Spanning leader–subordinate relationships through negative interactions : An examination of leader–member exchange breaches

The study aims to discover the dynamic and processual nature of a supervisory relationship (here a leader–member exchange) through a novel, theoretical concept termed leader–member exchange breach, and by examining the characteristics of negative exchange interactions within the leader–member exchange relationship. The notion of the leader–member exchange breach is empirically defined through data on 336 responses to open-ended questions on negative interactions between leaders and subordinates, analyzed through qualitative analysis methods. The results of the study raise questions about the complexity of leader–member exchange relationships and show that breaches of the leader–member exchange relationship might lead to a reassessment of the dyadic relationship between leaders and their subordinates, spanning or even breaking the exchange relationships. This study extends current knowledge on leader–member exchange relationships by providing a viewpoint on the leader–member exchange breach that helps explain the processual and dynamic nature of those relationships through interpersonal interactions and exchanges.© Sage 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

I wouldn't be working this way if I had a family - Differences in remote workers' needs for supervisor's family-supportiveness depending on the parental status

This study investigates how working remotely blurs the boundaries between work and non-work domains by contrasting the experiences of employees with different parental status. The study further shows how leaders can mitigate this blurring via family-supportive supervisor behaviours (FSSB), and extends the concept to encompass non-work roles beyond the family. Working from home leads to an increasing intertwining of work and non-work roles, with family status playing a significant role in shaping boundary challenges and support needs. Through semi-structured interviews with 89 employees working from home in various industries, the study reveals that parents and non-parents, distinct in their challenges and requirements, exhibit varied demonstrated needs from their leaders. As parent employees require flexible boundaries to attend to their family responsibilities, non-parent employees need safeguards to maintain boundaries around their private life. The results underscore that FSSB benefit employees regardless of parental status. This study emphasizes the importance of employers tailoring their work-life programs to accommodate the diverse needs of employees, and recognizes the pivotal role of supervisors in attuning their supportive behaviours to employees' work-nonwork boundary needs and preferences.© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Satisfaction with an expatriate job : the role of physical and functional distance between expatriate and supervisor

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to focus on satisfaction with an expatriate job and how such satisfaction is linked to leadership. Specifically, this research examines how two different kinds of distances – physical distance and functional distance – between an expatriate and his/her supervisor are related to satisfaction with the expatriate job. Design/methodology/approach - The study was conducted among 290 Finnish expatriates. Moderated hierarchical regression analysis was conducted in order to test the research hypothesis. Findings - The results show that low functional distance with a supervisor is related to greater satisfaction with the expatriate job. The physical distance is not directly connected to expatriate job satisfaction, but the common effect of the two types of distance shows that among those whose functional distance is low, working in the same country with the leader is linked to greater expatriate satisfaction than recorded among those who were physically distant. Interestingly, expatriates with high functional distance are more satisfied with the expatriate job if they work in a different country to their supervisor. Originality/value - This study makes a contribution in three areas; first, it addresses the understudied phenomena of international work-specific job satisfaction, specifically satisfaction with an expatriate job. Second, it provides new knowledge on the outcomes of leader distance in the context of expatriation, a work situation that is inherently related to changes in physical location and to organizational relationships. Third, it contributes to leadership literature and highlights the importance of the conditions and the context in which leadership occurs.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Working Remotely During the COVID 19-Pandemic: Work and Non-Work Antecedents of Work–Life Balance Development

