Job Burnout

Job burnout is the result of long-term job stress that wasn't recognized and addressed before it
spun out of control. In other words, job burnout happens when work stress or work-related
stress has not been dealt with adequately.
As such, to address job burnout, organizations must be cognizant of job stress and work-related
early, before the job burnout phenomena actually happen. Here are some suggestions to
minimize job burnout.
1. Ensure the distribution of task and jobs are within their employees capabilities to
undertake them.
2. Provide favorable working conditions.
3. Provide help and assistance to employees who feel that they suffer work and work-
related stress
4. Be on the lookout for employees who may be suffering from work and work-related
stress and give them proper help (this may require the organization to employ
professional counselors/ industrial psychologists)
5. Be prepared to take action early for employees who are at risk of job burnout (this may
require a system in the organization to identify employees who may be at risk i.e. those
who are showing symptoms of job or job-related stress).
6. Ensure to all employees that if they are feeling stressed at work: that it is OK for them
to seek help.

The Hustle Culture

In a nutshell, hustle culture (as the name also implies) means constantlly working. It means
devoting as much of your day as possible working — hustling. There is no time out or time to
rest at work. Work is done in the office, outside the office, at home, at coffee shops —
anywhere.
Recent manifestations of this culture indicates a more sinister aspect – not only that you got to
work hard all the time anywhere and everywhere, you also must increase this momentum of
working hard; in other words to work harder and harder. For example: if you can do a job in
let say in 2 hours you should strive to do it in 1 hour. And in line with the dominant view of
those who support this hustle culture – this essence must be internalized or taken up to be part
of any individual’s ambitions and aspirations in life.
One of the proponents of this notorious and crazy hustle culture is Elon Musk, in which this
quote below captures the the contemporary definition of the hustle culture.

By applying at least ONE Organizational Behavior concept or theory that you have learned,
illustrate the impact of hustle culture on workers’ productivity.
Rosie and Alisha - The Poor Junior Accountant and the Ambitious Boss
Imagine that this is a top auditing/taxation/ advisory firm like Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, Ernst &
Young etc. You are a top executive in this firm, and you are considering a tricky situation
involving two people.
Meet Alisha, the manager at this auditing firm; specifically she is at the Business Advisory
department. Alisha the manager has a CMBA (Corporate Master of Business Administration)
degree and she is very fond of her student days. This should not be surprising as she is one of
the top graduates of the CMBA and was featured as an example of success during the previous
Alumni Dinner. On top of that she has ACCA. She does not have an undergraduate degree as
she took the ACCA right after STPM. She was very proud of her ACCA as she finished on time
(as in the ACCA this feat is quite impossible as passing rate especially for professional courses
(in the advanced stage) have been set to be very low. Note: This is the old structure of the
ACCA – the new structure has been changed). She is also proud of her performance in the
ACCA courses; she averages a 95% and the lowest mark that she got is 91%.
This manager is also so much in love with the OCB (Organizational Citizenship Behavior)
concept, so much so that the concepts of team loyalty and organizational citizenship are
expressed in every hour and even in every minute down to the seconds of working time. In fact
her knowledge of the OCB was even greater than that of her CMBA lecturers. Actually she was
offered a place for the DBA (Doctorate in Business Administration); but she declined to take it
as she said that her passion is in getting into the thick of managing and leading; not so much to
dwell on theoretical and abstract matters. She said that she wants to prove herself in becoming
a true leader; not just to ponder at the theoretical level how a great leader should behave.
Indeed, she prides herself as being a transformational leader with the success of her previous
assignment in which she transformed one department (previously she was at the Compliance
Department) from being a ‘dog’ (worst performer) to being a ‘star’ with the potential of being
a cash cow in the foreseeable future. She is also continuously enhancing her knowledge in the
JCM (Job Characteristic Model) which she used in the previous assignment which saw
significant reductions in staff numbers (low rankers and managerial) as a result of aggressive
job enlargement and job enrichment targets. She managed to reduce 50% of staff in the
Compliance Department; but yet able increase the work load by 200%!
Imagine also that this manager has one team member, a junior accountant who has to care for
her ailing parent who is stricken with cancer. Her name is Rosie. Rosie was previously in the
Audit department but was transferred to Business Advisory due to compassionate reasons. In
this particular situation she has to be next to her mother in General Hospital (at the Oncology
Ward) and if you don’t know – cancer patients can be hospitalized due to many reasons and
even the doctor cannot predict when the patient can be discharged. (Also because this worker
is poor she cannot send her mother to KPJ, Timberland, Normah or BMC (Borneo Medical
Center) as the per night charges is similar to a 5 star hotel! And medical consultations and
medications cost a fortune! If you are poor, the public health system will not work optimally
for you. Read this article to understand more: Why new cancer drugs are unavailable in
Malaysian public hospitals ). Whatever it is, the management of the firm thought that by
transferring Rosie to Business Advisory, this would allow Rosie to take care of her mother
better.
This junior accountant is also working hard to get here CPA. She is working towards obtaining
the MICPA-ICAA qualification. In doing this she is at a disadvantage as at the time of
graduation the Accounting Program of FEB-Unimas was not accredited by MIA so she has to
begin from basic even though this is a repetition of what she have been taking in Unimas. She
is taking the MICPA-ICAA as this is what her mother wants her to do. To say that she is
sacrificing a lot is actually an understatement - as not just money but also time and even her
health is affected. She tried to get sponsorship like the MICPA Student Sponsorship program
but she could not; the competition is extremely tough
Because of her responsibilities, Rosie lost lots of sleep and naturally her work performance
suffers. She took leave but her leave ran out; so she has to take care of her mother at night and
come to work during the day. Rosie has discussed her problem with the Alisha. The manager
however scolded Rosie, and she told Rosie that loyalty and citizenship to the organization must
be maintained especially in today’s hyper competitive and highly challenging market place.
Moreover, Rosie was being transferred to Business Department; so what more should the firm
give to Rosie. Alisha told Rosie that all personal problems must be left out of the working
place. The manager gave the Rosier an ultimatum: be a team player or your place in this
department and organization will be compromised.
One morning after clocking in work poor Rosie subsequently suffered a nervous breakdown
and was sent to a panel clinic; and subsequently she was given one week off. The HR executive
managed to talk to Rosie when she was in the clinic and she told the executive about her
situation. After meeting with Rosie, the HR executive met with the Alisha. Alsiha justified her
actions stating that personal life must never be used as an excuse to slack in work. The manager
told the HR executive that she would sent a formal report to the HR department requesting the
termination of Rosie due to the inability to fully commit to work.
Ultimately the story of Rosie and Alisha comes to your attention.
You are now considering what actions to take. On that morning just when you are finished
reading Alisha’s recommendations (that Rosie’s position in the company must be terminated),
your secretary told you that Rosie’s mother have passed away. Rosie was not besides her mother
as she was still hospitalized due to a nervous breakdown.

