Employee Relations

Understanding Employee Commitment to Change

Organizations are under constant pressure to change. Employee commitment to necessary changes is of paramount importance for such changes to be effective. Read more

Effects of Control and Identification on Employee Voice

When you think of employee voice, what do you think of? Do you think of a dissatisfied employee voicing his issues to his supervisor? Do you think of an innovative employee voicing her ideas for a new process? Both are valid examples of employee voice. Voice is defined as employee communication on issues of work processes. Two key factors influencing the likelihood of an employee engaging in voice are personal control and organizational identification. Read more

Does Fair Today Mean Fair Tomorrow?

It is commonly thought that employees’  overall justice perceptions global evaluations of an organization or supervisor based on previous experiences with that entity) are, barring any major changes or events occurring in the workplace, stable over time. However, contrary to this belief, in the absence of major changes and events, each employee’s perceptions are still variable over time. Read more

How Honeymoons and Hangovers Relate to Job Satisfaction

A honeymoon is often thought of as a time of quintessential happiness. Whereas, the term hangover may conjure bad memories of overindulgence followed by an extreme “let down.” Surprisingly, in the organizational context, these two experiences can act as a metaphor to explain job satisfaction as it relates to new hires. Read more

The Effects of Overqualification

Have you ever worked in a position where you felt you were overqualified? Perhaps the knowledge you possessed was not used or the skills and abilities you had could not be demonstrated. Overqualification, or when an individual’s credentials surpass the job’s requirements, is increasingly common, especially when the job market is competitive. Read more

“Why HR Did It”: Employee Attributions Matter

Employees’ attitudes have long been recognized as important factors that affect their behavior at work. Recent research has looked into what specific attributions about HR’s motives influence employees’ work attitudes and customer service behavior. Read more

Mental Detachment from Work and Speaking Up to Supervisors

Speaking up refers to employee willingness to voice to supervisors when they believe something isn’t right in the workplace or could be improved. By speaking up on such issues, employees can alert their supervisors to potentially serious problems within or involving the organization. However, some employees are more likely to speak up than others. One factor that influences employees voicing their concerns is mental detachment. Read more

When Fairness Fails: Employee Perceptions of Justice

Sometimes managers and business owners are required to make tough decisions, and these decisions don’t always result in favorable outcomes for every employee.  Both research and practical experience have shown us that employees’ perceptions of decisions can have dramatic outcomes for the organization. Read more

How Do Employees Assess Fairness?

Employees’ perceptions of fairness greatly influence their workplace attitudes and behaviors. Employees are more likely to have positive attitudes and engage in behaviors that benefit the organization when they perceive the organization to be fair. When employees perceive unfairness, they are more likely to have negative attitudes and engage in workplace behaviors that can be detrimental to the organization. Read more

Fairness Perceptions and Employee Reactions

Organizational commitment, trust in managers, and organizational citizenship behaviors are much desired attitudes and behaviors in employees. A significant aspect that drives these attitudes and behaviors is the perception of fairness or justice within the organization. Thus, it is important to determine how employees evaluate justice and what reactions result. Read more

Expatriate Adjustment to New Environments

In today’s global economy, organizations are spreading talent across borders by asking professionals to spend time working at international locations. Individuals sent abroad, called expatriates, are generally on a short-term assignment to complete an organizational goal. The benefits of such practices can be far reaching, from unifying different company locations to increasing the organizational acumen of a rising star in the company. Read more

Improving Trust Among Coworkers: Start with the Leader

Team-based work remains increasingly popular in organizations. This type of work structure can be beneficial for organizations because employees with different strengths can be pooled together to increase productivity. Because team-based work is contingent on effective interpersonal relationships, trust between co-workers is extremely important.  New research has shown how important leader trust is for increasing trust between coworkers. Read more