High-performance work practices, employee well-being, and supportive leadership: spillover mechanisms and boundary conditions between HRM and leadership behavior

The paradoxical effects of high involvement work practices on employees and service outcomes: a trichromatic perspective

This research delves into the complex impact of High Involvement Work Practices (HIWPs) on various facets of employee well-being and service outcomes within the framework of the trichromatic service conception. Utilizing the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, the study uncovers the dual, both beneficial and detrimental, effects of HIWPs on service performance, work-family conflict, subjective well-being, and work-family enrichment. Examining the conflicting paths of job demands (workload) and job resources (customer orientation), the analysis incorporates the moderating influence of a strategic contextual factor-supervisor support. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaires from 475 respondents in Pakistani banks, and the analysis employed moderated mediation analysis using SPSS, AMOS, and the PROCESS Macro. All proposed hypotheses received support. The results indicate that HIWPs enhance service performance by promoting customer orientation but concurrently escalate workload, leading to adverse consequences for subjective well-being and work-family conflict. The study underscores the importance of implementing HIWPs under supportive leadership to maximize positive outcomes and mitigate negative consequences. Ultimately, this approach enables employees to effectively serve customers, maintain a healthy work-family balance, and contribute to the long-term growth and sustainability of organizations.

The more ambidexterity the better? The moderating effect of organizational learning between high-performance HR practices and organizational performance

Objective

The objective of this study is to test the directly impact of high-performance HR practices on organizational performance, and the mediating effect of organizational ambidexterity empirically. Moreover, the moderating role of organizational learning in the relationship between ambidexterity and specialization in exploitation or exploration on firm performance has also been examined. Ultimately, we construct a moderated mediation model.

Methods

Questionnaires were distributed to the target enterprises mainly through the contacts of the research group members, the local management consulting association and the training opportunities for leaders. Finally, a total of 347 CEO questionnaire data were collected from Chinese SMEs. The sample cover Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Henan, Sichuan and other eastern and central regions. SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 24.0 were used to analyze the data.

Results

The results revealed that high-performance HR practices had a positive effect on organizational performance and that organizational ambidexterity played a partially mediating role between high-performance HR practices and organizational performance. Further, organizational learning moderated the effects of organizational ambidexterity and organizational specificity on firm performance.

Discussion

This study provided valuable practical insights. On one hand, this study provides a concrete operational scheme for SMEs in China to realize organizational ambidexterity by integrating a series of HR practices such as employees' ability, motivation and opportunity. On the other hand, through organizational ambidexterity, firms can not only obtain organizational long-term performance by enhancing their new product R & D capabilities, that is, exploratory innovation, but also utilize their existing resources to improve and expand their existing products and services, that is, to achieve short-term performance by exploitative innovation.

The influence of supervisor supportive behaviors on subordinate job satisfaction: the moderating effect of gender similarity

This paper analyses the influence that different supervisor supportive behaviors have on subordinate job satisfaction, while considering the gender of individuals involved (supervisor and subordinate). The empirical evidence provided by a sample of 29,833 subordinates from 35 European countries collected by Eurofound through the European Working Condition Survey allows us to assert the following. First, subordinate job satisfaction depends on their perceptions about the supportive behaviors provided by their supervisors in terms of respect, giving recognition for a job well done, coordinating work, helping get the job done, and encouraging the professional development of the subordinate. Second, job satisfaction is affected by supervisor gender, although in the opposite direction as hypothesized, such that when the supervisor is a woman, subordinates report lower job satisfaction. Third, also contrary to our expectations, supervisor-subordinate gender similarity reduces, rather than increases, subordinate job satisfaction. Fourth, gender similarity, as expected, weakens the impact of several supervisor supportive behaviors on this job satisfaction (i.e., giving recognition, coordinating work, helping get the job done, and encouraging development). In terms of practical implications, this work suggests that it is advisable for supervisors to show supportive behaviors toward subordinates. In addition, because demonstrating respect at work is not moderated by gender similarity and seems to be the most impactful supportive behavior for enhancing job satisfaction, supervisors should pay particular attention to the respect of subordinates.

