Antecedents and Consequences of Job Satisfaction among Information Center Employees

Investigating the nexus between authentic leadership, employees' green creativity, and psychological environment: evidence from emerging economy

Employees' green creativity is the basic input to organizational innovation capabilities, the prime focus of practitioners to stay competitive, and a mean to solve the society's sustainable issues in dynamic markets. Hence, this study aims to evaluate the nexus between authentic leadership, psychological environment, and employees' green creativity based on the theoretical lenses of social identity and social exchange theories that have rare application in these domains. Data were collected through questionnaires from 367 operational staff members of different technical training centers of renewable energy projects in Rawalpindi and Islamabad regions at Pakistan. The findings reveal that authentic leadership is a significant precursor of employee's green creativity and self-efficacy. In addition, self-efficacy mediates while the environment of trust and safety has non-mediating role in the relationship between authentic leadership and employee's green creativity. This work brings attention to the initiatives in technical training centers for renewable energy projects and contributes to the field of employees' green creativity in the context of authentic leadership and psychological environment based on the philosophy of social identity and social exchange theories.

Teleworking in the Covid-19 Pandemic

Teleworkers who live and work in the same space are vulnerable to conflicts between personal life and work (LWC). The Covid-19 lockdowns increased the intensity and risk of LWC and changed telework conditions, confronting teleworkers with difficult personal situations and often ill-equipped telework environments. To develop a better understanding of the effects of different LWC dimensions (e.g., time, strain, behavior) on work exhaustion, job satisfaction, routine and innovative job performance and the role of the IT telework environment among teleworkers in the Covid-19 pandemic, a research model based on a sample of 249 teleworkers was developed and validated. The findings show that LWC has adverse effects on job outcomes and that the IT telework environment moderates these effects. The study contributes to the telework and role conflict literature by revealing the essential role of the IT telework environment and by differentiating between routine and innovative job performance among teleworkers.

How Is Work-Life Balance Arrangement Associated with Organisational Performance? A Meta-Analysis

The impacts of the work-life balance arrangement on organisational performance is a growing concern amongst researchers and practitioners. This study synthesised 202 records from 58 published papers to evaluate the relationship between the work-life balance arrangement and organisational performance by means of a meta-analysis. The organisational performance was measured based on six perspectives, including career motivation, employee attendance, employee recruitment, employee retention, organisational commitment, and productivity. The results showed a positive relationship between the work-life balance arrangement and organisational performance (OR: 1.181, 95% CI: 1.125-1.240, p < 0.001). Of the six perspectives, only career motivation, employee attendance, employee recruitment, and employee retention were significantly associated with the work-life balance arrangement. The moderators affecting the relationship between the work-life balance arrangement and organisational performance were gender, sector, and employee hierarchy. The results provide theoretical suggestions on the effectiveness of the work-life balance arrangement in terms of the six perspectives related to organisational performance.

The impact of perceived supervisor support on employees’ turnover intention and task performance

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain the mediational mechanisms in the relationship of perceived supervisor support (PSS) with turnover intention (TI) and task performance (TP).

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through questionnaires from the academic staff of Pakistani universities. The theoretical model was tested using data collected from 304 respondents by using structural equation modeling technique. Mediation analysis was performed with 5,000 bootstraps samples.

Findings

The results revealed that PSS affected TI negatively through the mediation of self-efficacy. Conversely to this, PSS influenced TP positively through the mediation of self-efficacy. In addition, the results also showed the direct effect of PSS on employees’ TP.

Practical implications

The results of this study suggest that the supervisor must provide adequate support to the academic staff, which helps them to develop their self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is helpful for the employees to reduce their TI and to improve their TP.

Originality/value

This study is the first of its nature which explained the direct and indirect effects of PSS on TI and TP by using the framework of social learning theory and social exchange theory simultaneously.

The relationship between workplace spirituality, job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviors – an empirical study

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the relationships between workplace spirituality, job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). It examines the relationship between the three workplace spirituality components – meaning and purpose in work, recognition of an inner life or spirit and interconnectedness with OCBs, mediated by the job satisfaction experienced by the employees, in the context of an Indian private sector bank. A sample consisting of 613 banking employees is studied. The results provide considerable support for all except one of the hypothesized relationships between workplace spirituality components and OCBs. Workplace spirituality components also all led to job satisfaction in employees, and job satisfaction tested positive for a relationship with OCBs. This study can provide significant inputs to promote managerial effectiveness and change management, leadership and holistic performance and growth of organizations, through environments that promote workplace spirituality.

