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)     

Personal and task-related moderators of leader-member exchange among software developers.

Although earlier studies have shown significant positive relationships between leader-member exchange (LMX) and its outcomes, they have also noted that the effect sizes of these relationships have been modest and heterogeneous. Addressing numerous calls for future studies that examine potential moderators of the LMX-job performance and LMX-job satisfaction relationships and utilizing a multidomain perspective, this study tests the moderating roles of personal (i.e., locus of control) and task-related (i.e., task autonomy) factors on these relationships. The results of an empirical study with a sample of 287 software developers and 164 supervisors participating at a large international information technology exhibition indicated that the LMX-job performance relationship was stronger when employees' locus of control was internal as opposed to when it was external. In addition, it was stronger when task autonomy was high as opposed to when it was low. Moreover, the results suggested that the LMX-job satisfaction relationship was stronger when task autonomy was high as opposed to when it was low. Finally, contrary to theoretical expectations, employees' locus of control did not moderate the LMX-job satisfaction relationship. (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)     

Organizational commitment and job performance: It's the nature of the commitment that counts.

In this study, we examined relations between the performance of first-level managers in a large food service company and their affective commitment (i.e., emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in the organization), continuance commitment (i.e., perceived costs associated with leaving the company), and job satisfaction. Commitment and satisfaction scores were correlated with three indexes of performance obtained from the managers' immediate supervisors. As predicted, affective commitment correlated positively and continuance commitment correlated negatively with all three measures of performance. Job satisfaction did not correlate significantly with performance ratings. The findings are interpreted as illustrating the importance of distinguishing between commitment based on desire and commitment based on need and as supporting organizational efforts to foster affective commitment in their employees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age differences in the organization of emotion knowledge: Effects involving valence and time frame.

Older and younger adults attend to and remember emotion information differently. The present study builds on this work by investigating age-related differences in the schematic organization of emotion knowledge. Younger and older adults reported on their experiences of positive and negative affect, both today and in general. Of primary interest was judgment speed as a function of matches (e.g., positive-positive) or mismatches (e.g., negative-positive) in valence and time frame across consecutive trials. Older adults exhibited stronger valence-related priming effects and weaker time-frame-related priming effects, relative to younger adults. Results remained significant when controlling for individual differences in speed, speed variability, motor priming, temperament, and life satisfaction. The discussion focuses on the manner in which age differences in the schematic organization of emotion knowledge might contribute to age differences in the self-concept, affective processing, and emotional experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Burnout and work engagement: A thorough investigation of the independency of both constructs.

This study among 528 South African employees working in the construction industry examined the dimensionality of burnout and work engagement, using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. On the basis of the literature, we predicted that cynicism and dedication are opposite ends of one underlying attitude dimension (called “identification”), and that exhaustion and vigor are opposite ends of one “energy” dimension. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that while the attitude constructs represent opposite ends of one continuum, the energy constructs do not—although they are highly correlated. These findings are also supported by the pattern of relationships between burnout and work engagement on the one hand, and predictors (i.e., work pressure, autonomy) and outcomes (i.e., organizational commitment, mental health) on the other hand. Implications for the measurement and conceptualization of burnout and work engagement are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Influence of Prior Commitment on the Reactions of Layoff Survivors to Organizational Downsizing.

Nurses (N := 179; Study 1) and managers (N = 154; Study 2) participated in 2 panel studies examining the relationship among prior commitment (affective and continuance commitment and perceived organizational support), coping strategies, and survivors' attitudes and perceptions during and following downsizing. In Study 1, perceived organizational support was significantly positively related to control-oriented coping, job satisfaction, and intention to remain and negatively related to perceived job insecurity and burnout 2 years later. In Study 2, coping mediated the relationship between the prior commitment variables and job alienation, health symptoms, and burnout following the downsizing. Control-oriented coping was associated with elevated levels of health symptoms and burnout following the downsizing, suggesting that control-oriented coping may have positive effects in the short term but potentially harmful effects in the long term. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional labor in American professors.

