Dianne Gardner

Generational differences at work: introduction and overview

Purpose – This introduction seeks to provide a brief background to the notion that there are generational differences at work and to introduce the papers included in this special issue of the Journal of Managerial Psychology.Design/methodology/approach – The current context concerning generational differences at work is briefly outlined followed by a description of the core theory underpinning the notion of generational cohorts. Criticisms of this theoretical premise are provided before a brief outline is given to each article in the special issue.Findings – There is evidence for changes in personality profiles across generations, and for differences in attitudes towards work and careers. However, effect sizes tend not to be large, and some findings are inconsistent with popular stereotypes regarding generational differences. Little support was found for differences in work values or motivation.Practical implications – Contrary to popular hype concerning generational differences at work, managerial time m...

Work-related stress in the veterinary profession in New Zealand

Abstract AIM: To investigate sources of work-related stress in the veterinary profession in New Zealand, perceptions of levels of stress being experienced, and the social support that veterinarians are using to manage work-related stress. METHODS: A postal survey was distributed to 1,907 veterinarians registered with the Veterinary Council of New Zealand (VCNZ). The survey collected information on respondents′ age, gender, type and number of people in the workplace, stress levels, depression, suicidal thoughts and attempts, causes of stress and sources of support. RESULTS: Nine hundred and twenty-seven (48.6%) veterinarians returned useable responses. Veterinarians who were retired, working overseas or did not provide information about their type of work were excluded from the analysis, leaving data from 849 (44.5%) veterinarians. Women experienced more work-related stress and depression than men, veterinarians in small animal/mixed practice reported more stress and depression than those in other types of work, and younger veterinarians experienced higher levels of stress than older veterinarians. The main sources of stress were hours worked, client expectations, and unexpected outcomes. Respondents were also stressed by the need to keep up their knowledge and technical skills, and by personal relationships, finances and their expectations of themselves. Most respondents reported that they had good networks of family and friends to help them deal with stress. In general, respondents tended to rely on informal networks such as family and friends, other veterinarians and workmates to provide support. The small proportion of respondents who reported clinical depression or suicidal thoughts or attempts were more likely than respondents in general to have used health professionals, counselling, pastoral/spiritual support and the Vets in Stress phone line, but less likely to have sought support from employers and workmates. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for a wide range of strategies to manage work-related stress among veterinarians. Sources of stress in the workplace must be identified and strategies developed to control those which present a significant hazard. Strategies may include attention to workloads and working hours, design of work processes, and increasing social support. Training in work-related skills such as communication, conflict management and stress management may be helpful where lack of these skills is contributing to stress. Support services such as helplines and mentor schemes are also available and information about these needs to be more accessible.

Direct and Interactive Effects of the Physical Work Environment on Attitudes

This study examined the direct and interactive relationships among several elements of the physical work environment (i.e., type of office, personal computer [PC] use, and ergonomic furniture), types of work (i.e., clerical, professional, and managerial, and supervisory versus nonsupervisory), and employee attitudes (i.e., satisfaction and environmental perceptions). Two-hundred and twenty-eight employees of a large bank completed questionnaires. Analyses of variance revealed both direct and interactive effects. Differences were found across those with and without PCs and ergonomic furniture on various attitudes and perceptions. Differences were also found across office types, as were interactive effects among work types and office types. These results support the hypothesis that relationships among these variables are complex and interactive, and illustrate that perceptions of the physical environment are moderated by the job level and the type of work people perform.

Neutralizing workplace bullying: the buffering effects of contextual factors.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and buffering effects of three workplace contextual factors – constructive leadership, perceived organizational support, and organizational anti‐bullying initiatives – on bullying and its relationships with relevant criteria. Further, the paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of organizational initiatives against bullying as perceived by targets and non‐targets.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 727 employees in nine New Zealand healthcare organizations. Of these, 133 employees were classified as bullied, as they had experienced at least two negative acts per week over the last six months.Findings – Correlations revealed negative relationships between the three contextual work factors and bullying. Moderated regression showed that perceived organizational support buffered the relationship of bullying with self‐rated job performance, and that organizational initiatives against bullying buffered the relationship of bullyi...

Work Adjustment Theory: An empirical test using a fuzzy rating scale☆

Abstract This study aimed to test several components of the Theory of Work Adjustment ( Dawis & Lofquist, 1984 ) on a sample of 170 bank personnel using a fuzzy graphic rating scale to elicit work preferences and job perceptions. Indices of correspondence between work preferences and job perceptions correlated significantly with satisfaction. Although some of the correspondence-satisfaction relation was mediated through performance, performance did not moderate the relation. Both satisfaction and performance related significantly to tenure intentions. The satisfaction-tenure intentions relation was higher among poorer performers. The effects of gender and time in the organization were also examined. Although results support the Theory of Work Adjustment, more precise statements about the role of performance are required.

