Alka Rai

Organizational justice and employee engagement

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore whether perceptions of distributive, procedural and interactional justice are related to employee engagement, as an extension of the antecedents-consequences model of Saks (2006), and to examine the possibility of inter-relationships between these three dimensions of justice. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 210 employees of public sector banks in India covered measures of job and organization engagement (OE) proposed by Saks (2006) and the scale on distributive, procedural and interactional justice developed by Niehoff and Moorman (1993). The relationships between justice perceptions and engagement were analysed using correlations and hierarchical regression analysis. Findings – Results show that distributive, procedural and interactional are inter-related with each other. Further, distributive and interactional justice take precedence over procedural justice in determining job engagement, while distributive justice plays the most important role ...

The Impact of Support at the Workplace on Transfer of Training: A Study of an Indian Manufacturing Unit

This study aims to assess the individual impacts of two components of support at the workplace, namely, support from peers and supervisor, on transfer of training in a post-training environment. Mediation by motivation to transfer in the relationship of supervisor and peer support with transfer of training has also been examined. Data on 149 respondent employees working in a manufacturing unit owned by a leading player in the power transmission business in India has been subject to hierarchical regression analysis. Results confirm the key role of supervisor support in transfer of learned skills. However, the impact of peers on transfer is found to be greater than that of supervisors. The findings prompt us to recommend that peers should be involved in publicizing post-training experiences and benefits. Organizations and supervisors should encourage peers to motivate employees in applying training skills to the job by means of rewards and recognition. Overall the results contribute to a better understanding of support at workplace as a predictor of transfer.

Exploring the moderating role of context satisfaction between job characteristics and turnover intention of employees of Indian public sector banks

Purpose – An employee’s satisfaction with the work context may affect her/his perception of the organization and may hence be a predictor of her/his intention to leave. The purpose of this paper is to explore the possible mediating role of context satisfaction between employees’ perception of job characteristics and their turnover intention and rests on the Job Characteristics Model (JCM). Design/methodology/approach – Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the moderation hypothesis on sample data of 214 employees of 19 public sector banks in India. The population comprised both junior and middle management grade employees as these are expected to succeed retiring middle and senior management employees. Findings – Findings suggest that in addition to enriched jobs, context satisfaction is critical to establish a positive environment to lessen turnover intention of employees. This highlights the need for a positive and supportive work context to maximize the benefits of jobs with positive charac...

Supervisor support in transfer of training: looking back at past research

Purpose – Of the various factors directly or indirectly influencing transfer of training, supervisor support as a work environment variable is found to have diverse relationships with transfer, further complicated with the perspective of time. The purpose of this paper is to bring together findings from past research to have a better insight on the impact of supervisor support on training transfer. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach has been adopted to review existing research on the selected constructs. Findings – Literature reveals divergent influences of supervisor support on transfer: some researchers have established a direct-indirect relationship, some opine a positive-negative relationship and few show mixed results. Usually the relation is found to be indirect when trainee characteristics have been used as mediators. The authors may infer that the influence of supervisor support on transfer is contextual and nothing can be said affirmatively on their relation. Practical implicati...

Influence of job characteristics on engagement: does support at work act as moderator?

Purpose Indian banking industry is one the biggest players in the country’s service sector, with public sector banks (PSBs) occupying the major share. The purpose of this paper is to develop a model linking job characteristics (JC) and work engagement, moderated by perceived organizational and supervisor support as contextual variables. Design/methodology/approach Data on 214 employees from 15 PSBs were used to examine this model. Analysis of data has established the moderating role of support at work in the relationship between JC and work engagement. Findings Findings suggest that employees who have a positive perception of organizational and supervisor support are more likely to respond positively to JC and therefore would have a higher propensity to engage with their jobs. In addition to enriched jobs, the wider organizational climate characterized by support from supervisors and organization as a whole is critical to establish a positive environment, which would lead to greater work engagement. Originality/value The moderating role of support at workplace on JC and work engagement has been researched very rarely in literature. This study, hence, aims at investigating whether interaction between JC and perceived organizational and supervisor support influences work engagement of employees working in Indian PSBs.

Rewards and recognition to engage private bank employees: Exploring the “obligation dimension”

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the potential mediating role of employee engagement between rewards and recognition and normative commitment. Design/methodology/approach Responses of a sample of 176 private bank employees in India were used to examine the proposed mediated model. Findings The variable rewards and recognition is found to be significantly correlated to both employee engagement and normative commitment. Results of regression have been analyzed in line with the four conditions of mediation laid down by Baron and Kenny (1986). Further, SPSS macro developed by Preacher and Hayes (2004) is used to test the proposed mediation model. The relationship between rewards and recognition and normative commitment is found to become smaller after controlling the variable employee engagement. The results provide partial support to the mediation hypothesis. Originality/value Normative commitment has been less researched relative to the attention paid to affective commitment. Further, no research has yet focused on the impact of rewards and recognition on normative commitment, with the mediating impact of employee engagement. This study hence provides the first empirical test of the established relationship between rewards and recognition and employee engagement by introducing normative commitment as an outcome variable.

