The Heritability of Job Satisfaction Reconsidered: Only Unique Environmental Influences Beyond Personality

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree to which genetic and environmental influences explain differences in job satisfaction and its relationship to personality in order to explain the heritability of job satisfaction.

Design

Behavior genetic analyses are based on a dataset containing 622 individuals, including 185 MZ (M = 39.5 years) and 126 DZ twin pairs (M = 40.1 years).

Findings

The results showed that all genetic influences (28 %) on job satisfaction could be explained by its relation to personality, especially Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness, representing a high genetic overlap between job satisfaction and personality. Non-shared environmental influences explained the remaining three fourths of the variance.

Implications

By showing that genetic influences of job satisfaction overlap completely with personality, including common non-additive genetic influences, the results support an interactionist view of job satisfaction in that both situational and dispositional determinants of job satisfaction are relevant.

Originality

In contrast to previous studies, we used a more appropriate behavior genetic approach meaning that our approach allows to directly estimate parameters of specific and common (additive and non-additive) genetic and environmental influences. Building on this, interpretations of behavior genetic findings were explained in detail to avoid common misunderstandings.

     

The Associations between Ethical Organizational Culture,Burnout, and Engagement: A Multilevel Study

Purpose

Ethical culture is a specific form of organizational culture (including values and systems that can promote ethical behavior), and as such a socially constructed phenomenon. However, no previous studies have investigated the degree to which employees’ perceptions of their organization’s ethical culture are shared within work units (departments), which was the first aim of this study. In addition, we studied the associations between ethical culture and occupational well-being (i.e., burnout and work engagement) at both the individual and work-unit levels.

Design/Methodology/Approach

The questionnaire data were gathered from 2,146 respondents with various occupations in 245 different work units in one public sector organization. Ethical organizational culture was measured with the corporate ethical virtues scale, including eight sub-dimensions.

Findings

Multilevel structural equation modeling showed that 12–27 % of the total variance regarding the dimensions of ethical culture was explained by departmental homogeneity (shared experiences). At both the within and between levels, higher perceptions of ethical culture associated with lower burnout and higher work engagement.

Implications

The results suggest that organizations should support ethical practices at the work-unit level, to enhance work engagement, and should also pay special attention to work units with a low ethical culture because these work environments can expose employees to burnout.

Originality/Value

This is one of the first studies to find evidence of an association between shared experiences of ethical culture and collective feelings of both burnout and work engagement.

     

Work Passion Through the Lens of Culture: Harmonious Work Passion,Obsessive Work Passion,and Work Outcomes in Russia and China

Purpose

This cross-cultural study with employee–supervisor dyads in Russia and China examines links between harmonious and obsessive work passion and four job- and organization-focused outcomes (job satisfaction, intentions to quit, job performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors) and two career-focused outcomes (career satisfaction and occupational commitment).

Design/Methodology/Approach

Data were collected from employee–supervisor dyads in Russia (N = 223) and China (N = 193). We undertook a series of hierarchical regressions to examine the hypothesized relationships.

Findings

We found considerable support for the harmonious passion–work outcome relationships and less support for the obsessive passion–work outcome relationships. In both Russia and China, harmonious passion predicted all six hypothesized outcomes. However, obsessive work passion predicted job satisfaction and occupational commitment in Russia, but was unrelated to any of the hypothesized outcomes in China. We also identified several culture-specific work passion–outcome relationships.

Implications

Our research extends the duality of the work passion construct to non-Western cultures. The examination of a variety of work passion outcomes provides a finer-grained approach to how two types of passion uniquely link to different work consequences. Several culture-specific findings refute the traditionally held assumption that harmonious passion relates to solely positive outcomes, whereas obsessive passion relates to solely negative outcomes. Collectively, the results augment the nomological framework of the passion construct. The study informs managerial practices by suggesting when work passion needs to be encouraged or tamed.

Originality/Value

This is the first study that examines a variety of job-, organization-, and career-focused outcomes of work passion in non-Western organizations.

