Do coworkers make the place? Barjinder Singh explores coworker influence on employee performance

The assistant professor of management’s research was published in the Journal of Managerial Psychology.

Barjinder Singh, assistant professor of management in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, recently co-authored an article drawing on the conservation of resources theory to test a model of influence of coworker-resources (coworker-support and coworker-exchange) on employee performance.

Headshot of Professor Singh
Barjinder Singh, assistant professor of management

In the study, psychological flourishing was the mediator and employee race was the moderator.

In the Journal of Managerial Psychology article, “Coworker influence on employee performance: a conversation of resources perspective,” Singh and co-authors T.T. Selvarajan, California University East Bay, and Stephanie Solansky, Texas State University, found that coworker-support and coworker-exchange were positively associated with psychological flourishing, which, in turn, was positively associated with employee performance.

The authors write, “The study clarifies two pathways: first, an indirect pathway from two forms of coworker influence to employee performance via psychological flourishing. The examination of this pathway is important as it clarifies an underlying psychological mechanism that facilitates the influence of coworker-resources on employee performance. The second indirect path, with race as a boundary condition, limits the effect of coworker influences on employee performance.”

The Journal of Managerial Psychology (JMP) has a unique focus on the psychological and social understanding and impact of management in organizations. JMP positions itself at the leading edge of developments in psychological knowledge as applied to managing and organizing people and work.

Prior to joining Elon’s faculty in 2017, Singh was an associate professor of management at the University of Houston. His teaching interests include organizational behavior, human resource management and business ethics. His research reflects his commitment to pursuing the highest levels of excellence in areas of organizational behavior and human resource management.