Reducing subjectivity in the assessment of the job environment: development of the Factual Autonomy Scale (FAS)

Self‐report measures of job stressors have been criticized for being too subjective, rendering relations with other variables inconclusive. The Factual Autonomy Scale (FAS) was developed to reduce subjectivity by careful choice of fact‐based items. Results of two studies showed that when compared to the Job Diagnostic Survey autonomy scale, the FAS demonstrated superior convergent validity with alternate sources (supervisors in Study 1 and coworkers in Study 2), and discriminant validity when correlated with the remaining JDS core characteristics subscales. In addition, the FAS was correlated to a lesser extent than the JDS autonomy scale with job satisfaction. Incumbent FAS scores and not JDS scores correlated significantly with job performance as assessed by supervisors. It is suggested that it is feasible to develop fact‐based items for scales of the work environment that reduce the degree of subjectivity of responses. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Type of employment,work–family conflict and well‐being: a comparative study

The study examined the impact of work and family role characteristics on work–family conflict, and indicators of psychological well being among self‐employed and organizationally employed women and men. Results show that employment type and gender have independent main effects on several of the study variables. Self‐employed persons enjoy greater autonomy and schedule flexibility at work, and report higher levels of job involvement and job satisfaction than those employed in organizations. However, they also experience higher levels of work–family conflict, and lower family satisfaction than organizational employees. The findings suggest that there are trade‐offs between the costs and benefits of self‐employment, and that business ownership is not a panacea for balancing work and family role responsibilties. Directions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The ripple effect: A spillover model of the detrimental impact of work–family conflict on job success

Exploring the role of both the employee and supervisor, we tested a model of how cognition‐based work‐to‐family conflict manifests itself in the workplace, impacting employee job success. Based on conservation of resources theory and the concept of loss spirals, we hypothesized that when an employee's work interferes with family demands, the resulting work‐to‐family conflict spills over to the work domain via employee emotional exhaustion. We further argued that the behavioral manifestation of employee emotional exhaustion in the workplace is low employee engagement, as assessed by the supervisor. Drawing on signaling theory, we proposed that supervisor assessments of employee engagement are related to promotability, performance ratings, and salary. Work scheduling autonomy, as a boundary condition, is examined as a resource that attenuates these relationships. Data collected from 192 employee–supervisor dyads of a Fortune 1000 company, as well as performance ratings and salary obtained from company records 9 months later, indicated support for our conceptual model. Future research examining employee work–family conflict and job outcomes is discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spillover and crossover of work resources: A test of the positive flow of resources through work–family enrichment

In their seminal model of work–family enrichment, Greenhaus and Powell (2006) theorized five categories of work resources to have an impact on work–family enrichment. Using a matched set of 351 dual‐career spouses, we explored how these unique work resources contribute to work–family enrichment and how they spill over to shape job incumbents' family outcomes and cross over to spouse outcomes. Results support indirect effects for the work resources of developmental experiences, supervisor support, schedule control, and self‐efficacy, but not salary, on marital satisfaction and family functioning through the job incumbent's work–family enrichment. In addition, we found support for the crossover of these indirect effects to the spouse through the spouse's positive crossover transmission, which facilitated the spouse's marital satisfaction and commitment to the job incumbent's organization. Our results suggest that multiple work resources have an impact on work–family enrichment and that the flow of positive work resources through work–family enrichment spills over to impact outcomes for the job incumbent and crosses over to the spouse.     

Employee satisfaction in work groups with different gender composition

This study investigates the relationship between the gender composition of an employee's work group and the employee's job satisfaction, using a random sample over 1600 U.S. workers. After controlling possible confounding variables, our analysis shows that the level of an employee's job satisfaction is related to the gender composition of the employee's work group, and that the relationship of these variables does not differ between male and female employees. Both men and women working in gender-balanced groups have higher levels of job satisfaction than those who work in homogeneous groups. Employees working in groups containing mostly men have the lowest levels of job satisfaction, with those working in groups containing mostly women falling in the middle. These results are consistent with predictions based on Blau's theory of social structure, that satisfaction would be highest for employees in more heterogeneous groups. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The measurement of job control

Subjective or perceived control over job-related activities or events is a frequently measured construct in organizational stress research. Karasek (1985) assessed perceived control as both decision authority and skill discretion at work (job decision latitude). Ganster (1989b; Dwyer and Ganster, 1991) developed a multidimensional or general measure of worker control, as well as a specific measure of work predictability. Because little published psychometric data exist for these scales, we investigated the item-level measurement properties of Karasek's and Ganster's measures. We hypothesized two separate, two-factor solutions, decision authority and skill discretion, for the job decision latitude scale, and general control and predictability, for the work control scale. The dimensionality of both measures was assessed in multiple, independent samples using confirmatory factor analyses (LISREL) with maximum likelihood estimation. Simultaneous solutions across samples were used to determine the fit of the factor models to the data. The hypothesized two-factor solutions were confirmed for both Karasek's and Ganster's scales, although item refinement is indicated. We also investigated the relative independence between Karasek's and Ganster's scales and found a lack of independence between the general control and decision authority items in one sample. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Polish adaptation of three self-report measures of job stressors: the Interpersonal Conflict at Work Scale,the Quantitative Workload Inventory and the Organizational Constraints Scale

Aim. The objective of the present study was to test the psychometric properties, reliability and validity of three job stressor measures, namely, the Interpersonal Conflict at Work Scale, the Organizational Constraints Scale and the Quantitative Workload Inventory. Method. The study was conducted on two samples (N?=?382 and 3368) representing a wide range of occupations. The estimation of internal consistency with Cronbach's α and the test–retest method as well as both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were the main statistical methods. Results. The internal consistency of the scales proved satisfactory, ranging from 0.80 to 0.90 for Cronbach's α test and from 0.72 to 0.86 for the test–retest method. The one-dimensional structure of the three measurements was confirmed. The three scales have acceptable fit to the data. The one-factor structures and other psychometric properties of the Polish version of the scales seem to be similar to those found in the US version of the scales. It was also proved that the three job stressors are positively related to all the job strain measures. Conclusions. The Polish versions of the three analysed scales can be used to measure the job stressors in Polish conditions.     

A model of work frustration–aggression

The current study was designed to investigate the situational, dispositional, and affective antecedents of counterproductive work behaviors. A model based on the organizational frustration–aggression work of Spector and colleagues was tested using structural equation modeling and zero‐order correlational analysis. As expected, a positive relationship was found between employees' experience of situational constraints (events frustrating their achievement of organizational and personal goals) and counterproductive behavioral responses to frustration (personal and organizational aggression), mediated by affective reactions to frustration. In addition, personality (trait anger and trait anxiety), control beliefs (Work Locus of Control), and estimation of likelihood of punishment were strongly associated with affective and behavioral responses. In particular, strong direct relationships were found between affective response variables and anxiety and locus of control, while direct relationships were found between behavioral response variables and anger and punishment. Finally, differentiated relationships between two facets of trait anger (angry temperament and angry reaction) and four categories of counterproductive behaviors (serious and minor deviance directed at organizational and personal targets) were explored. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How do transformational leaders foster positive employee outcomes? A self‐determination‐based analysis of employees' needs as mediating links

Although followers' needs are a central aspect of transformational leadership theory, little is known about their role as mediating mechanisms for this leadership style. The present research thus seeks to integrate and extend theorizing on transformational leadership and self‐determination. In particular, we propose that the satisfaction of followers' basic needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and employee outcomes (job satisfaction, self‐efficacy, and commitment to the leader). We tested this model in two studies involving employees from a broad spectrum of organizations in Germany (N = 410) and in Switzerland (N = 442). Results revealed largely consistent patterns across both studies. The need for competence fulfillment solely mediated the link between transformational leadership and occupational self‐efficacy; the need for relatedness fulfillment solely mediated the link between transformational leadership and commitment to the leader. The mediating pattern for the link between transformational leadership and job satisfaction varied slightly across studies. In Study 1, only the need for autonomy fulfillment was a significant mediator, whereas in Study 2, all three needs mediated this relationship. Taken together, our study integrates theorizing on transformational leadership and self‐determination by corroborating that need fulfillment indeed is a central mechanism behind transformational leadership. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Crafting a job on a daily basis: Contextual correlates and the link to work engagement

This study focused on daily job crafting and explored its contextual determinants and one motivational outcome (i.e., work engagement). Job crafting was conceptualized as “seeking resources,” “seeking challenges,” and “reducing demands.” Participants were 95 employees from several organizations who completed a 5‐day diary survey. As hypothesized, we found a 3‐factor structure for the job crafting instrument, both at the general and day levels. We hypothesized and found that the combination of high day‐level work pressure and high day‐level autonomy (active jobs) was associated with higher day‐level seeking resources and lower day‐level reducing demands. Furthermore, we found that day‐level seeking challenges (but not resources) was positively associated with day‐level work engagement, whereas day‐level reducing demands was negatively associated with day‐level work engagement. Findings suggest that job crafting is a daily employee behavior with implications for management practice and future research. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Planning behavior and perceived control of time at work

This study investigated two mediation models of time management. The first model consisted of parts of Macan's ( 1994 ) model. The second model combined this model with Karasek's ( 1998 ) Job Demand–Control model. Two sets of self‐report questionnaires were collected and were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The first model, in which perceived control of time was hypothesized to fully mediate the relation between planning behavior and work strain, job satisfaction, and job performance, was found to be less adequate than the second model, which added workload and job autonomy as independent variables. Results also indicated that partial, rather than full, mediation of perceived control of time fitted the data best. The study demonstrated the importance of studying both planning behavior and job characteristics, which was not part of past research. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relationships among five forms of commitment: an empirical assessment

This paper examined whether Morrow's (1993) model of five universal forms of work commitment (affective organizational commitment, continuance organizational commitment, career commitment, job involvement and work ethic endorsement) has empirical support. The paper explored the discriminant validity among the five scales of these commitment forms. It also tested Morrow's model regarding the interrelationships among them in comparison with an alternative conceptualization proposed by Randall and Cote (1991). Two hundred and thirty‐eight nursing staff from two hospitals in western Canada were surveyed. Results of confirmatory factor analysis (LISREL VIII) and correlation analysis showed an acceptable discriminant validity among the five commitment foci. The results of path analysis (LISREL VIII) showed a poor fit with the data of Morrow's model and a better fit with the alternative model of Randall and Cote. Revised models based on the modification indices from both models were tested, and supported the Randall and Cote approach. The paper concludes with implications regarding the continuing assessment of Morrow's conceptualization to establish an acceptable definition and measurement of universal forms of work commitment. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A process model of employee engagement: The learning climate and its relationship with extra‐role performance behaviors

Employee engagement has recently been introduced as a concept advantageous to organizations. However, little is known about the value of employee engagement in explaining work performance behaviors compared with similar concepts. The learning climate, defined as the organization's beneficial activities in helping employees create, acquire, and transfer knowledge, has also been proposed as an antecedent of employee engagement. Using data from a sample of 625 employees and their supervisors in various occupations and organizations throughout Israel, we investigated employee engagement as a key mechanism for explaining the relationship between perceptions of the organization's learning climate and employees' proactivity, knowledge sharing, creativity, and adaptivity. We also tested whether employee engagement explained the relationship more thoroughly than similar concepts such as job satisfaction and job involvement. Multilevel regression analyses supported our hypotheses that employee engagement mediates the relationship between the perceived learning climate and these extra‐role behaviors. Moreover, engagement provides a more thorough explanation than job satisfaction or job involvement for these relationships. The implications for organizational theory, research, and practice are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Workplace Intergenerational Climate Scale (WICS): A self‐report instrument measuring ageism in the workplace

The Workplace Intergenerational Climate Scale (WICS) is designed to measure employees' attitudes and perceptions about workers of different ages in the workplace. In Study 1, an initial 18‐item measure was developed, reflecting five subscales: Intergenerational Contact, Workplace Intergenerational Retention, Positive Intergenerational Affect, Workplace Generational Inclusiveness, and Lack of Generational Stereotypes. Scores on the five WICS subscales were linked to workplace mentoring, opinions about older workers, and job satisfaction. In Study 2, the WICS items and subscales were further refined, and subscale relationships with similar constructs were explored via structural equation modeling. In Study 3, a more occupationally diverse sample was used to support criterion, incremental, discriminant, and external validity. Evidence supports the use of the WICS as a valid and reliable multidimensional measure of an organization's intergenerational climate. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The moderating role of calling in the work–family interface: Buffering and substitution effects on employee satisfaction

This research seeks for improved understanding regarding the interaction of meaningful work and the work–family interface. Existing literature suggests that experiencing a sense of calling toward work makes the work domain particularly salient to employees compared to other life domains. In this article, we draw on this idea, rooted in identity theory, to hypothesize that a sense of calling toward work diminishes the effects of work–family conflict and work–family enrichment on employee's job and life satisfaction. We test these ideas in two studies. First, we surveyed an alumni sample of 598 employees from various jobs, industries, and job levels. Then, in a constructive replication, we surveyed 327 employees using a time-lagged design. Calling was found to significantly buffer the effect of work–family conflict on job satisfaction in Study 2, but not Study 1. Calling did not buffer the effect of conflict on life satisfaction in either study. However, both studies demonstrated that calling attenuated (substituted for) the effect of work–family enrichment on job satisfaction. Study 1 supported the idea that calling attenuates the effect of enrichment on life satisfaction; however, this interactive effect was reversed in Study 2, contrary to expectations. We discuss implications for theory and practice related to callings and career choices, as well as for the role of calling and work identity in the work–family interface.     

The relationship of organizational politics and support to work behaviors,attitudes, and stress

The purpose of this paper is to report two studies that investigated the consequences of organizational politics and organizational support on two separate samples of employees. Study 1 surveys 69 full-time employees, while Study 2's sample includes 185 part-time workers. Four major findings were observed. First, the present studies replicated prior findings concerning the relationships of politics and support to such variables as withdrawal behaviors, turnover intentions, job satisfaction and organizational commitment. In general, politics is related to negative work outcomes while support is related to positive ones. Consistent results were obtained within both the full- and part-time samples. Second, we elaborated upon previous work concerning the relationship of politics and support to job involvement. Third, we found in both samples that politics and support did predict above and beyond each other, suggesting that they should be viewed as separate constructs rather than opposite ends of a single continuum. Lastly, Study 2 extended the research on politics and support by analyzing their relationships to four work stress variables: job tension, somatic tension, general fatigue, and burnout. Each of these four variables was predicted by both politics and support. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Got milk? Workplace factors related to breastfeeding among working mothers

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that women breastfeed because of improved health outcomes for mothers and children. Because maternal employment during the first year of the child's life has been identified as a reason for breastfeeding cessation, we develop and test a role‐theory‐based framework to explain women's continuation of breastfeeding after return to work (Study 1) and report results of an exploratory study linking breastfeeding at work with job attitudes and well‐being (Study 2). Applying survival analysis to a longitudinal dataset gathered by the Centers for Disease Control (Study 1), we identify pregnant women's perceived employer support for breastfeeding as a predictor of women's breastfeeding goal intentions. Supervisors' negative workplace remarks about breastfeeding related to an eightfold increase of women's likelihood to discontinue exclusive breastfeeding and perceived support for breastfeeding after return to work predicted exclusive breastfeeding continuation. Results of Study 2 suggest that women who return to work and continue breastfeeding experience more family‐to‐work conflict and overload than women who do not reconcile work and breastfeeding. Further, results of Study 2 provide preliminary evidence suggesting that perceptions of supervisor and coworker support for breastfeeding relate positively to general perceptions of organizational support and negatively to depressive symptoms. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Under what conditions does job control moderate the relationship between time pressure and employee well‐being? Investigating the role of match and personal control beliefs

Drawing upon the concept of match, this two‐wave study of 206 employees investigated job control (facets of autonomy) and personal control beliefs (locus of control, LOC) as moderators of time pressure–work engagement (WE) and the time pressure–general subjective well‐being (SWB) relationships. It was hypothesized that autonomy would accentuate the positive relationship of time pressure with WE and attenuate the negative relationship with SWB and that these moderations would occur only for employees with an internal LOC. Additionally, it was expected that a facet of job control (timing autonomy) that matched the specific demand (time pressure) would be more likely to act as a moderator than “less‐matching” facets (decision making or method autonomy). The results revealed that the interaction between time pressure, autonomy, and LOC for WE was strongest and for SWB only significant when the timing facet of autonomy served as the moderator (thus, when the autonomy facet matched the demand). However, the pattern of moderation was contrary to that expected. When time pressure increased, high autonomy became beneficial for the WE of employees with an external LOC but detrimental for the WE and SWB of employees with an internal LOC. Explanations for the unexpected findings are provided. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“Embedded” at hire? Predicting the voluntary and involuntary turnover of new employees

Embeddedness theory has been invoked to describe factors that constrain employee turnover, such as fit with the environment, interpersonal links, and potentially sacrificed benefits. In contrast with previous assumptions that embeddedness requires considerable time to develop on the job, we extend theory by demonstrating how biographical characteristics (i.e., biodata), assessed at or before the point of hire, are related to individual's propensity to be embedded, while also showing how such characteristics predict one's future turnover likelihood. Beyond voluntary turnover, we also build embeddedness‐based theoretical explanations for involuntary turnover (i.e., terminations). To test these ideas, we conducted two studies at and before employees' point of hire, respectively: Study 1 examined how assessed biodata items of new employees relate to established embeddedness measures, whereas Study 2 linked the same biodata items assessed during the application process to employees' future involuntary, avoidable voluntary, and unavoidable voluntary turnover. Study 1 results revealed various biodata items predicted embeddedness in two distinct samples. In Study 2, results showed that biodata predicted turnover forms in unique ways. Our study highlights the utility of point‐of‐hire embeddedness propensity as a means to explain organizational exit, thereby demonstrating how organizations can use embeddedness tenets for employee recruitment and selection purposes.     

Underemployment,job attitudes,and turnover intentions

We surveyed three distinct samples of employees (Ns of 238, 102, and 981) in order to examine relations among various types of underemployment, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions. Each dimension of underemployment is explored as a case of poor person‐job fit, and the fit literature is used to produce hypotheses about these relations. We also developed and validated the 9‐item Scale of Perceived Overqualification (SPOQ) to tap employee perceptions of surplus education, experience, and KSAs (knowledge, skills, and abilities). In general, perceptions of underemployment were associated with poor job satisfaction, particularly for facets with a direct causal relationship with the specific dimension of underemployment, such as overqualification and satisfaction with work. Perceived overqualification was also related to lower affective commitment, and higher intentions to turnover. For part‐time work, negative attitudes were only found when employees expressed a preference for full‐time work; a similar trend was not found for temporary workers, however. Implications for theory, research, and practice are delineated. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.