     

Organizational Conspiracy Beliefs: Implications for Leadership Styles and Employee Outcomes

Purpose

Belief in conspiracy theories about societal events is widespread among citizens. The extent to which conspiracy beliefs about managers and supervisors matter in the micro-level setting of organizations has not yet been examined, however. We investigated if leadership styles predict conspiracy beliefs among employees in the context of organizations. Furthermore, we examined if such organizational conspiracy beliefs have implications for organizational commitment and turnover intentions.

Design/Methodology/Approach

We conducted a survey among a random sample of the US working population (N = 193).

Findings

Despotic, laissez-faire, and participative leadership styles predicted organizational conspiracy beliefs, and the relations of despotic and laissez-faire leadership with conspiracy beliefs were mediated by feelings of job insecurity. Furthermore, organizational conspiracy beliefs predicted, via decreased organizational commitment, increased turnover intentions.

Implications

Organizational conspiracy beliefs matter for how employees perceive their leaders, how they feel about their organization, and whether or not they plan to quit their jobs. A practical implication, therefore, is that it would be a mistake for managers to dismiss organizational conspiracy beliefs as innocent rumors that are harmless to the organization.

Originality/Value

Three novel conclusions emerge from this study. First, organizational conspiracy beliefs occur frequently among employees. Second, participative leadership predicts decreased organizational conspiracy beliefs; despotic and laissez-faire leadership predict increased organizational conspiracy beliefs due to the contribution of these destructive leadership styles to an insecure work environment. Third, organizational conspiracy beliefs harm organizations by influencing employee commitment and, indirectly, turnover intentions.

     

A Socioecological Approach to Relational Demography: How Relative Representation and Respectful Coworkers Affect Job Attitudes

Purpose

This paper advances a socioecological perspective toward understanding the relationship between demography and job attitudes by considering the joint effects of individual ethnicity and ethnic group relative representation—the degree to which an individual’s own demographic group is represented similarly in their organization and the community in which the organization is located.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Hierarchical polynomial regression analyses of census and survey data from 57,000 employees of 142 hospitals in the United Kingdom suggest that ethnic group relative representation is related to ethnic minority employees’ job satisfaction and turnover intentions.

Findings

An asymmetric pattern emerged wherein the effect of under-representation on turnover intentions was stronger than the effect of over-representation. Moreover, the effects of relative representation varied with respectful treatment by coworkers; relative representation had little effect on attitudes of employees who reported low levels of coworker respect but generally enhanced attitudes when respect was high.

Originality/Value

This work points to the meaningful role that socioecological factors can play in what are typically considered to be intraorganizational phenomena, thereby highlighting the need for organizational research to assess relevant aspects of the communities in which organizations are embedded.

     

How Far Can Support Go? Supported Supervisors’ Performance and Subordinate Dedication

Purpose

The present study builds on prior research involving organizational support theory and the trickle-down effects of supervisors’ perceived organizational support (POS). We examine benefits of supervisor POS for the supervisors themselves (enhanced affective commitment and in-role performance), and a behavioral mechanism through which supervisors’ POS may lead to subordinate dedication, a multifaceted conceptualization of performance.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Using three sources of data (from 139 human resource professionals, their 47 supervisors, and the 22 bosses of their supervisors) we assessed the hypothesized relationships using multilevel path modeling.

Findings

Supervisors’ POS related positively to supervisors’ affective commitment to their organization, resulting in better supervisor in-role performance two months later. Also, having better performing supervisors resulted in more dedication by employees in the form of extra-role performance, as rated by their supervisor 2 months later, and extra hours worked.

Implications

It appears providing organizational support to supervisors may result in beneficial outcomes for the supervisors and the organization in terms of supervisors’ enhanced emotional attachment to the company, and better performance in their job, with consequences for subordinate dedication in terms of extra hours worked and extra-role performance.

Originality/Value

These findings contribute to organizational support theory by showing initial evidence that supervisor in-role performance can serve as an explanatory mechanism through which supervisors’ POS trickles down to aid subordinates.

