Knowledge that Transforms

ABSTRACT Quiet quitting first exploded in social media and has gained considerable traction in media, practitioner, and scholarly outlets. While much of this attention has been focused on why employees quiet quit, there has been less consideration about how it is perceived by their coworkers. Combining insights from relational climate and social networks scholarship, we develop a novel theory about its potential interpersonal consequences. Our theory elucidates how employee quiet quitting and coworker reactions will differ across market pricing, equality matching, and communal sharing climates. We propose that while harmonious relational climates will facilitate the most support from coworkers, these climates will also trigger the most harmful responses when quiet quitting does not eventually dissipate. We also theorize how the collective monitoring and reporting norms that typically develop within these climates will facilitate sanctions via collective forms of mistreatment, such as social undermining and ostracism. Not only does our theory extend the relevant consequences of quiet quitting to include interpersonal ones, but it also therefore explains how seemingly positive climates can inadvertently enable mistreatment. We outline the contributions of our theory to the growing literature on quiet quitting, suggest directions for future research, and offer implications for human resource management practitioners.

AbstractWe draw on job demands‐resources theory to develop and test a model that explores the direct and indirect (through relational energy) impact of inclusive leadership on workplace avoidance behaviors for neurodivergent employees. We also examine the moderating role of personal self‐control demands in the relationship between relational energy and workplace avoidance. We tested our model using partial least square ‐ structural equation modeling analysis with data collected using a time‐lagged data collection in a sample of 215 neurodiverse employees working in multinational companies across the Gulf Cooperation Council region (i.e., Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman). The findings demonstrate that inclusive leaders mitigate workplace avoidance behavior in neurodivergent employees. That is, inclusive leaders create an environment that contributes to the cultivation of employees' personal relational energy resources. Then, high levels of relational energy interact with employees' level of personal demands (i.e., impulse control, resisting distractions) to reduce workplace avoidance behaviors. Our work speaks to the integrated role of demands and resources in workplaces that can thwart avoidance behaviors for neurodivergent employees.

ABSTRACTBoard directors who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other identities (LGBTQ+) are now more visible at the corporate apex, as the attainment of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the upper echelons is a goal for many organizations, researchers, and policymakers worldwide. The visibility of LGBTQ+ directors implies the shift toward truly diverse boards that demonstrate commitment to the provision of equal career opportunities and empowerment for all types of individuals. However, we still lack knowledge regarding the relationship between LGBTQ+ board representation and firm outcomes. Drawing on upper echelons and signaling theories, we examine a sample of Fortune 500 companies to identify how LGBTQ+ directors influence their firm values. Our OLS regressions on an unbalanced panel dataset of 441 firms in 2021–2022 reveal that the visibility of LGBTQ+ directors is positively associated with enterprise value, and this relationship is mediated by environmental, social, and governance performance, which can be attributed to corporate social performance. Our research contributes to the literature by showing how the visibility of LGBTQ+ status in the boardroom can matter on firms.

ABSTRACTNeurodivergent employees (NDEs) are characterized by different neurological profiles, including but not limited to autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Tourette syndrome, face underrepresentation, and undervaluation at work. This review employs the technology affordance lens and a diversity and inclusion model to explore how social media (SM) can facilitate the inclusion of NDEs. We propose a technology‐inclusion framework as a foundation for future model testing by delineating the key variables and relationships at play. A narrative review is adopted to discuss our findings derived from a comprehensive search of relevant literature, which yielded 41 journal articles and five book chapters. We employed thematic analysis, facilitated by ATLAS.ti's artificial intelligence coding function, to critically review and analyze the shortlisted articles through a rigorous, iterative process. Our framework highlights three pathways (NDE‐related, leader‐related, and peer‐related) that discuss the combination of SM affordances enhancing and inhibiting the inclusion of NDEs. In particular, SM affordances can build inclusion by enhancing self‐efficacy and a sense of empowerment, facilitating accessible communication, and connection. However, privacy and personal safety concerns explain why SM affordances sometimes undermine inclusion. Likewise, pathways related to supervisory support, and increased interactions and support from peers highlight the role of leaders and peers in translating SM affordances to NDEs' inclusion. We emphasize that leveraging SM applications, understanding NDEs' specific needs, and fostering an inclusive culture starting from organizational leadership can significantly contribute to promoting inclusion and support for NDEs in the workplace.

ABSTRACT Research on corporate sociopolitical activism (CSA) is in its infancy, and more research is needed to examine its effects on employees. We draw from the tenets of Signaling Theory to develop and test a model of how organizations' antiracist signaling after a racial injustice event, as a form of CSA, communicates that racial justice is valued sincerely by organizations, and in turn, motivates employee commitment to diversity—both at work and in their personal lives. We also explore boundary conditions (i.e., climate for inclusion, employee race) of this relationship. We test our model with data collected from 367 employees (37.6% Black, 62.4% White) across 4‐time waves, each 1 month apart, using a mixed‐methods (quantitative and qualitative) approach. Results suggest that organizations are viewed as most sincere when they engage in signaling that includes both words (i.e., releasing a statement) and actions (e.g., hiring a diversity officer) relative to when they don't engage in these words and/or actions. Moreover, when organizations signaled a sincere commitment to antiracism with both words and actions, employees were more committed to diversity at work and in their personal lives, though actions taken by the organization were especially important. Moreover, a strong climate for inclusion reduced the need for actions, while a weak climate for inclusion increased the need for a statement. Theoretical, research, and practical implications are discussed.

