Islamic work ethics and individualism in managing a globalized workplace: Does religiosity and nationality matter?

Abstract

The integration of work ethic theories with religious beliefs and Hofstede’s national culture typology implies that Islamic work ethics peculiarly support social symbiosis and collectivism. On the contrary, present globalized workplace is pragmatically driven by individualism. To sort out these concerns, this cross-cultural study links Islamic work ethics to individualism at globalized workplace and examines the moderating influence of employee religiosity and nationality. A stratified sample of 307 employees from leading multinational corporations operating in United States, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom and Pakistan participated in the study. The study found a strong positive relationship between Islamic work ethics and individualism, and no significant interaction effect of employee nationality and religiosity was observed. Together, the findings suggest that Islamic work ethics advocate a great deal of individualism, and can benefit the multinational corporations in managing their diversified workforce with a view to get maximum advantage of the opportunities offered by globalization.

Does Organizational Cronyism Lead to Lower Employee Performance? Examining the Mediating Role of Employee Engagement and Moderating Role of Islamic Work Ethics

“…Employees with high IWE pay less attention to the unfair treatment of managers and remain engaged and involved in their duties ( Javed et al, 2019 ). This is due to the attribute of IWE, which motivates employees to avoid all types of undesirable attitudes and behaviors in the workplace ( Khan et al, 2013 ; Alam and Talib, 2015 ). Therefore, when employees face organizational cronyism, the practices of IWE provide them with feelings of optimism and support ( Khan et al, 2013 ; Murtaza et al, 2016 ).…”

“…An extensive literature on organizational cronyism suggests that when employees experience unfair treatment in the workplace, their perception of fairness is breached; therefore, they seem less interested, less committed, and less satisfied in the workplace ( Arasli and Tumer, 2008 ; Karakose, 2014 ; Gupta et al, 2016 ; Saleem et al, 2018 ). However, all these negative behaviors are prohibited in Islam because Islam deters employees from negative behaviors and, in its place, strongly encourages commitment and hard work ( Alam and Talib, 2015 ). Teachings of Qur’an and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him) encourage hard work and discourage idleness.…”

Impact of abusive supervision on deviant work behavior: The role of Islamic work ethic

“…However, it is argued here that employees who show an IWE pay less attention to a supervisor's abusive behavior. This can be attributed to the fact that an IWE encourages employees to avoid any type of negative behavior in the workplace (Alam & Talib, ; Ali, ; Ali & Al‐Owaihan, ; Murtaza et al, ). Hence, if the employee is subjected to abusive supervision, the IWE provides him/her with a feeling of hope and support.…”

Entrepreneurship as worship: A Malay Muslim perspective

“…Hence, in the Malaysian context, entrepreneurship is seen as an act of worship; or in western terms, a calling, where one’s purpose is to contribute to the collective well-being of society. Indeed, idleness is strongly discouraged as it detracts from establishing a balance between one’s own life and that of society (Alam & Talib, 2016), while also demonstrating a lack of faith (Possumah, Ismail, & Shahimi, 2013).…”

“…Yet a monolithic perspective of Islam is often portrayed in the mainstream media (Yusof, Hassan, Hassan, & Osman, 2013; Alam & Talib, 2016). In addition to the two broad sects within Islam, Sunni and Shia, are four school of thoughts (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii, and Hanbali) that signify Islam is more diverse, nuanced, and heterogeneous than what is usually described (Hughes, 2016).…”