By integrating organizational support theory and social information processing theory, we adopt a psychosocial perspective on group-level perceived organizational support (POS) climate to provide insights into whether and when POS climate level is related to individual performance. Using data from 257 employees across 39 work groups, we demonstrate that POS climate level is positively associated with OCB-I and OCB-O after controlling for individual-level POS. Furthermore, POS climate strength acts as a facilitating moderator, such that the relationships of POS climate level with task performance, OCB-I, and OCB-O are more positive when POS climate strength is higher. Additionally, group task interdependence further moderates the two-way interaction between POS climate level and strength, such that the moderating effect of POS climate strength is amplified in groups with higher task interdependence and inhibited in groups with lower task interdependence. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the study along with its limitations and directions for future research.

One of the most fundamental experiences of deriving positive meaning from work stems from perceptions of task significance. Although interactions with managers and beneficiaries can provide inspirational cues that make the significance of employees' work tasks salient (Grant, 2012, 2008), relying solely on an understanding of these discrete experiences may limit an employee's ability to consistently perceive the significance of work tasks from day to day. To expand understanding of the influences that shape perceptions of daily task significance, we draw on personality systems interaction theory (Kuhl, 2000) to examine the influence of affective shifts. Using a daily diary design over 10 workdays, results from 292 daily observations nested within 38 employees showed that upshifts in positive affect and downshifts in negative affect were positively related to daily task significance. In turn, daily task significance was positively related to helping behaviors and negatively related to work withdrawal. Daily task significance also exhibited an indirect effect on the subsequent workday's start-of-day mood. Employees who perceived high significance today were more likely to start tomorrow off with lower negative mood due to higher helping behaviors the day before and with lower positive mood due to lower work withdrawal the day before. The results yield new insights into the experience of daily task significance and offer significant implications for theory and practice on affect, task significance, and work performance.

Organizations are increasingly speaking out in response to mega-threats, or negative identity-related events that receive extensive media attention. Initial research has shown that stakeholders have mixed reactions to organizational responses to mega-threats, with positive reactions more likely for stakeholders who are ideologically aligned with the response or who share an identity group with the target of the mega-threat. However, attribution theory suggests that variability in stakeholder reactions to organizational responses to mega-threats may also be explained by the reasons that stakeholders believe motivated organizational responses. In an experimental study, 152 participants who took the role of job applicants were more likely to see an organizational response to a race-related mega-threat as self-serving when the organization made a statement but had no history of support for diversity and inclusion. However, both the organizational response to the mega-threat and the organization’s history of support for diversity and inclusion had independent effects on stakeholder beliefs that the response was genuine, with the highest level of genuine attributions occurring for organizations that responded to the mega-threat and had a history of support for diversity and inclusion. While genuine attributions were strongly associated with organizational attraction, the relationship between self-serving attributions and organizational attraction was moderated by pro-diversity beliefs such that self-serving attributions were negatively related to organizational attraction only for those with higher levels of pro-diversity beliefs. These results extend our understanding of stakeholder reactions to organizational responses to mega-threats and provide practical advice for organizations attempting to manage their responses.

