Relationship Between Job Satisfaction and Job Performance: Job Ambivalence as a Moderator

Based on research regarding the role of attitudinal ambivalence in the validity of attitudes in predicting behavior, we propose job ambivalence as a promising concept for job satisfaction research. In particular, we argue that job ambivalence (i.e., coexistence of positive and negative evaluations of one's job) may moderate the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance. Results of a study conducted with managers of an IT company show, as predicted, that job satisfaction is a better predictor of job performance (i.e., higher satisfaction related to higher performance) when individuals experience low job ambivalence, as compared to when individuals experience high job ambivalence. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Stability and change in parental attitudes following an infant's birth into traditional and nontraditional Swedish families

Fifty-one Swedish couples were interviewed in the last trimester of their first pregnancy and again when their infants were 5 months old. Twenty-five of the couples indicated that the mothers would be primary caretakers throughout the first year (traditional families) whereas the other 26 couples said that the fathers would be primary caretakers for between 1 and 6.5 months during the year (nontraditional families). Analyses showed that the value of parenthood and the value of work were stable from the first (prenatal) to the second (postnatal) interview, although prenatally-anticipated paternal involvement was only marginally correlated with actual paternal involvement. Subjects agreed with their spouses when asked about the same issues, suggesting that the constructs had some validity. Parenthood and work were more highly valued by nontraditional parents than by traditional parents. Degree of paternal caretaking was positively correlated with the fathers satisfaction with and value of parenthood and negatively correlated with their resentment of the infant. Correlations differed somewhat among traditional and nontraditional mothers and fathers. Fathers were more involved with "difficult" sons and "easy" daughters than with "easy" sons and "difficult" daughters.     

What Employment Counselors Need to Know About Employment Discrimination and the Civil Rights Act of 1991

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 there are two theories of liability for employment discrimination: disparate treatment and disparate impact. While disparate treatment deals with the adverse treatment of a specified employee, disparate impact deals with discrimination against a class of individuals. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 modified the law to allow plaintiffs to more readily bring a discrimination case. This article reviews the major components of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, and a proactive approach to using equal opportunity law in employment counseling.