Geoff Plimmer

The Role of 'Voice' in Matters of 'Choice': Flexible Work Outcomes for Women in the New Zealand Public Services

Flexible work arrangements have traditionally been framed in terms of individual choice, where workers are regarded as having the ability to reconcile the demands of family life with those of work. In response to calls for greater workplace flexibility and worker choice, the New Zealand government has recently introduced ‘right to request’ legislation. This research reports on a large-scale survey of women public service workers’ experiences of flexible work arrangements in this legislative context. Against a backdrop of rising workloads and time pressures, it finds that while there is considerable choice in how women do their tasks and take their breaks, there is little voice in the organization and pace of that work. In this context, the burden of implementing flexible work arrangements and managing competing workloads is borne by the individual. This article argues that absent from, but pivotal to, the framing and discourse of workplace flexibility is the role of voice. Implications of this research include a broadening of the legislative framework that supports flexibility outcomes and the inclusion of more varied voice mechanisms into the implementation and management of workplace flexibility.

Adult Career Counseling Using Possible Selves: A Quasi-Experimental Field Study in Naturalistic Settings

This study examined the effectiveness of an adult career development program designed to reflect the diversity and demands of career choices, the low level of comfort many have with career choices, and the limited resources available to resolve complex adult career problems. A possible selves process was used, delivered through a blend of computer and one-on-one counseling. Compared with a control group offered general career counseling, the program was particularly effective in raising participants’ level of comfort with career direction, particularly for those with very low scores on this dimension. Similarly, the possible selves process was effective in increasing the level to which participants were decided about their career direction. Interviews with practitioners found the computerized possible selves-based approach to be effective in engaging clients where career and personal issues were intertwined, and in helping clients find solutions to career problems.

Trade union delegate leadership and membership commitment: a cross‐sectional analysis

Purpose – This paper aims to identify what workplace representative behaviours are most strongly associated with members’ commitment. This is increasingly important, as decentralised management practices have shifted management decisions to workplace levels, placing new demands on workplace representatives.Design/methodology/approach – The methodological approach is quantitative and cross sectional. A total of two unions and 32 workplaces are examined.Findings – Members’ commitment corresponds to workplace delegate leadership that is responsive. Transparency had a negative relationship to commitment, possibly because it is also interpreted as bureaucratic and overly formal for workplace issues. Innovation was not significantly associated with members’ commitment. This applies regardless of occupational class, gender or age. It was also found that workplaces that had adopted the organising model had more committed members.Research limitations/implications – Cross sectional relationships do not equal causat...

Publishing success of marketing academics: antecedents and outcomes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between positive incentives (perceived organisational support) and negative incentives (publish or perish), on both academic publication productivity and marketing academics’ quality of life. While publish-or-perish pressure is a common technique to improve academics’ performance, its punishment orientation may be poorly suited to the uncertain, creative work that research entails and be harmful to academics’ life satisfaction and other well-being variables. In particular, it may interfere with family commitments, and harm the careers of academic women. While perceived organisational support may be effective in encouraging research outputs and be positive for well-being, it may be insufficient as a motivator in the increasingly competitive and pressured world of academia. These issues are important for individual academics, for schools wishing to attract good staff, and the wider marketing discipline wanting to ensure high productivity and...

Women workers: caring, sharing, enjoying their work – or just another gender stereotype?

This article examines the responses of more than 10,000 unionised women and nearly 5000 unionised men, working in the New Zealand public sector, to a selection of questions in a workplace dynamics survey. The questions investigated in this article provide insights into women’s levels of commitment and job satisfaction compared to those of men. It also reports on comparative experiences of cooperation, information sharing, recognition and managerial practices. The findings show that women and men do not differ significantly in terms of organisational commitment. However, women are more committed generally and enjoy their work more than men, but they report less favourably on experiences of cooperation and communication at work. Women, compared with men, also report experiencing less recognition. We discuss the possible meaning of these results and the potential implications for management and unions.

The mistreatment of public service workers: identifying key risk and protective factors

This paper investigates the dynamics of worker mistreatment in a new public management (NPM) environment. It explores the combination of organizational and individual risk and protective factors. It reveals that the cumulative effects of organizational and individual factors radically increase the likelihood of mistreatment. Implications of these findings are outlined.

Opening the black box: The mediating roles of organisational systems and ambidexterity in the HRM-performance link in public sector organisations

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how HIWS may shape organisational capabilities, in particular organisational ambidexterity (OA) – the ability to be both adaptable to the wider world, and internally aligned so that existing resources are used well. Given the demands on public agencies to manage conflicting objectives, and to do more with less in increasingly complex environments, this paper improves our understanding of how HIWS can contribute to public sector performance. The paper sheds light inside the black box of the HIWS/organisational performance link. Design/methodology/approach This multi-level quantitative study is based on a survey of 2,123 supervisory staff, and 9,496 non-supervisory employees in 56 government organisations. Findings The study identifies two paths to organisational performance. The first is a direct HIWS performance link. The second is a double mediation model from HIWS to organisational systems, to OA and then performance. Practical implications A focus on developing HIWS provides an alternative means to public sector performance, than restructuring or other performative activities. Originality/value This is one of the few studies that explore how HIWS can develop collective as well as individual capabilities. Studies in the public sector are particularly rare.