Redesigning work through idiosyncratic deals

This study links idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) to job design theory. It investigates the impact of individually negotiated job changes on performance, self-efficacy, and psychological strain through their intervening effects on work design. Based on a sample of 187 health care professionals employed by a hospital in Germany, three types of work design-related i-deals were investigated: (1) task, (2) career, and (3) flexibility i-deals. Consistent with hypotheses, the three types of i-deal had differential effects on work characteristics, and each in turn related to different outcomes. Specifically, job autonomy mediated the task i-deals—job performance relationship; skill acquisition mediated the career i-deals—occupational self-efficacy relationship; and reduced work overload mediated the flexibility i-deals—emotional and affective irritation relationships. Leader–Member Exchange was confirmed as an antecedent of all three types of i-deals. Task, career, and flexibility i-deals are discussed as ways to make work more intrinsically motivating, ensure one’s professional advancement, and balance workplace stressors.     

Age-based stereotype threat and negative outcomes in the workplace: Exploring the role of identity integration

Previous studies have shown that the presence of age-based stereotypes in the workplace is often associated with lower levels of work engagement and adjustment among older employees. This study examines possible mediators and moderators of this relationship using data from a sample of 2,348 older (age > 50) employees at the Italian national rail company. We test a model in which the effects of age-based stereotype threat on organizational involvement, future time perspective, and psychological well-being are mediated by work–age identity integration (how much individuals see their age and organizational identities as compatible and blended). Secondly, we explored whether these effects are moderated by gender and job status. Results indicate that age-based stereotypes are associated with negative outcomes for employees’ work and personal adjustment, and that these relationships are partially mediated by variations in work–age identity integration.     

Relations between stress and work outcomes: The role of felt challenge, job control, and psychological strain

Recent research on reported work stress indicates stress may not always be deleterious for an individual or organization. Research in this area, however, has not yet examined a variety of work outcomes, the mechanism by which stress leads to such outcomes, and the moderators of this effect. The present study hypothesized that two types of reported stress (challenge- and hindrance-related) have a divergent relationship with work outcomes (relating to desirable and undesirable outcomes, respectively) and a similar (positive) relationship with psychological strain. We also hypothesize felt challenge as a mechanism through which challenge stress relates to desirable outcomes and job control as a moderator of the effect. Results from a heterogeneous sample of university staff employees (N=461) supported many of the hypotheses. The two types of stress differentially related to work outcomes yet both positively related to psychological strain. In addition, felt challenge mediated the relationship between challenge-related stress and work outcomes, yet the effect of challenge-related stress did not depend on job control.     

The impact of psychological distress on absence from work

The aims of this study were to examine the impact of psychological distress on absence from work; to compare psychological distress and job satisfaction as predictors of absence; and to compare the relative effects of 2 components of psychological distress, depression and anxiety, on absence. Organizational records of absence over a 3-year period were obtained for 323 health service staff in the United Kingdom, who also completed self-report measures of psychological distress and job satisfaction at the beginning of the study and 2 years later. Psychological distress, particularly depression, was found to predict absence, with higher levels of distress predicting a greater number of days and number of times absent. Job satisfaction and psychological distress independently predicted levels of absence. The psychological distress-absence relationship was not moderated by demographic variables.     

Psychosocial safety climate as a precursor to conducive work environments,psychological health problems,and employee engagement

We constructed a model of workplace psychosocial safety climate (PSC) to explain the origins of job demands and resources, worker psychological health, and employee engagement. PSC refers to policies, practices, and procedures for the protection of worker psychological health and safety. Using the job demands–resources framework, we hypothesized that PSC as an upstream organizational resource influenced largely by senior management, would precede the work context (i.e., job demands and resources) and would in turn predict psychological health and work engagement via mediation and moderation pathways. We operationalized PSC at the school level and tested meso‐mediational models using two‐level (longitudinal) hierarchical linear modelling in a sample of Australian education workers (N = 209–288). Data were repeated measures separated by 12 months, nested within 18 schools. PSC predicted change in individual psychological health problems (psychological distress, emotional exhaustion) through its relationship with individual job demands (work pressure and emotional demands). PSC moderated the relationship between emotional demands and emotional exhaustion. PSC predicted change in employee engagement, through its relationship with skill discretion. The results show that the PSC construct is a key upstream component of work stress theory and a logical intervention site for work stress intervention.     

