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What seals the I‐deal? Exploring the role of employees' behaviours and managers' emotions
Author(s) -
Rofcanin Yasin,
Kiefer Tina,
Strauss Karoline
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of occupational and organizational psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.257
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 2044-8325
pISSN - 0963-1798
DOI - 10.1111/joop.12168
Subject(s) - negotiation , process (computing) , psychology , work (physics) , public relations , social psychology , political science , computer science , law , mechanical engineering , engineering , operating system
Idiosyncratic deals (I‐deals) are work arrangements between an employee and a manager, aimed at meeting the employee's specific work‐related needs (Rousseau, [Rousseau, D. M., 2005], I‐deals: Idiosyncratic deals employees bargain for themselves , M. E. Sharpe, New York, NY). Studies to date have focused on the effects of successful I‐deal negotiations, but have paid little attention to what determines whether negotiated I‐deals are also obtained. We propose that managers play a crucial role in this process, and explore the role of managers' emotions in translating negotiation into obtainment. We suggest that I‐deals are more likely to be obtained when managers feel more positive and less negative about an employee's I‐deal process in the aftermath of the negotiation. We then aim to determine what shapes managers' emotions about the I‐deal process. Given that I‐deals are intended to be beneficial for the entire team (Rousseau, [Rousseau, D. M., 2005], I‐deals: Idiosyncratic deals employees bargain for themselves , M. E. Sharpe, New York, NY), we expect that managers feel more positive about the I‐deal process of employees who engage in socially connecting behaviours following their I‐deal negotiation. In contrast, managers feel more negative about the I‐deal process of employees who engage in socially disconnecting behaviours. Results from a two‐wave study of employees and their managers supported our hypotheses. Our findings contribute to research on I‐deals by distinguishing between the negotiation and obtainment of I‐deals and by highlighting the role of managers' emotions in translating negotiated I‐deals into obtainment and the importance of employees' socially connecting and disconnecting behaviours following I‐deal negotiations. Practitioner points I‐deals are individually negotiated work agreements between an employee and an employer about parts of their jobs or specific tasks. Previous research has predominantly focused on the negotiation of I‐deals. Yet, negotiated I‐deals may not always materialize. How managers feel about the I‐deal process of employees in the aftermath of the negotiation is a crucial factor in translating successfully negotiated I‐deals into obtained I‐deals. When managers feel more positive and less negative about the I‐deal process, they are more likely to facilitate the obtainment of employees' deals. Because I‐deals are supposed to benefit the entire team, managers' emotions about the I‐deal process are influenced by employees' behaviours following the negotiation. Managers are likely to feel more positive about an employee's I‐deal process if he/she displays socially connecting behaviours and more negative when the employee disconnects from others in the aftermath of I‐deal negotiations.