Why Do People Work if They Are Not Paid? An Example from Eastern Europe

The phenomenon of non-paid work on a massive scale is discussed. Research is done in a textile firm in Eastern Europe, which withheld payment for the performed work for more than a half a year. The following questions were studied: (a) what are the perceptions of work and work results in this highly unusual situation, (b) what kind of other incentives are available to substitute for lack of payment, (c) how do people explain their behavior under such circumstances. Results show that lack of payment is not a barrier for a high level of effort spent in work, relatively good performance, and organizational commitment. The reasons lye mainly in a high level of need for sense, i.e. tendency to search for the meaning of one's actions and the meaning of life, as well as in perceptions of the work situation as opportunities to satisfy higher order (Maslow type of) needs (self-actualization, esteem from others, and belongingness).http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39593/3/wp206.pd

Why Do People Work if They Are Not Paid? An Example from Eastern Europe

The phenomenon of non-paid work on a massive scale is discussed. Research is done in a textile firm in Eastern Europe, which withheld payment for the performed work for more than a half a year. The following questions were studied: (a) what are the perceptions of work and work results in this highly unusual situation, (b) what kind of other incentives are available to substitute for lack of payment, (c) how do people explain their behavior under such circumstances. Results show that lack of payment is not a barrier for a high level of effort spent in work, relatively good performance, and organizational commitment. The reasons lye mainly in a high level of need for sense, i.e. tendency to search for the meaning of one's actions and the meaning of life, as well as in perceptions of the work situation as opportunities to satisfy higher order (Maslow type of) needs (self-actualization, esteem from others, and belongingness).

Еcological approach to studying individulaity

The concept of the individual differences appeared together with the idea of personality traits as common dimensions, on which individuals can be compared. However, the person exists and reacts as a whole and no dimensions function in isolation. This requires studying within-the-individual interactions and the new qualities created in the process of these interactions. Treating the person as a list of characteristics falls into contradiction of the real life behaviour of human beings. To produce an adequate picture, the scientific study of the person could follow the way real people do when studying the individuality of other people. One does not evaluate the other person on a list of predetermined dimensions, the real people observe other person’s behaviour, look for meaningful patterns and give labels to the pattern, using natural language. In essence, the same path should be followed by an ecological approach to studying real persons. The present work presents first steps into conceptualization of uniqueness of the individual – the human individuality – in a holistic picture embracing different levels of organization, leaving room for dynamic fluctuations in both the content and the behaviour for its realization. Introduced also are ideas on new ways of measuring individuality including new type of data gathering and scaling; study design including time as an integral part, aggregation of unique personal meanings by conceptual cluster analysis, data analysis done not on dimension-by-dimension but on person-by-person approach; and data processing based on differential equations

Procrastination and hedonic self-regulation style

Procrastination as a chronic delay in task execution is primarily understood in terms of judgmental categories and conceptual frameworks that explicitly or implicitly imply certain deficiency. Less attention is usually paid to the process of procrastination and its role in maintaining the positive emotional tone and attaining sort-term rewards. In the modern world where a mounting pressure exists toward immediate gratification of growing variety of temptations, the hedonistic self-regulation in general and procrastination in particular become highly attractive subjects with theoretical and practical consequences. The present work analyses procrastination from the point of view of its structure and underlying physiological mechanisms. Additionally, the time models used to defend the procrastination behaviour, as well as the emotional and Ego dynamics are investigated. Attention is given to the effects of procrastination on the goal directed behaviour. In an attempt to advance the explanation, procrastination is also discussed in the framework of individual self-regulation. The analyzed data suggest that the chronic delay of tasks execution represents an important indicator of a specific hedonistic self-regulation style depicting a tendency to search for a positive emotional tone and a generally pleasant emotional state, to aim at short-term rather than long-term valuable consequences, and display avoidance of systematic effort. Low levels of interest in achievement and in strategic goals augment the description of hedonic self-regulation style

Virtual World Psychology

The information revolution and the creation of the global virtual space laid the foundations of a new type of human culture. Changes occur in the forms, means and volume of the cultural content generation and conservation. The most notable change concerns the information accessibility ranging from instant access of all on-line content to the opportunity for any single person with minimum equipment and Internet connection to join the culture creation and consumption on daily basis. In this environment the human psyche meets new challenges causing it to accommodate new ways of information processing, new forms of communication and selfpresentation, to navigate in collapsed contexts marked with high uncertainty, to adapt to a new virtual work organization. We expect them to become more salient in the future generations that are born and formed in both the real and the virtual world. In view of the profound changes in a number of fundamental ways of the human psychological functioning in the virtual world, the authors envisage creation of a new psychological discipline – Virtual World Psychology.Информационната революция и създаването на глобалното виртуално пространство поставят основите на нов начин на формиране на човешката култура. Променят се форми- те, способите и обемът на генерирането и съхранението на културно съдържание. Най-зна- чима обаче е промяната на достъпността, която стига дотам, че не само ползването на голямата част от продуктите на културата, но и участието на отделния човек в създаването на културата става ежедневие. В тази среда човешката психика се среща с нови предизви- кателства. Тя е принудена да акомодира нови начини на обработка на информацията, нови способи за общуване и нови начини за себепредставяне, да борави с вписани контексти с различни, включително противоположни очаквания, за които има малко информация, да привикне към нов начин на организация в работната среда. Тези промени вече носят белезите на нови функционални възможности на психичното, като авторите на студията очакват те да се проявят в по-завършени и разпознаваеми форми в новите поколения, кои- то са започнали живота си и са формирали основните си характеристики едновременно в реалния и виртуалния свят. Разбирането на характерните особености на психичното функ- циониране във виртуалния свят, на взаимодействията между реалния и виртуалния свят и на дейността за тяхното интегриране в цялостния човешки опит в новата интегрална среда предполагат значителни теоретични усилия и масирани нови изследвания. Затова авторите на настоящия труд смятат, че е назряла необходимостта от създаване на нов клон на психологията – психология на човека във виртуалния свят

