Loreta Gustainienė

Individual correlates of organizational commitment and intention to leave the organization

Purpose – The goals of the present study are three‐fold. First of all, the paper aims to test the three‐component model (emotional, continuance and normative components) of organizational commitment in the Lithuanian population. The second goal is to analyze the relationships among individual factors (age, gender, personality traits) and organizational commitment. Finally, the paper aims to test the hypothesis if there was a relationship between organizational commitment and intention to leave the organization in the Lithuanian sample.Design/methodology/approach – The participants of the study were 105 employees working in various Lithuanian organizations (41 men and 64 women). The average age was 34.9 (SD = 11.6). The subjects completed the questionnaire that included responses to three‐dimensional measure of organizational commitment, self‐reported measure of temperament, as well as questions about demographic information. Following Meyer et al., intention to leave the organization was assessed with thr...

Predicting Work Attitudes and Turnover Intentions Among Officers: The Importance of Adlerian Personality Attributes

This study investigated the predictive value of Adlerian personality attributes related to work attitudes and turnover intentions in a sample of 227 prison officers. The assessment instruments employed in the study included the Basic Adlerian Scales for Interpersonal Success Adult Form. Spector’s Job Satisfaction questionnaire, Meyer and Allens Organizational Commitment scale and four questions designed to assess work motivation and attitudes. Employee turnover intentions were assessed with a three item scale. The results revealed significant relationship with personality attributes, work attitudes and turnover intentions. Intention to leave the job could be predicted by job satisfaction organizational commitment and personality attributes, but not by work motivation.

Implementing participatory action research in Lithuania: potential and challenges

Participatory action research is a quite new approach to research in Lithuania. The aim of an article was to disscuss the potential and challenges of participatory action research while implementing it in Lithuanian organizations. The qualitative approach was chosen for the study using the method of Focus groups. 20 researchers from social and biomedicine sciences from six institutions of High education in Lithuania participated in the study. The results of the study showed that participatory action reasearch is seen as an approach with many possibilities because of a wide range of used methods, constant interactions with research participants and the lenght of the research process. Researchers value the possibility to access organization at the begining, during research process and evaluate the effectiveness of the changes after the process. The research challenges are associated with the competence of a researcher including his/her sensitivity during process, ability to involve active participation of organization members in the ongoing process by creating safe and trusting environment. Some specific challenges associated with Lithuanian organizations are organizations‘ tiredness of researches and lack of faith of the benefits of researches because of some previous experiences.

Psychosocial Factors, Predicting Attitude towards Organizational Development among Employees of Social Service Organizations

The article analyses psychosocial factors allowing to predict the attitude towards organizational development among employees of social enterprises. The analysis is given regarding the type ““ state or private ones ““ of enterprises.

EFFECTIVENESS OF PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION AND BIOFEEDBACK – ASSISTED RELAXATION IN REDUCING PERCEIVED STRESS AMONG STUDENTS WITH REGARD TO PERSONALITY FEATURES

Background . The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of biofeed- back-assisted relaxation as well as progressive muscle relaxation in reducing per- ceived stress with regard to personality features. Method . The subjects of the study were 177 university students, 143 of which participated in the course of six sessions. The subjects participated either in four progressive muscle relaxation sessions (n=47) or four biofeedback-assisted relaxation sessions (n=48). Subjects in the comparison group participated only in the 1 st and the 6 th sessions without relaxation training. Biofeedback-assisted relaxation was conducted using NeXus – 10 device (The Neth- erlands). Results and conclusions. Both relaxation methods proved to be effective in reducing perceived stress. Changes in perceived stress were related to the type of relaxation, personality characteristics, and their intensity.

Darbuotojo gerovė ir pozityvi darbo aplinka : integruotas teorinis modelis

Business sector in developed countries faces financial losses related to health problems of their employees. These expenses are related to economic as well as to human losses. Therefore it is important to enhance employee well-being in order to prevent these problems. Traditional understanding of health mostly stresses the problem solving strategy, thus neglecting the search of factors, strengthening both the individual and the organization well-being. Compared to other EU countries, a subjective happiness level in Lithuania is rather low, therefore, a thorough study of positive psychological and social factors, encouraging personality development applicable to an organizational setting, creates a new impulse for the search of a harmonious combination of the person and the organization. Having this in mind the project aiming at developing a comprehensive model of the employee and the workplace well-being, based on biopsychosocial understanding of health and promoting positive healthrelated factors in an organization, was initiated. The object of the study is positive psychosocial factors affecting the employee and the workplace well-being. The present article presents a generalised view on the benefits of the employee and his workplace well-being interventions based on a thorough analysis of research literature of foreign and Lithuanian scientists. The authors introduce an Integrated Theoretical Model of Employee Well-being and Positive Work Environment. The model was formed based on the literature analysis. Publications for the analysis were collected from databases using keywords such as ‘organization’, ‘well-being’, ‘wellness’. The model is based on the biopsychosocial understanding of health including the interplay of healthrelated biological, social and psychological factors, as well as emphasizing promotion of the health-affecting positive psychosocial factors. The methods of the study were analysis of scientific literature, expert survey, comparison and generalisation. Effectiveness of employee health, well-being and positive work environment interventions . Most research findings on the benefits of health and wellbeing programmes in organizations confirm positive impact of the programmes upon the employee health and wellbeing: employees become more healthy, health costs are reduced, employee morale increased, productivity enhanced, decreased turnover, sick-leaves, increased employee endurance, self-esteem, sharpness of mind, new social bonds are created (Ginn, Henri, 2003). Therefore attention should be drawn on promotion not only of biological, but also of psychological and social wellbeing which is beneficial not only for employees, but for organizations as well. Separation of positive psychosocial factors affecting employee and workplace well-being. The literature analysis was performed in two phases: a) well-being models were analysed, b) analysis was focused on expanding the existing models by separate health and well-being related factors. Such an organization of the systematic literature analysis allowed to make a thorough list of well-being-related factors. These factors were grouped into several groups: a) individual characteristics of an employee determining employee well-being in general (sense of coherence, purpose and meaning in life, orientation towards personality growth, positive attitude towards life, positive affectivity, emotional intellect, playfulness, spirituality and values, general health and wilful personal responsibility for it; b) specific psychological personality characteristics related to a specific job (subjective satisfaction with one’s job and career, finding meaning in one’s job, job involvement, organizational commitment, psychological empowerment); c) interaction between the employee and the organization (a balance between professional and personal life having leisure time); d) organizational factors having impact on the employee well-being (sense of control and job demands, work conditions, work schedule, safety, organizational resources); e) quality of social relationships in the organization (positive organizational climate, organizational culture and healthpromoting organizational values, social support, characteristics of the leader); f) context of personality life (political and social formation, quality of personal relationships, positive interpersonal relationships, social network). Elaboration of the Integrated Theoretical Employee Well-being and Positive Workplace Model. The above-mentioned factors were combined into a model consisting of three basic groups of factors: individual psychological as well as organizational factors, mediated by home-work balance, within the context of broader social circumstances. The Integrated Theoretical Model of Employee Well-being and Positive Work Environment creates theoretical basis for practical intervention programmes in organizations. The Model needs to be empirically verified in order to assess the significance of its components on the employee well-being and positive work environment. This research was funded by a grant (No.MIP- 145/2010) from the Research Council of Lithuania.