Creating facades of conformity in the face of job insecurity: A study of consequences and conditions

Exploring the links between type and content of virtual background use during videoconferencing and videoconference fatigue

The popularity of remote working in recent years has led to a rise in the use of videoconferencing tools. However, these communication tools have also given rise to a phenomenon known as videoconference fatigue (VF). Using the limited capacity model of motivated mediated message processing and impression management theory as the theoretical framework, this study explores how different types and content of virtual backgrounds in videoconferencing influence people's VF and well-being. A survey of 610 users of videoconferencing tools revealed significant variations in the content and type of virtual backgrounds used during videoconferences. Our findings highlight three main points: first, there is a significant relationship between the use of virtual backgrounds and VF; second, pairwise comparisons showed that the type of virtual background significantly influences the amount of VF experienced by users; third, the content of virtual backgrounds also significantly impacts the level of VF experienced by users. These results suggest that careful selection of virtual backgrounds can mitigate VF and improve user well-being. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

How Daily Job Insecurity Links to Next-Day Ingratiation: The Roles of Emotional Exhaustion and Power Distance Orientation

Purpose

Numerous empirical studies consistently support the detrimental impact of job insecurity (JI) on employees. However, a new perspective suggests that individuals perceiving JI may proactively take measures to protect their positions. Drawing from the conservation of resources theory, this study argues that perceived resource loss due to JI motivates employees to engage in ingratiating behaviors for expanding their social capital. Additionally, this study empirically establishes the mediating role of emotional exhaustion and the moderating effect of power distance.

Methods

A daily diary design was used to examine the relationship between daily JI and next-day ingratiation. Our analyses of data collected from 134 full-time employees across 10 consecutive working days using multi-level model.

Results

Our results showed that daily JI was found to affect next-day ingratiation (γ = 0.14, p < 0.01), and this relationship was mediated by emotional exhaustion (indirect effect = 0.07, p < 0.05, 95% CI [0.01, 0.13]). Power distance moderated the relationship between emotional exhaustion and ingratiation (γ = 0.25, p < 0.001), and further moderated the indirect effect of JI on ingratiation via emotional exhaustion.

Conclusion

Our study has revealed that JI serves as a catalyst for employees to engage in resource creation behavior, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of the implications of JI as an independent variable for both scholars and businesses.

Perceived job insecurity and task performance: what aspect of performance is related to which facet of job insecurity

Employee task performance is considered to be of crucial importance for organizational survival and growth, at the same time, the struggle for organizational survival and growth most especially in the current economic climate gives rise to perceptions of job insecurity among employees thereby making the perception of job insecurity a relevant topic. This study examined the effect of perceived job insecurity on task performance. In addition, the effect of both quantitative and qualitative facets of job insecurity on the different components of task performance, was investigated. By making use of the multi-stage sampling technique, a total of 342 employees with age range of 23 to 46 years were proportionately selected from the cluster that represents each bank. Furthermore, the close ended and structured questionnaire was utilized in a descriptive cross-sectional research design to elicit responses from these employees. Based on the regression analysis conducted, it was revealed that while perceived job insecurity as a uni-dimensional construct exercise a significant and negative effect on task performance, both quantitative and qualitative job insecurity also have a significant and negative effect on this performance with the later, found to exercise a stronger negative impact. Furthermore, results also indicate that while quantitative job insecurity is more negatively related with the job quality component of performance, both job quantity and job time limit are more negatively related with qualitative job insecurity. To conclude, recommendations were made on the need for organizations to focus intervention on antecedents of job insecurity which have been classified as macro level, micro level and personality factors with the view of reducing the incidence of perceived job insecurity. It was also recommended that managers should endeavor to concentrate more resources on those employees who suffer from qualitative job insecurity whenever there is a need to make use of these interventions, while also being in cognizant of the fact that a different level of intervention is required for employees with different level of job quality, job quantity and job time limit.

The effect of alcohol consumption on workplace aggression: What's love (and job insecurity) got to do with it?

Purpose

The authors tested whether the effect of alcohol consumption during work hours on workplace aggression was influenced by the combined impact of individuals' job insecurity and love of the job.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employed a time-lagged design whereby 325 working adults (166 men; 159 women) provided data at two time points. Respondents were asked to report their typical alcohol consumption volume in a workday, the extent to which they loved their job, and how insecure they felt about their job. Approximately one week later, respondents completed a workplace aggression measure.

