Temporary Employees as Good Citizens: Factors Influencing Their OCB Performance

Companies utilizing contingent workers face a dilemma between the need to employ a flexible (i.e., low fixed-cost) work force and the need to employ a work force providing performance above and beyond the call of duty. One potential solution to this dilemma is to determine ways to promote the commitment and high performance of temporary employees. To that end, we conducted a study examining factors influencing organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) performance in temporary employees. Our results support or partially support hypotheses proposing that 1) job attitudes held by the temporary employee about the client organization were related to OCB performance in the client organization, 2) job attitudes held by the temporary employee about the staffing agency were related to OCB performance in the client organization, and 3) the employee's motivation for taking an assignment is related to OCB performance. Implications for enhancing OCB performance in temporary employees are discussed.     

Relationship Between Job Characteristics and Attitudes: A Study of Temporary Employees

We examine the relationship between job characteristics and employee attitudes in the context of temporary employees who are assigned to work at the client organizations but are formally employed by a temporary agency. Based on the rationale provided by social exchange and social identity theories, we hypothesized that job characteristics would be related to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention in regard to both the client organization and the temporary agency. Results based on data collected from a large temporary agency supported all hypothesized relationships in regard to the client organization, and most hypothesized relationships in regard to the temporary agency. We discuss implications of these findings for research and the practice of managing temporary employee attitudes.     

Extrinsic Motives as Moderators in the Relationship Between Fairness and Work-Related Outcomes Among Temporary Workers

Purpose

This study assessed how motives for having a temporary job influence the effects of experienced fairness on work-related attitudes.

Design/methodology/approach

We examined the moderating effect of three motives for being in temporary employment (the autonomous or voluntary motive, the stepping-stone motive, and the controlled or involuntary motive) on the relationship between experienced fairness and outcomes. Hierarchical multiple regressions were performed on questionnaire data of a sample of 299 Dutch temporary workers.

Findings

For temporary employees who accepted temporary employment voluntarily, low fairness is related to lower self-reported performance. For employees who use their temporary job as a way to obtain permanent employment, fairness is not related to work-related attitudes and behavioral intentions. Those who are involuntarily in a temporary job react stronger on fairness and have a higher intention to quit.

Implications

Fairness is weakly related to work-related attitudes and behavioral intentions under two conditions: when perceived goal attainment is high, and when the worker is dependent on the temporary job to reach that goal. This study provides support for the assumption that motives may override automatic responses to fairness.

Originality/value

This article is one of the first studies that provide evidence for the influence of motives on reactions to fairness. Additionally, this study considers reactions to fairness in a growing contingent of the workforce, that is temporary workers. It provides evidence that the dynamics in fairness perceptions may be different for temporary workers in comparison to their counterparts with permanent contracts.     

Quel engagement organisationnel pour les salariés précaires ? Les leçons d’une étude empirique auprès de travailleurs intérimaires

The aim of this article is to focus on contingent workers’ organizational commitment. A review of literature on contingent workers’ attitudes leads to think that this type of work arrangement is associated with a high level of job insecurity, which is not favourable to organizational commitment. However, empirical studies present very contrasting results. This absence of consensus leads us to propose a research model, which puts the emphasis on the way the temporary workers interpret their job arrangement. The model was tested on 208 temporary help service workers. The results highlight the mediating role of perceived job insecurity on organizational commitment, as well as importance of perceived organizational support (POS).     

THE EFFECTS OF EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION, ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR, AND TURNOVER ON ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS: A UNIT-LEVEL, LONGITUDINAL STUDY

This study addresses the issue of whether positive employee attitudes and behaviors influence business outcomes or whether positive business outcomes influence positive employee attitudes and behaviors. We hypothesize that employee satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, and employee turnover influence profitability and customer satisfaction. Data were gathered from the units of a regional restaurant chain via employee surveys, manager surveys, customer surveys, and organizational records. Cross-lagged regression analyses show that employee attitudes and behaviors at Time 1 are related to organizational effectiveness at Time 2. Additional cross-lagged regression analyses show no significant relationship between organizational effectiveness at Time 1 and the employee attitudes and behaviors at Time 2. These results add to the evidence that HR outcomes influence business outcomes, rather than the other way around.     

Dual support in contract workers' triangular employment relationships

This study investigated the interplay between perceived investment in contract worker development by the client organization and contract workers' perceived organizational support from their temporary employment agency. A study among 2021 contract workers from three temporary employment agencies in Norway showed that the relationships between perceived investment in contract worker development and task and contextual performance were moderated by contract workers' perceived organizational support from the agency. The form of the moderations revealed no positive relationships between perceived investment in contract worker development and performance unless the perceived investment by the client organization was accompanied by higher levels of perceived support from the temporary employment agency. These findings suggest that client organizations, which hire from temporary employment agencies that provide support to their contract workers, will get the most out of their investments in these contract workers' development.     

