Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T04:31:06.211Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Gender similarity, coworker support, and job attitudes: An occupation’s creative requirement can make a difference

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2018

Gamze Koseoglu Open the ORCID record for Gamze Koseoglu [Opens in a new window] ,
Terry C Blum  and
Christina E Shalley
Gamze Koseoglu*
Affiliation:
Department of Management and Marketing, Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of Melbourne, MelbourneVIC, Australia
Terry C Blum
Affiliation:
Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship, Scheller College of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
Christina E Shalley
Affiliation:
Sharon M. and Matthew R. Price Chair, Professor of Organizational Behavior, Scheller College of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

By introducing gender similarity as a contextual antecedent of coworker support, we examined the mediating role of coworker support for the relationship between workgroup gender similarity and job attitudes. In addition, we explored how a creative requirement, which is an occupational characteristic, can influence the relationship between coworker support and job attitudes above and beyond the role of supervisor support and organizational support. Results based on 975 full-time employees across a wide variety of occupations and industries indicated that as expected coworker support can serve as an underlying mechanism in the relationship between the relational demography of a workplace and employees’ job satisfaction and intention to quit. Furthermore, coworker support was significantly related to job satisfaction only for those occupations that required high levels of creativity. Finally, the creative requirement of an occupation moderated the indirect effect of gender similarity on job satisfaction through coworker support.

Keywords

coworker supportcreative requirementgender similarityjob attitudes
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 26 , Issue 5 , September 2020 , pp. 880 - 898
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2018

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aiken, L. S. West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Ali, M., Ng, Y. L. Kulik, C. T. (2014). Board age and gender diversity: A test of competing linear and curvilinear predictions. Journal of Business Ethics, 125(3), 497–512.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bacharach, S. B., Bamberger, P. A. Vashdi, D. (2005). Diversity and homophily at work: Supportive relations among white and African-American peers. Academy of Management Journal, 48(4), 619–644.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bargh, J. A., Chen, M. Burrows, L. (1996). Automaticity of social behavior: Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(2), 230–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baugh, S. G. Graen, G. B. (1997). Effects of team gender and racial composition on perceptions of team performance in cross-functional teams. Group & Organization Management, 22(3), 366–383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beehr, T. A. Drexler, J. A. (1986). Social support, autonomy, and hierarchical level as moderators of the role characteristics-outcome relationship. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 7(3), 207–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, S. T., Villado, A. J., Lukasik, M. A., Belau, L. Briggs, A. L. (2011). Getting specific about demographic diversity variable and team performance relationships: A meta-analysis. Journal of Management, 37(3), 709–743.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blau, P. M. (1977). Inequality and heterogeneity: A primitive theory of social structure. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Brannick, M. T., Chan, D., Conway, J. M., Lance, C. E. Spector, P. E. (2010). What is method variance and how can we cope with it? A panel discussion. Organizational Research Methods, 13(3), 407–420.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Byrne, D. E. (1971). The attraction paradigm. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Chatman, J. A. O’Reilly, C. A. (2004). Asymmetric reactions to work group sex diversity among men and women. Academy of Management Journal, 47(2), 193–208.Google Scholar
Chattopadhyay, P., Tluchowska, M. George, E. (2004). Identifying the ingroup: A closer look at the influence of demographic dissimilarity on employee social identity. Academy of Management Review, 29(2), 180–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, X. P., Liu, D. Portnoy, R. (2012). A multilevel investigation of motivational cultural intelligence, organizational diversity climate, and cultural sales: Evidence from US real estate firms. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(1), 93–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chiaburu, D. S. Harrison, D. A. (2008). Do peers make the place? Conceptual synthesis and meta-analysis of coworker effects on perceptions, attitudes, OCBs, and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(5), 1082–1103.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Churchill, G. A. Jr Peter, J. P. (1984). Research design effects on the reliability of rating scales: A meta-analysis. Journal of Marketing Research, 21(4), 360–375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, P. (2004). The gender division of labor: ‘Keeping house’ and occupational segregation in the United States. Gender and Society, 18, 239–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cunningham, G. B. (2007). Perceptions as reality: The influence of actual and perceived demographic dissimilarity. Journal of Business and Psychology, 22, 79–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cunningham, G. B., Choi, J. H. Sagas, M. (2008). Personal identity and perceived racial dissimilarity among college athletes. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 12, 167–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ducharme, L. J. Martin, J. K. (2000). Unrewarding work, coworker support, and job satisfaction: A test of the buffering hypothesis. Work and Occupations, 27(2), 223–243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, R. (1980). Contested terrain. New York: Heinemann Educational.Google Scholar
