A cross-cultural comparison of work engagement in the relationships between trust climate - Job performance and turnover intention: Focusing China and Pakistan

While the significance of cross-cultural research has been acknowledged over time, there remains a gap in understanding its relationship with employee outcomes. This study delves into the associations between organizational trust climate (TC) and job performance (JP), as well as turnover intention (TI), seeking to ascertain if work engagement (WE) plays a mediating role. Additionally, the research investigates potential differences in the mediating effect between China and Pakistan. Data gathered from 270 participants in China and 242 in Pakistan were subjected to structural equation modeling (SEM) for analysis. Findings indicated that perceptions of individual WE serve as a bridge between organizational TC and JP, with the effect on JP being notably stronger among the Chinese participants. Moreover, the mediating role of WE in the link between organizational TC and TI was more pronounced for the Pakistani participants. On a practical front, such insights can equip managers with a nuanced understanding of the ripple effect that a trust-infused environment can have on employee engagement, subsequently influencing performance and retention rates.

Torn between two worlds: COVID, it's your fault

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a global reach, impacting each one of us to varying degrees. Research is emerging on the medical, educational, social, and psychological effects of this pandemic; however, little has appeared yet on the impact on immigrant acculturation. We are six higher education immigrant academics in New Zealand and our collaborative autoethnographic study reports on the disruption to our immigrant selves caused by COVID-19. We present findings from our narratives written at two different times: a reflection after the initial eight-week New Zealand lockdown from March to May 2020, and a second meta-reflection one year later. We also illustrate, in graph form, our perceived stress levels associated with being immigrants during COVID-19. The narratives describe strong emotions linked to transnational connections that bound us to loved ones at home in COVID-ravaged countries. While we describe a stronger sense of belonging to our new society, we also identify COVID-19 as a disruptor and interrupter of the acculturation process regardless of our length of settlement in New Zealand. We argue that the increased stress of COVID-19 has triggered an interruption or oscillation that has disrupted our acculturation trajectories, surfacing emotions of acculturative stress even for those well adapted to their new society. These findings may resonate with immigrants in similar contexts and circumstances.

Points of View and Readers' Immersion in Translation: A Neurocognitive Interpretation of Poetic Translatability

There have been few attempts at applying cultural neuroscience and psychology to the discussion of poetic translatability. This study employs cultural neuroscience and psychology methodologies and forms of evidence to explore the neurocognitive mechanisms by which cross-cultural variations in perspectives during the translation process influence poetic reception in the target culture. The English translation of Chinese poetry is often tasked with the supplement of perspectives and accompanied by cross-cultural variations of immersion. These changes have been substantially discussed from literary and poetic perspectives but remain understudied in terms of their neurocognitive and psychological implications. Through textual analysis of first-person points of view, this study attempts to apply neuroscience to the interpretation of the impact of differences in cross-cultural perspectives in poetry translation. Our findings suggest that a general tendency toward the supplement of first-person perspectives could boost the immersive experience by activating mirror neurons and the temporal parietal junction. These neuroscientific mechanisms underlying the observable cultural phenomenon offer implications for the translation of Chinese poetry in a way that generates brain responses and neurotransmitters similar to the source text. This study demonstrates how research in neuroscience can illuminate findings in cross-cultural communication.

Managing diverse workforce: How to safeguard skilled migrants’ self-efficacy and commitment

This study aims to uncover the organizational and contextual factors undermining skilled migrants’ professional development and their contributions to host economies. Drawing from the Conservation of Resources Theory, this research developed an integrated model to investigate the effects of most prevalent internal and external factors of burnout and limited career alternatives on skilled migrants’ organizational commitment. The model incorporates mediating roles of professional self-efficacy and career turnover intention to demonstrate how depletion of resources through burnout leads to further resource losses by negatively impacting employees' intentions about their career continuity and professional self-efficacy and, ultimately, undermines their organizational commitment. This research provides managers of cross-cultural workplaces with insights into the critical role of supportive resources in leveraging the untapped intellectual capital brought to host organizations by skilled migrants. This study suggests that the availability of career options can maximize skilled migrants’ contributions to organizations.