Suchergebnisse

In recent years, many teachers in Hong Kong are reported as dissatisfied, stressful, and burnt out. The literature has suggested the negative emotions affect both teachers' well-being and teaching quality. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the phenomenon of teachers' emotional experiences at work in Hong Kong. Since a large number of teachers in Hong Kong are found to be unhappy, their emotional experiences can be regarded as a social issue more so than a psychological one. Thus, this research studies teachers' emotional experiences from sociological perspective. In order to have an in-depth understanding about Hong Kong teachers' emotional experiences, this study interviewed 21 Hong Kong secondary school teachers who were selected by maximum variation sampling and snowball sampling, investigated the documents of the informants' schools, and analyzed the education policy documents and the Hong Kong educational news which were published between 1980 and 2011. The findings show that all the informants were committed to making a difference in students' lives as their major teaching purpose. When there was a mismatch between how they perceived their work and what in actual the teaching purpose was, they would feel negatively; otherwise, they would feel positively. The study also finds that positive student-matters were the source of teachers' positive emotions because the positive student-matters signified the informants that they successfully made a difference in students' lives. On the other hand, workload, especially the administrative or what the informants called "non-instructional work", tended to signify to the informants that they spent a lot of time on work that was unhelpful in making a difference. Therefore, the teachers were dissatisfied with heavy workload not only because the workload gave them no leisure, but because they perceived their work as purposeless and unworthy. However, when this study took a closer look at the "non-instructional work", it found that most of the "non-instructional work" suggested by the informants were "instructional" or had "instructional" values in nature. The phenomenon was a result of the power relation between school administrators and teachers which was embedded in and structured by career stage, school administration, and education reforms. Under this relation, the power of school administrators overpowered the teachers in school when it came to the decision-making process. In other words, the teachers often were unable to access the "instructional" values behind their work, school policies and measures decided by the administrators. Under this situation, they might find it difficult to make a difference in students' lives by doing their work, resulting in a negative self-concept. Therefore, they were inclined to experience negative emotions at work. Nevertheless, it is noted that different groups of teachers enjoyed different levels of power in the power relation. For example, the late-career teachers tended to have more power because they were the members of school administrators, but the early- and mid-career teachers were more powerless because most of them were front-line classroom teachers excluded from many school decision-making processes. In addition, some school administrative practices might favour the overpowering relation, but some school administrative practices might not. Accordingly, Hong Kong teachers' emotional experiences should be differentiated across different groups of teachers, although they generally feel negatively at work. According to the findings, this study gives different recommendations to school administrators, the government, and teacher education to improve Hong Kong teachers' emotional experiences at work. ; published_or_final_version ; Education ; Doctoral ; Doctor of Philosophy

Work-related flow is defined as a sudden and enjoyable merging of action and awareness that represents a peak experience in the daily lives of workers. Employees' perceptions of challenge and skill and their subjective experiences in terms of enjoyment, interest and absorption were measured using the experience sampling method, yielding a total of 6981 observations from a sample of 60 employees. Linear and nonlinear approaches were applied in order to model both continuous and sudden changes. According to the R2, AICc and BIC indexes, the nonlinear dynamical systems model (i.e. cusp catastrophe model) fit the data better than the linear and logistic regression models. Likewise, the cusp catastrophe model appears to be especially powerful for modelling those cases of high levels of flow. Overall, flow represents a nonequilibrium condition that combines continuous and abrupt changes across time. Research and intervention efforts concerned with this process should focus on the variable of challenge, which, according to our study, appears to play a key role in the abrupt changes observed in work-related flow.

There is a need for individual‐level research into innovation, which departs from the traditions of mainstream creativity research. A working definition is given which enables innovation to be distinguished from creativity, and a qualitative study, examining individual experiences of innovation, is described. Unstructured interviews were carried out with 27 people in managerial or professional jobs, eliciting descriptive accounts of individual experiences of innovation at work. Transcripts of these interviews were content‐analysed, and the findings are discussed here under three headings: facilitators and inhibitors of innovation, reactions to innovations, and strategies for the management of innovation. Implications are drawn for future research in this area.

The Belgian context was brought under the limelight in the Achbita v G4S Secure Solutions case, the first reference for a preliminary ruling on this subject brought before the CJEU, which was then followed, a month or so later by a question from France in the Bougnaoui v Micropole Universe case. First, the author will discuss adjustments to the work schedule for religious reasons; next, turn to conscientious objections, concluding with the thorny question of wearing religious symbols or clothing. ; Peer reviewed

In recent years many European countries have experienced a substantial growth in immigrants working in the labour market. Empirical data on their work experiences are, however, relatively scarce. Based on a survey of immigrants this article focuses on the expectations, perceptions of unfairness and outcomes of relatively recent immigrants in the workplace in Ireland. Using organizational justice and relative deprivation theory, a theoretical model was developed predicting a set of associations between expectations arising from particular reference groups, fairness at work, met expectations and outcomes. Overall, the model highlights the central importance of fairness in the workplace for met expectations and personal outcomes. This research assists in building a picture of the workplace experiences of these new immigrants, which is useful for both national and organizational policy-makers.

ABSTRACTThe new treatment works at Langsett, in the Pennine foothills of South Yorkshire, was commissioned by Yorkshire Water in July 1985. The works represented a fresh approach to the treatment of highly‐coloured upland Pennine waters utilizing a chemical process.This paper describes the treatment process and reviews the experience which was gained during the first two years of operation. The process has occasionally suffered due to failure of the supporting equipment, and some important lessons have been learned. Subsequent modifications to the treatment plant and method of operation are described.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explain some divergent findings on experiences of fun at work. It explains conflicting findings by moving from a focus on classifying the activity (as, e.g. task/managed/organic) to foregrounding the dynamics of the experience, adding to the growing conceptualisation of fun at work as a multi-dimensional construct.Design/methodology/approachThis research draws on empirical data obtained through case study and interviews with 13 participants from two organisations. These interviews were subjected to intense thematic analysis.FindingsIt was found that an individual's underlying beliefs about the organisation; the perceived drivers of the fun practice; and the level of control exerted over a fun practice significantly shape the experience. The paper draws on the concept of the psychological contract to frame the relationship between these three key interacting elements.Practical implicationsThis paper provides a greater understanding of the dynamics of fun experiences, enabling management to better recognise and contextualise the impact of fun practices.Originality/valueGiven conflicting findings on both the experience and outcomes of fun at work, this study elucidates the dynamics underpinning the experience of fun at work. It is novel to consider experiences of fun through the lens of psychological contracts, which offers fresh insight into the understanding of individual experiences of fun.