Explaining potential antecedents of workplace social support: reciprocity or attractiveness?

The role of social support in human-automation interaction

This theoretical article examines the concept of social support in the context of human-automation interaction, outlining several critical issues. We identified several factors that we expect to influence the consequences of social support and to what extent it is perceived as appropriate (e.g. provider possibilities, recipient expectations), notably regarding potential threats to self-esteem. We emphasise the importance of performance (including extra-role performance) as a potential outcome, whereas previous research has primarily concentrated on health and well-being. We discuss to what extent automation may provide different types of social support (e.g. emotional, instrumental), and how it differs from human support. Finally, we propose a taxonomy of automated support, arguing that source of support is not a binary concept. We conclude that more empirical work is needed to examine the multiple effects of social support for core performance indicators and extra-role performance and emphasise that there are ethical questions involved.

Prosocial behavior predicts meaning in life during the COVID-19 pandemic: The longitudinal mediating role of perceived social support

The COVID-19 pandemic was an unexpected, long-term negative event. Meaning in life has been linked to better psychological adjustment to such events. The current study uses longitudinal data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic to discover whether perceived social support mediates the relationship between six dimensions of prosocial behavior (Altruistic, Anonymous, Public, Compliant, Emotional, and Dire) and meaning in life. A sample of Chinese college students (N = 514) was tracked at three time points (T1, T2, and T3) during the COVID-19 outbreak. A cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) was used for mediation analysis. The mediation effect was found in all the dimensions of prosocial behavior except for Public prosocial behavior. We also found a longitudinal, bidirectional association between perceived social support and meaning in life. The current study contributes to the growing literature on the significance of prosocial behavior in predicting meaning in life.

Impact of job control on hospital workers' safety performance: A moderated mediation analysis of the influences of hospital safety climate and social support

AIM

To improve the level of hospital workers' safety performance in response to emergencies (e.g. COVID-19), this paper examines the relationship between hospital workers' job control on safety performance, and the mediating role of hospital safety climate and the moderating role of social support.

DESIGN

In this cross-sectional questionnaire survey, a convenience sampling of hospital workers from three hospitals that have COVID-19 cases from Beijing and Shandong Province in China.

METHODS

These questionnaires were used to obtain self-reported data on hospital workers' job control, hospital safety climate, social support and safety performance. Mplus software was used to calculate CFA. SPSS25.0 software was used to calculate mean values, standard deviations, correlations and regression analyses.

RESULTS

The participants were 241 hospital workers from three hospitals in China (male = 55.2%, female = 44.8%; age range <30 to >45; physician = 58%, nurse = 22%, other hospital worker = 20%). A moderated mediation model among job control, hospital safety climate, social support and safety performance was supported. Moderated mediation analysis indicates hospital workers' job control effectively improves the level of safety performance; hospital safety climate plays a partially mediating role in the process of job control affecting hospital workers' safety performance; social support moderates the effect of work control on medical workers' safety climate. Hence, it is important to increase job control and hospital safety climate. Further, social support for hospital workers should be encouraged, advocated and supported.

Moderated mediation between work–life conflict and employee turnover intentions: the role of job dissatisfaction and workplace social support

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine a moderated mediation model of job dissatisfaction and workplace social support in the relationship between work–life conflict and turnover intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected in a cross-sectional survey of 220 police investigation officers. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was applied for data analysis.

Findings

Empirical findings of study indicate that work–life conflict enhances employee turnover intentions by creating job dissatisfaction. However, workplace social support buffers this effect and reduces turnover intentions by weakening the effect of work–life conflict on job dissatisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to personnel management and organizational psychology literature by explaining how workplace social support can affect the mediating process of job dissatisfaction through which the relationship between work–life conflict and turnover intentions is determined. The limitations are related to external validity, single source data and cross-sectional nature of data.

Practical implications

Organizational leaders and practitioners can take insights from the findings of this study that if workplace social support prevails at a level greater than work–life conflict, it will nullify or suppress the effect of work–life conflict on turnover intentions by reducing job dissatisfaction.

Originality/value

The originality value of this study is that it has addressed the scarcity of testing boundary conditions of the indirect effect of work–life conflict on turnover intentions through job dissatisfaction.

