Red tape forms a major threat to many public organizations around the world. Building on the Job Demands–Resources model, supplemented by arguments from the psychological process theory of red tape, this study explores how and when red tape affects teachers’ employability competences (i.e., balance, anticipation and optimization, and personal flexibility). Analyses (N = 908 teachers; 92 school leaders) revealed a negative relationship between red tape, on one hand, and balance and personal flexibility, on the other hand, through perceived impact on work outcomes. Interestingly, the analyses also revealed that when organizations provide sufficient developmental rewards to their employees, the negative consequences of red tape on perceived impact are buffered, which indirectly also benefits employees’ balance and personal flexibility.
AguinisH.GottfredsonR.CulpepperS. (2013). Best-practice recommendations for estimating cross-level interaction effects using multilevel modeling. Journal of Management, 39(6), 1490–1528.
2.
AkkermansJ.TimsM. (2017). Crafting your career: How career competencies relate to career success via job crafting. Applied Psychology, 66(1), 168–195.
3.
AudenaertM.GeorgeB.DecramerA. (2019). How a demanding employment relationship relates to affective commitment in public organizations: A multilevel analysis. Public Administration, 97(1), 11–27.
4.
AudenaertM.Van der HeijdenB.ConwayN.CruckeS.DecramerA. (2020). Vulnerable workers’ employability competences: The role of establishing clear expectations, developmental inducements, and social organizational goals. Journal of Business Ethics, 166(3), 3627–3641.
5.
BakkerA.DemeroutiE. (2007). The job demands-resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309–328.
6.
BakkerA.DemeroutiE. (2018). Multiple levels in Job Demands-Resources theory: Implications for employee well-being and performance. In DienerE.OishiS.TayL. (Eds.), Handbook of wellbeing (pp. 593–604). DEF Publishers.
7.
BauwensR.DecramerA.AudenaertM. (2021). Challenged by great expectations? Examining cross-level moderations and curvilinearity in the public sector job demands-resources model. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 41(2), 319–337.
8.
BlieseP.MaltarichM.HendricksJ. (2018). Back to basics with mixed-effects models: Nine take-away points. Journal of Business and Psychology, 33(1), 1–23.
9.
BlomR.BorstR.VoornB. (2021). Pathology or inconvenience? A meta-analysis of the impact of red tape on people and organizations. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 41(4), 623–650.
10.
BorstR.KruyenP.LakoC. (2019). Exploring the Job Demands-Resources model of work engagement in government: Bringing in a psychological perspective. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 39(3), 372–397.
11.
BorstR. T. (2018). Comparing work engagement in people-changing and people-processing service providers: A mediation model with red tape, autonomy, dimensions of PSM, and performance. Public Personnel Management, 47(3), 287–313.
12.
BozemanB. (2000). Bureaucracy and red tape. Prentice Hall.
13.
BozemanB. (2010). Hard lessons from hard times: Reconsidering and reorienting the “managing decline” literature. Public Administration Review, 70(4), 557–563.
14.
CaesensG.StinglhamberF. (2014). The relationship between perceived organizational support and work engagement: The role of self-efficacy and its outcomes. European Review of Applied Psychology, 64(5), 259–267.
15.
CohenD.HillH. (2000). Instructional policy and classroom performance: The mathematics reform in California. Teachers College Record, 102(2), 294–343.
16.
CohenJ. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Routledge.
17.
CookeD.BrantK.WoodsJ. (2019). The role of public service motivation in employee work engagement: A test of the job demands-resources model. International Journal of Public Administration, 42(9), 765–775.
18.
CoombesS.MorrisM.AllenJ.WebbJ. (2011). Behavioural orientations of non-profit boards as a factor in entrepreneurial performance: Does governance matter?Journal of Management Studies, 48(4), 829–856.
19.
DavisR.PandeyS. (2024). “Feeling out” the rules: A psychological process theory of red tape. Public Administration Review, 84, 1038–1051.
20.
De CuyperN.Bernhard-OettelC.BerntsonE.De WitteH.AlarcoB. (2008). Employability and employees’ well-being: Mediation by job insecurity. Applied Psychology, 57(3), 488–509.
21.
