Personality and leader effectiveness: A moderated mediation model of leadership self-efficacy, job demands, and job autonomy.

The trait theory of leadership is advanced by a joint investigation of the mediating role of (a) leadership self-efficacy (LSE = leader's perceived capabilities to perform leader roles) in linking neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness with leader effectiveness and (b) the moderating role of job demands and job autonomy in influencing the mediation. Using K. J. Preacher, D. D. Rucker, and A. F. Hayes' (2007) moderated mediation framework, the authors tested the model (over a 2-year period) with matched data from 394 military leaders and their supervisors. Results showed that LSE mediated the relationships for neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness with leader effectiveness. Moderated mediation analyses further revealed that LSE mediated the relationships for (a) all 3 personality variables for only those leaders with low job demands; (b) neuroticism and conscientiousness for only those leaders with high job autonomy; and (c) extraversion, regardless of a leader's level of job autonomy. Results underscore the importance of accounting for leaders' situational contexts when examining the relationships between personality, LSE, and effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Designing a safer workplace: Importance of job autonomy, communication quality, and supportive supervisors.

The direct and indirect effects of work characteristics on self-reported safe working were investigated in a longitudinal study of frontline manufacturing employees (N?=?161). The work characteristics included job autonomy, role overload, role conflict, supportive supervision, training adequacy, job security, and communication quality. Job autonomy and communication quality were positively associated with safe working after prior levels of these variables were controlled for, and supportive supervision had a lagged positive effect on safe working 18 months later. Additional analyses showed that organizational commitment fully mediated the effect of job autonomy on safe working and partially mediated the effect of communication quality on safe working. The study suggests that work characteristics are important antecedents of safe working. (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)     

Safety at work: A meta-analytic investigation of the link between job demands, job resources, burnout, engagement, and safety outcomes.

In this article, we develop and meta-analytically test the relationship between job demands and resources and burnout, engagement, and safety outcomes in the workplace. In a meta-analysis of 203 independent samples (N = 186,440), we found support for a health impairment process and for a motivational process as mechanisms through which job demands and resources relate to safety outcomes. In particular, we found that job demands such as risks and hazards and complexity impair employees' health and positively relate to burnout. Likewise, we found support for job resources such as knowledge, autonomy, and a supportive environment motivating employees and positively relating to engagement. Job demands were found to hinder an employee with a negative relationship to engagement, whereas job resources were found to negatively relate to burnout. Finally, we found that burnout was negatively related to working safely but that engagement motivated employees and was positively related to working safely. Across industries, risks and hazards was the most consistent job demand and a supportive environment was the most consistent job resource in terms of explaining variance in burnout, engagement, and safety outcomes. The type of job demand that explained the most variance differed by industry, whereas a supportive environment remained consistent in explaining the most variance in all industries. (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)     

Examining the job search–turnover relationship: The role of embeddedness, job satisfaction, and available alternatives.

This study examined factors that may help explain under what conditions employee job search effort may most strongly (or weakly) predict subsequent turnover. As predicted, the job search–turnover relationship was stronger when employees had lower levels of job embeddedness and job satisfaction and higher levels of available alternatives. These findings suggest that there may be a number of factors interacting to influence employees' turnover decisions, indicating greater complexity to the process than described in prominent sequential turnover models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Impact of Job Characteristics on Work-to-Family Facilitation: Testing a Theory and Distinguishing a Construct.

This study used objective measures of job characteristics appended to the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS), self-reported job characteristics, and an individual resource characteristic (orientation toward personal growth) to test a theory of work-family facilitation. Results indicated that resource-rich jobs enable work-to-family facilitation. A higher level of work-to-family facilitation was reported by individuals in jobs with more autonomy and variety and whose jobs required greater substantive complexity and social skill. There was no support for the hypotheses that these effects would be more pronounced for individuals with higher levels of personal growth. The authors found significant differences in the strength of the associations of job characteristics with work-to-family facilitation and work-tofamily conflict, suggesting they are different constructs with distinct antecedents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High-quality work, job satisfaction, and occupational injuries.

The authors investigated whether and how 1 element of a high-performance work system, namely high-quality jobs (composed of extensive training, variety, and autonomy), affects occupational injuries. On the basis of data from the Australian WIRS95 database (N = 16,466; Department of Workplace Relations and Small Business, 1997), high-quality jobs exerted a direct effect on injuries and an indirect effect through the mediating influence of job satisfaction. Conceptual, methodological, and practical issues are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between job difficulty, employee's attitude toward his job, and supervisory ratings of the employee effectiveness.

