Latent profiles of work motivation in adolescents in relation to work expectations,goal engagement,and changes in work experiences

Motivation plays a key role in successful entry into working life. Based on a cross-sectional and a one-year longitudinal study, we used a person-centered approach to explore work-related motivation (i.e., autonomous goals, positive affect, and occupational self-efficacy) among 577 students in 8th grade (Study 1) and 949 adolescents in vocational training (Study 2). Based on latent profile analysis, in both studies we identified four groups that were characterized by different levels of overall motivation and one group characterized by low positive affect and mean levels in autonomous goals and self-efficacy. Profiles characterized by high levels of motivation showed the highest levels of positive work expectations and goal engagement and the lowest levels of negative work expectations in Study 1 and the highest levels of person-job fit, work engagement, and job satisfaction in Study 2. Moreover, latent difference score analysis showed that motivational profiles predicted changes in person-job fit and work engagement across one year but not in job satisfaction. The results imply that career counselors should be aware of characteristic motivational patterns of clients that may require specific counseling approaches.     

Outcome expectations and work design characteristics in post-retirement work planning

Today, a growing number of individuals decide to work beyond normal retirement age (Eurofound, 2012). Research has revealed influencing factors for post-retirement work at the individual, job and organizational, family, and socioeconomic levels. However, not much is known about post-retirement work planning and its antecedents. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of outcome expectations regarding post-retirement work and two work design characteristics (i.e., physical demands and social support at work) on post-retirement work planning by applying the framework of social cognitive career theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). Data from 1065 employees of a German logistics company were used in this study. Results provide support for SCCT to be a suitable theoretical framework for understanding post-retirement career planning and thereby expand the application of SCCT to a new field. Furthermore, multilevel analysis revealed that physical demands were negatively related to the intention to continue to work for the pre-retirement employer after retirement entry, whereas social support at work strengthened the relationship between outcome expectations and same-employer-post-retirement work intention. Organizations who want their retired employees to continue to work in retirement should develop interventions to strengthen post-retirement work outcome expectations. An increase in social support at work as well as a reduction in physical demands may also contribute to increased participation in continued work with the same employer in retirement.     

Outcome expectations and work design characteristics in post-retirement work planning

Today, a growing number of individuals decide to work beyond normal retirement age (Eurofound, 2012). Research has revealed influencing factors for post-retirement work at the individual, job and organizational, family, and socioeconomic levels. However, not much is known about post-retirement work planning and its antecedents. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of outcome expectations regarding post-retirement work and two work design characteristics (i.e., physical demands and social support at work) on post-retirement work planning by applying the framework of social cognitive career theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). Data from 1065 employees of a German logistics company were used in this study. Results provide support for SCCT to be a suitable theoretical framework for understanding post-retirement career planning and thereby expand the application of SCCT to a new field. Furthermore, multilevel analysis revealed that physical demands were negatively related to the intention to continue to work for the pre-retirement employer after retirement entry, whereas social support at work strengthened the relationship between outcome expectations and same-employer-post-retirement work intention. Organizations who want their retired employees to continue to work in retirement should develop interventions to strengthen post-retirement work outcome expectations. An increase in social support at work as well as a reduction in physical demands may also contribute to increased participation in continued work with the same employer in retirement.     

Group work in general practice

In this article, consideration is given to a problem often experienced in relation to courses offering psychodynamic understanding to front-line workers with troubled clients – the complexity for the student in taking the learning ‘home’ in a productive manner and the potential isolation of the student in, or alienation from, their workplace. A model of course delivery is described in which an active three-way partnership between student, course and workplace is fostered which enhances the students' learning, enables the workplace to benefit more fully from the course and enhances the effectiveness of the course in improving service to the ultimate client – the service user.     

Loving thy work: developing a measure of work passion

ABSTRACT

Passion for work has become increasingly valued, as reflected by its ubiquity in popular and empirical discourse. Yet we lack scientific consensus on the definition of work passion, and a reliable, well-validated measure of work passion that is relevant to workers across various vocations. In this paper, we identified and integrated key themes from existing scientific conceptualizations into a precise definition: Passion for work means to strongly identify with a line of work that one feels motivated to engage in and derives positive affect from doing. We developed a 10-item Work Passion (WP) scale, which we tested across multiple studies with a total of 858 adults, including working adults from two different English-speaking cultural backgrounds (i.e., United States and Singapore), and a two-wave study of employees from various vocations. Our results showed that work passion is associated with a host of beneficial outcomes, including greater career commitment, lower levels of job burnout, less work-home conflict, and fewer physical symptoms. Our research (1) provides an integrated definition of work passion, (2) offers a reliable, cross-culturally tested scale, and (3) highlights important implications for work outcomes associated with being passionate towards one’s line of work.     

Faculty work orientations as predictors of work attitudes in the physical and social sciences

This study examines the relationship between university professors' work orientation and attitudes toward their work. Specific and global work orientations are related to extrinsic and intrinsic attitudes toward (1) career attraction, (2) work satisfaction, and (3) commitment to the profession. The major findings of the study are (1) global work orientation is a strong predictor of attitudes toward intrinsic aspects of work in the social sciences and is a moderate predictor in the physical sciences; (2) specific work orientation is a strong predictor of attitudes toward extrinsic aspects of work in the physical sciences and is a moderate predictor in the social sciences; (3) global work orientation is not related to extrinsic work attitudes in the physical and social sciences; and (4) specific work orientation is not related to intrinsic work attitudes in the physical and social sciences.     

Interpretive work in milieu groups

Interpretive work in milieu psychotherapy groups aims to bring concealed and hidden material to the fore so that it can be discussed openly. A host of clinically important issues thrive in the milieu, about which the patients are fully aware, but are unable to discuss. Two types of interventions are described whose goal is to overcome resistance to discussion; they are clarifying interpretations and making a parallel statement. Clarifying statements help patients understand their experience in the milieu; they are interpretive when they bring avoided material into the open. In those instances where resistance to discussion is great, the subject first appears in metaphor, is worked with, and then emerges in a displaced form. Working indirectly with metaphor and displaced material can serve to overcome transference resistance. The therapist then need only ask a direct question or make a statement in order for the avoided material to emerge. The combination of working with displaced material followed by a question or statement that is framed in terms of that theme has an interpretative function.     

Professional issues in group work

This article first describes the explosion of interest in and practice of group work, with the resultant lag between the development both of standards for training and practice and of a code for ethical behavior/ practice. We used a questionnaire to fill in some gaps regarding the number of cases of unethical behavior/practice in group work and the respondents' recommendations for dealing with the problems raised both externally by the public media and internally by professional association members. The data from the questionnaire are summarized, analyzed, and made relevant to the problem of ethics for group practices. We drew conclusions from these data, from others who have addressed themselves to the problems, and from our own experiences in the group field. From these conclusions we list recommendations for alleviating the problem.     

Bullying at work in France

The bullying at work situation in France is interesting, since it is one of the few countries in which a law has been introduced to deal with this issue. This law had been waited for impatiently by victims and their families. However, as a detailed analysis of this text shows, a certain number of guarantees introduced in the legislation for the benefit of private sector employees are not provided for bullied public sector employees. This paper reflects my personal analysis of this situation.     

Spiritual work

Pastoral Psychology -