Psychological climate, sickness absence and gender

We examined whether the relationship between psychological climate and sickness absence is moderated by gender. We expected that this relationship would be stronger among men than among women. We tested this general hypothesis using two samples of men and women nurses (made up of 114 and 189 subjects, respectively). The results obtained supported our expectation. The three climate facets considered (support, goals orientation and rules orientation) showed a significant relationship with sickness absence in the men sample, but not in the women sample. Clima psicológico, absentismo y género. Se investigó si la relación entre clima psicológico y absentismo por enfermedad está moderada por el g…

The non‐linear influence of the frequency of interactions between team managers and team members on positive team mood: a moderated model

Leader-member exchange (LMX) and innovation climate: the role of LMX differentiation.

AbstractLeader-member Exchange (LMX) theory has been shown to be one of the most compelling theories for understanding the effects of leadership on organizational behavior. This theory proposes that leaders establish differentiated relationships with each of their subordinates according to the exchanges produced between them. Recently, the concept of LMX differentiation has been introduced into the theory to extend research from the dyadic to the group level. The present paper uses a longitudinal design to analyze the moderator role of LMX differentiation in the relationship between mean LMX and innovation climate in a sample of 24 healthcare teams. The results showed no direct effects of m…

Climate uniformity: its influence on team communication quality, task conflict, and team performance.

We investigated whether climate uniformity (the pattern of climate perceptions of organizational support within the team) is related to task conflict, team communication quality, and team performance. We used a sample composed of 141 bank branches and collected data at 3 time points. The results obtained showed that, after controlling for aggregate team climate, climate strength, and their interaction, a type of nonuniform climate pattern (weak dissimilarity) was directly related to task conflict and team communication quality. Teams with weak dissimilarity nonuniform patterns tended to show higher levels of task conflict and lower levels of team communication quality than teams with unifor…

Uncovering the dark side of innovation: the influence of the number of innovations on work teams’ satisfaction and performance

We investigated whether the number of innovations implemented in work teams is positively related to team task conflict and negative team mood, and whether the latter variables mediate the relationship between the number of innovations implemented and aggregate job satisfaction and team performance. The results obtained in a sample of 89 bank branches, where measures were obtained at three different times, partially supported our hypotheses. Whereas the number of innovations implemented had a positive direct effect on team performance, it had a negative indirect effect on team performance and aggregate job satisfaction, via negative team mood. These findings help uncover some of the dysfunc…

Does role stress predict burnout over time among health care professionals?

Abstract The main objective of this study is to test the effects over time of three role stress variables (role conflict, role ambiguity and role overload) on the three burnout dimensions (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment). Based on theoretical models on burnout and on meta-analytical research, it is hypothesized that the three role stress variables will predict changes over time in emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, but not in personal accomplishment. The results obtained by means of hierarchical regression analysis partially support the hypothesis. The three role stress variables predict emotional exhaustion over time. Role conflict and role ove…

Organizational climate and climate strength in UK hospitals

In recent years, researchers have paid increasing attention to the idea of “climate strength” – the level of agreement about climate within a work group or organization. However, at present the literature is unclear about the extent to which climate strength is a positive attribute, and is concerned predominantly with small teams or organizational units. This paper considers three theoretical perspectives of climate strength, and extends these to the organizational level. These three roles of climate strength are then tested in 56 hospitals in the United Kingdom. Positive relationships were discovered between two of three climate dimensions (Quality and Integration) and expert ratings of or…

Team climate, climate strength and team performance: a longitudinal study

We tested the hypothesis that the relationship between team climate and team performance is moderated by climate strength. The study sample was composed of 155 bank branches, and a two-wave panel design was implemented. We measured four team climate facets (support, innovation, goal achievement and enabling formalization). We obtained two subjective indicators of team performance (ratings provided by team members and by team managers) and a financial indicator of team performance. Seven out of the 12 interaction effects tested were statistically significant and showed the expected sign. When financial team performance was the criterion, only the interaction term was significant. This sugges…

Does positive team mood mediate the relationship between team climate and team performance?

