An examination of the mediating role of psychological empowerment on the relations between the job, interpersonal relationships, and work outcomes.

A field investigation of 337 employees and their immediate superiors tested the mediating role of empowerment in relations between job characteristics, leader–member exchange (LMX), team–member exchange (TMX), and work outcomes. The meaning and competence dimensions of empowerment mediated the relation between job characteristics and work satisfaction. The meaning dimension also mediated the relation between job characteristics and organizational commitment. Contrary to prediction, empowerment did not mediate relations between LMX, TMX, and the outcome variables. Rather, LMX and TMX were directly related to organizational commitment. In addition, TMX was directly related to job performance. These findings suggest that work satisfaction is explained largely by job characteristics (through empowerment) but that LMX and TMX combine with job characteristics and empowerment to explain variation in organizational commitment and job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unlocking the black box: Exploring the link between high-performance work systems and performance.

With a growing body of literature linking systems of high-performance work practices to organizational performance outcomes, recent research has pushed for examinations of the underlying mechanisms that enable this connection. In this study, based on a large sample of Welsh public-sector employees, we explored the role of several individual-level attitudinal factors—job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and psychological empowerment—as well as organizational citizenship behaviors that have the potential to provide insights into how human resource systems influence the performance of organizational units. The results support a unit-level path model, such that department-level, high-performance work system utilization is associated with enhanced levels of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and psychological empowerment. In turn, these attitudinal variables were found to be positively linked to enhanced organizational citizenship behaviors, which are further related to a second-order construct measuring departmental performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antecedents and consequences of psychological and team empowerment in organizations: A meta-analytic review.

This paper provides meta-analytic support for an integrated model specifying the antecedents and consequences of psychological and team empowerment. Results indicate that contextual antecedent constructs representing perceived high-performance managerial practices, socio-political support, leadership, and work characteristics are each strongly related to psychological empowerment. Positive self-evaluation traits are related to psychological empowerment and are as strongly related as the contextual factors. Psychological empowerment is in turn positively associated with a broad range of employee outcomes, including job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and task and contextual performance, and is negatively associated with employee strain and turnover intentions. Team empowerment is positively related to team performance. Further, the magnitude of parallel antecedent and outcome relationships at the individual and team levels is statistically indistinguishable, demonstrating the generalizability of empowerment theory across these 2 levels of analysis. A series of analyses also demonstrates the validity of psychological empowerment as a unitary second-order construct. Implications and future directions for empowerment research and theory are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological functioning following an acute disaster.

We investigated personal and organizational functioning following an acute disaster in an explosives factory in which 14 people were killed and 14 others were injured. Multivariate analyses of covariance (controlling for age and organizational tenure) assessed whether there were any differences between the experimental group (40 individuals physically exposed to the explosion) and two control groups (one from the same site performing a different job, the second from a separate site performing the same job; n?=?76 and n?=?40, respectively). During the 2nd week following the blast and 2 months afterward, there were no between-group differences in terms of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, marital satisfaction, or psychological distress. Failure to find any differences was attributed to the acute (as opposed to chronic) nature of the disaster. At both time periods, family support was correlated with personal functioning, whereas supervisory support was associated with job satisfaction; this is discussed in terms of the source of the stressor being consistent with the source of the support and the nature of the outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation between leadership style and empowerment on job satisfaction of nurses

OBJECTIVE: The authors explore the relation between leadership style and empowerment and its effect on job satisfaction among the nursing staff of a regional medical center. BACKGROUND: Several empirical studies on transformational leadership-found that transformational leadership behaviors were positively related to work team success and leadership effectiveness. Transformational leadership processes have also been suggested to enhance followers' work-oriented values and shape the self-efficacies of followers. Employee empowerment may be influenced by the perception that the organization cares about its employees' well-being and that their work is valued. Empowering nurses may increase job satisfaction and improve patient care. Leadership style and empowerment influence job satisfaction among workers. METHODS: All nursing department staff were invited to complete a self-report questionnaire with no identifying information. Leadership style was measured using Bass's Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, empowerment was measured with items from Spreitzer's Psychological Empowerment instrument, and job satisfaction was measured by Warr, Cook, and Wall's job satisfaction questionnaire. RESULTS: Both transformational and transactional leadership were positively related to job satisfaction, as was empowerment. Differences in the contributions of empowerment and leadership style in predicting job satisfaction for licensed and unlicensed workers was evident. CONCLUSION: Designing interventions that allow for the relative influence of leadership style as well as empowerment on varying classifications of nursing personnel may be a more effective strategy and have a greater effect on staff attitudes and behaviors.     

Stress at work: Linear and curvilinear effects of psychological-, job-, and organization-related factors: An exploratory study of trinidad and tobago.

In this study, the authors operationalized job stress as a two-dimensional construct consisting of time pressure and anxiety. The authors hypothesized that the relationship between job stress and job-related attitudes such as job involvement and job satisfaction would be curvilinear but would be linear with psychosomatic problems. In addition, the authors proposed that attitudinal factors would mediate the relationship between job stress and organizational commitment. Data were obtained from 241 respondents in Trinidad and Tobago. Our findings revealed that curvilinear relationships were supported for anxiety and the outcome variables but not for time pressure. The results also provided full support for our mediation hypotheses in the case of anxiety. However, partial support for mediation was obtained for time pressure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Moderating Effect of Negative Affectivity in the Procedural Justice-Job Satisfaction Relation.

