This study explores the perceptions and experiences of Human Resources managers and restaurant operational employees regarding inclusion in the workplace, examining how these organisational positions shape different interpretations of inclusion, integrating Social Exchange and Social Identity Theories as interpretive lenses to understand the dynamics of justice, belonging, and identity in complex organisations. Qualitative approach, interpretive paradigm, case study at Arcos Dorados in Brazil, with 27 interviews conducted with restaurant operational employees and HR managers. Use of reflexive thematic analysis grounded and open to the construction of emerging interpretations. The analysis indicates both convergence and differences between employees and managers regarding the importance of sensitive leadership, organisational support, and formal inclusion practices for belonging. While employees highlight everyday experiences of listening and recognition, managers emphasize the institutionalization of inclusion through policies and indicators. Critical integration of two classic social theories to understand inclusion based on lived experiences, highlighting how organisational position shapes interpretations of inclusion practices, extending its analysis beyond the organisational environment. As a case study, the findings are contextual and not generalizable. Future research can deepen the analysis of inclusion by incorporating face-to-face interviews, participant observation, and different organisational contexts. The article supports the review of Human Resources policies and practices by aligning inclusion strategies with the real experiences of employees and HR managers, promoting fairness, belonging, and organisational social responsibility.
The current paper seeks to develop and test a serial mediation model linking employees’ unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) and their consequent pro-self and pro-customer deviance. Drawing upon moral balancing theory and cognitive appraisal theory of emotion, we examine the moral licensing effect of employee UPB on their organizational deviance through psychological entitlement and hubristic pride. Simultaneously, we investigate the moral cleansing effect of employee UPB on their pro-customer rule breaking via perceived loss of moral credits and feelings of guilt. Additionally, we examine the moderating role of external attribution of UPB on the aforementioned indirect effects. The results based on 340 full-time employees and their supervisors support the proposed serial mediated relationships. The findings further indicate that the strength of those indirect effects varies depending on employees’ external attribution of UPB. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Most employees who describe harassment, dishonesty, or breaches of dignity in their own words do not label their experience as “value conflict” when asked directly — and many never report it through formal channels. This paradox motivates the present study, which uses within-survey cross-format triangulation to examine whether closed-ended declarations of value conflict capture the same phenomenon employees articulate narratively, and whether formal reporting tracks one or both formats. Data are from a CAWI sample of 300 employees in Poland whose most recent organisational entry occurred within twelve months of survey administration. Each respondent provided a closed-ended declaration of value conflict and an open-ended narrative of their worst fit experience; a structured codebook coded narratives for articulated value-related misalignment, with reliability verified through independent double coding (Cohen’s κ = 0.593; Gwet’s AC1 = 0.652). Narrative-evident misalignment was present in 23.9
This study examines how job-related stress, employee attitudes, and meaningful work are associated with work–family conflict (WFC) through the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) model. Data were collected from 396 employees across two survey waves, allowing for the temporal separation of predictors, mediator, and outcomes. Job stress was measured through time pressure and anxiety, employee attitudes included loyalty, exit, voice, neglect, and cynicism, and meaningful work was captured through positive meaning, meaning making, and greater good motivation. Results demonstrated that job stress was positively correlated with WFC, consistent with the JD–R health impairment pathway. Exit attitudes were also associated with higher WFC, whereas other attitudes showed weaker or inconsistent links. Meaningful work played a dual role: in some pathways it buffered the negative effects of stress, while in others it signaled heightened conflict through overcommitment. Mediation analyses revealed that meaningful work partially explained the relationships between stress, attitudes, and WFC.
Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act allows for workers with disabilities in the United States to be paid below the federal minimum wage. In recent years, several states have banned the use of 14(c) certificates. Using Current Population Survey data and staggered difference-in-difference approaches, we estimate the effect of policies banning subminimum wages on various labor market outcomes for people with disabilities. Ultimately, we find very little effects in terms of labor force participation rate, poverty rates, wages, and hours but we do find that banning 14(c) certificates seems to increase instances of unemployment among workers with disabilities. However, our findings highlight a significant measurement mismatch between national household surveys and the specific subpopulation affected by 14(c) certificates. These results underscore the limitations of using the Current Population Survey to evaluate targeted disability labor policies, as treatment effects are likely diluted within a broad, population-level definition of disability.
This study examines the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Positive Human Resource Management (PHRM) and introduces a novel framework for AI-augmented PHRM. The research identifies key factors and integrates AI-driven HRM functions that aim to enhance employee well-being and improve organizational effectiveness. A comprehensive literature review was conducted using text mining to identify critical variables. This was followed by a two-round Fuzzy Delphi study to reach consensus among experts. Forty-two key factors were identified and categorized into eight core functions of AI-enhanced PHRM. The study proposes the AI-augmented PHRM framework, which incorporates eight AI-driven HRM functions: strategic management, controlling, directing, planning, development, compensation, change management, and retention. These functions are structured within a positivity-driven HRM paradigm, focusing on both data-driven decision-making and the promotion of employee flourishing. This research contributes a unique AI-augmented PHRM framework, offering organizations a structured approach to integrate AI into HRM practices. The framework supports the promotion of employee well-being, enhances organizational performance, and ensures ethical AI governance. The findings provide valuable insights for HR professionals, researchers, and policymakers aiming to optimize AI-driven HRM strategies to improve workforce performance while maintaining a focus on fairness and inclusivity.
The rapid adoption of generative AI, exemplified by ChatGPT, has sparked intense debate regarding its dual impact on organizational behavior. While it promises enhanced productivity, it also introduces significant cognitive and adaptational demands. Addressing this tension, this study investigates the impact of generative AI application on employee bootleg innovation, which is defined as a form of concealed and unauthorized innovation. Moving beyond the traditional focus on formal innovation, we employ the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model to uncover a dual-path mechanism. Based on multi-phase survey data from 305 employees, the findings reveal that generative AI acts as a unique job resource that facilitates concealed and independent ideation, thereby promoting bootleg innovation by enhancing work engagement. Conversely, acting as a job demand, the cognitive load and vigilant burden associated with AI application increase job burnout, which subsequently inhibits bootleg innovation. Furthermore, entrepreneurial leadership, functioning as a critical resource within organizations, moderates these pathways. It strengthens the positive effect of generative AI on work engagement and buffers the cognitive strain leading to job burnout. This moderation extends to the indirect effects, enhancing the gain path and weakening the loss path. Overall, this study highlights the “double-edged sword” nature of generative AI, providing valuable theoretical and practical insights for managing emergent and concealed innovation behaviors within AI-integrated work environments.
This study introduces and validates a novel instrument for assessing implicit organizational relationship beliefs (IOR). Using a sequential mixed-method design, the research began with a qualitative exploration of leaders’ lived experiences, which revealed eight IOR: growth, destiny, intimacy, structure, developmental, functional, person-centered, and task-centered. These beliefs clustered into four relational belief dimensions, each capturing two theoretically contrasting yet potentially coexisting orientations (e.g., growth- and destiny-oriented beliefs). Based on these insights, a 32-item scale was developed and validated using survey data from 722 organizational members (312 for EFA; 410 for CFA), with 797 participants across all phases, including interviews, expert reviews, and pilot testing. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the four-factor structure and the distinctiveness of the orientations represented within each dimension. The instrument demonstrated strong reliability (subscale αs = 0.79–0.88; overall α = 0.91) and criterion-related validity through significant correlations with job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and conflict management. By extending implicit relationship theories to the organizational domain, this research offers both theoretical and practical contributions, providing scholars with a robust framework for studying relational cognition and offering HR practitioners actionable insights for leadership development and organizational climate improvement.
