In a time-lagged study with independent measures (N=115, paired responses), we examined the interactive effects of perceived organizational politics and overall satisfaction on job stress, interpersonal conflict, job performance, and creativity. The data were collected from a diverse sample of employees from various workplaces in Pakistan. The findings showed that perceived politics had a positive effect on job stress, while overall satisfaction had a negative effect on interpersonal conflict and a positive effect on creative performance. The results also revealed that in the face of high politics, highly satisfied individuals demonstrated higher levels of creativity and job performance. However, in this context of high politics negative effects were also observed, namely that highly satisfied individuals participated in interpersonal conflict and experienced high stress.

Applying career construction theory, this study develops and tests a research model that investigates whether career adaptability mediates the effect of work social support on career satisfaction and turnover intentions. Data obtained from frontline hotel employees with a 2-week time lag in three waves in Nigeria were used to assess the previously mentioned relationships. The results from structural equation modeling suggest that work social support boosts career adaptability and career satisfaction, while it mitigates turnover intentions. Surprisingly, the results suggest that career adaptability triggers turnover intentions, while it has no bearing on career satisfaction. The results further suggest that career adaptability partially mediates the relationship between work social support and turnover intentions.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between performance appraisal satisfaction, job stress and work–family conflict. Furthermore, the study explores the role of job stress as a mediator between satisfaction with performance appraisal and work–family conflict. The total sample consisted of 120 participants from different industries. The findings revealed that performance appraisal satisfaction was negatively correlated with job stress and work–family conflict. However, job stress fully mediated the relationship between performance appraisal satisfaction and work–family conflict. The study contributes to the limited body of knowledge on employee reactions to performance appraisal and in particular, performance appraisal satisfaction. The findings can help to shed more light on the relationship between performance appraisal satisfaction and employees’ psychological responses.

This study explores the relationships of negative affectivity with two frequently studied outcome variables job performance and turnover intentions. Conventional wisdom holds that negative affectivity has a harmful impact on both job performance and intentions to leave; however, we propose a more nuanced perspective using empirical and theoretical arguments (e.g., self-regulation theory) to highlight the functional effects of negative affectivity. To test our hypotheses, we collected self-reported and supervisor-reported data from seven organizations in Pakistan. The findings based on data collected from 280 employees show that while negative affectivity is detrimental for job performance, this effect is mitigated as negative affectivity increases. It further shows that the linear negative main effect of negative affectivity on job performance is more pronounced when employees experience less time-related work stress. Finally, the curvilinear relationship between negative affectivity and turnover intentions is moderated by time-related work stress. The relationship has a U shape at high levels of time-related work stress, whereas at low levels it has an inverted U shape. A discussion of the limitations, future research, and implications for theory building and practice conclude the article.

A basic underlying assumption of the psychological contract is that both parties come to a mutual agreement about the expectations and obligations of a contract of employment. Recent research provides evidence of the potential for employees to develop unrealistic expectations from this contract and this has been described as a sense of entitlement. In this article, we outline two studies. In the first study, we test the internal structure and reliability of a scale we developed and named the Measure of Employee Entitlement. In the second study, we test the predictive validity of the Measure of Employee Entitlement against a measure of reciprocity. The development and validation of the Measure of Employee Entitlement extends our knowledge of sense of entitlement in the workplace and situates entitlement as a factor that may impact on the development of psychological contracts. This research provides a platform from which researchers and practitioners can continue to coherently and consistently investigate the phenomenon of employee entitlement.

Research has typically explained the positive intrapsychic influence of political skill using Conservation of Resources (COR) theory. However, research explaining the possible negative intrapsychic consequences of high levels of political skill is lacking. Therefore, we introduce Cognitive Activation Theory (CAT) to the political skill literature to explain possible negative outcomes of political skill. In testing this theory, we used two hierarchical moderated multiple regressions to examine the relationship between affective and continuance commitment, life satisfaction, and political skill in a large, privately owned, financial services firm in Ecuador. Aligned with prior research, affective commitment positively affected life satisfaction; however, contrary to our hypothesis, continuance commitment also positively affected life satisfaction. Furthermore, consistent with both Conservation of Resources and Cognitive Activation Theory, results indicated that political skill strengthened the relationship between affective commitment and life satisfaction. However, contrary to Cognitive Activation Theory, political skill did not significantly weaken the relationship between continuance commitment and life satisfaction.

This study used two theoretical lenses (positive organizational behaviour and social exchange theory) to examine the influence of an individual attribute – psychological capital (PsyCap), and an organizational factor – leader–member exchange, upon police officers’ perceptions of learning options (teamwork and training) and affective commitment. A cross-sectional design using a survey-based, self-report strategy was used to collect data from 588 frontline police officers in the United States. The findings indicate that leader–member exchange explained almost a fifth of PsyCap and together leader–member exchange and PsyCap accounted for almost a third of police officers’ satisfaction with training. Further, leader–member exchange, PsyCap, training and teamwork collectively explain almost half of affective commitment. One implication of the findings is that if senior management want police officers to be more committed, they have to improve officers’ relationships with their supervisors, upskill them (especially their supervisors) in PsyCap, and improve teamwork opportunities and processes.

Issues of morality and ethics have increasingly become more important in organizations and business settings. Traditionally, these issues of ethics and social responsibility in business settings have been discussed and commented on by prescriptive approaches that are grounded in philosophical traditions. Building on the idea that we need to develop a more comprehensive and complete understanding of the value that people assign to ethics and how it influences their actions and decisions, in the present article we discuss and review the importance and relevance of adopting also a descriptive approach that is grounded in the behavioral sciences (referred to as behavioral business ethics). This approach has the advantages to promote our insights into how people can show both good and bad behavior and why this is the case. Behavioral business ethics therefore represents an important research challenge for organizational researchers to pursue and engage more meaningfully with more prescriptive approaches.

This study makes a theoretical contribution by taking a persistent characteristics approach to explore the relationship between human resource management practices and innovation outcomes at the workplace-level. Innovators are categorized by the degree to which they are successful at achieving new product/processes and/or improved product/processes outcomes year over year. The human resource management practices explored include the use of highly qualified personnel, and skill-enhancing, motivation-enhancing, and opportunity-enhancing sub-bundles of practices. Further, work organization practices are also explored including integration and collaboration, introduction of organizational changes, and the use of technology. The findings indicate workplaces that set strategic goals related to innovation, that motivate their employees, that create opportunity for their employees to act, and that make greater use of technology tend to be more persistent innovators. These findings can contribute to the development of government policy, which seeks to improve innovation performance outcomes.