We examined the potential moderating effect of negative affectivity in the relation between perceptions of procedural justice and job satisfaction in two studies. In the first study, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 232 individuals working for a Canadian public-sector organization that was being partially privatized. In the second study, we conducted a two-wave panel study of 173 university students participating in a co-operative education work term. In both studies, we found that the relation between procedural justice and job satisfaction was stronger for those who were low in negative affectivity than for those who were high in negative affectivity. These findings support the notion that employee dispositions influence the manner in which organizational factors are perceived. In addition, these findings suggest that fair procedures do not uniformly result in positive organizational outcomes (i.e., job satisfaction). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Occupational role stress in the Canadian forces: Its association with individual and organizational well-being.

Studies on workplace stress have been conducted in various occupational environments. However, published reports exploring occupational stress in the military are rare. This study examines occupational stress in the Canadian Forces within the framework of social role theory and its relation to employee health, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Ss were 1,068 Regular Forces military members who completed a survey questionnaire. Of interest were the psychological resources (e.g., individual coping skills, workplace leadership, and perceived organizational support) that have the potential to alter the perception of work stress and/or alleviate its association with individual and organizational outcomes. Regression analyses indicated a negative association between occupational role stress and both individual (strain) and organizational (job satisfaction and organizational commitment) well-being. No moderating effects were found for coping strategies, workplace leadership, or perceived organizational support, although these factors had direct relationships with both individual and organizational well-being The results are discussed in terms of the potential of organizational resources and role stress to cascade across organizational levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational wellness programs: A meta-analysis.

Organizational wellness programs are on or off-site services sponsored by organizations which attempt to promote good health or to identify and correct potential health related problems (Wolfe, Parker, & Napier, 1994). The authors conducted a meta-analysis on studies that examined the effects of participation in an organizational wellness program (fitness or comprehensive) on absenteeism and job satisfaction. The results revealed that participation in an organizational wellness program was associated with decreased absenteeism and increased job satisfaction. The type of wellness program (fitness only or comprehensive) and the methodological rigor of the primary studies were examined as moderators; however, no moderating effects were found. These results provide some empirical support for the effectiveness of organizational wellness programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived organizational support, discretionary treatment, and job satisfaction.

A diverse sample of 295 employees drawn from a variety of organizations was surveyed to investigate (a) whether the relationship between the favorableness of job conditions and perceived organizational support (POS) depends on employee perceptions concerning the organization's freedom of action and (b) whether POS and overall job satisfaction are distinct constructs. The favorableness of high-discretion job conditions was found to be much more closely associated with POS than was the favorableness of low-discretion job conditions. No such relationship was found between job conditions and satisfaction. To decide how much the organization values their contributions and well-being, employees distinguish job conditions whose favorableness the organization readily controls versus job conditions whose favorableness is constrained by limits on the organization's discretion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivation, comportements organisationnels discrétionnaires et bien-être en milieu Africain: Quand le devoir oblige?

This study tested an organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) model based on the motivational model of job burnout (MMJB) with Gabonese employees (N = 146). It was hypothesized that to the degree that employees perceive their supervisors as promoting their autonomy, competence and relatedness, their motivation at work will be more self-determined. Supervisory style and motivation would then predict job satisfaction, which in turn influences life satisfaction. Work motivation and job satisfaction should also determine OCB and the latter should then influence life satisfaction. Structural equation modeling analyses overall support the model. However, altruism OCB was negatively related to self-determined motivations, which then negatively predicted life satisfaction. These results support SDT's prediction that a behaviour regulated by non-self-determined motivations will negatively affect well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigating equity sensitivity as a moderator of relations between self-efficacy and workplace attitudes.

This study integrated measures of equity sensitivity and self-efficacy in an effort to better understand how these variables may affect job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intent to leave. Equity sensitivity denotes how sensitive people are to overreward and underreward situations and has recently enhanced the accuracy of equity theory in predicting job satisfaction in social exchange situations. Self-efficacy, or task-specific self-confidence, is a central component of Bandura's social cognitive theory, and its influence on individuals' goals, efforts, and task persistence is well documented. Results from a field study of 242 employees in a health care firm support the moderating role of equity sensitivity in relations between self-efficacy and job satisfaction and between self-efficacy and intent to leave, but not between self-efficacy and organizational commitment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Support from the top: Supervisors' perceived organizational support as a moderator of leader-member exchange to satisfaction and performance relationships.

