OTIMISMO, SUPORTE SOCIAL E VALORES DO TRABALHO COMO ANTECEDENTES DE BEM ESTAR SUBJETIVO DE TRABALHADORES

Este estudo teve por objetivo verificar a capacidade de otimismo, de suporte social e de valores do trabalho serem preditores de bem estar subjetivo, bem como analisar as relações de variáveis demográficas com essas variáveis de estudo, descrevê-las e examinar as relações entre elas. A amostra consistiu de 47 homens e de 101 mulheres com idade média de 41,00 anos (DP =10,72) que buscavam apoio em instituição para sua transição profissional. O instrumento de coleta de dados foi um questionário de autopreenchimento composto por cinco medidas que aferiram as variáveis incluídas no estudo: otimismo, percepção de suporte social, valores do trabalho, satisfação geral com a vida e afetos positivos e negativos, bem como variáveis demográficas: sexo, idade, estudo, trabalho, voluntariado, estado civil e permanência na instituição. Foram realizadas análises estatísticas descritivas, testadas diferenças entre médias, correlações, análise de variância e calculados modelos de regressão linear múltipla. As relações das variáveis de estudo com variáveis demográficas revelaram que as pessoas que não estudam percebem ter mais suporte prático e dão mais importância a motivações de autopromoção e de prestígio do que as que estudam. Os mais jovens com até 30 anos relataram que se percebem tendo mais apoio emocional e prático do que os mais velhos. Com o avanço da idade diminuem as percepções de suporte emocional e prático, contudo as pessoas com mais de 50 anos revelaram menos afetos negativos e maior satisfação com a vida do que os mais jovens. Casados revelaram dar menos importância do que separados, divorciados, viúvos, etc. à estabilidade no trabalho e segurança financeira; solteiros revelaram ter mais afetos negativos do que os casados. Homens relataram se sentir mais satisfeitos com a vida, ter mais afetos positivos e menos afetos negativos que mulheres. Quem realiza trabalho voluntário revelou ser mais otimista e ter menos afetos negativos do que aqueles que não realizam. Os dados revelaram que os pesquisados têm um bom nível de otimismo e uma percepção de suporte emocional maior do que a percepção de suporte prático; são motivados, principalmente por metas de realização no trabalho e de estabilidade e segurança financeira; sentem-se indiferentes quanto à satisfação com a vida; apresentam afetos positivos um pouco acima da indiferença; contudo sentem poucos afetos negativos. Disso decorre que um pouco mais de dois terços dos pesquisados apresentaram predominância de estados emocionais positivos sobre os negativos. O otimismo foi a variável que estabeleceu associações mais altas e em maior quantidade; correlacionou positivamente com valores de realização no trabalho, com valores de relações sociais, com valores do trabalho de prestígio, com satisfação com a vida e com afetos positivos; e correlacionou negativamente com afetos negativos. A percepção de suporte emocional correlacionou positivamente com valores de prestígio, afetos positivos e com satisfação com a vida; e correlacionou negativamente com afetos negativos. Percepção de suporte prático não apresentou correlações significativas com nenhuma variável de estudo. Afetos positivos correlacionaram-se positivamente com valores do trabalho de relações sociais e com valores do trabalho de prestígio. A partir da análise de três modelos preditivos encontrou-se que otimismo e suporte emocional repercutem positivamente sobre a satisfação com a vida e sobre afetos positivos. Otimismo repercute negativamente sobre afetos negativos. Valores do trabalho de prestígio repercutem positivamente sobre afetos positivos. Valores de estabilidade repercutem negativamente sobre satisfação com a vida e sobre afetos positivos; e positivamente sobre afetos negativos. Os resultados deste estudo mostraram que o estado otimista é um poderoso fator de impacto positivo sobre o estado de saúde denominado bem estar subjetivo.(AU)

