Feeling low: How social media influences employees' knowledge hidings and innovative behavior

Prior research has identified both positive and negative consequences arising from the widespread integration of social media within the organizations. The present research suggests that upward social comparison (USC) in social media is related to psychological disengagement resulting in knowledge hiding and lower innovative behavior of individuals. It further suggests that mindfulness mitigates the impact of USC in social media. A two-wave longitudinal survey reveals that individuals who engage in comparative self-assessment with friends projecting an aura of unattainable success on social media unwittingly cause psychological disengagement, a phenomenon which, in turn, precipitates a palpable decline in their innovative behavior and rise in knowledge hiding. Furthermore, our exploration unravels an intricate layer of this narrative - mindfulness of employees for online social interactions reduces this adverse cascade. This study draws attention to the necessity for vigilant managerial oversight. It serves as a clarion call, illuminating the concealed facets of social media, dappled with the intricate interplay of online social comparisons. This research transcends traditional paradigms by introducing a unique perspective on employee engagement with social media, contemplated in the context of online social comparison. It augments the current body of knowledge by shedding light on the complex interplay of these variables within the modern workforce.

Social media use in the workplace: The role of social comparison in negative behaviors

The pervasive use of social media in professional environments has become a focal point of contemporary research. Particularly, the routine engagement of employees with platforms like Facebook and WeChat during work hours exposes them to peers' achievements, potentially triggering upward social comparisons. This study investigates the often-overlooked psychological and behavioral consequences of such comparisons among employees in workplace settings. Specifically, we address a significant research gap by examining how upward social comparisons on social media influence employees' emotions and subsequent workplace behaviors. Utilizing Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) for data analysis, this research analyzes responses from 477 high-tech employees in China. Our findings reveal that upward social comparisons can engender feelings of workplace envy and ego depletion. These emotional states, in turn, adversely impact employee behavior, manifesting in diminished job performance, increased tendency towards knowledge hiding, and heightened engagement in cyber loafing. This study contributes to the broader understanding of social media's impact on employee psychology and behavior, offering valuable insights for both academic research and practical management within the context of technology-enhanced workplace environments.

Exploring the relationships between resilience, mindfulness, and experiential avoidance after the use of a mindfulness- and acceptance-based mobile app for posttraumatic stress disorder

PURPOSE

This study used a mindfulness- and acceptance-based mobile app to examine the relationships between resilience, mindfulness, experiential avoidance, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A quasi-experimental pre-posttest, single-group study design was used. A total of 23 college student veterans used the app for 4 weeks. Outcomes of resilience, mindfulness, experiential avoidance, and PTSD were measured at three time-points (baseline, end of Week 2, and end of Week 4).

FINDINGS

All outcomes significantly improved at postintervention. Improvements in resilience and PTSD significantly correlated with improvement in mindfulness.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Mindfulness- and acceptance-based mobile apps can be safely used by individuals with PTSD as a complementary approach to enhance resilient coping with PTSD.

The Grand Challenge for Research on the Future of Coaching

The popularity of coaching as a development activity in organizations has outpaced the research. To inspire research and strengthen our intellectual foundation, the Thought Leadership Institute of the International Coaching Federation invited 35 of the most recognized coaching scholars and 12 coaching leaders to three two-hour discussions. Each session began with three presenters briefly sharing observations about what we know and need to find out. The three sessions focused on: (1) the desired outcomes of coaching; (2) the process and mechanism of coaching; and (3) coaching for people from distinctive cultures, genders, and context. A fourth theme emerged as the major gap in the research about the competencies of effective coaches. This paper summarizes the discussions. Twenty-two specific research needs for the coming years are identified and presented, clustered within the four themes. This should provide guidance for graduate students, faculty and consultants considering research on coaching.

Executive coaching: an exploration of the coachee's perceived value

Purpose

The goal of this qualitative study is to explore how different elements of the coach–coachee setting can affect the perceived outcome from coaching sessions by the coachee.

Design/methodology/approach

Using thematic analysis on 197 semi-structured interviews of bank executives, the authors suggest an evidence-based sequential model on how the perceived value of the coaching process might be contingent on four elements.

Findings

As a result of the exploratory analysis, the authors’ suggest that the coach's guidance, coach's reliableness, coachee's willingness and coachee's self-awareness can determine the coachees' perceived effectiveness or usefulness from their coaching sessions.

Originality/value

There is little empirical data regarding the coachee's perceived value. The current study attempts to fill the gap in the existing literature by considering the coaching outcomes with particular regard to the executive's perceived value of coaching. This research adds to the literature on how to deliver effective coaching in organizations and provides empirical evidence to practitioners on how coachees perceive value from coaching.

Does narcissistic leadership enhance employee resilience? A moderated mediation model of goal-directed energy and psychological availability

Purpose

Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study highlights the mediating role of goal-directed energy as a critical psychological resource. The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effect of goal-directed energy on the relationship between narcissistic leadership and employee resilience. The study also explores the moderating effect of psychological availability on the relationship between narcissistic leadership and goal-directed energy.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 857 employees and their supervisors at 137 enterprises in China. Confirmatory factor analysis, hierarchical multiple regression analysis and path analysis were adopted to analyze the data.

