Merits, Volume 3, Issue 3 (September 2023) – 12 articles

Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs) have been introduced as an alternative to hospital-based treatment. Their effectiveness and the factors that may influence it have not yet been fully investigated. According to Belbin’s theory, a team is more effective if its members have diverse roles. The aim of this study was to investigate if there is an association between CMHTs’ effectiveness and Belbin’s team role balance. Participants were members of eight CMHTs. The data collected were demographics (age, gender), discipline, years of experience, and team tenure. Also, the following scales were administered: the Belbin Team Role Self-Perception Inventory (SPI) and team effectiveness scale (TES). One hundred and six members participated. A significant correlation between team role diversity and effectiveness was found. Multilevel analysis showed that role diversity and being a doctor were the only two significant independent predictors of team effectiveness. Belbin’s theory is therefore applicable to CMHTs. The more diverse roles the members of a team have, the better the effectiveness of the team. Given that roles can be modified, team leaders need to be aware of the members’ roles and be able to modify them. Thus, they can increase the effectiveness of their teams. Full article

International and national crises often highlight behavioral patterns in the labor market that illustrate women’s courage and adaptability in challenging times. The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting changes in the workplace due to social distancing, remote work, and tele-communications protocols showcased women’s power of authenticity and accessibility (interpersonal and personalized experiences) to engage with their constituents effectively. The catalyzed this research was our desire to underscore the importance of studying the impact of COVID-19 on women leaders. The COVID-19 pandemic brought to light specific challenges and disparities women faced in the workplace. It has been asserted that women leaders substantially benefit businesses and organizations and we wanted to test this out through the practices of our research participants. Decades of research reveal that women leaders enhance productivity, foster collaboration, inspire dedication, and promote fairness in the workplace. This article introduces the feminist Connective Leadership Model (CL) an integrative leadership model and one informed by early feminist theory for understanding women’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed-method study of select US women leaders before and during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the CL model and its efficacy for adaptive, inclusive leadership in various contexts. First, this article highlights the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women’s leadership and behavioral response to the crisis through the lens of the CL model. Second, this article delves into challenges the women leaders faced, including adaptive challenges, isolation, team management, increased caregiving responsibilities, and gender-related disparities. Third, this article reframes women’s voices articulated through a crisis management leadership framework coupled with an understanding and application of the behaviors defined through complexity theory which are aligned with the CL model. Finally, the article discusses the four ‘As’ of crisis leadership: authenticity, alignment, awareness, and adaptability. The application of the CL model provides an effective framework for determining the most appropriate leadership behaviors within the complex challenges of a crisis; it enables the leader to focus on personal, employee, and organizational well-being. Full article

This paper explores the challenges early career researchers (ECRs) face in academia and the benefits of being part of a distributed peer mentoring network. The study highlights the importance of social capital and emotional and motivational support in promoting wellbeing and career development, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, the paper examines the impact of a collaborative environment on individual productivity and the development of clear goals. The study reveals that the supportive network of like-minded, ambitious people across borders and hierarchies offers the opportunity to identify with others and create a sense of belonging. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for qualitative methods of social network analysis to investigate the meaning of social structures in the career development of ECRs. Full article

In this study, we examine the relationship between supervisor gender, the adoption of HR practices, and employee commitment. Based on leadership theories arguing that female supervisors are more focused on employee needs than male supervisors, we suggest that female supervisors are more likely to adopt HR practices that address employee needs. Using social exchange arguments, we predict that this in turn leads to higher affective commitment among employees. We test our theoretical predictions using three waves of the German Linked Personnel Panel (LPP). Our results indicate that female supervisors promote personnel development practices (DP) more than male supervisors, which has a positive impact on employees’ affective commitment to the organization. We find no statistically significant effect of a female supervisor on the provision of family-friendly work practices (FFWP). We discuss the implications of these findings and suggest avenues for future research. Full article