Workplace bullying in New Zealand: A survey of employee perceptions and attitudes†

Bullying at work, a severe form of anti-social behaviour, has become an issue of major concern to workers, organisations, unions and governments. It has also received considerable attention in organisational behaviour and human resource management research over the past 20+ years. Research has been conducted on the prevalence of bullying at work and factors which contribute to bullying, but less attention has been accorded to personal coping with bullying and organisational-level responses to counteract bullying. The present paper reports findings from a survey of over 1700 employees of 36 organisations in New Zealand. We describe the reported incidence of bullying at work, along with relevant work attitudes and experiences, including psychological strain, ratings of subjective well-being, and levels of commitment to the organisation. Personal experience of bullying was reported by 17.8% of respondents, and was significantly correlated with higher levels of strain, reduced well-being, reduced commitment to their organisation, and lower self-rated performance. Personal coping strategies were generally unrelated to these outcomes. On the other hand, the perceived effectiveness of organisational efforts to deal with bullying was considered an important contributor to both the occurrence of bullying and reduced negative effects of bullying. Overall, our findings illustrate the importance of developing organisational-level strategies to reduce the incidence of bullying and to counteract its negative impact, rather than expecting individuals to develop personal strategies to cope with this problem.

Manual Handling Injuries in Health Care Workers

Nursing aides are particularly susceptible to manual handling injuries because they have the primary responsibility for heavy lifting. The aim of this study was to determine why a specific group of nursing aides have the highest manual handling injury rate in their hospital. The study investigated the adequacy of the manual handling training program, knowledge of manual handling, mechanical aid availability, and use of mechanical aids. Results indicated that the nursing aides’ manual handling knowledge was adequate but that they rarely used mechanical aids. This lack of use of aids was in part due to an over-reliance on their own strength and abilities. This may have been due to a lack of suitable mechanical aids on the wards or a lack of familiarity with the available aids. This study suggests that neither training alone nor the purchase of equipment alone is likely to resolve manual handling problems.

Mechanical Equipment Injuries in Small Manufacturing Businesses. Knowledge, Behavioral, and Management Issues

This paper presents findings from an extensive study into factors that impact upon the high rate of injuries due to mechanical equipment, especially in small manufacturing firms. Issues relating to knowledge of health and safety issues and to management practices have been shown to be extremely important with regards to safety in small businesses. Knowledge and awareness of hazards were found to be relatively low and few respondents, especially managers, had received adequate safety training. Managers did not regard the identification and control of risks as a priority. Workplaces generally lacked effective safety management procedures such as safety rules and regulations, procedures for recording and learning from accidents, and clearly defined responsibilities for safety. Some issues requiring further investigation, and some recommendations for improving safety in small businesses, are presented.

Predictors of Workplace Bullying and Cyber-Bullying in New Zealand

Background: The negative effects of in-person workplace bullying (WB) are well established. Less is known about cyber-bullying (CB), in which negative behaviours are mediated by technology. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, the current research examined how individual and organisational factors were related to WB and CB at two time points three months apart. Methods: Data were collected by means of an online self-report survey. Eight hundred and twenty-six respondents (58% female, 42% male) provided data at both time points. Results: One hundred and twenty-three (15%) of participants had been bullied and 23 (2.8%) of participants had been cyber-bullied within the last six months. Women reported more WB, but not more CB, than men. Worse physical health, higher strain, more destructive leadership, more team conflict and less effective organisational strategies were associated with more WB. Managerial employees experienced more CB than non-managerial employees. Poor physical health, less organisational support and less effective organisational strategies were associated with more CB. Conclusion: Rates of CB were lower than those of WB, and very few participants reported experiencing CB without also experiencing WB. Both forms of bullying were associated with poorer work environments, indicating that, where bullying is occurring, the focus should be on organisational systems and processes.

Barriers to the implementation of management systems: lessons from the past.

There is a substantial body of evidence, both empirical and anecdotal, concerning factors associated with the success and failure of management systems. Given the increasing interest in management systems for occupational health and safety, quality, and the environment, it is worth looking at some of these factors in order to learn from them and plan for the future. One of the most comprehensive sources of information about factors that can make a management system succeed or fail lies in the material written about systems that improve the quality of products and services. Such systems were extremely widespread during the 1970s and 1980s but are now much less often cited or studied by Australian organisations. One of the reasons underlying the present relative lack of emphasis is that such programs, both here and overseas, experienced a failure rate of between 85% and 95%. While it may seem unlikely that occupational health and safety (OHS) and environmental management systems will experience similar failure rates, it is still worthwhile to look at what went wrong with other systems and to learn from these experiences.