Research and Review: Human Resource and Labour Management (p-ISSN: 3049-4125)

The Effect of Team Leaders’ Personality Traits on Team Performance in the Apparel Industry: Evidence from Southern Province, Sri Lanka

Premarathna K. G. D. V, Attanayake K. A. M. T. N — Fri, 15 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Personality is fundamentally a combination of emotional responses, attitudes, and behaviours, comprising various aspects of thoughts, feelings, and actions that make individuals distinctive. It serves as a key motivating factor for performance. This study investigates the relationship between personality dimensions and team performance among team leaders in the apparel industry of Sri Lanka’s Southern Province. Specifically, the study empirically evaluates the impact of five personality traits: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience on team performance. A quantitative research approach was adopted to test the proposed model. Primary data were collected from a sample of 170 team leaders with high involvement in team-based operations through a structured questionnaire. The findings reveal that team performance has a significant and positive relationship with conscientiousness. While extraversion, openness to experience, and neuroticism were found to be statistically insignificant, they, along with agreeableness, showed weak positive associations with team performance. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the model, and it was found that all variables except agreeableness significantly contributed to the model. The study discusses relevant managerial implications based on these results and suggests directions for future research. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on team leadership and personality traits in the apparel industry within the Southern Province of Sri Lanka.

Navigating Shift Work and Workplace Well-Being: Social Work Insights from Emergency Healthcare Staff

Arfa Zahoor — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In healthcare, where every moment can mean the difference between life and death, the contribution and well-being of employees in casualty and emergency units are indispensable for providing prompt, life-saving care. Despite their critical role, the effects of shift work on their well-being, a core concern for social work in healthcare settings, remain underexplored. Social work emphasizes the importance of well-being and advocacy for equitable and supportive workplace environments. The present study investigates the impact of shift work on workplace well-being among employees in major hospitals across Kashmir, shedding light on an area that aligns with social work’s commitment to improving occupational health and advocating for sustainable work environments. The research employed a cross-sectional design to assess the effects of shift work on workplace well-being among personnel in the emergency units of selected hospitals. Utilizing the Perception of Effects of Shiftwork Questionnaire (PESQ), the study gathered data on the health and well-being of various groups working in casualty departments. It explored how the strains of shift work influence workplace well-being as a dependent variable, offering insights aligned with social work’s focus on systemic interventions and support mechanisms for at-risk groups. The findings highlight the unique challenges faced by emergency unit staff due to shift work, particularly its detrimental effects on their physical and mental well-being. These challenges are intricately linked to the broader themes of workplace equity, organizational support, and social justice — the key tenets of social work practice. This research underscores the need for targeted strategies to enhance the well-being of emergency staff, a priority that intersects with social work’s advocacy for healthier workplace environments and policies. Addressing these challenges not only supports the well-being of essential healthcare workers but also aligns with social work’s mission to improve systemic structures.

Leadership Orientation and Job Satisfaction in Pakistan: The Mediating Role of Engagement Conditions

U. Amara — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Leadership is consistently linked to job satisfaction, but the process through which this link operates is poorly specified, especially in collectivist, high power-distance labour markets. Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) framework and the job crafting literature, this study examines whether engagement conditions (the perceived availability of engagement-enabling job resources) mediate the association between employees’ own leadership orientation and their job satisfaction in Pakistani organisations. Survey data were collected from 250 employees of 30 Pakistani corporations between December 2020 and January 2021 (response rate 83.33%). Principal component analysis with Promax rotation reduced 22 Likert items to 12 (KMO = .829; Bartlett's (1954) χ² (66) = 1,491.01, p < .001). Composite reliability ranged from .788 to .830 and average variance extracted from .502 to .511; discriminant validity could not be established. A just-identified mediation model was estimated in closed form from the correlation matrix and standard deviations. Leadership orientation was positively associated with job satisfaction (total effect β = .513, p < .001) and with engagement conditions (β = .561, p < .001), and engagement conditions were associated with job satisfaction (β = .253, p < .001). The indirect effect was significant (ab = .142, Monte Carlo 95% CI [.070, .220]) and carried 27.6% of the total effect, while the direct effect remained significant (β = .371, p < .001), indicating complementary mediation. The resource environment is thus a genuine but partial route to satisfaction. Given the cross-sectional, single-source design and self-reported leadership measure, the findings are exploratory.

Employee Perceptions of AI-Driven Performance Monitoring: Mental Well-being and Job Satisfaction

Sabit Ibne Sazzad, Md. Rafiqul Islam — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The application of AI in performance management by companies raises concerns about worker well-being. This study explores the views of employees about the effects of AI-based performance management on their mental health and job satisfaction, considering the case of an emerging economy such as Bangladesh. To collect data, the study used a qualitative research design involving semi-structured focus group discussions with 10 purposively selected participants (n=10) who are professionals in the information technology, finance, and academic fields. Thematic analysis was applied to the data in six steps. Main themes found were the following: increased fear and stress; reduced autonomy and creativity; unfairness and lack of trust; coping mechanisms; transparency and human involvement; and conditional acceptance of AI. Results show that AI provides consistency and impartiality, but due to its constant presence, it often causes algorithmic anxiety and dehumanization of employees. To use AI effectively, it is necessary to adopt strategies that guarantee human centrality and safeguard the dignity and integrity of workers. The AI-IOB model is one such strategy.

Institutionalising Recruitment Integrity Failures: Opacity, Discretion, and Trust in Uganda’s Service Commissions

Peter Adoko Obicci — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Service Commissions are central to merit-based recruitment and equitable access to public employment in Uganda. Recruitment integrity depends on transparent procedures, bounded discretion, and consistent enforcement. Yet recruitment concerns raise questions about how integrity failures become embedded within practice. Existing research treats opacity, discretionary decision-making, and weak accountability as separate problems. Less attention is given to how these conditions combine to normalise integrity failures and weaken trust. This study examines how recruitment conditions contribute to the institutionalisation of recruitment integrity failures in Uganda’s Central and District Service Commissions. The study uses qualitative analysis based on 38 semi-structured interviews with job applicants, human resource officers, Service Commission members, and oversight actors. Thematic analysis identifies three conditions shaping recruitment integrity. These are procedural opacity, discretionary variability, and fragmented enforcement. Procedural opacity restricts access to recruitment information. Discretionary variability produces inconsistent interpretation of recruitment rules. Fragmented enforcement weakens accountability across recruitment processes. These conditions generate uncertainty about recruitment decisions and avenues for challenge. Persistent uncertainty weakens institutional trust in the fairness and legitimacy of Service Commissions over time. The study contributes an institutionalisation model that explains how conditions transform integrity failures into normalised practices. The model positions opacity as an enabling condition, discretion as a mechanism of variable application, and fragmented enforcement as a condition of persistence. This contribution shifts analysis from isolated recruitment violations toward processes that reproduce them. The study provides a basis for strengthening recruitment integrity through transparency, bounded discretion, and consistent enforcement.