Victor Y. Haines

Crossover of Workplace Aggression Experiences in Dual-Earner Couples

This study investigates whether workplace aggression experienced by one or both members of a couple accounts for increases in the psychological distress of the victims partner. Viewing the work-family interface and stress-strain processes as dyadic, and open to interindividual and interdomain contagion, analyses were conducted on matched data from a large-scale population health survey containing information on both working adults from 2,904 couples. Multilevel analysis of bidirectional crossover, while controlling for common stressors, supports the proposition of a crossover of stress resulting from workplace aggression. This finding highlights the complexities of work-family dynamics and of the deep penetration of workplace aggression into the lives of dual-earner partners.

Performance management effectiveness: practices or context?

Although much research has focused on the technical or measurement issues involved in employee performance management, this study investigates the mutual influence of practices and context on performance management effectiveness. From a sample of 312 private and public sector organizations with 200 or more employees, the results indicate positive associations between practices – training and employee recognition – and performance management effectiveness. They further underscore the relevance of three contextual variables – culture, climate and the strategic integration of human resource management – as they are also related to more positive performance management outcomes. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The mediating role of work-to-family conflict in the relationship between shiftwork and depression

Abstract With significant segments of the working population involved in shiftwork, there is the possibility of serious health outcomes. There are two possible pathways to ill health. In the biological pathway the bodys circadian rhythms are affected, leading to physiological disturbances and the inability to cope. By contrast, the aim of this study is to elucidate a social pathway by which shiftwork may lead to mental ill health. It examines the mediating influence of work-to-family conflict in the association between shiftwork and depression. Gender differences are also investigated. The sample included 2,931 Canadian respondents with a spouse and at least one child living at home. Close to 28% of respondents were involved in some form of shiftwork. Structural equation modelling supported partial mediation through work-to-family conflict. Further analyses found that mediation was supported in sub-samples of male and female respondents. The results, however, suggest that the experience of shiftwork is quite similar for men and women as no significant differences were found between mediating models. Overall, the findings support the social explanation of the effect of shiftwork on mental health, but they do not rule out other social or biological pathways.

Gender, family ties, and international mobility: Cultural distance matters

This study empirically tests a model of associations between family-domain variables and willingness to accept an international assignment, and applies the general model to sub-samples of men and women to examine gender differences in the pattern of relationships. We further explore these patterns in culturally similar and culturally distant country destinations. Analyses conducted with a sample of 148 men and 79 women employed MBA graduates from dual-earner couples revealed that perceived spouse willingness to relocate, beliefs regarding spouse and couple mobility, relative income, and the presence of children are associated with willingness to accept an international assignment. Moreover, consistent with social role theory, significant gender differences in willingness were found across low and high cultural distance country destinations.

Intrinsic motivation for an international assignment

Purpose - This study aims to explore how the motivational construct of intrinsic motivation for an international assignment relates to variables of interest in international expatriation research. Design/methodology/approach - Questionnaire data from 331 employed business school alumni of a high-ranking Canadian MBA program was analyzed. The sample consisted of respondents from a wide variety of industries and occupations, with more than half of them in marketing, administration or engineering. Findings - Higher intrinsic motivation for an international assignment was associated with greater willingness to accept an international assignment and to communicate in a foreign language. Externally driven motivation for an international assignment was associated with perceiving more difficulties associated with an international assignment. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for an international assignment were, however, associated with comparable reactions to organizational support. Originality/value - Drawing from self-determination theory, this study explores the distinction between authentic versus externally controlled motivations for an international assignment. It underscores the need to pay more attention to motivational constructs in selecting, coaching, and training individuals for international expatriation assignments. It extends a rich tradition of research in the area of motivation to the international assignment arena.

Quantitative analysis of organizational culture in occupational health research: a theory-based validation in 30 workplaces of the organizational culture profile instrument

BackgroundThis study advances a measurement approach for the study of organizational culture in population-based occupational health research, and tests how different organizational culture types are associated with psychological distress, depression, emotional exhaustion, and well-being.MethodsData were collected over a sample of 1,164 employees nested in 30 workplaces. Employees completed the 26-item OCP instrument. Psychological distress was measured with the General Health Questionnaire (12-item); depression with the Beck Depression Inventory (21-item); and emotional exhaustion with five items from the Maslach Burnout Inventory general survey. Exploratory factor analysis evaluated the dimensionality of the OCP scale. Multilevel regression models estimated workplace-level variations, and the contribution of organizational culture factors to mental health and well-being after controlling for gender, age, and living with a partner.ResultsExploratory factor analysis of OCP items revealed four factors explaining about 75% of the variance, and supported the structure of the Competing Values Framework. Factors were labeled Group, Hierarchical, Rational and Developmental. Cronbach’s alphas were high (0.82-0.89). Multilevel regression analysis suggested that the four culture types varied significantly between workplaces, and correlated with mental health and well-being outcomes. The Group culture type best distinguished between workplaces and had the strongest associations with the outcomes.ConclusionsThis study provides strong support for the use of the OCP scale for measuring organizational culture in population-based occupational health research in a way that is consistent with the Competing Values Framework. The Group organizational culture needs to be considered as a relevant factor in occupational health studies.

