Ph.D., Antioch University, 2021, Leadership and Change

In the first quarter of 2020, societal upheavals related to the COVID-19 pandemic included employers' work-from-home mandates and an almost overnight adoption of video meetings to replace in-person meetings no longer possible due to contagion fears and social distancing requirements. This exploratory study aimed to address, in part, the scientific knowledge gap about video meetings as a source of emotional labor. The study used mixed methods to explore three hypotheses concerning how the contemporary use of video meetings related to emotional exhaustion, stressors, and coping. Data were gathered through an online survey questionnaire. Emotional exhaustion, the dependent variable in the study, was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Schaufeli et al., 1996) General Survey emotional exhaustion subset of items. Stressors measured included surface acting, which was measured using items adapted from Grandey's (2005) scale. Coping was measured by perceptions about coping resources and cognitive coping. Socio-demographic characteristics served as control variables. Open-ended items produced data pertaining to emotional exhaustion, stressors, and coping related to video meetings. After data cleaning, the sample comprised 345 (n = 345) cross-sector professionals working for U.S.-based organizations. Findings based on a series of linear regression analyses and qualitative data thematic analysis showed video meeting hours and surface acting significantly related to a higher level of emotional exhaustion. Extrovertism, nonwork video gatherings, and social support from another adult in the home were nonsignificant in their relationships with emotional exhaustion. Perceptions that video meetings were too many for participants to accomplish their overall job responsibilities were significantly related to a higher emotional exhaustion level. Perceptions that video meetings were useful to the participant significantly related to a lower emotional exhaustion level. Perceptio (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Elizabeth Holloway PhD (Committee Chair); J. Beth Mabry PhD (Committee Member); Michael Valentine PhD (Committee Member); Emily Axelrod MSW (Other) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Business Community; Business Education; Cognitive Psychology; Communication; Management; Occupational Health; Occupational Psychology; Organizational Behavior; Personal Relationships; Social Psychology; Social Research; Social Structure; Sociology; Systems Design

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2013, Leadership and Change

The dissertation explores leadership and change by examining normlessness in the workplace through a multi-layered study of anomie theory, anomie research in the workplace, and organizational and business management theory. The research validates a quantitative survey designed to measure the level of normlessness experienced by workgroups within an organizational context. The survey reflects a set of six normative aspects that when disrupted produce organizational anomie—a state of normlessness that leads to an increase in worker resistance and a reduction in worker consent. The audience studied in this dissertation is associate professors at a large Midwestern research university. Data were gathered using a 57-item electronic survey that was administered to 1,211 associate professors. The results of the research show the transferability of organizational anomie in the academic setting and also provide evidence for a variation of organizational anomie specific to the academic setting labeled academic anomie. The dissertation provides new ways for leaders and change agents to look at the organizational state of transition when old ways of operating are no longer relevant and new ways of engaging are not yet in place. The electronic version of the Dissertation is accessible in the open-access Ohiolink ETD Center, http://etd.ohiolink.edu/

Committee: Jon Wergin PhD (Committee Chair); Lize Booysen DBL (Committee Member); Randy Hodson PhD (Committee Member); William Bergquist PhD (Other) Subjects: Higher Education; Management; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior; Sociology