Hostname: page-component-669899f699-qzcqf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-25T17:24:03.510Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The relationship between workplace friendship and perceived job significance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Hsiao-Yen Mao ,
An-Tien Hsieh  and
Chien-Yu Chen
Hsiao-Yen Mao
Affiliation:
Department of International Trade, College of Business, Chinese Culture University, Taipei, Taiwan
An-Tien Hsieh
Affiliation:
PhD Program in Management, College of Management, Da Yeh University, Changhua, Taiwan
Chien-Yu Chen
Affiliation:
Department of Marketing & Logistics Management, Chihlee Institute of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Existing research suggests that leaders/supervisors are the major persons in work organizations to promote employee perception of job significance, which is an intrinsic motivator for employee productivity. However, the literature remains unclear on the relationship between workplace friendship and perceived job significance. Results from a survey of 290 Taiwanese employees indicated that workplace friendship enhanced perceived job significance, and such enhancement did not vary across organizational levels. Our findings suggest intrinsically motivating employees through workplace friendship, which extends extant literature on work role of leaders/supervisors in employee motivation. Further, although lower organizational levels have a disadvantage of objectively less job significance in work organizations, our findings suggest workplace friendship is an effective factor in promoting employee perception of job significance. Thus, organizations can embed the mechanism of workplace friendship into the factors of job design to promote employees' intrinsic motivation and thus job and organizational productivity.

Keywords

workplace friendshipperceived job significance
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , March 2012 , pp. 247 - 262
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2012

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.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Aboud, F. E. (1989). Disagreement between friends. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 12, 495–508.Google Scholar
Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 411–423.Google Scholar
Arbuckle, J. L. (1999). Amos 4.0 [computersoftware]. Chicago, IL: Smallwaters.Google Scholar
Armstrong, J. S., & Overton, T. S. (1977). Estimating nonresponse bias in mail surveys. Journal of Marketing Research, 14, 396–402.Google Scholar
Barry, B., & Crant, J. M. (2000). Dyadic communication relationships in organizations: An attribution/expectancy approach. Organization Science, 11, 648–664.Google Scholar
Begley, T. M., Lee, C., & Hui, C. (2006). Organizational level as a moderator of the relationship between justice perceptions and work-related reactions. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27, 705–721.Google Scholar
Bell, R. A., Roloff, M. E., Camp, K. V., & Karol, S. H. (1990). Is it lonely at the top? career success and personal relationships. Journal of Communication, 40, 9–23.Google Scholar
Berman, E. M., West, J. P., & Richter, M. N. (2002). Workplace relations, Friendship patterns and consequences (according to managers). Public Administration Review, 62, 217–230.Google Scholar
Bridge, K., & Baxter, L. A. (1992). Blended relationships: Friends as work associates. Western Journal of Communication, 56(3), 200–225.Google Scholar
Buelens, M., & Van den Broeck, H. (2007). An analysis of differences in work motivation between public and private sector organizations. Public Administration Review, 67, 65–74.Google Scholar
Cahill, D. J., & Sias, P. M. (1997). The perceived social costs and importance of seeking emotional support in the workplace: Gender differences and similarities. Communication Research Reports, 14, 231–240.Google Scholar
Carlopio, J., & Gardner, D. (1995). Perceptions of work and workplace: Mediators of the relationship between job level and employee reactions. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 68, 321–326.Google Scholar
Carroll, G. R., & Teo, A. C. (1996). On the social networks of managers. Academy of Management Review, 39, 421–440.Google Scholar
Chadsey, J., & Beyer, S. (2001). Social relationships in the workplace. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 7, 128–133.Google Scholar
Chan, A. K. K., Denton, L., & Tsang, A. S. L. (2003). The art of gift giving in China. Business Horizons, 46, 47–52.Google Scholar
Clark, M. S., Mills, J. R., & Corcoran, D. M. (1989). Keeping track of needs and inputs of friends and strangers. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 15, 533–542.Google Scholar