PERCEPÇÃO DE SUPORTE SOCIAL E BEM-ESTAR NO TRABALHO: UM ESTUDO COM PROFESSORES

Os estudos sobre as condições de trabalho de profissionais da educação sempre tiveram como objetivo identificar fatores negativos, como o burnout e o estresse. Porém, é sabido que variáveis relacionadas com as relações interpessoais podem proporcionar melhora no bem-estar no trabalho nestes profissionais. O professor, protagonista do processo ensino-aprendizagem pode apresentar bem-estar no trabalho e desempenhar melhor o seu ofício se tiver percepção de suporte daqueles que compõem sua rede social dentro de sua escola. Este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar as relações entre bem-estar no trabalho e percepção de suporte social no trabalho em professores do ensino fundamental. Participaram do estudo 209 professores, do ensino fundamental da rede pública municipal e estadual de ensino, todos do sexo feminino com idade média de 41,55 anos (DP=8,64) e com o nível de instrução mínimo correspondente ao ensino médio. Esses professores responderam a um questionário auto aplicável contendo quatro medidas: Escala de Envolvimento com o Trabalho, Escala de Satisfação com o Trabalho Escala de Comprometimento Organizacional Afetivo e Escala de Percepção de Suporte Social no Trabalho. Calcularam-se as médias, desvios padrão, correlações e sete modelos de regressão linear stepwise entre as variáveis do estudo. Os resultados apontaram para satisfação com os colegas, com a chefia e com as tarefas, mas pouca satisfação com salários e promoções. Os professores apresentaram comprometimento afetivo com suas escolas e envolvimento com o trabalho que realizam. Foi revelada percepção de suporte social, com uma tendência mais elevada de suporte com as informações recebidas, seguida da percepção de suporte emocional e percepção de suporte instrumental nesta ordem. Foram comprovadas relações positivas e significativas entre as dimensões de bem-estar no trabalho e percepção de suporte social no trabalho. Modelos de regressão revelaram que as três dimensões de suporte social no trabalho impactam positivamente as três dimensões de bem-estar no trabalho, com maior capacidade de explicação entre si. Sugere-se novos estudos envolvendo percepção de suporte social no trabalho e bem-estar no trabalho com outras categorias profissionais para complementar estes ainda pouco estudados conceitos.(AU)

A Franco-British comparison of patterns of working hours in large-scale grocery retailing, with specific reference to part-time work

In this thesis patterns of working hours in large-scale grocery retailing in Britain and France are compared. The research is carried out using cross-national comparative methodology, and the analysis is based on information derived from secondary sources and empirical research in large-scale grocery retailing involving employers and trade unions at industry level and case studies at outlet level. The thesis begins by comparing national patterns of working hours in Britain and France over the post-war period. Subsequently, a detailed comparison of working hours in large-scale grocery retailing in Britain and France is carried out through the analysis of secondary sources and empirical data. Emphasis is placed on analyzing part-time working hours. They are contrasted and compared at national level and explained in terms of supply and demand factors. The relationships between the structuring of, and satisfaction with, working hours and factors determining women's integration in the workforce in Britain and France are investigated. Part-time hours are then compared and contrasted in large-scale grocery retailing in the context of the analysis of working hours. The relationship between the structuring of working hours and satisfaction with them is examined in both countries through research with women part-timers in case study outlets. The cross-national comparative methodology is used to examine whether dissimilar national contexts in Britain and France have led to different patterns of working hours in large-scale grocery retailing. The principal conclusion is that significant differences are found in the length, organization and flexibility of working hours and that these differences can be attributed to dissimilar socio-economic, political, and cultural contexts in the two countries.

Managerial job satisfaction:a longitudinal study

The study examines the job satisfaction of supervisors and managers in four organisations over time. It also considers the importance which they attached to different facets of their job. The major objectives were: To examine the constituent dimensions of job satisfaction at intervals over one year. To examine reasons for change inthe level of job satisfaction at intervals over one year. To provide information on job satisfaction for those concerned with job satisfaction policies. The sample consisted of one hundred and eight people. Each was interviewed on at least three occasions over the course of a year. Interviews took place at predetermined time intervals. The study shows that job satisfaction is dynamic over a relatively short period of time. The ratings which supervisors and managers gave to aspects of their job did not, however, all change by equal amounts or in the same direction. Changes in job satisfaction were associated with events experienced but it was the meaning of those events to correspondents which appeared to be particularly important. People tended to adopt a localised frame of reference when considering their work situation. Certain job variables, such as variety, were consistently and positively correlated with job satisfaction. With some other variables, the relationship varied across time. Frequently, age and job level moderated the association between independent variables and job satisfaction. Links were found between the quality of life and job satisfaction. There was a consistent positive association between job satisfaction and life satisfaction. However, the job was rarely considered to be the main factor contributing to a person's quality of life. The research highlights the difficulties and desirability of introducing standardised job satisfaction policies in the light of individual differences. In addition, it demonstrates that merely correlating variables with job satisfaction at one point in time may conceal complex relationships and meanings. A new measure of job satisfaction - whereby facets are assessed and rated relative to each other was also developed as part of this study.