This study investigates work and non-work antecedents for the work–life balance (WLB) development of remote employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Longitudinal data (N = 1,146, T1; N = 737, T2) was collected in May–June 2020 and December 2020 in one multinational company (MNC) in Finland. In data analysis, structural equation modeling (SEM) with a cross-lagged panel model was utilized. The results revealed that during the pandemic, WLB slightly decreased. The quantitative job demands increased and predicted a decreased WLB at T2. Job autonomy decreased but did not have an effect on WLB development or buffer the negative effect of quantitative job demands on WLB. Time saved from commuting was positively related to WLB development, but the number of children living at home and the age of the youngest child had no statistically significant link to WLB development over time (similar finding for men and women). Although care responsibilities from the gender perspective is not the focus of our study, the additional analysis show that WLB at T1 was more challenging for women the more children they had, or the younger the youngest child was. For men, children did not make a difference for their WLB at T1. This finding indicates that WLB has been more challenging for mothers compared to fathers already when our first data had been collected, and the continuance of the pandemic did not change the situation in any direction. This research contributes to the knowledge about work and non-work related demands and resources as antecedents for WLB development during the pandemic. As a practical implication during the pandemic, the authors suggest that employers should follow development for employees’ WLB as a measure of well-being in remote work. In addition, the workload of remote employees should be followed, and time saved from commuting should be preserved as employees’ non-work time and protected from work-related tasks.©2023 Emerald Publishing Limited. This manuscript version is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY–NC 4.0) license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

International business travelers' job exhaustion : effects of travel days spent in short-haul and long-haul destinations and the moderating role of leader-member exchange

Purpose – The purpose of the present study is to examine the general and travel-specific job exhaustion of international business travelers (IBTs). The study employs a JD-R model to explain general and travel-specific job exhaustion (IBTExh) through international business travel as demand and leadership (LMX) as a resource buffering the demands of international business travel. Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted among Finnish service company employees who had taken at least one international business trip during the previous year. The data (N 5 569), collected in 2015, were analyzed with path models. Findings – The results suggest that a higher number of international business travel days is related to a higher level of job exhaustion, especially the exhaustion related to international business travel. Moreover, a high-quality LMX was found to be linked to lower levels of both types of exhaustion. Interestingly, for those IBTs’ with a low-quality LMX, even a high number of long-haul international business travel days was not connected with IBTExh. Originality/value – The contribution of our study is threefold. First, this study contributes to JD-R theory and the ill-health process by focusing on a job-specific well-being indicator, IBTExh, in addition to general exhaustion. Second, specific job demands related to international business travel, particularly the duration of business travel spent in short-haul and long-haul destinations, contributes to the literature on global mobility. This study sheds light on the potential effects on IBTs of different types of business travel. Third, our study contributes to the leadership literature and the importance of acknowledging the context in which LMX occurs.© Liisa Mäkelä, Jussi Tanskanen, Hilpi Kangas and Milla Heikkilä. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Coaching leadership as a link between individual- and team-level strength use at work

This qualitative study delves into the interplay between coaching leadership and the utilization of strengths at both individual and team levels. Despite the acknowledged significance of this interplay, there is a scarcity of empirical qualitative research in this domain. Thus, this study aimed to address this gap by examining the prevalence and effectiveness of coaching leadership practices and strength use. Through a qualitative research approach, data from 17 supervisors and 23 employees within elderly care units were analyzed using template analysis. The outcomes of this study underscore the pivotal role of leadership in facilitating the application of strengths within the workplace, highlighting the interconnectedness of individual and team-level strength utilization. The findings of this study reveal that leadership plays a pivotal role in enabling and facilitating strength use at work, and that individual- and team-level strength use are linked. Leaders need to personally know their team members at the individual level, empower teams to work autonomously, and create a safe, open atmosphere for diversity at the team level. Adopting qualitative methodology, the study comprehends how coaching leadership facilitates strength utilization. This nuanced approach contributes to literature, enhancing our understanding of leadership’s role in optimizing strengths in a professional context.© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Opetusalan ammattilaisten kokemuksia etätyöhön siirtymisestä COVID-19-pandemian vuoksi