The Paradox of Citizenship Cost: Examining a Longitudinal Indirect Effect of Altruistic Citizenship Behavior on Work-Family Conflict Through Coworker Support

The objective of this study was to address the paradox of citizenship cost by hypothesizing an indirect rather than a direct effect of altruistic citizenship behavior (ACB) on employee work–family conflict (WFC) through coworker support (CWS). Data were gathered in a three-wave longitudinal survey of employees from private commercial banks (N = 318). A multiple linear autoregressive longitudinal mediation model was analyzed with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that rather than directly, ACB affects indirectly employee WFC through CWS. This indirect effect is negative, which reflects that the costs of citizenship behavior are paradoxical. The present study contributes to the ongoing debate on the positive and negative outcomes of employee citizenship behavior by providing empirical evidence on the beneficial rather than harmful effect of performing such behavior. For organizational managers, promoting a culture of CWS by encouraging altruistic behaviors can be a most viable strategy to reduce WFC among their employees. The study discusses its limitations and provides future research directions.

Why Still so Few? A Theoretical Model of the Role of Benevolent Sexism and Career Support in the Continued Underrepresentation of Women in Leadership Positions

We advance our understanding of women’s continued underrepresentation in leadership positions by highlighting the subtle, but damaging, role benevolent sexism, a covert and socially accepted form of sexism, plays in this process. Drawing on and integrating previously disparate literatures on benevolent sexism and social support, we develop a new theoretical model in which benevolent sexism of both women and those in their social networks (i.e., managers and intimate partners) affect women’s acquisition of career social support for advancement at two levels, interpersonal and intrapersonal, and across multiple domains, work and family. At the interpersonal level, we suggest that managers’ and intimate partners’ benevolent sexism may undermine their provision of the needed career support to advance in leadership positions for women. At the intrapersonal level, we suggest that women’s personal endorsement of benevolent sexism may undermine their ability to recognize and willingness to seek out career support from their family members (i.e., intimate partners) and managers for advancement to leadership positions. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.

Effect of Workload on Job Stress of Ghanaian OPD Nurses: The Role of Coworker Support

Background

Although the concept of workload is important to nursing practice, only a few nursing researchers have focused on the issue of workload within the nursing context. Knowledge of how the dynamics of workload affects the job stress of nurses working in a specific unit or department in a hospital setting, and the influence of coworker support on this relationship, still remains limited. This study, therefore examined the effect of workload on job stress of Ghanaian outpatient department nurses and the moderating effect of coworker support on this relationship.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey design was used, and questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 216 outpatient department nurses from four major hospitals in Ghana. The data collected measured workload, job stress, and coworker support using National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Task Load Index, job stress scale, and coworker support scale, respectively. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and hierarchical regression.

Results

High levels of workload were associated with high levels of job stress of the nurses. Also, higher levels of workload were related to higher levels of job stress for nurses who received high levels of coworker support, but this was not the case for those who received low levels of coworker support (reserve buffering effect).

Conclusion

The finding reiterates the adverse effect of workloads on employees' health, and the reverse buffering effect implies that supporting a colleague at work should be conveyed in a positive manner devoid of negative appraisal.

A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Teacher Personality on Teacher Effectiveness and Burnout

The question of what makes a good teacher has been asked by practitioners, policymakers, and researchers for decades. However, there is no guiding framework about which qualities are important for teachers. Thus, it is necessary to examine these qualities using a recognized framework and to summarize the previous literature on this topic. We conducted a meta-analysis on the 25 studies (total N = 6294) reporting the relationships between teacher Big Five personality domains (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability) and two teacher job-related outcomes (i.e., teacher effectiveness and burnout). Furthermore, the influence of three moderators was assessed, namely, the type of teacher effectiveness measure (i.e., evaluations of teaching, student performance self-efficacy, classroom observation, and academic achievement), source of personality report (i.e., self-report vs other-report), and the instructed educational level (i.e., elementary, secondary, and tertiary). Overall, teacher Big Five domains (except for agreeableness) were positively associated with teacher effectiveness, especially for evaluations of teaching. Furthermore, teacher emotional stability, extraversion, and conscientiousness were negatively associated with burnout. Other-reports of teacher personality were more strongly associated with outcomes than self-reports. There were no differences in the strength of the associations between the educational levels. The need for using common descriptors in teacher research as well as practical implications of the findings for teacher personality measurement is discussed.