Edwards, J. R. Lambert, L. S. (2007). Methods for integrating moderation and mediation: A general analytical framework using moderated path analysis. Psychological Methods, 12(1), 1–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ely, R. J. (1995). The power in demography: Women’s social constructions of gender identity at work. Academy of Management Journal, 38(3), 589–634.Google Scholar
Ely, R. J. (2004). A field study of group diversity, participation in diversity education programs, and performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(6), 755–780.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elsbach, K. D. Hargadon, A. B. (2006). Enhancing creativity through “mindless” work: A framework of workday design. Organization Science, 17(4), 470–483.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fields, D. L. Blum, T. C. (1997). Employee satisfaction in work groups with different gender composition. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 18(2), 181–196.3.0.CO;2-M>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fisher, C. D. (1985). Social support and adjustment to work: A longitudinal study. Journal of Management, 11(3), 39–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilson, L. L. (2000). The role of procedural justice in the relationship between demographic diversity, dissimilarity, work-related affective outcomes, and creative performance (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta.Google Scholar
Globalforce Survey (2014). Employee mood tracker survey: The effect of work relationships on organizational culture and commitment. Retrieved 2 May 2016 from http://go.globoforce.com/rs/globoforce/images/Fall_2014_Mood_Tracker.pdf.Google Scholar
Goodman, J. S. Blum, T. C. (1996). Assessing the non-random sampling effects of subject attrition in longitudinal research. Journal of Management, 22(4), 627–652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graves, L. M. Elsass, P. M. (2005). Sex and sex dissimilarity effects in ongoing teams: Some surprising findings. Human Relations, 58(2), 191–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guillaume, Y. R., Brodbeck, F. C. Riketta, M. (2012). Surface‐and deep‐level dissimilarity effects on social integration and individual effectiveness related outcomes in work groups: A meta‐analytic integration. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 85(1), 80–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haile, G. A. (2012). Unhappy working with men? Workplace gender diversity and job-related well-being in Britain. Labour Economics, 19(3), 329–350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halbesleben, J. R. Wheeler, A. R. (2015). To invest or not? The role of coworker support and trust in daily reciprocal gain spirals of helping behavior. Journal of Management, 41(6), 1628–1659.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrison, D. A., Price, K. H., Gavin, J. H. Florey, A. T. (2002). Time, teams, and task performance: Changing effects of surface-and deep-level diversity on group functioning. Academy of Management Journal, 45(5), 1029–1045.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hawley, P. (2014). Five ways volunteering with your coworkers will make you happier and help your career). Fast Company, July 14.Google Scholar
Hayes, A. F. (2012). PROCESS: A versatile computational tool for observed variable mediation, moderation, and conditional process modeling (White paper). Retrieved 2 May 2016 from http://www.afhayes.com/public/process2012.pdf.Google Scholar
Hegewisch, A., Liepmann, H., Hayes, J. Hartmann, H. (2010). Separate and not equal? Gender segregation in the labor market and the gender wage gap (IWPR Briefing Paper, 377).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hekman, D. R., Johnson, S., Foo, M. D. Yang, W. (2017). Does diversity-valuing behavior result in diminished performance ratings for nonwhite and female leaders? Academy of Management Journal, 60(2), 771–797.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hom, P. W., Griffeth, R. W. Sellaro, C. L. (1984). The validity of Mobley’s (1977) model of employee turnover. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 34(2), 141–174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hon, A. H., Bloom, M. Crant, J. M. (2014). Overcoming resistance to change and enhancing creative performance. Journal of Management, 40(3), 919–941.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ibarra, H. (1992). Homophily and differential returns: Sex differences in network structure and access in an advertising firm. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37(3), 422–447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jansen, W. S., Otten, S. van der Zee, K. I. (2017). Being different at work: How gender dissimilarity relates to social inclusion and absenteeism. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 20(6), 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kanter, R. M. (1977). Some effects of proportions on group life: Skewed sex ratios and responses to token women. American Journal of Sociology, 965–990.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kent, R. L. Moss, S. E. (1994). Effects of sex and gender role on leader emergence. Academy of Management Journal, 37(5), 1335–1346.Google Scholar
Klein, K. J., Lim, B. C., Saltz, J. L. Mayer, D. M. (2004). How do they get there? An examination of the antecedents of centrality in team networks. Academy of Management Journal, 47(6), 952–963.Google Scholar
