Predicting Employee Turnover from Friendship Networks

Employees (n=40) at a fast-food restaurant were surveyed about characteristics of their position and their level of satisfaction. Employees were then asked to report with whom they regularly communicated inside and outside the workplace and to indicate how close they were to employees with whom they were linked. Employee turnover was measured after three months had elapsed. A goal of the research was to replicate a model of employee turnover that predicts employees more central in their social network to be less likely to leave, and to test a social support explanation of the centrality model. The results indicated that employees who reported a greater number of out-degree links with friends were less likely to leave. The number of in-degree links with friends did not significantly predict turnover, and neither did network links with peers. Friendship prestige, measured by the number of in-degree links, was strongly correlated with relational closeness and amount of time spent with employees outside the workplace.     

Testing a communication network model of employee turnover based on centrality

This study tested Feeley and Barnett's (1997) Erosion Model (EM) of employee turnover which predicts that individuals who are more central in their communication network will be more likely to remain at their position (or less likely to turnover). Seventy employees from three different organizations were surveyed about their attitudes toward their jobs and were also asked to indicate (by checklist) which employees they spoke to regularly at work. Turnover data were obtained at 3 and 6 months time after the surveys were completed. Results generally supported the Erosion Model of employee turnover. Those employees with high Degree or number of links in the network were less likely to turnover. Employees who required fewer links to communicate to all others in the network (i.e., Closeness) were also less likely to turnover but this relationship only approached statistical significance (p = .06). Betweenness, defined as the frequency with which a person falls between pairs of other positions in a network, was also significantly related to employee turnover. It was also predicted, based on Feeley and Bamett's EM, that the relationship between network position and turnover would be mediated by an employee's level of commitment to the organization and his or her intentions to leave work. Closeness significantly predicted commitment while Betweenness and Degree were unrelated to commitment levels. Organizational commitment was negatively related to intentions to leave work and, unexpectedly, commitment levels were positively related to employee turnover. The results were discussed and the applications of this research for management practitioners were considered.     

A typology of drug resistance strategies

This study examined social influences on adolescents' responses to drug offers. Seventy narrative accounts of both successful and unsuccessful attempts to say no were collected. From these data, the authors developed a typology of both drug offers and drug resistance strategies. In addition, typologies were developed for: who made the offer, what substance was offered, where the offer occurred, and why the subject responded as she or he did. As well, the study revealed the influence of the type of drug, alcohol or controlled substance, on the process of offering and resisting.

The analysis revealed that adolescents were more likely to resist offers of controlled substances and did so more often when the offer was made by an acquaintance at school. When they did refuse, they were most likely to simply say no. Also, teenagers were more likely to accept offers of alcohol, particularly from friends in social situations when the friends used persuasive appeals.     

1949年前我国媒体从业人员的资源变现之途

变现指媒体从业人员通过多种途径将自身积蓄到一定阶段和层次的从业资本,变卖成具有乘数放大效应的政治、经济等收益。本文分析和总结了1949年前我国新闻媒体从业人员资源变现之途的表现和原因,认为社会资本在其资源变现的过程中起着主导作用。     

Cultural Differences of Social Network Influence on Romantic Relationships: A Comparison of the United States and South Korea

This study examined the association between social network support and relationship quality of romantic partners among American and Korean college students. As predicted, findings indicated that Americans involve their family and friends more in their romantic relationships and, accordingly, get more support from them for their relationships than Koreans do. However, the results did not support the hypothesis that Koreans would perceive social network support as more important for their romantic relationships. Instead, network importance negatively mediated the effects of social network on relationship quality only for Americans. The positive associations between network support and relationship quality were not differential between the two samples. Implications for culture and close relationships are discussed.     

Challenging neoliberal justification for labor exploitation through the application of critical communication pedagogy

This activity elucidates a critical and pragmatic means by which students and instructors can examine the practice of labor exploitation by neoliberal corporations. By employing critical communication pedagogy (CCP), instructors and students can learn about the ways that corporations actively steal wages from their employees and communicatively justify this theft through the ethic of individualism. In so doing, corporations break the social contract and inculcate employees to believe not in collectivism and social responsibility, but instead only in the logic of the free market. Thus, employees internalize the idea that earning at a level below what is desired is the fault of the individual and not the fault of the corporation. Employees learn to absolve corporations of any wrongdoing. Students and instructors will challenge this ideology and practice by employing the tenets of CCP to recognize and respond to labor exploitation.

