The role of goal-focused leadership in enabling the expression of conscientiousness.

The authors tested the hypothesis that goal-focused leadership enables conscientious workers to perform effectively by helping them to accurately understand organizational goal priorities. Data collected from 162 workers in a private sector document processing organization supported the hypotheses that goal-focused leadership moderates the relationship between conscientiousness and job performance and that person–organization goal congruence mediates this moderated relationship. Specifically, conscientiousness was more strongly positively related to performance among workers who perceived that their supervisors effectively set goals and defined roles, responsibilities, and priorities than among workers who did not perceive this type of goal-focused leadership. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An investigation of age-related factors in the age-job-satisfaction relationship.

Most researchers have found a positive linear relation between age and job satisfaction. We attempted to account for this relationship by measuring variables that had been proposed to be causal factors. Subjects were 496 city and county managers working in Florida. Potential explanatory variables were (a) job congruence (the difference between what managers prefer and what they perceive they have in a job), (b) internal–external locus of control, and (c) related demographics—age, salary, organizational tenure, position tenure, and organizational level. Multiple regression analyses found that job congruence and work locus of control accounted for almost all of the variance in the age–satisfaction relationship. This study supports the job change hypothesis, which proposes that older workers get more of what they want out of work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Status, job satisfaction, and factors of job satisfaction of state institution and clinic psychologists.

"In this report we will compare psychologists with other mental hygiene professionals—psychologists in state schools and hospitals with psychologists in clinics." Ss were 80 psychiatrists, 80 psychologists, 80 social workers, 80 teachers, 80 nurses (40 of each group in state institutions and 40 in nonstate institutions) and, in addition, 59 upper middle class and 51 lower middle class Ss. There is "limited support for the hypothesis which states that status and job satisfaction are related." The hypothesis that "the status of state institution psychologists is lower than that of clinic psychologists, is generally substantiated." The hypothesis that "there are differences in the job satisfaction of the two groups of psychologists finds some support." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring person-job fit with a profile-comparison process.

One outgrowth of the person–situation debate has been the use of fit or congruence models to explain work outcomes. In this study, the profile-comparison process, a Q-sort-based technique that provides an isomorphic assessment of job requirements and individual competencies, was used to assess person–job fit in 7 small samples representing a variety of jobs and organizations. The results show that overall person–job fit is strongly related to a number of outcomes, including job performance and satisfaction. Implications for the assessment of persons and jobs are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When dispositional and role power fit: Implications for self-expression and self–other congruence.

Integrating and extending the literatures on social power and person–environment fit, 4 studies tested the hypothesis that when people's dispositional beliefs about their capacity to influence others fit their assigned role power, they are more likely to engage in self-expression—that is, behave in line with their states and traits—thereby increasing their likelihood of being perceived by others in a manner congruent with their own self-judgments (i.e., self–other congruence). In Studies 1–3, dispositionally high- and low-power participants were randomly assigned to play a high- or low-power role in an interaction with a confederate. When participants' dispositional and role power fit (vs. conflicted), they reported greater self-expression (Study 1). Furthermore, under dispositional-role power fit conditions, the confederate's ratings of participants' emotional experiences (Study 2) and personality traits (Study 3) were more congruent with participants' self-reported emotions and traits. Study 4's results replicated Study 3's results using an implicit manipulation of power and outside observers' (rather than a confederate's) ratings of participants. Implications for research on power and person perception are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interviewers' perceptions of person–organization fit and organizational selection decisions.

Amodel of person–organization fit and organizational hiring decisions is developed and tested, using data from 38 interviewers making hiring decisions about 93 applicants. Results suggest that interviewers can assess applicant–organization values congruence with significant levels of accuracy and that interviewers compare their perceptions of applicants' values with their organizations' values to assess person–organization fit. Results also suggested that interviewers' subjective person–organization fit assessments have large effects on their hiring recommendations relative to competing applicant characteristics, and that interviewers' hiring recommendations directly affect organizations' hiring decisions (e.g., job offers). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subjective expectation, outcome discrepancy, and job satisfaction.

Investigated subjective expectation as a source of satisfaction valence associated with job outcomes. Four variables were of major interest: desired outcome, actual outcome, subjective expectation, and job satisfaction. The following hypotheses were tested, using 3 measures of satisfaction in a laboratory analog study with 120 undergraduates: (a) A positive linear relationship exists between "actual outcome–desired outcome" discrepancy and job satisfaction. (b) A negative linear relationship exists between subjective expectation and job satisfaction. Results on all dependent measures support the 1st hypothesis. Support for the 2nd hypothesis was evident but not consistent across the 3 satisfaction measures. The problem of equivalence of satisfaction measures is discussed, as is the relationship of the results to existing research and implications for further investigation. (French summary) (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The interactive effect of chronic exposure to noise and job complexity on changes in blood pressure and job satisfaction: A longitudinal study of industrial employees.

