Mentoring in China: Enhanced Understanding and Association with Occupational Stress
Tóm tắt
Given the increased usage of mentoring programs in multi-cultural settings, including the Chinese workplace, the present study examined Chinese employees’ understanding of mentoring relationships and whether mentoring played a role in their occupational stress process. Using open-ended questions, Phase 1 of the study investigated the understanding of mentoring relationships from 39 academic experts in relevant fields and 22 practitioners with management experiences. Using a survey approach, Phase 2 examined mentoring within a stressor–strain framework among a sample of employees in China, qualitatively (N = 207) and quantitatively (N = 1,281). Results from this study indicate that Chinese employees understood mentoring relationships in a way similar to Western employees. Although mentored Chinese employees reported a level of psychological strains similar to those not mentored, they demonstrated stronger positive relations between stressors (supervisory relationship concerns, career advancement concerns, and work-family conflict) and strains (depression and emotional exhaustion) than their unmentored counterparts. These findings supported the transferability of the mentoring concept and process from Western cultures to China, a Confucian culture. More importantly, the role of mentoring in the occupational stress process was shown to be complex and intriguing. This research not only advances our understanding of mentoring outside Western cultures, but also identifies the need for future investigation of the complex role of mentoring relationships in employee and organizational stress management.
Tài liệu tham khảo
Aguinis, H. (2004). Regression analysis for categorical moderators. New York: The Guilford Press.
Aguinis, H., Beaty, J. C., Boik, R. J., & Pierce, C. A. (2005). Effect size and power in assessing moderating effects of categorical variables using multiple regression: A 30-year review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 94–107.
Aguinis, H., Petersen, S. A., & Pierce, C. A. (1999). Appraisal of the homogeneity of error variance assumption and alternatives to multiple regression for estimating moderating effects of categorical variables. Organizational Research Methods, 2, 315–339.
Allen, T. D., Eby, L. T., Poteet, M. L., Lentz, E., & Lima, L. (2004). Outcomes associated with mentoring protégés: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 127–136.
Allen, T. D., Lentz, E., & Day, R. (2006). Career success outcomes associated with mentoring others: A comparison of mentors and nonmentors. Journal of Career Development, 32, 272–285.
Allen, T. D., McManus, S. E., & Russell, J. E. A. (1999). Newcomer socialization and stress: Formal peer relationships as a source of support. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54, 453–470.
Arbuckle, J. L., & Wothke, W. (1999). Amos 4.0 user’s guide. Chicago: Smallwaters Corporation.
Aryee, S., Lo, S., & Kang, I. (1999). Antecedents of early career stage mentoring among Chinese employees. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20, 563–576.
Baker, W., & Dutton, J. E. (2007). Enabling positive social capital in organizations. In J. E. Dutton & B. R. Ragins (Eds.), Exploring positive relationships at work: Building theoretical and research foundation (pp. 325–345). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Beecroft, P., Santner, S., Lacy, M., Kunzman, L., & Dorey, F. (2006). New graduate nurses’ perceptions of mentoring: Six-year programme evaluation. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 55, 736–747.
Beehr, T. A. (1976). Perceived situational moderators of the relationship between subjective role ambiguity and role strain. Journal of Applied Psychology, 61, 35–40.
Bohannon, R., Maljanian, R., & Goethe, J. (2003). Screening for depression in clinical practice: Reliability and validity of a five-item subset of the CES-depression. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 97(3), 855–861.
Bozionelos, N. (2003). Intra-organizational network resources: relation to career success and personality. International journal of organizational analysis, 11, 41–46.
Bozionelos, N. (2008). Intra-organizational network resources: How they relate to career success and organizational commitment. Personnel Review, 37, 249–263.
Bozionelos, N., & Wang, L. (2006). The relationship of mentoring and network resources with career success in the Chinese organizational environment. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 7, 1531–1546.
Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S., & Aiken, L. (2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98, 310–357.
Conway, J., & Lance, C. (2010). What reviewers should expect from authors regarding common method bias in organizational research. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25, 325–334.
DeShon, R. P., & Alexander, R. A. (1996). Alternative procedures for testing regression slope homogeneity when group error variances are unequal. Psychological Methods, 1, 261–277.
Eby, L. T., & Allen, T. D. (2002). Further investigation of protégés’ negative mentoring experiences. Group and Organization Management, 27, 456–479.
Economist (2008, 1 November). China moves to centre stage (pp. 49–50).
