Altruism between close relatives can be easily explained. However, paradoxes arise when organisms divert altruism towards more-distantly-related recipients. In some social insects, workers ‘drift’ extensively between colonies and help raise less-related foreign brood, seemingly reducing inclusive fitness. Since being highlighted by W. D. Hamilton, three hypotheses (bet-hedging, indirect reciprocity, and diminishing returns to cooperation) have been proposed for this surprising behaviour. Here we show using inclusive fitness theory that bet-hedging and indirect reciprocity could only drive cooperative drifting under improbable conditions. However, diminishing returns to cooperation create a simple context in which sharing workers is adaptive. Using a longitudinal dataset comprising over a quarter of a million nest-cell observations, we quantify cooperative payoffs in the Neotropical wasp Polistes canadensis , where drifting occurs at high levels. As the worker-to-brood ratio rises in a worker’s home colony, the predicted marginal benefit of a worker for expected colony productivity diminishes. Helping on related colonies can allow effort to be focused on related brood that are more in need of care. Finally, we use simulations to show that cooperative drifting evolves under diminishing returns when dispersal is local, allowing altruists to focus their efforts on related recipients. Our results indicate the power of nonlinear fitness effects to shape social organisation, and suggest that models of eusocial evolution should be extended to include neglected social interactions within colony networks.

Orientation: The implementation of performance management systems (PMSs) and performance appraisals (PAs) by public managers remains a challenge and necessitates an investigation into employees’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the PMS and the fairness of PA.Research purpose: This study investigated the association between employee involvement, performance-oriented culture, management commitment and the effectiveness of a PMS. Six factors that determine and influence employees’ perceptions of PA fairness were also investigated.Motivation for the study: Employees’ experiences of the implementation and practice of PMSs and PAs by public managers may differ from what is intended. The motivation for this study was to quantify employee perceptions of the effectiveness of a PMS and the fairness of PA to establish if there is a discrepancy between what is intended and how they are implemented and practiced.Research approach, design and method: This cross-sectional study conducted a census on a total population of 140 employees in a public sector institution. A questionnaire comprising three sections was used to collect data: Section A contained biographical questions, Section B comprised questions on the contextual factors that measure the perceived effectiveness of the PMS while Section C comprised questions related to the perceived fairness of PA.Main findings: The results show that employees perceive their PMS to be ineffective and their PAs to be unfair. The mean perception scores for PA fairness for the Assets and Facilities Department were significantly lower than those of the Human Resources Department. This is indicative of some deficiencies in the appraisal process in the Assets and Facilities Department. Respondents occupying general positions returned significantly lower mean scores for PA fairness compared to those in managerial and professional positions, which indicates serious shortcomings in their appraisal process.Practical/managerial implications: The findings reveal that employees were not involved in the development of the PMS. Also, the results indicated a lack of employee participation in the PA process, that PAs were not conducted for development purposes, performance feedback sessions were not undertaken on a regular basis and employees were not involved in goal setting. A training programme should address these organisational and managerial deficiencies.Contribution: This research study contributes to the body of knowledge by quantifying the perceptions of employees regarding the organisational factors that influence the effectiveness of the PMS and the six factors, namely appraisers’ knowledge, employee participation, clear goal establishment, employee development, goal establishment, appraisal follow-up and goal discussion that influence PA fairness.

Orientation: Employees are a source of competitive advantage for organisations and human resource management seek to promote employee efficiency. One of the tools organisations utilise to achieve this goal is performance appraisals.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the weaknesses in performance appraisal and to determine whether it is politicised in the North West Department of Health and Social Development in South Africa.Motivation for study: Many organisations either ignore the existence of politics in the appraisal process or assume that its impact can be minimised if they refine their appraisal instruments. Executives admit that, in appraising others, they often intentionally avoid meeting the goal of accuracy in favour of achieving goals that have more to do with exercising discretion and maintaining departmental effectiveness. Ironically, these same executives lament that the appraisals they receive often do not accurately represent their abilities and performance (Gioia & Longenecker, 1994).Research approach, design and method: Self-administered questionnaires were used as a means of collecting data and analysis was done through the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).Main findings: The results of the study showed that respondents believe that performance appraisals are highly politicised.Practical/managerial implications: If used effectively, performance appraisals may improve employee productivity and efficiency as well as motivation and performance. However, if performance appraisal is perceived as unfair and political, it can diminish rather than enhance employee attitudes and performance.Contribution: Amongst others, it is recommended that managers should consider separating assessment for development and assessment for rewards.

Individuals struggle to attain optimal wellness and health  levels due to unhealthy lifestyle behaviour. A holistic wellness model was developed in this study to provide a framework for a cross-sectional survey to assess the wellness behaviour and health risk levels of managers in two South African universities. A census was done on the total population of 324 and responses were received from 89 managers. The study employed descriptive and inferential statistical procedures to analyse  the quantitative data. The findings  suggested  that  the managers had high levels of  wellness behaviour and low levels of health risks. Physical fitness and nutrition as well as medical self-care wellness behaviour  levels were  identified as weaknesses among managers, for which urgent interventions are required.

Lee, Lee and Suh (2016) found that higher techno strain levels increased the productivity. According to Kazekami (2020) and Lee et al. (2016), increased technostress decreases the overall life satisfaction. Most research has been conducted on employees exposed continuously to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a regular part of their workdays, such as computer professionals (Van Eck, 2005) and IT consultants (Ferziani, Rajagukguk, & Analya, 2018). The problem with this approach is that ICT has advanced to such an extent that it is filtering through and becoming an integral part of most business functions and, as a result, potentially affects employees who do not specialise in Information Technology (IT). Technological advancements over the past few decades have had a pronounced effect on how companies do business. These advancements have affected nearly all aspects of the working life (Sowell, 1995). When laptops, cellular phones, internet and video conferencing started emerging in the 1990s, people reacted negatively towards technology (Hess, 2004). These adverse effects on attitudes, thoughts, and behaviour, either directly or indirectly through the use of technology, result from Orientation: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) advances such as computers, tablets, and cell phones allow for information flow like never before, both in terms of speed and volume. But, unfortunately, this has resulted in technostress.Research purpose: To investigate the impact of technostress on the productivity and the overall life satisfaction of managers working in ferrochrome smelters.Motivation for the study: Limited research has been conducted on technostress in a South African context. Most of the researches on technostress were conducted amongst computer professionals and Information Technology (IT) consultants and they did not focus on non-ICT specialists such as managers who are exposed to ICT as a regular part of their workday.Research approach/design and method: This study was conducted within a quantitative paradigm using a correlational design. Main findings:The managers experience low levels of technostress, high levels of IT-enabled productivity, and above-average life satisfaction. No practically significant differences exist for any of the research factors between males and females, whilst techno-complexity and techno-uncertainty increase with age. Technostress does not affect productivity, but a negative relationship exists between technostress and life satisfaction.Practical/managerial implications: Techno-uncertainty and techno-complexity are present amongst older managerial employees. Techno-complexity decreases the self-reported levels of productivity. Strategies such as training and assistance to reduce the techno-complexity for older managerial employees should be considered. Contribution/value-add:This study creates an awareness of the potential negative impact of ICT on productivity and life satisfaction. It contributes to the body of knowledge by quantifying the impact of the ma...