The hypothesis of this study was that noise exposure level and job complexity interact to affect changes in blood pressure (BP) levels and job satisfaction over 2–4 yrs of follow-up. Results showed that among workers exposed to high noise, those with complex jobs showed increases in BP that were more than double shown by those with simple jobs. Under low noise exposure, there was a small increase in BP for workers with complex jobs but about a 3-fold increase in workers with simple jobs. The prevalence of elevated BP showed a similar trend. Job satisfaction increased among workers with complex jobs but was much less in those exposed to high noise. It was concluded that exposure to occupational noise has a greater negative impact on changes in BP and job satisfaction over time among those performing complex jobs. In contrast, job complexity had a clear beneficial effect for workers exposed to low noise. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Enhancing organizational goal congruence: A solution to organizational politics.

Results of moderated multiple regression analyses on data collected from 979 workers in 5 organizations confirmed the hypothesis that supervisor–subordinate goal congruence would moderate the relationship between organizational politics and organizational commitment. Similar analyses on data collected from 366 workers in 2 of those organizations provided partial support for the second hypothesis that goal congruence would also moderate the relationship between organizational politics and job performance. Perceptions of politics were more strongly related to expressions of commitment and supervisor-rated performance among individuals who did not share the priorities of their supervisors than among those whose goal priorities were consistent with those of their supervisors. Results suggest that supervisors and managers can help their employees cope with politics by making efforts to ensure that they share their goal priorities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job insecurity and employability in fixed-term contractors, agency workers, and permanent workers: Associations with job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment.

This study investigates how job insecurity and employability relate to job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment in permanent workers, fixed-term contract workers, and temporary agency workers. The authors hypothesized that (a) job insecurity relates negatively to job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment, and this relationship is strongest in permanent workers and weakest in temporary agency workers; and that (b) employability relates positively to job satisfaction and negatively to affective organizational commitment, and this relationship is strongest in temporary agency workers and weakest in permanent workers. Hypotheses were tested in workers (permanent: n = 329; fixed term; n = 160; temporary agency: n = 89) from 23 Belgian organizations. The results show that job insecurity related negatively to the outcomes for permanent workers and temporary agency workers. This relationship was not significant for fixed-term contract workers. Employability related negatively to the outcomes for fixed-term contract workers and temporary agency workers, and this relationship was not significant for permanent workers. The 3 groups had different interpretations of what constitutes a stressor and about what signals a good employment relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affective and cognitive factors in soldiers' reenlistment decisions.

Tested 3 alternative models of causal relationships between satisfaction—expectancy about the consequences of quitting, expectancy about the consequences of staying, and intention to quit or stay—in the context of approximately 755 soldiers' reenlistment decisions. All 3 models presume that perceptions of the job and organization directly influence both satisfaction and expectancy about consequences of staying and that intention is the most immediate antecedent of actual reenlistment. Affective and cognitive variables in these models were measured by self-report questionnaires. Results of hierarchical multiple regression and path analysis disconfirm 2 of the models but not the 3rd model. The model found to be consistent with the pattern of observed correlations presumes that satisfaction has causal effects on the expectancy variables and that it influences intention only through its effects on expectancies. Thus, beliefs about future affective states may be biased by present affective states. Implications for management strategies are discussed. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological well-being and job satisfaction as predictors of job performance.

The happy–productive worker hypothesis has most often been examined in organizational research by correlating job satisfaction to performance. Recent research has expanded this to include measures of psychological well-being. However, to date, no field research has provided a comparative test of the relative contribution of job satisfaction and psychological well-being as predictors of employee performance. The authors report 2 field studies that, taken together, provide an opportunity to simultaneously examine the relative contribution of psychological well-being and job satisfaction to job performance. In Study 1, psychological well-being, but not job satisfaction, was predictive of job performance for 47 human services workers. These findings were replicated in Study 2 for 37 juvenile probation officers. These findings are discussed in terms of research on the happy–productive worker hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A work values approach to corporate culture: A field test of the value congruence process and its relationship to individual outcomes.

The purported advantage of a strong corporate culture presumes that positive outcomes result when peoples' values are congruent with those of others. This was tested by using a design that controlled for artifacts in prior studies. Participants, 191 production workers, their supervisors (N?=?17), and 13 managers at a large industrial products plant, completed questionnaires containing measures of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and work values. Responses were later matched with the attendance and performance records of the production workers in the sample. Results showed that workers were more satisfied and committed when their values were congruent with the values of their supervisor. Value congruence between workers and their supervisors was not significantly correlated with workers' tenure; however, its effect on organizational commitment was more pronounced for longer tenured employees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Flies and congruence

Competing phylogenetic hypotheses have become the rule in modern systematics. While the problem of incongruence between character sets has become extremely acute due to the generation of molecular data, it is by no means specific to molecular and morphological comparisons. The role of the modern systematist is to interpret incongruence between character sets and to come to some conclusion regarding a phylogenetic hypothesis of the organisms in question. Two aspects of congruence analysis are examined using the Drosophilidae as an example. The first includes the quantification of congruence and the types of phylogenetic inference that can be made from such analyses. The second aspect concerns an examination of character evolution in order to identify characters and taxa that might be contributing to incongruence in phylogenetic analysis.     