An online survey was conducted on a national sample of United States professors to examine emotional labor and its relationship to work outcomes. Participants were queried on genuine, faking, and suppressing emotional expression facets of emotional labor, as well as emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, and affective commitment. The sample of 598 included 71 instructors, 177 assistant professors, 168 associate professors, and 182 professors. A path analysis was conducted testing two models of emotional labor. Results supported a model indicating significant direct relationships between emotional labor, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction. Additionally, the relationship between emotional labor and affective commitment was mediated by emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction. Genuine positive expression was the only emotional labor variable to have significant direct relationships with all outcomes. For U.S. faculty, the experience of emotional labor was related to several work attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Different fits satisfy different needs: Linking person-environment fit to employee commitment and performance using self-determination theory.

Integrating and expanding upon the person-environment fit (PE fit) and the self-determination theory literatures, the authors hypothesized and tested a model in which the satisfaction of the psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence partially mediated the relations between different types of perceived PE fit (i.e., person-organization fit, person-group fit, and job demands-abilities fit) with employee affective organizational commitment and overall job performance. Data from 163 full-time working employees and their supervisors were collected across 3 time periods. Results indicate that different types of PE fit predicted different types of psychological need satisfaction and that psychological need satisfaction predicted affective commitment and performance. Further, person-organization fit and demands-abilities fit also evidenced direct effects on employee affective commitment. These results begin to explicate the processes through which different types of PE fit relate to employee attitudes and behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of service provider attitudes and employment status on citizenship behaviors and customers' attitudes and loyalty behavior.

The relationship among job satisfaction, affective commitment, service-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty were examined for a sample of 249 hairstylists and 1 of their corresponding customers. Employee satisfaction was positively related to service-oriented OCBs, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty, whereas affective commitment was not related to these outcomes. The extent to which the predictor variables interacted with one another and the role of employment status on these relationships was also explored. High levels of job satisfaction or affective commitment resulted in more service-oriented OCBs for employees and self-employed workers, whereas high levels of both resulted in more service-oriented OCBs for owners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Flexible and compressed workweek schedules: A meta-analysis of their effects on work-related criteria.

Meta-analytic techniques were used to estimate the effects of flexible and compressed workweek schedules on several work-related criteria (productivity/performance, job satisfaction, absenteeism, and satisfaction with work schedule). In general, the effects of both schedules were positive. However, the effects of both flextime and compressed workweek schedules were different across the outcome criteria (e.g., compressed workweek schedules did not significantly affect absenteeism). Thus, the level of positive impact associated with either schedule is dependent on the outcome criterion under consideration. Further, several variables were found to be moderators of flexible work schedules. For example, highly flexible flextime programs were less effective in comparison to less flexible programs, and the positive benefits of flextime schedules were found to diminish over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential challenge stressor-hindrance stressor relationships with job attitudes, turnover intentions, turnover, and withdrawal behavior: A meta-analysis.

In this article, a 2-dimensional work stressor framework is used to explain inconsistencies in past research with respect to stressor relationships with retention-related criteria. Results of meta-analyses of 183 independent samples indicated that whereas hindrance stressors had dysfunctional relationships with these criteria (negative relationships with job satisfaction and organizational commitment and positive relationships with turnover intentions, turnover, and withdrawal behavior), relationships with challenge stressors were generally the opposite (positive relationships with job satisfaction and organizational commitment and negative relationships with turnover intentions and turnover). Results also suggested that the differential relationships between challenge stressors and hindrance stressors and the more distal criteria (withdrawal behavior and turnover) were due, in part, to the mediating effects of job attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of passion for teaching in intrapersonal and interpersonal outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of passion in teachers' burnout symptoms, work satisfaction, and perceptions of positive student classroom behaviors. The dualistic model of passion (Vallerand et al., 2003) proposes 2 types of passion: harmonious and obsessive. In previous studies, harmonious passion has been shown to lead to adaptive outcomes (e.g., well-being and satisfaction), whereas obsessive passion has been shown to lead to less adaptive outcomes (e.g., shame and negative affect). In this study, 494 teachers completed measures of passion for teaching and various outcomes associated with the teaching profession twice over a 3-month period. Results of a cross-lag model based on structural equation modeling revealed that increases in harmonious passion for teaching predicted increases in work satisfaction and decreases in burnout symptoms over time, while changes in obsessive passion were unrelated to such outcomes. In addition, increases in both harmonious and obsessive passion predicted increases in teacher-perceived adaptive student behaviors over time. Overall, the results of the present study suggest that passion for teaching is an important concept to consider in education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual- and organizational-level consequences of organizational citizenship behaviors: A meta-analysis.