COVID-19-pandemia vaikutti keväällä 2020 ennen näkemättömällä tavalla opetusalan ammattilaisten työskentelyyn, kun kouluissa siirryttiin laajasti etäopetukseen. Keräsimme laajan 1348 vastaajan tilastoaineiston saadaksemme tietoa opetusalan ammattilaisten kokemuksista etätyöhön liittyen. Aineisto kerättiin verkkopohjaisella kyselylomakkeella 22.4.7.5.2020, jolloin levitimme linkkiä lomakkeelle Opetusalan Ammattijärjestön (OAJ) paikallisyhdistysten sekä sosiaalisen median kautta. Suurella osalla vastanneista opetusalan ammattilaisista oli puitteet kunnossa etätyötä varten. Erilaisia työvälineitä oli laajasti käytössä ja useimmilla myös oma rauhallinen työtila. Suurimmalla osalla vastaajista ei kuitenkaan ollut ergonomista työtuolia. Oppilaiden, vanhempien, kollegoiden, lähijohtajien kuin myös muidenkin kanssa käytyyn viestintään vastaajat käyttivät erilaisia työvälineitä laajalla skaalalla. Kaikenlaisten etäkommunikointitapojen käyttö kasvoi ja moni alkoi käyttämään videoneuvottelusovelluksia kokonaan uutena työvälineenä. Opettajat saivat pidettyä suurimmaksi osaksi hyvin yhteyttä oppilaisiinsa, mikä vähensi huolta heidän pärjäämisestään. Organisaatioiden ja lähijohtajien koettiin selviytyneen nopeistakin muutoksista ja niiden johtamisesta hyvin. Varsinkin lähijohtajien selkeä ja hyvä virallinen ja epävirallinenkin viestintä sai kiitosta. Lähijohtajien virtuaalijohtamistaitoihin oltiin pääsääntöisesti tyytyväisiä. Opetusalan ammattilaiset saivat sosiaalista ja käytännön tukea lähijohtajien lisäksi myös erityisesti kollegoiltaan ja nuoremmat vastaajat virtuaalisista yhteisöistä. Moni raportoi yhteisöllisyyden kasvaneen koronakriisin aikana. Toisaalta myös ihmiskontaktien puute ja yksinäisyys korostuivat vastauksissa ja ne määriteltiinkin etätyön huonoiksi puoliksi. Erityisesti kaivattiin spontaaneja rupatteluja ja kahvihetkiä työkavereiden kanssa. Etätyön hyvistä puolista esiin nousivat varsinkin työmatkoihin käytetyn ajan säästyminen ja omanlainen kiireettömyyden tunne. Työhön myös pystyi keskittymään paremmin. Varsinkin nuoret olivat tyytyväisiä etätyön tekemiseen ja vastaajista suurimman osan asenne etätyötä kohtaan muuttui positiivisemmaksi. Moni haluaisikin jatkossa normaaliolosuhteissa tehdä enemmän etätyötä. Työn määrällinen kuorma ja osaamisvaatimukset kasvoivat koronakriisin myötä, mikä heijastui myös viikoittaisten työtuntien määrän kasvussa. Huolimatta lisääntyneestä työkuormasta, uusista osaamisvaatimuksista ja ylipäätään kevään 2020 haastavista olosuhteista, opetusalan ammattilaiset kokivat suoriutuneensa työstään monella tapaa hyvin. Kokonaisuudessaan opetusalan ammattilaisten työhyvinvointi kuitenkin hieman heikentyi koronapandemian aikana. Erilaiset fyysiset ja psykosomaattiset oireet ja varsinkin niska-, hartia- ja selkäkivut lisääntyivät. Vastaajat kokivat työssään koronakriisin aikana myös kohtuullisen paljon stressiä ja työuupumustakin, mutta toisaalta samaan aikaan myös työn imua. Vaikka suurin osa opetusalan ammattilaisista raportoikin työn ja muun elämän välisen tasapainon järkkyneen negatiiviseen suuntaan, oli tasapaino yhä kohtuullisella tasolla. Tietyt ammattiryhmät kuormittuivat COVID-19-pandemian ja etätyön aikana. Luokanopettajien sekä peruskoulun ja lukion aineenopettajien vastauksissa heijastui työn haastavuus ja kuormittavuus. Mutta yleisesti ottaen opetusalan ammattilaiset kokivat etätyön mielekkäänä vaihtoehtona myös jatkossa.fi=vertaisarvioimaton|en=nonPeerReviewed