Kraimer, M. L., Seibert, S. E., Wayne, S. J., Liden, R. C. Bravo, J. (2011). Antecedents and outcomes of organizational support for development: The critical role of career opportunities. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(3), 485–500.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kraut, A. I. (1975). Predicting turnover of employees from measured job attitudes. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 13(2), 233–243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, T. W., Mitchell, T. R., Sablynski, C. J., Burton, J. P. Holtom, B. C. (2004). The effects of job embeddedness on organizational citizenship, job performance, volitional absences, and voluntary turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 47(5), 711–722.Google Scholar
Lemoine, G. J., Parsons, C. K. Kansara, S. (2015). Above and beyond, again and again: Self-regulation in the aftermath of organizational citizenship behaviors. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(1), 40–55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liao, H., Joshi, A. Chuang, A. (2004). Sticking out like a sore thumb: Employee dissimilarity and deviance at work. Personnel Psychology, 57(4), 969–1000.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Madjar, N., Oldham, G. R. Pratt, M. G. (2002). There’s no place like home? The contributions of work and nonwork creativity support to employees’ creative performance. Academy of Management Journal, 45(4), 757–767.Google Scholar
Major, D. A., Fletcher, T. D., Davis, D. D. Germano, L. M. (2008). The influence of work-family culture and workplace relationships on work interference with family: A multilevel model. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29(7), 881–897.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maxwell, S. E. Cole, D. A. (2007). Bias in cross-sectional analyses of longitudinal mediation. Psychological Methods, 12(1), 23.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maxwell, S. E., Cole, D. A. Mitchell, M. A. (2011). Bias in cross-sectional analyses of longitudinal mediation: Partial and complete mediation under an autoregressive model. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 46(5), 816–841.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Michel, J. S., Kotrba, L. M., Mitchelson, J. K., Clark, M. A. Baltes, B. B. (2011). Antecedents of work–family conflict: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32(5), 689–725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, T. R., Holtom, B. C., Lee, T. W., Sablynski, C. J. Erez, M. (2001). Why people stay: Using job embeddedness to predict voluntary turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 44(6), 1102–1121.Google Scholar
Mossholder, K. W., Bennett, N., Kemery, E. R. Wesolowski, M. A. (1998). Relationships between bases of power and work reactions: The mediational role of procedural justice. Journal of Management, 24(4), 533–552.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myaskovsky, L., Unikel, E. Dew, M. A. (2005). Effects of gender diversity on performance and interpersonal behavior in small work groups. Sex Roles, 52(9-10), 645–657.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nahum-Shani, I., Henderson, M. M., Lim, S. Vinokur, A. D. (2014). Supervisor support: Does supervisor support buffer or exacerbate the adverse effects of supervisor undermining? Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(3), 484–503.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ng, T. W. Sorensen, K. L. (2008). Toward a further understanding of the relationships between perceptions of support and work attitudes: A meta-analysis. Group & Organization Management, 33(3), 243–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Reilly, C. A. III, Caldwell, D. F. Barnett, W. P. (1989). Work group demography, social integration, and turnover. Administrative Science Quarterly, 34(1), 21–37.Google Scholar
Peterson, R. A. (1994). A meta-analysis of Cronbach’s coefficient alpha. Journal of Consumer Research, 21(2), 381–391.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B. Podsakoff, N. P. (2012). Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 539–569.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powell, G. N. (1987). The effects of sex and gender on recruitment. Academy of Management Review, 12(4), 731–743.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powell, G. N. Greenhaus, J. H. (2010). Sex, gender, and the work-to-family interface: Exploring negative and positive interdependencies. Academy of Management Journal, 53(3), 513–534.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Preacher, K. J. Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40(3), 879–891.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Preacher, K. J., Rucker, D. D. Hayes, A. F. (2007). Addressing moderated mediation hypotheses: Theory, methods, and prescriptions. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 42(1), 185–227.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Price, J. L. Mueller, C. W. (1986). Handbook of organizational measurement. Marshfield, MA: Pilman Publishing.Google Scholar
Richardson, H. A., Simmering, M. J. Sturman, M. C. (2009). A tale of three perspectives: Examining post hoc statistical techniques for detection and correction of common method variance. Organizational Research Methods, 12(4), 762–800.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riordan, C. (2000). Relational demography within groups: Past developments, contradictions, and new directions. In K. M. Rowland G. R. Ferris (Eds.), Research in personnel and human resource management, 19, 131–173. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rousseau, V. Aubé, C. (2010). Social support at work and affective commitment to the organization: The moderating effect of job resource adequacy and ambient conditions. The Journal of Social Psychology, 150(4), 321–340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, B. (1987). The people make the place. Personnel Psychology, 40(3), 437–453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shalley, C. E., Gilson, L. L. Blum, T. C. (2000). Matching creativity requirements and the work environment: Effects on satisfaction and intentions to leave. Academy of Management Journal, 43(2), 215–223.Google Scholar
