strategies (like job crafting or task redefinition) and task strategies (like intuitive and analytic processing) are key factors in the process to performance

Multiple levels in job demands-resources theory:implications for employee well-being and performance

This chapter uses the most recent version of Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory to explain how working conditions influence employees, and how employees influence their own working conditions. We show how employee self-undermining activates a loss cycle of job demands, strain, and negative behaviors over time, whereas employee job crafting activates a gain cycle of job resources, work engagement, and positive behaviors. Moreover, we argue that employee well-being and organizational behavior is a function of factors located at different levels (i.e. organization, team, individual level), which influence each other within and over time. We propose cross-level interaction effects of organization-level initiatives and leader/employee behaviors on team and individual well-being and performance. Although JD-R theory provides answers to many questions regarding employee well-being and performance, we discuss several issues that deserve research attention. The chapter closes with practical implications. We discuss how managers and supervisors can help employees to avoid health problems and flourish at work

Job demands-resources model

* The question of what causes job stress and what motivates people has received a lot of research attention during the past five decades. In this paper, we discuss Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory, which represents an extension of the Job Demands-Re

Crafting values in organizational change processes

This paper explores employees’ use of organizational values in the context of a post-merger integration (PMI) change process, which entails adopting a new set of values. Within such a dynamic corporate context, organizational values may assist employees in proactively managing their work performance and job satisfaction by putting organizational values into practice and using them (‘crafting’) in the context of work. A four-week diary study was conducted in which 71 employees participated. Diary records and validated questionnaire data were collected during a post-merger integration process in a multi-national corporation, and were then analyzed using multi-level modelling. This study suggests that using and practicing organizational values can affect people's motivation to act proactively in changing work settings. We discuss the implications of our findings for future work in helping organizational members craft their work by drawing on organizational values for sustainable collaboration

The Job Demands?Resources model: Challenges for future research

Motivation: The motivation of this overview is to present the state of the art of Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model whilst integrating the various contributions to the special issue. Research purpose: To provide an overview of the JD-R model, which incorporates many possible working conditions and focuses on both negative and positive indicators of employee well-being. Moreover, the studies of the special issue were introduced. Research design: Qualitative and quantitative studies on the JD-R model were reviewed to enlighten the health and motivational processes suggested by the model. Main findings: Next to the confirmation of the two suggested processes of the JD-R model, the studies of the special issue showed that the model can be used to predict work-place bullying, incidences of upper respiratory track infection, work-based identity, and early retirement intentions. Moreover, whilst psychological safety climate could be considered as a hypothetical precursor of job demands and resources, compassion satisfaction moderated the health process of the model. Contribution/value-add: The findings of previous studies and the studies of the special issue were integrated in the JD-R model that can be used to predict well-being and performance at work. New avenues for future research were suggested. Practical/managerial implications: The JD-R model is a framework that can be used for organisations to improve employee health and motivation, whilst simultaneousl

How do cynical employees serve their customers? A multi-method study

In this multi-method study, we investigate how social job demands (i.e., social interruptions) and resources (i.e., colleague support) in the service context influence employee (negative) (re)actions to customers through cynicism towards the job. In addition, we investigate why customers are less satisfied with the provided service when employees endorse a cynical attitude. To test the hypothesized process, we used observer ratings of the employee–customer interactions regarding the number of interruptions and employee negative (re)actions during service encounters, employee self-reports of overall colleague support and daily cynicism, and customer-ratings of service quality. Participants were 48 service employees and 141 customers. Results of multi-level structural equation modelling analyses showed that whereas the number of observed social interruptions during service encounters related positively to cynicism, social support related negatively. Cynical employees exhibited more negative (re)actions towards their customers (e.g., expressed tension, were unfriendly). Consequently, the more negative (re)actions employees showed towards their customers, the less satisfied customers were with the service quality. The study contributes to the literature by explaining what makes service employees cynical about their work, and why cynical employees provide low-quality services

Creating A Creative State of Mind: Promoting Creativity Through Proactive Vitality Management and Mindfulness

Most research on employee creativity has been focused on relatively distal antecedents, such as personality or job characteristics, which has resulted in top-down organizational approaches to promote employee creativity. However, such approaches overlook the self-regulating potential of employees and may not explain intraindividual fluctuations in creativity. In the present research, we build on proactive motivation theory to examine how employees may promote their own creativity on a daily basis through the use of proactive vitality management (PVM). To better understand the PVM-creativity link, we zoom in on this process by examining the role of mindfulness as an underlying mechanism. In two daily diary studies, employees from the United States (N = 133 persons, n = 521 data points) and the creative industry in Germany (N = 62 persons, n = 232 data points) reported on their use of PVM and states of mindfulness for five consecutive workdays. Additionally, participants completed a daily creativity test (brainstorming task) in Study 1, whereas supervisors rated participants' daily creative work performance in Study 2. In both studies, multilevel analyses showed that daily PVM was positively related to creative performance through daily mindfulness, supporting our hypotheses. These replicated findings suggest that individuals may bring themselves in a cognitive, creative state of mind on a daily basis, emphasizing the importance of proactive behavior in the creative process

Job Resources Boost Work Engagement, Particularly When Job Demands Are High

This study of 805 Finnish teachers working in elementary, secondary, and vocational schools tested 2 interaction hypotheses. On the basis of the job demands–resources model, the authors predicted that job resources act as buffers and diminish the negative relationship between pupil misbehavior and work engagement. In addition, using conservation of resources theory, the authors hypothesized that job resources particularly influence work engagement when teach

Working in the sky: A diary study on work engagement among flight attendants

This study aims to gain insight in the motivational process of the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model by examining whether daily fluctuations in colleague support (i.e., a typical job resource) predict day-levels of job performance through self-ef

Job resources and recovery experiences to face difficulties in emotion regulation at work: a diary study among nurses

The present study examines the role of daily difficulties in emotion regulation at work in nurse’s daily well-being and how certain job resources and recovery experiences influence this relationship. We hypothesized that daily difficulties to regulate emotions at work would be significantly and positively related to emotional exhaustion at work in the afternoon, and to fatigue and negative affect at home at night. Moreover, we hypothesized that co-worker and supervisor support, as well as psychological detachment and relaxation, would buffer the negative impact of these difficulties on the outcomes. Seventy-four nurses from various Spanish hospitals and primary health care centres completed a general questionnaire and a diary booklet over 5 consecutive workdays at two different moments, after work and at night (N = 74 participants and N = 370 observations). The results of multilevel analyses showed that nurses’ daily difficulties in emotion regulation have a direct effect on daily emotional exhaustion at work, and on fatigue and negative affect at home at night. We also found that co-worker support, psychological detachment and relaxation minimize the unfavourable effects on well-being of difficulties in emotion regulation. Limitations and implications for nursing and other health occupations are mentionedThis research was supported by a grant Formación de Profesorado Universitario (FPU) from the Spanish Ministry of Education and by a project from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (FEM2012-34692