Abstract
Previous research on idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) has treated them as concrete events, arguing that these i-deals shape employment relationships and impact on work performance over long periods of time. However, some types of i-deals may be negotiated and shaped over short periods of time. The aim of this research is to understand the social context within which these types of i-deals unfold and influence employee work performance. Focusing on task i-deals and adopting a weekly diary design approach, we explore the role of relationship quality with co-workers and managers that matter for the obtainment of task i-deals and how obtained task i-deals translate into work performance, over weeks. To explore our research questions, we collected weekly diary data (over seven weeks; n = 67 employees; 67 co-workers and 23 managers) from employees, their co-workers and managers. The results from multi-level analyses demonstrate that weekly reports of co-worker support matter more to obtain task i-deals than employee’s relationship quality with their manager. Furthermore, results underline that weekly structural job resources explain how and why obtained task i-deals lead to enhanced work performance over weeks. HR managers and practitioners can design task i-deals as short-term intervention tools to drive work performance.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 555-565 |
| Journal | European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 15 Oct 2020 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 31 Dec 2021 |
Funding
We would like to extend our genuine thanks to our Handling Associate Editor Professor Ans de Vos and the excellent constructive feedback of the reviewer team.