Research Proposal
Title: Employee productivity and the fluctuation of work-related stress in the UAE.
Research question: How is employee productivity related to the fluctuations of work-related stress in the UAE?
Research aim: The aims of the proposed study have been developed, based on the results of the review of the literature. They provide a valid contribution to the current knowledge of employee productivity, stress, and their complex relationship in the organisational and cultural context of the UAE.
Research objectives:
- To explore the notion of employee productivity and its relevance to the organisational and cultural contexts of the UAE.
- To investigate the current status of stress among workers in UAE organisations.
- To develop a model of the relationship between employee productivity and work-related stress, which could be successfully applied in the UAE.
- To understand how different variables impact the relationship between employee productivity and work-related stress in the UAE.
Literature Review
Human resource management (HRM) remains one of the most popular strategic concepts among scholars and practitioners. One of the predominant trends in contemporary HR literature is treating human capital as a moderating factor in the relationship between HRM and the quality of organisational and workplace performance (Wright & McMahan 2011, p. 93). Wright and McMahan (2011, p. 93) are confident that, with the growing competitiveness in the international business landscape, human resources are becoming more important to businesses’ success. Unfortunately, for years, the focus of strategic HRM had been on the practices influencing human capital rather than human capital itself (Wright & McMahan 2011, p. 93).
Most organisations realise the value of strategic HRM for their long-term performance, as the relationship between HR practices and corporate finances are quite strong (Wright & McMahan 2011, p. 93). Still, the field of strategic HRM is relatively new, and it poses considerable challenges to firms operating in diverse cultural and organisational settings (Lengnick-Hall et al. 2009, p. 367; Marler & Fisher 2013, p. 18).
In this context, the current literature on human resources in the United Arab Emirates is of particular importance. It would be fair to say that literature on human resources in the UAE is focused on the analysis of various HRM approaches in light of the growing localisation and emiratisation of the national workforce. Localisation and emiratisation are the themes that transcend all aspects of HRM research in the UAE. Rees, Mamman and Braik (2007, p. 33) explored the issue of emiratisation as a strategic challenge for HRM in a UAE petroleum company. According to Rees et al. (2007, p. 33), nationalisation has become the dominant feature of HRM initiatives in the UAE, and its primary goal is to facilitate the employment of nationals as a preference to foreigners.
The researchers confirm that the issue of nationalisation in HRM is surrounded by controversy, in both theoretical and practical domains. The implementation of emiratisation programs in the UAE requires immediate responses to numerous issues, such as management commitment, resistance to change, and others (Rees et al. 2007, p. 33). The topic of nationalisation and localisation of workforce is further continued by Forstenlechner and Mellahi (2011, p. 455). In the UAE, organisations tend to hire host country nationals either for the considerations of external legitimacy or for the purpose of greater economic efficiency (Forstenlechner & Mellahi 2011, p. 456).
Many factors influence HRM decisions in the UAE-based firms, and HR specialists in the UAE consider a variety of potential influences when hiring nationals. In most cases, the lack of educational qualifications and high initial wage demands have a weaker effect on hiring decisions in UAE firms than applicants’ motivation to engage vocational training and ignore the disparities in the rights guaranteed to national and expatriate employees (Forstenlechner et al. 2012, p. 406).
At the same time, this challenging context necessitates the development and provision of more effective policies. Organisations need to fine-tune the existing HRM approaches and adjust them to the new conditions of the HR performance at both the organisational and national levels (Forstenlechner 2010, p. 135). Bearing in mind the growing role of emiratisation policies in human resource management in the UAE, it comes as no surprise that work relations are among the most popular sub-topics in the study of HR.
When it comes to the analysis of work relations in HRM, organisational commitment, involvement, and diversity are still the most prevalent topics. According to Behery (2009, p. 179), organisational commitment is related to the extent, to which employee skills and talents fit the job. In other words, person-organisation job fitting predetermines organisations’ successes in hiring and retaining the most prospective employees.
Commitment and involvement go hand in hand, and in the study of work relations employee involvement occupies one of the most important positions. Behery (2011, p. 21) writes that employee involvement can be crucial to the long-term success of organisations in the UAE, but only when it is an element of a larger employee involvement organisational culture. Nevertheless, as it is with the broader topic of HR, the sub-topic of work relations in the UAE is frequently reviewed through the prism of the nationalisation, localisation, and emiratisation policies. As a result, many researchers focus their empirical efforts on the analysis of the local-expatriate employee relations, diversity initiatives, and their implications for the workplace and organisational performance.
The importance of nationalisation and localisation themes in the study of work relations is justified by the fact that, in the UAE, nationals make up less than one-fifth of the population and less than 2 per cent of the national workforce (Yaghi & Yaghi 2013, p. 15). Despite numerous initiatives, the current level of HR diversity in the workplace is far from desirable (Yaghi & Yaghi 2013, p. 15). Quota systems were implemented to expand the presence of a diverse workforce in UAE organisations (Forstenlechner, Lettice & Orbilgin 2012, p. 299).
However, the relational and multi-level dynamics of HRM impede the effectiveness of these quota systems (Forstenlechner et al. 2012, p. 299). Organisations in the UAE follow two distinct ways towards emiratisation: they either report compelling statistics to avoid penalties or assume responsibility for integrating locals into their workforce (Forstenlechner 2008, p. 82).
Certainly, these diversity problems have profound implications for the quality of work relations among expatriates and locals. Neal (2010, p. 242) reports the difficulties encountered by locals and expatriates, who are bound to work collaboratively. Their work relations can potentially suffer, although organisations are fully equipped to address and neutralise the risks of such conflicts (Neal 2010, p. 242). In the UAE, organisations face double pressures, as they must promote healthy work relations and, at the same time, comply with the standards and requirements of the emiratisation and localisation policies.