The objective of this research was to identify the relationships between the variables of job satisfaction, professional satisfaction, distributed leadership, and the perception of insecurity in academics at five universities located in the state of Guanajuato. The research was of a non-experimental type and, according to its temporality, cross-sectional, because it was developed at a specific moment. The study is also descriptive and correlational, because it analyzes the degree of association between the variables. Finally, an exploratory factor analysis study was carried out (AFE). The results revealed that the relationship between the variables of job satisfaction and professional satisfaction was positive and significant, the relationship between the variables of distributed leadership and the perception of insecurity was positive but not significant, and the relationship between the variables of the perception of insecurity and the distribution of leadership was positive and significant. The relationship between the perception of insecurity and job satisfaction was positive but not significant. In the analysis of the control variables of sex, marital status, type of university, and level of studies with the dependent variable of job satisfaction, statistical tests were carried out to verify the existence of the significant differences between the groups. Furthermore, this analysis was conducted in relation to the variables of sex, marital status, and type of university. Full article

The aim of this study is to analyze the well-being of young music teachers working in Trentino Music Schools (TMS). Specifically, we assess (i) the extent to which the interaction between teaching and playing affects the well-being of young musicians using a satisfaction measure for their overall professional path as teachers and musicians, and (ii) what extrinsic and intrinsic drivers may guide their involvement in teaching activities in the early stages of their careers. To this end, we analyze original survey data on young musicians teaching in TMS to estimate their relative satisfaction and identify their motivational drivers. Specifically, we estimate from elementary items six constructs concerning material work conditions, immaterial welfare (i.e., the capabilities activated by the schools), and initial monetary and non-monetary motivations to become a music teacher, then we run two ordered logit regressions to test whether a set of variables of interest and the estimated constructs contribute to explaining junior teachers’ satisfaction. Our findings highlight that junior teachers are satisfied if they can preserve the desired proportion of artistic activity and can teach a consistent number of hours so as to leave the desired space and time for making music independently of school activities. They consider teaching to be one of the components of their professional activities and can be expected to try to maintain sufficient space to be able to also develop the independent artistic sphere of their career as musicians. Full article

Positive leadership such as transformational leadership is pertinent to employee positive work outcomes, yet not many studies have looked at how it functions under specific work environment (i.e., organizational culture). The present study investigates the process and extent to which transformational leadership relates to employee job performance through performance feedback under hierarchical culture within the Asian setting. Using a cross-sectional design with multilevel modelling, 60 private organizations were approached where 44 teams totaling to 256 participants were included in this study. Results reveal that performance feedback mediated transformational leadership and job performance. In the context of transformational leadership under hierarchical culture, a low hierarchical culture and a high transformational leadership showed the highest level of performance feedback while a low level hierarchical culture and a low transformational leadership showed the lowest level of performance feedback. A high hierarchical culture and a low transformational leadership showed the highest job performance while a low hierarchical culture and a low transformational leadership showed the lowest job performance. Organizations in Eastern countries may depend on the positive effects of transformational leadership for higher performance feedback among employees which positively relate to employee job performance. Full article

Workplace wellness programs have the potential to help improve employee well-being and manage the growing costs associated with poor employee health. Low participation rates stunt the benefits to employee health and limit organizations from maximizing their return on investment. Understanding what influences participation is key to developing effective programs. This research explores the complexity of influencers by blending key concepts of the social–ecologic model and the Fogg Behavioral Model. Ninety-one full-time U.S. employees participated and completed a brief online survey. Key measures included participation in workplace wellness programs, perceived workplace support for health, employee motivation to participate, and employee ability to participate. Perceived support for health was positively correlated with all variables examined. These study findings expand on the current literature to help researchers and practitioners better understand the pathways in which culture of health relates to participation in workplace wellness programs by including the potential moderating effects of motivation, ability, and total number of workplace wellness programs. Full article

