Employees Misbehave When They Are Bored

2011 October 22 By

Bruursemaa, Kesslerb, and Spector (2011) conducted a study in which they found that employees who were bored are more likely to also misbehave. Previously, counterproductive work behavior (CWB) were viewed as made up of five types: abuse against others, production deviance, sabotage, withdrawal, and theft.

In this study, the researchers added a sixth type, horseplay. Bruursemaa, Kesslerb, and Spector (2011) studied responses from 211 participants recruited via email in North America. They discovered that being prone to boredom (boredom proneness) and job boredom was strongly associated with certain types of counterproductive work behavior (CWB).

This is actually not surprising to me. In my previous job consulting with educators about classroom management, special education issues, and students with behavioral problems, one of the first things I do when I observe students in the classroom is to watch what they do when they are bored. It never fails because once boredom kicks in, whether it’s because the task is too easy, too hard, uninteresting, etc., the student will almost certainly find a way to misbehave.

Reference

Bruursemaa, K., Kesslerb, S. R., & Spector, P. E. (2011). Bored employees misbehaving: The relationship between boredom and counterproductive work behavior. Work & Stress, 25(2), 93-107. doi:10.1080/02678373.2011.596670

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Filed Under: Attitudes & Emotions, Coaching, Coaching Psychology, Executive Coaching, Happy & Unhappy, Meaningful Work, Organizational Psychology, Teams, Training & Development Tagged With: , , , , , ,

In Memoriam of John N. Jonsson, Baylor University’s Emeritus Professor of Religion

2011 October 13 By

I was looking through the Fall 2011 issue of Baylor Magazine, a magazine sent to all students and alumni of Baylor University and saw the obituary for Dr. John N. Jonsson (1925-2011), a professor I had for a class in world religions back in 1992. He was and always will be, at least in my mind, the Jack Palance-esque professor. He was tall and had a strong physique. He also had a death-grip of a handshake. In between teaching us about the different religions of the world, Dr. Jonsson would do one arm push-ups in class. I think he was already in his late 60′s at the time! But it wasn’t his physical strength or classroom theatrics that caught my attention, rather, it was his words.

I still remember what he told us:

“You cannot help people if you’re standing over them and kicking them.”

It’s simple really. If you put yourself above others, you will never understand their plight and, thus, will never be effective in working with them to assist them in resolving their problems. His teachings transcended religion. Instead, it was about respecting others and seeking justice and fairness.

The short tribute to Dr. Jonsson in Baylor Magazine paints a picture of a man who not only talked the talk, but walked it. The son of Scandinavian parents, he was born in Natal, South Africa. Dr. Jonsson was a South African pastor and scholar who was actively involved in protesting apartheid. In 1985, he was the only Baptist minister to sign the Kairos Document (it called on all churches to demand that the government gave equal rights to all South Africans). In 1989, he was one of a few white citizens of South Africa invited to attend the first Conference for a Democratic Future in South Africa, which led to the release of Nelson Mandela from prison.

Dr. Jonsson died May 26, 2011 at his home in South Africa. He was 86. Although I only had him for one class and it was 19 years ago, I was touched by his teaching, his kindness and sense of humor, and most of all, his passion for justice. I will miss him.

Links

Baylor Magazine (Fall 2011). Alumni News & Updates. John N. Jonsson (p. 62). Also retrieved from http://www.baylor.edu/alumni/magazine/1001/news.php?action=story&story=101593

Baylor Mourns Death of Emeritus Professor of Religion John Jonsson. Retrieved from http://www.baylor.edu/pr/news.php?action=story&story=94875

Further Reflections on John N. Jonsson (1925-2011). Retrieved from http://pilgrimpathways.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/further-reflections-on-john-n-jonsson-1925-2011/

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Is Internet Job Search Effective?

2011 October 11 By

A new study indicated that using the Internet to look for a job (Internet job search or IJS) can help reduce unemployment time. Contrary to a 2004 study, which found that using the Internet was an ineffective tool or that those seeking work were not as qualified, Kuhn and Mansour’s (2011) study revealed that using the Internet to look for work cuts the time spent unemployed by an average of 25%.

The researchers explained that the reason for this shift is due to major changes with the Internet since the 1990s. From 1998 to 2000, 24% of young people used the Internet to search for work. However, during 2008 to 2009, that number exploded to 74%.

One reason for the startling difference is that, whereas those who turned to the Internet a decade ago oftentimes did not have personal contacts, today people who have and use their personal contacts online see their chances of finding work dramatically improve.

Another reason is due to improvements in the job sites/boards themselves, which are better designed and much more tailored to individual users and their specific needs.

Finally, and most obviously, the Internet has grown at such an exponential rate (its overall penetration and connectivity) that an Internet job search today yields a better result than a decade ago.

Reference

Kuhn, P., & Mansour, H. (2011). Is Internet Job Search Still Ineffective? Retrieved from http://ftp.iza.org/dp5955.pdf.

Filed Under: Happy & Unhappy, Meaningful Work, Stress Tagged With: ,

Steve Jobs of Apple dies at 56

2011 October 5 By

Steve Jobs, the former CEO of Apple, died today (October 5, 2011). Apple has posted the following on its website:

“Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

Links

Apple’s Obituary. Retrieved from http://www.apple.com/stevejobs/

Kane, Y. I., & Fowler, G. A. (October, 2011). Apple’s Steve Jobs Is Dead. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304447804576410753210811910.html

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Bosses and Powerful People Do Not Listen

2011 October 4 By


Photo Credit: I’m Not Listening by Suwani

A recent study found that the more power people have, the more likely they will discount advice due to an elevated sense of confidence in their own judgment.

Across four studies, researchers found that “the psychological experience of power elevates confidence and exacerbates the already strong tendency for individuals to overweight their own initial judgments and insufficiently incorporate input of others.” Furthermore, the researchers discovered that “power can lead people to be less open to factual advice, even when that advice can help achieve accuracy objectives and improve performance.”

Study 1 (a field survey): people who see themselves in a power position were viewed by their colleagues as overly confident and less likely to accept advice.

Study 2 (an advice-taking task): those with more self-perceived power also had more confidence in their own judgment and were less willing to adjust their answers in the direction of an advisor.

Study 3 (advice taking experiment): priming a high power mentality increased confidence in a person’s initial answers and led to that person being less willing to accept advice.

Study 4 (experiment with analysis of judgmental accuracy): even with higher confidence levels, higher power individuals had significantly less accurate final judgments than lower power participants.

Take-Away: Power increases a person’s tendency to overestimate his/her own initial judgment. What this means is that powerful decision makers can also be the least accurate.

Reference

See, K. E., Morrison, E. W., Rothman, N. B., & Soll, J. B. (2011). The detrimental effects of power on confidence, advice taking, and accuracy. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. Advance online publication. doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2011.07.006

Filed Under: Coaching, Coaching Psychology, Executive Coaching, Leadership, Organizational Psychology, Teams, Training & Development Tagged With: , , , , , ,