Fenlason, K. J., & Beehr, T. A. (1994). Social support and occupational stress: Effects of talking to others. Journal of organizational behavior, 15, 157–175.
Finkelstein, L. M., & Poteet, M. L. (2007). Best practices in workplace formal mentoring program. In T. D. Allen & L. T. Eby (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Flanagan, J. C. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51, 327–358.
Glaser, D. N., Taturn, B. C., Nebeker, D. M., Sorenson, R. C., & Aiello, J. R. (1999). Workload and social support: Effects on performance and stress. Human Performance, 12, 155–176.
Hansford, B. C., Tennent, L., & Ehrich, L. C. (2002). Business mentoring: Help or hindrance? Mentoring and Tutoring, 10, 101–115.
Harvey, M., Treadway, D., & Heames, J. (2007). The occurrence of bullying in global organizations: A model and issues associated with social/emotional contagion. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37, 2576–2599.
Heller, K. (1979). The effects of social support: Prevention and treatment implications. In A. P. Goldstein & F. H. Kaafer (Eds.), Maximizing treatment gains: Transfer enhancement in psychotherapy (pp. 353–382). New York: Academic.
Hinde, R. A. (1997). Relationships: A dialectical perspective. East Sussex, England: Psychology Press.
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44, 513–524.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Cultural consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). London: Sage Publications Inc.
Hofstede, G., & Bond, M. H. (1988). The confucius connection: From cultural roots to economic growth. Organizational Dynamics, 16, 5–21.
House, G. S. (1981). Work stress and social support. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Hsee, C., Hatfield, E., Carlson, J., & Chemtob, C. (1990). The effect of power on susceptibility to emotional contagion. Cognition and Emotion, 4, 327–340.
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 16, 1–55.
Hymowitz, C. (2005). Recruiting top talent in China takes a boss who likes to coach. Wall Street Journal—Eastern Edition, April 26, 1–4 (B1).
Jacobi, M. (1991). Mentoring and undergraduate academic success: A literature review. Review of Educational Research, 61, 505–532.
Kahn, R. L., & Byosiere, P. (1992). Stress in organizations. In M. D. Dunnette & L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 572–650). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Karasek, R. A., Triantis, K. P., & Chaudhry, S. S. (1982). Coworker and supervisor support as moderators of associations between task characteristics and mental strain. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 3, 181–200.
Kaufmann, G. M., & Beehr, T. A. (1986). Interactions between job stressors and social support: Some counterintuitive results. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 522–526.
Kitaoka-Higashiguchi, K., Nakagawa, H., Morikawa, Y., Ishizaki, M., Miura, K., Naruse, Y., et al. (2003). Social support and individual styles of coping in the Japanese workplace: An occupational stress model by structural equation analysis. Stress & Health: Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 19, 37–43.
Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York City: Guilford Press.
Kram, K. E. (1985). Mentoring at work. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, and Company.
Kram, K. E., & Hall, D. T. (1989). Mentoring as an antidote to stress during corporate trauma. Human Resource Management, 24, 493–510.
Lankau, M., Carlson, D., & Nielson, T. (2006). The mediating influence of role stressors in the relationship between mentoring and job attitudes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 68, 308–322.
LaRocco, J. M., House, J. S., & French, J. R. P. (1980). Social support, occupational stress, and health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 202–218.
Lazarus, R. S. (1991). Psychological stress in the workplace. Journal of Social Behavior & Personality, 6, 1–13.
Li, C. P., & Shi, K. (2003). The influence of distributive and procedural justice on job burnout. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 35, 677–684.
Liang, K. G., Liu, D., & Cui, Y. Z. (2009). Proceeding of a colloquium on succession planning in Chinese managerial practices. Shanghai, China: C&D Management Consulting Co. Ltd.
Lin, N. (2001). Building a network theory of social capital. In N. Lin, K. Cook, & R. S. Burt (Eds.), Social capital: Theory and research (pp. 3–29). New York, NY: Aldine de Grupyter.
Liu, D., Liu, J., Kwan, H. K., & Mao, Y. (2009). What can we gain as a mentor? The effect of mentoring on the job performance and social status of mentors in China. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 82, 871–895.
Liu, S., & Wu, M. (2001). Effects of protégé’s personal characteristics, gender roles, forms of mentoring, and gender dyads on mentoring functions. Unpublished masterate thesis at Chuang Yuan Christian University in Taiwan.
Lu, J., & Shi, K. (2002). Work-family conflict in Chinese employees. Applied Psychology (in China), 8, 45–50.
