How Performance Management Enhances Employee Job Performance? “Finding the Silver Lining”

Purpose of this paper: Employees’ job performance is considered essential to the survival and success of organizations. Building on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, this multilevel cross-sectional study aimed to examine the direct effects of performance management (PM) on employees’ job performance, as well as the moderating role of PM practices in the relationship between recognition and employees’ job performance and in the relationship between psychological well-being and employees’ job performance. Design/methodology/approach: Multilevel regression analysis was executed with Stata 16 software. The data were processed according to their hierarchical structure (i.e., 251 employees nested in 18 organizations). Findings: Although PM do not directly influence employees’ job performance in this study, it interacts with recognition and psychological well-being to accentuate their effects on job performance. Research limitations/implications: This study is cross-sectional and relies on employees’ self-report questionnaires. PM does not appear to be the cure for all ills, but still seem to be resourceful to employees, showing that every cloud has a silver lining. Practical implications: Performance management should be considered by HRM professionals and promoted among managers and employees as an organizational tool for orienting and optimizing employees’ resources that contribute to good functioning and goal attainment at work. Originality/value: These results extend the literature by illustrating that performance management is still useful in organizations when combined with other organizational and individual resources, such as recognition and employees’ psychological well-being. Specific practical implications for HRM professionals are discussed.