Amanda Shantz

Employee engagement, organisational performance and individual well-being: exploring the evidence, developing the theory

The development of mainstream human resource management (HRM) theory has long been concerned with how people management can enhance performance outcomes. It is only very recently that interest has been shown in the parallel stream of research on the link between employee engagement and performance, bringing the two together to suggest that engagement may constitute the mechanism through which HRM practices impact individual and organisational performance. However, engagement has emerged as a contested construct, whose meaning is susceptible to ‘fixing, shrinking, stretching and bending’. It has furthermore not yet been scrutinised from a critical HRM perspective, nor have the societal and contextual implications of engagement within the domain of HRM been considered. We review the contribution of the seven articles in this special issue to the advancement of theory and evidence on employee engagement, and highlight areas where further research is needed to answer important questions in the emergent field that links HRM and engagement.

The link between perceived HRM practices, performance and well-being: the moderating effect of trust in the employer

The present study examines the interaction between perceived HRM practices and trust in the employer on employee performance and well-being. Specifically, the study tests whether trust in the employer moderates the relationships between perceptions of HRM practices and task performance (as rated by employees’ supervisors), organisational citizenship behaviour, turnover intentions and employee well-being. Support was found for the majority of the hypotheses using data from 613 employees and their line managers in a service sector organisation in the UK. Trust in the employer moderates the relationships between perceived HRM practices and task performance, turnover intentions and individual well-being, but not organisational citizenship behaviour. Implications of the findings for organisations and future research are discussed.The present study examines the interaction between perceived HRM practices and trust in the employer on employee performance and well-being. Specifically, the study tests whether trust in the employer moderates the relationships between perceptions of HRM practices and task performance (as rated by employees’ supervisors), organisational citizenship behaviour, turnover intentions and employee well-being. Support was found for the majority of the hypotheses using data from 613 employees and their line managers in a service sector organisation in the UK. Trust in the employer moderates the relationships between perceived HRM practices and task performance, turnover intentions and individual well-being, but not organisational citizenship behaviour. Implications of the findings for organisations and future research are discussed.

The Link between HR Practices, Performance and Wellbeing: The Moderating Role of Organisational Trust

The present study examines the interaction between perceived HRM practices and trust in the employer on employee performance and well-being. Specifically, the study tests whether trust in the employer moderates the relationships between perceptions of HRM practices and task performance (as rated by employees’ supervisors), organisational citizenship behaviour, turnover intentions and employee well-being. Support was found for the majority of the hypotheses using data from 613 employees and their line managers in a service sector organisation in the UK. Trust in the employer moderates the relationships between perceived HRM practices and task performance, turnover intentions and individual well-being, but not organisational citizenship behaviour. Implications of the findings for organisations and future research are discussed.The present study examines the interaction between perceived HRM practices and trust in the employer on employee performance and well-being. Specifically, the study tests whether trust in the employer moderates the relationships between perceptions of HRM practices and task performance (as rated by employees’ supervisors), organisational citizenship behaviour, turnover intentions and employee well-being. Support was found for the majority of the hypotheses using data from 613 employees and their line managers in a service sector organisation in the UK. Trust in the employer moderates the relationships between perceived HRM practices and task performance, turnover intentions and individual well-being, but not organisational citizenship behaviour. Implications of the findings for organisations and future research are discussed.

Alienation from work: Marxist ideologies and twenty-first-century practice

This paper responds to calls for research that takes into consideration the broader ideologies underpinning the employment relationship within capitalist societies by building and testing a model of work alienation. We examine how three work-related factors identified originally by Karl Marx act as precursors of alienation, that is, a disconnection of oneself from work, that are experienced in the modern workplace, namely the extent to which voice behaviours are enacted, whether an individual perceives his or her skills to be used in the course of work, and a lack of perceived meaningfulness of work. Further, we investigate whether alienation leads to emotional exhaustion and stifles well-being. Data from 227 employees in a manufacturing organisation in the UK support this model, in that a lack of voice, person–job fit and meaningfulness lead to alienation at work, and emotional exhaustion and lower levels of well-being are its consequences. The present study demonstrates that alienation should be a focal point for human resource management scholars in the twenty-first century.

