Ideology and the Economic Social Contract in a Downsizing Environment

1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 659-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
George W. Watson ◽  
Jon M. Shepard ◽  
Carroll U. Stephens ◽  
John C. Christman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
The United States ◽  
Human Resource Practices ◽  
Research Framework ◽  
Empirical Social Science ◽  
Organizational Downsizing ◽  
Differential Expectations

Abstract:By combining normative philosophy and empirical social science, we craft a research framework for assessing differential expectations embodied in normative conceptions of the economic social contract in the United States. We argue that there are distinct views of such a contract grounded in individualist and communitarian philosophical ideologies. We apply this framework to organizational downsizing, postulating that certain human resource practices, in combination with the respective ideological orientations, will affect perceptions of the justice of downsizing policies.

An exploratory survey measuring burnout among academic librarians in the southeast of the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (8/9) ◽  
pp. 703-715
Author(s):  
Monica Colon-Aguirre ◽  
Katy Kavanagh Webb
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Sample Population ◽  
Human Resource Practices ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Academic Institutions ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThe main purpose of this work is to uncover and identify the issues that academic librarians consider important in the attainment of work–life balance. This work will focus on exploring their experiences with different dimensions of burnout.Design/methodology/approachThe topic of burnout is explored by analyzing the results of a survey based on the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), which was distributed among librarians at a group academic institutions that are members of the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL).FindingsThe findings of this study do not demonstrate evidence of burnout among the sample population. However, the results do present plenty of opportunities for further exploration such as the relationship between burnout and personal factors, including LGBTQA + status and race or ethnic minority status.Research limitations/implicationsFurther exploration of the topic of burnout should be followed up with more qualitative studies, especially those employing interviews.Practical implicationsImprovement of human resource practices, which reduces the incidence of burnout among academic librarians, is something that can only be accomplished at the organizational level. Human resource practices can create a work environment that enhances productivity by improving the quality of life of employees.Originality/valueThis work explores and assesses academic librarian burnout, among those working in academic institutions in the southeastern United States. To date, no study has been undertaken that looks at burnout across broad types of work performed by academic librarians and librarians at different institutions.

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