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.     

Mobility Strategies and Career Outcomes: A Longitudinal Study of MBAs

This research examines the impact of work- and non-work-related mobility on salary, promotions, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment among 671 male and female managers over a 7-year period. Results indicated that those with frequent lateral moves had significant gain in salary increases compared to those who did not move. In addition, frequent lateral moves had a negative impact on work-related attitudes, specifically overall job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Implications of these findings for career strategies and future research are discussed.     

The impact of Social Dominance Orientation and Right-Wing Authoritarianism on the relation between Person–Organization fit with commitment, satisfaction, and turnover intentions

This research examined whether Person–Organization fit would mediate the relationships of Social Dominance Orientation and Right-Wing Authoritarianism with the outcome variables of turnover intentions, satisfaction, and commitment. The study was conducted with a military sample and found that both Social Dominance Orientation and Right-Wing Authoritarianism predict greater satisfaction, continuance and normative commitment and that these relationships were mediated by perceived Person–Organization fit. Furthermore, this relation was moderated by the interaction between Social Dominance Orientation and Right-Wing Authoritarianism such that lower scores on Social Dominance Orientation increased the relation between Right-Wing Authoritarianism and P–O fit while higher scores on Social Dominance Orientation lowered that relation.     

Differential challenge stressor-hindrance stressor relationships with job attitudes, turnover intentions, turnover, and withdrawal behavior: a meta-analysis

In this article, a 2-dimensional work stressor framework is used to explain inconsistencies in past research with respect to stressor relationships with retention-related criteria. Results of meta-analyses of 183 independent samples indicated that whereas hindrance stressors had dysfunctional relationships with these criteria (negative relationships with job satisfaction and organizational commitment and positive relationships with turnover intentions, turnover, and withdrawal behavior), relationships with challenge stressors were generally the opposite (positive relationships with job satisfaction and organizational commitment and negative relationships with turnover intentions and turnover). Results also suggested that the differential relationships between challenge stressors and hindrance stressors and the more distal criteria (withdrawal behavior and turnover) were due, in part, to the mediating effects of job attitudes.     

Beyond job satisfaction: A five-year prospective analysis of the dispositional approach to work attitudes

Mounting evidence indicates a dispositional component to global job satisfaction. Unfortunately, however, relatively little attention has been given to the potential effects of dispositions on work-related attitudes other than global job satisfaction. We used a five-year prospective design to investigate the relationships of affective disposition with a set of attitudes oriented toward different aspects of work: the job, the organization, and the career. Job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job involvement, career commitment and career satisfaction each showed significant stability over five years. Cross-lagged panel analyses suggested that affective disposition plays an important role in the change of job attitudes across time. Analyses also support the hypothesis that affective disposition would be more weakly related to job involvement than to the other attitudes.     

“Timely” Methods: Examining Turnover Rates in the U.S. Military

Despite a long history of research on organizational turnover, questions still linger about relative contributions of different factors to the probability and timing of turnover. Complicating matters, civilian and military differences can moderate important relationships among the factors. In this study, several event history models for predicting voluntary turnover in the U.S. military were estimated. Turnover predictors included background variables, military satisfaction, organizational commitment, withdrawal intentions, job withdrawal, and comparisons of military and civilian work and lifestyles. Results showed that withdrawal intentions, job withdrawal, organizational commitment, and military tenure consistently predicted voluntary turnover. Inconsistent findings for job satisfaction and comparisons of military and civilian work and lifestyles raise questions as to their roles as predictors of military turnover.     

A comparison of individuals with unanswered callings to those with no calling at all

The purpose of this research was to compare the life-, job-, and health-related experiences of those who perceive an unanswered occupational calling to those who (1) are living a calling and (2) perceive no calling at all. Surveys containing measures of callings, work engagement, job involvement, career commitment, life and job satisfaction, turnover intentions, physical health and emotional well-being were administered to 378 American academics. As expected, academics with an answered occupational calling tended to report better job attitudes and domain-specific satisfaction and less withdrawal intentions than those who reported an unanswered occupational calling or no calling at all. Furthermore, those who did not have a calling to a particular vocation reported better life-, job-, and health-related outcomes than those experiencing an unanswered calling. Surprisingly, only those academics experiencing an unmet calling reported significantly poorer physical and psychological health as compared to the other two calling groups. These results are consistent with the self-determination theory, which predicts that those who are able to satisfy their basic psychological needs reap benefits in terms of psychological growth, optimal functioning, and wellbeing. The study contributes to the literature on callings by showing that having a calling is a benefit only if it is met, but can be a detriment when it is not as compared to having no calling at all.     

