Emerging Outlooks on Relationships in the Workplace

A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Organizational Behaviors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 3256

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Department of Communication Studies, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242-1498, USA
Interests: personal relationships, especially processes of acquaintance and processes of dissolution of relationships; rhetoric in everyday life
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Emerging from a successful Special Issue on the study of workplace behavior was the congruence of novel approaches from several different academic areas regarding the centrality of harmonious workplace relationships in a variety of aspects of life. Also developing is a clearer understanding of what makes such relationships hostile, painful, demeaning and punishing, whether during COVID-19 or as a result of the changes associated with new conceptions of the workplace in the modern world. Accordingly, this second Special Issue welcomes the variety of perspectives that makes research on workplace relationships such a rich and fertile basis for study, with long-term valuable practical effects.  

By emphasisingthe contributions being made on this topic that we may not otherwise focus upon, this Special Issue aims both to respect the contributions that are being made in each subsection of the field and challenge each subsection to consider the findings and perspectives that have been contributed by others from different vantage points. The intention is to create a scholarly platform that enables us to understand workplaces that promote healthy and profitable relationships and avoid the negative effects of imminent changes to the nature of the workplace.

The first Special Issue confirmed that acacdemic work is all the more constructive when we collaborate with others and throw our collective granular achievements into a common grain store from which later scholars can draw. This creates more confidence as the overall picture is not simply generated by single individual scholars, but as a collective activity drawn from many different starting points and methodologies.

I welcome contributions from scholars with an interest in this topic from whichever discipline or perspective they begin. The ultimate purpose of this Special Issue is to generate and enliven scholarship regarding workplace relationships with the hope of generating new connections and collaborations between scholars who can see the benefits of collaborative and integrative work.

Prof. Dr. Steve Duck
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • workplace relationships
  • success at work
  • workplace stress
  • working and COVID-19
  • workplace disrespect
  • workplace bullying
  • workplace productivity
  • working from home
  • organizational communication
  • supervisor–subordinate, peer, friendship, and romantic workplace relationships
  • workplace geography
  • working from home
  • communication competency
  • job insecurity
  • military transition to civilian workplace

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 658 KiB  
Article
Emotional Intelligence and Workplace Spirituality in Predicting Career Success of High-Tech Leaders
by Shwu-Ming Wu
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(11), 1009; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14111009 - 30 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1000
Abstract
In the highly competitive environment of the high-tech industry, leadership roles are often filled with numerous challenges and stressors. Success in the workforce requires a combination of high emotional intelligence and a connection to workplace spirituality. This study aimed to compare demographic differences [...] Read more.
In the highly competitive environment of the high-tech industry, leadership roles are often filled with numerous challenges and stressors. Success in the workforce requires a combination of high emotional intelligence and a connection to workplace spirituality. This study aimed to compare demographic differences among high-tech leaders regarding emotional intelligence, workplace spirituality, and career success. It also sought to examine the relationships and effects of emotional intelligence and workplace spirituality on career success, as well as the moderating role of workplace spirituality in these relationships. A survey was conducted with 139 leaders from various high-tech companies in Taiwan. The results showed that male leaders demonstrated higher levels of self-awareness and self-motivation in emotional intelligence, while leaders with higher education levels exhibited greater self-awareness and empathy. Additionally, both emotional intelligence and workplace spirituality were significant predictors of career success. Notably, workplace spirituality moderated the relationship between emotional intelligence and career success. The implications of this study highlight the importance of enhancing emotional intelligence and workplace spirituality to foster leaders’ career success and gain a competitive advantage in the high-tech industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Outlooks on Relationships in the Workplace)
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16 pages, 7842 KiB  
Article
Impact of Relational Coordination on Job Satisfaction and Willingness to Stay: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Healthcare Professionals in South Tyrol, Italy
by Christian J. Wiedermann, Verena Barbieri, Adolf Engl and Giuliano Piccoliori
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(5), 397; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14050397 - 10 May 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1639
Abstract
Job satisfaction and willingness to stay are critical for workforce stability in a challenging healthcare environment. This study examined how relational coordination, a key factor in teamwork and communication, influences outcomes among healthcare professionals in a bilingual, culturally mixed region of Italy. This [...] Read more.
Job satisfaction and willingness to stay are critical for workforce stability in a challenging healthcare environment. This study examined how relational coordination, a key factor in teamwork and communication, influences outcomes among healthcare professionals in a bilingual, culturally mixed region of Italy. This cross-sectional survey included general practitioners, hospital physicians, nurses, and administrators from the South Tyrol Health Service, using the ‘Relational Coordination Survey’ and additional measures of job satisfaction and willingness to stay. The analytical methods used included descriptive statistics, correlations, and regression analyses. This study applied path analysis, including mediation and moderation techniques, to investigate the roles of relational coordination and job satisfaction in influencing the willingness to stay. It employs Conditional Process Analysis with the PROCESS macro in SPSS, focusing on models for moderated mediation analysis. The results indicated a critical influence of relational coordination on both job satisfaction and willingness to stay among the 525 healthcare professionals. Job satisfaction varied by health district and years of service, with midcareer professionals being the least satisfied. The findings highlight the central role of relational coordination in job satisfaction and willingness to stay and confirm that low job satisfaction increases turnover intentions. Relational coordination directly enhanced job satisfaction and willingness to stay, while also serving as a mediating factor that amplifies the impact of job satisfaction on retention intentions. This study reinforces the need for strong teamwork and communication to stabilize the healthcare workforce. Targeted interventions aimed at improving relational coordination could significantly enhance job satisfaction and retention among healthcare professionals, particularly in culturally diverse settings such as South Tyrol. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Outlooks on Relationships in the Workplace)
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