Wedded to the job: Moderating effects of job involvement on the consequences of job insecurity.

Two hundred eighty-three public-sector employees experiencing a workplace reorganization completed surveys assessing the relationships between job involvement and job insecurity on self-report measures of psychological, behavioral, and physical outcomes. Using C. L. Hulin's (see record 1993-97200-008) job adaptation theory, differential predictions were made regarding the specific outcomes of job insecurity for high job involvement versus low job involvement employees. Results indicate that employees who were highly invested in their jobs were most adversely affected by job insecurity. Specifically, they reported more negative job attitudes, more health problems, and a higher level of psychological distress than their less involved counterparts when they perceived their jobs to be threatened. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Music training improves verbal but not visual memory: Cross-sectional and longitudinal explorations in children.

The hypothesis that music training can improve verbal memory was tested in children. The results showed that children with music training demonstrated better verbal but not visual memory than did their counterparts without such training. When these children were followed up after a year, those who had begun or continued music training demonstrated significant verbal memory improvement. Students who discontinued the training did not show any improvement. Contrary to the differences in verbal memory between the groups, their changes in visual memory were not significantly different. Consistent with previous findings for adults (A. S. Chan, Y. Ho, & M. Cheung, 1998), the results suggest that music training systematically affects memory processing in accordance with possible neuroanatomical modifications in the left temporal lobe. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Divergent effects of transformational and passive leadership on employee safety.

The authors concurrently examined the impact of safety-specific transformational leadership and safety-specific passive leadership on safety outcomes. First, the authors demonstrated via confirmatory factor analysis that safety-specific transformational leadership and safety-specific passive leadership are empirically distinct constructs. Second, using hierarchical regression, the authors illustrated, contrary to a stated corollary of transformational leadership theory (B. M. Bass, 1997), that passive leadership contributes incrementally to the prediction of organizationally relevant outcomes, in this case safety-related variables, beyond transformational leadership alone. Third, further analyses via structural equation modeling showed that both transformational and passive leadership have opposite effects on safety climate and safety consciousness, and these variables, in turn, predict safety events and injuries. Implications for research and application are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The moderating effects of employee tenure on the relation between organizational commitment and job performance: A meta-analysis.

This meta-analysis investigated the correlation between attitudinal commitment and job performance for 3,630 employees obtained from 27 independent studies across various levels of employee tenure. Controlling for employee age and other nuisance variables, the authors found that tenure had a very strong nonlinear moderating effect on the commitment-performance correlation, with correlations tending to decrease exponentially with increasing tenure. These findings do not appear to be the result of differences across studies in terms of the type of performance measure (supervisory vs. self), type of tenure (job vs. organizational), or commitment measure (Organizational Commitment Questionnaire [L. W. Porter, R. M. Steers, R. T. Mowday, & P. V. Boulian, 1974] vs. other). The implications and future research directions of these results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quantifying the effects of psychological interventions on employee job performance and work-force productivity.

Quantifying the economic impact of psychological programs in organizations requires determination of (a) the size and variability of the resulting increase in job performance and (b) the economic value of the increase in job performance. New methods of meta-analysis allow attainment of the 1st of these; and in relation to the 2nd, utility analysis methods provide the ability to translate job performance increases into estimates of the economic value of the program. In the area of personnel selection, many meta-analytic studies have resulted in precise and generalizable estimates of the validity of cognitive ability tests and other selection procedures. Utility analyses show that the job performance increases resulting from use of valid selection methods have substantial economic value. Valid selection produces major increases in work-force productivity. It is concluded that the combined effects of selection and nonselection interventions can be expected to produce substantial increases in workforce productivity. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of anticipated job loss on employee behavior.

Compared the behavior (i.e., productivity, absenteeism, and lateness) of 100 employees who knew that they were to be laid off or not laid off. No significant changes in the absenteeism, lateness, or production were found in either group during the 3-mo period. (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)     

Employee self-enhancement motives and job performance behaviors: Investigating the moderating effects of employee role ambiguity and managerial perceptions of employee commitment.

This study examined the effects of employee self-enhancement motives on job performance behaviors (organizational citizenship behaviors and task performance) and the value of these behaviors to them. The authors propose that employees display job performance behaviors in part to enhance their self-image, especially when their role is not clearly defined. They further argue that the effects of these behaviors on managerial reward recommendation decisions should be stronger when managers believe the employees to be more committed. The results from a sample of 84 working students indicate that role ambiguity moderated the effects of self-enhancement motives on job performance behaviors and that managerial perceptions of an employee's commitment moderated the effects of those organizational citizenship behaviors that are aimed at other individuals on managers' reward allocation decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The moderating role of employee positive well being on the relation between job satisfaction and job performance.

This research provides further clarification to the age-old quest to better understand the happy/productive worker thesis. Using data from 109 managers employed by a large (over 5000 employees) customer services organization on the West Coast of the United States, both job satisfaction (r = .36, p     

Getting off on the right foot: Subjective value versus economic value in predicting longitudinal job outcomes from job offer negotiations.

Although negotiation experiences can affect a negotiator's ensuing attitudes and behavior, little is known about their long-term consequences. Using a longitudinal survey design, the authors tested the degree to which economic and subjective value achieved in job offer negotiations predicts employees' subsequent job attitudes and intentions concerning turnover. Results indicate that subjective value predicts greater compensation satisfaction and job satisfaction and lower turnover intention measured 1 year later. Surprisingly, the economic outcomes that negotiators achieved had no apparent effects on these factors. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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)     

Personality, work characteristics and employee well-being: A longitudinal analysis of additive and moderating effects.