Cross‐level,three‐way interactions among work‐group climate,gender, and frequency of harassment on morale and withdrawal outcomes of sexual harassment

We examined the effects of gender and work‐groups' perceptions of climate for sexual harassment on the relationship between individuals' sexual harassment experiences and job‐related outcomes (namely, job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, work withdrawal, and job withdrawal). Drawing from a variety of theories, we proposed that a beneficial climate would buffer men from negative outcomes, but would intensify negative outcomes for women. Significant three‐way interactions were found for job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, and job withdrawal. Results indicated that beneficial work‐group climate perceptions buffered men from decrements in job satisfaction and work withdrawal, but intensified decrements in all three outcomes for women. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Calling and career adaptability among undergraduate students

The present study examined the relation of calling and career adaptability with a sample of 330 undergraduate students. The presence of a calling weakly to moderately correlated with the four components of adaptability — concern, control, curiosity, and confidence. A moderated, multiple mediation model was used to test the potential mediating effects of the four components of career adaptability on career decision self-efficacy (CDSE) and how these relations differed according to strengths use. Using bootstrapping techniques, concern and confidence were found to be significant mediators in the calling–CDSE relation. Additionally, strengths use was found to moderate the relation between curiosity and CDSE, with curiosity being a significant mediator at high levels of strengths use. After including the mediators in the model, the relation of calling to CDSE was weakened, but still significant, indicating partial mediation. These results suggest that calling relates to greater levels of CDSE in part because of increased concern, curiosity (when strengths use is high), and confidence. Directions for future research are discussed.     

Suspicion in the workplace: Organizational conspiracy theories and work‐related outcomes

Belief in conspiracy theories about societal events is widespread and has important consequences for political, health, and environmental behaviour. Little is known, however, about how conspiracy theorizing affects people's everyday working lives. In the present research, we predicted that belief in conspiracy theories about the workplace would be associated with increased turnover intentions. We further hypothesized that belief in these organizational conspiracy theories would predict decreased organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Finally, we hypothesized that these factors would mediate the relationship between organizational conspiracy theories and turnover intentions. In three studies (one correlational and two experiments, Ns = 209, 119, 202), we found support for these hypotheses. The current studies therefore demonstrate the potentially adverse consequences of conspiracy theorizing for the workplace. We argue that managers and employees should be careful not to dismiss conspiracy theorizing as harmless rumour or gossip.     

野心家取向:概念、测量、成因与影响

野心家取向指员工以非绩效取向的方式追求职业生涯发展的倾向。具有野心家取向的个体其生涯目标与组织目标不一致,坚信仅仅依靠绩效很难得到提升,需要运用组织政治行为、印象管理以及欺骗操纵策略获得晋升与高的绩效评定等级。对雇主的信任、感知到的组织公正、对生涯发展机会的感知、个体的交换意识、大五人格特质、马基雅维利主义以及原发性的精神病态等均会影响员工采取野心家取向的生涯发展态度。该取向雇员的工作满意度、生活满意度、内在工作动机、工作卷入度及组织承诺都比较低,而离职意向却很高,这会给组织带来消极后果。未来需从野心家取向的研究方法、变量与生态效度等方面进行深入探讨。     

职业生涯高原对员工工作满意度、组织承诺、离职意愿的影响

职业生涯高原是指个体在当前组织中职业生涯发展的停滞。在控制人口统计学变量以及同一方法偏差的基础上,研究发现职业生涯高原的不同维度对不同组织效果变量有不同影响。（1）层级高原对员工工作满意度和组织承诺并没有显著负向影响,但会增加员工离职的可能性。不过,层级高原对员工离职意愿的影响受到工龄的调节;（2）内容高原对员工的工作满意度、组织承诺均具有显著负向影响,并增加员工离开组织的可能性;（3）中心化高原对员工的工作满意度、组织承诺均具负向影响,但对员工离职意愿却没有显著影响     

Career Commitment: A Reexamination and an Extension

Compared to the other forms of work commitment, there is a paucity of research on career commitment. In this article, the authors seek to address this relative gap in the literature by building on previous research on the correlates and antecedents of career commitment and adding “new” variables to the framework. More specifically, they investigate the effects of a few previously studied factors such as job involvement, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction, and they add two more individual factors (need for achievement and work ethic) as well as some situational variables (organizational uncertainty/fear of job loss and job fit) that, to the best of their knowledge, have not been investigated in previous research. Furthermore, they examine the effects of extra-work variables (family involvement and number of dependents) on career commitment. Finally, they control for a number of key demographic variables. The authors find considerable support for the hypotheses that job involvement, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction are positively related to career commitment and find some support for a similar effect for need for achievement and work ethic. Furthermore, as predicted, fear of losing one's job was negatively related to career commitment, whereas “job fit” was positively related. The extra-work variables did not have any significant effects on career commitment. The implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