Design/methodology/approach

The objective of this research is the study of the relationship between the constructs, a spirituality at work, i.e. the independent variable, and OCBs (OCBs), i.e. the dependent variable, and to explore the possibility of the mediating effects of job satisfaction. As the nature of this empirical study is rigorous, and one which will pave the way toward theory building, this research adopts a positivist orientation quantitative method throughout because it is deemed most suitable as it allows testing the validity of the main measure (the integration profile) and the theory using hypotheses and establishing relationships, and at the same time, it allows the researcher to remain independent from the research participants (Reswell, 1994). Consequently, the findings will be very useful to answer the most important research question of this study, which is to inform managers and employers whether workplace spirituality affects employees’ job satisfaction and OCBs.

Findings

Using the SPSS statistical package and the partial least square structured equation modeling analysis software tool, the research data have been analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The quantitative results suggest that there is a positive relationship between the dependent variable, OCBs, and the independent variables, meaning and purpose and interconnectedness. The inner life dimension of workplace spirituality did to correlate to the single factor of OCB analyzed, but individually inner life had a significant positive relationship with the individual components of OCB – altruism, civic virtue, courtesy and sportsmanship, except conscientiousness. The correlations established the relationships, and the regression analysis identified the relevant factors that had causal relationship. The 163 validity and reliability of the measurement instruments were confirmed by the high internal consistency.

Research limitations/implications

Improving organizational citizenship is one of the lowest costs and best ways to encourage organizational effectiveness. This research is important for businesses that want to create competence and organizational effectiveness. Indian contextual studies (non-Western context) on both workplace spirituality and organizational outcomes are few and keeping in mind the growth of Indian industry, the evolving workforce and demands being made on workplaces, a study like this is significant. The studies stated that businesses should act as agents of national progress and development and as socially responsible citizens contributing to the environment and influencing well-being. This would require a strong and hard look at current management practices. Allio (2011) stated that as a result of the consequences of questionable and corrupt corporate practices, there is a strong need felt to articulate a new sense of purpose of the firm, corporate character and culture, survival, sustainability and innovation. Thaker (2011) advocated the same view as he stated that the current management and organizational policies, principles and practices are focused on a view of self-interest. This results in socially and environmentally dysfunctional organizations. An alternative approach is workplace spirituality (Al-Qutop and Harrim, 2014).

Practical implications

Strategic implementation of workplace spirituality is an upcoming focus and priority area of work for human resource managers (Marques, 2005). The human resource department’s role in designing and developing strategies that embrace spirituality, with the intention of developing a culture aimed toward the successful achievement of both business and individual or personal goals, is very critical for the management. By using statistical analysis to demonstrate whether or not a relationship exists between one or more of the determinants of spirituality and one or more of the determinants of job satisfaction, leaders may be better able to understand why certain individuals are able to remain passionate about their work. Leaders can integrate the appropriate determinants that may correlate to job satisfaction into the organizational culture, resulting in improved job satisfaction for all within the organization. The outcomes can provide a significant contribution to the body of knowledge for spirituality within organizations, as well as knowledge of factors that influence job satisfaction and motivation.

Social implications

The inherent nature of this study is intimately connected to its objective, purpose and significance. It is also based on the fundamental realization that managers and leaders today have a larger responsibility in society, one that extends beyond their routine functions and basic tasks of running a business. Leadership decisions can and do have a profound lasting effect on the larger community and society within which they operate. This study and the methods that have been adopted for this research are intended to add to the growing body of knowledge on managerial perceptions, and implications of the process of introducing and practicing workplace spirituality.

Originality/value

Studies in the Indian context of workplace spirituality and outcomes are rare. Particular studies in the banking sector are lesser. This research aims at studying the link between workplace spirituality, job satisfaction and OCBs, in the context of an Indian private sector bank, which is very unique. Earlier studies have tested the relationships independently, but have not examined the relationships of all three variables together.