Cohen, J., & Cohen, P. (1975). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Crampton, S. M., & Wagner, J. A. (1994). Percept-percept inflation in micro-organizational research: An investigation of prevalence and effect. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 67–76.Google Scholar
Dean, J. W. Jr., & Brass, D. J. (1985). Social interaction and the perception of job characteristics in an organization. Human Relations, 38, 571–582.Google Scholar
Dean, J. W., & Snell, S. A. (1991). Integrated manufacturing and job design, moderating effects of organizational inertia. Academy of Management Journal, 34, 776–804.Google Scholar
Dorer, H., & Mahoney, J. M. (2006). Self-Actualization in the corporate hierarchy. North American Journal of Psychology, 8, 397–409.Google Scholar
Ferris, G. R., Fedor, D. B., Rowland, K. M., & Porac, J. F. (1985). Social influence and sex effects on task performance and task perceptions. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 26, 66–78.Google Scholar
Fritz, J. H. (1997). Men's and women's organizational peer relationships: A comparison. The Journal of Business Communication, 34, 27–46.Google Scholar
Fuller, J. B., Marler, L. E., & Hester, K. (2006). Promoting felt responsibility for constructive change and proactive behavior: Exploring aspects of an elaborated model of work design. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27, 1089–1120.Google Scholar
Gottman, M. T., & Parkhurst, J. T. (1980). A developmental theory of friendship and acquaintanceship processes. In Collins, W. A. (Eds.), Minnesota symposium on child psychology (pp. 197–253). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Grant, A. M. (2008). The significance of task significance, job performance effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 108–124.Google Scholar
Griffin, R. W. (1983). Objective and social sources of information in task redesign: A field experiment. Administrative Science Quarterly, 28, 184–200.Google Scholar
Griffin, R. W., Bateman, T. S., Wayne, S. J., & Head, T. C. (1987). Objective and social factors as determinants of task perceptions and responses: An integrated perspective and empirical investigation. Academy of Management Journal, 30, 501–523.Google Scholar
Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1975). Development of the job diagnostic survey. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60, 159–170.Google Scholar
Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1976). Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16, 250–279.Google Scholar
Herold, D. M., & Parsons, C. K. (1985). Assessing the feedback environment in work organizations, development of the job feedback survey. Journal of Applied Psychology, 70, 290–305.Google Scholar
Hirschfeld, R. R., Schmitt, L. P., & Bedeian, A. G. (2002). Job-content perceptions, performance-reward expectances, and absenteeism among low-wage public-sector clerical employees. Journal of Business & Psychology, 16, 553–564.Google Scholar
Hochwarter, W. A., Zellars, K. L., Perrewé, P. L., & Harrison, A. W. (1999). The interactive role of negative affectivity and job characteristics: Are high-NA employees destined to be unhappy at work? Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29, 2203–2218.Google Scholar
Hodge, B. J., & Anthony, W. P. (1988). Organization theory. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar
Hollander, E. P., & Offermann, L. R. (1990). Power and leadership in organizations. American Psychologist, 45, 179–189.Google Scholar
Hui, C., Law, K. S., Chen, N. Y. F., & Tjosvold, D. (2008). The role of co-operation and competition on leader-member exchange and ex-role performance in China. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 46, 133–152.Google Scholar
Ibarra, H. (1993). Personal networks of women and minorities in management: A conceptual framework. Academy of Management Review, 18, 58–87.Google Scholar
Jex, S. M., & Spector, P. E. (1989). The generalizability of social information processing to organizational settings: A summary of two field experiments. Perception and Motor Skills, 69, 883–893.Google Scholar
Judge, T. A., Bono, J. E., & Locke, E. A. (2000). Personality and job satisfaction: The mediating role of job characteristics. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 237–249.Google Scholar
Kilduff, M., & Brass, D. J. (2010). Job design: A social network perspective. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31, 309–318.Google Scholar
Knapp, M. L., Ellis, D. G., & Williams, B. A. (1980). Perceptions of communication behavior associated with relationship terms. Communication Monograph, 47, 262–278.Google Scholar