DeHart-DavisL.PandeyS. (2005). Red tape and public employees: Does perceived rule dysfunction alienate managers?Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 15(1), 133–148.
22.
DemeroutiE.BakkerA.NachreinerF.SchaufeliW. (2001). The Job Demands-Resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 499–512.
23.
De VosA.CambréB. (2017). Career management in high-performing organizations: A set-theoretic approach. Human Resource Management, 56(3), 501–518.
24.
De VosA.Van der HeijdenB.AkkermansJ. (2020). Sustainable careers: Towards a conceptual model. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 117, 103196.
25.
DeweP.O’DriscollM.CooperC. (2012). Theories of psychological stress at work. In GatchelR.SchultzI. (Eds.), Handbook of occupational health and wellness (pp. 23–38). Springer.
26.
FugateM.KinickiA.AshforthB. (2004). Employability: A psycho-social construct, its dimensions, and applications. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65(1), 14–38.
27.
FugateM.Van der HeijdenB.De VosA.ForrierA.De CuyperN. (2021). Is what’s past prologue? A review and agenda for contemporary employability research. Academy of Management Annals, 15(1), 266–298.
28.
GarrickA.MakA.CathcartS.WinwoodP.BakkerA.LushingtonK. (2014). Psychosocial safety climate moderating the effects of daily job demands and recovery on fatigue and work engagement. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 87(4), 694–714.
29.
GeorgeB.PandeyS. (2017). We know the Yin—But where is the Yang? Toward a balanced approach on common source bias in public administration scholarship. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 37(2), 245–270.
30.
GeorgeB.PandeyS.SteijnB.DecramerA.AudenaertM. (2021). Red tape, organizational performance and employee outcomes: Meta-analysis, meta-regression and research agenda. Public Administration Review, 81(4), 638–651.
31.
GerritsenS.PlugE.WebbinkD. (2017). Teacher quality and student achievement: Evidence from a sample of Dutch twins. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 32(3), 643–660.
32.
GiauqueD.Anderfuhren-BigetS.VaroneF. (2013). Stress perception in public organisations: Expanding the job demands-job resources model by including public service motivation. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 33(1), 58–83.
33.
GuilbertL.BernaudJ.-L.GouvernetB.RossierJ. (2016). Employability: Review and research prospects. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 16(1), 69–89.
34.
HairJ.BlackW.BabinB.AndersonR. (2019). Multivariate data analysis (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
35.
HakanenJ.BakkerA.DemeroutiE. (2005). How dentists cope with their job demands and stay engaged: The moderating role of job resources. European Journal of Oral Sciences, 113(6), 479–487.
36.
HarmanH. (1976). Modern factor analysis (3rd ed.). University of Chicago press.
37.
HoxJ. (2010). Multilevel analysis: Techniques and applications. Routledge.
38.
JacobsenC.JakobsenM. (2018). Perceived organizational red tape and organizational performance in public services. Public Administration Review, 78(1), 24–36.
39.
JiaL.ShawJ.TsuiA.ParkT.-Y. (2014). A social-structural perspective on employee-organization relationships and team creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 57(3), 869–891.
40.
JöreskogK.SörbomD. (1982). Recent developments in structural equation modeling. Journal of Marketing Research, 19(4), 404–416.
41.
KaufmannW.TaggartG.BozemanB. (2019). Administrative delay, red tape, and organizational performance. Public Performance & Management Review, 42(3), 529–553.
42.
KimK.MessersmithJ.PieperJ.BaikK.FuS. (2023). High performance work systems and employee mental health: The roles of psychological empowerment, work role overload, and organizational identification. Human Resource Management, 62(6), 791–810.
43.
KlineR. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
44.
KniesE.BoselieP.Gould-WilliamsJ.VandenabeeleW. (2015). Strategic human resource management and public sector performance: Context matters. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26(3), 421–424.
45.
LeBretonJ.SenterJ. (2008). Answers to 20 questions about interrater reliability and interrater agreement. Organizational Research Methods, 11(4), 815–852.
46.
LecatA.BeausaertS.RaemdonckI. (2018). On the relation between teachers’ (in) formal learning and innovative working behavior: The mediating role of employability. Vocations and Learning, 11(3), 529–554.
47.
