| Workforce Reduction Practices and Perceptions of Organizational Dysfunction in Canadian Hospitals |
| | Rondeau, Kent Vernon | U. of Alberta | kent.rondeau@ualberta.ca | (403)-492-8609 |
| | Wagar, Terry Hubert | St. Mary's U. | wagar@husky1.stmarys.ca | (902)-420-5770 |
| | Over the past few years many nations have undertaken activities aimed at restructuring and reengineering their health system as a means of achieving greater cost effectiveness and consumer reponsiveness. Many efforts for reforming health care delivery have been accompanied by the downsizing of health care organizations. It is widely believed that organizations undergoing decline or significant workforce contractions can experience a number of negative or dysfunctional attributes as a consequence of reductions in, or redeployments of, their labour force. For organizations undergoing planned workforce reductions, much speculation has been made aimed at identifying a set of "best practices" that have the potential to mitigate against the dysfunctional consequences associated with large permanent reductions in the workforce. This paper explores the relationships among certain workforce reduction practices and perceptions of organizational dysfunction in a large sample of Canadian hospitals. Results of the analysis suggest that the application of certain "progressive" workforce reduction practices preceding, during, and subsequent to the downsizing process may play an important role in mitigating some of these dysfunctional organizational consequences. This research provides some evidence to suggest that how a workforce reduction is carried out may have a greater impact on organizational effectiveness than either the magnitude or severity of the overall workforce reduction. |
| | Keywords: Downsizing; Workforce reduction practices; Organizational dysfunction |
| Predicting Who Resigns and Who Gets Laid-Off in a Hospital Environment of Repeated Downsizing: An Event History analysis |
| | Iverson, Roderick D. | U. of Melbourne, Australia | r.iverson@ecomfac,unimelb.edu.au | +613 9344 7028 |
| | Pullman, Jacqueline A. | U. of Melbourne, Australia | r.iverson@ecomfac.unimelb.edu.au | +613 9344 7028 |
| | In this study we formulate and test models of voluntary turnover and
downsizing in a hospital undergoing workforce reduction following a
merger. Targeted separation packages were primarily employed by the
hospital in identifying departments and units as having surplus staff.
Determinants for the models were derived from the disparate disciplines of
economics, sociology, and psychology, as well as demographic and change
variables. Applying event history analysis to data from a sample of 415
hospital employees over a five year period, the results indicate that
older, full-time employees, who were less absent, and had an acceptable
workload, yet experienced lower co-worker support and responded negatively
to the amalgamation of the hospital were more likely to be downsized.
Conversely, employees who were younger, white-collar, intended to leave,
and predisposed to the amalgamation were more likely to resign. The
theoretical and empirical implications of these findings are discussed. |
| | Keywords: Downsizing; Voluntary turnover; Merger |
| The Direct and Mediating Roles of Personality and Moods in Nursing Burnout in Two Hospitals |
| | Zellars, Kelly Lee | U. of Alabama, Birmingham | kzellars@www.business.uab.edu | 205-934-8840 |
| | The preponderance of job burnout studies has focused on environmental causes of burnout. This field study refocused the attention on individual factors by examining the role of two personality traits (Extraversion and Neuroticism) on levels of job burnout among nurses working in a hospital setting. It also examined the role of positive and negative moods as contributors to burnout. Results indicated that Extraversion significantly predicted the diminished accomplishment component of burnout, and Neuroticism significantly predicted the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization components. Further, positive moods were found to mediate between Extraversion and personal accomplishment while negative moods partially mediated between Neuroticism and emotional exhaustion. Implications for healthcare administrators are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered. |
| | Keywords: burnout; personality; moods |