Disaffected Pollyannas: The influence of positive affect on salary expectations,turnover, and long‐term satisfaction

Using a longitudinal sample of MBA graduates, the present study investigates why employees who are high in positive affect (PA) sometimes display higher rates of turnover, as well as the consequences of frequent turnover for long‐term satisfaction. Results show that high PA employees had higher salary expectations than other employees, and that the relationship between low salary and frequent turnover in the 4 years following graduation was stronger among employees higher in PA. High PA employees who changed organizations more frequently in the first 4 years following graduation reported lower job satisfaction and lower life satisfaction 8 years into their careers, a trend that was reversed for low PA employees.     

企业员工行为中庸化的特征分析

本研究采用了问卷调查法,对苏州271名企业员工的行为中庸化的特征进行了研究。结果表明：（1）企业员工的行为,总体上是趋向于中庸的;（2）男性员工较女性员工在行为上更倾向于中庸;（3）教育水平高的员工较教育水平低的员工更倾向于中庸;（4）职务水平高的员工较职务水平低的员工更倾向于中庸;（5）企业性质不同、资本来源不同的企业员工,其行为中庸化水平不同。     

领导—部属交换对员工家庭贬损的影响研究：一个有调节的中介模型

关于领导-部属交换理论的研究主要集中在职场范围内,少有研究关注领导-部属交换对员工家庭生活的影响。本研究以工作家庭增益理论（Work-Family Enrichment Theory）、领导权变理论（Contingency Theory）为基础,构建了领导-部属交换、资源获取、负向情感特质和员工家庭贬损之间的关系模型。以成都市某银行的193名员工及员工配偶为样本对研究假设进行了实证性检验,研究结果表明:（1）领导-部属交换对员工家庭贬损具有负向的影响;（2）领导-部属交换对员工资源获取具有正向的影响;（3）员工资源获取对员工家庭贬损具有负向影响;（4）员工资源获取在领导-部属交换和家庭贬损之间起着完全中介的作用;（5）下属的负向情感特质越强,领导-部属交换对员工资源获取的直接影响以及对员工家庭贬损的间接影响就越强。     

Perceived corporate ethical values and organisational justice in relation to employee commitment at a manufacturing company

This study investigated the relationship between employees’ perceptions of their organisation’s corporate ethical values and justice and their level of commitment. The study participants were 201 employees of a manufacturing company in the Democratic Republic of Congo (female = 32%%, general employees = 68%, mean years of service = 13 years; SD = 0.85 years). They completed measures on corporate ethical values, organisational justice, and organisational commitment. Findings following hierarchical regression indicated that employees’ perceptions of corporate ethical values and organisational justice significantly influence their affective and continuance organisational commitment. A work environment where a code of conduct is upheld and employees are treated fairly would encourage employees to extend their membership of the employing organisation.     

Social judgments of spurious and causal relations between attributes and outcomes

People can learn about relations between attributes and outcomes by observing the attributes and outcomes of others, but, as this experiment indicates, such learning is not always veridical. Each subject received information about the ages, educations, and salaries of groups of employees in a fictitious corporation. Within a group, either age or education was related to salaries and the two attributes were either orthogonal or correlated. In each case, subjects judged the strength of the causal relation between each attribute and salaries. The results confirmed our hypothesis that observers are more likely to view a causally relevant attribute as irrelevant, and a causally irrelevant attribute as relevant, when relevant and irrelevant attributes are correlated. However, this tendency seemed to be mediated by subjects' bias to prefer education as an explanation of salary differences: That is, when age and education were correlated, subjects tended to view education as relevant even when it was irrelevant and age as irrelevant even when it was relevant. The results suggest that when attributes are correlated, factors extraneous to observed data may have a major influence on inferred attribute-outcome associations.     

The determinants of employee benefits satisfaction

This study developed a multidimensional scale of benefits satisfaction and utilized a discrepancy model to examine the determinants of employee benefits satisfaction. The empirical findings are based on the survey responses of 205 employees in a hospital. The results indicate that pay level, female gender and exempt status employees are positively related to benefits satisfaction. Further, age and education level are negatively related to benefits satisfaction.     

Why won’t they participate? Barriers to participation in worksite health promotion programmes

Research suggests that worksite health promotion (WHP) programmes, and specifically health risk assessment (HRA) surveys and health education workshops, can be effective in enhancing employees’ health. However, 50–75% of employees choose not to participate when offered the opportunity to do so. The reasons for nonparticipation and the characteristics of nonparticipants have largely been overlooked. Building on premises of Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, we hypothesize that nonparticipation results from lack or loss of resources, or from the perceived low value of resources. These barriers to participation are expected to be related to employees’ characteristics and beliefs (termed implicit barriers) and reflected in employees’ self-reported reasons for nonparticipation (termed explicit barriers). We surveyed a large random sample of participants and nonparticipants in a WHP programme (n = 1926 employees), which included two steps: a HRA survey and a health education workshop. Participants completed an anonymous web-based questionnaire. Implicit and explicit barriers that reflect resource availability (e.g., age, health status) and valuation (e.g., low value of making a lifestyle change) were identified. The magnitude and nature of these barriers differed between the HRA survey and the workshop. We discuss how future research on WHP programmes can build on these findings and propose practical implications for reducing nonparticipation.     

