Projection of Own on Others' Job Characteristics: Evidence for the False Consensus Effect in Job Characteristics Information

The present study is an examination of the influence of rater characteristics as a source of bias in job characteristics information, as gleaned from the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS). Participants (N=133) completed an initial JDS for own job characteristics. Non‐incumbents (n=104) then completed a secondary JDS in order to rate incumbents' job characteristics. Non‐incumbents' personality dimensions, own job characteristics, job satisfaction level, and incumbent satisfaction level were hypothesized as predictors of ratings of job characteristics of incumbents. Results indicate that two characteristics, job autonomy and dealing with others, were influenced by non‐incumbents standing on these characteristics, and demonstrated evidence of the false consensus effect. Limitations and implications for interpreting job information are discussed.     

Moderation Effects of Job Characteristics on the Relationship Between Neuroticism and Job Performance

The present study evaluates a model suggesting that the job performance of highly neurotic individuals is influenced by job characteristics. By building on research that emphasizes bright sides of neuroticism, the author challenges neurotics' disadvantage in job performance. In a longitudinal field study at two time periods using a sample (T1: n = 802; T2: n = 760) of employees in 13 job profiles from 22 private banks, the present study found the support for moderation effects of various job characteristics on the relationship between neuroticism and job performance. These findings highlight a previously unidentified mechanism to explain the complex relationship between neuroticism and job performance. Implications of the study to theory and practice are discussed.     

Working memory and fluid intelligence as predictors of work engagement—Testing preliminary models

This study aimed to investigate the relationships between working memory capacity, fluid intelligence (Gf), and work engagement within the framework of the job demands–resources theory. Multioccupational employees (N = 175 in Study 1 and N = 383 in Study 2) completed sets of Gf, complex span, and n‐back tests, along with job resources and work engagement surveys. Structural equation modeling with latent variables and bootstrapping procedures revealed that complex span was indirectly positively related to work engagement via job resources, and n‐back was indirectly positively related to work engagement via job complexity. Moreover, the one common factor g composed of Gf, n‐back, and complex span was positively indirectly related to work engagement via job resources and job complexity. These results highlight that the cognitive capacities of employees should be given greater consideration as cognitive personal resources in models aimed at accounting for employee work engagement.     

Job Insecurity in Recent Business School Graduates: Antecedents and Consequences

This research examined the relationship of perceived threats to job security, job satisfaction, and psychological mood among recent business school graduates. Most job insecurity research has considered longer-tenured organizational employees. Two hundred and seventeen respondents completed anonymous questionnaires. LISREL analysis provided considerable support for the research model. Perceived threats to job security had direct effects on job insecurity and job satisfaction and indirect effects on psychological mood through job insecurity and job satisfaction.     

Wellness and mattering: the role of holistic factors in job satisfaction

A study was conducted with 82 employees in varied positions to determine the variance in job satisfaction that could be accounted for by holistic wellness and mattering. Results of regression analyses revealed that both wellness and mattering contributed significantly to the variance in job satisfaction; however, wellness was the stronger predictor. When block variables such as age and job tenure were held constant, the contributions of wellness and mattering to job satisfaction were not significant.     

Job choice and career relevance for today's college students

Previous research on college student employment has focused on differences among students based on year of college attendance but included relatively few participants over the age of 25. The current study investigated the relationship between job choice, job/career relevance, and job satisfaction for students under age 20 (n = 143), students ages 20–24 (n = 253), and students over age 25 (n = 141). Results revealed significant differences among age groups in reasons for job choice and reaffirmed the positive correlation that past research had found between job satisfaction and career relevance. Findings emphasized the importance of choosing employment for career‐oriented reasons rather than for reasons of convenience.     

Self-determined work motivation predicts job outcomes,but what predicts self-determined work motivation?

Self-determined work motivation predicts important job outcomes, such as job satisfaction [Richer, S. F., Blanchard, C., & Vallerand, R. J. (2002). A motivational model of work turnover. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32, 2089–2113], but what predicts self-determined work motivation is less fully understood. We tested general causality orientation—specifically autonomy and control orientation—as a predictor of self-determined work motivation, which in turn was expected to predict job satisfaction and identification commitment as job outcomes. Regression analyses confirmed our hypotheses such that autonomy orientation predicted job outcomes via increased self-determined work motivation. Control orientation predicted self-determined work motivation but did not affect either of the two job outcomes. Findings are discussed with respect to the importance of individual differences in understanding job outcomes.     

Determinants of job mobility: A theoretical integration and extension

The goals of this paper are to conceptually integrate and extend the diverse literature on job mobility. We introduce a multi‐level theoretical framework that describes how individuals' job mobility unfolds. Three theoretical perspectives inform this framework. The structural perspective suggests that macro‐level factors (e.g. economic conditions and industry differences) determine the opportunity structure of job mobility in the labour market. The individual difference perspective suggests that dispositional attributes affect a person's preferences for and subsequent behaviours associated with job mobility. The decisional perspective, grounded in the theory of planned behaviour ( Ajzen, 1991 ), suggests that decisions to engage in job mobility are based on the evaluation of three factors: subjective norms, the desirability of the mobility option and individuals' readiness for change. The article concludes with a discussion of the multi‐level nature of determinants of job mobility and directions for future research.     