Courses: Business and Professional Communication, Professional Speaking, Instructional Communication, Critical Studies/Critical Theory in Communication

Objectives: In this two-day activity, first, students will learn about critical communication pedagogy (CCP) and how they can apply it to respond to hegemony. Second, students will learn about the concept of labor exploitation that they may face in their future careers. Third, students will apply CCP to analyze and respond to the ways in which corporations justify labor exploitation through their communicative practices, equipping students to push back against labor exploitation in their future careers.     

Still Too Much of a Good Thing? The Replication of Tong,Van Der Heide,Langwell, and Walther (2008)

Tong, Van Der Heide, Langwell, and Walther (2008) tested the relationship between the number of Facebook friends and impressions of the profile owner. They found the number of Facebook friends a person had influenced impressions of social attractiveness and extraversion, but not physical attractiveness, of the profile owner. The current study replicates their original study by experimentally testing for differences when the Facebook profile owner has 102, 302, 502, 702, or 902 friends. Results of the replication indicated no significant effect of the number of Facebook friends and impressions of social attractiveness or physical attractiveness. However, results did indicate significant differences in impressions of extraversion. Warranting theory is applied to aid in interpretation of results.     

An Erosion Model of Employee Turnover Based on Network Centrality

An Erosion Model (EM) of employee turnover is introduced to explain the previously observed negative relationship between network centrality and employee turnover. The EM hypothesizes that social support moderates the centrality–turnover relation as those more active in the organization's social network experience less job strain due to esteem provided by work peers. Three EM hypotheses were supported using meta-analytic procedures with significant relations identified between centrality and turnover (k=5, r=.29), social support and centrality (k=7, r=.23), and social support and turnover intentions (k=17, r=.35). Future research for EM expansion and practical applications are proposed.     

Dissension in the organization as it relates to control expectancies

The purpose of this study was to examine how employees’ strategies for expressing dissent relate to work locus of control expectancies. Employees (N = 280) completed measures of organizational dissent and work specific locus of control. Results indicated that employees reporting an internal control orientation used significantly more articulated dissent than either moderate or external control oriented employees. Additionally, findings indicated that external oriented employees used significantly more latent dissent than employees reporting either moderate or external control orientations did.     

Affirming communicator style of supervisor and subordinate use of upward influence tactics: An analysis of nonmanagerial and managerial employees

This investigation focuses on how subordinates perceive their supervisor's affirming communicator style (i.e., friendly, attentive, and relaxed) and the upward influence tactics they select. Results demonstrated that: 1) both managerial and nonmanagerial employees are less likely to use hard influence tactics (i.e., assertiveness) when communicating with supervisors with an affirming style, 2) managerial employees are more likely than nonmanagerial employees to use hard upward influence tactics (i.e., coalition, upward appeal, and assertiveness), 3) nonmanagerial employees perceive supervisors who communicate with an affirming style as being more participative decision makers, and 4) both managerial and nonmanagerial employees are more satisfied with supervisors who communicate with an affirming style.     

Exploring employee engagement through communication

Employee engagement has been shown to be related to higher organizational productivity and profitability, among other favorable outcomes; however, there is disagreement in the literature regarding the definition of employee engagement and how employees enact their engagement. The current study explored how employees of a cooperative communicatively displayed their own engagement to others inside and outside of the organization. Fifteen semi-structured interviews with employees were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results showed that employees displayed their engagement to others through external displays, which contradicts past research done on employee engagement. The study also revealed that social exchanges occurred between the organization and the employees. The ways in which employees communicated their engagement was a direct response to the exchanges occurring between these multiple stakeholders.     

“Friend” or Foe? Why People Friend Disliked Others on Facebook

This study explores the disconnection that exists between the number of friends and relationships people maintain in their face-to-face interactions and the number of connections people establish on social networking sites. Specifically, we examined the extent to which Facebook users “friend” people they dislike and find annoying on Facebook and the reasons people offer for engaging in these seemingly nonintuitive behaviors. The results indicate that, in a sample of college students (N = 305), the majority of Facebook users are friends with people they dislike on Facebook (61%) and actively read the postings of individuals even though they find their postings annoying (85%). Participants’ sex, intensity of Facebook use, and general relational anxiety all independently predicted the occurrence of friending disliked others and actively reading annoying postings. A uses and gratifications framework was adopted to develop a typology of reasons why people engage in these behaviors. Monitoring, surveillance, downward social comparison, and other explanations were provided by participants to account for their behavior on Facebook. How engaging in these online behaviors might affect the psychological well-being of individuals and quality of interpersonal relationships is discussed, and future directions for research are offered.     