Empirical investigation on the predictors of career satisfaction

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to find the effects of boundaryless career, organizational commitment, and external support seeking on career satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected from 271 South Korean financial company employees through the survey method. Descriptive analysis was conducted, followed by the correlation and multiple regression analyses.

Findings

The study results showed that organizational mobility preference has a negative effect on career satisfaction. The results also showed that boundaryless mindset and external support seeking have positive effects on career satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

This study showed theoretically that an individual’s specific career related behaviors and attitudes have a positive influence on career satisfaction.

Practical implications

Practically, this study results showed some suggestion for enhancing the employee’s career satisfaction by constructing a career support system.

Originality/value

This paper provides a better understanding of the influences of boundaryless career, organizational commitment, and external support seeking on career satisfaction with an HRD perspective.

Understanding the Human Side of Merger and Acquisition

In this article, the authors identify six theories (anxiety theory, social identity theory, acculturation theory, role conflict theory, job characteristics theory, and organizational justice theory) to explain problems in managing the merger and acquisition (M&A) organizational change process. These theories have implicitly or explicitly formed the basis for the past M&A literature. The authors integrate these theories into one conceptual framework that clearly delineates unique sources of problems that can emerge in different stages of M&A integration, their psychological and behavioral effects on employees, and prescriptions to address the problems. The framework can be used as a guide for M&A integration leaders to systematically plan interventions to smooth the human integration process. It also provides a foundation for future theoretical and empirical M&A integration research.

A comparative study of the evolution of vulnerabilities in IT systems and its relation to the new concept of cloud computing

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to classify and categorize the vulnerability types emerged with time as information technology (IT) systems evolved. This comparative study aims to compare the seriousness of the old well-known vulnerabilities that may still exist with lower possibility of happening with that of new technologies like cloud computing with Mobility access. Cloud computing is a new structure of IT that is becoming the main part of the new model of business environment. However, issues regarding such new hype of technology do not come without obstacles. These issues have to be addressed before full acceptability of cloud services in a globalized business environment. Businesses need to be aware of issues of concerns before joining the cloud services. This paper also highlights these issues and shows the comparison table to help businesses with appropriate decision-making when joining the cloud.

Design/methodology/approach

– A historical review of emerged vulnerabilities as IT systems evolved was conducted, then these vulnerabilities were categorized into eight different categories, each of which composed of multiple vulnerability types. Simple scoring techniques were used to build a “risk” analysis table where each vulnerability type was given a score based on availability of matured solution and the likeliness of happening, then in case of vulnerability type, another score was used to derive the impact of such vulnerability. The resulted weighted score can be derived from the multiplication of likeliness to happen score with that of its impact in case it did happen. Percentage of seriousness represented by the percentage of the derived weighted score of each of the vulnerabilities can then be concluded. Similar table was developed for issues related to cloud computing environment in specific.

Findings

– After surveying the historical background of IT systems and emerged vulnerabilities as well as reviewing the common malicious types of system vulnerabilities, this paper identifies 22 different types of vulnerability categorized in eight different categories. This comparative study explores amount of possible vulnerabilities in new technology like cloud computing services. Specific issues for cloud computing were also explored and a similar comparative study was developed on these issues. The result of the comparative study between all types of vulnerabilities since the start of IT system development till today’s technology of cloud computing, shows that the highest percentage vulnerability category was the one related to mobility access as mobile applications/systems are relatively newly emerged and do not have a matured security solution(s).

Practical implications

– Learning from history, one can conclude the current risk factor in dealing with new technology like cloud computing. Businesses can realize that decision to join the cloud requires thinking about the issues mentioned in this paper and identifying the most vulnerability types to try to avoid them.

Originality/value

– A new comparative study and new classification of vulnerabilities demonstrated with risk analysis using simple scoring technique.

The human factor: a successful acquisition in Brazil

Purpose

– The purpose of this case study was to identify how the human factor influenced the 2010 acquisition of company X's cement factory, located in town C in the Brazilian State of Goiás, by the multinational company A.

Design/methodology/approach

– Seventeen in-depth interviews were conducted with employees who participated of the acquisition process: 15 with professionals with leadership roles at the factory, the others with company A corporate executives. The data collected were qualitatively treated using discourse analysis to unveil the perceptions of the interviewees.

