Developing and validating a new multi-dimensional scale for anti-social behavior in a higher education setting

Examining generational differences as a moderator of extreme-context perception and its impact on work alienation organizational outcomes: Implications for the workplace and remote work transformation

There is no doubt that extreme contexts (e.g., war zones and pandemics) represent substantial disruptions that force many companies to rethink the way they do business. With so much of the workforce now working remotely and concerns about resulting work alienation, we must ask this question: How can this be translated into the generational divide in workplaces based in extreme contexts? Using COVID-19 as an example trigger of extreme-context experience, therefore, we investigate generation as a moderator of the effects of extreme-context perception upon anxiety leading to alienation with subsequent behavioral outcomes on job insecurity, job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). A time-lagged survey procedure yielded 219 valid responses from a three-generation sample of employees working in multiple service organizations. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Our analysis suggested that intense extreme-context perception led to elevated anxiety and alienation, which, in turn, heightened job insecurity and worsened job satisfaction and OCB outcomes. Finally, during the experience of extreme-context times, generation was found to moderate our model, such that both Generation Y and Generation Z experienced higher anxiety due to extreme-context perception and hence higher job insecurity due to alienation compared with Generation X respondents. Our results endorse the criticality of implementing agile and generationally non-sectarian management for effectively functioning generationally diverse workforces in pandemic times.

The Role of Machiavellianism and Interdependent Agency in Facebook Intrusion

Facebook is one the most popular social networking sites in the world. The social aspect and perceiving oneself in the context of relationships seem to be crucial in the analysis of Facebook use. In recent years the number of Facebook users has been increasing, which is related to the problem of Facebook intrusion. Machiavellianism and selected interdependence agency indicators (conformity, relatedness, and autonomy) are associated with social functioning, which is an important aspect of Facebook intrusion. The aim of the study was to check how Machiavelianism and the interdependent agency indicators mentioned above affect Facebook intrusion and whether Facebook intrusion decreases satisfaction with life. The participants in the online study were 715 Polish Facebook users. We administered the Facebook Intrusion Scale, Conformity, Relatedness, and Autonomy Scales, and the Satisfaction With Life Scale. The results show that the selected interdependence agency indicators predict Facebook intrusion. Our results revealed that a high level of Machiavellianism was related to a high level of Facebook intrusion in women. They also show that conformity is positively and autonomy negatively related to Facebook intrusion and that Facebook decreases reduces satisfaction with life. The presented research thus contributes to knowledge about Facebook usage patterns.

Who's more vulnerable? A generational investigation of COVID-19 perceptions' effect on Organisational citizenship Behaviours in the MENA region: job insecurity, burnout and job satisfaction as mediators

BACKGROUND

This paper is an empirical investigation that examines a path model linking COVID-19 perceptions to organisational citizenship behaviour (OCBs) via three mediators: job insecurity, burnout, and job satisfaction. The research examines the path model invariance spanning Generations X, Y, and Z. Three countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) were the focus of the study.

METHODS

The data was collected from a sample of employees in service companies (n = 578). We used a Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse the data.

RESULTS

Our findings reveal that COVID-19 perceptions positively predict job insecurity, which positively impacts burnout levels. Burnout negatively predicts job satisfaction. The findings established that job satisfaction positively predicts OCBs. The mediation analysis determined that job insecurity, burnout and job satisfaction convey the indirect effects of COVID-19 perceptions onto OCBs. Finally, our hypothesised model is non-equivalent across Generations X, Y and Z. In that regard, our multi-group analysis revealed that the indirect effects of COVID-19 perceptions on OCBs were only valid amongst younger generations, i.e., Generation Y and Generation Z. Specifically, younger generations are substantially more vulnerable to the indirect effects of COVID-19 perceptions on their engagement in OCBs than Generation X whose job satisfaction blocks the effects of COVID-19 perceptions on OCBs.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study extends our knowledge of workplace generational differences in responding to the perceptions of crises or pandemics. It offers evidence that suggests that burnout, job attitudes and organisational outcomes change differently across generations in pandemic times.

The Janus-faced effects of COVID-19 perceptions on family healthy eating behavior: Parent's negative experience as a mediator and gender as a moderator

This research examines the effects of COVID‐19 perceptions and negative experiences during the pandemic time on parental healthy eating behavior and whether these relationships interact with a parent’s gender. We ran a survey of parents who had at least one child aged 3 to 17 years old living in the United Kingdom. We received 384 valid responses, which were analysed via a variance‐based structural equation modeling approach to test our hypotheses. The results revealed that COVID‐19 perceptions effects were Janus‐faced. While they indirectly and negatively impact healthy eating behavior mediated by triggering negative experiences during the pandemic, COVID‐19 perceptions, however, directly get parents, especially fathers, more engaged into healthy eating behavior – making COVID‐19 perceptions total effects positive on healthy eating behavior. This explorative model is novel in the sense that it is the first of its kind to cast light on how parental healthy eating behavior can be shaped in pandemic time. The research is particularly timely due to the uncertain times in which the research is situated, that is, the worldwide pandemic (also termed COVID‐19); the paper highlights how family eating practices can undergo dramatic shifts during acute crises.

A motivational standpoint of job insecurity effects on organizational citizenship behaviors: A generational study

Our research reports an empirical analysis of a path model linking job insecurity to organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) via two mediators, that is, intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction. The aim is to evaluate the path model invariance across three generational cohorts, that is, generation X, generation Y, and generation Z. A sample of employees in service companies based in Canada was surveyed. We utilized a partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach, which included path analysis and multi-group analysis (MGA) to test proposed hypotheses. We found that job insecurity negatively predicted intrinsic motivation which positively related to job satisfaction. Job satisfaction influenced OCBs positively. Both intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction mediated the indirect effects of job insecurity onto OCBs. Generation X was more pronounced in their reaction to job insecurity than later generations given the strong negative effects on intrinsic motivation and hence on their job. However, generation Z employees followed their parents from generation X regarding engaging more in OCBs when they are satisfied with their job than generation Y. In general, therefore, it should come as no surprise that generation X employees' OCBs can be expected to plummet due to the elevated levels of job insecurity during pandemic times (e.g., COVID-19) more intensely than Generation Y. Clearly, with COVID-19 having led many organizations around the world to adopt virtual workplace environments, generational differences amongst employees have to be considered as a matter of crucial concern for these organizations.