Using correlational techniques, an investigation was made of the relationships between job difficulty (estimated by job evaluation factors), employee attitudes toward his job, and job environment, and supervisory ratings of employee performance. As job difficulty increased, employee attitudes were significantly more positive toward the job, management, and communication, and opportunity for advancement. Partial correlations showed that the relationship between job satisfaction and job difficulty increased when the effects of general morale were eliminated. Supervisory ratings of employee effectiveness were significantly rated (negatively) to employee salary and job tenure. Correlations between employee's attitude dimensions indicate increasing complexity of job content and increased content with people as a part of the job, are positively related to an employee's attitude toward his job. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autonomy and job satisfaction in task-oriented groups.

Ss were placed in apparent 3-person communication structures in which written notes were used to create illusions of centrality (or peripherality) and of autonomy (or dependence). A simple task was given requiring coordination of the Ss' activities. Results indicate that "positional autonomy is a major determinant of job satisfaction in task-oriented groups." The relationship between autonomy and job satisfaction seems to be mediated by satisfaction of a need for autonomy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The double meaning of control: Three-way interactions between internal resources, job control, and stressors at work.

The Job Demand-Control model postulates that job control attenuates the effects of job demands on health and well-being. Support for this interactive effect is rather weak. Conceivably, it holds only when there is a match between job control and individual characteristics that relate to exercising control options, such as locus of control, or self-efficacy. This three-way interaction was tested in a sample of 96 service employees, with affective strain and musculoskeletal pain as dependent variables. As hypothesized, job control attenuated the effects of stressors only for people with an internal locus of control. For people with an external locus of control, job control actually predicted poorer well-being and health as stressors increased. For self-efficacy, the corresponding three-way interaction was significant with regard to affective strain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job resources boost work engagement, particularly when job demands are high.

This study of 805 Finnish teachers working in elementary, secondary, and vocational schools tested 2 interaction hypotheses. On the basis of the job demands-resources model, the authors predicted that job resources act as buffers and diminish the negative relationship between pupil misbehavior and work engagement. In addition, using conservation of resources theory, the authors hypothesized that job resources particularly influence work engagement when teachers are confronted with high levels of pupil misconduct. In line with these hypotheses, moderated structural equation modeling analyses resulted in 14 out of 18 possible 2-way interaction effects. In particular, supervisor support, innovativeness, appreciation, and organizational climate were important job resources that helped teachers cope with demanding interactions with students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of disability, gender, and job level on ratings of job applicants.

Objective: To examine the effects of applicant disability, gender, and job level on ratings of job applicants. Design and Participants: Full-time workers (n?=?88) and undergraduates (n?=?98) provided ratings of hypothetical job applicants who differed on the 3 factors of interest. Measures: Job applicants were evaluated on the basis of competence, overall recommendation, potency, activity, and starting salary. Results: Applicants with disabilities were generally rated significantly higher in activity and potency than the applicant without a disability. Additional analyses revealed a significant Gender X Job Level interaction for applicants with a disability. Conclusions: Consistent with D. T. Wegener and R. E. Petty's (1997) flexible correction model, the results of this study suggest that evaluations of job applicants with disabilities may depend on the amount of cognitive resources raters have available at the time the evaluations are made. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The interactive effects of work-induced guilt and ability to manage resources on job and life satisfaction.

American workers are spending more time at work and less time at home than ever before-a consequence of which is an inability to devote adequate attention to nonwork activities. Utilizing a literal replication format (Lykken, 1968), the authors conducted two studies to examine the effects of work-induced guilt and the ability to manage work resources on job and life satisfaction. The authors found that work-induced guilt had its most negative association on job and life satisfaction when individuals were unable to manage work resources. Interestingly, the authors also found that work-induced guilt led to increases in job and life satisfaction when coupled with the ability to manage resources. Implications for theory and practice, strengths and limitations, and future research directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of psychological hardiness, job demands, and job control on sickness absence: A prospective study.

This study prospectively investigated the effects of psychological hardiness, job control, and job demands on medically certified sickness absence. Data from a questionnaire survey were combined with archival data for sickness absence among 7,239 civilian and military employees of the Norwegian Armed Forces (84.3% male, 69.8% military). A 2-component hurdle regression was used in the statistical analyses of the sickness absence data. After controlling for age, sex, and baseline absence, hardiness predicted both the likelihood of having any sickness absence (odds ratio = 0.97) and the number of absence spells (a 6.5% decrease in the expected count for 1 standard deviation change in hardiness). In addition, an interaction was found among hardiness, job control, and psychological demands. When demands were high, high job control was associated with more absence among employees with low levels of hardiness. Together, these findings point to hardiness as an important individual resource in relation to health, and that it is necessary to consider individual differences when examining the effects of work characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of job incentives among college students.

