Zena Burgess

Emotional intelligence and effective leadership

Emotional intelligence has become increasingly popular as a measure for identifying potentially effective leaders, and as a tool for developing effective leadership skills. Despite this popularity, however, there is little empirical research that substantiates the efficacy of emotional intelligence in these areas. The aim of the present paper was to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence and effective leadership. Emotional intelligence was assessed by a modified version of the Trait Meta Mood Scale in 43 participants employed in management roles. Effective leaders were identified as those who displayed a transformational rather than transactional leadership style as measured by the multifactor leadership questionnaire. Emotional intelligence correlated with several components of transformational leadership suggesting that it may be an important component of effective leadership. In particular emotional intelligence may account for how effective leaders monitor and respond to subordinates and make them feel at work.

Organizational practices supporting women and their satisfaction and well-being

Purpose – The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the relationship of the perceived presence of organizational practices designed to support womens career advancement and their work and extra‐work satisfaction and psychological well‐being.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 98 early career women in Australia using anonymously completed questionnaires. Five organizational practices combined into a composite measure were considered; top management support and intervention, policies and resources, use of gender in human resource management, training and development initiatives and recruiting and external relations efforts.Findings – Women reporting more organizational practices supportive of women, with higher levels of job and career satisfaction, and indicated fewer psychosomatic symptoms and less emotional exhaustion. Organizational practices were unrelated to intent to quit or extra‐work satisfactions and physical or emotional well‐being.Research limitations/implications –...

Benefits of mentoring to Australian early career women managers and professionals

Purpose – This study aims to examine potential benefits from a mentor relationship to women managers and professionals in early career.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 98 women business school graduates using an anonymously completed questionnaire. Respondents identified a more senior individual who had a positive influence in the development of their career, provided descriptive characteristics of this relationship and described its character. Three mentor functions were considered: role model, career development and psychosocial.Findings – There were few differences as a function of the gender of the mentor though respondents having female mentors indicated more role modeling and tended to report more psychosocial functions. Respondents reporting more mentor functions also indicated higher levels of job and career satisfaction, more optimistic future career prospects and fewer psychosomatic symptoms.Originality/value – Adds to the understanding of mentoring by including psychologic...

Workaholism among Australian women psychologists: antecedents and consequences

This research considered potential antecedents and consequences of workaholism in a sample of 324 female Australian psychologists. Three workaholism types were compared based on measures developed by Spence and Robbins. Data were collected using self‐report questionnaires completed anonymously. Antecedents included personal and work situation characteristics, a measure of personal beliefs and fears and a measure of organizational values supporting work‐personal life imbalance. Consequences included measures of validating job behaviors, work outcomes, psychological health and extra‐work satisfactions. The three workaholism types differed in personal beliefs and fears, work addicts (WAs) scoring higher than work enthusiasts (WEs). WAs indicated less job and career satisfaction than both WEs and enthusiastic addicts (EAs) and lower future career prospects than did EAs. WAs also reported lower emotional health than did WEs. The workaholism types were similar on extra work satisfactions. Each workaholism type also worked similar hours per week as well. These findings validate previous conclusions indicating similar findings for both men and women.

Workaholism among Australian psychologists: gender differences

Purpose − This study aims to examine gender differences in three workaholism and workaholism‐related variables. Design/methodology/approach − Uses measures developed by Spence and Robbins and examines gender differences in three workaholism components, workaholic job behaviors and work and well‐being outcomes among Australian psychologists. Findings − Females and males were found to differ on many personal and situational demographic characters, two of three workaholism components (work involvement, and feeling driven to work) males scoring higher. Females, however, reported higher levels of particular workaholic job behaviors (e.g. perfectionism, job stress) likely to be associated with lower levels of satisfaction and well‐being. Females and males scored similarly on work outcomes, family satisfaction, physical health and emotional health. Females indicated more psychosomatic symptoms and less community satisfaction but more friends satisfaction. Originality/value − Aids in the understanding of workaholism in organizations.

Workaholism among Australian female managers and professionals: Job behaviors, satisfactions and psychological health

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine potential consequences of workaholism among 98 women business graduates in early careers. It replicates earlier work based primarily on men.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from women business graduates of a single Australian university using anonymously completed questionnaires. Three workaholism components identified by Spence and Robbins were included: work involvement, feeling driven to work due to inner pressures and work enjoyment. Consequences included several validating job behaviors such as perfectionism and non‐delegation, work and extra‐work satisfactions and indicators of psychological well‐being.Findings – Workaholism components generally had significant relationships with the validating job behaviors, work outcomes and indicators of psychological well‐being but not with extra‐work satisfactions. These findings provided a partial replications of previous conclusions based on primarily male samples.Research limitations/implicat...

Organizational values, job experiences and satisfactions among female and male psychologists

This study examined the relationship of managerial and professional womens and mens perceptions of organizational values supportive of work–personal life integration and their job experiences, work and non-work satisfactions and psychological well-being. Data were collected from 324 women and 128 men psychologists in Australia using anonymous questionnaires. Both women and men reported benefits from such values. Women psychologists reporting organizational values more supportive of work–personal life integration also reported working fewer hours and extra-hours worked per week, greater job and career satisfaction, more optimistic career prospects, less time to job and less work stress, greater friends satisfaction, and more positive emotional and physical well-being. Men psychologists reporting organizational values more supportive of work–personal life integration also reported less job stress, greater joy in work, lower intentions to quit, greater job and career satisfaction, more optimistic career prospects, fewer psychosomatic symptoms and more positive emotional and physical well-being. Multiple regression analyses indicated more independent and significant correlates of organizational values supporting work–personal life integration among women than among men. Possible explanations for why women might benefit more from such organizational values are offered.

A longitudinal study of women directors in Australia

Using social identity theory as a framework, the present study empirically tests the idea that women can maintain positions on corporate boards over a number of years through becoming part of the board’s ingroup. A sample of 32 women directors who were part of a study of corporate directors in 1995 participated in the six‐year follow‐up. A series of hypotheses are tested using nonparametric statistical techniques to test differences in women directors’ personal and board characteristics over the two time periods. Implications of the results are drawn for women seeking to maintain or gain board positions and for the applicability of social identity theory to the research area.

What Distinguishes Women Nonexecutive Directors from Executive Directors

Little is known about the factors that help women become company directors, with few research studies done. Studies from the United States (Catalyst, 1995a, 1995b), Britain (Holton, 1995a, 1995b, 1995c), Canada (Burke, 1995; Burke and Kurucz, 1998; Mitchell, 1984), and Australia (Korn/Ferry International, 1997) offer extensive and useful descriptions of women directors from frequencies of demographic, experiential, and organizational characteristics. However, the relative importance of factors is not assessed for appointment to boards, nor the importance of other factors, such as social processes. The aim of this study is to add to our understanding of women’s appointments to boards by assessing the relative importance of a broader range of factors than previously examined, using an Australian sample.

Workaholism and divorce among Australian psychologists.

A study of Australian psychologists compared scores on workaholism components among those who were divorced and those who were married. No differences were found.