Job skill discretion and emotion control strategies as antecedents of recovery from work

Recovery from work protects employees’ health and well-being, and therefore it is important to understand its antecedents. The aim of this study conducted among 183 middle-aged participants drawn from the Finnish Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development was to examine whether job skill discretion and emotion control strategies (emotional rumination and emotional inhibition) are related to psychological aspects of recovery from work (subjective recovery evaluation, psychological detachment and relaxation). The results of hierarchical general linear models confirmed the hypothesis that job skill discretion is positively associated with subjective recovery evaluation and relaxation. As expected, high emotional rumination predicted difficulties in psychological detachment and relaxation. Emotional inhibition moderated the relationship between job skill discretion and psychological detachment: where emotional inhibition was at a moderate level, job skill discretion was positively related to psychological detachment. The findings suggest that not only job characteristics but also individual factors contribute to recovery, revealing practical implications for employees, employers and occupational health care professionals seeking to promote employees’ work ability, health and well-being.     

Job insecurity and well-being: The moderating role of job dependence

Job insecurity has become more relevant during the last decades as more flexibility from the workforce and organizations is demanded in the labour market. It has frequently been suggested that job insecurity is a more severe stressor for those who are more dependent on their job. The present study investigates the association between job insecurity and employee well-being by focusing on how employees’ dependence on the job moderates this relationship. Two types of financial dependence (subjective financial dependence and relative contribution to the household income) were studied, along with an indicator of a more psychological dependence on work in general (work involvement). In addition to this, both quantitative and qualitative job insecurity were included. The proposed relations were tested in a sample of Swedish accountancy firm employees. The results of moderated hierarchical regression analyses showed that subjective financial dependence, household contribution, and work involvement moderated the relation between both job insecurity dimensions and job satisfaction. No moderations were found with mental well-being as an outcome. This implies that the extent to which someone depends on their job is important for how job insecurity relates to job satisfaction.     

A reexamination of black-white mean differences in work performance: more data, more moderators

This study is the largest meta-analysis to date of Black-White mean differences in work performance. The authors examined several moderators not addressed in previous research. Findings indicate that mean racial differences in performance favor Whites (d = 0.27). Effect sizes were most strongly moderated by criterion type and the cognitive loading of criteria, whereas data source and measurement level were influential moderators to a lesser extent. Greater mean differences were found for highly cognitively loaded criteria, data reported in unpublished sources, and for performance measures consisting of multiple item scales. On the basis of these findings, the authors hypothesize several potential determinants of mean racial differences in job performance.     

When flexibility helps: Another look at the availability of flexible work arrangements and work-family conflict

Despite the positive press given to flexible work arrangements (FWA), empirical research investigating the link between the availability of these policies and work-family conflict is largely equivocal. The purpose of the present study was to begin to reconcile these mixed results through more precise measurement and the examination of moderators. Using a sample of employed women, we found that FWA relate more highly to work interference with family (WIF) than to family interference with work (FIW) and that temporal flexibility (flextime) has a stronger relationship with WIF than does spatial flexibility (flexplace). Additionally, we found family responsibility significantly moderated these relationships, such that the relationship was stronger for those with greater family responsibility. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Efficacy beliefs as a moderator of the impact of work-related stressors: a multilevel study.

This study built on previous exploratory research (S. M. Jex & D. M. Gudanowski, 1992) that examined both self-efficacy and collective efficacy as moderators of stressor-strain relations. Based on survey data collected from 2,273 U.S. Army soldiers representing 36 companies, it was found that both self- and collective efficacy moderated the relationship between stressors and strains. Multilevel random coefficient model results revealed that respondents with strong self-efficacy reacted less negatively in terms of psychological and physical strain to long work hours and work overload than did those reporting low levels of efficacy. In addition, respondents with high levels of self-efficacy responded more positively in terms of job satisfaction to tasks with high significance than did those with low efficacy. The results also revealed that group-level collective efficacy moderated the relationship between work overload and job satisfaction and between task significance and organizational commitment. Limitations of the study and implications of these findings are discussed.     