Measuring Workers’ Satisfaction with Grievance-Handling Procedure: Study of a Power Distribution Major in India

Lauded as one of the most significant practices of industrial relations, a grievance-handling procedure is a medium for a worker to file his grievances. Indian organizations usually adhere to the Model Grievance Procedure that ensures speedy and full investigation of a grievance, leading to settlement. This study compares the grievance-handling procedure of a case study firm with the Model and measures its effectiveness by analyzing the satisfaction of the individual worker as a subjective measure. Comparison with qualitative analysis on the basis of dimensions such as time, stakeholders, decision given and structure show that the firm has made special efforts to reduce the levels in the procedure, thereby increasing the speed of grievance settlement, though a lack of provision of arbitration was also observed. Satisfaction has been assessed with constructs such as speed, decision, structure and stakeholders, by applying factor analysis and multiple regression analysis. Attitude of supervisors, time taken in giving decision and follow-up mechanism emerge as the most important predictors. This study is expected to add value to the existing literature on grievance handling by making a departure from previous studies on satisfaction measures of grievance procedures, in which the predominant issue has been perceived fairness. The findings may be useful for the improvement of workers’ satisfaction with grievance-handling procedures in any organization.

Improving transfer of training with transfer design: Does supervisor support moderate the relationship?

Purpose In response to a perceived need for research investigating the relatively less-explored role of supervisor support as a moderator in the transfer mechanism, this paper aims to empirically examine the influence of transfer design on transfer of training and also the moderating role of supervisor support between these constructs. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted using a self-reported questionnaire administered on employees of a manufacturing unit engaged in power transmission and located at the city of Allahabad in India. The sample size of the study is 149. The role of supervisor support as a moderator was tested using hierarchical regression analysis. Findings Findings of the study direct organizations to consider both transfer design and supervisor support to get the maximum output from training. The moderating role of supervisor support is confirmed in the study. Practical implications If a trainer is not able to provide much practice to the trainee during training programme, then a supportive supervisor can counter such poor transfer design. A well-designed training programme should be coupled with supervisor support to ensure effective transfer of training. Influence of transfer design on transfer of training is likely to be more if the supervisor is supportive. Originality/value The authors have hypothesized and established the direct influence of transfer design on training transfer. Further, supervisor support has been found to moderate the relationship between transfer design and transfer of training.

Improving in-role and extra-role performances with rewards and recognition: Does engagement mediate the process?

Purpose This study aims to explore the possibility that rewards and recognition may be instrumental in improving both in-role and extra-role performances of retail sales associates, with an underlying mediating role of employee engagement in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted across 35 retail stores in five cities located in North India on 247 sales associates. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the mediation hypotheses. Analysis was done in lines with the conditions of mediation laid down by Baron and Kenny (1986). Findings Employee engagement is found to fully mediate the impact of rewards and recognition on in-role and extra-role performances. Practical implications Organizations should be committed to recognizing employees’ efforts and providing them with financial and non-financial rewards based on organizational policies. Such measures would improve in-role and extra-role performances through enhancing engagement level of employees. Originality/value This study makes significant contributions to literature on employee engagement and that on retail sector, especially in Indian context, through highlighting the mediating role of engagement. Given shortage and retention of skilled manpower as major challenges for Indian retailers, engaging sales associates through rewards and recognition to improve their performance at both in-role and extra-role levels can have significant implications for retailers.

Differential relationship of challenge and hindrance demands with employee engagement: The moderating effect of job resources

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how job resources may moderate the relationship of two types of job demands (i.e. challenge and hindrance demands) with employee engagement. It is hypothesized that job resources can buffer the association of job hindrances with employee engagement while job resources may escalate engagement in the condition of challenge demands. Design/methodology/approach The population of the study is Scale-I officers of Indian public sector banks (PSBs). The sample included 608 Junior Management Grade–Scale I officers employed in Indian PSBs. Findings Results of the analysis revealed a positive relationship between challenge demands and employee engagement whereas the negative relationship between hindrance demands and employee engagement. Enhancement in the positive conditional effect of challenge demands on employee engagement with the increase in values of the job resources evidenced the boosting role of job resources. Further, condition effect of hindrance demand on employee engagement at different levels of moderator showed that the negative relationship between hindrance demands and employee engagement get weakened with the increase in the level of job resources. Practical implications The results highlighted the situations that may foster or thwart engagement of employees. Present findings could be guiding in several ways for designing interventions to enhance employee engagement using job demands and job resources. Originality/value This study adds to literature through incorporating challenge–hindrance theorization in propositions of job demands-resources model and by exploring two diverse mechanisms (buffering and boost up) which are elicited after interaction of job resources with challenge and hindrance demands in a diverse way.