The Influences of Supportive Leadership and Family Social Support on Female Managers' Organizational Effectiveness: The Mediating Effect of Positive Spillover between Work and Family

This study aims to examine the influence of supportive leadership and family social support for female managers on organizational effectiveness and test the mediating effect of positive spillover between work and family (PSWF). This study utilized data of 974 married female managers from the 6th Korean Female Manager Panel (KWMP) survey to analyze the relationship between the latent variables. Hypotheses of this study were tested using Structural Equation Model Analysis (SEM). This study found that supportive leadership and PSWF have a positive influence on female managers' organizational effectiveness. However, family support had no significant effect on the organizational effectiveness of female managers. The analysis showed that supportive leadership and family social support positively influenced female manager's PSWF. Also, PSWF mediated the relationship between family social support and organizational effectiveness as well as between supportive leadership and organizational effectiveness. This study provides a better understanding of PSWF as a mediator between family social support and organizational effectiveness. Contrary to previous studies that focused on the negative effects of work-family conflicts, this study highlighted the role of PSWF, justifying the need for governmental or organizational programs to increase PSWF.

High-performance work practices and employee wellbeing: organizational identification as a mediator

AIM

The aim of this study was to examine how high-performance work practices affect engagement and workplace bullying, two different aspects of employee wellbeing. Furthermore, the study sought to examine the potential mediating role of organizational identification in these relationships.

METHOD

A two-wave survey study (n = 213) was conducted among psychologists in Finland.

RESULTS

The results showed that high-performance work practices (HPWPs) were positively associated with engagement and negatively associated with the risk of workplace bullying. Moreover, organizational identification acted as mediator of the HPWPs-engagement relationship, though alongside the significant indirect effect via organizational identification there was also a significant direct effect of HPWPs on engagement.

DISCUSSION

The study adds knowledge to ongoing debates on whether HPWPs support or undermine employee wellbeing. In particular, it extends our understanding of the association between HPWPs and relationship wellbeing, a topic that has so far received scant attention. Furthermore, the study advances our understanding of explanatory mechanisms in the HPWPs-engagement relationship and points to the importance of organizational identification for explaining why HPWPs lead to higher engagement.

Associations among leadership, resources, and nurses' work engagement: findings from the fifth korean Working Conditions Survey

BACKGROUND

Nurses' work engagement has received extensive attention due to its positive impacts on individual and organizational outcomes, including patient safety and quality care in healthcare organizations. Although nurse managers' leadership and a variety of resources have been identified as important factors of nurses' work engagement, these relationships have not been well understood in Korean nursing contexts. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations among nurse managers' leadership, resources, and work engagement among Korean nurses after controlling for nurses' demographic and work-related characteristics.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study using data from the fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey. Using a sample of 477 registered nurses, we employed hierarchical linear regression analyses. Nurse managers' leadership, job resources (organizational justice and support from peers), professional resources (employee involvement), and personal resources (meaning of work) were examined as potential predictors of nurses' work engagement.

RESULTS

We found that nurse managers' leadership (β = 0.26, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.17-0.41) was the strongest predictor of nurses' work engagement, followed by meaning of work (β = 0.20, 95% CI = 0.07-0.18), organizational justice (β = 0.19, 95% CI = 0.10-0.32), and support from peers (β = 0.14, 95% CI = 0.04-0.23). Employee involvement was not a statistically significant predictor of nurses' work engagement (β = -0.07, 95% CI = -0.11-0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that comprehensive approaches are required to promote nurses' work engagement. Considering that nurse managers' leadership was the strongest predictor of nurses' work engagement, nurse managers should demonstrate supportive leadership behaviors such as acknowledging and praising their unit nurses' work performance. Furthermore, both individual- and organizational-level strategies are necessary for nurses to be engaged at work.