LePineJ.PodsakoffN.LePineM. (2005). A meta-analytic test of the challenge stressor–hindrance stressor framework: An explanation for inconsistent relationships among stressors and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 48(5), 764–775.
48.
LiS.-L.SunF.LiM. (2019). Sustainable human resource management nurtures change-oriented employees: Relationship between high-commitment work systems and employees’ taking charge behaviors. Sustainability, 11(13), 3550.
49.
LiuB.XinX.GaoX.GaoL. (2022). Challenge-hindrance stressors and employability: The combined role of the energy-motivation process and organizational investment. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 15, 3411–3425.
50.
Lo PrestiA.De RosaA.ZaharieM. (2022). The route to employability: A longitudinal study on a sample of Italian job seekers. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 22(1), 227–246.
51.
MoynihanD.WrightB.PandeyS. (2012). Working within constraints: Can transformational leaders alter the experience of red tape?International Public Management Journal, 15(3), 315–336.
52.
MullerD.JuddC.YzerbytV. (2005). When moderation is mediated and mediation is moderated. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(6), 852–863.
53.
MuylaertJ.BauwensR.AudenaertM.DecramerA. (2022). Reducing red tape’s negative consequences for leaders: The buffering role of autonomous motivation. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 806388.
54.
MuylaertJ.DecramerA.AudenaertM. (2023a). How leader’s red tape interacts with employees’ red tape from the lens of the job demands-resources model. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 43(3), 430–455.
55.
MuylaertJ.DecramerA.AudenaertM. (2023b). Linking red tape originating from digital tools to affective commitment: the mediating roles of role ambiguity and work engagement. Public Management Review, 25(12), 2402–2427.
56.
Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development. (2020). TALIS 2018 results: Teachers and school leaders as valued professionals. OECD Publishing.
57.
PandeyS. (2021). The psychological process view of bureaucratic red tape. In SteijnB.KniesE. (Eds.), Research handbook on HRM in the public sector (pp. 260–275). Edward Elgar Publishing.
58.
PandeyS. (2023). Elevating subjective individual experience in public policy and public administration: Reflections on red tape, administrative burden, and sludge. Public Administration Review, 83(5), 1072–1082.
59.
ParkerS.BindlU.StraussK. (2010). Making things happen: A model of proactive motivation. Journal of Management, 36(4), 827–856.
60.
PlompJ.TimsM.KhapovaS.JansenP.BakkerA. (2019). Psychological safety, job crafting, and employability: A comparison between permanent and temporary workers. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 433931.
61.
PodsakoffP.MacKenzieS.LeeJ.PodsakoffN. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903.
62.
PodsakoffP.MacKenzieS.PodsakoffN. (2012). Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 539–569.
63.
PodsakoffP.OrganD. (1986). Self-reports in organizational research: Problems and prospects. Journal of Management, 12(4), 531–544.
64.
Polston-MurdochL. (2015). Innovative behavior in local government: Exploring the impact of organizational learning capacity, authentic leadership, psychological empowerment, and the moderating role of intrinsic motivation [Doctoral thesis, Regent University].
65.
QuiñonesM.Van den BroeckA.De WitteH. (2013). Do job resources affect work engagement via psychological empowerment? A mediation analysis. Revista de Psicología del Trabajo y de las Organizaciones, 29(3), 127–134.
66.
QuratulainS.KhanA. (2015). Red tape, resigned satisfaction, public service motivation, and negative employee attitudes and behaviors: Testing a model of moderated mediation. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 35(4), 307–332.
67.
RaemdonckI.BeausaertS.Van der HeijdenB.SegersM. (2022). Sustainable employability of teaching staff members? A multiple-group path analysis of the role of age, self-directed learning orientation and job characteristics for employability. Vocations and Learning, 15(3), 497–530.
68.
RäsänenK.PietarinenJ.PyhältöK.SoiniT.VäisänenP. (2020). Why leave the teaching profession? A longitudinal approach to the prevalence and persistence of teacher turnover intentions. Social Psychology of Education, 23(4), 837–859.
ScottP.PandeyS. (2005). Red tape and public service motivation: Findings from a national survey of managers in state health and human services agencies. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 25(2), 155–180.
71.
SnijdersT.BoskerR. (1999). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. Sage.