Person-environment congruence and employee job satisfaction: a test of Holland's theory

Person-environment congruence as assessed by Holland's model of vocational preference was tested in a sample of 362 employees from five environmental typologies (Realistic, Investigative, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional). Employees were classified as having congruent or incongruent person/environment pairings according to their occupation and their responses to Holland's Self-Directed Search. It was hypothesized that congruent employees would be significantly more satisfied with their jobs than incongruent employees. The results indicated that congruent employees were significantly more satisfied with the job facet satisfaction measures of work, pay, promotions, supervision, and coworkers as well as overall satisfaction compared to incongruent employees. In addition, the results revealed several Environment × Congruence interactions, indicating that the effects of person-environment congruence vary across different environmental typologies. The results are discussed in the context of establishing a fit between individual attributes and organizational environments.     

Employment demographics and attitudes that predict preferences for alternative pay increase policies

A survey of 942 university staff employees shows that performance and cost of living are preferred over seniority as criteria upon which to base pay increases. Multiple regression analysis reveals that preferences for performance-based pay increases are most strongly related to perceptions that merit pay does not decrease co-worker cooperation, perceptions that performance differences exist among co-workers, employment in white collar jobs, and never having belonged to a union. Preferences for seniority-based and cost of living-based pay increases are most strongly related to the perceived need for a union, perceptions that merit pay reduces cooperation, education level, and gender. In addition, preferences for seniority-based pay increases are related to years of service.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1989 meetings of the Midwest Academy of Management.     

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF JOB SELECTION METHODS ON SIZE, PRODUCTIVITY, AND PAYROLL COSTS OF THE FEDERAL WORK FORCE: AN EMPIRICALLY BASED DEMONSTRATION

In this study, job performance increases resulting from improved selection validity were measured empirically rather than estimated from the standard linear regression utility equations. Selection utility analyses based on these empirical measurements were carried out for most white-collar jobs in the federal government. Results indicate that selection of a one-year cohort based on valid measures of cognitive ability, rather than on non-test procedures (mostly evaluations of education and experience), produces increases in output worth up to $600 million for each year that the new employees remain employed by the government. Newly hired federal employees remain with the government an average of approximately 13 years, resulting in a total gain in output of almost $8 billion over this period. This gain represents a 9.7% increase in output among new hires. If total output is held constant rather than increased, new hiring can be reduced by up to 20,044 per year (a 9% decrease), resulting in payroll savings of $272 million for every year the new cohort of employees remains on the job. The percentage of new hires in the bottom decile of the non-test-selected job performance distribution     

A study of the “central life interests” and “work attachments” of male and female workers

This paper reports the results of a survey undertaken to investigate the overall central life interests and attachments to work of a sample of 1112 male and female employees of six Southern California manufacturing firms. The major conclusions suggested by this study are three. First, male employees have a slight tendency to be more work oriented in their overall central life interests than female employees. Second, female employees tend to be more strongly attached to extrinsic work features than male employees. Third, male-female differences in occupational status and perceived mobility opportunities probably account for gender differences in overall central life interests but these variables do not account for the tendency for women to be more strongly attached than men to extrinsic work features.     

Company Norms Affect Which Traits are Preferred in Job Candidates and May Cause Employment Discrimination

This study investigated a possible mechanism behind employment discrimination. Participants completed a recruitment task where emphasis on cohesion (employees should “fit in”) versus fairness (everybody should be treated equally) was manipulated by describing the norms of a fictitious company differently. There was a comparatively stronger preference in the cohesion condition for traits and interview questions related to social competence (e.g., friendliness, gregariousness, empathy). Furthermore, participants in the cohesion condition primarily pictured socially competent employees, whereas those in the fairness condition primarily pictured employees possessing productivity-related characteristics (e.g., education, experience, and talent). The norm effect was moderated by participants’ awareness of the applicants’ ethnicity. When expecting applicants with foreign backgrounds, participants in the cohesion condition showed increased preference for selection methods related to social competence. Implications for recruitment practices are discussed.     