1. Is it justifiable to ‘blame’ the poor junior accountant and that she should be terminated?
2. In the context of the Job Characteristic Model, what can you say about the manager’s
actions towards the junior accountant?
3. Do you think the Job Characteristic Model of Organizational Behavior can offer the
best solution to the problems in this case study?
4. What would be a better theory or model that can be used to come up with a solution
that would be fair and equitable to all parties concerned in this case study?
A Small Digital Tourism Company in the Age of I.R. 4.0.
You are a management consultant in Bain and Co focusing on Change Management in
Organizational Behavior for small businesses that is operating the tourism sector with sub
specialization in Digital Economy. You are faced with a situation where a small company just
about to reinvent itself by venturing into digital tourism but it is facing failure. The story about
the company is described below:
Here is a small business operating in the tourism industry. This business core operation is in
providing outdoor forest tours. It is owned and managed by a proprietor. The proprietor Abang
Alias is an ex civil service in the state government. He went to RMC/MTD (Royal Military
College/ Maktab Tentera Di-Raja) for his secondary school years. After that he went for further
studies in England, coming back to join the civil service. He decided to opt for early retirement
and leave the service as in the mid 40s he was thinking that to move ahead and get promoted
in the civil service JUSA (Jawatan Utama Sektor Awam) was almost impossible from his
current Gred 53 scale due to the high levels of office and organizational ‘politics’ in which he
did not like to play. This is despite his father, who was also a civil officer with JUSA B grade
before retiring, admonishing to stay in the civil service.
In view of this unfavorable career advancement prospects, Abang Alias took a different path;
nevermind what his father says. He set up an outdoor tour company. Setting the company is
easy. Abang Alias is mountain bike enthusiast with 10 mountain bikes that he collected
throughout the years. He is also a certified First Aid, CPR & AED Training certification. Plus,
he has experience in using his first aid skills when he was a student – he volunteered in Africa
and Middle East with the Red Crescent in conflict areas. His most notable experience was at
El Wak ( a town in Kenya near the Somalian border), volunteering with a relief organization
affiliated with the Red Crescent/ Red Cross to handle Somalian refugees after the fall of the
Siad Barre regime [Note: Siad Barre ruled Somalia with an iron fist from October 1969 to
January 1991]. It was during that stint that he learned how to live rough, with scarce basic
amenities and poor living conditions; and he saw how the refugees suffered under miserable
conditions. That experience changed him significantly.
So Abang Alias thought, that setting up a business would not be that hard. He took an early
pension option and the small tourism company came into being. However, maintaining and
growing the business is a different story; the business is feeling a lot of pressure from
competition. The company is not doing well – due to the competitive nature in the industry.
The proprietor, despite his apparent high levels of fitness, suffered a heart-attack. Upon further
investigation he has high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure – all are previously
undiagnosed and untreated as he believed all the while that he was healthy due to his fitness
high levels. His doctors told him to slow down. Hence, the business proprietor is in the process
of devolving managerial control to his nephew Aiman who has an MBA from Duke Fuqua
Business School from the Duke University, USA.
There are 7 workers. Because this is a small organization – there is no rank in the organization.
There are 4 boys and 3 girls in the tour company. Two of the girls are handling office and
administrative task. They only work in the office. The 3rd girl is the rough outdoor type – she
prefers to be with the boys. The boys in the tour company are the relatives of the owner. They
are hardy and tough boys with excellent jungle survival skills. Like Abang Alias, they are also
certified first aid providers. All are active participants of Ironman Malaysia.
One of them, Nasir, also has a talent in designing web pages. Not coincidentally he has a
computer science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has designed a digital
tour of one of the routes and set up a VR program with the help of his friends' facilities and
equipment. He is the IT genius of the company. This new manager soon finds himself in a
conflict with the IT genius. Apparently, the IT genius can't take this new manager's arrogance
and gloating – after all Duke Fuqua Business School is one of the top business schools on this
planet. Both of them also have fundamental disagreements with regards to I.R. 4.0. (This due
the vagueness of the I.R. 4.0 concept especially with regards to digital tourism). Nasir has set
up a system so that customers can book their tours online, thereby minimizing contact with the
admin staff. Nasir also handle online marketing and promotion, by being active in social media.
Nasir cleverly uses his Facebook and Youtube platforms to promote the company. Aiman has
a different take on the system – he insist that he wants to implement a totally new system that
is more streamlined and sleek; and that he wants to totally revamp the company’s website,
citing too much clutter in Nasir’s design. On top of that Aiman wants to reduce staff salary,
citing the dire straits of the company’s financial situation.
Obviously Nasir is incensed with such remarks. Nasir the IT genius has decided to pull the plug
and leave the company if the new manager insists in reducing the salary of all staff. From the
resources point of view, if the IT genius leaves the company, the company will lose its current
Digital Tourism capability all as everything on or related to Digital Tourism in the company is
due to Nasir’s efforts. It should known that Aiman’s plans to revamp the company’s website
and online payment system has not fully developed or let alone tested. Aiman has no
qualification on web design; and his remarks on revamping the company’s website is based on
the premise that one of his friends would help him to come up with a better web design!
1. So, what would be your call? How would you deal with the problems in this small
digital tourism company?
2. Is it justifiable to ‘blame’ Nasir for the organizational problem the company is now
facing?
3. Is it justifiable to ‘blame’ Abang Aiman for the organizational problem the company is
now facing?
4. What would be the best Organizational Behavior theory to deal with the conflict
5. What would be your solution to solve the problem?
S.O.P (Standard Operating Procedures)
The so called S.O.P (Standard Operating Procedures) to justify managerial actions. Two
situations have been discussed; the first is the story of John Riordan of Citibank in disobeying
his chairman’s directives to evacuate Saigon and Oscar Nunoz, the CEO of United Airline who
has to apologize to the public for the roughing up of David Dao. We also discussed about
other incidents in the airline industry and even on the tragic death of the 6 Bomba officers who
drowned while searching for a missing teen – and that incident was justified (no wrong doing
was detected) due to following the S.O.P. Currently, with Covid 19 pandemic, the usage of
S.O.P.’s are accepted as the new normal.
1. Discuss the validity in using SOP in justifying its use in getting organizational staff to
obey management directives with especially in view of a popular Organizational
Behavior concept of empowerment in decision making
2. Discuss what is wrong with the use of S.O.P. in view of the fast changing dynamic
external environment by applying the classical decision making model?