Luo, Y. (1997). Guanxi: Principles, philosophies and implications. Human Systems Management, 16, 43–51.
Maslach, C. (1982). Burnout: The cost of caring. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
McManus, S. E., & Russel, J. E. A. (1997). New directions for mentoring research: An examination of related constructs. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51, 145–161.
Peng, M. W. (2006). Making M&A fly in China. Harvard Business Review, 84, 26–27.
Platt, J. R. (1964). Strong inference. Science, 146, 347–353.
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879–903.
Radloff, L. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.
Sanchez, J. I., & Viswesvaran, C. (2002). The effects of temporal separation on the relations between self-reported work stressors and strains. Organizational Research Methods, 5, 173–183.
Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1996). MBI-General Survey. In C. Maslach, S. E. Jackson, & M. P. Leiter (Eds.), Maslach burnout inventory manual (3rd ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Pyschologists Press.
Seibert, S. (1999). The effectiveness of facilitated mentoring: A longitudinal quasi-experiment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54, 483–502.
Siu, O. L., Cooper, C. L., & Donald, I. (1997). Occupational stress, job satisfaction, and mental health among employees of an acquired TV company in Hong Kong. Stress Medicine, 13, 99–107.
Sosik, J. J., & Godshalk, V. M. (2000). Leadership styles, mentoring functions received, and job-related stress: A conceptual model and preliminary study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21, 365–390.
Spector, P. E. (2006). Method variance in organizational research: Truth or urban legend? Organizational Research Methods, 9, 221–232.
Spector, P. E., & Brannick, M. T. (2010). Methodological urban legends: The misuse of statistical control variables. Organizational Research Method. doi: 10.1177/1094428110369842.
Teng, H. (2005). A study of the influence of mentoring function on the work–family conflict. Commerce & Management Quarterly, 6, 335–356.
The Economist (2004a, 2 October). The real great leap forward, 6–11.
The Economist (2004b, 2 October). The dragon and the eagle, 3–6.
Thoits, P. A. (1995). Stress, coping, and social support processes: where are we? What next? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 35(extra issue), 53–79.
Van De Vijver, F. J. R., & Leung, K. (1997). Methods and data analysis of comparative research. In J. W. Berry, Y. H. Poortinga, & J. Pandey (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 301–346). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Viswesvaran, C., Sanchez, J. I., & Ficher, J. (1999). The role of social support in the process of wook stress: A meta-analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54, 314–334.
Wanberg, C. R., Welsh, E. T., & Hezlett, S. A. (2003). Mentoring research: A review and dynamic process model. In G. R. Ferris & J. J. Martocchio (Eds.), Research in personnel and human resources management (Vol. 22, pp. 39–124). Greenwich, CT: Elsevier Science/Jai Press.
Warren, D. E., Dunfee, T. W., & Li, N. (2004). Social exchange in China: The double-edged sword of Guanxi. Journal of Business Ethics, 55, 355–371.
Williams, S., & Cooper, C. L. (1996). Occupational stress indicator: Version 2. North Yorkshire: RAD Ltd.
Xie, J. L. (2008, April). Chinese executives’ job stress experience: Effects of general job stressors, newly emerged IT-related job stressors, and culture-specific stressors. In C. Liu & Y. Liu (Chairs). Using both qualitative and quantitative approaches to study job stress in China. Annual conference of Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, San Francisco, CA.
Xin, K. R., & Pearce, J. L. (1996). Guanxi: Connections as substitutes for formal institutional support. Academy of Management Journal, 39, 1641–1658.
Yang, H.-Y. (1986). A study on the educational thoughts of Confucius. In Central Institute of Educational Research (Ed.), Chinese educational sciences (pp. 192–201). Beijing, China: Educational Sciences Publishing House.
Yang, L. Q., Che, H. S., & Spector, P. E. (2008). Job stress and well-being: An examination from the view of person-environment fit. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 81, 567–587.
Zhang, X. C., & Cheng, X. Q. (2008). A national survey of Chinese managers’ occupational stress. Fortune (China), 2(123), 42–48.
Zhang, X. C., & Liang, Y. (2010). A national survey of Chinese managers’ occupational stress during the era of post-economic downturn. Fortune (China), 2(159), 36–44.
Zhang, X. C., & Ma, K. H. (2009). A national survey of Chinese managers’ occupational stress during the economic downturn. Fortune (China), 2(141), 54–66.