72.
SpreitzerG. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(5), 1442–1465.
73.
StazykE.PandeyS.WrightB. (2011). Understanding affective organizational commitment: The importance of institutional context. The American Review of Public Administration, 41(6), 603–624.
74.
SteijnB.KniesE. (2021). HRM in the public sector: Taking stock and looking ahead. In SteijnB.KniesE. (Eds.), Research handbook on HRM in the public sector (pp. 390–398). Edward Elgar Publishing.
75.
SteijnB.Van der VoetJ. (2019). Relational job characteristics and job satisfaction of public sector employees: When prosocial motivation and red tape collide. Public Administration, 97(1), 64–80.
76.
TarisT.KompierM. (2004). Job characteristics and learning behavior: Review and psychological mechanism. In PerreweP.GansterD. (Eds.), Research in occupational stress and well-being, Vol. 4: Exploring interpersonal dynamics (pp. 127–166). Emerald.
77.
TingleyD.YamamotoT.HiroseK.KeeleL.ImaiK. (2014). Mediation: R package for causal mediation analysis. Journal of Statistical Software, 59(5), 1–38.
78.
TsuiA.WangD. (2002). Employment relationships from the employer’s perspective: Current research and future directions. International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 17, 77–112.
79.
TummersL.Den DulkL. (2013). The effects of work alienation on organisational commitment, work effort and work-to-family enrichment. Journal of Nursing Management, 21(6), 850–859.
80.
Van den BroeckA.De CuyperN.De WitteH.VansteenkisteM. (2010). Not all job demands are equal: Differentiating job hindrances and job challenges in the Job Demands-Resources model. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 19(6), 735–759.
81.
Van der HeijdeC.Van der HeijdenB. (2006). A competence-based and multidimensional operationalization and measurement of employability. Human Resource Management, 45(3), 449–476.
82.
Van der HeijdenB.BoonJ.Van der KlinkM.MeijsE. (2009). Employability enhancement through formal and informal learning: An empirical study among Dutch non-academic university staff members. International Journal of Training and Development, 13(1), 19–37.
83.
Van der HeijdenB.De VosA. (2015). Sustainable careers: Introductory chapter. In Van der HeijdenB.De VosA. (Eds.), Handbook of research on sustainable careers (pp. 1–19). Edward Elgar Publishing.
84.
Van der HeijdenB.NotelaersG.PetersP.StoffersJ.De LangeA.FroehlichD.Van der HeijdeC. (2018). Development and validation of the short-form employability five-factor instrument. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 106, 236–248.
85.
Van EmmerikI.SchreursB.De CuyperN.JawaharI.PeetersM. (2012). The route to employability: Examining resources and the mediating role of motivation. Career Development International, 17(2), 104–119.
86.
Van HartenJ.De CuyperN.GuestD.FugateM.KniesE.ForrierA. (2020). Introduction to special issue on HRM and employability: Mutual gains or conflicting outcomes?The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(9), 1095–1105.
87.
Van LoonN. (2017). From red tape to which performance results? Exploring the relationship between red tape and various dimensions of performance in healthcare work units. Public Administration, 95(1), 60–77.
88.
Van LoonN.LeisinkP.KniesE.BrewerG. (2016). Red tape: Developing and validating a new job-centered measure. Public Administration Review, 76(4), 662–673.
89.
VermeerenB.Van der HeijdenB. (2022). Employability in the public sector: The impact of individual and organizational determinants. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 8027.
90.
WangD.GanC.WuC.WangD. (2015). Ethical leadership and employee voice: Employee self-efficacy and self-impact as mediators. Psychological Reports, 116(3), 751–767.
91.
WrightB.DavisB. (2003). Job satisfaction in the public sector: The role of the work environment. The American Review of Public Administration, 33(1), 70–90.
92.
WrightP.NishiiL. (2013). Strategic HRM and organizational behaviour: Integrating multiple levels of analysis. In PaauweJ.GuestD.WrightP. (Eds.), HRM & performance: Achievements & challenges (pp. 97–110). Wiley.
93.
ZhangA.SongL.TsuiA.FuP. (2014). Employee responses to employment-relationship practices: The role of psychological empowerment and traditionality. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(6), 809–830.
