Editors’ note: Are happy employeesmore productive?

Common to much contemporary human resource management research is an underlyingconcern with organisational performance. This is particularly the case with the firstarticle in this issue. The paper by Hosie, Willemyns and Sevastos contributes to a growingbody of literature upon the relationship between happiness and job performance. Fromthis research has emerged a growing interest in management interventions intended tostimulate the virtuous circle of positive employee emotions and productivity (Wong andDavey 2007). An alleged example of such an intervention enjoyed brief prominence inAustralia when a university found itself in dispute with its staff over a ‘behavioural cap-ability framework’ that supposedly cajoled staff to be happy at work (Preiss 2012). Themedia controversy that followed unleashed an avalanche of opinion both for and againstwhat was labelled the ‘positivity movement’. From one perspective it was perceived as afraudulent style of American managerialism; from another it was deemed a reasonableway to make academics (who are said to have poor ability to relate to others) becomemore accountable.

Whatever the merits of this debate, there can be no doubting the growing researchinterest in positive psychology – a branch of the discipline which seeks ‘to find and nurturegenius and talent’, and ‘to make normal life more fulfilling’, not simply to treat mental illness(Compton 2005). Much research has now been undertaken to apply the precepts of positivepsychology to the workplace. One review observed a body of evidence that reveals howhappy workers enjoy multiple advantages over their less happy peers. Individuals high insubjective well-being are more likely to secure job interviews, to be evaluated morepositively by supervisors once they obtain a job, to show superior performance and pro-ductivity, and to handle managerial jobs better. They are also less likely to show counter-productive workplace behaviours and job burnout (Lyubomirsky, Sheldon and Schkade2005). Given all this, it is scarcely surprising that businesses might wish to manufacturehappiness. This, however, is less easy. Research shows many obstacles in their path. Not leastthe very change processes that are intended to breed happiness can perversely causeemployee stress and negative reactions, especially where those processes are matched tounrealistic goals and targets (Snyder and Lopez 2002). Positive psychology may, it seems,be a double-edged sword when put into practice.

The article by Hosie, Willemyns and Sevastos in this issue begins by noting that bothpractitioners and academics are intuitively attracted to the ‘happy–productive workerthesis’. However the evidence to support this supposed relationship is not strong. In par-ticular there is a dearth of research upon the happiness–performance nexus among man-agers – an important subgroup within the workforce that has not been studied byresearchers. This paper asks: do happy managers perform better? The article falls into two

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Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources (2012) 50, 263–267 doi:10.1111/j.1744-7941.2012.00041.x

© 2012 Australian Human Resources Institute

parts. First is an empirical study which considers the impact of job-related affective well-being and intrinsic job satisfaction on managers’ contextual and task performance. Secondis a review of the implications of research findings for human resources practice.

The empirical study was based on a questionnaire administered to managers from arange of occupational groups in 19 Australian private, public and ‘third sector’ organisa-tions. The results are based upon a data set of 400 responses from managers. The question-naire uses self-report measures of affective well-being and intrinsic job satisfaction, anddownward appraisal of managers’ performance by their managers. The managers’ jobperformance construct consists of four contextual dimensions (Endorsing, Helping, Per-sisting and Following) and four task dimensions (Monitoring, Technical, Influencing andDelegating). The data analysis supports the happy–performing manager proposition. Man-agers with positive affective well-being were found to perform their jobs more effectivelythan those with low positive affect. This is especially the case when managers are perform-ing higher level roles and responsibilities involving complex decisions.

Hosie, Willemyns and Sevastos consider what organisational strategies or initiatives canbe used to improve managers’ affective well-being and intrinsic job satisfaction (and there-fore performance). They are wary about offering simple answers. First, contingency theorysuggests that any successful intervention must be situational. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’way to make managers happy. Globalisation is changing managers’ personal operating stylesand affective well-being, creating cultural dynamics that require each organisation to craftits own interventions. Second, inappropriate and unco-ordinated initiatives to improvewell-being may be costly and ineffective.