Over the last decade, research on positive psychology has skyrocketed. One area in particular that has gained attraction is compassion. In short, compassion is the desire to alleviate suffering, a common yet detrimental aspect to an individual’s personal and professional life. Suffering can take on a variety of forms – from feeling undervalued by your supervisor and organization to grieving the death of a family member. This experience can happen inside the walls of the workplace or spillover from an individual’s personal life. Regardless of where, when, and how an individual suffers, an increasingly important question that is asked is “should businesses care?” (Worline & Dutton, 2017). Many would argue yes, as compassion helps from both a strategic level – increasing an organization’s overall bottom line (Worline & Dutton, 2017) – and an individual level – protecting an employee from negative experiences (Reizer, 2019; Schabram & Heng, 2021) and improving their overall well-being (Zessin, Dickhauser, & Garbade, 2015). Despite that the topic is both “timely and timeless,” it is surprising that there is a lack of attention given to compassion in the workforce. A recent review illustrates that the healthcare industry dominates the majority of research on compassion (Dodson & Heng, 2021). While research in that setting may be important, it is also useful to explore compassion from a business lens. For instance, encouraging compassion in the workplace may appear beneficial, but research on helping professions demonstrates that it can lead to compassion fatigue (Boyatzis, Smith, & Blaize, 2006; Figley, 2002). Thus, an important question to consider is what does compassion mean in the workplace? Does it result in positive organizational outcomes, but come at cost to the individual? Further, the literature on compassion has shown to be empirically messy or inconsistent (Dodson & Heng, 2021). The literature has teased out two components of compassion: self-compassion (kind acts toward the self; Neff, 2003) and other-compassion (kind acts toward others; Lazarus, 1991). The former has been studied as a state (Leary, Tate, Adams, Allen, & Hancock, 2007), trait (Anjum Liang, Durrani, & Parvez, 2020), and process (Schabram & Heng, 2021), while the latter has been conceptualized as a process (Dutton, Workman, & Hardin, 2014). Taken together, these shortcomings pave the way for future research to investigate the implications of compassion in the organizational context and conceptualizations and comparisons of the constructs. This symposium seeks to investigate the role that self- and/or other- compassion play in addressing employee suffering – a common yet understudied area. Our symposium includes five papers that collectively make three important contributions. First, we contribute to the compassion literature by expanding scholars’ knowledge to both the antecedents and consequences of compassion, which shows that compassion can be harnessed in organizations and can benefit the individual employee as well as surrounding employees or a diverse workgroup. Second, we explore various conceptualizations of compassion, which paints a clearer picture on how compassion can be utilized and studied in the workplace. Third, we consider the role that compassion may have for the self and other employees, highlighting both the potential upsides and downsides from an organizational perspective. We hope this symposium will encourage future research and stimulate further discussion around the importance of studying and practicing compassion at work. Clearance to Care: The Impact of Sufferer Self-Compassion on Observer Compassion Presenter: Yu Tse Heng; U. of Virginia Presenter: Charmi Patel; Henley Business School, U. of Reading The Effects of Forgone Identity Preference and Existential Meaning Beliefs on Compassion Presenter: Rachel Burgess; W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State U. When to Care: Self- and Other-Compassion on Citizenship Behavior Presenter: Sara Krivacek; Clemson U. Presenter: Thomas Joseph Zagenczyk; North Carolina State U. Presenter: Kristin L. Scott; College of Business, Clemson U. Presenter: Yannick Griep; Radboud U., Netherlands Exploring the Possible Benefits of Self-Compassion for Interracial Interactions Presenter: Jean-Marc Moke; York U. Presenter: Natalya Alonso; Haskayne School of Business, U. of Calgary Presenter: Brent John Lyons; Schulich School of Business, York U. The Straining Effect of Leader Identity Threat and the Exacerbating Role of Overidentification Presenter: Jordan Nielsen; Purdue U. Presenter: Thomas Ptashnik; U. of Iowa Presenter: Amy E. Colbert; U. of Iowa

Contact with beneficiaries has been described as an important job characteristic for shaping perceptions about the social value of work; however, little is known about how to navigate experiences in which contact with beneficiaries is negative, which can explicitly undermine the conclusion that work is socially valuable. We draw from two tenets of social information processing theory to propose that negative contact with bene-ficiaries has a dual effect on employees. Whereas negative contact may make employees perceive low social worth, it may simultaneously lead employees to believe they are engaging in self-sacrifice for a worthy cause???a relatively positive justification of such experiences. We investigated these ideas in three studies. In Study 1, a three-wave survey of registered nurses and their supervisors supported the hypothesized dual effect. Fur-ther consistent with our theorizing, the effect of perceived self-sacrifice on job satisfac-tion and performance was contingent on coworker emotional support: with higher support, perceived self-sacrifice exhibited a null relationship with satisfaction and a positive relationship with performance; with lower support, these effects were negative. In Study 2, we again studied nurses using an experimental vignette method, showing that negative contact exhibits a causal effect on employee perceptions, and that negative contact is more likely to lead to perceived self-sacrifice when the contact is attributed to the nature of the work versus one???s own performance. In Study 3, a two-wave survey of people from various occupations replicated the effects of negative contact on perceived social worth and perceived self-sacrifice. Moreover, the effect of negative contact on sac-rifice was contingent on affective commitment to beneficiaries.

Experiencing work as a calling has been described as the ideal of a truly positive experience of work. But what we know about how called professionals construct identities as people who are called to their work is incomplete. Discussions about callings are often framed as narratives—stories of people’s callings—yet little is known about how professionals incorporate a wide variety of life events into coherent stories that support their identity claims. To understand this process, we analyzed the narratives of 236 individuals from four professions. We found two ways our participants identified their callings: discernment and exploration. Discerners journeyed toward their destiny, which was their one true calling. Explorers actively searched for work they loved, but destiny played no role. Through a series of lived experiences, called professionals’ identities took shape as they were enacted, with their callings strengthening over time. After identifying their calling, each of these professionals engaged in two crucial processes for integrating self and work as they lived their calling. Like other professionals, called professionals sought legitimacy in their fields by demonstrating mastery and receiving affirmation. Yet their sense of calling simultaneously propelled them to craft personal authenticity through tailoring their own unique enactment of the role.

