Desmond J. Leach

Not Another Meeting! Are Meeting Time Demands Related to Employee Well-Being?

Using an interruptions framework, this article proposes and tests a set of hypotheses concerning the relationship of meeting time demands with job attitudes and well-being (JAWB). Two Internet surveys were administered to employees who worked 35 hr or more per week. Study 1 examined prescheduled meetings attended in a typical week (N=676), whereas Study 2 investigated prescheduled meetings attended during the current day (N=304). As proposed, the relationship between meeting time demands and JAWB was moderated by task interdependence, meeting experience quality, and accomplishment striving. However, results were somewhat dependent on the time frame of a study and the operational definition used for meeting time demands. Furthermore, perceived meeting effectiveness was found to have a strong, direct relationship with JAWB.

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE CONTENTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF MAJOR ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATIONS

To compare the consequences of different types of major organizational innovation and to identify the characteristics of more beneficial innovations, a telephone interview survey of senior managers from 513 UK organizations was conducted. Although 90% of major innovations were reported to have an overall beneficial impact, statistical analyses showed that specific effects on finances, employee relations, customers, and quality of life depended on the type of innovation and its characteristics. The effects of different types of innovation were related but not reducible to their characteristics. The findings suggest that a more differentiated view of the outcomes of innovation is both possible and useful.

Negative mood regulation expectancies and sports performance: an investigation involving professional cricketers.

Objectives: To test whether the performance of professional sports competitors is related to their expectancy of improving an unpleasant mood. Method: Two related studies of professional cricketers were conducted. In Study One, 46 players completed a battery of questionnaire scales, including a measure of negative mood regulation (NMR) expectancy. In Study Two, 19 participants from Study One took part in a time-sampling study in which they rated their mood on a pocket computer throughout a competitive match. Results: The results from Study One showed that NMR was significantly correlated with players’ batting average for the season. In contrast, reflexivity, well-being, and age were significantly associated with NMR but not with batting average. The results from Study Two showed that players who had greater NMR had significantly higher ratings for happy mood, smaller negative changes in happy mood, and greater batting averages during the match. Conclusions: Results of regression analysis supported an explanation of the association between NMR and performance in terms of a mediating effect of happy mood. Overall, the findings suggest that NMR expectancy can facilitate professional sports performance.  2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Poor health but not absent: prevalence, predictors, and outcomes of presenteeism.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of presenteeism, to develop and test a model of the relationship between workplace factors and presenteeism, and to assess the perceived influence of manager, coworkers, and self on presenteeism. Methods: We used survey data collected for 6309 employees from seven different organizations. Results: Nearly 60% of the sample reported presenteeism during a 3-month period. The model was supported, with presenteeism linking workplace factors and health outcomes to productivity, as predicted. The majority of participants (67%) indicated that the primary pressure to attend work while sick came from themselves. A substantial minority (20%) also indicated the manager as a source of pressure. Conclusions: Psychosocial workplace factors are predictive of presenteeism, and efforts to control them, including the use of more effective management, may impact presenteeism rates and the resulting levels of productivity.

Evaluating the Impact of TRIZ Creativity Training: An Organizational Field Study

Creativity training is used by many organizations in an attempt to improve the innovativeness of their employees, yet there has been relatively little systematic evaluation carried out of the impact of such training. This study reports on the evaluation of the effectiveness of a theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ)‐based creativity training program in a major international engineering firm. Cross‐sectional, longitudinal and multisource evaluation strategies were used to assess the impact of the training on a sample of design engineers (n = 123) and to make comparisons with nontrainees (n = 96). Results indicate that participation in TRIZ training led to short‐term improvements in both the creative problem‐solving skills and motivation to innovate of engineers, and these were associated with longer term improvements in their idea suggestion in the workplace. There was variable support for the translation of these ideas into new innovations and improved performance at work as a result of the training. Theoretical and practical implications for enhancing the effectiveness of creativity training interventions are discussed.

Realizing the potential of empowerment: the impact of a feedback intervention on the performance of complex technology

An empowerment initiative involving enhanced fault-management responsibility for operators of complex technology had not led to expected increases in performance, and investigations suggested that this was due to a lack of appropriate feedback. Thus, a feedback intervention was designed to provide specific, timely feedback on operator-correctable faults. It was hypothesized that the intervention would increase operator self-reliance in operating complex technology and promote system performance. Moreover, given the feedback was continuous from the point of intervention, it was predicted that gains would increase over time. Time series analysis of data on engineer call-outs (self-reliance) and machine utilization (performance) showed clear positive effects of the feedback intervention, with call-outs also showing progressive improvement. Selfreport data showed no change over time in motivation, but an increase in knowledge dissemination and a reduction in the likelihood of making expensive mistakes. There were no detrimental effects on operator well being. Implications for theory and practice in the management of complex technology are discussed.