The second paper by Gollan tackles another relatively underdeveloped field of humanresources research. It is one of the most important and sensitive topics in human resourcemanagement. What is the relationship between the human resources function and linemanagement, and how well do HR managers contribute to organisational performance?This topic has become significant since the assignment and devolution of HR responsibil-ities to line managers has made them central to the effective performance of the HR rolewithin contemporary organisations. Despite the critical importance of line management inthe effective operation of HRM, the respective roles of HR managers and line managers areoften not clearly articulated (indeed there is frequently tension between them). Evidence ofthis conflict comes from one British study which reports as many as 81 per cent of managersbelieving the HR function was out of touch with the rest of the organisation (Brockett2009). This causes Gollan to ask whether sharing such responsibilities is a way for HRMspecialists to be taken more seriously or whether it creates the risk that HR specialists willlose control over both the process and the outcomes of HRM in ways that inhibit, ratherthan help the firm. In essence, what are the costs, benefits, challenges, issues, and strategiesfor HR and line managers if they are to partner more effectively in the design and deliveryof human resource management policies and practices?

This paper explores these issues by reporting data from a project jointly sponsored bythe Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) and the Australian Research Council.Data was collected in ten leading Australian organisations over the last five years from

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interviews with 93 line managers and 51 HR managers. Also a survey was conducted ofnearly 1500 employees in departments covered by the interviews to explore their percep-tions and evaluations of management and HR practices. The paper provides some impor-tant findings. First, HR managers are generally positive about their role, seeing it in termsof strategic partnership, functional expertise and employee development. Gollan interpretsthis as support for the ‘dual identity’ thesis (in which HR managers are both contributors tothe organisation and the professional HR function). In contrast, line managers dividebetween those who believe HR helps them perform their operational responsibilities andthose who do not. As Gollan says, this seems to be a hygiene factor that must be got right,whatever the contribution HR makes to strategy or staff development. Also interesting is theemployee survey which reported positive attitudes towards the HR function (HR tries to befair and has employee interests at heart) while finding HR practices to be marginal to theirinterests (in contributing to work satisfaction and attracting them to the job). Thesefindings highlight the complexity of integrating the HR role into management in a balancedand effective fashion.

Most studies of expatriate accompanying partners in international job placements focuson the challenges of female partners following male breadwinners. The third paper by Colereverses this tendency by examining 45 male expatriate accompanying partners. This studyexamined placements in the Asia Pacific region and looked at the issues males face in theirunique role. Cole’s research employed both quantitative and qualitative research methodsusing data obtained from semi-structured interviews with male partners during theirexpatriate assignments. The results demonstrate that male partners felt comfortable withtheir role in female breadwinner families. However, 85 per cent of the male partners facedcareer challenges of their own while accompanying a female expatriate on internationalassignment and only 21 per cent of them received employer-provided employment assist-ance. Cole found that male partners felt particularly isolated, largely due to their smallnumbers. Participants in the study claimed their greatest needs included the developmentof male expatriate partner groups and better job-finding networking arrangements. Colenotes both the theoretical and practical implications of her work. First, she advocates theneed for the development of social role theory to reflect the growing flexibility of genderroles that has occurred in recent decades. Second, she highlights two practical actions thatemployers can take to ease the adjustment of their female expatriate employees. Employerscan make arrangements for accompanying male partners to socialise in peer groups andparticipate in employment networking.

The fourth paper by Wang and Tran deals with a different issue in managing expatriatejob placements. It explores the relationships between a number of interventions (pre-departure cross-cultural training, post-arrival cross-cultural training, and language train-ing) with subsequent expatriate adjustment and job performance. Questionnaire data wereobtained from 114 expatriates and their supervisors who evaluated expatriate job per-formance in their placements in Vietnam. The results indicates that pre-departurecross-cultural training, post-arrival cross-cultural training, and language training are allpositively associated with adjustment to the wider society as well as within the workplace.

