Listening

Listening and perceived responsiveness: Unveiling the significance and exploring crucial research endeavors

Abstract

Abstract Listening and perceived responsiveness evoke a sense of interpersonal connection that benefits individuals and groups and is relevant to almost every field in Psychology, Management, Education, Communication, and Health, to name a few. In this paper, we, researchers who have devoted their careers to studying listening (first author) and perceived responsiveness (second author), address the necessity of integrating the two constructs. Moreover, we offer several questions for future research that we believe are crucial to produce a more profound and comprehensive understanding of this important process. These research questions include empirical issues, cross-cultural and inter-racial interactions, age differences, the emergence of new technologies, and opportunities to bridge political, ethnic, and social divides. By highlighting the undeniable impact of listening and perceived responsiveness on interpersonal connection across diverse domains, we emphasize the need to integrate these constructs in future research. Our proposed set of eight pivotal research questions is intended as a starting point for gaining a deeper and more holistic understanding of this critical study area while building a strong empirical foundation for interventions. By addressing these questions, we can foster meaningful advances that have the potential to bridge gaps, improve relationships, and enhance the well-being of individuals and communities alike.
Yaara Turjeman-Levi, Guy Itzchakov and Batya Engel-Yeger
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Organizational Behavior and Social Psychology
Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often face significant deficits in executive function and adverse work-related outcomes. This study aimed to explore the role of executive function deficits in job burnout of employees with ADHD. We hypothesized that employees with ADHD, relative to employees without ADHD, will experience higher levels of job burnout and deficits in executive function. We also hypothesized that the ADHD-job burnout relationship would be mediated through executive function deficits, specifically by selfmanagement to time and self-organization/problem-solving. A field study with 171 employees provided support for the research hypotheses and mediation model in which the employees’ ADHD-job burnout relationship was mediated through executive function deficits. Additional mediation analyses indicated that the specific executive function of self-management to time and self-organization/problem-solving mediated the effect of ADHD on job burnout and its facets. Specifically, for physical fatigue, the mediation was realized through self-management to time, and for emotional exhaustion and cognitive weariness, the mediation was significant through selforganization/problem-solving. The present findings shed light on the relevance of referring ADHD among employees, their vulnerability to job burnout, and the role of executive function deficits in job burnout of employees with ADHD.
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Guy Itzchakov, Jennifer Grau
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Listening
Consider the following scenario. You are preparing for a team discussion about an important project. The meeting was scheduled for 15:00 p.m., but due to technical problems, it starts at 15:15. Your next meeting begins at 16:00. You notice two team members have joined by smartphones rather than computers. This is because their kids use the family’s laptops for virtual school. Three other employees are working from their bedrooms, the only private place in their apartments. You also see a side conversation in the chat room that has nothing to do with the meeting topic. During the meeting, several people turn the cameras off. You forge ahead. After introducing the project’s goals, you realize you were muted and need to start over. This situation would have seemed completely unrealistic just a few months ago. However, since COVID-19, these kinds of challenges are now commonplace. While listening was never easy in the best of times, it is even more challenging today. In part because we are all learning to do old things in new ways. Ann Richards famously contrasted challenges facing men and women, noting,“ ... Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backward and in high heels.” A similar comparison of the pre and post-pandemic workplace listening is apt. For many, virtual listening feels like dancing backwards in high heels, a bit off balance. We are all seeking to regain equilibrium in our communication. This article is intended to facilitate better virtual listening in the post-pandemic era. First, we introduce and define listening. Second, we present empirical evidence on the dyadic and organizational benefits of listening and listening training. Third, we discuss the challenges of virtual listening by providing specific examples from managers. Finally, we offer detailed recommendations for what managers and employees can do to improve their virtual listening skills and practices to support virtual listening.
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