The rapid development of STARA (Smart Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Algorithms) technologies is reshaping the labor market, requiring more proactive and responsible job-seeking behavior. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), this study builds an integrated model to analyze the impact of STARA awareness on responsible job-seeking behavior, while examining the mediating role of career decidedness and the moderating role of generational differences (Gen Y and Gen Z). A quantitative survey was conducted with 400 employees in Vietnam; data was processed through SPSS to test reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha), exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and correlation, followed by structural equation modeling (SEM) on AMOS to test the hypotheses. The results show that STARA awareness positively affects responsible job-seeking behavior, in which career decidedness plays a prominent mediating role. However, generational factors do not moderate this relationship. This may be due to the fact that both generations are growing up in the same context of strong digitalization, leading to similar perceptions of professional responsibility in the face of technological impact. The study contributes to clarifying the mechanism of ethical career behavior in the digital transformation era, and provides useful suggestions for vocational education, public policy, and human resource management.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether, how and when direct manager phubbing, defined as the snubbing of someone in a social or work setting by paying attention to one’s mobile phone rather than engaging in communication with the individual directly, influences two deviant employee outcomes - task withdrawal and procrastination. We specifically investigate the mediating role of moral disengagement and the moderating role of employee age and level within the organization. We utilized affective events theory (AET) and moral disengagement theory (MDT) to underpin our hypotheses. We gathered data from 251 service employees in organizations using a three-stage time-lagged research design. We found a direct positive relationship between direct manager phubbing and both task withdrawal and employee procrastination and that moral disengagement acts as a mediator of these relationships. We additionally found that age moderates both the direct relationship between direct manager phubbing and moral disengagement and the indirect relationship between direct manager phubbing and both negative employee outcomes via moral disengagement. These relationships were stronger in the case of younger employees. The findings for the moderating role of employee level indicates that the higher the level of the employee the weaker the direct and indirect relationships are. The study findings highlight important practical implications for organizations and the detrimental impact of direct manager phubbing for two negative employee outcomes. It also highlights that younger and lower-level employees are more susceptible to the negative impacts of direct manager phubbing.
This research paper investigates the presence and dynamics of child labor within the labor process of the handloom sector in West Bengal, India, through the theoretical lens of Marxian political economy. The study develops a comprehensive theoretical framework that synthesizes Marx's labor process theory with empirical observations to conceptualize how children are incorporated into handloom production under different institutional arrangements in a transitional economy. Drawing upon primary data collected from handloom households across five districts of West Bengal, encompassing children engaged in handloom activities, the research examines the contradictory nature of child labor at the intersection of pre-capitalist and capitalist production relations. The theoretical framework establishes that the labor process in handloom weaving exhibits distinctive patterns of child incorporation through the dialectical interaction of the three elements identified by Marx: the subject of labor (handloom activities), instruments of labor (means of production), and human activity (labor categories and ownership types). Statistical analysis validates this framework, demonstrating that children predominantly engage in specific production processes with lower skill requirements, following age-based progression pathways through task hierarchies. The research identifies three primary institutional arrangements household production, the Mahajan (merchant-financier) system, and independent production that create significantly different conditions for child labor utilization, with the Mahajan system associated with greater labor intensity, higher educational disruption, and increased economic dependency. This analysis offers critical insights relevant to SDG Target 8.7's aim to eliminate child labor. The research reveals how various entrepreneurial structures in the handloom sector from exploitative Mahajan arrangements to more balanced cooperative models differently impact children's participation, suggesting pathways for intervention. By examining how institutional transformations could preserve cultural knowledge transmission while eliminating exploitative practices, the study contributes to understanding how entrepreneurial restructuring might align traditional sectors with decent work objectives. The theoretical synthesis advances our understanding of how pre-capitalist and capitalist elements interact in transitional economies, creating hybrid forms of labor processes that contain both skill apprenticeship and exploitative elements, providing a framework for developing nuanced policy approaches that address economic vulnerabilities while supporting sustainable entrepreneurship and cultural heritage preservation.