Findings

A substantial positive relationship was observed between the volume of alcohol consumed during work hours and the likelihood of aggressive acts. Beyond this preliminary finding, the authors found evidence for a three-way interaction. It appears that the fear of losing a beloved job creates a condition under which the drinking-aggression relationship is particularly strong.

Practical implications

Besides formal rules deterring alcohol consumption during work hours, managers may look to implement measures that nurture a sense of job love and job security, which can be beneficial in preventing aggression resulting from drinking in the workplace.

Originality/value

By examining alcohol consumption during a typical workday, the study captures the contextual and proximal effects of drinking, which are often not observed in workplace-focused studies that operationalize alcohol consumption in general terms. The findings also suggest that if employees who drink during work hours are afraid of losing the job they love, a particularly stressful situation is created in which workplace aggression is more likely to happen.

How does job insecurity cause unethical pro-organizational behavior? The mediating role of impression management motivation and the moderating role of organizational identification

This study aims to examine the effect of quantitative and qualitative job insecurity on unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB), focusing on the mediating effect of impression management motivation and the moderating effect of organizational identification. A two-wave questionnaire survey is conducted, and data from 254 employees of Chinese enterprises are used to test the research hypotheses. Empirical results show that: (1) Quantitative job insecurity has a significant positive effect on UPB, while positive effect of qualitative job insecurity on UPB is insignificant. (2) Quantitative job insecurity positively affects impression management motivation and increases UPB. Although the direct effect of qualitative job insecurity on UPB is insignificant, it positively affects UPB through impression management motivation. (3) Organizational identification plays a positive moderation role in the relationship between impression management motivation and employees' UPB, that is, high-degree organizational identification leads to a strong effect of impression management motivation on UPB; furthermore, organizational identification moderates the mediating role of impression management motivation in the relationships between quantitative, qualitative job insecurity, and UPB, such that the effect is strong when organizational identification is high, rather than low. This study compares the effect of quantitative and qualitative job insecurity on employees' UPB, reveals that impression management motivation is the key mechanism of quantitative and qualitative job insecurity affecting UPB, and points out the moderating effect of organizational identification, which offers implications for organizational management practices.

Carrot and Stick Approach: The Exploitative Leadership and Absenteeism in Education Sector

Utilizing the conservation of resources theory, this study investigates serial mediation of facades of conformity and depression between exploitative leadership and absenteeism. A total of 211 education sector employees using the convenient sampling technique took part in the survey with data collected in a time-lagged research design. Findings of the study reveal that facades of conformity and depression mediate the independent paths and play a serial mediating role between EL and absenteeism path. This study suggests that EL works as a workplace stressor, under which employees try to protect their valuable resources from further loss in the form of facades of conformity, in doing so, it leads to depression; thus, employees ultimately use absenteeism as an active coping strategy to cope with workplace stressors.

Is Job Insecurity Harmful to All Types of Proactivity? The Moderating Role of Future Work Self Salience and Socioeconomic Status

How and when do uncertain factors affect employees' different types of proactive behavior? Building on the strength model of self-control, the present study examines the different effects of job insecurity on individual-oriented and organizational-oriented proactive behaviors, and the moderating role of future work self salience (FWSS) and socioeconomic status (SES). Two-wave data collected from 227 employees in China were used to test our hypotheses. The results indicate that job insecurity is negatively associated with all the proactive behaviors. Moreover, the FWSS positively moderates the above relationship, and the moderating role on individual-oriented proactive behavior is stronger than organizational-oriented proactive behavior. The SES negatively moderates the relationship between job insecurity and the two types of proactive behaviors. In addition, the FWSS and SES have a three-way interactive effect on the relationship between job insecurity and individual task proactive behavior. The practical implications of these results are discussed.

Compulsory Citizenship Behavior and Its Outcomes: Two Mediation Models

Employees view compulsory citizenship behavior (CCB) as concessionary behavior they undertake because of pressure exerted by their organizations. This study applies affective events theory to CCB-workplace deviance relationships, and impression management theory to CCB-facades of conformity relationships, to posit that employee emotional exhaustion is an essential mediating factor that effectively explains how CCB contributes to workplace deviance and facades of conformity. This study utilizes two mediation models to investigate whether employees’ CCBs are positively related to their work deviance and false behavior, and how emotional exhaustion mediates those relationships. Two-wave data collected from 655 valid participants (480 males, 175 females; average age of 30.1 years) in a public sector bank and a large private bank in Taiwan supported our hypotheses. We conducted surveys with volunteer employees that included CCB, emotional exhaustion, facades of conformity, and work deviance. The results of this study uncovered statistically significant relationships between CCB and work deviance and between CCB and facades of conformity and revealed that emotional exhaustion significantly mediated these relationships. Implications and directions for future study are discussed.