Preferences of the Generation Entering the Labour Market towards Job Characteristics

Настоящата работа има за цел да проучи възможни различия между две поколения в България, активни на трудовия пазар в момента, по отношение на техните предпочитания към различни аспекти на работата и стимули от страна на организацията. Фокусът е върху младите хора, които навлизат на пазара на труда. Изследвани са автономията при изпъл- нение на работните задачи, социалните контакти в организацията и гъвкавостта на ра- ботното време. В изследването се разглеждат организационни стимули като възможности за учене и развитие и за издигане в кариерата. Резултатите от работата са представени от общата удовлетвореност от работата, тенденцията към напускане на организацията и баланса между работа и личен живот. Данните показват, че съществуват редица различия между поколенията. Анализът е направен както по посока на разбиране на различията, така и по отношение на възможни приложения в управлението на човешките ресурси в организациите.––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––The generation entering the labour market attracts growing attention by both scholars of organizational behaviour and human resource management experts. The present study has exploratory nature since these matters are relatives less studied in Europe. We investigated the generation entering the labour market as compared to the older generation on a number of work attitudes and preferences. The focus of the present article is on the preferences towards 28 three groups of organizational characteristics. Preferences concerning job characteristics cover autonomy in doing the work, task variety, task significance, work time flexibility, and social contacts in work settings. The perception of organizational stimuli is focused on learning and professional skill development, on the one hand, and promotion opportunities, on the other. The preferences about the work outcomes concern overall job satisfaction, readiness to leave the organization, and work-life balance. The results show marked differences in the preferences between the two generations. While both generations like autonomy, work time flexibility, and social contacts in the organization, the young are more concerned with the work-life balance and are less inclined to leave their current employer. Compared to the older generation, they are less interested in learning and professional skill development and even less in opportunities for promotion. In discussing the results, we draw attention to the implications of these results for human resource management and their translation into organizational policies.Катедра по обща, генетична и експериментална психологи

Self in Virtual Social Networks

The article synthesizes extant theoretical perspectives on self in virtual social networks. Рresented theories are integrated in a conceptual framework comprising three broad categories: 1) Comparison between real and virtual self; 2) Independency and detachment of self in virtual social networks; 3) Infl uence of the virtual self on real personality – identity shift. The main goal of this text is to present the development of theoretical understanding about self in virtual social networks – from subordinate derivative of the real ego to independent psychic structure that can navigate subsequent personal development.Студията представлява синтезиран теоретичен обзор на участието на Аза във вирту- алните социални мрежи. Представените теории са разделени в три основни смислови ядра: 1) Сравняване и противопоставяне на реален и виртуален Аз–образ; 2) Независимост и са- мостойност на Аза във виртуалните социални мрежи; 3) Влияние на виртуалния Аз върху реалната личност – изместване на идентичността. Основната идея на текста е да представи развитието на теоретичното разбиране относно Аза във виртуалните социални мрежи – от мимолетна характеристика на реалното его до самостоятелна психична структура, която може да се окаже отправна точка за цялостно личностно преструктуриране. Представена е и психоаналитичната перспектива към участието във виртуални социални мрежи

Constructing Male-Female Relations at Work Questionnaire

Студията е посветена на взаимоотношенията между половете в работна среда като основната цел е създаването на инструмент за диагностика на тези взаимоотношения. Създадени са четири скали: 1) формални взаимоотношения между половете при изпълне- нието на работните задачи; 2) йерархични взаимоотношения между представителите на двата пола, 3) неформални взаимоотношения между колегите от различен пол; 4) роман- тични отношения между колеги. Подробно е описана процедурата по стандартизирането на въпросника и са дискутирани получените в емпиричното изследване психометрични характеристики. Обсъдени са и някои от ограниченията на новия инструмент. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The present study focuses on the interactions between men and women in work context. Instead of following the well-established research paths with political and prescriptive nature such as equal opportunities and glass ceiling, sexual harassment, or dealing with organizational romance, the present study focuses on the day-to-day interactions of the two sexes in the work process. We develop a questionnaire to diagnose these relations and describe the first steps of its standardization. The Questionnaire contains four scales: a) Formal Interactions among persons of the two sexes in the process of task execution; b) Hierarchical Interactions with persons of the same and the opposite sex in work context; c) Informal Interactions between colleagues of the two sexes; and d) Romance between colleagues. The results show good psychometric properties of the new instrument. Some limitations of the scales are discussed as well.Катедра по обща, генетична и експериментална психологи

Firm Ownership and Work Motivation in Bulgaria and Hungary: An Empirical Study of the Transition in the Mid-1990's

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39592/3/wp205.pd