Emotional labour strategies and job burnout: A meta-analysis of Chinese employees

Emotional labour strategies have a significant impact on job burnout. However, current research results are controversial and unclear. A meta-analysis was conducted to explore the relationship between emotional labour strategies (surface acting and deep acting) and job burnout. A total of 84 empirical studies that included 28,242 participants were selected. The meta-analysis of the relationships between job burnout and surface acting and deep acting included 84 and 75 independent samples respectively. The results show that surface acting had a positive association (r = 0.25) with job burnout, whereas deep acting (r = −0.27) had a negative association with job burnout. Occupational types and measures of emotional labour strategies moderated the relationship between emotional labour strategies and job burnout, but this relationship was not moderated by measures of job burnout.     

Mind the ad: How personality requirements affect older and younger job seekers' job attraction

Age discrimination may explain lower labour market chances of older and younger job seekers. What remains underresearched, however, is how older/younger job seekers might self-select out from early recruitment procedures due to stigmatizing information in job ads. Building on theories of metastereotypes and the linguistic category model, two experimental studies investigated how personality requirements that older/younger job seekers hold negative metastereotypes about and the way in which these requirements are worded (behavioural vs. dispositional) affected their job attraction. Within-participant mediation analyses showed that as expected, job attraction was higher for older (N = 123, aged 50 years or more) and younger (N = 151, 30 years or less) job seekers when requirements were worded in a behavioural way (e.g., ‘You can be flexible’), compared with a dispositional way (e.g., ‘You are flexible’). This relation was mediated by perceptions of challenge among younger but not older job seekers. Contrary to expectations, perceptions of threat did not explain the effects of negatively metastereotyped personality requirements on job attraction. Understanding how job seekers perceive information in job ads might help recruiters to design age-sensitive recruitment policies.     

Supervisor Reactions to Avoidance Job Crafting: The Role of Political Skill and Approach Job Crafting

Avoidance job crafting refers to employees proactively changing work boundaries by reducing tasks and/or interactions with others. Although avoidance job crafting may help employees to address work demands, if noticed by others, specifically supervisors, it may trigger negative reactions from them. While previous research posits that job crafting is largely unnoticed by supervisors, using a dyadic supervisor-employee study (N = 141 dyads), we found that supervisors were in fact aware of their employees’ avoidance job crafting, which related to a reduction in supervisor support. This relationship was moderated by employee political skill (but not approach job crafting), such that high avoidance job crafting in combination with high political skill resulted in fewer negative outcomes, presumably because supervisors were less likely to notice their employees’ avoidance job crafting. In a second, vignette study (N = 92 supervisors), we experimentally replicated the relation between observed avoidance job crafting and negative supervisor reactions, and found that this relation can be explained by supervisors perceiving avoidance job crafting as destructive work behavior. Our findings introduce the supervisor perspective to the job crafting literature and highlight the importance of engaging in avoidance job crafting in a skillful way that aligns with the external context.     

Shifts in Perceived Job Content during Early Employment

Abstract

This paper focuses on shifts in perceived job content among two occupational panels (office technology workers and machine operators) during the first year of their professional career. A shortened version of Fine's Functional Job Analysis is used to measure perceived job content, and at each of the two time stages (i.e. stage T1 and stage T2) the data related to the three domains of People, Things, and Data are optimally scaled and then recoded to a categorical indicator of job content complexity. Shifts in perceived job content are studied by application of log-linear analysis to the multidimensional contingency table obtained by the cross-tabulation of the T1 and the T2 data. The results indicate that there is no general progress or decline in job content activities over time, except for the Things domain. The findings also suggest that there is a substantial symmetry between job progression and degression, and that the bulk of content switches is to adjacent levels of complexity.     

Job search methods,job search outcomes,and job satisfaction of college graduates: a comparison of race and sex

A nationally representative sample of college graduates (N =11,152) were surveyed regarding their job‐seeking behaviors and outcomes. Race and sex differences among the job search strategies used, number of job interviews, number of job offers, annual salary, and job satisfaction were examined. Results indicated significant race and sex differences in job search methods used. There were significant differences in underemployment and job satisfaction as a function of race, and in underemployment and annual salary as a function of sex. There were no significant differences in number of job interviews or job offers regardless of race or sex.     