Resumen tomado de la publicación ¿Media el estado de ánimo positivo del equipo la relación entre el clima y el rendimiento del equipo? En este trabajo examinamos si la relación entre el clima de apoyo de los equipos de trabajo y su rendimiento está mediada por el estado de ánimo positivo de los equipos. A pesar de que estudios recientes han obtenido evidencia empírica que apoya la relación mencionada, todavía no están claros los mecanismos implicados en la misma. La muestra del estudio estaba compuesta por 59 sucursales bancarias, y se desarrolló un diseño longitudinal con tres puntos de recogida de datos. Los resultados mostraron que el estado de ánimo positivo de los equipos de trabajo me…

Discriminant Validity of the Job-related Tension Scale

L'Echelle de Tension Liee au Travail (JRTS) de Kahn et al. (1964) est l'une des echelles les plus usitees pour evaluer la tension professionnelle dans les etudes sur les correlats des conflits de roles et de l'ambiguite de role. Quelques auteurs ont suggere que cette echelle faisait appel aux concepts sous-jacents mesures par les echelles d'ambiguite et de conflits de roles (1970) de Rizzo, House, & Lirtzman (Jackson & Schuler, 1985). Dans cet article, la validite discriminante de la JRTS est mise factoriellement a l'epreuve

The validity of collective climates

The objective of this study is to test the validity of the collective climate concept. It was expected that membership in collective climates was related to membership in the collectivities defined by departmental membership, hierarchical level, shift, job location and organizational tenure. The study sample was composed of 195 employees from a central administration agency. Using a combination of hierarchical and non-hierarchical clustering methods, three different collective climates were obtained. The results showed that only hierarchical level was related to collective climate membership. Based on all the results obtained, the debate on the validity of collective climates is reconsidere…

The moderator effect of psychological climate on the relationship between leader – member exchange (LMX) quality and role overload

The aim of the present study was to analyse the moderator influence of psychological climate on the relationship between leader – member exchange (LMX) quality and role overload. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted in a sample of 383 employees. Results showed that LMX quality was negatively related to role overload and that three out of the four climate dimensions considered moderated the LMX – role overload relationship. This relationship was stronger when innovation climate, goals orientation, and rules orientation were high than when these climate dimensions were low.

Burnout and work engagement: Independent factors or opposite poles?

Burnout researchers have proposed that the conceptual opposites of emotional exhaustion and cynicism (the core dimensions of burnout) are vigor and dedication (the core dimensions of engagement), respectively (Maslach & Leiter, 1997; Schaufeli, Salanova, González-Romá, & Bakker, 2002). We tested this proposition by ascertaining whether two sets of items, exhaustion-vigor and cynicism-dedication, were scalable on two distinct underlying bipolar dimensions (i.e., energy and identification, respectively). The results obtained by means of the non-parametric Mokken scaling method in three different samples (Ns = 477, 507, and 381) supported our proposal: the core burnout and engagement d…

The functioning of central categories Middle Level and Sometimes in graded response scales: Does the label matter?

The present study evaluates the extent to which central categories explicitly labeled as being in the middle of the other response categories, specifically Middle Level and Sometimes, function as expected according to the integer scoring system. The assumptions are tested by means of Bock's Nominal Model in two 5-response scales. Results show that the assumption of the ordering of the response categories is met for all the items. The ordering of thresholds is satisfied for all but one item with the central category Middle Level . Results are compared with those obtained when middle categories are not explicitly labeled as being in the middle of the other response categories, as in the case …

Climate and cultural aspects in intensive care units

Research carried out in the field of work and organisational psychology shows that work unit climate and culture are important determinants of work unit performance. We briefly summarise what we have learnt about the climate-performance relationship in work units distinct from ICUs. Then, we show how the ICU culture can be measured, and summarise research on the culture-performance relationship in ICUs.

The influence of friendship and communication network density on individual innovative behaviours: a multilevel study

The present study examines whether teams’ friendship and communication network density are related to individual innovative behaviours (IIBs: idea generation, suggestion making, idea promotion and idea implementation). The study sample was composed of 28 teams comprising 101 members. The results obtained by means of multilevel structural equations modelling showed that friendship network density had an indirect positive relationship with the four IIBs through the density of team communication networks.

Linking educational diversity and team performance: Team communication quality and innovation team climate matter

This study examines the influence of education level diversity on team communication quality and team performance. Specifically, we propose a moderated mediation model with team communication quality as a mediator in the relationship between education level diversity and team performance, and with innovation team climate as a moderator in this mediated relationship. The study sample consisted of 57 bank branches, and a lagged design with three data-collection points was implemented. The results obtained showed that, as expected, innovation team climate moderated the relationship between education level diversity and team communication quality, as well as the indirect effect linking educatio…

Faultlines and subgroups: A meta-review and measurement guide

Research on faultlines—hypothetical dividing lines splitting a team into homogeneous subgroups based on team members’ attributes—has produced several meta-analyses, reviews, and algorithms for faultline and subgroup detection. To help navigate this complexity, we summarize the current theories underlying faultline and subgroup research. We also compare the two most recent algorithms for computational faultline/subgroup detection, offer a guideline for choosing adequate algorithms, and recommend measure combinations for future research. We further review empirical faultlines and subgroup research and show that different contextual factors exhibit a strong influence on the effects of faultlin…