Stacey R. Kessler

A Meta-Analytic Investigation of Gender Differences in Mentoring:

This meta-analysis investigates gender differences in mentor- and protégé-reported experience in mentorships as well as career and psychosocial benefits. There are no gender differences in experience as a protégé or protégé receipt of career development, but male protégés report receiving less psychosocial support than female protégés. Furthermore, males are more likely to serve as mentors than females and report giving more career development than female mentors. Conversely, female mentors report providing more psychosocial support than male mentors. In most cases, effect sizes are small and heterogeneous, providing important implications for future research.

Bored employees misbehaving: The relationship between boredom and counterproductive work behaviour

In this study, the relationships among boredom proneness, job boredom, and counterproductive work behaviour (CWB) were examined. Boredom proneness consists of several factors, which include external stimulation and internal stimulation. Given the strong relationships between both the external stimulation factor of boredom proneness (BP-ext) and anger as well as the strong relationship between trait anger and CWB, we hypothesized that examining BP-ext would help us to better understand why employees commit CWB. Five types of CWB have previously been described: abuse against others, production deviance, sabotage, withdrawal and theft. To those we added a sixth, horseplay. Using responses received from 211 participants who were recruited by email from throughout North America (112 of them matched with co-workers), we found support for our central premise. Indeed, both BP-ext and job boredom showed significant relationships with various types of CWB. The boredom proneness factor also moderated the relationship between job boredom and some types of CWB, suggesting that a better understanding of boredom is imperative for designing interventions to prevent CWB.

Organizational violence and aggression: Development of the three-factor Violence Climate Survey

Abstract Violence climate, a concept derived from the safety climate literature, may affect violence and aggression at work. This paper builds upon the unidimensional instrument tested by Spector, Coulter, Stockwell, and Matz (2007). The present instrument, the Violence Climate Survey is a new three-dimensional construct of violence climate consisting of Policies and Procedures, Practices, and Pressure for Unsafe Practices. Using a heterogeneous sample of 216 employees from a variety of organizations in the USA, it was shown that violence climate is significantly related to exposure to physical violence and verbal aggression, physical strains, and psychological strains including job dissatisfaction and negative emotion at work. Exposure to both violence and aggression was associated with all strains. Multiple regression analyses suggested that it was primarily Policies and Pressure that was associated with verbal aggression, whereas mainly Practices was related to physical violence. It is suggested that the construct of violence climate may be a useful subject for further research. In practice, policies may be useful in reducing verbal aggression, but physical violence requires more direct management action and practice.

It's all about me: The role of narcissism in exacerbating the relationship between stressors and counterproductive work behaviour

Although studies have found that personality variables moderate the relationship between stressors and counterproductive work behaviour, few have examined the role of narcissism and those that did have found inconsistent results. Using a sample of 515 United States employees, we found that narcissism moderated the relationships between interpersonal conflict at work and counterproductive work behaviours directed at others, and between organizational constraints and counterproductive work behaviours directed at the organization, making both relationships stronger for those high on narcissism. We also found that narcissism moderated the relationship between organizational constraints and counterproductive work behaviours directed at others. Further, we demonstrated that the grandiose exhibitionism facet of narcissism moderated these same stressor–counterproductive work behaviours relationships, whereas the facets of leadership/authority and entitlement/exploitiveness did not. Our study indicates that organizational scholars should examine narcissism as an important antecedent of work behaviour, and that research needs to consider potential differential prediction by each of its facets.

Don't Throw Out the Baby With the Bath Water A Novel Way of Evaluating Outcomes in the Healthy Families America Programs

The current study examines the inherent challenges of the wide-scale implementation and replication of program models. Using the Healthy Family America (HFA) program model, the study reviews the adaptation/adoption debate and highlights the ways in which program adoption and program adaptation could coexist to facilitate successful program implementations. Specifically, 103 HFA program sites were evaluated based on their adherence to HFAs flexible program model. Although the results are mixed, the study presents a new way of addressing existing program implementation and replication issues.

Counterproductive Work Behaviors and Their Ethical Dilemmas: Creating Just, Respectful, and Productive Organizations

The goal of the current chapter is to examine the relationship between counterproductive workplace behaviors (CWBs) and ethical dilemmas and to suggest interventions and resolutions to these critical issues. We will begin with a brief definition of CWBs, the prevalence of these behaviors, and the various costs associated with it. Then, we will discuss how several of the five general ethical principles published by the American Psychological Association (APA, American Psychological Association ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct, 2002. Retrieved February 9, 2009), namely, beneficence and non-maleficence, justice, and respect for people’s rights and dignity, apply to the wide spectrum of CWBs that can occur in the workplace and the ethical dilemmas that they create. Each of these specific dilemmas will be linked to real-world solutions backed by the current literature. Finally, we will discuss measurement issues associated with CWBs as well as how recent advances and shifts in technology affect the workplace and the possible CWBs in which employees engage.

Stressors beget stressors: The effect of passive leadership on employee health through workload and work–family conflict

ABSTRACT The current study examined passive leadership as a potential antecedent of two commonly studied workplace stressors (i.e. workload and work–family conflict), and investigated its negative effect on employee burnout and physical symptoms via these stressors. We collected two waves of data from 274 focal participants, and one wave of data from their co-workers. Results showed that both self-reported and co-worker-reported passive leadership was positively related to employee burnout and physical symptoms, as well as workload and work–family conflict. Additionally, workload and work–family conflict partially mediated the effects of passive leadership on burnout and physical symptoms, respectively. Our findings support the notion that passive leadership can create a stressful workplace and have a detrimental effect on employees’ health.

An Examination of the Influence of Implicit Theories, Attribution Styles, and Performance Cues on Questionnaire Measures of Leadership:

We examined the direct and interactive effects of respondents’ implicit leadership theories (ILTs), attribution styles, and performance cues on leadership perceptions. After first assessing respondents’ implicit leadership theories and attribution styles, the participants were randomly assigned to one of nine performance cue conditions ([leader performance: low vs. average vs. high] × [follower performance: low vs. average vs. high]), observed the same leader’s behavior via video, and rated the leader by completing three leadership questionnaires. The results supported the notion that these three components of information have both direct and interactive effects on leadership perceptions as measured by the questionnaires. The three components of information accounted for about 10% of the variance in the three questionnaires. The results contribute to theories of information processing by demonstrating how ILTs, attribution styles, and performance cues interact to predict leadership perceptions. Implications regarding the meaningfulness, construct validity, and utility of leadership scales are discussed.

The Effects of Attribution Style and Stakeholder Role on Blame for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

We extend attribution and stakeholder theory in the context of crisis reputation management by examining differences in stakeholder perceptions in the form of organization-related blame. We presented eight stakeholder groups with factual information surrounding the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and asked them to indicate the extent to which they blamed the leaders and organizations associated with the event. Stakeholders also completed a survey assessing their attribution styles. Results indicated that perceptions of blame were affected by the interaction of stakeholder role (i.e., active vs. passive) with attribution style (i.e., optimistic vs. pessimistic). Our results suggest that organizational leaders’ understanding of their stakeholders may be an important aspect in managing stakeholders’ sensemaking during crises.