Job security and work performance in Chinese employees: The mediating role of organisational identification

This research focuses on investigating whether organisational identification mediates the effects of job security on in‐role behaviour and extra‐role behaviour and how these mediation mechanisms differ according to gender. Through analysing 212 supervisor‐subordinate dyads from a Chinese air transportation group, the research indicated that organisational identification partially mediated the effect of job security on in‐role behaviour and fully mediated the effect of job security on extra‐role behaviour. A multi‐group analysis also showed that there were significant differences between male and female employees in these relationships. In addition, moderated mediation analyses showed that gender moderated the indirect effects of job security on in‐role behaviour and extra‐role behaviour through organisational identification. Limitations and implications of these findings are discussed.     

The significance of task significance: Job performance effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions

Does task significance increase job performance? Correlational designs and confounded manipulations have prevented researchers from assessing the causal impact of task significance on job performance. To address this gap, 3 field experiments examined the performance effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions of task significance. In Experiment 1, fundraising callers who received a task significance intervention increased their levels of job performance relative to callers in 2 other conditions and to their own prior performance. In Experiment 2, task significance increased the job dedication and helping behavior of lifeguards, and these effects were mediated by increases in perceptions of social impact and social worth. In Experiment 3, conscientiousness and prosocial values moderated the effects of task significance on the performance of new fundraising callers. The results provide fresh insights into the effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions of task significance, offering noteworthy implications for theory, research, and practice on job design, social information processing, and work motivation and performance.     

An intra‐individual test of the demands‐control model: A weekly diary study of psychological strain in portfolio workers

Twenty‐five years of research on Karasek's job strain model has produced evidence that jobs involving high demands, low control and low social support may produce psychological strain. The present study takes this research in a new direction by using a time‐sampling methodology with a group of portfolio workers (self‐employed individuals who work for multiple clients) to examine whether working weeks that involve more of these characteristics are associated with greater psychological strain. The study also examines whether workers' optimism moderates the intra‐individual relationship between job characteristics and strain. Every week for 26 weeks, 65 portfolio workers completed a diary containing measures of work demands, job control, social support and strain. Multi‐level analyses supported the additive but not the interactive form of the job strain model. However, differences in portfolio workers' optimism moderated an interactive effect of weekly demands and control on anxiety and depression, such that the highest levels of strain were experienced by pessimists under conditions of low control and high demands. The results suggest that psychological strain can vary with temporal variations in job characteristics and that a person‐situation approach is appropriate for understanding these dynamics.     

领悟社会支持与中小学教师工作绩效：有调节的中介模型

基于社会支持的缓冲器模型和自我调节理论,本研究探讨了领悟社会支持对中小学教师工作绩效的作用机理。通过对510名中小学教师的调查与分析,结果表明：领悟社会支持与中小学教师工作绩效呈显著正相关;心理授权在领悟社会支持与工作绩效间起中介作用;未来工作自我清晰度调节了心理授权在领悟社会支持与工作绩效之间的中介作用。较之低未来工作自我清晰度的教师,中介效应在高未来工作自我清晰度教师中更显著。     

Meta-analytic evidence of the effectiveness of stress management at work

To increase employees’ psychological health and to achieve a competitive advantage, organizations are increasingly introducing flexible work arrangements (FWAs) and stress management training (SMT). This paper provides meta-analytic evidence of the effects of two forms of FWA (flexitime and telecommuting) and three forms of SMT (cognitive-behavioural skills training, relaxation techniques and multiple SMT) on employees’ psychological health, job satisfaction, job performance and absenteeism. Applying the conservation of resource theory, we conjecture that both FWAs and SMT improve all four employee-related outcomes. Quantitative meta-analyses based on 43 primary studies and 22,882 employees show that both FWAs and SMT are positively associated with psychological health and job satisfaction. However, due to a lack of primary studies we were mostly unable to analyse the effects on performance and absenteeism. Although we found a large heterogeneity in the hypothesized relationships, additional moderator analyses of study quality, age, gender, duration and intention of intervention yielded no significant effects. We discuss limitations and implications for practice and for future research.     