Career Impact of High-Performance Work System: A Kaleidoscope Perspective

High-performance work system (HPWS) is considered a solid predictor of individual outcomes, but there is less evidence about the impact HPWS on subjective career success (SCS). The current study examines the direct impact of HPWS on SCS through the lens of the Kaleidoscope Career Model. In addition, employability orientation is expected to mediate the relationship while employees' HPWS attribution is hypothesized to moderate the HPWS-SCS linkage. A quantitative research design with two-wave survey collected data from 365 employees working in 27 firms in Vietnam. Partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is used to test the hypotheses. Results indicate that HPWS is significantly associated with SCS through the achievements of career parameters. In addition, employability orientation mediates the above relationship while HPWS external attribution moderates the relationship between HPWS and SCS. This research suggests that HPWS may influence employees' outcomes beyond the current employment, such as career success. HPWS fosters employability orientation which may encourage the employees to seek career advancements outside the current employer. Therefore, HPWS-implementing organizations should provide career opportunities to the employees. In addition, attention should be paid to employees' evaluative reports of HPWS implementation.

High performance work system and transformational leadership: Revisiting and questioning their implications for health-related wellbeing

Employee wellbeing represents a profound management challenge for both leaders and HR professionals, and both transformational leadership (TL) and high performance work system (HPWS) are assumed to play important roles in tackling this challenge. However, we know little about their unique and relative importance in promoting wellbeing. To shed light on this methodologically, theoretically and practically important issue, we draw mainly on leadership substitutes theory. Based on a comprehensive mediation model we examine whether HPWS substitutes the assumed relationships between TL and employee emotional exhaustion. Our study answers to three important calls for research: to examine the joint effects of leadership and HPWS, to examine their health-related impact, and to pursue more theory contesting research in management studies. Based on data from 308 white collar employees working under 76 middle-managers in five Finnish organizations our study points to the incompleteness of previous siloed research on both TL and HPWS, sheds new light on their relationships with wellbeing, and suggests ways to develop both TL and HPWS theory, thus providing important guidance for future research on their effects.

Effects of high-performance human resource practices in the education sector: The mediational model

In order to better understand the link between High-Performance Human Resource Practices (HPHRPs) and outcomes, this study examines the mediating roles of person-job fit (PJ fit) and person-organization fit (PO fit) using congruence theory. Through a survey questionnaire, data were gathered from 296 people who work at educational institutions in China. The results demonstrated that the association between HPHRPs and outcomes is mediated by both PJ fit and PO fit. We observed theoretical implications and discovered that HPHRPs are an important antecedent that builds congruence among employees' values and goals and organizational values and goals, as well as their job goals, which in turn prevents employees from experiencing stress and developing intentions to leave their workplace. The current study adds to extant literature on education and HPHRPs by identifying PJ fit and PO fit as mechanisms through which HPHRPs demonstrate their authority on employee outcomes. The managerial implications, limitations, and directions for future studies are included in detail at the end.

Psychosocial safety climate and supportive leadership as vital enhancers of personal hope and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study aimed to investigate the effects of supportive leadership and psychosocial safety climate on personal hope and resilience among nurses during the pandemic. Conservation of resource theory was employed to explain the effects of psychosocial safety climate and supportive leadership on nurses' hope and resilience. A cross-sectional design was employed to collect data. Six-hundred and twenty-three nurses across 68 hospitals who were in direct contact with COVID-19 patients during the fifth wave of the pandemic in Iran were recruited. Hierarchical Linear Modelling (HLM) and Structural Equation Modelling using Amos were used to analyze the data. Results revealed that both psychosocial safety climate and supportive leadership improved personal resilience through personal hope. Findings showed that the positive relationship between supportive leadership and personal hope was stronger when the hospital-level psychosocial safety climate was high. To improve personal hope and resilience among nurses during critical times, hospital management must ensure consistent supportive leadership and establish policies, practices and procedures that support nurses' psychosocial health and safety at the hospital level.

