Differential effects of rude coworkers and patients on nurses' safety performance: an emotional labor perspective

PurposeThis paper examines how nurses differentially respond, both emotionally and behaviorally, to incivility from coworkers (i.e. other healthcare staff) and from their patients. Specifically, the authors explore how coworker and patient incivility distinctly influence the extent to which nurses engage in emotional labor, which in turn, may impact nurses' safety performance. The authors further examine how nurses' hostile attribution biases exacerbate and mitigate these effects.Design/methodology/approachA three-week longitudinal study was conducted with 187 nurses in which they reported their experiences with incivility, surface and deep acting, hostile attribution biases and safety performance (i.e. safety compliance and participation).FindingsPatient incivility led to more surface acting across all nurses. Further, the effects of coworker incivility on emotional labor strategies were conditional on nurses' hostile attribution biases (HAB). Specifically, coworker incivility led to more surface acting among nurses higher on HAB, and coworker incivility led to less deep acting among those lower on HAB. Finally, surface acting was associated with reduced safety participation, and deep acting was associated with greater safety compliance and safety participation.Originality/valueThe nursing context allowed the current research to extend understanding about how incivility affects an unexplored outcome—safety performance. The current research also offers a rare examination of the effects of incivility from multiple sources (i.e. coworkers and patients) and demonstrates the different processes through which incivility from these different sources impacts nurses' ability to perform safely.

Driving for the unique opportunity for work: a qualitative study of nurses' motivation to commute to work

PurposeThis study aims to investigate what motivates nurses who live in a rural region with many vacant positions to choose a longer commute to work in a more populous capital region.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative descriptive design was used for this study. Nineteen commuting nurses were recruited through purposeful and snowball sampling and interviewed over the telephone. The interviews were analyzed using a manifest and latent content analysis.FindingsThe findings showed how the participating nurses' motivations to work in the capital region far away from their home were grounded in reaching the unique opportunity for work as a part of the unique organizational conditions, the unique positions and the unique work environment. The analysis showed how the nurses believed in better possibilities for themselves regarding opportunities for careers, specialized positions, development and education, as well as a lower hierarchy in management.Research limitations/implicationsStudies of commuting among nurses are sparsely investigated in the literature and especially through the lens of motivation. The few existing studies report on cross-sectional data, and to the authors’ knowledge, no studies have been investigated using a qualitative design. For future research, it would therefore be relevant to investigate nurses' motivation to commute to work in other countries in a larger sample and perhaps with larger commuting distances. This could contribute to a broader and more nuanced understanding of the factors that motivate nurses to commute long distances to work, not just nationally but also internationally.Practical implicationsThe authors have conceptualized which factors most affect nurses' motivation to commute to work from a rural to more populous capital region in Figure 2. Here, the findings of the study are presented alongside the two theoretical perspectives used to frame the study. The figure can be used as a benchmark for organizational leaders who are interested in recruitment and retention of nurses, and in particular whether they are interested in the specific factors affecting nurses' motivation to commute to work. Based on the study findings, the authors suggest that rural hospital organizations can benefit from focusing on building their reputation and including what factors make them unique and desirable. However, this is a balancing act for organizational leaders, as they must deliver on promises made to nurses when they are engaged in recruitment. If they fail to do so, as indicated in the findings, nurses are likely to leave the organization for other job opportunities.Originality/valueThis study contributes to new knowledge on why nurses decide to commute to work from rural areas to more populated areas. Looking at the nurses' reasons and perspective for commuting, the authors must acknowledge the difficulties in retaining nurses in rural regions. From a recruitment and retention perspective, nurse employers in rural regions must increase their offerings of unique work opportunities, including maintaining competitive pay and offering career, development and educational opportunities.