Findings

The results indicate that narcissistic leadership has a positive effect on goal-directed energy, which, in turn, enhances employee resilience. Furthermore, the effect of narcissistic leadership on goal-directed energy becomes more prominent in the context of lower psychological availability.

Practical implications

First, narcissistic leadership is supposed to play an effective role in helping employees gain resources. Second, organizations should attach importance to implementing resilience-building programs on employees to cope with uncertainty. Third, organizations should offer multiple training opportunities to stimulate employees’ goal-directed energy.

Originality/value

First, the findings suggest that employee resilience is influenced by narcissistic leadership, which provides more possibilities for the study on the antecedents of resilience. Second, the study offers novel insights regarding the effect of narcissistic leadership on employee resilience through goal-directed energy. Finally, it also examines psychological availability as the boundary condition between narcissistic leadership and goal-directed energy.

Inclusive-Empathy in Leadership

The unexpected rapid change in the workplace revealed one simple truth: Sizeable benefits exist when leaders show inclusive-empathy. Given current developments in the way people work with technology and within society, inclusive-empathy needs to be adapted. How do leaders begin to show inclusive-empathy if this was never the case beforehand? And what tactics can be used to continually display inclusive-empathy in challenging times? A leader needs to understand and reflect upon the patterns and routines that may have quietly manifested at work and the interactions with others that follow on. This is easier said than done, and in practice it is quite a challenge to identify patterns via self-reflection. In this article, we introduce one practical tool that incorporates reflections as well as opportunities for behavior change in order to assist leaders on the journey of increasing inclusive-empathy.

Are We Making Progress? Assessing Goal-Directed Behaviors in Leadership Development Programs

Leadership development programs increasingly help participants engage in their career transitions. Therefore, these programs lead participants to establish not only development goals, which usually involve the improvement of a specific leadership competency, but also goals that relate to career advancement or to achieving a more general life aspiration. Assessing goal attainment, as a measure of program impact, may take years as goals vary greatly in terms of nature, timeframe, and domain. The purpose of this study was to overcome this challenge by providing a measure of goal progress as a necessary antecedent of goal attainment, and which we operationalize through a general scale of goal-directed behaviors. Subject-matter experts assessed the content validity of the measure. Factor analysis, using three samples, revealed four dimensions identified as Sharing Information, Seeking Information, Revising the Plan, and Enacting the Plan. This new scale allows data collection as early as a few months after setting the goals, which can provide practitioners with an earlier indication of program impact and facilitate future academic studies in this field.

All by Myself? Executives’ Impostor Phenomenon and Loneliness as Catalysts for Executive Coaching With Management Consultants

The scholarly literature regarding executive consulting relationships, typically labeled as executive coaching, tends to focus on the issue of its effectiveness. The fundamental question regarding executives’ desire to engage in this kind of intervention, whose benefits are considered ambivalent, has been mostly overlooked. Addressing this theme was the purpose of this exploratory study, in which in-depth interviews were conducted with 46 Israeli executives. Despite the executives’ explanation of executive coaching in rational terms of knowledge acquisition, the findings shed light on two phenomena that, surprisingly, have received limited attention: executive loneliness and impostorism. These intertwined experiences have been executives’ implicit catalysts for seeking help from management consultants. The study highlights the significant role of executive coaching as a means of emotional support for executive impostorism and loneliness. A major implication is the importance of providing managers promoted to senior positions with preparation for the emotional distress associated with their role.

Emotional and Social Intelligence Competencies of Incident Team Commanders Fighting Wildfires

Incident Management Teams (IMTs) combat the toughest wildfires in the United States, contending with forces of nature as well as many stakeholders with different agendas. Prior literature on IMTs suggested roles and cognitive sensemaking as key elements for success, but the possible importance of emotional and social intelligence competencies in leadership has not been empirically explored. Sixty critical incidents from interviews of 15 incident commanders were analyzed for emotional and social intelligence competencies in incident management leadership. Seven competencies were found to significantly differentiate outstanding leaders from average leaders. Emotional self-control, adaptability, empathy, coach/mentor, and inspirational leadership significantly or near significantly differentiated the outstanding leaders. Five additional competencies appeared as threshold competencies: achievement orientation, organizational awareness, influence, conflict management, and teamwork. Implications for further research, training, and development are explored.

Emotional intelligence competencies in engineer’s effectiveness and engagement

Purpose

Little research has explored the importance of interpersonal skills, and more specifically, emotional and social intelligence (ESI) competencies for an engineer’s effectiveness or engagement. Furthermore, to the knowledge, no studies have explored the explanatory power of ESI over and above general mental ability and personality for engineers. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study the authors gathered multi-source data for 40 engineers in a multi-national manufacturing company.

Findings

The authors found that ESI as observed by their peers significantly predicted engineer effectiveness (ΔR2=0.313), while general mental ability (g) and personality did not. In the same study, an engineer’s engagement in their work was significantly predicted by the degree of shared vision within their teams, while g, personality and ESI did not predict engagement.

Research limitations/implications

The authors explore the implications of the findings for corporate training and development, undergraduate education, and graduate education of engineers.

Originality/value

The authors draw on 30 years of longitudinal studies showing ESI and quality of relationships can be significantly improved with the appropriate pedagogy emphasizing the building of one’s vision, developmental approaches to ESI, developing a shared vision with others, and inspirational coaching.