Union Representatives in Labour–Management Partnerships: Roles and Identities in Flux

This study examines the challenges met by union representatives (URs) who have to reconstruct their traditional role in the context of labour–management partnerships. They are innovators involved in the transition to renewed labour relations. Identity issues and role conflicts are examined through an in-depth analysis of the process involved in assimilating this new role in unionized organizations. The results suggest that URs subordinate the partner role to the interest representation role. Interviews suggest that this enhanced union legitimacy. Some blurring of traditional social categories such as those of employee or employer is possible to the extent that the relations between the actors are founded on interpersonal relations.

Gendered depression: Vulnerability or exposure to work and family stressors?

OBJECTIVE Research has shown that employed women are more prone to depression than men, but the pathways linking gender to depression remain poorly understood. The aim of this study was to examine how work and family conditions operated as potentially gendered antecedents of depression. It evaluated more specifically how differences in depressive symptoms in women and men could be explained by their differential vulnerability and exposure to work and family conditions, as well as by the mediating role of work-to-family conflict (WFC) and family-to-work conflict (FWC). METHODS Data were collected in 2009-2012 from a sample of 1935 employees (48.9% women) nested in 63 workplaces in the province of Quebec (Canada). Data were analyzed with multilevel path analysis models to test for the differential exposure hypothesis, and stratified by gender to test for the differential vulnerability hypothesis. RESULTS Results supported both hypothesizes, but only WFC played a mediating role between work-family stressors and depression. Regarding the vulnerability hypothesis, WFC was more strongly associated with women depressive symptoms, and the magnitude of the association between family income and WFC was stronger for women. Overall, the differential exposure hypothesis seemed to reach a greater empirical support. After accounting for work and family stressors as well as WFC, differences in depressive symptoms in women and men were no longer significantly, as WFC, working hours, irregular work schedule and skill utilization acted as mediators. WFC associated with higher depressive symptoms and skill utilization with lower depressive symptoms. WFC related to higher working hours and irregular work schedule. Compared to men, women reported higher WFC, but lower working hours, less irregular work schedule and lower skill utilization at work. CONCLUSION Womens higher rate of depression is intrinsically linked to their different social experiences as shaped by a gendered social structure and gendered organizations.

Career success: fit or marketability?

Purpose – In response to the conclusions of a meta-analysis of career success studies (Ng et al., 2005), the purpose of this paper is to expand the range of variables being examined as predictors of career success by weaving the person-organization fit and external marketability perspectives into current career success frameworks. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was administered in partnership with an association of human resource professionals located in Canada. The questionnaire was transmitted electronically to human resource professionals. The final sample included 546 full-time, permanent, human resource professionals from multiple organizations. Findings – Confirmatory factor analysis supported the measurement model. In the final structural model, external marketability exerted a significant direct effect on career success. Person-organization fit was strongly associated with organizational sponsorship. Organizational sponsorship, in turn, exerted a significant effect on subjective career suc...

Challenges to professional identities and emotional exhaustion

– This study seeks to examine the identity‐relevant stress proposition according to which events occurring in highly‐salient identity domains have a greater impact on psychological well‐being than events occurring in less salient identity domains. The aim of the study is to integrate identity theory into occupational stress research by investigating the proposition that the lack of verification of a salient role identity will be associated with higher levels of emotional exhaustion., – Using a questionnaire methodology, data were obtained from full‐time, permanent, human resource professionals from multiple organizations., – As predicted, the lack of verification that occurs when an employer denies a professional the opportunity to engage in the responsibilities associated with a salient role was associated with more emotional exhaustion. Moreover, in a way consistent with identity theory, both role prestige and affective commitment to the profession moderated this relationship, providing additional support for the identity‐relevant stress proposition., – Identity theory offers a valuable perspective for work stress research, one that appears to be especially applicable to highly professionalized occupations.