How Does Job Insecurity Affect Workplace Harassment? The Interaction Effect of Hypercompetitive Attitude, Coworker Impression Management, and Leader Narcissism

With concerns that artificial intelligence may replace existing jobs, job insecurity is becoming more prevalent. In-depth study of how job insecurity affects our society has become an important research topic. This study investigates the internal mechanisms through which such job insecurity influences workplace harassment. Based on the theories of psychological contract breach and the conservation of resources, this study proposes an indirect effect of job insecurity and a three-way moderation effect of hypercompetitive attitude, perceived coworker impression management, and leader narcissism on aggression intention. Using survey data from 286 employees in South Korea, bootstrapping analysis, hierarchical regression analysis, and a slope-difference test were performed to confirm the mediation and moderation effects. The results showed that hypercompetitive attitude mediates the association between job insecurity and aggression intention. The three-way interaction effect was also confirmed, such that the interaction effect of hypercompetitive attitude and coworker impression management is only effective when leader narcissism is high. This study contributes to the literature and business practices by offering significant suggestions to aid a more in-depth understanding of the workplace harassment occurrence process.

Compulsory Citizenship Behavior and Facades of Conformity: A Moderated Mediation Model of Neuroticism and Citizenship Pressure

Drawing on the social exchange theory, this study investigates how compulsory citizenship behavior (CCB) produces facades of conformity through citizenship pressure, and whether neuroticism moderates the relationship among them. This study surveyed 356 employees (259 males, 97 females; average age 37.7 years) of a northern Taiwanese corporation to investigate the relationship among CCB, citizenship pressure, and facades of conformity. The study found that neuroticism moderates the strength of the indirect effect of CCB and facades of conformity through citizenship pressure, such that the mediated relationship is stronger under high neuroticism than under low neuroticism. It also suggests that a relationship among CCB, citizenship pressure, and facades of conformity exists, in which a negative response leads to generalized pressure in organizations. Finally, this study proposes that managers and employers should consider that CCB may result in false conformity by employees and introduce negative citizenship pressure into the work domain. In addition, employers should encourage employees to build social relations to avoid CCB. Organizations and leaders need to generate environments within which employees support extra-role activities in the workplace.

Can I Be Me With You at Work? Examining Relational Authenticity and Discretionary Behaviors in the Workplace

Management scholars have long been interested in the topic of authenticity in the workplace, evidenced by the history of scholarship on authentic leadership and the many new authenticity constructs that have emerged. In this article, we take a narrower view of authenticity and focus on relational authenticity in the workplace, which we define as being genuine in workplace relationships. Adapting a validated relational authenticity scale to the organizational context, we explore the ways in which feeling authentic in workplace relationships has ramifications for discretionary behaviors. Specifically, we build on belongingness theory to posit that relational authenticity will result in an increase in engagement in both altruistic and sportsmanship behaviors. We also explore the moderating effect of proactive personality on these relationships. Results from our two-sample study ( N = 352; 500) indicate that relational authenticity is positively associated with engagement in both altruistic and sportsmanship behaviors.

My career development journey to an authentic work identity

Purpose

This paper describes the author's lived experiences as a marginalised professional. It offers a nuanced understanding of the author's career development journey to an authentic work identity.

Design/methodology/approach

This analytic autoethnography, situated in multicultural, democratic South Africa, describes how historic moments in the country's political evolution influenced the author personally: the author’s sense of belonging and the author’s various roles socially, as well as at work.

Findings

The paper tracks selected stories in the author's professional career journey to an authentic work identity, as indexed by the themes: I am a Black South African; I am a gay professional and so, who am I at work? On reflection, the author realised how the bounded nature of authenticity allowed psychological safety while exploring congruency between the author’s multiple work identities.

Originality/value

The autoethnography demonstrates how multiple accounts by the same author may be a valuable way of contributing to the literature on authentic work identity. This autoethnographic work extends the authentic identity literature of marginalised professionals beyond the narrow authenticity–inauthenticity binary of most organisational studies. The paper introduces limited authentic work identity as an ameliorative self-concept in organisations.

When do job insecure employees adapt to change?