This study tested the longitudinal influence of personality (measured by the characteristics growth need strength, negative affectivity [NA], and upward striving) on 3 psychological outcomes (intrinsic work motivation, emotional exhaustion, and turnover intention), using a pattern of specific relationships between work characteristics and these outcomes as a framework. The study hypotheses were tested in a multioccupational sample consisting of bank employees and teachers, using a 2-wave panel design with a 1-year time interval and structural equation modeling. NA had a cross-lagged direct and additive relationship with emotional exhaustion and also moderated the relationship between Time 1 workload and Time 2 emotional exhaustion. The authors concluded that NA may have multiple effects on emotional exhaustion that persist over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative effects of personal and situational influences on job outcomes of new professionals.

We investigated the relative and combined effects of personal and situational variables on job outcomes of new professionals. The personal variables were cognitive ability, socioeconomic status, and career goals; the situational variables were job feedback, autonomy, and job context. Data were collected at two times from 280 newly hired, entry-level accountants at "Big Eight" firms. Both personal and situational variables predict job outcomes, but their relative influence depends on the outcome measure. Situational variables account for the most variance in job performance, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment; personal variables account for the most variance in promotability, internal work motivation, and turnover. The findings indicate that job performance does not take care of itself by selecting bright people, but requires constant vigilance and effective systems. The results also suggest that a given result can be achieved through a variety of behavioral science interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictive validity of coping strategies on marital satisfaction: Cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence.

The present study investigated the contribution of coping strategies, when facing marital difficulties, to marital satisfaction, using both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. For the cross-sectional design, both members of 506 couples individually completed the Ways of Coping Questionnaire and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Results revealed that self-reported coping strategies were significant—linear and curvilinear—predictors of both self- and partner-reported marital satisfaction. Results of the longitudinal analyses were based on 2 distinct samples: 95 couples who completed the same questionnaires 4 months later (short-term cohort) and 108 couples who again completed the same questionnaires 1.5 years later (long-term cohort). Significant, but weak, curvilinear relations between coping strategies and subsequent marital satisfaction were observed for women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Healthy workplace practices and employee outcomes.

The current study explored the relationship between employee satisfaction with different workplace practices (i.e., employee involvement, growth and development, work-life balance, recognition, health, and safety) and employee outcomes (i.e., organizational commitment, emotional exhaustion, mental well-being, and turnover intentions). A total of 152 university faculty and staff completed a web-survey. Overall, regression results indicated that satisfaction with healthy workplace practices was predictive of employee outcomes. In addition, satisfaction with employee involvement practices played a central role in predicting employee outcomes, whereas satisfaction with the other healthy workplace practices was somewhat less influential. Overall, our results suggest that organizations may increase some of the benefits of different healthy workplace programs for employees if they rely on employee involvement in program development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal effects of lean production on employee outcomes and the mediating role of work characteristics.

The author discusses results from a 3 year quasi-experimental field study (N=368), which suggest negative effects on employee outcomes after the implementation of 3 lean production practices: lean teams, assembly lines, and workflow formalization. Employees in all lean production groups were negatively affected, but those in assembly lines fared the worst, with reduced organizational commitment and role breadth self-efficacy and increased job depression. A nonequivalent control group had no negative changes in outcomes. Mediational analyses showed that the negative effects of lean production were at least partly attributable to declines in perceived work characteristics (job autonomy, skill utilization, and participation in decision making). The study also shows the longitudinal effects of these work characteristics on psychological outcomes. Implications for lean production, work design, and employee well-being are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived organizational support for safety and employee safety voice: The mediating role of coworker support for safety.

In the present study, we modeled 2 sources of safety support (perceived organizational support for safety and perceived coworker support for safety) as predictors of employee safety voice, that is, speaking out in an attempt to change unsafe working conditions. Drawing on social exchange and social impact theories, we hypothesized and tested a mediated model predicting employee safety voice using a cross-sectional survey of urban bus drivers (n = 213) in the United Kingdom. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that perceived coworker support for safety fully mediated the relationship between perceived organizational support for safety and employee safety voice. This study adds to the employee voice literature by evaluating the important role that coworkers can play in encouraging others to speak out about safety issues. Implications for research and practice related to change-oriented safety communication are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Continuing education and job performance: A longitudinal study.

Investigated the relationship of participation in continuing education to job performance of engineers. Performance and education data were obtained for 110 engineers in 3 organizations that differed in their technology, ranging from research and development (R & D) to manufacturing. The number of graduate courses taken early in the career was strongly related to job performance only for engineers working in the R & D organization. Engineers with poor job performance, regardless of organizational technology, had a greater likelihood of enrolling in more in-house courses, but this greater participation had no relationship to subsequent performance. The possible moderating effects of organizational variables, course characteristics, and individual differences are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: A meta-analysis.

Based on 7,939 business units in 36 companies, this study used meta-analysis to examine the relationship at the business-unit level between employee satisfaction-engagement and the business-unit outcomes of customer satisfaction, productivity, profit, employee turnover, and accidents. Generalizable relationships large enough to have substantial practical value were found between unit-level employee satisfaction-engagement and these business-unit outcomes. One implication is that changes in management practices that increase employee satisfaction may increase business-unit outcomes, including profit. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)