Be Friendly, Stay Well: The Effects of Job Resources on Well-Being in a Discriminatory Work Environment

Many studies have focused on the negative effects of discrimination on workers’ well-being. However, discrimination does not affect just victims but also those people who witness discriminatory acts or who perceived they are working in a discriminatory work environment. Although perceiving a discriminatory work environment might be a stressor, the presence of job resources might counteract its negative effects, as suggested by the Job Demand-Resources model. The goal of this study is to test the effect of perceiving a discriminatory work environment on workers’ psychological well-being when job autonomy and co-workers and supervisor support act as mediator and moderators respectively. To test the moderated mediation model data were gathered with a sample of Italian 114 truckers. Results demonstrated that job autonomy partially mediates the relationship between perceiving a discriminatory work environment and workers’ well-being. Main interactional effects have been observed when co-workers support is introduced in the model as moderator, while no main interactional effects exist when supervisor support is introduced. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Der Einfluss früherer und gegenwärtiger Peer-Erfahrungen in der Schulklasse auf die Wahrnehmung von sozialer Unterstützung

Zusammenfassung. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird der Frage nachgegangen, wie Peergruppen-Erfahrungen in der Schulklasse die generell wahrgenommene soziale Unterstützung beeinflussen. Mittels Strukturgleichungsmodellierung wurden Längsschnittdaten von 321 Schülerinnen und Schülern und ihren Lehrpersonen analysiert, die vor und nach dem Übertritt von der Primar- in die Sekundarstufe schriftlich befragt wurden. Die Ergebnisse sprechen für die Hypothese, dass sowohl frühere wie auch aktuelle Erfahrungen sozialen Integriertseins in die Schulklasse einen eigenständigen Effekt auf die wahrgenommene soziale Unterstützung sowie die allgemeine Lebenszufriedenheit haben. Darüber hinaus zeigt sich, dass soziales Integriertsein und prosoziales Verhalten auch nach einem Klassenwechsel relativ stabil sind. Prosoziales Verhalten und soziales Integriertsein sind allerdings nur zum ersten Messzeitpunkt auf Primarschulstufe miteinander korreliert. Insgesamt lässt sich aus den Ergebnissen schließen, dass der Schule eine wichtige Funktion als sozialer Erfahrungsraum zukommt, der über seine Grenzen hinaus wirkt.

Identification and Development of Items Comprising Organizational Citizenship Behaviors Among Pharmacy Faculty

Objective. Identify behaviors that can compose a measure of organizational citizenship by pharmacy faculty. Methods. A four-round, modified Delphi procedure using open-ended questions (Round 1) was conducted with 13 panelists from pharmacy academia. The items generated were evaluated and refined for inclusion in subsequent rounds. A consensus was reached after completing four rounds. Results. The panel produced a set of 26 items indicative of extra-role behaviors by faculty colleagues considered to compose a measure of citizenship, which is an expressed manifestation of collegiality. Conclusions. The items generated require testing for validation and reliability in a large sample to create a measure of organizational citizenship. Even prior to doing so, the list of items can serve as a resource for mentorship of junior and senior faculty alike.

Negative relationships in the workplace: Associations with organisational commitment, cohesion, job satisfaction and intention to turnover

This study investigates the link between perceptions of negative workplace relationships and organisational outcomes. Respondents (n = 412) spanned a wide range of occupations, industries and nationalities. Data were collected using an Internet-based questionnaire. Results indicated that those with at least one negative relationship at work were significantly less satisfied, reported less organisational commitment, were part of less cohesive workgroups and were significantly more likely to be planning to leave their job.

Negative relationships in the workplace: Associations with organisational commitment, cohesion, job satisfaction and intention to turnover

This study investigates the link between perceptions of negative workplace relationships and organisational outcomes. Respondents (n = 412) spanned a wide range of occupations, industries and nationalities. Data were collected using an Internet-based questionnaire. Results indicated that those with at least one negative relationship at work were significantly less satisfied, reported less organisational commitment, were part of less cohesive workgroups and were significantly more likely to be planning to leave their job.

