Joint effects of job demands and job resources on vocational teachers’ innovative work behavior

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate interactions of job demands and job resources in the facilitation of innovative work behavior (IWB). In particular, the paper aims at researching interactive effects of psychological empowerment and participative safety and their potential to buffer negative effects of job demands. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional questionnaire study with 239 vocational teachers was carried out. For hypotheses testing, multiple linear regression models were analyzed. Findings The study provides evidence for psychological empowerment and participative safety as individual and interactive predictors of IWB. Furthermore, the findings indicate that effects of job demands are substantially more positive when psychological empowerment is high and, conversely, when participative safety is low. Research limitations/implications Future studies should address the issues of the current study using a longitudinal approach and additional data sources. Moreover, concerning generalizability, future studies could move beyond the current study context of innovative vocational colleges and teachers. Practical implications The paper highlights the importance of creating resourceful work environments, which empower employees and provide fellowship and minority acceptance. Furthermore, the findings call for paying attention to individually varying perceptions of job demands and corresponding needs for compensatory job resources. Originality/value The study adds to closing the gap of lacking insight into interactions among established predictors of IWB. In particular, this regards interactions among demanding and resourceful characteristics of the work environment that need to be balanced in order to activate proactive behaviors such as IWB.

Improving communication among healthcare workers: a controlled study

Purpose – This paper aims to test the effects on aspects of workplace communication relevant to teamwork, and social support, in hospital units, of a dialog training (DT) intervention based on knowledge of key quality aspects related to interpersonal work-related communication among healthcare workers. Design/methodology/approach – A cluster randomized controlled study conducted among approximately 300 Swedish healthcare workers employed at ten hospital units. Workplace communication was measured in the form of participative safety, trust/openness, and social support. Effects were tested at three-month and six-month follow-ups. Repeated measurements were made. Findings – The results indicated that DT had a positive influence on participative safety and social support from managers. A positive tendency was observed for trust/openness. Originality/value – Developing and practicing good staff communication in hospital units is an important area for interventions designed to improve job performance and health.

Creative Contribution of Individuals in Groups: Effects of Goal Orientation and Participative Safety

We proposed a construct of creative contribution, which expands the existing focus on creative performance as an isolated individual effort for generating creative ideas. Creative contribution comprises 3 components: the generation of creative ideas by an individual in a group, helping the creative performance of other group members, and stimulating the creative energy of other group members. A multilevel analysis of data from 37 teams consisting of 147 individuals showed that creative contribution was increased by learning goal orientation and decreased by performance goal orientation. A significant 3-way interaction indicated that participative safety attenuated the negative effect of performance goal orientation on creative contribution, particularly when learning goal orientation was low. The significance of multilevel dynamics between individual dispositions and social context in shaping the creative contribution of group members is highlighted in this study.

Team Climate Inventory with a Merged Organization

The present study examines the team climate for innovation in work teams within a newly merged organization. Four teams working at a regional head office of a Social Insurance organization answered the Team Climate Inventory. The results were compared to those of a study by Agrell and Gustafson of more stable teams. The comparison showed that participative safety and support for innovation were rated lower and that vision was rated higher in the newly merged teams. The 38-item original inventory was used and based on the results, a 1999 proposed shortened version of 14 items by Kivimäki and Elovainio was compared with the original one. Analysis indicated that the short version can be a valid alternative to the original version but that further testing of the short version is needed.