Can Religion be Mixed with Organizational Behavior?

This forum relates to the trend in this country in mixing religion with management and
organizational behavior concepts and theories. This can be seen especially with regards to
motivational speakers – they are usually hired by organizations and corporations ostensibly to
boost employee commitment and productivity. These speakers often emphasize the precepts of
religions to get people to work harder and exhibit loyalty to the organization.
1. Is this development healthy?
2. If you in the shoes of those motivational speakers would you use religion in your
motivational talks? State your reasons.
3. Discuss!

Job Characteristic Model: the most wonderful motivation theory ever to be invented
It is said that the Job Characteristic Model is the most wonderful motivation theory ever to be
invented. This theory would save the business organization from spending too much money
and resources to reward the employees. In other words, the application of this theory would be
exploitative.
By using an example (that specifically focuses on the key concepts of the Job Characteristic
Model) illustrate how this seemingly wonderful motivation theory can be used to squeeze the
workers.
Can personal problems be separated from the workplace?
Oftentimes, employees would get to hear wonderful advice from the management of
organizations. One such advice is that employees must leave all personal issues upon entering
the premises in the workplace. Often times too, and more so if the managers or executives are
familiar with Organizational Behavior (maybe because they took Organizational Behavior
during university), the concept of Organizational Citizenship behavior are conjured to implore
employees to leave out personal problems out of the workplace.
1. By applying the Interactionist Perspective, illustrate the fallacy of the above statement
– that one can simply leave personal problems out of the workplace.
2. By using the Two Factor Theory (also known as Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory)
– suggest a better way how business organizations can overcome the unavoidable and
negative impact of personal problems spilling over in the workplace.