Drawing on the Conservation of Resources theory, this study examines a moderated mediation model to uncover how high-performance work systems (HPWS) influence employee work alienation. We advance a model where HPWS reduces work alienation directly but simultaneously exacerbates it through the mediating mechanism of psychological distress. Data were collected through a three-wave, time-lagged design (four-week intervals) from 524 managerial employees in Pakistan’s banking sector. Hypotheses were analyzed using Hayes’s PROCESS macro to estimate the direct, indirect, and conditional effects. Results reveal that while HPWS has a significant direct negative effect on work alienation, it also triggers resource depletion, increasing alienation via psychological distress. This means while HPWS provides structural resources, it simultaneously imposes cognitive costs. Furthermore, the findings support the moderated mediation model, identifying promotion focus as a critical boundary condition. Specifically, the positive relationship between psychological distress and work alienation, as well as the indirect effect of HPWS on alienation, are potent and significant for employees with low promotion focus. Conversely, for those with high promotion focus, these relationships become non-significant, suggesting that a high promotion focus acts as a vital psychological buffer, which does not necessarily eliminate distress but prevents it from degenerating into alienation. This study suggests that organizations should prioritize systemic wellness programs and support mechanisms tailored to employees who may lack the proactive motivational resources to navigate intensive work environments.
This study examines the impact of COVID-19 on gender disparities in the U.S. labor market using data from the American Household Pulse Survey. It reveals that the pandemic exacerbated income disparities, particularly affecting women, especially in caregiving roles and with lower educational attainment. While the gender gap in income was more pronounced in the pandemic’s early stages, it narrowed over time. The research highlights the persistent gender inequalities in the labor market and underscores the need for targeted policy interventions, especially in sectors with notable disparities, to foster a more equitable workforce.
As obesity rates rise globally, employers are increasingly called upon to make employment decisions involving obese candidates. These decisions should be based on evidence, and not mere assumptions about obese employees. This study is the first to investigate the relationship between employee weight and both voluntary and involuntary turnover behavior using a nationally representative, longitudinal sample. Using survival analysis, we found that employee weight is negatively related to voluntary turnover and unrelated to involuntary turnover. Additionally, we found that health-related work limitations partially mediate the relationship between weight and involuntary turnover. However, there appear to be countervailing influences that offset the positive effect of health-related work limitations on involuntary turnover. Job satisfaction does not function as a mediator. Theoretical implications are discussed, and future research directions are suggested.
Employee rewards are powerful tools for motivating and retaining employees. However, the perceived value by employees can often differ from the original intent, leading to dissatisfied recipients. This conceptual paper operationalizes symbolic interactionism theory to bridge the gap between intended and perceived meanings of non-monetary rewards and introduces the Meaningful Employee Reward Framework (MERF). MERF is iterative and consists of four stages to analyze rewards and their symbolic meanings: identification, contextualization, communication, and evaluation. MERF is a tool to engage employees in co-constructing shared understanding about the value of employee rewards, resulting in aligned value perception and enhanced appreciation and motivational impact. This paper discusses MERF’s theoretical foundations, practical implications, and directions for future research, positioning it as a tool to optimize non-monetary reward systems within the complex context of modern organizations facing high turnover and evolving work arrangements. While MERF requires empirical testing and may face implementation challenges due to its conceptual nature, it centers the employee experience and offers a novel approach to addressing critical issues in employee motivation and retention.
Employee engagement is critical for healthcare organizations facing evolving market demands. Despite its recognized importance, limited research has examined its antecedents and outcomes among healthcare professionals in emerging markets, particularly in China, where cultural and institutional contexts differ from Western settings. Consequently, this study investigates employee engagement among Chinese healthcare workers. Using a critical incident technique, this study conducts semi-structured interviews with 251 healthcare professionals from four tertiary hospitals in Shanghai, China. Findings classify engagement antecedents into two levels: individual level (i.e., physical and psychological conditions, career development, and workplace empowerment) and interpersonal level (i.e., professional relationships with supervisors and colleagues and leadership behavior). Engagement further influences outcomes such as job crafting, career progression constraints, collaborative decision-making, workplace tensions, and perceptions of micromanagement. Results also highlight the role of psychological resilience in enabling healthcare workers to adapt to challenges and overcome adversity.