Findings

– The discussion involved topics such as: resistance to change, uncertainty, employees' expectations and commitment, stress, employee turnover and retention. The present study contextualizes existing theoretical approaches, and its main conclusion confirms that not all M&A processes cause permanent negative impacts that lead to the failure of the acquisition or are perceived as a strong and lasting source of uncertainty by the employees of the involved companies. On the contrary, depending mainly on the perception, employees have of their working conditions at the time the acquisition process takes place; on the strategic relevance of the acquisition to the acquiring company (its motivation); on how the process is managed by the executives of the acquiring company; on the communication strategy employed by the acquiring company, as well as on the understanding of the cultural setting; and on the acquiring company having an organizational culture with policies that value employees, the community and sustainability; this change can be perceived as favourable by employees thus fostering a successful acculturation and outcome. Finally, this study is considered valuable to researchers and practitioners as it indicates that although the human factor is not considered a priority in most M&A processes, it is clearly paramount to its success or failure, specially in lock-in situations when the acquiring and acquired companies have complementary and reciprocal interdependencies.

Research limitations/implications

– In spite of the contributions of this research to the field of studies on M&A, the authors have to acknowledge limitations, such us: as town C was a small factory at the time of the acquisition, there were only 17 interviewees, which does not constitute a large sample. The possibility of a certain amount of unavoidable subjectivity in both the interviewees when relating their experience and the interviewer when analyzing the collected data. As stated before, being a case study, results cannot be generalized.

Originality/value

– This research adds to the actual state of the art on M&A signalling that there should be a match between the strategies selected by the executives of the acquiring company and the specificities of the human factor and its cultural environment. Specifically, this case study contributes to theory advancement by proposing the concept of lock-in in M&A.

A comparison of job satisfaction between it and non-IT women incumbents in clerical, professional, and managerial positions

One explanation for the well-documented underrepresentation of women in IT jobs is that these jobs are somehow less satisfying for women. This study is the most complete investigation to date of whether this is true, and if so, in what aspects are IT jobs less satisfying. We examine facets of job satisfaction that merit employer attention and suggest intervention to increase the attractiveness of IT careers for women. In a representative sample of 9,617 employed women in the U.S., we compared women in IT employed at the clerical, professional, and managerial levels to comparable groups of non-IT employees on six important facets of job satisfaction with: job security, work itself, supervisor, compensation, work/life balance, and advancement/opportunities. For most facet comparisons across job levels, differences were not significant, generally indicating that IT careers are not less satisfying for women than comparable non-IT alternatives. However, satisfaction with work itself and job security were lower for women in professional IT jobs than for those in professional non-IT jobs. We finally discuss the implications of these findings for researchers and those who advise women on career choices.

Organizational Citizenship Behavior of Information System Personnel

Leader-member exchange (LMX) represents the quality of interaction between leaders and members of a work unit, such as the information system function within an organization. LMX is expected to improve organizational citizenship behavior, beneficial behaviors not explicitly rewarded, but prior research has failed to establish this link satisfactorily. To determine the influence of LMX in the IS environment, a model is developed based on the background in the IS and management literature that considers LMX an important contributor to job satisfaction and organizational commitment. In turn, organizational commitment influences both work quality and organizational citizenship behaviors in a beneficial way. The model is confirmed with a sample of IS professionals in Taiwan. The results show that effective communication and coordination is crucial between leaders and subordinates at levels within the organization not previously considered.

A field study on organizational commitment, professional commitment and peer mentoring

This study investigates attitudes and citizenship behaviors of IS workers in the software industry by examining relationships among various facets of organizational commitment, professional commitment, and a particular organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) called peer mentoring. Results revealed that one facet of organizational commitment, affective commitment, was positively associated with peer mentoring, while a second facet, normative commitment, was negatively associated with peer mentoring. A third facet of organizational commitment, continuance commitment, had no significant relationship with peer mentoring while professional commitment was positively associated with peer mentoring. Our results also found a positive and significant interaction between professional commitment and affective commitment, and a negative and significant interaction between professional commitment and normative commitment in predicting OCBs, suggesting that managers of software professionals can foster OCBs by focusing on specific facets of commitment

IT worker turnover

This study examined intrinsic motivation's influence on information technology (IT) workers' attitudes and intentions. Drawing on Human Resource management research (Eby & Freeman, 1999), we model Intrinsic motivation as mediating the influence of motivators (i.e., intrinsic job characteristics) and hygiene factors (i.e., pay and supervisory satisfaction) on workplace attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment). In turn, workplace attitudes mediate the influence of intrinsic motivation on turnover intention. The model was tested using data collected from public sector IT workers in the Southeastern United States. Although intrinsic motivation did not fully mediate the influence of motivators and hygiene factors, findings suggest that intrinsic motivation positively influences workplace attitudes and has a mediated influence on turnover intent. Implications for research and practice are offered.