Korsgaard, M. A., & Roberson, L. (1995). Procedural justice in performance evaluation, the role of instrumental and non-instrumental voice in performance appraisal discussions. Journal of Management, 21, 657–669.Google Scholar
Kraiger, K., Billings, R. S., & Isen, A. M. (1989). The influence of positive affective states on task perceptions and satisfaction. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, 44, 12–25.Google Scholar
Kwan, V. S. Y., Bond, M. H., & Singelis, T. M. (1997). Pancultural explanations for life satisfaction: Adding relationship harmony to self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 1038–1051.Google Scholar
Landeweerd, J. A., & Boumans, N. P. G. (1994). The effect of work dimensions and need for autonomy on nurses' work satisfaction and health. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 67, 207–217.Google Scholar
Lepak, D. P., Taylor, M. S., Tekleab, A., Marrone, J. A., & Cohen, D. J. (2007). An examination of the use of high-investment human resource systems for core and support employees. Human Resource Management, 46, 223–246.Google Scholar
Lin, H. F. (2007). Effects of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation on employee knowledge sharing intentions. Journaloflnformation Science, 33, 135–149.Google Scholar
Lincoln, J. R., & Miller, J. (1979). Work and friendship ties in organizations: A comparative analysis of relational networks. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 181–199.Google Scholar
Lun, V. M. C., & Bond, M. H. (2006). Achieving relationship harmony in groups and its consequence for group performance. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 9, 195–202.Google Scholar
Mao, H. Y. (2006). The relationship between organizational level and workplace friendship. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 17, 1819–1833.Google Scholar
Mao, H. Y., Chen, C. Y., & Hsieh, T. H. (2009). The relationship between bureaucracy and workplace friendship. Social Behavior and Personality, 37, 255–266.Google Scholar
Markiewicz, D., Devine, I., & Kausilas, D. (2000). Friendships of woman and men at work: Job satisfaction and resource implications. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 15, 161–184.Google Scholar
Meglino, B. M., & Korsgaard, M. A. (2007). The role of other orientation in reactions to job characteristics. Journal of Management, 33, 57–83.Google Scholar
Mikula, G., & Schwinger, T. (1978). Intermember relations and reward allocation, Theoretical considerations of affects. In Brandstatter, H., Davisand, J. H., & Schuler, H. (Eds.), Dynamics of group decisions. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Mintzberg, H. (1975). The manager's job: Folklore and fact. Harvard Business Review, 53, 49–61.Google Scholar
Morgeson, F. P., & Humphrey, S. E. (2006). The work design questionnaire (WDQ): Developing and validating a comprehensive measure for assessing job design and the nature of work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 1321–1339.Google Scholar
Morrison, R. L. (2009a). Are women tending and befriending in the workplace? Gender differences in the relationship between workplace friendships and organizational outcomes. Sex Roles, 60, 1–13.Google Scholar
Morrison, R. L. (2009b). The double edged sword: Organizational outcomes of workplace friendships. In Morrison, R. L., & Wright, S. L. (Eds.), Friendships and enemies in organizations: A work psychology perspective (pp. 122–138). London, England: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Nielsen, I. K., Jex, S. M., & Adams, G. A. (2000). Development and validation of scores on a two-dimensional workplace friendship scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 60, 628–643.Google Scholar
Nolan, T., & Kupers, W. (2009). Organizational climate, organizational culture and workplace relationships. In Morrison, R. L., & Wright, S. L. (Eds.), Friendships and enemies in organizations: A work psychology perspective (pp. 57–77). London, England: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
O'Reilly, C. A. III, Parlette, G. N., & Bloom, J. (1980). Perceptual measures of task characteristics: The biasing effects of differing frames of reference and job attitudes. Academy of Management Journal, 23, 118–131.Google Scholar
Pfeffer, J. (1980). A partial test of the social information processing model of job attitudes. Human relations, 33, 457–476.Google Scholar
Piccolo, R. F., & Colquitt, J. A. (2006). Transformational leadership and job behaviors: The mediating role of core job characteristics. Academy of Management Journal, 49, 327–340.Google Scholar