Johtajuuden kontekstuaalisuus: Esimies-alaissuhteiden tarkastelu uuden esimiehen, negatiivisten tapahtumien ja globaalin työn haastavissa konteksteissa

This dissertation examines leader-follower relationships in challenging situations, dissected through the contextuality of leadership. These different contexts are defined as follows: the context of a new leader entering an organization; the context of negative events between the leader and a subordinate; and the context of international work often causing a physical distance between the parties involved. These relationships are studied through the concept of leader-member exchange (LMX) relationships. The findings of this research show that leader-follower relationships are highly contextual. The context of a new leader can be seen as a multidimensional challenge, as the leader has to learn ways of working, implicate change, and develop interpersonal links within the new organization. Moreover, there might be negative events within the leader-follower relationship, linked to a wider organizational context through the organizational role of the leader, and social comparison among team members. LMX relationships were further examined in the context of globalized work, and high-quality LMX was positively related to the wellbeing of international employees. However, when LMX was studied together with physical distance (as a moderation), subordinates with low-quality LMX experienced less negative international work-related wellbeing outcomes. The contribution of this dissertation is threefold, and offers unique viewpoints to the existing literature on LMX. First, the theoretical contribution of the study adds to the understanding of the contextuality of leadership through examining LMX relationships within different challenging contexts. Secondly, the study contributes methodologically, as different methods and sources of data have been used to investigate LMX relationships, for example longitudinally. Third, the practical contribution of the study is to offer tools for leaders, followers and HR practitioners to identify and understand the challenging leadership contexts that exist in this setting.Väitöskirjatutkimus käsittelee esimies-alaissuhteita haastavissa tilanteissa, ja keskiössä on johtajuuden kontekstuaalisuus. Kontekstit, joiden kautta suhteita tarkastellaan, ovat; uuden esimiehen, negatiivisten tapahtumien, sekä kansainvälisen työn kontekstit. Esimies-alaissuhteita tarkastellaan Leader-member exchange (LMX) -teorian kautta. Tulosten valossa voidaan sanoa, että esimies-alaissuhteet ovat vahvasti kontekstisidonnaisia. Uuden esimiehen saapuminen organisaatioon voidaan nähdä moniulotteisena haasteena, jossa esimiehen odotetaan samanaikaisesti oppivan organisaation toimintatavat, muuttavan niitä ja kehittävän suhteita tärkeiden toimijoiden kanssa. Tämän lisäksi esimies-alaissuhteissa saattaa esiintyä negatiivisia tapahtumia, joiden voidaan nähdä nivoutuvan laajempaan sosiaaliseen kontekstiin esimiehen organisatorisen roolin ja tiimin sisäisen sosiaalisen vertailun kautta. Esimies-alaissuhteita tarkasteltiin myös kansainvälisen työn kontekstissa, ja hyvälaatuinen LMX suhde oli yhteydessä parempaan hyvinvointiin. Kuitenkin tilanteessa, jossa tarkasteltiin LMX:n ja fyysisen etäisyyden yhteisvaikutusta, havaittiin, että esimiehen ja alaisen välisen suhteen ollessa laadultaan huono, fyysisen etäisyys yllättäen jopa suojaa alaista erityisesti kansainväliseen työhön liittyviltä negatiivisilta hyvinvointivaikutuksilta. Tämä väitöstutkimus tarjoaa lisänäkökulmia nykyiseen tutkimukseen esimiesalaissuhteista. Lisäksi tutkimus tuo teoriaan lisää ymmärrystä esimies-alaissuhteiden kontekstuaalisuudesta. Metodologisesti lisäarvoa tuo esimies-alaissuhteiden tarkastelu erilaisten aineistojen ja tutkimusmenetelmien kautta. Väitöskirja tarjoaa uutta myös käytännön toimintaan tuomalla työkaluja esimiehille, alaisille ja HR-toimijoille esimiesalaissuhteiden ymmärtämiseen nykypäivän haastavissa toimintaympäristöissä.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed