Patrícia Costa

Multilevel Research in the Field of Organizational Behavior: An Empirical Look at 10 Years of Theory and Research

During the last 30 years, significant debate has taken place regarding multilevel research. However, the extent to which multilevel research is overtly practiced remains to be examined. This article analyzes 10 years of organizational research within a multilevel framework (from 2001 to 2011). The goals of this article are (a) to understand what has been done, during this decade, in the field of organizational multilevel research and (b) to suggest new arenas of research for the next decade. A total of 132 articles were selected for analysis through ISI Web of Knowledge. Through a broad-based literature review, results suggest that there is equilibrium between the amount of empirical and conceptual papers regarding multilevel research, with most studies addressing the cross-level dynamics between teams and individuals. In addition, this study also found that the time still has little presence in organizational multilevel research. Implications, limitations, and future directions are addressed in the end.

Burnout and health behaviors in health professionals from seven European countries

ObjectivesWithin an underlying health-impairing process, work stressors exhaust employees’ mental and physical resources and lead to exhaustion/burnout and to health problems, with health-impairing behaviors being one of the potential mechanisms, linking burnout to ill health. The study aims to explore the associations between burnout and fast food consumption, exercise, alcohol consumption and painkiller use in a multinational sample of 2623 doctors, nurses and residents from Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Croatia and Macedonia, adopting a cross-national approach.MethodsData are part of the international cross-sectional quantitative ORCAB survey. The measures included the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Health Behaviors Questionnaire.ResultsBurnout was significantly positively associated with higher fast food consumption, infrequent exercise, higher alcohol consumption and more frequent painkiller use in the full sample, and these associations remained significant after the inclusion of individual differences factors and country of residence. Cross-national comparisons showed significant differences in burnout and health behaviors, and some differences in the statistical significance and magnitude (but not the direction) of the associations between them. Health professionals from Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria reported the most unfavorable experiences.ConclusionsBurnout and risk health behaviors among health professionals are important both in the context of health professionals’ health and well-being and as factors contributing to medical errors and inadequate patient safety. Organizational interventions should incorporate early identification of such behaviors together with programs promoting health and aimed at the reduction of burnout and work-related stress.

The work engagement grid: predicting engagement from two core dimensions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test whether work engagement can be predicted by two core dimensions, energy and involvement, both at the individual and team levels. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the circumplex model of affective well-being (Russell, 1980), the authors propose the work engagement grid and collect data on individual and team work engagement (TWE) from two different samples (n=1,192 individuals). Findings – Results show a significant positive relationship between the individual engagement grid and individual work engagement. However, only the energy dimension significantly predicted TWE. The authors also provide evidences for the relationship between the engagement grid and related variables (e.g. adaptive performance, team cohesion, satisfaction), and show that the combination of energy and involvement present smaller correlations with those variables than the complete engagement scales. Research limitations/implications – Data were collected from simulation samples, the...

The role of religion in human values: a case study

By helping social norms to be internalized, values are indirectly sources of relationship behaviour. Likewise, cultural traditions, religion and language have different meanings that shape beliefs and influence social life. Thus, it seems important to revaluate the role of values in social life in a society which is extremely distinguishable in religious terms. An adaptation of Schwartz’s (1994a) value survey was used. MANOVA analysis revealed significant differences between groups in four value types and in three higher dimensions. Overall, results indicate that a combination of Schwartz’ values with insights from individualism/collectivism can be useful in contexts like Mozambique, a nation characterized by divergent religious groups, which can lead to a collision between religious viewpoints and values. Altogether, it seems most important to investigate further the historical and social influences that shape individual and communal identities with regard to questions of religion and values.

Multilevel influences of team viability perceptions

Purpose – The purpose of this article was to examine how individual positive emotions and team work engagement (TWE) relate to the perceptions of team viability. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 254 teams (N = 1,154 individuals) participated in this study, and a multilevel analysis was conducted of the effects of individual and team-level factors. Findings – The multilevel analysis results suggest a partial compensatory effect. High levels of individual positive emotions and high TWE are associated with a positive effect on the perceptions of team viability. Simultaneously, being part of a highly engaged team has a protective effect on perceptions of team viability, when individuals experience low levels of positive emotions. Research limitations/implications – As the study was conducted with teams involved in a management simulation, generalizing the results to “real world” teams must be done with caution. Practical implications – Nonetheless, these findings have important implications for manage...

Interactions in engaged work teams: a qualitative study

Purpose The aim of this study is to describe work-engaged teams in terms of interpersonal interaction. Design/methodology/approach Six teams (N = 31 individuals) were videotaped during a decision-making task, for one hour. Based on a priori defined categories, the authors coded the videos in terms of the degree of interaction between team members, the physical distance between members, the degree of team’s activation and the valence of their interaction. The videos were also coded in terms of motivational and affective processes. Team work engagement was assessed using questionnaires. Findings Highly engaged team members work physically close and have an increment on their interactions up until the task’s temporal midpoint. They have an initial peak of activation and show more positive emotional valence in the first and the last moments of the task. The most interpersonal processes used are affective. The worst performing team had the highest initial interaction levels followed by an abrupt decrease both in their levels of interaction and in their levels of activation. Simultaneously, they present higher peaks of positive emotional valence. Practical implications Although engaged teams are essentially characterized by the presence of positive interactions, it is fundamental to alternate more “exited” and fun moments with more task focused ones and collective interaction moments with individual work. Originality/value This study answers to Kozlowski and Chao’s (2012) call for studying emergence in a more direct way, using qualitative analysis of video data.