Robert W. Renn , Frances Preston , Frances Fabian , Robert Steinbauer
{"title":"Employee work habits: A definition and process model","authors":"Robert W. Renn , Frances Preston , Frances Fabian , Robert Steinbauer","doi":"10.1016/j.hrmr.2023.101009","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Research indicates that half of employee work behaviors may be habits and that employee work habits can either facilitate or undermine efficient and effective task performance. Yet, management scholars lack a standard definition of employee work habits that promotes actionable knowledge and cumulative research. In addition, although research suggests that employee goal-directed and habitual behavior interface in several ways, the management literature does not address the relationship between these two types of work behavior. After reviewing previous research, we provide a new definition of the employee work habit construct. Our definition distinguishes employee work habits from general habits in three ways: a) they affect organizational effectiveness criteria, b) they are embedded in an organizational context, and c) they are associated with using organizational rewards. We also provide a process model that explains how employee goal-directed behavior can evolve into work habits. With this new precision in understanding employee work habits, management scholars can explore this common but overlooked type of work behavior, rigorously connect employee work habits to other theories and constructs, and greatly expand our knowledge of employee work habits.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48145,"journal":{"name":"Human Resource Management Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":8.2000,"publicationDate":"2023-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Human Resource Management Review","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053482223000621","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MANAGEMENT","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Research indicates that half of employee work behaviors may be habits and that employee work habits can either facilitate or undermine efficient and effective task performance. Yet, management scholars lack a standard definition of employee work habits that promotes actionable knowledge and cumulative research. In addition, although research suggests that employee goal-directed and habitual behavior interface in several ways, the management literature does not address the relationship between these two types of work behavior. After reviewing previous research, we provide a new definition of the employee work habit construct. Our definition distinguishes employee work habits from general habits in three ways: a) they affect organizational effectiveness criteria, b) they are embedded in an organizational context, and c) they are associated with using organizational rewards. We also provide a process model that explains how employee goal-directed behavior can evolve into work habits. With this new precision in understanding employee work habits, management scholars can explore this common but overlooked type of work behavior, rigorously connect employee work habits to other theories and constructs, and greatly expand our knowledge of employee work habits.
期刊介绍:
The Human Resource Management Review (HRMR) is a quarterly academic journal dedicated to publishing scholarly conceptual and theoretical articles in the field of human resource management and related disciplines such as industrial/organizational psychology, human capital, labor relations, and organizational behavior. HRMR encourages manuscripts that address micro-, macro-, or multi-level phenomena concerning the function and processes of human resource management. The journal publishes articles that offer fresh insights to inspire future theory development and empirical research. Critical evaluations of existing concepts, theories, models, and frameworks are also encouraged, as well as quantitative meta-analytical reviews that contribute to conceptual and theoretical understanding.
Subject areas appropriate for HRMR include (but are not limited to) Strategic Human Resource Management, International Human Resource Management, the nature and role of the human resource function in organizations, any specific Human Resource function or activity (e.g., Job Analysis, Job Design, Workforce Planning, Recruitment, Selection and Placement, Performance and Talent Management, Reward Systems, Training, Development, Careers, Safety and Health, Diversity, Fairness, Discrimination, Employment Law, Employee Relations, Labor Relations, Workforce Metrics, HR Analytics, HRM and Technology, Social issues and HRM, Separation and Retention), topics that influence or are influenced by human resource management activities (e.g., Climate, Culture, Change, Leadership and Power, Groups and Teams, Employee Attitudes and Behavior, Individual, team, and/or Organizational Performance), and HRM Research Methods.