     

The Moderating Role of Intergroup Contact in Race Composition,Perceived Similarity,and Applicant Attraction Relationships

Purpose

This study investigated the moderating effect of intergroup contact on the relationship between the race composition of organizational representatives, perceived similarity, and minority applicant attraction.

Design/Methodology/Approach

344 minority Malaysian-Chinese university students read a job advertisement that varied the racial composition of organizational representatives (100 % Malay or 50 % Malay–50 % Chinese or 100 % Chinese). Of these participants, 161 were Malaysian-Chinese in Malaysia (high intergroup contact location) and 183 were Malaysian-Chinese in Australia (low intergroup contact location). After reading the advertisement, participants responded to a series of scale items (e.g., perceived surface-level similarity, perceived deep-level similarity, and applicant attraction).

Findings

Results showed that the effect of race composition on attraction was stronger for minority participants in Australia than for minority participants in Malaysia. Perceived deep-level similarity mediated this moderated relationship.

Implications

The study findings suggest that organizations should include minority representatives in their recruitment advertising to attract minority applicants, particularly to attract minorities in locations with few opportunities for intergroup contact.

Originality/Value

By testing the mediating effects of perceived surface-level and deep-level similarity, this study contributes to our understanding of the mechanism linking the interaction between race composition and location with applicant attraction.

     

Applicant Personality and Procedural Justice Perceptions of Group Selection Interviews

Purpose

We investigated how job applicants’ personalities influence perceptions of the structural and social procedural justice of group selection interviews (i.e., a group of several applicants being evaluated simultaneously). We especially addressed trait interactions between neuroticism and extraversion (the affective plane) and extraversion and agreeableness (the interpersonal plane).

Design/Methodology/Approach

Data on personality (pre-interview) and justice perceptions (post-interview) were collected in a field study among job applicants (N = 97) attending group selection interviews for positions as teachers in a Norwegian high school.

Findings

Interaction effects in hierarchical regression analyses showed that perceptions of social and structural justice increased with levels of extraversion among high scorers on neuroticism. Among emotionally stable applicants, however, being introverted or extraverted did not matter to justice perceptions. Extraversion did not impact on the perception of social justice for applicants low in agreeableness. Agreeable applicants, however, experienced the group interview as more socially fair when they were also extraverted.

Implications

The impact of applicant personality on justice perceptions may be underestimated if traits interactions are not considered. Procedural fairness ratings for the group selection interview were high, contrary to the negative reactions predicted by other researchers. There was no indication that applicants with desirable traits (i.e., traits predictive of job performance) reacted negatively to this selection tool.

Originality/Value

Despite the widespread use of interviews in selection, previous studies of applicant personality and fairness reactions have not included interviews. The study demonstrates the importance of previously ignored trait interactions in understanding applicant reactions.

     

The Performance Appraisal Milieu: A Multilevel Analysis of Context Effects in Performance Ratings

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to take an inductive approach in examining the extent to which organizational contexts represent significant sources of variance in supervisor performance ratings, and to explore various factors that may explain contextual rating variability.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Using archival field performance rating data from a large state law enforcement organization, we used a multilevel modeling approach to partition the variance in ratings due to ratees, raters, as well as rating contexts.

Findings

Results suggest that much of what may often be interpreted as idiosyncratic rater variance, may actually reflect systematic rating variability across contexts. In addition, performance-related and non-performance factors including contextual rating tendencies accounted for significant rating variability.

Implications

Supervisor ratings represent the most common approach for measuring job performance, and understanding the nature and sources of rating variability is important for research and practice. Given the many uses of performance rating data, our findings suggest that continuing to identify contextual sources of variability is particularly important for addressing criterion problems, and improving ratings as a form of performance measurement.

Originality/Value

Numerous performance appraisal models suggest the importance of context; however, previous research had not partitioned the variance in supervisor ratings due to omnibus context effects in organizational settings. The use of a multilevel modeling approach allowed the examination of contextual influences, while controlling for ratee and rater characteristics.

     

How Today’s Shocks Predict Tomorrow’s Leaving

Purpose

This research explores “shocking events” as part of the unfolding model of turnover, extending our understanding of the influence of various types of shocks on future voluntary employee separations.