SVIB as a predictor of job satisfaction.

A study was made of 185 graduates of professional curricula to test the hypothesis that job satisfaction in a certain occupation is related to congruent or appropriate interests in that occupation. Occupations represented were medicine, law, dentistry, mechanical engineering, accounting, and journalism. Ss were contacted by mail and asked to fill out 3 job satisfaction blanks and the SVIB. 12th grade SVIB scores were also available for each S. Only 1 of 56 relationships between interests and job satisfaction scores was significantly different from 0. The lack of relationships was true for both earlier and current testing of interests and for all 3 job satisfaction blanks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reconsidering the support for Holland's congruence–achievement hypothesis.

Provides evidence that is used to reconsider studies that have been reported to support J. L. Holland's (1985) hypothesis that person–environment congruence relates positively to achievement. It is argued that W. E. Werner's (see record 1974-28747-001) article, which Holland (1985) cited as supporting his congruence–achievement hypothesis, says nothing about that hypothesis and that Holland's (1985) book and Holland's (see record 1968-06191-001) data support the notion that achievement orientation (not congruence) may be responsible for the positive associations that researchers have found between academic achievement and congruence. Other evidence for reconsideration of Holland's hypothesis includes the present finding of a negative relationship between the annual incomes and the conventional scores on the Occupations scale of the Self-Directed Search: A Guide to Educational and Vocational Planning of 555 female and 498 male accountants (mean age 36 yrs). It is concluded that the congruence–achievement hypothesis may not have been supported by the studies that have been reported to support it. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vocational psychology, vocational adjustment, and the workforce: Some familiar and unanticipated consequences.

Vocational psychology, the psychological study of calling or "life work" (which for many is their work life), grew out of the vocational guidance movement. From the beginning, vocational guidance was founded on the Parsons formula of person analysis, job (or occupation) analysis, and the matching of the two. Vocational psychology, as a special case of the psychology of individual differences, has provided vocational guidance with an empirically validated technology (and accompanying theory) with which to assess the vocationally significant attributes of persons (abilities and interests, in particular), to describe occupations in person-attribute terms, and thereby to enable the matching of person and occupation on an actuarial basis. This technology has been amply validated for the prediction of both worker satisfaction and worker satisfactoriness. With the dramatic consequences for individuals and society of even modest increases in worker satisfaction and satisfactoriness, it is regrettable that vocational psychology is still unknown or unavailable to most of those who could benefit from it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Another look at the job satisfaction-life satisfaction relationship.

The relationship between job satisfaction and life satisfaction has been heavily researched over the years. In spite of this research interest, results have not proved conclusive in demonstrating the causal nature of the relationship. In the present study, a causal model was hypothesized and tested that involved simultaneous consideration of cross-sectional and longitudinal effects between job and life satisfaction. This type of analysis has not previously been conducted and allows the strongest conclusions to date regarding the causality between these constructs. Results based on a national probability sample of workers indicate that job and life satisfaction were significantly and reciprocally related. The cross-sectional results suggest a relatively strong relationship between job and life satisfaction, but the longitudinal results a weaker relationship over a 5-yr period, particularly with respect to the effect of job satisfaction on life satisfaction. The meaning of these results in the context of past research on the job satisfaction–life satisfaction relationship is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Proactive personality in the context of job complexity.

This study examined the moderating influence of proactive personality (i.e., a disposition to initiate change in the environment) on the relationship between job complexity and demands–abilities fit (i.e., the extent to which a person's ability level matches the job demands), job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. It was found that for workers with a high proactive personality, moderate-to-high job complexity was positively associated with demands–abilities fit and job satisfaction; negatively with turnover intentions. Conversely, for workers with a low proactive personality, moderate-to-high job complexity was negatively associated with demands–abilities fit and job satisfaction; positively with turnover intentions. Many of the relationships were also curvilinear. This research supports the expansion of work design and job enrichment theories to include individual differences and a consideration of nonlinear relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empowerment and continuous improvement in the United States, Mexico, Poland, and India: Predicting fit on the basis of the dimensions of power distance and individualism.

Although variations in national cultures predominate as explanations for the belief that universal approaches to management do not exist, there have been few reports of systematic studies. Data from employees of a single firm with operations in the United States, Mexico, Poland, and India were used to test the fit of empowerment and continuous improvement practices with national culture. Using the theoretical constructs of individualism–collectivism and power distance, the authors predicted that the practices would be more congruent in some cultures than in others and that value congruence would result in job satisfaction. Using structural equations modeling, the authors found that empowerment was negatively associated with satisfaction in India but positively associated in the other 3 samples. Continuous improvement was positively associated with satisfaction in all samples. Substantive, theoretical, and methodological implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)