The aim of this paper was to assess secondary education teachers’ burnout in the Thessaloniki area. More specifically, the teachers of humanities (THs) and the teachers of sciences (TSs) were examined. In these groups, a comparative approach to burnout was performed. The sample consisted of 142 THs and 108 TSs. The Maslach and Jackson burnout measurement scale and the burnout sources questionnaire, as adapted by Mouzoura, were used to collect data. Based on the results of the survey, moderate burnout level was found in the teachers as a whole. It was also proved that between the two groups, there was no difference in the degree of burnout. In addition, THs record lower rates of depersonalization than TSs. Thus, it seems that demographic characteristics, level of education, and type of school differentiate burnout levels. Moreover, both groups of teachers’ specialties identified issues related to educational organization and administration as the most important cause of burnout. Individually, however, THs appear to be more exhausted emotionally due to professional obligations that magnify the workload and time pressure compared to TSs, who are particularly “affected” by the lack of material teaching resources. Moreover, this paper explores and records several dimensions of burnout faced by the participants in the survey and reports certain recommendations that can practically influence their workplace. Full article

People often offer an excuse or an apology after they do something wrong in an attempt to mitigate any potential negative consequences. In this paper, we examine how individuals employ social accounts when explaining their interpersonal transgression of meeting lateness to others in actual work settings. We examined the different combinations of social accounts and the social outcomes (forgiveness, helping behaviors, and intentions to continue interaction) of being late to a meeting. Across two studies using complementary experimental and survey methods, we found that a majority of late arrivers’ explanations included remorse and that including remorse significantly influences helping behaviors. Furthermore, we found no interaction between excuses and offering remorse. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed. Full article

Organizations are increasingly concerned about their social and environmental responsibilities and are interested in developing strategies to improve their performance and accountability in these areas. One such strategy focuses on leadership styles, by which leaders are selected or trained to address the needs of people and entities outside themselves (i.e., stakeholders), and subsequently inspire their followers to do the same. Implicit in this strategy is an assumption that a new type of leadership is required to achieve social and environmental responsibility goals. In this study, we offer a different perspective by proposing that leaders may only need to be encouraged or trained to emphasize some aspects of their existing leadership styles, while minimizing the use of others. We focus our study in Asia, where a paternal leadership style is prevalent, and often expected by followers. This leadership style consists of behaviors that may be organized into three dimensions: authoritarian, benevolent, and moral. We propose that the benevolent and moral dimensions reflect leadership styles that promote followers’ social motivation and examine their interaction with the self-transcendent values of their followers in predicting followers’ prosocial motivation to help others through their work. We found that only the benevolent dimension was significant and appeared to compensate for low self-transcendent values in followers. Implications for using leadership to promote social responsibility are discussed. Full article

The masculine image and the notions of manual work and physical strength have resulted in more men workers in forestry. This gender imbalance has influenced the sector’s leadership environment, a critical element in the workplace setting for meeting organizational goals. This study aims to investigate women’s leadership dynamics in Perhutani, the only state-owned enterprise responsible for managing forest resources in Indonesia. Utilizing in-depth interviews with 11 women leaders from middle to top management levels, we found that there is a perceived physical limitation barrier to being a woman leader in Perhutani. To climb the career ladder, a support system from family, colleagues, and supervisors is important. However, family can be two sides of a coin, as it is also acknowledged as an internal constraint to being a woman leader. Our respondents acknowledge leadership labyrinth theory in being able to reach top leadership positions and tokenism theory, pointing out that the benefits of women leadership for Perhutani include the realization of gender equality, referring to the key performance index from the Government of Indonesia. For our respondents, being in a men-dominated sector is considered one of the attractive aspects of being a woman leader. They felt constantly challenged, but in a positive way. With these circumstances, our respondents showcase leadership styles in line with the theories of heart leadership and mother leadership. Heart-led leaders draw on the qualities of empathy, love, and vulnerability, while mother leadership means not only leading with the heart of a mother, but also with the mission, vision, and actions of a mother. Full article