What Does Your I-deal Say About Me? A Social Comparison Examination of Coworker Reactions to Flexibility I-deals

Abstract

We focus on the implications of flexibility i-deals, that is, individually negotiated employment conditions regarding when, where and/or how to work, for i-dealers’ coworkers. Drawing on social comparison theory, we examine how coworkers’ attributions regarding the basis for flexibility i-deals (i.e., needs or performance) and perceptions of procedural fairness concerning the allocation of flexibility i-deals predict the display of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) via feelings of competence. The results, based on two independent and complementary studies ( n 1 =260; n 2=211), are consistent with our hypothesized moderated-mediation model. Whereas need attributions are positively related to competence feelings and subsequent OCB, performance attributions are negatively related to these variables. The effects are more pronounced at high than at low levels of procedural fairness. This suggests that fair procedures do not always benefit coworker reactions as they can enlarge the negative impact of performance attributions on feelings of competence and subsequent OCB. Furthermore, we provide evidence for the explanatory mechanisms by revealing that the attribution (needs vs. performance) drives opposing social comparisons (downward vs. upward, respectively) and that procedural fairness can increase coworkers’ felt personal accountability for these comparisons, thereby triggering a matching emotional response. Our results show that flexibility i-deals can have a bright side, but also a dark side, depending upon the basis and fairness of the allocation. As such, they enrich the academic conversation about the effectiveness of flexibility i-deals and guide practitioners.

Understanding the negotiation and performance effects of idiosyncratic deals: Test of a moderated mediation model

“…Despite our study’s methodological strength including its multilevel, multi-source, and multi-wave design, it has some limitations, which by highlighting, we are simultaneously suggesting directions for future research. First and given our focus on examining the role of mutuality in the i-deals process, we neglected to examine the role of coworkers in the initiation and implementation of i-deals (Anand et al, 2022; Ng and Lucianetti, 2016; Van Waeyenberg et al, 2023). Extending our focus on high-commitment HR system as an attribute of the ecosystem of i-deals, future research should examine the extent to which coworker reactions influence and/or interact with other attributes of the ecosystem to shape the initiation and implementation of i-deals.…”

Attached to or stuck in? How resource attributes of i-deals influence the variation in continuance or affective commitment

“…Prior research indicates that the i-deal costs are mainly shaped by coworkers' reactions (Anand and Rofcanin, 2022;Kroon et al, 2016;Liao et al, 2016). Coworkers' reactions to the i-dealers could be positive or negative depending on the context, for example, their relationship with i-dealers or fairness perceptions (Garg and Fulmer, 2017;Lai et al, 2009;Marescaux et al, 2019;Van Waeyenberg et al, 2023). Given that concrete universal resources are associated with relatively stable benefits and dynamic costs, the changes of i-deal valence would be moderated by the cost-related contingencies.…”

Fleksibilitas Kerja (Work Flexibility): Systematic Literatur Review With Blibliometric

“…Karena i-deals fleksibel untuk disesuaikan dengan setiap karyawan, mereka menghasilkan hasil yang tidak setara untuk orang-orang dalam pekerjaan yang sama. Selain itu, mereka dapat menyebabkan eksternalitas (misalnya, konsekuensi beban kerja negatif) bagi rekan kerja, meningkatkan kemungkinan reaksi merugikan yang pada akhirnya dapat mempengaruhi efektivitas karyawan.Secara khusus, fleksibilitas i-ideals dipandang sebagai tolok ukur penting untuk perbandingan di tempat kerja, memberikan pesan simbolis kepada rekan kerja tentang kemampuan dan status sosial mereka sendiridengan evaluasi diri semacam itu yang selanjutnya memprediksi respons perilaku.Berdasarkan pekerjaan inimenyarankan bahwa teori perbandingan sosial adalah kerangka kerja yang berguna untuk mengeksplorasi dan menjelaskan lebih lanjut tanggapan rekan kerja terhadap fleksibilitas i-dealserta untuk menentukan kondisi batas yang menjelaskan dalam situasi apa fleksibilitas i-deals memiliki sisi terang atau sisi gelap (Van Waeyenberg et al, 2022).…”