Piccolo, R. F., Greenbaum, R., Den Hartog, D. D., & Folger, R. (2010). The relationship between ethical leadership and core job characteristics. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31, 259–278.Google Scholar
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J., & Podsakoff, S. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879–903.Google Scholar
Podsakoff, P. M., & Organ, D. W. (1986). Self-report problems in organizational research, Problems and prospects. Journal of Management, 12, 531–544.Google Scholar
Pratt, M. G., & Ashforth, B. E. (2003). Fostering meaningfulness in working and at work. In Cameron, K. S., Dutton, J. E., & Quion, R. E. (Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship: Foundations of a new discipline (pp. 309–327). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.Google Scholar
Purvanova, R. K., Bono, J. E., & Dzieweczynski, J. (2006). Transformational leadership, job characteristics, and organizational citizenship performance. Human Performance, 19, 1–22.Google Scholar
Rawlins, W. K. (1992). Friendship matters, communication, dialectics, and the life course. New York, NY: deGruyter.Google Scholar
Rice, L. E., & Mitchell, T. R. (1973). Structural determinants of individual behavior in organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 18, 56–70.Google Scholar
Roloff, M. E. (1987). Communication and reciprocity within intimate relationships. In Roloff, M. E., & Miller, G. R. (Eds.), Interpersonal processes (pp. 1–46). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Salancik, G. R., & Pfeffer, J. (1978). A social information processing approach to job attitudes and task design. Administrative Science Quarterly, 23, 224–253.Google Scholar
Sias, P. M., & Cahill, D. J. (1998). From coworkers to friends: The development of peer friendships in the workplace. Western Journal of Communication, 62, 273–300.Google Scholar
Sias, P. M., & Gallagher, E. (2009). Developing, maintaining, and disengaging from workplace friendships. In Morrison, R. L., & Wright, S. L. (Eds.), Friendships and enemies in organizations: A work psychology perspective (pp. 78–100). London, England: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Sias, P. M., Smith, G., & Avdeyeva, T. (2003). Sex and sex-composition differences and similarities in peer workplace friendship development. Communication Studies, 54, 322–340.Google Scholar
Song, S. H. (2006). Workplace friendship and employees' productivity, LMX theory and the case of the Seoul city government. International Review of Public Administration, 11, 47–58.Google Scholar
Song, S. H., & Olshfski, D. (2008). Friendship at work: A comparative study of work attitudes in Seoul city government and New Jersey state government. Administration and Society, 40, 147–169.Google Scholar
Stanne, M. B., Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (1999). Does competition enhance or inhibit motor performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 133–154.Google Scholar
Taber, T. D., Beehr, T. A., & Walsh, J. T. (1985). Relationships between job evaluation ratings and self-ratings of job characteristics. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 35, 27–45.Google Scholar
Thomas, J. (1986). Sources of social information: A longitudinal analysis. Human Relations, 39, 855–870.Google Scholar
Thomas, J., & Griffin, R. (1983). The social information processing model of task design: A review of literature. Academy of Management Review, 8, 672–682.Google Scholar
Tsang, A. W. K. (1999). Chinese communal support networks. International Social Work, 42, 359–371.Google Scholar
Tse, H. H. M., Dasborough, M. T., & Ashkanasy, N. M. (2008). A multi-level analysis of team climate and interpersonal exchange relationships at work. The Leadership Quarterly, 19, 195–211.Google Scholar
Tsukamoto, K., Hayashi, T., Suzuki, T., & Abe, K. (1997). Work-setting factors and reasons for drinking in Japanese male workers: A questionnaire survey. Stress Medicine, 13, 245–250.Google Scholar
Vigoda-Gadot, E., & Angert, L. (2007). Goal setting theory, job feedback, and OCB, Lessons from a longitudinal study. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 29, 119–128.Google Scholar
White, S. E., & Mitchell, T. (1979). Job enrichment versus social cues: A comparison and competitive test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 64, 1–9.Google Scholar
Winstead, B. A., Derlega, V. J., Montgomery, M. J., & Pilkington, C. (1995). The quality of friendships at work and job satisfaction. Journal of Social and Personal Relationship, 12, 199–215.Google Scholar
Wong, L. Y., Shaw, G. H., & Ng, D. K. C. (2010). Taiwan Chinese managers' personality: Is Confucian influence. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21, 1108–1123.Google Scholar