Is workload good or bad for employee innovation? Workload and innovative work behavior are widely studied research topics. However, the relationship between them is not well understood. As a result, there is a lack of evidence-based knowledge that could inform managers and organizations on how to boost workplace innovation in demanding work contexts. Building on the job demands–resources model, the present study posits that workload relates to innovative behavior through work engagement. Specifically, we argue that this indirect relationship exhibits an inverted U-shaped pattern in which workload is most likely to benefit innovative behavior when it is moderate. We further identify mindfulness as an important moderator that influences individuals’ ability to manage stress. In support of these predictions, three studies – a two-wave time-lagged study of 160 employees from various Canadian firms, a three-wave time-lagged study of 153 employees from US firms, and a two-wave panel study of 208 employees from US firms – found work engagement mediated the inverted U-shaped relationship between workload and innovative behavior. Moreover, when mindfulness was high, intermediate levels of workload were associated with increased innovative behavior through enhanced work engagement (Studies 1 and 2). We discuss the implications of these findings for theory and practice.

Using a multilevel framework, we hypothesized that (a) individual perceptions of transformational leadership and (b) team-level transformational leadership climate would be positively related to individual adaptive performance. We also hypothesized that a stronger climate for innovation would enhance the association between transformational leadership and adaptive performance at the individual level. Hierarchical linear modeling conducted on data collected from 120 employees belonging to 35 teams and their managers in an organization operating in the aerospace industry confirmed our predictions. The significance and relevance of these findings for future research on transformational leadership and adaptive performance are discussed.

The authors examined the relationships between perceived organizational support, organizational commitment, commitment to customers, and service quality in a fast-food firm. The research design matched customer responses with individual employees' attitudes, making this study a true test of the service provider-customer encounter. On the basis of a sample of matched employee-customer data (N = 133), hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that perceived organizational support had both a unit-level and an employee-level effect on 1 dimension of service quality: helping behavior. Contrary to affective organizational commitment, affective commitment to customers enhanced service quality. The 2 sub-dimensions of continuance commitment to the organization--perceived high sacrifice and perceived lack of alternatives--exerted effects opposite in sign: The former fostered service quality, whereas the latter reduced it. The implications of these findings are discussed within the context of research on employee-customer encounters.