Greta Mazzetti

When the job is boring: the role of boredom in organizational contexts

OBJECTIVE The present study investigates the role of boredom within the Job Demands-Resources model. Although empirical evidence suggests that the incidence of boredom at work is widespread, the study of job boredom remains neglected today. PARTICIPANTS Data were collected from 269 mass-retail workers, by means of structured face-to-face interviews. METHODS Results of multiple mediation analyses partially supported our hypotheses. RESULTS Boredom mediates the relationship between transformational leadership, low learning opportunities and general dysphoria, while work engagement mediates the relationship between transformational leadership, low learning opportunities and job satisfaction as well as general dysphoria. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, our results confirm the suitability of conceptualizing boredom within the JD-R model and contribute to the ongoing conceptualization of both the boredom literature and the JD-R literature.

Overwork climate scale: psychometric properties and relationships with working hard

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether employees’ tendency to work excessive hours is motivated by the perception of a work environment that encourages overwork (overwork climate). Thus, this study introduces a self-report questionnaire aimed at assessing the perception of a psychological climate for overwork in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach – In Study 1, the overwork climate scale (OWCS) was developed and evaluated using principal component analysis (n=395) and confirmatory factor analysis (n=396). In Study 2, the total sample (n=791) was used to explore the association of the overwork climate with opposite types of working hard (work engagement and workaholism). Findings – Two overwork climate dimensions were distinguished, namely, overwork endorsement and lacking overwork rewards. The lack of overwork rewards was negatively associated with engagement, whereas workaholism showed a strong positive association with overwork endorsement. These relationships remained signifi...

Are Workaholism and Work Engagement in the Eye of the Beholder

Virtually all studies on workaholism and engagement – two forms of heavy work investment – rely on self-part questionnaires. However, the limitations of self-reports are widely acknowledged and in their final sections, papers on workaholism and engagement typically lament the use of such measures. Investigating data other than respondents’ self-reports, such as peer ratings, may overcome these limitations. Using a sample of 73 dyads composed of focal workers and their colleagues, the present study aimed: (1) to compare focal workers’ and coworkers’ perceptions concerning their levels of work engagement and workaholism; and (2) to explore the discriminant validity of engagement and workaholism. A multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) matrix and a correlated trait-correlated method model, the CT-C(M-1) model, were examined. Our results showed a considerable agreement between both raters (i.e., focal workers and coworkers) in levels of engagement and workaholism. In contrast to previous findings, a significant difference between raters on the cognitive dimension of workaholism (i.e., working compulsively) was observed. Moreover, our results provided further evidence for the discriminant validity between the two forms of heavy work investment.

Individual Characteristics Influencing Physicians’ Perceptions of Job Demands and Control: The Role of Affectivity, Work Engagement and Workaholism

The first purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of individual characteristics, i.e., positive and negative affectivity, in explaining the different perception of job control and job demands in a particularly demanding environment such as the healthcare setting. In addition, we aimed to explore the mediational role of work engagement and workaholism using the Job Demands-Resources Model as a theoretical framework. Data were collected using a sample of 269 Italian head physicians working in nine general hospitals. To test our hypotheses, the collected data were analyzed with structural equation modeling. Moreover, Sobel Test and bootstrapping were employed to assess the mediating hypotheses. Our results indicated that positive affectivity is related to work engagement, which, in its turn, showed a positive association with job control. In addition, workaholism mediated the relationship between negative affectivity and job demands. All in all, this study represents a first attempt to explore the role of trait affectivity as a dispositional characteristic able to foster the level of work engagement and workaholism exhibited by employees and, in turn, to increase the perceived levels of job control and job demands.

Happy employees in a resourceful workplace: just a direct relationship?: A study on the mediational role of psychological capital

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the positive association between job resources, i.e. autonomy and co-workers support, and psychological capital (PsyCap). In addition, it is aimed to assess the mediational role of PsyCap in the relationship between job resources, on the one hand, and work engagement and psychological distress on the other hand. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 235 employees working in a large-scale retail company completed a structured questionnaire. To test the hypotheses, the collected data were analyzed with structural equation modeling. Findings The results fully supported the hypotheses and showed that autonomy and co-workers’ support were positively associated with PsyCap. In addition, PsyCap fully mediated the effect of job resources on work engagement and psychological distress. Research limitations/implications The results indicate that a greater degree of autonomy allowed to employees in performing their work, and social support from co-workers may significantly contribute to building employees’ personal resources such as PsyCap. This positive association between job resources and PsyCap, in turn, leads employees to feel more engaged in their work and prevents them from harmful outcomes such as symptoms of psychological distress. Originality/value This study extends prior research on the motivational process of the job demands-resources model. Furthermore, it develops the notion of resources caravans postulated by the conservation of resources theory in its attempt to examine PsyCap as a mediator in the association between job resources and different individual outcomes.

The impact of perceived effort–reward imbalance on workplace bullying: also a matter of organizational identification

Abstract Work environments characterized by inadequate work conditions have been widely recognized as being particularly prone to the occurrence and exacerbation of bullying behavior. Accordingly, this longitudinal study aimed to explore whether the impact of effort–reward imbalance (ERI) on workplace bullying was mediated by a lower perception of organizational justice, and whether the association between ERI and perceptions of justice was moderated by organizational identification. In the current study, a sample of N = 195 Spanish employees from different occupational sectors filled in an online questionnaire at two different times with a time lag of 8 months. In line with the hypothesized moderated mediation model, results showed that organizational justice mediated the impact of ERI on workplace bullying. Moreover, the effect of perceived ERI on organizational justice was stronger for employees with low organizational identification. Overall, this study can contribute to better understanding how and when ERI boosts the risk of workplace bullying. Accordingly, early intervention designed to buffer the negative effects of ERI should focus on increasing individual levels of organizational identification.

Work addiction and presenteeism: The buffering role of managerial support

The current study examined the mediating effect of presenteeism and moderating effect of managerial support in the relation between workaholism and work-family conflict. A sample of 1065 white-collar employees from an Italian company filled in an online survey and hypotheses were tested using a bootstrapping procedure. Results showed that presenteeism mediated the association between workaholism and work-family conflict. Moreover, the mediating effect of presenteeism was moderated by managerial support: for employees reporting lower levels of support workaholism was stronger related to presenteeism than for those experiencing higher support. Presenteeism, in turn, was related to greater levels of work-family conflict. The present study sheds light into the protective role played by managerial support in preventing workaholic employees from forcing themselves to attend work also when feeling sick. Accordingly, early intervention aimed at buffering the negative association between workaholism and work-family conflict should focus on training managers to develop supportive leadership skills.

“If it is dreamable it is doable”: the role of desired job flexibility in imagining the future

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare how the dimension of attitudes toward future that consists in perception of dynamic future may be affected by desirable goals (desired job flexibility) and probable events (probable job flexibility) in a group of permanent vs temporary employees. Moreover the aim is to explore the gender differences in respect to variables studied. Design/methodology/approach – The data were collected using self-report questionnaires on a sample of 710 employees, of which 63 percent women, 57.2 percent permanent employees, and 42.8 percent fixed-term employees. Findings – The results showed that probable job flexibility mediated the relationship between desired job flexibility and the perception of a dynamic professional future. In addition, the type of contract moderated the interaction effect of job mastery on the relationship between desired and probable flexibility. Job mastery, however, has a direct effect on probable flexibility only on women in fixed-term employment...