MEASUREMENT ERROR IN RESEARCH ON HUMAN RESOURCES AND FIRM PERFORMANCE: ADDITIONAL DATA AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Gerhart and colleagues (2000) and Huselid and Becker (2000) recently debated the presence and implications of measurement error in measures of human resource practices. This paper presents data from 3 more studies, 1 of large organizations from different industries at the corporate level, 1 from commercial banks, and the other of autonomous business units at the level of the job. Results of all 3 studies provide additional evidence that single respondent measures of HR practices contain large amounts of measurement error. Implications for future research into the HR firm performance relationship are discussed.     

SATISFACTION, CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIORS, AND PERFORMANCE IN WORK UNITS: A META-ANALYSIS OF COLLECTIVE CONSTRUCT RELATIONS

This paper offers theoretical development clarifying the structure and function of collective job satisfaction and uses meta-analytic methods ( k  = 73) to examine the satisfaction–performance relationship when both constructs are construed at the work unit level. Overall, our results suggest that the relationship between unit-level job satisfaction and unit-level performance is significant (ρ= .34). Specifically, significant relationships were found between unit-level job satisfaction and unit-level criteria, including productivity, customer satisfaction, withdrawal, and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). Furthermore, the satisfaction-performance relationship was moderated by the strength of unit consensus, performance criteria, industry type, and whether the sample was U.S. based. Although these moderators were identified, collective satisfaction positively predicted performance across all levels of moderators. In addition, results indicate that unit-level OCB has a moderately strong relationship with unit-level performance. Only limited support was found for the notion that OCB is a route through which satisfaction has an impact on performance. We elaborate on these findings and attempt to provide a more clear direction for future research in this area.     

Job satisfaction and firm performance: Can employees’ job satisfaction change the trajectory of a firm’s performance?

Contemporary trends in business have focused on enhancing the employee work experience. Proponents argue that doing so will improve employees’ productivity and ultimately the firm's performance. However, critics argue that job satisfaction has only a modest relationship with an employee's job performance, and therefore, such an investment will likely have little impact on the firm's financial performance. To investigate the relationship between employees’ job satisfaction and firm performance, we collected a sample of 404 employees working in 31 firms. We tested this relationship using latent growth modeling which allows us to latently examine how employees’ job satisfaction at one time point can predict the trajectory of firm performance. Study results indicated that job satisfaction predicted a positive linear change in two financial indices of firm performance (i.e., return on assets and return on equity) over the course of four years when controlling for three indicators of firm size. These results suggest that the effects of job satisfaction on firm performance are not immediate but rather take time to manifest.     

Different temporary work status, different behaviors in organization

This study examined the contributions of the psychological contract framework to an understanding of the effects of different work statuses on employees’ behavior. We compared temporary firm workers (n=71) with core workers (n=268) and direct-hire temporary workers (n=149) with core workers (n=42) in two different samples. As expected, temporary firm workers consider that they receive fewer socio-emotional inducements from the organization they work for (opportunities for promotion, career development, long-term employment), but direct-hire temporary workers who succeeded in having their contracts extended had a psychological contract in which socio-emotional components predominated. A psychological contract with a predominance of socio-emotional components was important for organizations because it mediated the influence of work status on civic virtue behaviors on the part of temporary firm workers, and directly and positively influenced these behaviors in direct-hired temporary workers (behaviors as assessed by their supervisors). Contrary to the hypothesis, psychological contract had a direct and positive influence on the in-role behavior of direct-hire temporary workers. The implications of the findings for psychological contract research are discussed.     

Temporary employees in Singapore: what drives them?

In this study the authors provide an empirical analysis of the job attitudes and behavior of temporary workers in Singapore, compiling and categorizing the various reasons individuals choose temporary jobs, in an effort to provide a clear and comprehensive understanding of why people choose this work arrangement. A profile of temporary employees showed that job attitudes are affected by the importance of the various reasons given for being a temporary worker. This exploratory study provides a foundation on which more complex relationships between these variables can be examined.     

Consequences of job insecurity and the moderator role of occupational group

In recent decades, transformations in organizations and the labour market have produced an increase in employee job insecurity. In response to this situation, workers present different negative reactions. However, the intensity of these reactions varies across studies that have investigated the outcomes of job insecurity. One possible explanation for this inconsistency may lie in the influence of other factors, such as the occupational group (Sverke et al., 2002). The aim of this study is to provide additional evidence about the relationship between job insecurity and its outcomes (i.e., life satisfaction, job satisfaction, perceived performance and organizational commitment), and examine the moderator role of occupational group in this relationship. The sample was composed of 321 employees from different Spanish organizations. The results showed that job insecurity was directly and negatively related to life satisfaction, job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and they suggest that occupational group moderated relations between job insecurity and three studied outcomes. In the case of life satisfaction and perceived performance, this relationship was stronger among blue collar workers. The relationship between job insecurity and job satisfaction was stronger in white collar workers. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed.     