The authors hypothesized that supervisors' perceived organizational support (POS) would moderate the relationships between leader-member exchange (LMX), job satisfaction, and job performance. On the basis of social exchange theory, supervisors' exchanges with the organization and subordinates should be interconnected. The authors expected that supervisors with high POS would have more resources to exchange with subordinates. Thus, supervisor POS should enhance the relationships between LMX and job satisfaction and LMX and job performance for subordinates. Hierarchical linear modeling analysis provided support for the hypotheses in a sample of 210 subordinates and 38 supervisors of a grocery store chain. The positive relationship between LMX and job satisfaction was stronger when supervisors had high POS. Moreover, LMX was related to performance only when supervisors had high POS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of personal work goals in newcomers' job satisfaction and organizational commitment: A longitudinal analysis.

This study examined the importance of 3 characteristics of personal work goals (i.e., commitment, attainability, and progress) in accounting for changes in newcomers' affective job attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction and organizational commitment) during the 1st months of employment. Twenty weeks after organizational entry, 81 newcomers provided a list of their personal work goals. Goal attributes and job attitudes were assessed at 3 testing periods covering 8 months. Goal commitment was found to moderate the extent to which differences in the attainability of personal goals at the workplace accounted for changes in job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Goal progress mediated the interactive effect of goal commitment and attainability on newcomers' job attitudes. Findings are discussed with respect to their relevance for proactive approaches to organizational socialization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A multivariate analysis of the determinants of job turnover.

Developed and tested a multivariate analysis of the turnover process with 654 accountants (mean age 37 yrs). The following variables were measured: demographic variables, tenure, cognitive/affective orientation to current position (including multiple measures of job satisfaction and organizational commitment), perceived job security, intention to search for an alternative position, perceived existence of alternative positions, and intention to change positions. Turnover data were collected 1 yr later, and it was found that 22% of Ss had changed jobs. Results support the existence of significant relationships between the set of independent variables presented in the working model and actual turnover, but not the hypothesis that all variables influence turnover behavior through their impact on intentions to change position. Turnover was significantly influenced by age, tenure, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job security. Turnover behavior was also more strongly related to intentions to search for alternatives than to intentions to change positions. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A three-wave longitudinal analysis of the causal ordering of satisfaction and commitment on turnover decisions.

L. J. Williams and J. T. Hazer (see record 1986-23287-001) explicated the antecedents and consequences of job satisfaction and organizational commitment on turnover. Their causal model related personal and organizational characteristics to satisfaction, satisfaction to commitment, and commitment to turnover intention. Their structural equation reanalysis of cross-sectional data from C. E. Michaels and P. E. Spector (see record 1982-10938-001) and A. C. Bluedorn (see record 1982-22265-001) support the model. The present study applied structural equation methodology to assess the plausibility of this model with longitudinal data from 440 Ss. Only partial support was obtained for the model. The relations among satisfaction, commitment, and reenlistment intention changed with increased tenure in the organization. This finding suggests that commitment and satisfaction may be either cyclically or reciprocally related. The implications for future turnover research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autonomy and workload among temporary workers: Their effects on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, life satisfaction, and self-rated performance.

This study investigates the role of autonomy and workload in explaining responses of temporary employees (N=189) compared with permanent employees (N=371) on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, life satisfaction, and performance. Results based on regression analyses suggest that the effects of contract type are not mediated by autonomy or by workload. Rather, this study partially supports hypotheses on the differential reactions of temporaries and permanents to autonomy or workload; autonomy was not predictive for temporaries' job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and workload was not predictive for temporaries' life satisfaction, whereas they were predictive for permanents' responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stable predictors of job satisfaction, psychological strain, and employee retention: An evaluation of organizational change within the New Zealand Customs Service.

Recent changes in employment conditions have resulted in the increased exposure of workers to unfavorable job characteristics and to consequential increases in adverse individual and organizational health outcomes. In this article the authors evaluate the steps undertaken by one proactive employer to reduce these adverse outcomes. Three organization-wide surveys (n = 350, 316, and 405) were conducted over a 3-year period within the New Zealand Customs Service to determine the influence of perceived job conditions on individual and organizational health outcomes. Staff retention and employee satisfaction significantly improved over time and these increases were attributable to workplace improvements. Stable predictors of job satisfaction included minor daily stressors, positive work experiences, job control, and perceived supervisor support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived organizational support: A review of the literature.

The authors reviewed more than 70 studies concerning employees' general belief that their work organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being (perceived organizational support; POS). A meta-analysis indicated that 3 major categories of beneficial treatment received by employees (i.e., fairness, supervisor support, and organizational rewards and favorable job conditions) were associated with POS. POS, in turn, was related to outcomes favorable to employees (e.g., job satisfaction, positive mood) and the organization (e.g., affective commitment, performance, and lessened withdrawal behavior). These relationships depended on processes assumed by organizational support theory: employees' belief that the organization's actions were discretionary, feeling of obligation to aid the organization, fulfillment of socioemotional needs, and performance-reward expectancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Type A behavior, components, and outcomes: A study of Canadian employees.

This study examined the relationship of global Type A behavior and its components (time pressure and hard-driving competitiveness) with individual and organizational outcomes. Data were collected by means of a structured questionnaire from hospital employees (n=175) and telecommunication employees (n=110) in a large Canadian city. Global Type A behavior and its 2 components were significantly related to job stress, health problems, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover motivation in both samples. Limited support for the differential effects of Type A component measures on outcomes was found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)