ABSTRACTThis article presents a contemporary review of human resource management (HRM) research on algorithmic technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. By connecting these recent advancements to the long‐standing scholarly tradition of HRM‐technology relations, this review examines current knowledge on how algorithmic technologies are reshaping three key areas: (1) work structures and design, (2) HR delivery activities, and (3) the management of technology workers. Using a threefold conceptualization of technology—the tool view, proxy view, and ensemble view—this review explores how organizations employ algorithmic systems to enhance productivity, how the human agency interacts with and resists these technologies, and how broader social, cultural, and institutional contexts shape the use of algorithms in HRM. Additionally, this article offers suggestions for future research, highlighting the unique opportunities algorithmic technologies provide to HR scholars for making enduring contributions to the broader conversations on HRM and technology.

ABSTRACTIncidents of workplace violence are commonplace against nurses and personal care assistants (PCAs) employed in aged care facilities. This article examines ways in which managers and human resource (HR) departments manage workplace violence. In this context, understanding anti‐violence human resource management (HRM) practices and other ways in which incidents of violence are managed may have important implications for workforce sustainability. Greenwood and Freeman's [Greenwood, M., & Freeman, R. E. (2011). Ethics and HRM: The Contribution of Stakeholder Theory. Business & Professional Ethics Journal, 269–292.] conceptual model of employee engagement and “ethical” HRM underpins this study by focusing on stakeholder engagement and stakeholder agency. We take a qualitative approach to examine workplace violence in aged care facilities in Australia by conducting semi‐structured interviews with 60 participants. We report on narratives of participants highlighting the unethical use of HRM as evidenced by a lack of anti‐violence HRM in aged care facilities. To encourage greater workforce sustainability, we argue that HR departments and managers need to behave ethically and better support the management and mitigation of workplace violence against workers in aged care facilities. Our paper provides new theoretical and practical insights into understanding the role of stakeholder engagement and stakeholder agency, and the moral treatment of employees through the development of anti‐violence HRM within the aged care context.

ABSTRACT As a growing number of organizations are leveraging emerging technologies to optimize their operations to stay competitive, digital transformation has fast become an integral part of employee experience at the intersection of their psychological states and the workplace. However, employee experience with digital transformation is heterogeneous given the different approaches organizations take toward this initiative. We hence simultaneously consider both the nature of the digital transformation (i.e., automation versus augmentation) and the presence versus absence of employee voice mechanisms. Drawing from psychological reactance theory, we argue that employee experience of automation‐driven transformation will be more likely to engender psychological reactance, which in turn impacts important employee job attitudes, represented by job satisfaction, employment security, and turnover intention. We also argue that employee voice moderates this mediated relationship. Using data from two studies with different samples and research designs (an experimental design in Study 1 and a field survey in Study 2), the findings support our hypothesized relationships. The two‐study approach helps to enhance the validity of the research and demonstrate the generalizability of findings, thereby strengthening our contributions to the literature. Overall, the studies theoretically extend understandings of how employees respond to digital transformation by offering new insights into the psychological reactance mechanism. We also provide practical implications for business and practitioners seeking to manage digital transformation in ways that enhance desired employee job attitudes.

ABSTRACTA key question in the literature is how human resource management (HRM) practices influence quiet quitting (QQ), emphasizing the need for a more nuanced theoretical framework to explain its antecedents. This research applies the conservation of resources (COR) theory to delve into how high‐performance work systems (HPWSs) influence QQ through psychological conditions (i.e., psychological meaningfulness and availability). Based on a sample of 422 participants, the study reveals that HPWSs, psychological meaningfulness, and psychological availability each have a negative relationship with QQ. In addition, psychological meaningfulness and availability serve as mediating pathways through which HPWSs can mitigate QQ. The findings pave the way for further research on effective interventions and management practices that can create more fulfilling and productive work environments.

AbstractAlthough much research has sought to understand how employees come to align themselves with the social norms and routines of their workgroups, management theory has largely overlooked the possibility that such alignment might be fundamentally at odds with what it means to be autistic. Autism, which accounts for a large share of organizational neurodiversity, is associated with seeing and processing the world differently from the non‐autistic societal norm. In the workplace, autistic employees often experience barriers to inclusion, in large part due fundamental dissimilarities in how they interact with and connect to others. To identify the barriers to autistic employees' workgroup inclusion, we develop a multilevel framework centered around relational incongruence, or differences in patterns of interrelating across (autistic and non‐autistic) neurotypes. We propose that non‐autistic workgroup norms (e.g., for the use of imprecise language) exacerbate relational incongruence, which in turn hinders experiences of authenticity and belonging for the autistic workgroup member. Finally, we identify managerial practices (e.g., relational job crafting) that are likely to protect against the negative consequences of relational incongruence, by fostering workgroup climates of normalized variance in patterns of interrelating and shared understandings across neurotypes.