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This study tested the mediating role of violation in the relationship between breach and both affective and continuance commitment and the extent to which this mediating role is moderated by exchange imbalance amongst a sample of 103 sales personnel. Results suggest that violation mediated the relationship between breach and commitment. Also, results suggest that perceived exchange imbalance moderates this mediating pathway: Low exchange imbalance increases the mediating role of violation in the case of affective commitment. On the other hand, exchange imbalance failed to moderate the mediating influence of violation in the case of continuance commitment. Results are discussed in view of the importance of a) including both measures of violation and breach in future studies and b) the role of social exchange in explaining psychological contract violation. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)

The main aim of this paper is to make the case for why a fundamental reappraisal rather than incremental development of work stress and coping theory is required. In order to do this we present, in simplified form, some of the basic tenets of theory in this field. These tenets are questioned and their limitations identified in two ways. The first way is through contrasting the sort of stories that emerge in counselling and psychotherapy about the causes of people's distress with the simplified accounts found in stress and coping theory. The second way is through a critical examination of the specific ideas that stressors are 'out there' in the work environment and that individuals go through a simple process of primary and secondary appraisal when dealing with potentially harmful aspects of the work environment. Drawing on the notion of the employee as an active crafter and shaper of their job and data showing the complex ways in which people make sense of potentially negative work circumstances, we show how these ideas are of very limited value. In conclusion, we suggest that these limitations are so serious that fundamental reappraisal rather than development is required.

Analysis of psychological contract variables (affective and continuance commitment, intention to quit, well-being, job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior)was conducted on two samples: 1,608 banking employees (71% part time) and 366 supermarket employees (65% part time). Part- and full-time workers had different attitudes; fulfilment of the psychological contract explained some attitude differences but not others. (Contains 74 references.) (SK)

The article analyzes and reviews British published research about ethnicity in organizations from an organizational psychology perspective.

Current approaches to work stress do not address in detail the mental processes by which work events cause unpleasant affect. We propose a cognitive account that incorporates: (1) the distinction between controlled and automatic information processing; (2) the categorization of emotionally relevant stimuli; (3) the role of mental models in coping choice; (4) the enactment of beneficial job conditions through coping; and (5) reciprocal influences between cognition and affect. We conclude by discussing how this account can help explain a range of findings in the work stress literature and how a cognitive approach to work stress informs practice., A long-standing line of organizational research focuses on the relationship between work and well-being. Commonly known as stress research, there is little systematic treatment of emotions in this literature (Cooper, [...]

We examine whether attainment of goals at work is associated with enhanced affective well-being and whether attainment of personally more important goals has a stronger association with affective well-being. Data were collected from call-centre staff using a daily diary for 2 weeks. Results indicate that daily attainment of work goals is associated with more activated affect measured at the end of the working day. The relationship between attainment of goals and pleasurable affect is stronger where goals are personally more important., Although it has long been recognized that there is a relationship between work and psychological well-being (Jahoda, 1958; Warr, 1991), the processes by which work can become psychologically harmful are [...]

Two studies investigated whether people's moods are influenced by the collective mood of their work teammates over time. In the first study, 65 community nurses in 13 teams recorded their moods and hassles daily for 3 weeks. A pooled time-series analysis showed a significant association between the nurses' moods and the collective mood of their teammates, which did not depend on shared hassles. The association was greater for nurses who were older, were more committed to their team, perceived a better team climate, or experienced fewer hassles with teammates. In Study 2, a team of 9 accountants rated their own moods and the moods of their teammates 3 times a day for 4 weeks using pocket computers. The accountants' moods and their judgments of their teammates' moods were significantly associated with the collective mood of their teammates. The findings suggest that people's mood at work can become linked to the mood of their teammates.