Deep-level dissimilarity and leader–member exchange (LMX) quality: the role of status

Purpose This study explores how status, demographic and positional, moderates the negative effect of deep-level dissimilarity on leader–member exchange (LMX) quality.Design/methodology/approach Data from three samples were analyzed using hierarchical linear regression and linear mixed-effects methods.Findings Results suggest that the negative effect of deep-level dissimilarity (perceived work-related attitude and perspective differences) on LMX quality is stronger when the LMX partner has low demographic status (e.g. the LMX partner is an African-American woman). This moderating effect was not significant when deep-level dissimilarity was extended to include differences in personality, interests and values. Results were mixed on whether low positional status (i.e. when the LMX partner is a member rather than a leader) strengthens the negative effect of deep-level dissimilarity on LMX quality.Practical implications This study may help leaders, organizational members and diversity managers better manage attitude and perspective dissimilarity in leader–member dyads.Originality/value This study expands research exploring interactive effects of dissimilarity and status on work-related outcomes. It is novel in that it explores status not in relative terms but at the societal level. It is also the first study to analyze the moderating effects of two types of status: demographic and positional.

When does presenteeism harm productivity the most? Employee motives as a key moderator of the presenteeism–productivity relationship

PurposeWhile presenteeism is empirically linked to lower productivity, the role of a person's motives for engaging in presenteeism has been overlooked. Using a Conservation of Resources Theory framework, we examine the moderating effects of presenteeism motives (approach and avoidance motives) on the presenteeism–productivity relationship.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 327 dental hygienists with chronic health conditions was surveyed. Moderated multiple regression was used to test study hypotheses.FindingsResults indicate that presenteeism does indeed appear to detriment productivity. However, we demonstrate that motives are an important moderator, such that high approach motives appear to mitigate the negative effects of presenteeism on productivity.Practical implicationsBased on our findings, we suggest managers strive to improve the approach motives of their employees through processes such as job enrichment.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates that presenteeism is not always detrimental to productivity, as approach motives appear to mitigate the negative effects of presenteeism on productivity. These results could drive future research on presenteeism, as well as inform best practices related to managing workers with chronic health issues.

Interrupting the crossover effect of leader's role overload on employee's negative affect: the moderating role of self-concordance goal

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to examine the crossover effect of leader's role overload on employee's negative affect. More importantly, the stuy will identify the buffering role of self-concordance goal on the relationship between leader's role overload and employee's negative affect.Design/methodology/approachThe study builds the crossover impact of leader's role overload on employee's negative affect as well as the moderating effect of self-concordance goal. By a two-wave and paired data from 51 leaders and 225 employees, the study examines the hypothesis using cross-level analysis.FindingsResults show that leader's role overload tends to reduce negative affect for employees who pursue high-level self-concordance goal and increase negative affect for employees who pursue low-level self-concordance goal.Practical implicationsIt is important for employees to get rid of negative affect in the workplace. The study informs managers the benefits of pursuing self-concordance goals in helping employees alleviate the negative effect of leader's role overload.Originality/valueFindings of the present study can enrich the literature of the crossover process from leader to employee and offer management strategy for enterprises about how to buffer the damaging effect of leader's role overload on employees.

Can you manage shocks? An investigation of career shocks on proactive career behavior: a COR theory perspective

PurposeConsiderable research has been done to link career-development strategies to career-management success, but little is known about how career shocks (CSs) relate to proactive career behavior (PCB). Furthermore, the study investigates the mediation mechanism of personal resources (i.e. perceived self-efficacy (PSE) and perceived employability (PEMP)) in the linkage between CSs and PCB using the tenets of conservation of resources (COR) theory.Design/methodology/approachUsing the survey approach, the authors recruited 322 banking professionals and validated the proposed model and hypotheses in AMOS.FindingsThe outcome shows that CSs are significantly related to PSE and PEMP (personal resources), subsequently linked to PCB. Moreover, personal resources mediate the linkage between CSs and PCB. Thus, CSs cannot be ignored but can be minimized through proactive efforts.Practical implicationsThe findings support the banks' management to protect their personnel career by not giving CSs and build their PCB through personal resources. The employees should strive for enhancing personal resources through organizational development opportunities (i.e. training and development) to rescue themselves from sudden CSs.Originality/valueShocks cannot be ignored but can be managed through PCB. This research is the first that successfully adds to the career-development literature by empirically establishing the direct and indirect association between CSs and PCB through personal resources.