E-satisfaction:a re-examination

E-satisfaction as a construct has gained increasing importance in the marketing literature in recent times. The examination of consumer satisfaction in an online context follows the growing consensus that in Internet retailing, as in traditional retailing, consumer satisfaction is not only a critical performance outcome, but also a primary predictor of customer loyalty and thus, the Internet retailer's endurance and success. The current study replicates the initial examination of e-satisfaction within the U.S. by [Szymanski, David M., & Richard T. Hise (2000). E-satisfaction: An initial examination. Journal of Retailing, 76(3), 309–322] among a sample of online consumers drawn from Germany. The replication was extended to two contexts—consumer satisfaction with Internet retail shopping and consumer satisfaction with Internet financial services sites. The results yield rich insights into the validity of extending the measurement and predictors of e-satisfaction to a trans-national context.

The role of the sales employee in securing customer satisfaction

Purpose: Previous research has emphasized the pivotal role that salespeople play in customer satisfaction. In this regard, the relationship between salespeople's attitudes, skills, and characteristics, and customer satisfaction remains an area of interest. The paper aims to make three contributions: first, it seeks to examine the impact of salespeople's satisfaction, adaptive selling, and dominance on customer satisfaction. Second, this research aims to use dyadic data, which is a better test of the relationships between constructs since it avoids common method variance. Finally, in contrast to previous research, it aims to test all of the customers of salespeople rather than customers selected by salespeople. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs multilevel analysis to examine the relationship between salespeople's satisfaction with the firm on customer satisfaction, using a dyadic, matched business-to-business sample of a large European financial service provider that comprises 188 customers and 18 employees. Findings: The paper finds that customers' evaluation of service quality, product quality, and value influence customer satisfaction. The analysis at the selling firm's employee level shows that adaptive selling and employee satisfaction positively impact customer satisfaction, while dominance is negatively related to customer satisfaction. Practical implications: Research shows that customer-focus is a key driver in the success of service companies. Customer satisfaction is regarded as a prerequisite for establishing long-term, profitable relations between company and customer, and customer contact employees are key to nurturing this relationship. The role of salespeople's attitudes, skills, and characteristics in the customer satisfaction process are highlighted in this paper. Originality/value: The use of dyadic, multilevel studies to assess the nature of the relationship between employees and customers is, to date, surprisingly limited. The paper examines the link between employee attitudes, skills, and characteristics, and customer satisfaction in a business-to-business setting in the financial service sector, differentiating between customer- and employee-level drivers of business customer satisfaction.

Dimensions of satisfaction in retail settings:a research note

Taking issue with the prevalent practice of measuring customer satisfaction with a single global measurement item, this article stresses the importance of measuring customer satisfaction through its underlying dimensions, especially in retail settings. Empirical results of a survey of 351 consumers demonstrate that (a) consumer satisfaction with retail stores has 6 key dimensions, (b) the suggested dimensions of retail satisfaction predict overall satisfaction, and (c) the dimensions of retail satisfaction have a greater effect on overall satisfaction than SERVQUAL dimensions. However, the predictive power of the dimensions of retail satisfaction is still fairly low. Implications for retail management as well as academic research are outlined.

Entrepreneurial Inclination and Entrepreneurship in Hungary and in Europe

The lecture has two parts. The first part – based upon Eurobarometer data - briefly investigates the proportion and social characteristics of potential entrepreneurs in European comparative perspective. It proves that the Hungarian data are close to the European average. The second part – based on Hungarian panel data (1992-2007) - examines the predictive force of entrepreneurial inclination upon future entrepreneurial career and well-being. The results reveal that potential and actual entrepreneurship have strong social similarities and lasting connections despite the great volatility of both. Entrepreneurial inclination and more concrete plans have influenced the entrepreneurial career chances with nearly identical force, without cancelling each other’s effect. Entrepreneurial motivation has also to do with subjective well-being. The “push” factors of initial dissatisfaction with work and material conditions have lost their significance while the connection between entrepreneurial inclination and satisfaction with future perspectives persists in the longer run. The matrix of original motivation and further career provides a typology of four economic actors: that of “conscious” employees, “blocked”, “forced” and „conscious” entrepreneurs.