Perceiving a calling, living a calling, and job satisfaction: testing a moderated, multiple mediator model

The current study examined the relation between perceiving a calling, living a calling, and job satisfaction among a diverse group of employed adults who completed an online survey (N = 201). Perceiving a calling and living a calling were positively correlated with career commitment, work meaning, and job satisfaction. Living a calling moderated the relations of perceiving a calling with career commitment and work meaning, such that these relations were more robust for those with a stronger sense they were living their calling. Additionally, a moderated, multiple mediator model was run to examine the mediating role of career commitment and work meaning in the relation of perceiving a calling and job satisfaction, while accounting for the moderating role of living a calling. Results indicated that work meaning and career commitment fully mediated the relation between perceiving a calling and job satisfaction. However, the indirect effects of work meaning and career commitment were only significant for individuals with high levels of living a calling, indicating the importance of living a calling in the link between perceiving a calling and job satisfaction. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Work-based resources as moderators of the relationship between work hours and satisfaction with work-family balance

This study reports an investigation of the relationships of work hours, job complexity, and control over work time to satisfaction with work-family balance. Based on data from a sample of 570 telephone call center representatives, a moderated hierarchical regression analysis revealed that work hours were negatively related to satisfaction with work-family balance, consistent with the resource drain perspective. Job complexity and control over work time were positively associated with satisfaction with work-family balance. Control over work time moderated the relationship such that as work hours rose, workers with low control experienced a decline in work-family balance satisfaction, while workers with high control did not. Results encourage greater research attention to work characteristics, such as job complexity and control over work time, and skills that represent resources useful to the successful integration of work and family demands.     

Does parental mental health moderate the effect of a telephone and internet‐assisted remote parent training for disruptive 4‐year‐old children?

This study explores the moderators affecting the success of an Internet‐based and telephone assisted remote parent training intervention and compares them to an educational control group. We prospectively identified 464 parents who reported at a health check that their 4‐year‐old children showed elevated levels of externalizing behavior. The moderators explored included parental attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and parental distress. The dependent variables were child externalization scores and self‐reported parenting skills. The measures were completed at baseline, six and 12‐months follow‐up. The 232 families randomized to active treatment received 11 Internet‐based training sessions with weekly phone calls from a coach. The other 232 families had access to a website that provided general positive parenting advice and one 45‐minute phone‐call from a coach. Using hierarchical linear models, we explored if the parental ADHD or parental distress modified the treatment effects on child externalizing behavior or parenting skills. The results showed that none of the independent variables moderated intervention effects on child externalizing behavior or parenting skills. The lack of significant moderator effects could have been due to the treatment's personalization, the format's flexibility and adaptability to when and how the parents wanted to complete the sessions or the relatively low levels of ADHD and parental distress among the participants.     

Building and sustaining work engagement – a participatory action intervention to increase work engagement in nursing staff

This study evaluated whether a participatory action research intervention with nursing staff on acute care older people National Health Service wards in the United Kingdom was effective for increasing work engagement. Mediation analyses between job resources (social support, influence in decision-making), job demands, work-related needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness), and work engagement explored the presumed psychological mechanisms underlying the intervention. A non-randomized, matched control group, pretest, post-test design involved three intervention and five control wards. A significant decrease in relatedness, and a borderline significant decrease in competence, was observed in the intervention group compared to the control group, with no effect on work engagement (N = 45). Work-related needs mediated between resources and work engagement, supporting the job demands-resources model and self-determination theory as an underlying explanatory theory. Intervention implementation was difficult, highlighting the need for participant and organizational readiness for change, and strong management support. This is the first known study to apply participatory techniques to increase work engagement in nursing staff and explore the underlying explanatory psychological mechanisms, offering a novel means of taking work engagement research forward. Crucially, it highlights the challenges involved in intervention research and the importance of including evaluations of intervention implementation alongside statistical evaluations to avoid erroneous conclusions.