How Supportive Leadership Promotes Employee Innovation under Uncertainty: Evidence from Chinese E-Commerce Industry

Innovative behavior (IB) is an important issue in academic and other sectors. The increasing uncertainty caused by COVID-19 has resulted in rising job insecurity for employees in the e-commerce industry. This has jeopardized career sustainability (CS). Numerous studies have explored the influence of supportive leadership (SL) on IB, but so far there is still a dearth of research investigating the role of CS. In addition, CS must be considered because the perceived sustainability of a career has an impact on individual innovation. Therefore, based on job demands-resources (JDR) theory, we analyzed the effects of SL on IB as well as the roles of CS in IB. The mediating role of employee’s perceived occupational sustainability was explored. This study investigates the associations between supportive leadership style (job resource) and employee innovative behavior (job demand). In total, 308 valid samples were collected from China. Structural equation modeling examines the construct validity and path relationships. The results show that in China’s e-commerce industry, under the uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, only when employees perceive CS can SL promote the transformation of job resources into workplace IB. That is, CS completely mediates SL and IB. This provides new information for the management of employee behavior in the current special period. The result revealed that SL improves IB through CS. Theoretically, this study fills the gap and establishes a theoretical framework for SL and IB. Practically, we offer guidance for enterprises and managers in that they should provide their employees with work resources which are good for employee CS so as to promote employees’ IB.

The joint role of HRM and leadership for teleworker well-being: An analysis during the COVID-19 pandemic

The sudden and extensive implementation of teleworking in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic has threatened employees’ well-being. Based on the challenges that particularly threatened such well-being in the beginning of the pandemic, we identify sets of telework-specific HRM practices and leadership behaviors, and examine their joint relationships with teleworkers’ happiness well-being in terms of work engagement and job satisfaction. Thus, we also consider the mediating roles of social isolation (as an indicator of social well-being) and psychological strain (as an indicator of health well-being). We also expect that HRM and leadership should interact and reinforce each other. Our analyses are based on data from German teleworkers at two consecutive points in time. Our findings reveal differentiated and complementary effects of telework-oriented HRM and leadership. In particular, we identified the provision of health care to contribute most to telework-oriented HRM’s relationship with social isolation and happiness well-being. Telework-oriented leadership mainly affected teleworkers’ happiness well-being via strain by ensuring communication and information exchanges between teleworkers.

High-Performance Work Practices and Employee Wellbeing-Does Health-Oriented Leadership Make a Difference?

This paper sheds further light on the contextual boundaries in the relationship between high-performance work practices (HPWPs) and employee wellbeing. In particular, we analyze whether this relationship is moderated by health-oriented leadership behavior (i.e., staff care) which describes the extent to which leaders value, are aware of, and protect their followers' health at work. Our analyses are based on employee data (N = 1,345) from Germany, covering two points in time. Findings show positive associations between HPWPs and happiness-related (i.e., engagement, commitment) and health-related (i.e., general health, physical health complaints, mental health complaints, strain) wellbeing outcomes. The positive relationship between HPWPs and employee wellbeing is weaker the more employees experience leadership behavior in terms of staff care. Thus, our results provide further evidence for a substitutive or compensatory effect between HRM and leadership.

Healthy Leadership and Workplace Health Promotion as a Pre-Requisite for Organizational Health

(1) Background: Increasing stress levels at the workplace constitute a concerning organizational trend, challenging not only employees but also organizations alike, as it is in most instances associated with increasing workloads. In consequence, employees have started to demand that organizations begin to accept responsibility for their health and well-being. The present contribution seeks to investigate, to which extent individuals are able to deal with stress and whether their employers and respective supervisors (leaders) accept responsibility for their health, for instance, by leading by example. In addition, the existence and support generated by the organization in form of Workplace Health Promotion (WPHP) is inquired. (2) Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews with 40 (full and part-time) employees from two European countries were conducted. (3) Results: The study with employees from Austria and Germany (n = 40) confirmed that employees have started to recognize the potential of the workplace as an environment, where individual health can be enhanced. Yet, the results showed that only a few companies have already put some WPHP measures into practice. Likewise, the implementation of healthy leadership is rather limited to date. (4) Conclusions: At present, companies are still more likely to delegate responsibility for employee health and well-being to their staff, having not fully realized the potential of healthy leadership and organizational health promotion. There is great potential to increase WPHP measures on the employer side, through both healthy leadership and supporting WPHP measures.