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Full-Text Articles in Organizational Behavior and Theory

Toward A Model Of Hardiness Development: The Effect Of Hope On Hardiness, Chin Heng Low, Paul Heng Leong Lim, Kevin Koh Dec 2021

Toward A Model Of Hardiness Development: The Effect Of Hope On Hardiness, Chin Heng Low, Paul Heng Leong Lim, Kevin Koh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Hardiness has been proven to help with the management of psychological stress. It is an important state-like personality dimension that individuals can develop to cope with stressors. However, there is currently insufficient understanding on why hardiness develops in people. Through an exploratory study based on 55 undergraduate university students who worked on an international consulting project in return for grades, this research examines the relationship between individuals’ hardiness components of commitment, control and challenge and hope components of willpower and waypower. It is found that individuals’ hope components may be positively related to specific hardiness components. This bears considerable theoretical …


Burnout Isn’T Just Exhaustion: Workers Can Also Feel Cynical Or Inadequate, Tina Li Yi Ng, Andree Hartanto Nov 2021

Burnout Isn’T Just Exhaustion: Workers Can Also Feel Cynical Or Inadequate, Tina Li Yi Ng, Andree Hartanto

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Employers, take note: There’s more to burnout which corporate wellness initiatives alone cannot solve, say SMU researchers. The huge wave of resignations spurred by the pandemic has forced companies to confront burnout, implementing “burnout breaks” to curb the loss of productivity that comes with working too much. Though initiatives like “mental health weeks” are widely appreciated, they merely scratch the surface and do not solve the issue. To truly put out the flames of burnout, a precise diagnosis of the problem is critical. This is especially true in Singapore, the world’s most fatigued country where one in two workers feels …


When Your Authority Fluctuates Throughout The Day, Eric M. Anicich, Michael Schaerer, Jake Gale, Trevor A. Foulk Nov 2021

When Your Authority Fluctuates Throughout The Day, Eric M. Anicich, Michael Schaerer, Jake Gale, Trevor A. Foulk

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

For many of us, the power we feel at work — how much, when it occurs, and around whom — can fluctuate. This can result in a surprising increase in stress and a decrease in well-being. To address this, consider these strategies for making power imbalances more manageable. First, be deliberate in scheduling your tasks to cluster activities with similar levels of power together. Second, give your work a routine and consider “theming” together days with similar activities. Third, create a role-transcendent identity in order to embrace your different levels of power. And finally, work to actively manage your well-being.


Close Friendships At Work Are Lifelines That Have Frayed During The Pandemic, Kenneth Tai Oct 2021

Close Friendships At Work Are Lifelines That Have Frayed During The Pandemic, Kenneth Tai

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We have gone from having lunch with colleagues and meeting after work to eating hurriedly at our desks at home. The change in relationships at work also affects our productivity, argues SMU’s Kenneth Tai.


An Initial Examination Of State And Longitudinal Effects Of Loving-Kindness Practice On Affective And Motivational States At Work, Theodore Charles Masters-Waage, Jochen Reb, William Tov Oct 2021

An Initial Examination Of State And Longitudinal Effects Of Loving-Kindness Practice On Affective And Motivational States At Work, Theodore Charles Masters-Waage, Jochen Reb, William Tov

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Objectives: Drawing on practices and concepts from Buddhist ethics, we developed a loving-kindness training. We investigated the state and longitudinal effects of this training on employees’ affective and motivational states at work in two studies. Methods: Study 1 tested this training program in a randomized controlled trial, comparing the effects of loving-kindness practice on employee affect and motivation with an active (mindfulness) and a passive (waitlist) control condition. Analyses focused on both longitudinal effects (increases in affect and motivation over the training period) and state effects (effects of practice on daily affect and motivation). Study 2 conducted a 1-week study …


Ambivalent Bosses: An Examination Of Supervisor Expressed Emotional Ambivalence On Subordinate Task Engagement, Jia Hui Lim, Kenneth Tai, Maryam Kouchaki Jul 2021

Ambivalent Bosses: An Examination Of Supervisor Expressed Emotional Ambivalence On Subordinate Task Engagement, Jia Hui Lim, Kenneth Tai, Maryam Kouchaki

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Supervisors often have to manage conflicting and contradictory demands in increasingly dynamic work environments. In the process of doing so, they may express emotional ambivalence observed by subordinates. Drawing on emotions as social information (EASI) theory and research on unpredictability and stress, we examine when and why supervisor expressed emotional ambivalence influence subordinate outcomes. In two studies, we find that supervisor expressed emotional ambivalence is indirectly related to subordinate task engagement via supervisor unpredictability (Studies 1 and 2). In addition, supervisor unpredictability and anticipated stress serially mediate the effect of supervisor expressed emotional ambivalence on task engagement (Studies 3 and …


Just Because You're Powerless Doesn't Mean They Aren't Out To Get You: Low Power, Paranoia, And Aggression, Michael Schaerer, Trevor Foulk, Christilene Du Plessis, Min Hsuan Tu, Satish Krishnan Jul 2021

Just Because You're Powerless Doesn't Mean They Aren't Out To Get You: Low Power, Paranoia, And Aggression, Michael Schaerer, Trevor Foulk, Christilene Du Plessis, Min Hsuan Tu, Satish Krishnan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Due to its pervasive negative consequences, failing to understand the origins of paranoia can be costly for organizations. Prior research suggests that powerful employees are particularly likely to experience paranoia as others want to exploit the resources they control, implying that employees low in power should feel less paranoid. In contrast, we build on Conservation of Resources Theory and sociocultural perspectives of power to argue that the inherent vulnerability associated with being low power also evokes paranoia as a protection mechanism. Because paranoia causes employees to form malevolent attributions towards others, we predict that paranoia, in turn, leads to aggressive …


Inspire But Don't Interfere: Managerial Influence As A Double-Edged Sword For Innovation, Fabiola Gerpott, Ronald Bledow, Jana Kuehnel May 2021

Inspire But Don't Interfere: Managerial Influence As A Double-Edged Sword For Innovation, Fabiola Gerpott, Ronald Bledow, Jana Kuehnel

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Managers play a pivotal role in the innovation process; yet, the mechanisms through which managers enhance or undermine innovation are not well understood. Drawing upon self-concordance theory, we argue that managers can augment employees' self-concordance—defined as the congruence of goals and actions with inner values and preferences—through transformational behavior and thereby contribute to innovation. However, transformational behavior is closely coupled to another form of influence, namely, process management, the attempt to directly manage innovation-related activities. This form of managerial influence reduces employees' self-concordance and thereby undermines innovation. We test our conceptual model in a sample of 188 innovation projects using …


A Self-Regulation Model Of Leader Authenticity Based On Mindful Self-Regulated Attention And Political Skill, Erik Dietl, Jochen Reb Apr 2021

A Self-Regulation Model Of Leader Authenticity Based On Mindful Self-Regulated Attention And Political Skill, Erik Dietl, Jochen Reb

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Despite much research on leader authenticity, its antecedents remain poorly understood. We develop a self-regulatory model of leader authenticity. The model explains how both mindful self-regulated attention and political skill, as well as their interaction, are important for leaders to be authentic, and ultimately effective. Mindful self-regulated attention – a core dimension of mindfulness defined as sustained attention centered on the present moment – helps leaders stay connected to their core self amid the busyness of their (work) lives, allowing leaders to feel authentic. And, particularly in combination with political skill – a social effectiveness construct –, it helps leaders …