When promoting positive feelings pays: Aggregate job satisfaction,work design features,and innovation in manufacturing organizations

This study investigates the relationship between aggregate job satisfaction and organizational innovation. In a sample of manufacturing companies, data were gathered from 3717 employees in 28 UK manufacturing organizations about their job satisfaction and aggregated to the organizational level. Data on innovation in technology/processes were gathered from multiple respondents in the same organizations 24 months later. The results revealed that aggregate job satisfaction was a significant predictor of subsequent organizational innovation, even after controlling for prior organizational innovation and profitability. Moreover the data indicated that the relationship between aggregate job satisfaction and innovation in production technology/processes was moderated by two factors: job variety and a commitment to “single status”. Unlike previous studies, we conceptualize job satisfaction at the aggregate rather than the individual level and examine innovation rather than creativity. We propose that where the majority of employees experience job satisfaction, they will endorse rather than resist innovation and work collaboratively to implement as well as to generate creative ideas.     

Job Motivations of Professional and Technical Contingent Workers: Are They Different From Permanent Workers?

In the United States and Europe, the fastest growing segments of the temporary or contingent workforce have been In professional and technical fields. Yet little is known of the motivations of these workers. Accordingly, the authors administered the Hackman and Oldham (1980) Job Diagnostic Survey to professional and technical contingent and permanent employees of a major U.S. telecommunications company. Contingent workers had higher motivation potential scores, scored significantly higher in task identity and feedback from the job, and scored higher In combined need strength than did the permanent workers. The findings suggest that contingents can be a rich source of motivated workers.     

The Moderating Effect of Core Self‐Evaluations on the Relationships between Job Attitudes and Organisational Citizenship Behavior

Several studies in the organisational citizenship behavior (OCB) literature have focused on the main effects of employee dispositions and job attitudes. The current study builds upon previous findings by examining whether core self‐evaluations (CSE) moderate the relationship between job attitudes and OCBs. Consistent with our hypotheses and with the notion that CSE contributes to one's general level of initiative and self‐confidence, data collected from 200 New Zealand workers found that the job attitude–OCB relationship was stronger for workers who were high in CSE than for workers who were low in CSE.     

The Role of Culture Strength in Shaping Sales Force Outcomes

Although a strong culture has been widely acknowledged as a defining characteristic of successful firms, past research has failed to examine the influence it exerts on the attitudes and behavior of salespeople. In a two-sample study, we measure culture strength and explore its relationship to value congruity and to three sales force outcomes that define the sales management research tradition: role stress, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. Within the contexts of the sales subculture of a Fortune 500 firm (Study 1) and specialized sales organizations (Study 2), the results reveal a compelling portrait of the forces that shape salesperson–culture fit. Specifically, the results of both studies indicate that a strong culture leads to higher levels of value congruity, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment, and lower levels of role stress. Key implications are highlighted for sales managers and for researchers.     

Evaluating Contingent Workers as a Recruitment Source for Full‐time Positions

The popularity of contingent work arrangements means that many people now begin working for organizations in a temporary capacity. However, no research has examined how contingent workers converted to full‐time status compared with new hires that are recruited from other sources. In this study, we found that converted contingent workers performed as well as new hires recruited externally through employee referral or online advertisements, but not as well as employees sourced internally from the organization, 1 year after being hired. However, contingent workers did not differ from other recruiting sources in their start‐up time or in how satisfied their managers were with their early adjustment two months after hire.     

The Influence of Psychological Contract Breach on Temporary Workers’ Commitment and Behaviors: A Multiple Agency Perspective

Purpose  

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of psychological contract breach on the commitment and behaviors of temporary workers engaged in a multiple agency relationship. Specifically, it aimed to measure the influence of contract breach by the employing agency and the client organization on temporary workers’ trust and affective commitment to the respective party, and on their adoption of discretionary behaviors at the client site.     

临时知识型员工自主性动机激发：关系导向人力资源管理建构及其作用机理

快速变化的技术需求使得人才外部化, 人才共享成为组织获取技能型、知识型人才的重要方式。共享经济背景下的人力资源管理属于新兴研究领域, 企业在管理临时知识型员工面临很大挑战。由于身份的外部性、临时性, 员工关系基础薄弱, 临时知识型员工专业能力发挥受限, 工作场所关系需求受阻, 导致自主性动机不足, 影响绩效产出, 而传统对外部员工的契约型管理难以解决以上问题。针对嵌入团队工作的临时知识型员工, 研究基于关系型协调理论探索关系导向人力资源管理实践构成。在此基础上, 结合自我决定理论探讨关系导向人力资源管理实践提升临时知识型员工绩效的作用机理, 验证从自主性动机来源、自主性动机激发到自主性动机结果的路径机制。对关系导向人力资源管理实践内容和效用探讨有助于深入理解临时知识型员工的管理, 为共享经济背景下新型用工管理实践提供启示。     

Effect of Recruiter on Attraction to the Firm: Implications of the Elaboration Likelihood Model

The effect of recruiter behaviors on organizational attractiveness is the focus of a growing body of literature. The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) is a promising model for generating research examining how and when recruiter behaviors will influence job applicant attitudes formed during the recruitment process. In this paper, the ELM is described and considered in relation to variables that affect job applicant ability and motivation to accurately process information about organizational and job attributes and assess their fit with a firm during the recruitment process. In addition, several recruiter behaviors and characteristics known to affect applicant attraction to the firm are discussed in terms of the ELM.