Gender, formal organizational status and humor use: perceptions of social acceptance

PurposeHumor can be a useful tool in the workplace, but it remains unclear whether humor used by men versus women is perceived similarly due to social role expectations. This paper explored whether female humorists have less social latitude in their use of aggressive and affiliative humor in the workplace. This paper also examined how formal organizational status and the target's gender can impact audience perceptions.Design/methodology/approachTwo scenario-based studies were conducted where participants rated the foolishness of the humorist. For Study 1, participants responded to a scenario with an aggressive, humorous comment. For Study 2, participants responded to a scenario with an affiliative, humorous comment.FindingsResults suggested that high-status female humorists who used aggressive humor with low-status women were viewed as less foolish than low-status female humorists who used aggressive humor with low-status women. Conversely, status did not impact perceptions of male humorists who used aggressive humor with low-status women. Results also indicated that high-status women who used affiliative humor were viewed as less foolish when their humor was directed toward low-status men versus low-status women. Conversely, no differences existed for high-status men who used affiliative humor with low-status men and women.Practical implicationsNarrower social role expectations for women suggest that interpersonal humor can be a riskier strategy for women.Originality/valueThis study suggests that women have less social latitude in their use of humor at work, and that organizational status and target gender influence perceptions of female humorists.

Why and when are silent employees less satisfied with their jobs? A conservation of resources perspective

PurposeEmployee silence is pervasive in the workplace and can be severely detrimental to employees' job satisfaction. However, research on why and when employee silence undermines job satisfaction remains poorly understood. Drawing upon conservation of resources theory, the authors proposed and tested a moderated mediation model wherein employee silence predicted job satisfaction through vigor, with positive affectivity acting as a dispositional moderator.Design/methodology/approachTwo-wave time-lagged data were collected from a sample of 183 employees in Taiwan. A moderated mediation analysis with latent variables was conducted to test the hypotheses.FindingsResults indicated that employees' vigor mediated the negative relationship between employee silence and job satisfaction only for employees with low positive affectivity.Originality/valueBy identifying vigor as a psychological mechanism explaining the negative effect of silence on job satisfaction and positive affectivity as a buffer against the detrimental effect of silence on vigor and, indirectly, job satisfaction, the results provide a more nuanced understanding of why and when silent employees are less satisfied with their jobs.

Non-work-related instant messaging in the workplace and daily task performance: complementarity between social and cognitive resources

PurposeThe ubiquity of smartphones has changed how people communicate, work and entertain. In view of conservation of resources theory and the positive spillover effect, this study explores the effect of non-work-related instant messaging (IM) in the workplace on daily task performance.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the experience sampling method to collect day-level data from 75 employees over a period of 10 workdays. Multilevel path analysis is used to test the hypotheses.FindingsNon-work-related IM exerts a significant negative indirect effect on daily task performance through diminished cognitive engagement. This negative indirect effect disappears when social support is high, thereby showing the function of social support as a neutralizer of the detriment of non-work-related IM on daily task performance.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that organizations can neutralize the harm of non-work-related IM in the workplace by promoting social support perceived by employees.Originality/valueThis study advances the technology and management literature by developing and testing a balanced perspective on the ambivalent effect of workplace smartphone use that considers social and cognitive resource implications.

Passion in the pit: the effects of harmonious and obsessive passion on nurse burnout

PurposeAnecdotal and survey reports indicate that nurses are suffering increased stress and burnout due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Therefore, this study investigated two forms of passion, harmonious and obsessive passion, as resources that may indirectly predict two forms of burnout, disengagement and exhaustion, through the mediator of job stress.Design/methodology/approachThe authors tested their hypotheses in a mediation model using a sample of nurses surveyed at three timepoints during the COVID-19 pandemic.FindingsAs hypothesized, harmonious passion indirectly decreased disengagement and exhaustion by decreasing job stress. Contrary to authors’ hypotheses, obsessive passion also indirectly decreased (rather than increased, as hypothesized) both disengagement and exhaustion by decreasing job stress. Harmonious, but not obsessive, passion, was significantly negatively directly related to disengagement and exhaustion.Research limitations/implicationsData were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have impacted nurses’ work environments and their willingness to respond.Originality/valueThis study extends conservation of resources theory to conceptualize harmonious and obsessive passion as resources with differing outcomes based on their contrasting identity internalization, per the Dualistic Model of Passion. This study also operationalizes burnout more comprehensively by including cognitive and physical exhaustion along with emotional exhaustion, as well as disengagement. By collecting responses at three timepoints, this study provides a more robust test of causality than previous work examining passion and burnout.