Design/Methodology/Approach

1536 new hires at a large financial institution reported shocks monthly during their first 8 months at work as well as their job satisfaction and perceptions of marketability. We used event history to estimate the basic distributional properties of the shocks and Cox proportional hazards models to examine the effects of shocks on job satisfaction and turnover over the subsequent year as reported by the organization.

Findings

Organizational shocks generally occur earlier than personal shocks. Further, unexpected shocks have a stronger impact than expected shocks on subsequent turnover. Finally, the effects of organizational shocks on turnover are mediated by job satisfaction, whereas personal shocks have direct effects on turnover.

Implications

Our findings offer evidence for the utility of the shock construct in the unfolding model of turnover and speak to the importance of encouraging managers to monitor shocks on an ongoing basis in order to predict when different types of shocks will occur and their likely influence on turnover.

Originality/Value

Ours is the first study to examine shocks as they occur. This is a contrast to prior studies that relied on retrospective accounts. Thus, we are able to test new hypotheses (e.g., direct effects vs. mediation) that expand the unfolding model of turnover.

     

An Examination of the Relationship Between the Work–School Interface,Job Satisfaction,and Job Performance

Purpose

This study provides a comprehensive examination of how the work–school interface relates to work outcomes such as task performance and job satisfaction. Additionally, this study builds upon past research by examining a range of work- and school-related resources and demands that collectively influence the work–school interface.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Data were obtained from 170 working undergraduate students at multiple time points over the course of a semester, as well as from participants’ supervisors at the organizations in which the students work.

Findings

The strongest antecedent of job satisfaction, interpersonal facilitation, and job performance was work–school facilitation. Demands in one role create pressures in the other. Contrary to expectations, job demands positively related to work–school facilitation, while school demands positively related to school–work facilitation.

Implications

For practitioners, this study highlights the need to better understand the interplay between school and work roles for employees at a time when continuing education is emphasized. Employers benefit from the performance gains and positive attitudinal shifts that stem from experiences of facilitation between roles. From a theoretical perspective, this study reveals a unique pattern of results that adds to our understanding of the dynamics involved in the integrated work–school routines of working students.

Originality/Value

This is one of the first studies to investigate the relationships between four bi-directional forms of the work–school interface and subsequent multi-source assessments of organizational outcomes. As such, it offers an examination of how conflict and facilitation from both the work and school domains relate to work outcomes.

     

Exploring the Effects of Job Autonomy on Engagement and Creativity: The Moderating Role of Performance Pressure and Learning Goal Orientation

Purpose

The 21st century work environment calls for team members to be more engaged in their work and exhibit more creativity in completing their job tasks. The purpose of this study was to examine whether team performance pressure and individual goal orientation would moderate the relationships between individual autonomy in teams and individual engagement and creativity.

Design/Methodology/Approach

A sample consisting of 209 team members and 45 team managers from 45 work teams in 14 companies completed survey measures. To test our hypotheses, we used multilevel modeling with random intercepts and slopes because the individual-level data were nested within the team-level data.

Findings

Hierarchical linear modeling showed that team-level performance pressure attenuated the positive relations between job autonomy and three dimensions of engagement. There were also 3-way interactions between job autonomy, psychological performance pressure, and learning goal orientation in predicting three dimensions of engagement and creativity.

Implications

This study highlights the importance of exploring the moderating effect of team-level task characteristics and individual differences on the relationships between job autonomy and individual engagement and creativity. Organizations need to carefully consider both individual learning goals and performance pressure when empowering team members with job autonomy.

Originality/Value

This is one of the first studies to explore the association between individual job autonomy in teams and individual outcomes in a contingency model. We first introduced team performance pressure as a moderator of job autonomy and examined the 3-way interaction effects of performance pressure, individual job autonomy, and learning goal orientation.

     

Can Being Gay Provide a Boost in the Hiring Process? Maybe If the Boss is Female

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether men and women differentially prefer hiring gay and lesbian job applicants relative to equally qualified heterosexual job applicants.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Data were collected from two samples of non-student participants. Each participant evaluated the perceived hirability of an ostensibly real job applicant by reviewing the applicant’s resume. In reality, all participants were randomly assigned to evaluate the same fictitious resume that differed only in the gender and sexual orientation of the applicant.

