Pierre-Sébastien Fournier

Relationships between commitments to the organization, the superior and the colleagues, and the intention to leave among truckers

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to use three foci of commitment (to the organization, to the colleagues, and to the superior) to improve employee retention in high turnover work environments.Design/methodology/approach – In this study, survey questionnaires measuring affective commitment to the organization, the supervisor‐dispatcher and colleagues were administered to 294 truckers. The two‐step approach was used. While the first step involved a confirmatory factor analysis, the second step used structural equation modeling to test hypotheses.Findings – Findings show that the model that best fits the data is the one in which both affective commitments to the dispatcher and to the colleagues affects the intention to leave the organization through affective commitment to the organization.Originality/value – Existing research on trucker turnover has neglected to examine the role of psychological variables such as employee commitment. Using field theory premises, this research contributes to the litera...

Programs for Integrating New Workers into Quebec Mining Companies: Formal Structure and In-the-Field Adaptations

Faced with fluctuating production marked by high-demand periods, as well as worker retirement and worker migration to other industries, the mining industry is experiencing massive hiring needs at a time when there is a shortage of trained and experienced workers. Compounding these problems of workforce availability are labour planning practices usually designed to “maximize production and minimize costs in response to immediate pressures” [1]. Moreover, OHS issues are prominent in this sector, where the frequency rate for compensated work-related injuries was 2.3 times higher than the average for Quebec companies for the 2005–2007 period [2]. At the request of the Joint Health and Safety Association, Mining Sector, a field study was conducted to document the conditions conducive to the safe and secure integration of new workers, the problems encountered, and possible avenues for improvement. This paper presents the formal integration programs implemented in the companies studied and the adaptations made during their application in the field.

The influence of flexible management practices on the sharing of experiential knowledge in the workplace: a case study of food service helpers.

Previous studies have shown that the job knowledge and prudent knowledge of experienced workers constitute a wealth that needs to be shared in workplaces to promote worker integration, job retention and occupational health and safety. It appears, however, that certain management practices undermine this knowledge sharing process. This case study of food service helpers in institutional food service departments is part of a research project aimed at comparing the impact of different work organization methods on knowledge sharing in the workplace on the basis of case studies carried out in several organizations. The results of this case study reveal that by destabilizing and weakening the work teams, flexible management practices create an environment that is not conducive to experiential knowledge sharing.