The dual impacts of guanxi closeness on followership: Mediating roles of burnout and power distance

Guanxi and followership play important roles in employees' interaction with their supervisors. Extant studies have found that supervisor-subordinate guanxi can predict subordinates' attitudes and behaviors toward their supervisors. However, little is known about the relationship between guanxi closeness and subordinates' following supervisors. Accordingly, drawing on conservation of resource theory (COR), we develop a two-path mediation model and examine the direct impact of guanxi closeness on followership, the mediating role of burnout and power distance orientation, discussing the dual impacts of guanxi closeness. To reduce the common method basis, a two-wave time-lagged (interval of one month) study was conducted. Then, we collected 239 pieces of data to test our hypotheses using path analyses. Results show that the direct effect of guanxi closeness on followership is significant. Additionally, guanxi closeness weakens followership by reducing employee burnout. Meanwhile, guanxi closeness can decrease employees' power distance orientation (PDO) and then enhance followership. These findings reveal the dual impacts of guanxi closeness and extend our understanding of guanxi showing positive impact as well as negative impact. Therefore, managers should cultivate guanxi closeness with subordinates to enhance followership by reducing subordinates' PDO while providing resources and support to employees involved in burnout. These behaviors are conducive to helping managers to attain subordinates' following.

Does Foodservice Employees' Burnout Influence Their In-role and Extra-role Food Safety Behaviors? A Structural Modeling Approach

Over the past decade, a number of previous studies have found a gap between employees' food safety knowledge and their food safety behavior. Thus, it is valuable to examine motivators (or demotivators) of employees' food safety behavior from a psychological perspective. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationships among employees' burnout, job commitment, and food safety behaviors (in-role and extra-role). A total of 267 nonmanagerial restaurant employees participated in this study. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings reveal that colleague-related burnout and work-related burnout negatively affect employee job commitment. In addition, employee job commitment is a major predictor of in-role and extra-role food safety behaviors. The findings shed light on the effect of different types of burnout on food safety behaviors, which in turn have significant implications for managers in the foodservice industry.

Developing an animal-assisted support program for healthcare employees

Background

Employee burnout and its associated consequences is a significant problem in the healthcare workforce. Workplace animal therapy programs offer a potential strategy for improving employee well-being; however, research on animal therapy programs for healthcare workers is lacking. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary impact of an animal-assisted support program to improve healthcare employee well-being.

Methods

In this mixed-methods pilot intervention study, we implemented an animal-assisted support program in a multidisciplinary healthcare clinic at a large VA hospital. The program included 20 sessions over 3 months, each approximately 1-h long. Real-time mood data were collected from participants immediately before and after each session. Participation rates were tracked in real time and self-reported at follow-up. Data on burnout and employee perceptions of the program were collected upon completion via a survey and semi-structured interviews. Differences in mood and burnout pre/post program participation were assessed with t-tests.

Results

Participation was high; about 51% of clinic employees (n = 39) participated in any given session, averaging participation in 9/20 sessions. Mood (on a scale of 1 = worst to 5 = best mood) significantly improved from immediately before employees interacted with therapy dogs (M = 2.9) to immediately after (M = 4.5) (p = 0.000). Employees reported significantly lower levels of patient-related burnout (e.g., how much exhaustion at work relates to interaction with patients) after (M = 18.0 vs. before, M = 40.0) participating (p = 0.002). Qualitative findings suggested that employees were highly satisfied with the program, noticed an improved clinic atmosphere, and experienced a reduction in stress and boost in mood.

Conclusions

Establishing an animal-assisted support program for employees in a busy healthcare clinic is feasible and acceptable. Our pilot data suggest that animal-assisted programs could be a means to boost mood and decrease facets of burnout among healthcare employees.