The Journal of applied psychology
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Teams often confront exogenous events that induce discontinuous change and unsettle existing routines. In the immediate aftermath of such events (the disruption stage), teams experience a dip in their performance and only over time regain their previous performance levels (in the recovery stage). We argue that prohibitive voice that allows teams to manage errors better is instrumental for preventing performance losses in the disruption stage. ⋯ We also propose that voice is especially functional when teams confront higher change intensity and, thereby, highlight that voice is particularly important when change events cause greater discontinuity in the task environment. We found general support for our theory in a correlational field study involving 172 production teams in which we examined over time trajectories in objective team performance, and a field experiment involving 88 teams in a different production setting, where team members were trained, incentivized, and provided opportunities to engage in voice. We discuss the implications of our findings for literature on voice, team adaptation, and resilience. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Voice-or the expression of ideas, concerns, or opinions on work issues by employees-can help organizations thrive. However, we highlight that men and women differ in their voice self-efficacy, or the personal confidence in formulating and articulating work-related viewpoints. Such differences, we argue, can impede women's voice from emerging at work. ⋯ Hence, we point to the potential absence of women leaders who can role model speaking up at work as a likely inhibiter of women's voice. Using data from a correlational field study involving 368 employees and their leaders from a variety of industries in India and an experimental study in an online panel of 546 US-based workers, we found support for our hypotheses. We discuss the implications of our research for theory and practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Whereas meta-analytical research draws a relatively unfavorable picture of the usefulness of self-presentation on the job, our study challenges this view by highlighting the benefits of such behaviors during newcomer socialization. Drawing from social influence theory, the current study examines how and when newcomers' self-presentation, in the form of ingratiation and self-promotion, facilitates their socialization success (indicated by affective commitment, job performance, and promotability) by shaping their supervisors' relational and work-based socialization efforts. Data from a time-lagged field study of 355 newcomer-supervisor dyads provided support for the proposed model. ⋯ Additionally, self-promotion was positively related to supervisor work-based socialization effort, which in turn was positively related to newcomer job performance and promotability. Drawing on social influence theory's notion that characteristics related to the influencer may further affect self-presentation effectiveness, we found that newcomers' interpersonal influence and work role clarity weakened the positive effects of newcomer self-presentation on supervisor socialization efforts. These findings illustrate how newcomers can achieve desirable socialization outcomes by enacting social influence on organizational insiders with self-presentation, extending the literatures on both self-presentation and newcomer socialization. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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When employees use public settings such as team meetings to engage in voice-the expression of work ideas or concerns, they can spur useful discussions, action planning, and problem solving. However, we make the case that managers, whose support is essential for voice to have a functional impact, are averse to publicly expressed voice and prefer acting on voice that is privately brought up to them in one-on-one settings. ⋯ Across five studies (correlational and experimental), we find support for our arguments and rule out alternative explanations such as that managers are aversive to public voice because it threatens their ego or that managers feel more accountable to act on publicly provided input. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory and practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Delegation is a critical tool for busy managers. Early delegation research suggests that managers are reluctant to delegate beyond a few highly competent employees or those with whom they have a strong relationship. Extending this line of research, we integrate signaling theory with a view of social networks as "prisms," to demonstrate the relevance of employees' network ties in the work unit for delegation. ⋯ These network ties, however, do not matter for delegation decisions when there are direct data to indicate that employees are highly competent or clearly poor performers. Our lab studies elucidate the mediating role of perceived reputation. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).