The Viability of Organizational Wellness Programs: An Examination of Promotion and Results

Wellness programs in contemporary organizations are increasing in number, but attendance is low and results often are difficult to track. We examined participant and program characteristics in 2 organizations that offered extensive wellness activities. One organization considered its program successful and had been in operation for 10 years, while the other organization's program ran for 2 years and ended because of a lack of funding. In the successful program, wellness program attendance showed a relationship to time employees took off for sick days, and improved fitness produced similar results. In the less successful operation, interviews were held with mangers and employees regarding promotion and program support. Suggestions are provided for future wellness programs.     

Improving Employee Productivity: The Role of Financial Counseling and Education

Literature has shown that a link exists between personal financial problems and employee productivity. This article presents the results of a survey that was designed to assess the personal financial behaviors of 220 clerical workers and to measure their desire for workplace financial education and counseling programs. It was found that a large percentage of employees were exhibiting poor financial behaviors and that more than 80% of respondents were interested in workplace financial counseling and education as long as the cost of such programs were relatively low. The financial behaviors of employees may be significantly improved through workplace counseling and education.     

伦理型领导影响员工建言的多重中介效应比较研究

采用问卷调查法,对244名企业员工进行调查,构建了伦理型领导对员工建言行为的多重中介模型,比较建言效能感、心理安全感与上下级关系的个别中介效应。结果显示:伦理型领导通过建言效能感、心理安全感与上下级关系的并行多重中介作用对员工建言行为产生影响;建言效能感与心理安全感的个别中介效应均显著大于上下级关系,建言效能感与心理安全感的中介效应无显著差异。     

新生代知识员工队伍的工作家庭冲突——基于人口特征差异交互效应的视角

本研究以来自高科技企业的500名新生代知识员工为样本,采用单因变量多因素方差分析法揭示了工作家庭冲突的人口特征差异,以及不同人口特征变量之间的交互效应。检验结果表明：（1）新生代知识员工的工作家庭冲突存在显著的性别差异与工龄差异,而职位层次差异并不显著;（2）工作家庭冲突的性别差异分别与工龄差异、职位层次差异之间存在显著的二维交互效应;（3）性别差异与工龄差异、职位层次差异之间存在显著的三维交互效应。     

When do employees cross boundaries? Individual and contextual determinants of career mobility

This study investigates the joint effects of individual characteristics and the labour market on career mobility. We propose that level of education, openness to experience, and a favourable labour market relate positively to employees crossing organizational, industrial, and occupational boundaries. Management programme alumni (N = 503) provided information through an online survey about their career histories, their level of education, and their openness to experience. Additionally, we used the unemployment rate as an indicator for yearly changes in the labour market. The results of our cross-classified multilevel analysis indicate that both individual characteristics and the labour market are determinants of career mobility. Level of education had a positive effect on organizational and industrial boundary crossing, and changes in the labour market related to organizational boundary crossing. Against our assumptions, openness to experience had no effect on career mobility, and none of the predictors were related to occupational boundary crossing. Our results demonstrate the importance of investigating career mobility from a boundary perspective combined with a focus on both individual and contextual characteristics. The dominance of education compared to personality and the difficulty of explaining occupational mobility open new research avenues and yield practical implications for employees, career counsellors, and organizations.     

Childhood and Adulthood Socioeconomic Statuses in Relation to Union Interest: Exploratory Surface Relationships

Using response surface methodology for exploratory data, we examined the linear and nonlinear surface relationships between no mobility and mobility in reference to union interest defined by willingness to join a labor union. Analyses were conducted on survey data collected from U.S. nonunion employees (N?=?1,010) who indicated their socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood and adulthood in reference to social class, education, and English language/literacy (e.g., language/literacy during childhood, language/literacy now). Surface relationships were mostly linear. For example, among status indicators, a linear surface was found for employees whose childhood and adulthood language/literacy were the same (no mobility): Lower status nonmobile employees showed more union interest than higher status nonmobile employees. In contrast, a nonlinear surface was found for employees whose childhood and adulthood language/literacy were not the same (mobility): Upwardly mobile employees showed less union interest than downwardly mobile employees showed more interest. Details of the surface relationships and future modeling of the relationships in terms of mediational processes are discussed.     

Impact of employee assistance programs on substance abusers and workplace safety

Businesses have dealt with substance abuse in different ways. Some organizations have established Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) to address these problems. One large national company chose to fire employees with positive drug screens, offer them EAP services, and then consider them for rehire after treatment. A study of performance records for 12,167 employees with safety incidents revealed that rehired employees had a significantly higher incident rate than the company's general population. Results indicated no difference in pre‐ and post‐EAP incident rates for rehired workers, and the post‐EAP incident rate fluctuated for 2 years. Implications of hiring/rehiring individuals who abuse drugs and alcohol are discussed, and suggestions are made for future research.