Contemporary perspectives on the study of psychological climate: A commentary

The role of higher education and civic involvement in converting young adults' social responsibility to prosocial behavior

This study investigates the indirect mechanisms relevant to converting young adults' prosocial attitudes and individual responsibility into their prosocial behavior. Our results are based on a sample of 530 young adults studying at three public regional business schools in South East Europe. They show a significant favorable influence on young adults' civic and political involvement, mediating the relationship between individual responsibility attitudes and prosocial behavior. However, this would not have been expected based on previous research. Another indirect path between the same variables is modeled using a hypothesized moderated mediation effect. The institutional influence of higher education proves to be a significant mediator of the proposed relationship, moderated by the amount of educational content in the fields of ethics, social and environmental responsibility. At mid-and-high levels of exposure to relevant educational content, this indirect path significantly influences the developing young adults' pro-environmental behaviors. The study results are discussed from the viewpoint of peripheral regions with a history of dysfunctional social capital mechanisms.

Towards Examining the Link Between Green HRM Practices and Employee Green in-Role Behavior: Spiritual Leadership as a Moderator

Purpose

Grounding on the supplies-values fit theory, this study examines the effect of green HRM practices on an employee's in-role green behavior after the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, this study examined the mediating role of psychological green climate between green HRM practices and in-role green behaviour. In addition, we studied that spiritual leadership as a buffering mechanism strengthens the relation between psychological green climate and employee in-role behavior.

Methods

The paths were examined using hierarchical multiple regression and for moderation mediation, we used PROCESS Hayes (2003) to evaluate the data collected from 374 Chinese MNCs employees.

Results

The findings indicate that green HRM practices have a positive effect on employees' in-role green behaviour. In addition, psychological green climate mediates the relation between green HRM practices and employee in-role green behavior. Spiritual leadership influences the strength of the moderated mediated path between green HRM practices and employee in-role green behavior (through a psychological green environment).

Discussion

The most apparent manifestation of green HRM practices is the integration of environmental concerns into traditional HRM processes after Covid-19 pandemic, including hiring, training, evaluating performance, and distributing pay and benefits. These green-focused management initiatives are more likely to result in employees acting greenly.

How Do Green Human Resource Management Practices Encourage Employees to Engage in Green Behavior? Perceptions of University Students as Prospective Employees

This study measured the perceptions of prospective employees (university students) towards organizations practicing green human resource management and how these perceptions could influence their future green behavior in the workplace. The sample of the study consisted of students from the largest university in North Cyprus and 400 questionnaires were administered with 342 valid responses being returned. The data was tested by confirmatory factor analysis by using analysis of moment structures (AMOS) software version 24.0 and factor, regression, and correlation analyses were conducted. The data analysis revealed that green human resource management had a direct influence on prospective employees’ perceived green task-related and voluntary behaviors and an indirect influence via the mediation of psychological green climate perception. The importance of incorporating sustainable dimensions within HRM departments, as well as the function of GHRM practices in achieving sustainability, was highlighted in this study. This study further contributes to the literature of behavioral HRM and focuses on the green side of HRM to contribute to the environmental management literature as well as providing insight into prospective employees’ (students) perceptions of GHRM practices, which will create an impact on their future green workplace behaviors.

The Psychosocial Work Environment, Employee Mental Health and Organizational Interventions: Improving Research and Practice by Taking a Multilevel Approach

Although there have been several calls for incorporating multiple levels of analysis in employee health and well-being research, studies examining the interplay between individual, workgroup, organizational and broader societal factors in relation to employee mental health outcomes remain an exception rather than the norm. At the same time, organizational intervention research and practice also tends to be limited by a single-level focus, omitting potentially important influences at multiple levels of analysis. The aims of this conceptual paper are to help progress our understanding of work-related determinants of employee mental health by the following: (1) providing a rationale for routine multilevel assessment of the psychosocial work environment; (2) discussing how a multilevel perspective can improve related organizational interventions; and (3) highlighting key theoretical and methodological considerations relevant to these aims. We present five recommendations for future research, relating to using appropriate multilevel research designs, justifying group-level constructs, developing group-level measures, expanding investigations to the organizational level and developing multilevel approaches to intervention design, implementation and evaluation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A CLIMATE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY ENHANCES THE SUCCESS OF FRONT END TEAMS

This paper contributes to the discussion about initiative in teams at the front end of new product development processes (innovative teams). In contrast to the general opinion presented in the literature, this study points out that unstructured innovative teams are as much initiative in developing new ideas or in finding quick solutions when compared to structured innovative teams. Therefore we analyse the relationship between teamwork quality and team initiative in structured and unstructured teams at the front end of a new product development process and, in particular, we focus on a climate of psychological safety. To examine this relationship, data were collected by surveying 100 team members from different departments in a multinational company. It has been pointed out in the literature previously that where a team leader provides little structure at the micro level for team members there is a negative effect on the displays of initiative in the very early stages of the innovation process. However we can demonstrate that this effect can be reduced by a climate of psychological safety. Thus, it can be stated that unstructured teamwork combined with a climate of psychological safety is the way for teams at the front end of a new product development process to be successful.

Service climate and employee well being in higher education

A growing emphasis on the discourse of ‘student as customer’ has increased the salience of the concept of service climate in universities and anecdotal evidence suggests that this may have placed increased pressure on staff. This study investigated the relationship between service climate and psychological well being in a sample of 340 university staff. Questionnaire data was analysed using structural equation modelling showed that a positive service climate was negatively related to job-induced tension and positively related to job satisfaction. Job-induced tension also mediated the effects of service climate on psychological dysfunction and job satisfaction. Implications for management of university stakeholder relationships and directions for future research are discussed.

Service climate and employee well being in higher education

A growing emphasis on the discourse of ‘student as customer’ has increased the salience of the concept of service climate in universities and anecdotal evidence suggests that this may have placed increased pressure on staff. This study investigated the relationship between service climate and psychological well being in a sample of 340 university staff. Questionnaire data was analysed using structural equation modelling showed that a positive service climate was negatively related to job-induced tension and positively related to job satisfaction. Job-induced tension also mediated the effects of service climate on psychological dysfunction and job satisfaction. Implications for management of university stakeholder relationships and directions for future research are discussed.