Although one of the main reasons for the interest in organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) is the potential consequences of these behaviors, no study has been reported that summarizes the research regarding the relationships between OCBs and their outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide a meta-analytic examination of the relationships between OCBs and a variety of individual- and organizational-level outcomes. Results, based on 168 independent samples (N = 51,235 individuals), indicated that OCBs are related to a number of individual-level outcomes, including managerial ratings of employee performance, reward allocation decisions, and a variety of withdrawal-related criteria (e.g., employee turnover intentions, actual turnover, and absenteeism). In addition, OCBs were found to be related (k = 38; N = 3,611 units) to a number of organizational-level outcomes (e.g., productivity, efficiency, reduced costs, customer satisfaction, and unit-level turnover). Of interest, somewhat stronger relationships were observed between OCBs and unit-level performance measures in longitudinal studies than in cross-sectional studies, providing some evidence that OCBs are causally related to these criteria. The implications of these findings for both researchers and practitioners are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reciprocation of perceived organizational support.

Four hundred thirteen postal employees were surveyed to investigate reciprocation's role in the relationships of perceived organizational support (POS) with employees' affective organizational commitment and job performance. The authors found that (a) POS was positively related to employees' felt obligation to care about the organization's welfare and to help the organization reach its objectives; (b) felt obligation mediated the associations of POS with affective commitment, organizational spontaneity, and in-role performance; and (c) the relationship between POS and felt obligation increased with employees' acceptance of the reciprocity norm as applied to work organizations. Positive mood also mediated the relationships of POS with affective commitment and organizational spontaneity. The pattern of findings is consistent with organizational support theory's assumption that POS strengthens affective commitment and performance by a reciprocation process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Core Self-Evaluations and Job Burnout: The Test of Alternative Models.

Research on job burnout has traditionally focused on contextual antecedent conditions, although a theoretically appropriate conception implicates person-environment relationships. The authors tested several models featuring various combinations of personal and contextual influences on burnout and job satisfaction. Measures of core self-evaluations, organizational constraints, burnout, and job satisfaction were collected from 859 health care employees. Results from structural equations modeling analyses revealed an influence of core self-evaluations and perceived organizational constraints on job burnout and satisfaction, suggesting personal and contextual contributions. These results favor a broadening of current thinking about the impact of situational constraints on the expression of job burnout, as well as for the role of disposition for affective responding to effectively address occupational health problems. (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)     

Criterion measures for youth-work training programs: The development of relevant performance dimensions.

An empirical approach to criterion development was applied to outcome measures for work-training programs serving disadvantaged adolescents (mean age 17.9 yrs). Performance criteria at program completion ( n = 32) and 40 measures obtained 6 mo following training were factor analyzed to define their relevance within a dimensional structure. Four program completion (proximal) factors were readily interpretable (e.g., training program adjustment, work motivation, social-personal adjustment), as were 5 postprogram (distal) dimensions (e.g., job success and satisfaction, job search motivation). Relevance of the proximal criteria was also determined from their predictive relationships with the distal measures. Uses of the multidimensional aspects of a criterion domain as a basis for setting priorities in selecting criterion variables are discussed. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavior in organizations as a function of employee's locus of control.

Locus of control is an important variable for the explanation of human behavior in organizations. The nature of the concept, its measurement (e.g., Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale), and general evidence for its validity are discussed. Several hypotheses are presented involving the locus of control in an organizational context, and supporting evidence from applied studies is reviewed. Specifically, it is suggested that locus of control is related to motivation, effort, performance, satisfaction, perception of the job, compliance with authority, and supervisory style. Furthermore, locus of control may moderate the relation between incentives and motivation and between satisfaction and turnover. (78 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Abusive supervision and subordinates' organization deviance.

The authors developed an integrated model of the relationships among abusive supervision, affective organizational commitment, norms toward organization deviance, and organization deviance and tested the framework in 2 studies: a 2-wave investigation of 243 supervised employees and a cross-sectional study of 247 employees organized into 68 work groups. Path analytic tests of mediated moderation provide support for the prediction that the mediated effect of abusive supervision on organization deviance (through affective commitment) is stronger when employees perceive that their coworkers are more approving of organization deviance (Study 1) and when coworkers perform more acts of organization deviance (Study 2). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)