Information literacy, creativity and work performance

an article by Ming-Shian Wu (Aletheia University, Taiwan) published in  Information Development Volume 35 Issue 5 (November 2019)

Abstract

In the digital age, information literacy, defined as the ability to effectively identify information needs, access needed information, and evaluate and use information, is a crucial skill set for both individuals and organizations.

Therefore, understanding the relationships between information literacy, creativity, and work performance could not only help enterprises recognize the importance of information literacy and its influence on the workplace, but also provide educators with guidance for planning related training programs. This empirical study explores the relationships between self-efficacy in information literacy, creativity and work performance.

The findings show that:

1. self-efficacy in defining information needs, self-efficacy in evaluating information and self-efficacy in using information can significantly positively affect creativity;
2. creativity can significantly positively affect work performance; and, 
3. creativity mediates the association between self-efficacy in information literacy and work performance.

Implications based on the findings are also discussed.

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Excessive social media use at work: Exploring the effects of social media overload on job performance

an article by Lingling Yu, Zhiying Liu and Junkai Wang (University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China) and Xiongfei Cao (Hefei University of Technology, China) published in Information Technology & People Volume 31 Issue 6 (2018)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of excessive social media use on individual job performance and its exact mechanism. An extended stressor–strain–outcome research model is proposed to explain how excessive social media use at work influences individual job performance.

Design/methodology/approach
The research model was empirically tested with an online survey study of 230 working professionals who use social media in organizations.

Findings
The results revealed that excessive social media use was a determinant of three types of social media overload (i.e. information, communication and social overload). Information and communication overload were significant stressors that influence social media exhaustion, while social overload was not a significant predictor of exhaustion. Furthermore, social media exhaustion significantly reduces individual job performance.

Originality/value
Theory-driven investigation of the effects of excessive social media use on individual job performance is still relatively scarce, underscoring the need for theoretically-based research of excessive social media use at work. This paper enriches social media research by presenting an extended stressor–strain–outcome model to explore the exact mechanism of excessive use of social media at work, and identifying three components of social media-related overload, including information, communication and social overload. It is an initial attempt to systematically validate the casual relationships among excessive usage experience, overload, exhaustion and individual job performance based on the transactional theory of stress and coping.

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Excessive social media use at work: Exploring the effects of social media overload on job performance

an article by Lingling Yu, Zhiying Liu and Junkai Wang (University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China) and Xiongfei Cao (Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China) Information Technology & People Volume 31 Issue 6 (2018)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of excessive social media use on individual job performance and its exact mechanism. An extended stressor–strain–outcome research model is proposed to explain how excessive social media use at work influences individual job performance.

Design/methodology/approach
The research model was empirically tested with an online survey study of 230 working professionals who use social media in organizations.

Findings
The results revealed that excessive social media use was a determinant of three types of social media overload (i.e. information, communication and social overload). Information and communication overload were significant stressors that influence social media exhaustion, while social overload was not a significant predictor of exhaustion. Furthermore, social media exhaustion significantly reduces individual job performance.

Originality/value
Theory-driven investigation of the effects of excessive social media use on individual job performance is still relatively scarce, underscoring the need for theoretically-based research of excessive social media use at work. This paper enriches social media research by presenting an extended stressor–strain–outcome model to explore the exact mechanism of excessive use of social media at work, and identifying three components of social media-related overload, including information, communication and social overload. It is an initial attempt to systematically validate the casual relationships among excessive usage experience, overload, exhaustion and individual job performance based on the transactional theory of stress and coping.

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Sickness presenteeism and sickness absence over time: A UK employee perspective

an article by Alison M. Collins and Susan Cartwright (Lancaster University, UK) and Sean Cowlishaw (Bristol University, UK) published in Work & Stress: An International Journal of Work, Health & Organisations Volume 32 Issue 1 (2018)

Abstract

This paper examined the influence of sickness presenteeism (SP), defined here as going to work despite illness, and sickness absenteeism (SA) behaviour on employee psychological well-being, work performance and perceived organisational commitment in a sample of 552 UK workers.

Self-report measures were administered on 2 occasions, separated by 1 year, to employees from 4 public sector and 2 private sector organisations. Structural equation modelling was used to evaluate simultaneous influences of SP and SA on outcomes over time.

Results suggested that employees reporting SP reported lower work performance in comparison to those reporting no SP, when measured concurrently but not over time. Employees reporting any SP in the previous 3 months showed relatively reduced psychological well-being but there was no significant association over time.

Six or more days SP was associated with a reduction in employee perceptions that their organisation was committed to them, concurrently and over time. There were no significant influences of SA on any outcome measure.

Our results strengthen previous research and suggest that SP, but not SA, has implications for individual outcomes.

The findings have implications for the way organisations manage their sickness absence systems.

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The joint effects of promotion and prevention focus on performance, exhaustion and sickness absence among managers and non-managers

an article by Paraskevas Petrou, (Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands), Machteld Van den Heuvel, (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and Wilmar Schaufeli, (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium) published in Personnel Review Volume 46 Issue 8 (2017)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the main and interaction effects of self-rated promotion and prevention regulatory focus on self-rated work performance, emotional exhaustion and sickness absence for managers and non-managers separately. The authors expected that promotion focus relates positively to performance and negatively to sickness absence, while prevention focus relates positively to exhaustion and sickness absence, both for managers and non-managers. Furthermore, the authors expected that promotion focus relates positively to performance but also to exhaustion and sickness absence when prevention focus is high, only for managers (i.e. a manager’s dual regulatory focus can be an effective but also exhausting leadership strategy).

Design/methodology/approach
The authors tested the hypotheses via moderated regression analyses among two independent groups, managers (n=241) and non-managers (n=415).

Findings
Promotion focus was positively related to managers’ and non-managers’ performance and negatively to non-managers’ sickness absence, while prevention focus did not have any main effects. As expected, managers’ promotion focus was positively related to managers’ sickness absence when managers’ prevention focus was high (i.e. dual regulatory focus). Furthermore, managers’ promotion focus negatively related to managers’ performance when managers’ prevention was high, failing to support the hypothesis.

Practical implications
Promotion focus should be enhanced by organizations among leaders and employees. The authors also cautiously discuss the possibility of interventions comparing a promotion focus with dual-focus training.

Originality/value
The authors contribute to the literature by examining the joint (rather than main) effects of promotion and prevention focus on work behavior and the authors address these links among managers and non-managers.

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