The Internal/External Frame of Reference Model Revisited: Incorporating General Cognitive Ability and General Academic Self-Concept

An integrative model of the determinants of overall job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and precursors to voluntary turnover was proposed. Job satisfaction and organizational commitment were proposed to arise from overlapping sets of work environment perceptions. A nonrecursive relationship was hypothesized between commitment and satisfaction. Affect (satisfaction and commitment) was proposed to mediate the effects of work environment perceptions on precursors to voluntary turnover. The model was evaluated using data obtained from 1,870 employees of a U.S. telecommunications firm. Hypotheses relating to determinants of commitment and turnover cognitions were largely supported. An asymmetric reciprocal relation was supported between overall job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Future research needs discussed include specification of different causal models for different forms of employee turnover.     

Psychological contract breach and job attitudes: A meta-analysis of age as a moderator

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of age in the relation between psychological contract breach and the development of job attitudes. Based on affective events, social exchange, and lifespan theory, we hypothesized that (1) psychological contract breach would be related negatively to job attitudes, and (2) that age would moderate these relations. The hypotheses were tested by means of a meta-analysis of k = 60 studies, using Weighted Least Squares estimation. Our results supported both hypotheses for the outcomes trust and organizational commitment. However, for job satisfaction the moderating influence of age was in the unexpected direction. The relations between contract breach and trust and organizational commitment were indeed stronger for younger workers, whereas the relation between contract breach and job satisfaction was stronger for older workers. The implications are discussed, and a research agenda is presented.     

Expanding the link between core self-evaluations and affective job attitudes

The present study examined the differentiated relationship between core self-evaluations and affective job attitudes. In previous research, job characteristics were proposed to mediate this relationship. However, the facets of the job characteristics model have not yet been assessed separately. In the present study we tested which job characteristics (i.e., skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback) mediate the relationship between core self-evaluations and job satisfaction as well as organizational commitment in a sample of 199 employees. Results revealed that core self-evaluations were related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Task significance was found to mediate these relationships. These findings are discussed with respect to the level on which people regulate their actions.     

Socially oriented values and reciprocity norm predict organizational commitment

The current research concerns the predictors and organizational outcomes of normative commitment in Chinese companies. In Study 1, using a semi-structured interview, we identified internalization of socially oriented value and reciprocity norm as two possible predictors of normative commitment. Survey results confirm the factorial independence of these two predictors. Study 2 examined the predictive relationship of these predictors with employee job satisfaction, turnover intention, in-role performance, and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). The results showed that value internalization predicts higher job satisfaction and weaker turnover intentions via normative commitment, whereas reciprocity predicts higher job satisfaction, weaker turnover intention, and more frequent display of OCB via normative commitment. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for future research and management practices.     

The role of collective efficacy in the relations between transformational leadership and work outcomes

Using a sample of 402 employees from the banking and finance sectors in China and India, we found that transformational leadership is positively related to organizational commitment and job satisfaction, and negatively related to job and work withdrawal. We also found that collective efficacy mediated the contribution of transformational leadership to job and work withdrawal and partially mediated the contribution of transformational leadership to organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

The Importance of Career Insecurity for Turnover Intentions in the Dutch Military

The effects of two dimensions of job insecurity (job loss insecurity and career insecurity) on turnover intentions were tested in a sample from the Dutch armed forces (N = 3,580) after a major downsizing operation was announced. Results suggested that especially perceptions of career insecurity increased turnover intentions. Next to this direct effect, career insecurity was also associated with lowered affective organizational commitment which in turn increased turnover intentions as well. Our results imply that, at least during downsizing operations, a multidimensional conceptualization of job insecurity helps to predict important organizational outcomes in the military. Both perceptions of the risk of losing one’s job and perceptions of possible future career opportunities are important for employee retention.     

组织职业生涯管理与员工心理与行为的关系

通过广泛的开放式问卷调查和访谈,结合国外职业生涯管理的做法,编制了适合我国国情的组织职业生涯管理问卷(简称OCMQ),将问卷在13个国有企业、民营企业、股份制企业的管理者、技术人员中进行了调查,对所获得的449份有效问卷探索性因素分析结果表明：我国组织职业生涯管理的结构主要体现在四个维度：即晋升公平、注重培训、职业自我认识、提供职业信息。后来,利用研制的OCMQ,以及相关问卷职业承诺、组织承诺、工作卷入度、职业满意度、工作绩效等又在11家国有和中外合资企业中进行了调查,399份有效问卷结果进一步验证了OCMQ问卷的结构效度、实证效度和信度;并发现组织职业生涯管理对企业员工的职业承诺、组织承诺、工作绩效、职业满意度、工作卷入度等产生积极的影响,证实了职业生涯管理的价值。