A meta-analysis of the antecedents and consequences of pay level satisfaction

This study reports results from a meta-analysis of 28 correlates of pay level satisfaction involving 240 samples from 203 studies conducted over the past 35 years. Results are presented in 4 categories: primary determinants, antecedents, correlates, and outcomes of pay satisfaction. The authors controlled for pay in examining relations between correlates and pay level satisfaction, as suggested by theory and when primary studies were available to do so. The authors found support for many of the relations suggested by a theoretical model and also note some limitations in the research that has tested this model. The authors recommend changes and additions to the model and suggest additional primary research in specific areas.

Examining IT professionals' adaptation to technological change

This paper examines the challenge of adapting to technological changes in IS departments. It develops a set of hypotheses about how two personal attributes (tolerance of ambiguity and openness to experience) will be associated with IT professionals' ability to adapt to a technological innovation. It also examines the literature on gender in the IT profession, positing that women IT employees will exhibit some differences in job performance (relative to men), but no differences in terms of job satisfaction or turnover intentions. Based on a mixed-method study of two firms that were adopting client/server development, the paper first describes the different implementation strategies employed by each firm, and then analyzes employees' responses to the change. In combining the insights from both case studies and surveys, the results showed that four out of eight hypotheses were fully supported and two received partial support. Women reported lower job satisfaction on a dimension that captures job stress, and this effect was exacerbated in the firm that expected its IT employees to demonstrate considerable initiative to master the innovation. In contrast, the women at the second firm, while showing no differences in job stress (relative to their male peers), nevertheless exhibited a very different pattern of job skills and performance than the men. Finally, the personal attribute that was strongly associated with employees' job satisfaction (openness to experience) was negatively correlated with one aspect of job performance - directly opposite to what was hypothesized. The paper concludes with insights for IS researchers and managers interested in IS personnel and technology implementation.

[The impact of work and organizational characteristics on the health status, job dissatisfaction and turnover intentions of workers in an information service industry]

Based on the conceptual model of "healthy work organization", we conducted a questionnaire survey of 612 Japanese workers in an information service industry company to investigate the effect of work stressors and organizational characteristics on workers' health status, job dissatisfaction and turnover intentions from July to August 2001. The response rate was 96.2%. For the statistical analysis, data on 488 computer technical support staff were used. To grasp the occupational stressors, we used a focus group to clarify work stressors and organizational characteristics. After factor analysis, we identified seven factors composed of 29 items and created seven scales of work and organizational characteristics. As scales of "organizational characteristics", "insufficient evaluation system", "undeveloped management system", and "career and future ambiguity" were used. The remaining scales, "poor coworker support", "poor supervisor support", "insufficient office amenities" and "high job demands and control", were used as scales of "work and workplace characteristics". The results of multiple regression analysis showed significant relevance of organizational characteristics to health status, job dissatisfaction and turnover intentions of workers. They supported "healthy work organizations" as useful conceptual tools for the study of organizational health.

The impact of emotional dissonance on organizational commitment and intention to turnover

In the workplace, emotional dissonance is the conflict between experienced emotions and emotions expressed to conform to display rules. This study is an empirical examination of the impact of emotional dissonance on organizational criteria and its moderation by self-monitoring and social support. Emotional dissonance was theorized to stimulate turnover intentions, either solely through job dissatisfaction or through both job dissatisfaction and reduced organizational commitment. Job dissatisfaction was found to be the sole mediator. Emotional dissonance resulted in job dissatisfaction, which, in turn, stimulated withdrawal intentions. Self-monitoring and social support exerted moderator effects, albeit in opposing directions. Emotional dissonance aroused feelings of job dissatisfaction and reduced organizational commitment among high self-monitors. In contrast, social support lessened the negative impact of emotional dissonance on organizational commitment.