Although the beneficial outcomes of leader–member exchange (LMX) and servant leadership have been acknowledged in the literature, there is still a lack of research examining how these two variables jointly affect job satisfaction. Moreover, the role of organizational justice as a mediator in this relationship has not been sufficiently examined. This study examines the impact of LMX and servant leadership on employee job satisfaction, focusing on the mediating role of distributive and interactional justice. To achieve the research goal, self-administered questionnaires were distributed to employees working in non-governmental organizations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The sample size was 235 respondents, who were selected using a simple random sampling method. Structural equation modelling with Amos 20 software was used to examine the hypotheses. The results showed that neither LMX nor servant leadership has a direct effect on job satisfaction. However, both distributive justice and interactional justice have significant positive effects on job satisfaction. Furthermore, LMX has a significant positive effect on interactional justice but does not significantly influence distributive justice. In contrast, servant leadership significantly and positively affects both distributive justice and interactional justice. Finally, it was found that interactional justice fully mediates the relationship between LMX and job satisfaction, whereas distributive justice does not mediate this relationship. In addition, both distributive justice and interactional justice fully mediate the relationship between servant leadership and job satisfaction. Accordingly, LMX and servant leadership have an indirect effect on job satisfaction through specific dimensions of organizational justice: distributive and interactional justice. This research has important theoretical and practical implications for researchers and practitioners.
The concept of exploitative leadership - managers who act in self-interest while maintaining a facade of friendliness - has gained increasing scholarly attention. Yet, most research remains quantitative and focused on traditional work environments, leaving a limited understanding of exploitative leadership in qualitative and remote work contexts. We do not know: (1) employees‘ perceptions of the term “exploitative leadership”; (2) employees’ feelings and responses to exploitative leadership in remote settings; (3) contexts in which exploitative leadership is likely to occur across traditional, remote, and hybrid work; (4) managers´ and employees’ awareness of such behavior; and (5) strategies or technologies that might help mitigate exploitative leadership. To explore these questions, three online focus groups were conducted: Group 1 (little to no experience working remotely), Group 2 (some experience, such as occasional home office work), and Group 3 (frequent and sustained experience, including regular home office work), with five to six participants each, representing diverse professional backgrounds. Thematic analysis revealed five overarching themes: perceptions of exploitative leadership; employees’ feelings and responses; instances of exploitative leadership; awareness of behaviors; and coping strategies. Findings indicate that hierarchical remote work settings – where leaders face performance pressure or stress – pose a heightened risk of exploitative behavior. Moreover, reduced interaction may require employees to voice concerns more proactively. Overall, the study extends the understanding of exploitative leadership in remote and hybrid work and lays groundwork for future quantitative validation.
This conceptual paper develops an employee-centred framework for understanding meaninglessness at work and its implications for employment relations. Drawing primarily on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the paper conceptualises meaninglessness as a distinct evaluative stance in which employees judge their work as not worth doing because core psychological needs are chronically frustrated. The manuscript argues that chronic frustration of autonomy, competence, relatedness, and beneficence gives rise to four manifestations of meaninglessness: powerlessness, estrangement, social disconnection, and pointlessness. A typology combining appraisal orientation (self- versus other-oriented) and perceived agency is then developed as a dynamic explanatory model showing how employees enter, remain in, and move between meaninglessness profiles over time, and why these profiles predict different patterns of voice, withdrawal, and exit. The paper contributes to research on meaningful work and employment relations by clarifying conceptual boundaries, specifying a temporally sensitive mechanism linking episodic threats to chronic meaninglessness, and identifying actionable levers for job design, leadership, and employee voice.