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Better adjustment in these two domains in turn has a significant impact upon job per-formance as they partially mediate the relationship between training and job performance.Post-arrival cross-cultural training has the strongest impact upon expatriate social andwork adjustment. Of the three types, post-arrival cross-cultural training plays the mostcritical role in expatriate adjustment. Wang and Tran provide a number of suggestions formanagement practice. They argue that expatriates with cross-cultural competence arecritical in global business. These individuals should receive both pre-departure and post-arrival cross-cultural training. The authors also emphasise the value of providing somelanguage training for expatriates.

The fifth paper by Paull, Omari and Standen contributes to the research literature onworkplace bullying – a field of growing importance in occupational health and safety policy.Unlike most research which focuses on perpetrator or victims, this study deals withbystanders arguing that they play a critical role in workplace bullying. Bystanders havereceived little attention in the workplace context although social psychologists have studiedthe ‘Genovese’ effect (named when 38 bystanders failed to intervene in the rape and murderof Kitty Genovese in New York in 1964). Paull, Omari and Standen argue that bystanders arenot just incidental but are an integral part of the context of bullying. Drawing on qualitativedata from two separate studies, the authors develop a typology which distinguishes thirteenpotential roles bystanders can take. These roles range from instigating the bullying tobecoming a fellow victim or intervening to halt the bullying. Roles can also be active orpassive. The typology can serve as a basis for further empirical research. In addition it canbe used by management as an awareness-raising tool to encourage individuals to examinetheir own behaviour in a range of situations, and to acknowledge that their actions canshape the outcome of bullying. Paull, Omari and Standen conclude that training uponbystanders’ rights, responsibilities and roles can be incorporated into bullying awarenessand prevention programs.

Implicit leadership theories are the images that people possess concerning how theirleaders should behave or the attributes they should possess. The closer the match betweenthese idealised ‘prototypes’ and observed leader attributes, the greater the likelihood thatleaders will be seen as such and supported in their role. The final paper by Kono, Ehrhart,Ehrhart and Schultze contributes to research on this topic by examining the implicitleadership theories (ILTs) held by individuals in Japan and the United States – two countrieswith significant cultural differences that might affect views of leadership. It aims to identifypotential cultural differences by looking at the variability and mean levels of ILT dimen-sions. The authors collected data from 133 participants in the United States and 164participants in Japan and examined the standard deviations and means of 15 dimensions ofILTs. Findings lend some support for the hypothesis that Japanese participants have lowervariability in their ILTs. In relation to the mean levels of ILTs, US participants had statisti-cally significant higher mean scores than their Japanese counterparts for 11 of the 12 ILTdimensions. These results support the view that there is less variability among Japaneseparticipants than among US participants with regard to leadership attributes. Kono andcolleagues argue that research on ILTs illustrates how cultural values play an important role

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in shaping images or prototypes of leader behaviour and attributes. In particular differencesin the two countries’ levels of individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, andcultural tightness play a part. The authors conclude with some practical observationsregarding leadership in global companies.

Timothy Bartram and Malcolm RimmerEditors

References

Brockett J (2009) Line managers question HR’s credibility. http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/

articles/2009/01/line-managers-question-hrs-credibility.htm

Compton W (2005) An introduction to positive psychology. Wadsworth Publishing, Belmont, CA.

Lyubomirsky S, K Sheldon and D Schkade (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect. Psycho-

logical Bulletin 131, 803–855.

Preiss B (2012) RMIT academics really not happy about having to be happy at work. The Age

27 March.

Snyder C and J Lopez (2002) Handbook of positive psychology. Oxford University Press, New York.

Wong P and M Davey (2007) Best practices in servant leadership. Paper presented at the Servant

Leadership Research Roundtable, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA, July.

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