Reducing red tape’s negative consequences for leaders:The buffering role of autonomous motivation

In a context where the amount of red tape in healthcare organizations continues to rise, head nurses’ job satisfaction is constantly under pressure. By building on the Job Demands-Resources model, we developed a theoretical model investigating the relationship between red tape and job satisfaction. By investigating the mediating role of discretionary room and the moderating role of autonomous motivation in this relationship, this study does not only aim to provide additional knowledge regarding the underlying mechanisms in this relationship, but also to increase our understanding of how this suffering at work can be mitigated. Our conditional process analyses (N = 277 head nurses) indicate that red tape undermines head nurses’ job satisfaction and that discretionary room acts as an underlying mechanism in this process. By revealing the mediating role of discretionary room, this study advances our understanding of the risks originating from red tape for leaders. Furthermore, our findings also indicate that autonomous motivation mitigates the negative relation between red tape and discretionary room and between red tape and job satisfaction. As autonomous motivation turns out to be an important protection mechanism against the negative consequences of red tape, organizations should put extra effort into stimulating the autonomous motivation of their leaders. When organizations make sure that their leaders’ job designs and work environments meet the need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, leaders will become more autonomously motivated, which will buffer the negative impact of red tape

Teachers’ acceptance and use of digital learning environments after hours : implications for work-life balance and the role of integration preference

While a growing number of teachers use information and communication technology (ICT) for work tasks outside the formal working hours and premises, research is inconclusive how this relates to their work-life balance. Following calls to examine the antecedents and moderating mechanisms of such behavior, the present study aims to examine how technology acceptance relates to work-related ICT use after hours (WIA) and work-life balance, as well as how employees' integration preference affects these relationships. Data was collected among 288 secondary school teachers in Flanders (Belgium) concerning their use of digital learning environments (DLE) beyond school grounds and school hours. Structural equation modelling shows that social influence reduces teachers' work-life balance mediated by WIA. While there was no support for other technology acceptance factors or the moderating role of integration preference, performance expectancy of the DLE and integration preference were associated with a higher work-life balance. Hereby, this study contributes to research on WIA by integrating the technology acceptance framework with boundary theory and work-life research. Overall, the findings show that DLE have an impact on teachers’ work-life balance independent of technological factors or their personal preference, underscoring the importance of school policies that cement the use of DLE in the private domain

Linking red tape originating from digital tools to affective commitment : the mediating roles of role ambiguity and work engagement

Teachers are confronted with high levels of red tape in their jobs. By building on the Job Demands-Resources model, this article investigates how red tape originating from digital tools is related to teachers’ affective commitment. By exploring the mediating roles of role ambiguity and work engagement, we aim to advance the understanding of the underlying mechanisms explaining why employees react in a certain way to red tape. Time-lagged data (three waves) provides evidence for a negative indirect relationship between red tape originating from digital tools and affective commitment, serially mediated by role ambiguity and work engagement

How leader’s red tape interacts with employees’ red tape from the lens of the job demands-resources model

Currently, the public sector is undergoing a major digital transformation. Although this digitization is seen as a positive transformation, digital tools can also put additional job demands on employees, resulting in negative HR outcomes. An example of a job demand resulting from such digital tools is red tape. By building on the job demands-resources model, we developed a theoretical model investigating the relationship between red tape originating from digital tools and turnover intention. Our data analysis ( N = 779 teachers; 91 school leaders) provides evidence for a positive indirect relationship between red tape originating from digital tools and turnover intention, through emotional exhaustion. Additionally, our results also suggest that the amount of red tape perceived by an employee’s leader will exacerbate the strength of this indirect relationship, hereby providing evidence that a factor at leader-level can exacerbate effects on a lower level