“There is a fine line between one’s personal life and professional one”: handling employee sexual harassment on facebook from the victim’s perspective

Sexual harassment is an interdisciplinary topic in organizational research that has received increased attention with the rise of the #MeToo movement. The online environment has complicated the experiences of employees who are sexually harassed by a coworker. One particular medium where online sexual harassment occurs is on social networking sites (SNS), such as Facebook. This research report examined how victims of sexual harassment believe organizations should handle online sexual harassment. We qualitatively coded 153 responses to the question, “What else do you think employers could do to handle sexual harassment on Facebook?” Our findings demonstrated a clear tension between whether harassment on Facebook is a private concern of the employee or a public concern of the employer/organization. Some victims advocating keeping work friends off of Facebook, while others suggesting having open door policies, conversations, and/or trainings. The difference in these approaches illuminates how the victims grappled with the public/private tension, and whether the organization should be made aware of their situations or if victims should handle it themselves. Implications of this research suggest that the blurred boundaries between employee face-to-face and online sexual harassment should continue to be explored, including why victims report harassment and to whom they report it.     

Company Facebook and Organizational Identification

This study examined links between organizational Facebook pages and employee connection to the larger organization. Employee interaction with their company’s Facebook page was linked to higher levels of organizational identification and bridging social capital outcomes. Bridging social capital outcomes was also associated with organizational identification. Results indicate that the company Facebook page, considered primarily as a tool to engage external stakeholders, may also function to engage employees.     

The web of shyness: A network analysis of communicative correlates

This investigation was designed to explore the use of network analysis in an investigation of the communicative behaviors of shy individuals. Twenty‐three subjects were categorized as high, moderate, or low‐shy, and the friendship networks of these individuals were compared.

The results suggest that the communication networks of high‐shy subjects are structurally different than the networks of less‐shy individuals. Specifically, shy individuals had smaller, more interconnected networks. The evidence also suggests that shy subjects tend to have longer average length of relationships with their network links, less frequent interaction, and less role diversity in their friendships. Although structural and behavioral differences were found between high and low‐shy subjects, shy subjects did not report being any less satisfied with their friendship networks than less‐shy individuals.

Overall, communication network analysis was found to be a tool that can provide insight into the behavioral and perceptual correlates of shyness.     

Leadership Reflections: Leadership Paradoxes

Leadership faces a number of paradoxes that can be challenging and confusing, particularly as individuals take on new leadership roles. Employees want leaders to be decisive but participatory in decision making, focused on big pictures but contribute to detailed discussions, and engage but not micromanage. It is confusing as mixed messages are given to leaders and the opinions of employees vary, creating a situation in which it is difficult for leaders to fully understand employee expectations. Leaders not only need to understand these paradoxes but develop methods to balance employee expectations and communication strategies that help employees appreciate the balancing act that each leader must develop.     

Speaking Up Competently: A Comparison of Perceived Competence in Upward Dissent Strategies

Recent dissent research indicates that employees report using several different strategies for expressing their dissent to management and supervisors (i.e., upward dissent). The purpose of this study was to compare previously recognized upward dissent strategies in terms of perceived competence. Employees completed a survey instrument that asked them to assess the competence of different upward dissent strategies. Results indicate that employees perceived solution presentation to be the most competent upward dissent strategy, followed by direct-factual appeal, repetition, and circumvention. Threatening resignation was perceived as the least competent upward dissent strategy.     

An Exploration of Organizational Assimilation Among State-Owned,Private-Owned,and Foreign-Invested Enterprises in China

This study explores organizational assimilation in Chinese organizations. To reflect the Chinese context more accurately, the present study compared employees working in three different kinds of organizations: state-owned enterprises (SOEs), private-owned enterprises (POEs), and foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs). Data collected from 220 full-time employees were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Regression analyses demonstrated that employees’ level of organizational assimilation was significantly influenced by organizational type: Employees in SOEs reported the highest level and employees in FIEs reported the lowest level of organizational assimilation.