Despite the severity of the COVID-19 crisis, which has affected organizations worldwide, there is a lack of research on the organizational factors that affect the psychological wellbeing of the employees of an organization affected by the crisis. This research uses the case of employees at two international universities in Thailand that have been directly affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Grounded in social support theory and the job-demand resource model of job stress, this research examines the role of supervisor support in explaining the degree of perceived uncertainties and emotional exhaustion that employees experience due to the COVID-19 crisis. Moreover, this research examines whether the effect of supervisor support on the perceived uncertainties of employees can be moderated by organizational intransigence, that is, a prevailing climate of resistance to change at the workplace. The questionnaire survey data were obtained from a sample of 300 employees at two private international universities, and the partial least squares structural equation model was used for data analysis. The results significantly confirm that supervisor support has a negative effect on the perceived uncertainties of employees. Perceived uncertainties also significantly mediate the negative effect of supervisor support on the employees' emotional exhaustion. More importantly, the moderating effect analysis shows that the negative effect of supervisor support on the perceived uncertainties of employees presents only for employees who work in a workplace climate where there is low intransigence; in a workplace climate where there is high intransigence, supervisor support does not lower the perceived uncertainties of employees.

Although formal communication from an organization’s management is crucial during a crisis to reduce the uncertainties of employee, less is known about the moderating role of social support that could make employees rely less on formal communication to reduce those uncertainties. Grounded in uncertainty reduction theory, this research examines the role of crisis communication on the perceived uncertainties and emotional exhaustion of employees who work at private international universities that have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Furthermore, this research explores the moderating effect of social support in terms of supervisor support and coworker support on the association between crisis communication and perceived uncertainties. Questionnaire data were collected from 300 employees from two private international universities in Thailand. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. The analysis shows that perceived uncertainties mediate the negative association between crisis communication and emotional exhaustion. Moreover, the moderating effect analysis shows that the association between crisis communication and perceived uncertainties is significantly moderated by coworker support, but not by supervisor support. Simple slope analysis also clearly shows that the negative association between crisis communication and perceived uncertainties only presents in employees with a low level of coworker support. For employees with high coworker support, crisis communication does not associate negatively with perceived uncertainties. This research implies that the informal communication that employees obtain from social support could play a compensatory role for their need to rely on formal communication to reduce uncertainties during the crisis.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine some of the antecedents and outcomes associated with a sense of place (SOP) on the part of Myanmar migrant workers working in Thailand toward their place of work. The transformational leadership of top management and diversity climate were selected as the antecedent variables, whereas turnover intention was selected as the outcome variable. Belongingness theory and social identity theory were used as the theoretical foundation to support the roles of these variables. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from Myanmar migrant workers working at two factories in Thailand (n=736). Partial least squares regression was used for the data analysis. Findings The results support a negative linkage between SOP and turnover intention. The positive contribution of transformational leadership of top management and diversity climate to SOP was also supported. Moreover, diversity climate was found to partially mediate the positive contribution of transformational leadership of top management to SOP. Finally, the analysis found that the linkage between diversity climate and SOP was positively moderated by the length of stay of the Myanmar migrant workers in the organization. Originality/value This study provides new evidence showing that SOP also matters for foreign migrant workers in terms of developing emotional attachment to the workplace outside their home country and that these workers were less likely to leave the workplace although they were a culturally minority group in the organization. This research also provides new evidence concerning the role of the transformational leadership of top management and workplace climate, which were antecedents of an SOP toward the organization.

Generation Z has been said to have more in common with their global generational cohort than they do with their parents. The 24/7 access to information, through increasingly ubiquitous Internet access, has been credited as the facilitator of the spread of generational values and characteristics. While this may apply to Generation Z in many developed countries, does it apply in developing nations such as Thailand? For example, by the year 2015, only 40 percent of the Thai population had access to the Internet. Thus, this study attempts to understand to what extent proclaimed Generation Z characteristics and values ring true for a segment of Thai youth with the necessary access to and corresponding usage of connected technology. A literature review was conducted of both English and Thai language literature. Thai Generation Z university students were surveyed, and the results were analyzed using structural equation modeling. On the one hand, the results did support an affinity toward technology, on the other hand, it suggested that Thai youth valued and used the technology differently than their generational cohort in the west, especially concerning content creation. Furthermore, they differed from their global cohort in their preference for collectivism. They also differed from national cultural expectations as they showed tendencies toward low power distance. Finally, work values were largely consistent with international generational expectations in that they showed the strongest preference toward intrinsic and altruistic rewards. It will be essential for Human Resources (HR) to communicate these rewards to attract and retain this next generation of employees. This article contributes to the greater cross-cultural management scholarship by filling a gap in understanding the cultural and work values of a generational cohort in Thailand. It does this by highlighting the institutional and cultural setting this cohort came of age in and surveys cohort members to understand their values and preferences.

The COVID-19 crisis has had severe adverse psychological effects on people globally. Although previous research has shown that mindfulness helps people cope with stressful situations, we do not know whether mindfulness can help people cope with the effects of the pandemic. This research examined the effect mindfulness has on emotional exhaustion on the part of employees who work at private international universities in Thailand that are affected by COVID-19. Grounded in the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this research proposed that the level of psychological hardiness mindful employees have mediates the effect of mindfulness in reducing emotional exhaustion. The Job Demands-Resource (JD-R) model was used as an additional theory to test the moderating effect of workload, which may reduce the benefit mindfulness has in alleviating emotional exhaustion. Questionnaire survey data were collected from 300 employees at two universities. Data analysis was conducted using partial least squares structural equation modeling, and the model showed that psychological hardiness mediated the effect mindfulness has on emotional exhaustion fully. Further, the analysis supported the moderating role workload plays in suppressing the effect of psychological hardiness on emotional exhaustion significantly. A simple slope analysis indicated as well that the negative association between psychological hardiness and emotional exhaustion was present only in employees with light workloads. By integrating the principle of COR theory with the JD-R model, this research extended previous research by showing that mindfulness may not help employees cope with stress during an organizational crisis like COVID-19 when they have to manage a heavy workload.