Findings

We find that men perceived gay and lesbian job applicants as less hirable, while women perceived gay and lesbian job applicants as more hirable than heterosexual job applicants. Additionally, we show perceptions of hirability are mediated by perceptions of gay and lesbian job applicants’ competence.

Implications

These results show that bias against gays and lesbians is much more nuanced than previous work suggests. One implication is that placing more women in selection roles within organizations could be a catalyst for the inclusion of gay and lesbian employees. Additionally, these results could influence when and how gays and lesbians disclose their gay identities at work.

Originality/Value

These studies are the first to identify a positive bias in favor of gay and lesbian job applicants. As attitudes toward gays and lesbians become more positive, results like these are important to document as they signal a shift in intergroup relations. These results will also help managers and organizations design selection processes to minimize bias toward applicants.

     

Editorial: Evidence on Questionable Research Practices: The Good,the Bad,and the Ugly

Purpose

Questionable research or reporting practices (QRPs) contribute to a growing concern regarding the credibility of research in the organizational sciences and related fields. Such practices include design, analytic, or reporting practices that may introduce biased evidence, which can have harmful implications for evidence-based practice, theory development, and perceptions of the rigor of science.

Design/Methodology/Approach

To assess the extent to which QRPs are actually a concern, we conducted a systematic review to consider the evidence on QRPs. Using a triangulation approach (e.g., by reviewing data from observations, sensitivity analyses, and surveys), we identified the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Findings

Of the 64 studies that fit our criteria, 6 appeared to find little to no evidence of engagement in QRPs and the other 58 found more severe evidence (91 %).

Implications

Drawing upon the findings, we provide recommendations for future research related to publication practices and academic training.

Originality/value

We report findings from studies that suggest that QRPs are not a problem, that QRPs are used at a suboptimal rate, and that QRPs present a threat to the viability of organizational science research.

     

Situational Perspective Taking as an Intervention for Improving Attitudes Toward Organizations that Invest in Diversity Management Programs

Purpose

In order for diversity management programs to serve as competitive resources, organizations must attract employees who will fit in and support an organization’s diversity management programs. Two experiments examined situational perspective taking, in which one imagines being the target of workplace discrimination, as an intervention to increase positive attitudes toward organizations that invest in diversity management programs. Participant gender and ethnic identity were examined as moderators.

Design/Methodology/Approach

In two experiments, managers (study 1) and active job seekers (study 2) were instructed to imagine and write down how they would feel if they were the targets of workplace discrimination and read recruitment materials of an organization and its investment in diversity management programs.

Findings

Both studies showed that engaging in a situational perspective taking about being the target of workplace discrimination led to more P-O fit and organizational attraction toward an organization that has diversity management programs. The effect of situational perspective taking had a greater impact on White men than on women and ethnic minority participants.

Implications

These results suggest that the design of organizational recruitment activities should highlight their support of diversity management programs and emphasize that all member benefit from diversity management programs. Originality/value—despite theoretical work that suggests that organizational attitudes are an important factor for the effectiveness of diversity management programs, this is the first known research that shows that perspective taking can help people see the value in diversity management.

     

The Relationship Between Employees’ Objective Internal and External Pay Standing and Their Job Performance: A Within-Person Analysis

Purpose

Researchers have paid little attention to the relationship between employees’ objective internal and external pay standing and their job performance. Moreover, few studies have considered that employees’ objective pay standing is dynamic; that is, it changes over time. In this study, we analyze the relationship between changes in employees’ objective internal and external pay standing and their job performance.

Design/Methodology/Approach

We test the hypotheses using data for players in the National Basketball Association over a period of 12 seasons (n = 4830).

Findings

Decreases in employees’ objective internal and external pay standing are negatively related to their task performance. Furthermore, decreases in employees’ objective internal pay standing, but not in their external pay standing, are negatively related to their contextual performance.