Job Demands-Control-Support model and employee safety performance

The aim of this study was to explore whether work characteristics (job demands, job control, social support) comprising Karasek and Theorell's (1990) Job Demands-Control-Support framework predict employee safety performance (safety compliance and safety participation; Neal and Griffin, 2006). We used cross-sectional data of self-reported work characteristics and employee safety performance from 280 healthcare staff (doctors, nurses, and administrative staff) from Emergency Departments of seven hospitals in the United Kingdom. We analyzed these data using a structural equation model that simultaneously regressed safety compliance and safety participation on the main effects of each of the aforementioned work characteristics, their two-way interactions, and the three-way interaction among them, while controlling for demographic, occupational, and organizational characteristics. Social support was positively related to safety compliance, and both job control and the two-way interaction between job control and social support were positively related to safety participation. How work design is related to employee safety performance remains an important area for research and provides insight into how organizations can improve workplace safety. The current findings emphasize the importance of the co-worker in promoting both safety compliance and safety participation.

Social support and employee well-being: the conditioning effect of perceived patterns of supportive exchange

Seeking to explain divergent empirical findings regarding the direct effect of social support on well-being, the authors posit that the pattern of supportive exchange (i.e., reciprocal, under-, or over-reciprocating) determines the impact of receiving support on well-being. Findings generated on the basis of longitudinal data collected from a sample of older blue-collar workers support the authors' predictions, indicating that receiving emotional support is associated with enhanced well-being when the pattern of supportive exchange is perceived by an individual as being reciprocal (support received equals support given), with this association being weaker when the exchange of support is perceived as being under-reciprocating (support given exceeds support received). Moreover, receiving support was found to adversely affect well-being when the pattern of exchange was perceived as being over-reciprocating (support received exceeds support given). Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Reciprocal influences between burnout and effectiveness in professional care for elders

In community care, the quality of life of the care recipient and the quality of the care provider affect each other. This is a proposition derived from the dialectical perspective, which envisions the importance of promoting the quality of life of both the care recipient and provider. The proposition hinges on mediation by caring effectiveness. This mediation model is the focus of the present study. This study surveyed 232 dyads of Hong Kong Chinese older care recipients and their professional care providers in two waves. Psychological well-being and functional disability were the indicators of the quality of life of care recipients, whereas burnout was an indicator of the low quality of life of professional care providers. The results reinforce the mediation model by showing that caring effectiveness mediates the impact of the earlier burnout of the professional care provider on the subsequent psychological well-being of the care recipient. In turn, the earlier psychological well-being and functional disability of the care recipient also affect the burnout of the professional care provider. The results support the dialectical perspective.

Explaining the Variable Effects of Social Support on Work-Based Stressor-Strain Relations: The Role of Perceived Pattern of Support Exchange

Seeking to explain mixed empirical findings regarding the buffering effect of social support on work-based stress-strain relations, we posit that whether an increase in the level of support received buffers or exacerbates the harmful effects of workload on employee health and well-being is contingent upon the general pattern characterizing an employee supportive exchanges across his/her close relationships. Specifically, we propose that the buffering effect of receiving social support depends on whether the employee perceives his/her social exchanges as reciprocal (support given equals support received), under-reciprocating (support given exceeds support received), or over-reciprocating (support received exceeds support given). Based on longitudinal data collected from a random sample of blue-collar workers, our findings support our predictions, indicating that the buffering effect of social support on the relationship between work hours (on the one hand) and employee health and well-being (on the other) varies as a function of the pattern of exchange relations between an employee and his/her close support providers.

Does the Job Satisfaction—Job Performance Relationship Vary Across Cultures?

The purpose of this study is to examine whether culture moderates the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance. Multiple theoretical frameworks regarding culture are used as the theoretical guide. Based on meta-analytical moderator tests, the authors find some support for their hypotheses that the effect size for the job satisfaction—job performance relationship is likely to be stronger in individualistic (vs. collectivistic) cultures, in low-power-distance (vs. high-power-distance) cultures, in low-uncertainty-avoidance (vs. high-uncertainty-avoidance) cultures, and in masculine (vs. feminine) cultures. They also observe stronger evidence of these effects for task performance than for contextual performance. Implications for theory, practice, and future research are discussed.