Leading Virtual Teams: An Investigation of Leadership and Structural Supports
Virtual teams are becoming increasingly necessary as work teams interact across geographical lines and cultures. Established models of leadership are much harder in this context, but various solutions may help counter the difficulty of leading a virtual team. New research shows that shared leadership and supplemental structural supports may help enhance performance, mitigating some of the difficulties associated with virtual leadership. [Read More]
The Secret Recipe for Good Workplace Conflict
Job conflict sounds like a bad thing. But when the circumstances are right, conflict leads to an exchange of valuable information and eventually increased job satisfaction. This new study examines the conditions under which these positive outcomes occur, and provides useful directives for how leaders can harness the positive effects of workplace conflict. [Read More]
Employee Start Time: Does the Early Bird Get the Worm?
Most of the time, we assume that early morning individuals are perceived more positively than their late-rising counterparts due to being evaluated as more productive and responsible. A new study in the Journal of Applied Psychology specifically examines how employees’ start times relate to the perception of their work ethics and subsequent supervisor performance ratings. [Read More]
Are You Managing and Keeping Your Star Performers?
In the evolving workforce of the 21st century, there is a tendency for star performers to produce a disproportionate amount of output compared to the average performer. Despite this trend there has been very little shift in how we treat and manage star performers, often treating and paying them the same as average performers. The result is higher turnover among stars. How important are star performers and what can we do to better manage and retain them? [Read More]
Is More Status Inherently Better? Investigating Performance After Status Loss
Is having higher status always the best thing for greater performance outcomes? A new study examines how status loss affects the performance of both high and low status individuals. Researchers found that those with higher status are more likely to experience decreases in the quality of their performance, possibly due to the threat to their self-concept brought about by losing status. [Read More]
The Pitfalls of Inconsistent Leader Behavior
Can bosses rectify bad leader behavior by suddenly becoming extra nice? Research shows that this kind of inconsistency could actually be a detriment to employee health. Only employees with high self-esteem or high “quality of work life” will be able to cope with such inconsistency and benefit from the boss’s quick turnaround. [Read More]
Top 5 Most Popular Article Reviews – June 2014
I/O AT WORK’s Top 5 most popular article reviews for June 2014. Includes article reviews on Diversity, Stereotypes, Work Teams, Deceptive Candidates and more! [Read More]
The Negative Effects of Knowledge Hiding on Organizational Trust and Creativity
A new study finds that hiding information from colleagues has deep implications for any organization. Individuals who hide pertinent information will soon find their actions reciprocated, ultimately creating a distrust loop. In the end, this cycle limits creativity within an organization, but having the correct organizational environment can help stimulate creativity and reduce an employee’s desire to hide information with colleagues. [Read More]
Working Abroad- How to Help Employees Weather the Storm
Many employees are being sent on overseas assignments these days. Some start off working well in foreign cultures, but don’t maintain their adjustment levels over time, while others never perform as well as they did back home. A new study shows that initial motivation and psychological empowerment are crucial to the process, but interact with different kinds of stressors to affect performance in both positive and negative ways. [Read More]
Breaking the Mold: How Challenging Gender Stereotypes Reduces Bias
It’s a well-known fact that gender stereotyping has historically played a role in organizational leadership selection. But a new study suggests that job candidates who do not fit the stereotypical mold are viewed more objectively, resulting in more fair decisions during the selection process. The research suggests that exposure to those that break the stereotypical mold can also provide inspiration for other women. [Read More]