A methodological framework for modeling pavement maintenance costs for projects with performance-based contracts

Performance-based maintenance contracts differ significantly from material and method-based contracts that have been traditionally used to maintain roads. Road agencies around the world have moved towards a performance-based contract approach because it offers several advantages like cost saving, better budgeting certainty, better customer satisfaction with better road services and conditions. Payments for the maintenance of road are explicitly linked to the contractor successfully meeting certain clearly defined minimum performance indicators in these contracts. Quantitative evaluation of the cost of performance-based contracts has several difficulties due to the complexity of the pavement deterioration process. Based on a probabilistic analysis of failures of achieving multiple performance criteria over the length of the contract period, an effort has been made to develop a model that is capable of estimating the cost of these performance-based contracts. One of the essential functions of such model is to predict performance of the pavement as accurately as possible. Prediction of future degradation of pavement is done using Markov Chain Process, which requires estimating transition probabilities from previous deterioration rate for similar pavements. Transition probabilities were derived using historical pavement condition rating data, both for predicting pavement deterioration when there is no maintenance, and for predicting pavement improvement when maintenance activities are performed. A methodological framework has been developed to estimate the cost of maintaining road based on multiple performance criteria such as crack, rut and, roughness. The application of the developed model has been demonstrated via a real case study of Miami Dade Expressways (MDX) using pavement condition rating data from Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for a typical performance-based asphalt pavement maintenance contract. Results indicated that the pavement performance model developed could predict the pavement deterioration quite accurately. Sensitivity analysis performed shows that the model is very responsive to even slight changes in pavement deterioration rate and performance constraints. It is expected that the use of this model will assist the highway agencies and contractors in arriving at a fair contract value for executing long term performance-based pavement maintenance works.

Customer Satisfaction, Quality in Cruise Industry

Record numbers of passengers are sailing on board cruise ships, with the industry claiming high levels of customer satisfaction. Conversely, little is known about the specific factors which make up customer satisfaction with the cruise experience. The authors examine customer satisfaction data from nearly 15,000 guests of a large U.S. cruise line to determine which aspects of the cruise experience have the greatest impact on overall satisfaction and perceptions of quality.

Employee Job Satisfaction in Major Cruise Lines

A survey of 244 crew members with six major cruise Iines indicated the most satisfaction with organization and supervision, satisfaction with working environment and ship life, and least satisfaction with rewards. The study suggests that the analysis of job satisfaction level may be used to develop organizational strategies to improve shipboard employee job satisfaction.

Demographic, Behavioral and Perceptual Comparisons of U.S Visitor Experience with Group Package Tours and Free Independent Travel to China

U.S. visitor demand for the China travel experience is anticipated to rise significantly through 2105, causing the Chinese government to employ 100 million service providers over the next six years and raising concern about service delivery and perceptions of the on-site China experience. In an effort to better understand these issues concerning U.S. visitors, this study investigated two specific types of U.S. travelers to China: Group Package Tour (GPT) visitors and Free Independent Travel (FIT) visitors. Results indicated that GPT visitors were more likely to be older and have higher household income than FIT visitors. Four trip-related characteristics of GPT and FIT visitors were found to be significantly different, with GPT visitors showing higher levels of satisfaction with the overall China on-site travel experience.

A comprehensive assessment of self -report experiences of adoptive parents of special needs children in Florida

Adoption of special needs children is now seen as a life long event whereby the adoptive child and family have unique needs. The need for postplacement resources throughout the life cycle of the adoption process is evident. This exploratory-descriptive research employed a random stratified cross-sectional design. The purpose of the study was to describe, identify, examine, and assess the relative influence of identified empirically and conceptually relevant variables of self-report experiences of adoptive parents of special needs children. Primary areas of exploration included: (1) adoptive children and families' characteristics, (2) postplacement service needs, utilization and satisfaction, and (3) adoptive parents' perceptions of their adoption experiences. A proportionate stratified random mail survey was used to obtain 474 families who had adopted special needs children from the 15 geographic districts which make up the state adoption social service agency in Florida. A 144-item survey questionnaire was used to collect basic information on demographic data, service provision, and adoption experiences. Four research questions were analyzed to test the effect the predictor variables had on willingness to adopt another special needs child, successful adoption, satisfying experience, and realism about problems. All four research questions revealed that the full model and the child's antecedent and the adoptive parents' intervening variable blocks were significant in explaining the variance in the dependent variables. The child's intervening variables alone were only significant in explaining the variance for one of the dependent variables. The results of the statistical analysis on the fifth research question and the three hypotheses determined that (1) only one postplacement service, crisis intervention, had a statistically significant impact on the adoptive parents' perceived level of satisfaction with the adoption experience; (2) adoptive parents who rate their adoption as successful are more likely to express a desire to adopt another special needs child; (3) the more adequate information on the child the adoptive parents perceived that they had prior to placement, the more they perceived they were realistic about the problems they would encounter; and (4) six specific postplacement services were found to be significant in predicting successful adoptions--crisis intervention, outpatient drug/alcohol treatment, maintenance subsidy, physical therapy, special medical equipment, and family counseling. Implications for the social work field and future research are discussed. ^

