What to do and what works? Exploring how work groups cope with understaffing
Winny Shen1, Kirk Chang2, Kuo-Tai Cheng3
1Department of Psychology.
Journal of Occupational Health Psychology
|July 31, 2018
Summary
Work groups cope with understaffing by adapting leadership behaviors. Consideration behaviors by leaders mitigate group burnout when facing expertise shortages, while initiating structure behaviors address manpower shortages.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Psychology
- Workplace Stress Management
Background:
- Understaffing is a prevalent workplace stressor with documented negative effects.
- Limited research exists on how work groups cope with understaffing and the effectiveness of these strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how work groups cope with understaffing stressors.
- To examine the mediating and moderating effects of coping strategies on group performance and burnout.
Main Methods:
- A study of 96 work groups across four technology organizations.
- Analysis of leadership behaviors (initiating structure, consideration) and team-member exchange in response to understaffing.
Main Results:
- Work groups adapt leadership styles based on understaffing type: initiating structure for manpower, consideration for expertise.
- Leader consideration during expertise understaffing negatively correlated with group burnout.
- Leadership and team actions moderate the impact of manpower understaffing on group outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Work groups actively cope with understaffing, employing varied strategies.
- Specific leadership behaviors are more effective in mitigating negative outcomes like burnout.
- Findings offer insights for managing understaffing in organizational settings.
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