This is why nationality remains one of the vital factors in the analysis of employee relations in the UAE. Elamin (2011, p., 20). Elamin (2011, p. 20) investigated the impacts of managers’ nationality on work satisfaction in UAE banks and discovered that nationality was an important predictor of employee satisfaction in the banking sector. It is possible to assume that nationality and workplace status will also have some implications for stress and workplace productivity within organisations.
As a specific and multifaceted topic, employee productivity draws a lot of scholarly attention. Dozens of studies were conducted to understand the notion of employee productivity and factors that could help organisations make their employees more productive. Much has been written and said about employee productivity in the United Arab Emirates. Nonetheless, the current knowledge of productivity in the context of UAE is incomplete.
A few studies were conducted to explore the broad notion of employee productivity and factors affecting it in the Middle East. For example, Ailabouni, Painting and Ashton (2009, p. 555) analysed employee productivity in the UAE construction industry and found out that group dynamics, control, supervision, and timing of the construction activities were all directly related to the quality of employee results.
Mahamid, Al-Ghonamy and Aichouni (2013, p. 16) also cited the major factors impacting employee productivity in public construction and concluded that the lack of employment experience, poor coordination and communication, wrong timing, low wages, and poor site management negatively influenced the quality of employee performance. The main deficiency of these studies is that they may not be generalisable to the employment contexts beyond the Middle East. At the same time, they could inform the models and findings of the study into the relationship between productivity and work-related stress fluctuations in the UAE.
At different times and in different contexts, researchers explored the notion of employee productivity and its relation to various organisational and individual factors. Halpern et al. (2001, p. 233) confirmed that workers’ health status, namely, their smoking habits, was statistically related to their workplace productivity and the risks of absenteeism. Rosekind, Gregory, Mallis, Brandt, Seal and Lerner (2010, p. 91) assessed the effects of sleep disturbances on employee performance and productivity and concluded that insomnia led to significantly lower productivity in the workplace.
Dewa and Lin (2000, p. 41) greatly contributed to the study of workplace productivity, suggesting that psychiatric disorders could lead to workplace disability, while chronic physical stress could reduce firms’ chances to make their workers more productive. Researchers’ sustained commitment to the study of health factors of employee productivity suggests that workers’ health is the determining feature of their effectiveness and efficacy in the workplace. Among other health factors, stress and its relation to employee productivity are still one of the most interesting topics of research.
Recent studies indicate that researchers are interested in understanding how stress affects productivity in the workplace. A number of studies were organised to explore complex stress-productivity relationships. Naqvi et al. (2013, p. 525) investigated the causes and effects of job stress on employee productivity in the health care sector and discovered that the main causes of job stress included the lack of financial rewards, non-flexible work hours, and low control over workplace obligations.
Ahari et al. (2013, p. 42) continued this line of research, suggesting that job stress is directly related to job productivity, organisational productivity, and job performance. It is interesting to point out that, among other scholars in the field of productivity research, only Ahari et al. (2013, p. 49) provided a brief review of the employee productivity concept. According to Ahari et al. (2013, p. 49), “productivity is the maximisation of utilising the resources, human force and schemes scientifically to decrease expenses and increase employees, managers, and consumers’ satisfaction.” Some variables are claimed to moderate the relationship between stress and productivity, such as transformational leadership (Happiness and Productivity in the Workplace 2012, p. 24; Vincent-Hoper, Muser & Janneck 2012, p. 663). However, these assumptions should be empirically validated before they are accepted as a universal truth.
Because stress is believed to impact job productivity, some researchers analyse the potential effects of stress reduction programs on employee performance. In most cases, these programs prove to be a valuable mechanism of stress reduction in organisational settings. Matin, Razavi and Emamgholizadeh (2014, p. 1) conclude that stress management positively and significantly influences workforce productivity. Andersen and Arnetz (2005, p. 671) support these results and confirm that psychosocial interventions enhance employee performance, well-being and, consequently, organisational productivity and performance.
These results imply the need to implement innovative solutions that could reduce stress and speed up productivity developments in the workplace. However, not all HRM interventions are universally effective. Canibano (2013, p. 645) writes that innovative HR interventions can be equally beneficial and detrimental to employees and organisations. When innovative strategies are implemented, the existence of numerous trade-offs should not be disregarded (Canibano 2013, p. 643).
Employee opinions do matter in how various HRM policies are used because their perceptions of policy effectiveness are directly related to their commitment and satisfaction at work (Ansari 2011, p. 122). These findings, as well as the absence of empirical research into stress and productivity in the UAE, justify the need for the proposed study. Its findings will pave the way to developing effective interventions that will enhance employee wellbeing and, with time, organisational performance in the UAE.
In conclusion, the current state of literature does not provide a valid answer as to how stress relates to productivity. Meanwhile, the broad topics of human relations and HRM keep attracting scholars’ attention. As the intensity of competition in all business sectors continues to increase, organisations naturally strive to secure themselves from competitive losses. Human resources are considered to be unique and inimitable, and it is not surprising that HR development and management remain popular topics in the theoretical and empirical literature.
Equally popular is the topic of productivity, as firms seek to make their employees more productive and, therefore, cost-effective in the long run. Contemporary literature provides little insight into the issue of work-related stress and its implications for employee productivity. On the one hand, it is clear that stress does impact the ways in which employees cope with their obligations. On the other hand, better knowledge of the stress-productivity relationship will enable organisations to design effective strategies that will make workers more productive in the long run.
Given the complexity of the cultural and HRM issues facing business enterprises in the UAE, including emiratisation and localisation of the workforce, any study into the role of stress in employee productivity would benefit local and international businesses operating in the United Arab Emirates.
References
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