Implications

Analyzing the relationship between changes in employees’ objective internal and external pay standing and their job performance adds to our understanding of the individual-level consequences of pay dispersion.

Originality/Value

This is one of the first studies to analyze the relationship between employees’ objective internal and external pay standing and their job performance. Moreover, this is one of the first studies that considers that employees’ objective internal and external pay standing changes, for example, because the external and internal labor markets change. The study contributes to research on employee compensation and salary, and to research on pay disparities.

     

Work Ethic and Work Outcomes in an Expanded Criterion Domain

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between dimensions of work ethic and dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and counterproductive work behavior (CWB).

Design/Methodology/Approach

Data were collected from employed individuals in MBA and undergraduate management courses and their work supervisors (N = 233). Participants represented diverse occupations with respect to job levels and industries. Participants completed the work ethic inventory, and participants’ managers completed ratings of OCB and CWB.

Findings

The work ethic dimension of centrality of work was positively related to both dimensions of OCB (i.e., OCB-I and OCB-O), and the work ethic dimension of morality/ethics was negatively related to one of the dimensions of CWB (i.e., CWB-I).

Implications

Modern perspectives on job performance recognize the multidimensional nature of the domain (i.e., the expanded criterion domain). In addition, noncognitive predictors such as work ethic have value as individual differences that are associated with performance outcomes. The assessment of such constructs can help inform selection and placement activities where a focus on OCB and CWB is important to managers.

Originality/Value

This study provides additional evidence on the relationship between work ethic and performance outcomes. Previous research has provided limited information on the relationship between dimensions of work ethic and dimensions of OCB, and no information existed on the relationship between work ethic dimensions and CWB.

     

Back to Basics with Mixed-Effects Models: Nine Take-Away Points

Purpose

Multilevel mixed effects models are widely used in organizational behavior and organizational psychology to test and advance theory. At times, however, the complexity of the models leads researchers to draw erroneous inferences or otherwise use the models in less than optimal ways. We present nine take-away points intended to enhance the theoretical precision and utility of the models.

Approach

We demonstrate our points using two types of simulated data: one in which group membership is irrelevant, and the other in which relationships exist only because of group membership. We then demonstrate that the effects we observe in simulated data replicate in organizational data.

Findings

Little that we address will be new to methodology experts; nonetheless, we draw together a variety of points that we believe will help advance both theory and analytic rigor in multilevel analyses.

Implications

We make two points that run somewhat counter to conventional norms. First, we argue that mixed-effects models are appropriate even when ICC(1) values associated with the outcome data are small and non-significant. Second, we show that high ICC(2) values are not a prerequisite for detecting emergent multilevel relationships.

Originality/Value

The article is designed to be a resource for researchers who are learning about and applying mixed-effects (i.e., multilevel) models.

     

The Effect of Adaptive Organizational Culture on Long-Term Survival

Purpose

Organizational culture is a critical resource for organizations to adapt to dynamic environments and to survive in the long term. Unfortunately, a lack of clarity exists in the conceptualization of adaptive cultures and little empirical research investigates its impact on survival. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was twofold: (1) to identify, define, and develop a measure of adaptive organizational culture and (2)  to demonstrate the effect of adaptive culture on organizational survival.

Design/Methodology/Approach

An adaptive culture rating scale was developed based on a review of the existing literature. Ninety-five organizations founded prior to 1940 were rated on nine characteristics of adaptive culture. Ratings were used to predict likelihood to survive using a Cox regression with proportional hazards survival analysis.

Findings

Exploratory factor analysis revealed two broad factors of adaptive culture, values toward change and action-orientation. Findings indicate organizations with adaptive cultures were more likely to survive.

Implications

The present effort provided evidence that culture can serve as an adaptive mechanism with effects spanning decades. Leaders should focus on establishing adaptive cultural norms and values in order to increase chances of surviving.

Originality/Value

This is one of the first historiometric studies to develop and utilize a measure of adaptive culture. Further, this study looked at the impact of adaptive culture on long-term organizational outcomes using survival analysis, a statistical technique not often employed in the organizational literature.