One of the most challenging features of a managerial role is the exposure individuals have to informal negative feedback from subordinates, peers, and supervisors. Although such feedback is an inevitable component of a manager’s job, we suggest that it can interrupt a manager’s sense of self, or identity, such that their well-being and behavior is negatively affected. Drawing from identity theory and identity perspectives on leadership and stress, this research introduces the phenomenon of leader identity threats— a situation where claims to leadership are not reciprocated through grants of leadership from others. In a two-wave survey of 158 full- time managers from a variety of industries and organizations, we found that managers who experienced leader identity threats to a greater degree in the last year were more likely to experience psychological strain, form intentions to turnover, and self-report negative leader behaviors. Contrary to expectations, support from supervisors did not reduce the negative effects of leader identity threat; indeed, leader identity threat actually negated the positive effects of such support. A third survey employing a critical incidents technique led us to identify four response tactics that managers use to address leader identity threats, including derogating, confessing, teaching, and feedback-seeking. These inductively derived tactics were supplemented by four additional deductively derived responses (withdrawing, shifting, re-framing, and importance change). Finally, through content validation, EFA, and CFA, a scale was developed to measure these eight response tactics. We close by discussing the implications of these findings for organizations, and for future research furthering this line of inquiry.

Research has shown that family motivation exerts an energizing effect on employee performance. Challenging this, we argue that family motivation is a double-edged sword with both an energizing and a debilitating effect on employee performance, depending on the performance criterion in question. Specifically, drawing upon self-determination theory and the "hard work versus smart work" framework, we hypothesize that family motivation is positively related to employee productivity via enhanced work effort (i.e., energizing effect). However, family motivation also stimulates employees to see their jobs as a means to gain financial support for their family, rather than an end in itself, which is associated with lower levels of creativity (i.e., debilitating effect). We further propose that employees' family motivation is higher when they experience higher levels of family financial pressure, and that financial pressure is more strongly related to family motivation for women than for men. We find support for our hypotheses in a sample of 187 low-wage, blue-collar workers and a sample of 439 relatively high-income, white- collar employees. We also conduct a qualitative study with 40 high-income employees; results provide a more nuanced understanding of the ways in which family motivation shapes perceptions of the job and subsequent behaviors and outcomes.

Leaders have often been implicated as having a large influence not only on employee behavior, but also on employee well-being. However, only recently have researchers begun to examine how leader behaviors affect the leader’s own well-being. Indeed, the well-being of a leader would seem to be considered something of an afterthought when it comes to behavioral leadership research, despite the fact that healthy and resilient leaders should be a priority for organizations who want to cultivate management patterns that are sustainable over time. This symposium seeks to continue a research trend toward well-being as important criterion generally, and leader well-being as an important criterion specifically, by expanding our knowledge of how leader behaviors affect a leader’s well-being at work. The Effects of Servant Leadership on Followers' and Leaders' Workload and Emotional Exhaustion Presenter: Florian Scholz; U. of Potsdam Presenter: Robert C Liden; U. of Illinois at Chicago Presenter: Eric Kearney; U. of Potsdam The Influence of Leader Self-Sacrifice on Leader Well-Being: Sacrificial Leadership as a Stressor Presenter: Jordan Nielsen; Purdue U. Presenter: Amy E. Colbert; U. of Iowa Presenter: Michael Montanye; U. of Iowa Am I Being Fair? Implications of Dyadic Justice Agreement for Leader Well-Being and Performance Presenter: Catherine Kleshinski; Purdue U., West Lafayette Presenter: Kelly Schwind Wilson; Purdue U., West Lafayette Presenter: Benjamin B. Dunford; Purdue Leaders' Narcissism and Well-Being: An Empirical Study Presenter: Jeremy Bernerth; San Diego State U.

We conducted a field survey of leaders and their followers to examine factors that moderate the relationship between employee proactive personality and proactive behaviour. As hypothesized, random coefficient modelling analysis showed that two situational factors – transformational leadership and a climate of innovation and flexibility – moderated the relationship between employee proactive personality and proactive behaviour. Conceptually, we draw from situational strength theory to predict the pattern of these interactions. Our findings indicated that organizations desiring proactive employee behaviour would be well advised to take one of three courses of action: select employees with proactive personality who will generally behave proactively regardless of the situation; develop transformational leaders who will motivate, inspire, and support proactive employee behaviour; or cultivate a climate of innovation and flexibility which will create a strong situation that fosters proactivity regardless of employee individual differences.

Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) has been studied for over 40 years in the Management literature and scholars have repeatedly demonstrated its relevance and importance in the organizational context showing significant relationships with almost every leadership outcome variable (Gertsner & Day, 1997). Studies have been conducted across the globe and consistent results have been found, indicating its international importance (Dulebohn et al., 2012; Rockstahl, Dulebohn, Ang, & Shore, 2012). LMX is the 3rd most studied leadership model over the period from 2000-2013 (Dinh et al., 2014), however, even with all of this research, we understand little of emotions in LMX or in leadership in general (Meuser et al., 2016). This panel symposium will provide a forum for scholars to discuss several promising areas of inquiry for future LMX research in the area of affect and complements an upcoming JOB special issue in leadership and affect. We will begin with a keynote style from Herman Tse, (the principle guest editor) and follow with 4 related discussions. Panelists of prominent LMX scholars will discuss innovative topics and current research in the area of LMX and affect in which they are presently engaged. We provide participants an opportunity to network with top LMX scholars in order to advance LMX-affect, and perhaps develop collaborator relationships. Question and answer period, and breakout sessions with these scholars will give opportunities for small group interaction with them.

The well documented academic-practice gap has frequently been viewed as a problem to be solved via evidence-based management. Evidence-based management focuses heavily on aggregating and evaluating research evidence to address practical questions via meta-analysis and other forms of systematic review, as well as educating managers and management students on how to differentiate strong from weak research methods. The assumption has been that if researchers produce stronger research findings and disseminate them in manager- and student-accessible venues, the results will be believed and implemented if appropriate to the context. However, these strategies alone are woefully insufficient, as a growing body of evidence suggests that even when individuals are aware of research findings supported by a vast majority of studies, they often choose not to believe them. Sources of this disbelief include growing public distrust of academics, scientific research, and professional expertise in general, as well as negative emotional reactions to specific research findings that threaten people's cherished beliefs, self-image, self-interest, or social identity. This editorial takes an interdisciplinary approach to explain why people might not believe management research findings and offers strategies for increasing public trust of academics and reducing resistance to self-threatening research findings.

We conducted a field survey of leaders and their followers to examine factors that moderate the relationship between employee proactive personality and proactive behaviour. As hypothesized, random coefficient modelling analysis showed that two situational factors – transformational leadership and a climate of innovation and flexibility – moderated the relationship between employee proactive personality and proactive behaviour. Conceptually, we draw from situational strength theory to predict the pattern of these interactions. Our findings indicated that organizations desiring proactive employee behaviour would be well advised to take one of three courses of action: select employees with proactive personality who will generally behave proactively regardless of the situation; develop transformational leaders who will motivate, inspire, and support proactive employee behaviour; or cultivate a climate of innovation and flexibility which will create a strong situation that fosters proactivity regardless of employee individual differences.Practitioner points The modern workplace often demands that employees behave proactively, and our research shows that there are multiple strategies organizations can implement to facilitate employee proactive behaviour. In particular, our study reveals three ways for organizations to facilitate proactive employee behaviour: (1) recruit and select employees who are high in proactive personality, who will be more apt to naturally engage in proactive behaviour; (2) hire or train leaders to be transformational since transformational leaders will bring about proactive employee behaviour; or (3) create a climate that rewards innovation and flexibility as such a climate will encourage proactive employee behaviour.

The pursuit of meaning generally (Frankl, 1965), as well as in work roles (Rosso, Dekas, & Wrzesniewksi, 2010), has received increasing attention from both scholars and laypersons alike (Twenge, 2013).As individuals seek for meaning in work to see themselves positively (Dutton, Roberts, & Bednar, 2010) and to experience work as intrinsically motivating (Ryan & Deci, 2000), organizations seek meaning-driven employees, who tend to perform better (Grant, 2008) and exhibit higher commitment to their organization (Thompson & Bunderson, 2003; Grant, Dutton, & Rosso, 2008; Humphrey, Nahrgang, & Morgeson, 2007). Notwithstanding the extant body of research, additional questions need to be answered in order to more fully grasp the various ways that work becomes viewed as meaningful. This symposium seeks to build our understanding of the meaning of work by gathering scholars from a number of different topic areas, using both inductive and deductive methods. In doing so, we hope to highlight the diversity of influences that shape the meaning of work, and the importance of infusing work with positive meaning.

Work as strictly business is an outdated idea: office friendships serve a growing number of functions in our lives, write Amy E. Colbert, Joyce E. Bono and Radostina (Ina) K. Purvanova