Who Seeks Job Resources,and Who Avoids Job Demands? The Link Between Dark Personality Traits and Job Crafting

Although job crafting has been linked repeatedly to positive employee and organizational outcomes, its detrimental side has not been well explored. To understand the way dark personality traits affect the type of crafting in which employees engage, this research focuses on two frameworks: the PEN (psychopathy, extraversion, and neuroticism) framework and the Dark Triad (narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism). In Study 1, we collected data on the PEN traits and job crafting from 155 individuals in various occupations. We found that neuroticism was negatively related to seeking structural job resources, whereas psychoticism was negatively related to seeking social job resources. We also found that extraversion was positively related to seeking structural and social job resources and to seeking challenging job demands. In Study 2, we examined how the Dark Triad traits predicted job crafting among police officers (N = 135). The results showed that narcissism was positively related to seeking social job resources and challenges, whereas psychopathy was negatively related to seeking social resources. Age and narcissism were positive predictors of reducing job demands. We conclude that personality plays an important role when choosing how to craft one's job. We discuss the practical implications of these findings.     

Job insecurity and the benefits of work

The presented study combines conservation of resource theory with latent deprivation theory to explain the negative relationship between job insecurity and mental health. Specifically, we propose that people who face the threat of job insecure would perceive worse access to the benefits of work, which would explain the negative effect of job insecurity on mental health. In a two-wave study, employees rated their perceived job insecurity, their access to the benefits of work, and their mental health. Cross-sectional multiple mediation analysis at Time 1 (n = 295) and Time 2 (n = 236) showed that the negative relationship between job insecurity and mental health was partly due to a perceived lack of the benefits of work. Longitudinal results (n = 173) revealed that job insecurity was related to a decrease in financial benefits, which in turn predicted mental health. However, this effect was only visible if it was not controlled for prior levels of the benefits of work. The results are discussed with regards to conservation of resource theory and latent deprivation theory and the potential of this framework for explaining negative mental health effects of job insecurity.     

A person‐centred approach to investigate the development trajectories of job‐related affective well‐being: A 10‐year follow‐up study

The primary aim of this three‐wave 10‐year follow‐up study was to investigate the intra‐individual change trajectories of job‐related affective well‐being among Finnish managers (n= 402). Job‐related affective well‐being as indicated by anxiety, depression, comfort, and enthusiasm was measured in 1996, 1999, and 2006. The characteristics of the trajectories were sought from experienced career disruptions (i.e., periods of unemployment or lay‐offs) and perceived job insecurity. The growth mixture modelling (GMM) revealed altogether three latent trajectories that differed from each other in their mean levels and regard to changes in job‐related affective well‐being over time: (1) high and improving well‐being (n= 347), (2) decreased well‐being (n= 32), and (3) low and improving well‐being (n= 23). The associations between job‐related affective well‐being trajectories and career disruptions depended upon the timing of the career disruptions. In addition, perceived job insecurity is associated with concurrently decreased occupational well‐being. Overall, the results highlighted both typical and untypical development trajectories of job‐related affective well‐being and related career characteristics.     

Self‐Ratings of Political Skill in Job Application: A within‐ and between‐subjects field experiment

Political skill is the ability to understand others and use that knowledge to influence others to act in ways that enhance one's personal and/or organizational objectives. The Political Skill Inventory ( Ferris et al., 2005 ) assesses this talent, and has potential for use in personnel decision making. However, central organizational stakeholders are concerned about the distortion of self‐rating scores in job application; consequently, we examined the effects of a job application situation on self‐ratings of political skill in a field experiment with 205 job incumbents. The findings showed consistently that the relationship of self‐ratings of political skill and job performance ratings by supervisors (ρ=.30, p<.01) were not distorted in job application. Implications and limitations are discussed.     

The Relationship Between Control,Job Seeking,and Well‐Being in Unemployed People

We tested the usefulness of the competence–contingency–control model to account for well‐being and job seeking in the unemployed. We surveyed 216 job seekers (M age = 35 years; M unemployment = 12.4 months) with measures of personal competency, beliefs about contingency relationships, job seeking, and well‐being. We hypothesized that control (i.e., competency and contingency) would be positively related to well‐being and job seeking, and that job seeking would be positively associated with well‐being and would mediate or moderate between control and well‐being. We found that control accounted for one third of the variance in well‐being, and was positively associated with job seeking (7% of variance). Job seeking did not mediate or moderate between control and well‐being.     

resilience and unemployment: exploring risk and protective influences for the outcome variables of depression and assertive job searching

This study examined adult resilience in the context of the adversity of unemployment. Seventy‐seven unemployed job seekers completed a self‐report survey containing the Resilience Scale (G. M. Wagnild & H. M. Young, 1993), Centre for Epidemiologic Studies–Depressed Mood Scale (L. S. Radloff, 1977), and the Assertive Job Hunting Survey (H. A. Becker, 1980). Product–term regression indicated that for those unemployed persons who had resilient qualities, less depression resulted even though they had been job searching for a long time (beta = ‐.359, p < .001). Length of time job searching was positively associated with depression (beta = .41, p < .01). When the outcome variable was job search assertiveness, only the main effect of resilience (beta = .492, p < .001) was significant, accounting for 25.8% of the variance. The inclusion of psychological interventions to foster resilience, along with standard job search training provided by job network services, is advocated.