Shalley, C. E., Gilson, L. L. Blum, T. C. (2009). Interactive effects of growth need strength, work context, and job complexity on self-reported creative performance. Academy of Management Journal, 52(3), 489–505.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shalley, C. E., Hitt, M. A. Zhou, J. (2015). Integrating creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship to enhance the organization’s capability to navigate in the new competitive landscape. In C. E. Shalley, M. A. HittJ. Zhou (Eds.), Oxford handbook of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship (pp. 1–14). Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shapcott, K. M., Carron, A. V., Burke, S. M., Bradshaw, M. H. Estabrooks, P. A. (2006). Member diversity and cohesion and performance in walking groups. Small Group Research, 37(6), 701–720.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shemla, M., Meyer, B., Greer, L. Jehn, K. A. (2016). A review of perceived diversity in teams: Does how members perceive their team’s composition affect team processes and outcomes? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 37(1), 89–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shore, L. M., Chung-Herrera, B. G., Dean, M. A., Ehrhart, K. H., Jung, D. I., Randel, A. E. Singh, G. (2009). Diversity in organizations: Where are we now and where are we going? Human Resource Management Review, 19(2), 117–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shrout, P. E. (2011). Commentary: Mediation analysis, causal process, and cross-sectional data. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 46(5), 852–860.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sloan, M. M. (2011). Unfair treatment in the workplace and worker well-being: The role of coworker support in a service work environment. Work and Occupations, 39(1), 3–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tews, M. J., Michel, J. W. Ellingson, J. E. (2013). The impact of coworker support on employee turnover in the hospitality industry. Group & Organization Management, 38(5), 630–653.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tierney, P. Farmer, S. M. (2004). The Pygmalion process and employee creativity. Journal of Management, 30(3), 413–432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
TINYpulse Employee Engagement and Organizational Culture Report (2014). Retrieved 2 May 2016 from http://www.tinyhr.com/2014-employee-engagement-organizational-culture-report.Google Scholar
Tolbert, P. S., Graham, M. E. Andrews, A. O. (1999). Gender group composition and work group relations: Theories, evidence and issues. In G. Powell (Ed.), Handbook of gender and work (pp. 179–202). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsui, A. S., Egan, T. D. O’Reilly, C. A. III (1991). Being different: Relational demography and organizational attachment. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37(1), 549–579.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsui, A. S. O’Reilly, C. A. III (1989). Beyond simple demographic effects: The importance of relational demography in superior-subordinate dyads. Academy of Management Journal, 32(2), 402–423.Google Scholar
Unsworth, K. L., Wall, T. D. Carter, A. (2005). Creative requirement: A neglected construct in the study of employee creativity? Group & Organization Management, 30(5), 541–560.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
U.S. Census Bureau (2000). Data for the United States. Washington, DC: U.S.A. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2 May 2016 from https://www.census.gov/census2000/states/us.html.Google Scholar
U. S. Census Glossary (n.d.). Retrieved 3 June 2018 from https://www.census.gov/glossary/#term_Occupation.Google Scholar
Van Yperen, N. W. Hagedoorn, M. (2003). Do high job demands increase intrinsic motivation or fatigue or both? The role of job control and job social support. Academy of Management Journal, 46(3), 339–348.Google Scholar
Valenti, M. A. Rockett, T. (2008). The effects of demographic differences on forming intragroup relationships. Small Group Research, 39(2), 179–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wegge, J., Roth, C., Neubach, B., Schmidt, K. H. Kanfer, R. (2008). Age and gender diversity as determinants of performance and health in a public organization: The role of task complexity and group size. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(6), 1301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, K. Y. O’Reilly, C. A. III (1998). Demography and diversity in organizations: A review of 40 years of research. In B. M. Staw L. L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior, 20, 77–140. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.Google Scholar
Williams, H. M., Parker, S. K. Turner, N. (2007). Perceived dissimilarity and perspective taking within work teams. Group & Organization Management, 32(5), 569–597.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, L. J., Hartman, N. Cavazotte, F. (2010). Method variance and marker variables: A review and comprehensive CFA marker technique. Organizational Research Methods, 13, 477–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wu, C. H. Parker, S. K. (2014). The role of leader support in facilitating proactive work behavior: A perspective from attachment theory. Journal of Management, 43(4), 1025–1049.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, J. Shalley, C. E. (2011). Deepening our understanding of creativity in the workplace: A review of different approaches to creativity research. In S. Zedeck (Ed.), APA handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 275–302). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar