No security: A meta-analysis and review of job insecurity and its consequences.

Meta-analytic techniques were used to estimate how job insecurity relates to its postulated outcomes. Consistent with the conceptual framework, the results indicate that job insecurity has detrimental consequences for employees' job attitudes, organizational attitudes, health, and, to some extent, their behavioral relationship with the organization. Moderator analyses suggest that these relationships may be underestimated in studies relying on single-item measures of job insecurity and that the behavioral consequences of insecurity are more detrimental among manual, as compared with nonmanual, workers. Recommendations made for future research include utilization of multidimensional measures, consideration of a broader spectrum of outcomes and moderators, and use of longitudinal designs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of job insecurity on employee safety outcomes: Cross-sectional and longitudinal explorations.

Job insecurity research has focused primarily on attitudinal (e.g., job satisfaction), behavioral (e.g., employee turnover), and health outcomes. Moreover, research in the area of workplace safety has largely focused on ergonomic factors and personnel selection and training as primary antecedents of safety. Two cross-sectional structural equational modeling analyses and 1 longitudinal regression analysis of 237 food-processing plant employees unite these 2 disparate areas of research by exploring the relatively uncharted relationship between job insecurity and safety outcomes. Results indicate that employees who report high perceptions of job insecurity exhibit decreased safety motivation and compliance, which in turn are related to higher levels of workplace injuries and accidents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moderating effects of decision-making/information-processing job dimensions on test validities.

Analyzed selection test data from the General Aptitude Test Battery and job dimension data from the Position Analysis Questionnaire for 111 diverse jobs. Test validities were statistically corrected for restriction of range for each job and correlated with each of 3 information-processing/decision-making (IP/DM) job dimensions and 2 manually oriented job dimensions to determine possible moderating effects of these dimensions. Results show that the IP/DM dimensions generally moderated the validities of the general intelligence test, the verbal ability test, and the numerical test, with positive correlations being demonstrated, and the validities of the finger and manual dexterity tests, with negative correlations demonstrated. The manually oriented job dimensions did not, however, reveal any significant moderating effects. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the validity generalization model extended by F. L. Schmidt and J. E. Hunter (see record 1978-11448-001). (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational research on job involvement.

Reviews the literature on job involvement. First, the various definitions of the term are identified and integrated. Next, 3 theoretical perspectives on job involvement are considered: job involvement as an individual characteristic, as a situationally determined variable, and as a product of person-situation interaction. The literature is reviewed in terms of each of these perspectives. A summary table is presented showing the major correlates of job involvement, and a profile of the job-involved person is presented. Conclusions are drawn regarding the nature of job involvement, and new directions for needed research are suggested. (65 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The work-family interface and job performance: Moderating effects of conscientiousness and perceived organizational support.

Based on conservation of resources (COR) theory, the authors hypothesized that two aspects of the work-family interface--family-to-work conflict (FWC) and family-to-work enrichment (FWE)--are related to job performance. The authors also hypothesized that two variables moderate those relationships--individual differences in conscientiousness and aspects of the work environment in terms of perceived organizational support (POS). Data collected from a matched set of 136 private sector workers and their respective supervisors revealed that high FWC was more strongly related to lower job performance: (1) among high- than low-conscientiousness workers and (2) among workers reporting low rather than high levels of organizational support. However, FWE was unrelated to job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of parents' job insecurity on children's work beliefs and attitudes.

The authors hypothesized that children's perceptions of their parents' job insecurity mediate the effects of parental job insecurity and layoffs on children's work beliefs and work attitudes. Male and female undergraduate students (N?=?134; M age?=?18.9 years), as well as their mothers (M age?=?47.0 years) and fathers (M age = 49.1 years), participated voluntarily. With structural equation modeling as implemented by LISREL VIII, support for the proposed model was obtained, whereas no support was obtained for a competing model. Moreover, identification with fathers moderated the influence of perceived paternal job insecurity on children's humanistic work beliefs, but no comparable effect emerged for mothers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of job characteristics to job involvement, satisfaction, and intrinsic motivation.

Administered questionnaires to 291 scientists working in research and development laboratories. Results of a factor analysis indicate that job-involvement attitudes, higher order need-satisfaction attitudes, and intrinsic-motivation attitudes should be thought of as separate and distinct kinds of attitudes toward a job. These 3 types of attitudes related differentially to job design factors and to job behavior. Satisfaction proved to be related to such job characteristics as the amount of control the job allowed the holder and the degree to which it is seen to be relevant to the holder's valued abilities. Satisfaction was not related to either self-rated effort or performance. Job involvement, like satisfaction, bore a significant relationship to certain job characteristics; unlike satisfaction, however, involvement was positively related to self-rated effort. Intrinsic motivation was less strongly related to the job characterisitcs measured, but was more strongly related to both effort and performance than was either satisfaction or involvement. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temporal framing and persuasion to adopt preventive health behavior: Moderating effects of individual differences in consideration of future consequences on sunscreen use.

Objective: Previous work on temporal framing of health communications has focused upon detection behaviors that possess an inherent immediate risk of negative consequences. The present studies evaluate the role of temporal frame for a preventive behavior, using sunscreen. Design: Two experimental field studies manipulated the temporal frame in which positive and negative consequences of using sunscreen were presented. Main Outcome Measures: Cognitive responses, intention, and behavior (experiment 2). Results: Consistent with hypotheses, Experiment 1 showed that individual differences in consideration of future consequences (CFC; A. Strathman, F. Gleicher, D. S. Boninger, & C. S. Edwards, 1994) moderated (a) the processing of long- versus short-term consequences and (b) the persuasive impact of the different temporal frames on behavioral intentions. In Experiment 2, the balance of positive versus negative thoughts generated by reading the persuasive communications was shown to mediate the effects of the Temporal Frame × CFC interaction on a behavioral measure. Conclusion: Findings extend previous work by demonstrating the importance of individual differences in CFC to the processing of health communication about a preventive health behavior and to a behavioral outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measurement of job and work involvement.

Developed separate measures of job and work constructs using 3 techniques: semantic differential, questionnaire, and graphic. Assessment measures included the Job Involvement and Work Involvement Questionnaires, Job Involvement and Work Involvement Semantic Differentials, and Job Involvement and Work Involvement Graphic scales. Data collected from a heterogeneous sample of 703 employees are analyzed to establish reliability, construct validity, and criterion-related validity of each measure. Results reveal that questionnaire and graphic measures pass the tests of reliability and validity. Semantic differential measures, however, have questionable validity for measuring work involvement and should, perhaps, be limited to only highly educated samples of respondents. Results also support the conceptual distinction between job and work involvement. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multidimensional mapping of the correlates of job involvement.

Examined the relationship between job involvement and individual, situational, and work outcome variables. The analysis is based on data collected from 387 employees of a nonunion ore processing plant. Scales assessed job involvement, perceptions of the supervisor, job characteristics (JCs), role ambiguity, role conflict, organization commitment, burnout, desire to leave, and job satisfaction. The scales were mapped in 2 dimensions, using a monotonic multidimensional scaling of the codetermination matrix. The relative positions of the scales of the map indicated that JCs, including variety, autonomy, task identity, and feedback, play an important role in facilitating involvement in one's job. Supervisors who are seen as trusting, innovative, fair, and cohesive, and who positively reinforce subordinates for a job well done, may also play a role in developing a climate that fosters involvement. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parents' job insecurity affects children's academic performance through cognitive difficulties.

The authors developed and tested a model in which children who perceive their parents to be insecure about their jobs are distracted cognitively, which in turn affects their academic performance negatively. Participants were 102 female and 18 male undergraduates (mean age?=?18 years), their fathers (mean age?=?49 years), and their mothers (mean age?=?47 years). Students completed questionnaires measuring perceived parental job insecurity, identification with parents, and cognitive difficulties; 3 months later, they also reported their midyear grades. Fathers and mothers each completed questionnaires assessing their job insecurity. Support for the model was obtained using LISREL 8, and as predicted, children's identification with their mothers and fathers moderated the relationship between their perceptions of their mothers' and fathers' job insecurity and their own cognitive difficulties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors in the job involvement of middle managers.

Investigated the nature of job involvement (JI) and its relationship to other variables for 149 male middle managers in 1 company. A replication group contained 58 Ss. Both company satisfaction(CS) and JI were measured using 20-item Likert scales. A significant linear relationship between JI and CS was found in both groups (r = .44, .45). Principal components factor analyses of JI scores for both groups produced 3 orthogonal factors that replicated. Because only the 1st factor, job ambition, was consistent with previous research, it is concluded that the factor structure of JI is occupationally specific. Results are interpreted as supporting the idea that importance of the job to a worker's self-image is associated with his satisfaction with the company. Possible relationships of JI to theories of work motivation are discussed. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An empirical distinction between job involvement and work involvement: Some additional evidence.

Examined the potential existence of a conceptual distinction between job involvement (JI), a function of how much the job satisfies one's salient needs, and work involvement (WI), a generalized psychological identification with work. A causal model is proposed in which WI is a function of stable personality characteristics and JI is a function of the job's ability to satisfy salient needs and the degree of WI that an individual brings to the work situation. 290 adults answered questions regarding JI, salient and nonsalient need satisfaction, job satisfaction, Protestant work ethic, and Type A personality. Data provide strong support for the model and support the theoretical distinction between JI and WI. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parents' job insecurity affects children's grade performance through the indirect effects of beliefs in an unjust world and negative mood.

The authors postulated a model in which children's perceptions of their parents' job insecurity indirectly affect their grade performance through the effects of beliefs in an unjust world and negative mood. A total of 127 undergraduate students (55 male, 72 female) completed questionnaires on their perceptions of their parents' job insecurity and their own beliefs in an unjust world and negative mood. The parents reported on their own job insecurity. In addition, students provided their course grades from the previous semester 3 months after completing the questionnaires. Support for the proposed model was provided using LISREL VIII. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The definition and measurement of job involvement.

The purpose of the present research was to define job involvement, develop a scale for measuring it, gather evidence on the reliability and validity of the scale, and to learn something about the nature of job involvement through its correlation with other job attitudes. This paper describes the development and validation of a scale measuring job involvement, the resulting scales, the relation between job involvement, and other job attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Occupational stress: Its causes and consequences for job performance.

Examined occupational stress and its relation with individual characteristics, job conditions, stressful events, affect, and job performance. Study 1, in which 104 nurses participated in group discussions and 96 nurses (mean age 36 yrs) completed a questionnaire, identified 45 stressful events (appended) for nurses. In Study 2, 171 nurses (mean age 34.6 yrs) completed another questionnaire and were rated by a supervisor and/or a coworker. Findings show that ratings of interpersonal aspects of job performance (i.e., sensitivity, warmth, consideration, tolerance) and cognitive/motivational aspects (i.e., concentration, composure, perseverance, adaptability) correlated significantly with self-reported perceptions of stressful events, subjective stress, depression, and hostility. Models developed through path analysis suggest that the frequency and subjective intensity of the 45 events identified in Study 1 caused feelings of stress, leading to depression and causing decrements in interpersonal and cognitive/motivational aspects of job performance. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of role conflict and role ambiguity to job involvement measures.

Obtained measures of role conflict, role ambiguity, and various job involvement variables for 61 high-level managers. Role conflict was negatively related to the amount of reported influence and positively related to the amount of perceived threat and anxiety. Role ambiguity was negatively correlated with job satisfaction and influence, and positively related to job threat and anxiety. It is suggested that organizational level be taken into account when studying the relationship of role stress factors with job involvement measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescents who work: Health and behavioral consequences of job stress.

Compared 212 10th and 11th graders holding their 1st part-time jobs with 319 youngsters who had never worked, with respect to self-reported frequency of psychological and physical health symptoms, school absence, and use of cigarettes, alcohol, marihuana, and other drugs. These aspects of health and well-being, along with job absence, were examined in the workers as a function of exposure to 6 types of job stress and to significant life changes. Findings indicate that workers, especially boys, reported fewer somatic symptoms than nonworkers; and that boys who worked under stress reported fewer somatic and psychological symptoms than boys who held less stressful jobs. Exposure to job stress was related to alcohol and marihuana use for both boys and girls. Although poor environmental conditions appeared to operate as a stressor for both sexes, some stressors were sex-specific: Constraints on autonomy adversely affected boys but not girls, whereas an impersonal work setting adversely affected girls but not boys. No support was found for the hypothesis that the effects of job stress are accentuated by more general life stress. These findings indicate that adolescents who work experience both benefits and disadvantages. However, closer examination of the apparent positive effects of working on boy's health suggests alternative explanations. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role ambiguity, Type A behavior, and job satisfaction: Moderating effects on cardiovascular and biochemical responses associated with coronary risk.

Studied 217 male managers (mean age 44 yrs), classified as Type A (coronary-prone) or Type B (non-coronary-prone), to examine the effects of job satisfaction as a moderator between a common job stressor (role ambiguity) and coronary risk indicators. For Type A's, the results support the hypotheses that changes in ambiguity are associated with changes in blood pressure and that intrinsic job satisfaction has both a direct and moderating effect on these changes. Few similar effects were found for extrinsic job satisfaction. For Type B's, the effects on systolic blood pressure were opposite to those for type A's. It is suggested that either Type A's and Type B's differ in autonomic and cardiovascular response or that ambiguity as a stressor may have differential effects for Type A's and Type B's, indicating that their "fit" with ambiguous environments may be opposite. (53 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)