Job goals at graduation were described, and 8 selected job incentive statements were ranked by college Ss. Factor analysis of intercorrelations among the ranked incentives yielded 3 factors tentatively identified as: need achievement vs. fear of failure, interest in the job vs. the job as an opportunity for acquiring status, and job autonomy of supervision vs. supervisor dependency. "A content analysis of incentive statements contributed by 29% of the ranking Ss (N = 267) gave three major categories: opportunity to help others, job satisfaction, and job interest and variety." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships among organizational family support, job autonomy, perceived control, and employee well-being.

The authors analyzed data from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce (N = 3,504) to investigate relationships among availability of formal organizational family support (family benefits and alternative schedules), job autonomy, informal organizational support (work-family culture, supervisor support, and coworker support), perceived control, and employee attitudes and well-being. Using hierarchical regression, the authors found that the availability of family benefits was associated with stress, life satisfaction, and turnover intentions, and the availability of alternative schedules was not related to any of the outcomes. Job autonomy and informal organizational support were associated with almost all the outcomes, including positive spillover. Perceived control mediated most of the relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Importance of Job Autonomy, Cognitive Ability, and Job-Related Skill for Predicting Role Breadth and Job Performance.

Role theory suggests and empirical research has found that there is considerable variation in how broadly individuals define their jobs. We investigated the theoretically meaningful yet infrequently studied relationships between incumbent job autonomy, cognitive ability, job-related skill, role breadth, and job performance. Using multiple data sources and multiple measurement occasions in a field setting, we found that job autonomy, cognitive ability, and job-related skill were positively related to role breadth, accounting for 23% of the variance in role breadth. In addition, role breadth was positively related to job performance and was found to mediate the relationship between job autonomy, cognitive ability, job-related skill, and job performance. These results add to our understanding of the factors that predict role breadth, as well as having implications for how job aspects and individual characteristics are translated into performance outcomes and the treatment of variability in incumbent reports of job tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The interaction of job autonomy and conflict with supervisor in China and the United States: A qualitative and quantitative comparison.

We examined employees' conflict with their supervisors in cross-cultural work settings. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 332 and 302 university employees in the United States and China, respectively. First, the qualitative data revealed that 54% versus 42% of supervisor conflicts were attributable to low job control in the United States and China, respectively. The quantitative data indicated that job autonomy was negatively related to supervisor conflict in the United States but not in China. Second, both quantitative and qualitative data showed that Chinese employees had more supervisor conflict than their U.S. counterparts. Third, both type of data suggested that supervisor conflict was more strongly related to job strains in China than in the United States. Finally, job autonomy played different roles in these two countries. It buffered supervisor conflict—job strain relations in the United States but exaggerated such relations in China. Therefore, our study provided a possible explanation to the inconsistent findings regarding the buffering effect of job autonomy on job stressors. Employees' cultural background may complicate the process. The qualitative data largely supported the quantitative findings and provided detailed information on employees' job stress experience in the cross-cultural context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of job experience and ability on job knowledge, work sample performance, and supervisory ratings of job performance.

Based on data from 4 independent studies reported by R. Vineberg and E. N. Taylor (1972) with a total sample size of 1,474, path analysis was used to examine the causal impact of job experience on job knowledge, performance capability as measured by job sample tests, and supervisory ratings of job performance. Findings support the conclusion that (1) when mean job experience is 2–3 yrs, there is substantial variance in job experience and (2) when the jobs are of an intermediate complexity level, job experience has a substantial direct impact on job knowledge and a smaller direct impact on performance capabilities as assessed by job sample measures. Job experience also has a substantial indirect effect on work sample performance through its effect on job knowledge, which, in turn, was found to be the strongest determinant of work sample performance. The pattern and magnitude of causal effects of general mental ability were similar to those of job experience. The effect of job knowledge on supervisory ratings was several times stronger than the effect of job sample performance, confirming the findings of J. E. Hunter (1983). When job experience was held constant, the direct impact of ability on the acquisition of job knowledge increased substantially, and this, in turn, increased the indirect effect of ability on job sample performance. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)