Do feelings and behaviours fluctuate in ways that are deterministic but not linear and not rhythmic? For example, the size of a fluctuation in mood intensity or a change in [...], Two simple non-linear techniques are shown to be useful for understanding the dynamics of affect, symptoms, social interaction experience and cognitive performance. The techniques are justified by arguments derived from chaos theory, and demonstrated using data from an intensive time sampling study in which 30 subjects completed a set of self-ratings and a memory task on a hand-held computer every two hours during waking hours for 14 days. The data were pooled and two types of Poincare plot were constructed for each variable. The first was a plot of each value against its predecessor, and the second was a plot of each change in value from one interval to the next against the previous change. These plots are particularly suitable for uncovering asymmetric state-dependent changes in control between time points. The plots showed a number of distinctive 'fingerprints' for the different variables. Altogether, the results suggest that the plots are a novel and useful method for understanding psychological variables in terms of their dynamic control.

Goal setting as a managerial tool Goal setting is a motivational technique used extensively in organizations. As a method of directing individuals' efforts at work and providing a standard against [...]

A computerized diary method was used to investigate relations between momentary and generalized affect reports. Thirty participants rated current mood at 2-hourly intervals and gave retrospective reports of daily and weekly mood for a 2-week period. Average momentary ratings provided a closer estimate of daily mood than either peak or most recent momentary ratings. Similarly, average daily mood indexes tended to give the best estimates of weekly mood. However, for positive (but not negative) mood, daily reports were consistently higher than average momentary ratings, and weekly reports were consistently higher than average daily ratings. Regression analyses suggested that daily ratings were influenced mainly by average momentary mood but that independent effects of peak and most recent momentary mood were detectable too. Retrospective reports of daily mood were also influenced by current mood. In general, however, memory for affect was rather better than previous research has implied.

One of the four sources of evidence used in evidence-based management (EBMgt) is academic research. However, rather than taking evidence from single studies or arbitrarily selected studies, EBMgt uses findings from systematic reviews that methodically summarize the body of evidence relevant to a specific question. This allows for conclusions to be drawn about the quantity, quality, relevance, and meaning of the available evidence. Although conducting such reviews is important for EBMgt and academically, the skills required are rarely taught. Drawing on our experiences of teaching courses on conducting rapid systematic reviews to a range of students, we include four goals here. First, we describe the nature and purposes of systematic reviews and consider the multiple benefits of teaching students how to perform them. Second, we describe a course on rapid systematic reviews delivered to a group of master's students. Third, we report students' reactions to different aspects of the course and the outcomes for students and teachers. Last, we discuss the implications of these experiences for teaching systematic review skills across business school curricula and how they may in the future play a more prominent role in developing EBMgt skills in students and in management education more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perhaps the most puzzling and disappointing feature of the discipline of psychology is just how little it helps us to understand ordinary human behaviour. I would guess that most of [...]

Perhaps the most puzzling and disappointing feature of the discipline of psychology is just how little it helps us to understand ordinary human behaviour. I would guess that most of [...]

Byline: Rob B. Briner, Tina Kiefer The aim of this paper is to consider some of the desirable and likely future directions of organisational psychology research into emotion at work. We do so by identifying and discussing some current limitations of the field. Along with other observers we argue that although the field has grown quickly this expansion has not always led to an increased understanding of emotion at work. There are numerous reasons for this but we focus on four limitations of existing research: 1) poor quantification; 2) exaggerated claims about the importance of emotion and Emotional Intelligence (EI); 3) methods that are incongruent with psychological theory about emotion; 4) research too focused on commercial and managerial needs. The actions required to deal with these limitations are mostly self-evident, though apparently not easy to accomplish.

Byline: Rob B. Briner Research into emotion at work and research into well-being at work are similar in that they are both interested in people's feelings at work. However, these two fields are different in many important respects including the disciplines involved, the type of research questions addressed, the methods used, and the level of critical thinking. There is also little mutual influence across these two fields. Several reasons for the differences between the two fields are considered through exploring the motivations of researchers in each field and the history of well-being at work research. Suggestions for how well-being at work research may benefit from exploring the emotion at work field are suggested.