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between job insecurity and adaptive performance (AP), contingent on changes to core work tasks, which we position as a situational cue to employees regarding important work behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

Employees and their supervisors were invited to participate in the study. Supervisors were asked to provide ratings of employees’ AP and changes to core tasks; employees reported on job insecurity.

Findings

As predicted, changes to core tasks moderated the relationship between job insecurity and AP. Job insecurity was negatively related to AP for those experiencing low levels of change, but was not related to AP for those experiencing high levels of change. Counter to expectations, no main effect of job insecurity was found.

Research limitations/implications

This study employed a fairly small sample of workers from two organizations, which could limit generalizability.

Practical implications

The study identifies changes to core tasks as a boundary condition for the job insecurity–AP relationship. Findings suggest that organizations may not observe deleterious consequences of job insecurity on AP when changes to core tasks are high.

Originality/value

Few researchers have examined boundary conditions of the impact of job insecurity on AP. Furthermore, inconsistent findings regarding the link between job insecurity and AP have emerged. This study fills the gap and expands upon previous research by examining changes to core tasks as a condition under which job insecurity does not pose an issue for AP.

How Workplace Bullying Relates to Facades of Conformity and Work-Family Conflict: The Mediating Role of Psychological Strain

This study examined the effects of workplace bullying on facades of conformity in the work domain and on work-family conflict in the family domain. In this research, workplace bullying is seen as a reality in organizations, and this study considers individuals' judgments concerning various features of their workplace situations. Employees' experiences of workplace bullying influence their creation of facades of conformity and crosses over to influence their partners' family life through psychological strain. Psychological strain mediates the influence of workplace bullying on facades of conformity and on partners' work-family life. A total of 569 employee-partner dyads from a large plastics corporation in Taiwan demonstrated significant relationships between workplace bullying and its outcomes at work and at home. The results of this study demonstrate that psychological strain is an important mechanism between workplace bullying and its consequences, both at work and at home. A time-lag study design and two different sources (i.e., employees and their married partners) were utilized to reduce common method bias in this study. The main theoretical and practical implications of the findings for future research are discussed.

Friend and foe? Self-deception in organisations

Purpose

Self-deception is generally deemed an adaptive psychological mechanism that ensures well-being, a sense of identity and social advancement. However, self-deception becomes maladaptive in organised environments that undermine the critical thinking essential to development and change. The purpose of this paper is to advance a theoretical model of self-deception, specifying and contextualising its intrapersonal and relational components in organisations. Further, it provides guidelines for practitioners to identify self-deception tactics, and minimise maladaptive self-deception.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on affective coping, system justification and self-categorisation theories, the paper illustrates how the interplay of intrapersonal and relational factors with organisational practices explain self-deception.

Findings

Maladaptive self-deception is pervasive in organisations that deter critical reflection, and intensify motivated biases to self-enhance and self-protect.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a socially and organisationally embedded model of self-deception, specifies how self-deception develops and manifests in organisations, and suggests ways of identifying and managing self-deception towards positive organisational development and change.

Values congruence, organization-based self-esteem, and employee responses: Evidence from Sri Lanka

Expatriate managers are often advised to adapt their leadership styles and organizational cultures to the culture of the country in which they operate. This advice appears to be reasonable, but it has rarely been empirically tested. In this study, we examine the degree to which congruence of organization and individual cultural values affect employees. We collected data from business managers and executives in Sri Lanka, a country that has not been well studied by international management scholars. We hypothesized that personally embraced values that are consistent with broader cultural values would have relationships with self-esteem. Further, because people are also motivated to verify and enhance their levels of self-esteem in culturally consistent ways, we hypothesized that self-esteem at work would mediate relationships of values with prosocial motivation and intent to maintain membership in the organization. We found that culturally consistent, self-transcendence personal values did relate uniquely to organization-based self-esteem (OBSE). In addition, OBSE mediated the relationships between self-transcendence values, and work-based prosocial motivation and intent to stay. Moderated mediation analyses revealed that strong values fit weakened the mediating effect of OBSE on self-transcendence—outcomes and conservation—outcome relationships, contrary to our hypotheses. It appears that the advice to modify organizational culture to fit local culture should be qualified by also recommending that such changes are not conflict with the organization’s existing, successful culture. Our study also sheds some light on the cultural values of Sri Lanka. This is the first study to explicitly examine these relationships within a work context as well as one of few studies to examine personal values in Sri Lanka.