Who Needs Leaders the Most? The Interactive Effect of Leadership and Core Self-Evaluations on Commitment to Change in the Public Sector

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to shed light on an understudied topic in public administration, namely, commitment to organizational change. Specifically, this study examines the extent to which the quality of the relationship between employees and their managers positively influences employees’ commitment to change. Further, it investigates whether this relationship varies as a function of a persons core self-evaluations, that is, the valence of a persons self-regard. Evidence from a multivariate regression analysis in a public sector organization at the local level in the UK revealed that individuals who have high-quality relationships with their managers are more likely to be accepting of change; this is especially true for individuals with lower levels of core self-evaluations. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Service employees and self-verification: : The roles of occupational stigma consciousness and core self-evaluations

Despite the growing number and importance of service occupations, we know little about how jobholders’ perceptions of societal stigmas of service jobs influence their identification with and attitudes towards work. The present study presents a framework that accords key roles to research on occupational stigma consciousness and the verification of employees’ self-views (i.e. core self-evaluations) to understand employees’ responses to occupational stigmatization. Survey responses from call center employees revealed a negative relationship between occupational stigma consciousness and occupational identification and work meaningfulness and a positive relationship between occupational stigma consciousness and organizational production deviant behaviors for employees who have a positive self-view. Opposite patterns of results surfaced for employees who have a lower positive self-view.

HRM in healthcare : the role of work engagement

Purpose – Due to increasing cost pressures, and the necessity to ensure high quality patient care while maintaining a safe environment for patients and staff, interest in the capacity for HRM practices to make a difference has piqued the attention of healthcare professionals. The purpose of this papers is to present and test a model whereby engagement mediates the relationship between four HRM practices and quality of care and safety in two different occupational groups in healthcare, namely, nurses and administrative support workers. Design/methodology/approach – Structural equation modeling was used to analyze questionnaire data collected by the National Health Service in the UK as part of their 2011 Staff Survey (n=69,018). The authors tested the hypotheses for nurses and administrative support workers separately. Findings – Training, participation in decision making, opportunities for development, and communication were positively related to quality of care and safety via work engagement. The strength...

The effect of HRM attributions on emotional exhaustion and the mediating roles of job involvement and work overload

Although some research suggests that perceptions of HRM practices are associated with lower levels of employee wellbeing, other research shows just the opposite. In the present study, we attempt to reconcile these discrepant findings by incorporating the role of HRM attributions. Our model posits that when employees perceive that their organisation’s HRM practices are intended to improve their job performance, they experience higher levels of job involvement, which leads to lower levels of emotional exhaustion. Conversely, when employees believe that their organisation’s HRM practices are intended to reduce organisational costs, they experience work overload, which translates into higher levels of emotional exhaustion. Parallel mediation analyses of survey data collected from employees of a construction and consultancy organisation at two time periods (n=180) supported this theoretical model.

Still in the Ghetto? Experiences of Secretarial Work in the 21st Century

Secretarial work has been described as one of the most persistently gendered of all occupations. Historically, it has been characterized as a ghetto occupation with three key features: low status and poor pay, narrow and feminized job content and poor promotion prospects. Twenty years ago, when a major study last took place in the UK, it was thought that new office technologies might transform the role, leading to a newly defined occupation equally appealing to both men and women. In this article, we report on the findings of a questionnaire survey involving 1011 secretaries. We found evidence of continuity and change. Secretaries are now better qualified and generally well-paid. A minority is undertaking complex managerial tasks. However, most secretaries continue to perform traditional tasks and career prospects for all remain bleak. We conclude that processes of role gender-typing are deeply entrenched and that secretarial work remains largely a ghetto occupation.

Volunteer role mastery and commitment: can HRM make a difference?

Abstract Although the literature on human resource management (HRM) has provided compelling evidence that certain HRM practices can help employees attain the competence and confidence to carry out their role, less is known about the potential impact of HRM practices on volunteers in the context of non-profit organisations. This study addresses this gap by presenting a model that situates role mastery – operationalised as role clarity and self-efficacy – as its centrepiece. Our model suggests that role mastery leads to commitment to the volunteer organisation and that role mastery can be achieved through training and supportive relationships with paid staff. A dual-mediation analysis of survey data from a humanitarian non-profit organisation in the UK (n = 647) supported our theoretical model. We contribute to volunteering theory and practice by identifying tools that non-profit organisations can employ to maximise the role mastery and commitment of volunteers.