An examination of psychological meaningfulness, safety, and availability as the underlying mechanisms linking job features and personal characteristics to work engagement

The present study tested a nomological net of work engagement that was derived from its extant research. Two of the main work engagement models that have been presented and empirically tested in the literature, the JD-R model and Kahn's model, were integrated to test the effects that job features and personal characteristics can have on work engagement through the psychological conditions of meaningfulness, safety, and availability. In this study, safety refers to psychological perceptions of safety and not workplace safety behaviors. The job features that were tested in this model included person-job fit, autonomy, co-worker relations, supervisor support, procedural justice, and interactional justice, while the personal characteristics consisted of self-consciousness, self-efficacy, extraversion, and neuroticism. Thirty-four hypotheses and a conceptual model were tested in order to establish the viability of this nomological net of work engagement in which it was expected that meaningfulness would mediate the relationships between job features and work engagement, safety would mediate the relationships that job features and personal characteristics have with work engagement, and availability (physical, emotional, and cognitive resources) would mediate the relationships that personal characteristics have with work engagement. Furthermore, analyses were run in order to determine the factor structure of work engagement, assess whether or not it exhibits differential validity from organizational commitment and job satisfaction, and confirm that it is positively related to the outcome variable of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The final sample consisted of 500 workers from an online labor market who responded to a questionnaire composed of measures of all constructs included in this study. Findings show that work engagement is best represented as a three-factor construct, composed of vigor, dedication and absorption. Furthermore, support was found for the distinction of work engagement from the related constructs of organizational commitment and job satisfaction. With regard to the proposed model, meaningfulness proved to be the strongest predictor of work engagement. Results show that it partially mediates the relationships that all job features have with work engagement. Safety proved to be a partial mediator of the relationships that autonomy, co-worker relations, supervisor support, procedural justice, interactional justice, and self-efficacy have with work engagement, and fully mediate the relationship between neuroticism and work engagement. Findings also show that availability partially mediates the positive relationships that extraversion and self-efficacy have with work engagement, and fully mediates the negative relationship that neuroticism has with work engagement. Finally, a positive relationship was found between work engagement and OCB. Research and organizational implications are discussed.

The market value implications of pension asset allocation

Pension funds have been part of the private sector since the 1850's. Defined Benefit pension plans [DB], where a company promises to make regular contributions to investment accounts held for participating employees in order to pay a promised lifelong annuity, are significant capital markets participants, amounting to 2.3 trillion dollars in 2010 (Federal Reserve Board, 2013). In 2006, Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No.158 (SFAS 158), Employers' Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postemployment Plans, shifted information concerning funding status and pension asset/liability composition from disclosure in the footnotes to recognition in the financial statements. I add to the literature by being the first to examine the effect of recent pension reform during the financial crisis of 2008-09. This dissertation is comprised of three related essays. In my first essay, I investigate whether investors assign different pricing multiples to the various classes of pension assets when valuing firms. The pricing multiples on all classes of assets are significantly different from each other, but only investments in bonds and equities were value-relevant during the recent financial crisis. Consistent with investors viewing pension liabilities as liabilities of the firm, the pricing multiples on pension liabilities are significantly larger than those on non-pension liabilities. The only pension costs significantly associated with firm value are actual rate of return and interest expense. In my second essay, I investigate the role of accruals in predicting future cash flows, extending the Barth et al. (2001a) model of the accrual process. Using market value of equity as a proxy for cash flows, the results of this study suggest that aggregate accounting amounts mask how the components of earnings affect investors' ability to predict future cash flows. Disaggregating pension earnings components and accruals results in an increase in predictive power. During the 2008-2009 financial crisis, however, investors placed a greater (and negative) weight on the incremental information contained in the individual components of accruals. The inferences are robust to alternative specifications of accruals. Finally, in my third essay I investigate how investors view under-funded plans. On average, investors: view deficits arising from under-funded plans as belonging to the firm; reward firms with fully or over-funded pension plans; and encourage those funds with unfunded pension plans to become funded. Investors also encourage conservative pension asset allocations to mitigate firm risk, and smaller firms are perceived as being better able to handle the risk associated with underfunded plans. During the financial crisis of 2008-2009 underfunded status had a lower negative association with market value. In all three models, there are significant differences in pre- and post- SFAS 158 periods. These results are robust to various scenarios of the timing of the financial crisis and an alternative measure of funding.