Combining dispositions and evaluations of vocation and job to account for counterproductive work behavior in adolescent job apprentices.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 12(3) of Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (see record 2007-10372-007). The following errors were committed: (1) In Table 1, item 7 in the variable column is mislabeled. (2) On page 171, in the paragraph before the Discussion section, the sentence beginning on line 14 reads incorrectly. (3) The caption for Figure 1 reads incorrectly. (4) On page 166, left column, 4th line from the bottom, the sentence reads incorrectly. The corrected information is presented in the erratum.] In the present research, we investigated the joint impact of selected antecedents of counterproductive work behavior (CWB). A sample of German apprentices reported on their CWB and completed measures of situational evaluations (vocational preference, level and constructiveness of job satisfaction) believed to trigger CWB and of dispositional motivators (measured by integrity test subscales) and controls (self-control and another subset of integrity scales) of CWB. All predictors investigated showed the expected bivariate relationships with CWB. Multivariate analyses revealed that the triggering effect of an unfavorable vocational choice on CWB was fully mediated by job satisfaction. When predictors were aggregated, a composite of dispositional control variables had the largest effect on CWB and moderated the effects of motivational dispositions and situational evaluations. These results extend the knowledge on antecedents of CWB by investigating previously overlooked variables and samples and partially replicate recent findings on the joint impact of dispositions and work-related evaluations on CWB. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How important are dispositional factors as determinants of job satisfaction? Implications for job design and other personnel programs.

According to recent research, stable dispositional factors may result in considerable consistency in attitudes such as job satisfaction across time and situations. If true, this finding may have important implications. For example, Staw and Ross (1985) argued that "many situational changes such as job redesign… may not affect individuals as intended." Such personnel programs "may be prone to failure because they must contend with attitudinal consistency" (p. 478). The present article has two purposes. First, methodological and conceptual problems with the Staw and Ross assessment of the impact of situational and dispositional factors on job satisfaction are discussed. Second, given Staw and Ross's focus on job redesign, this article examines the impact on job satisfaction of changes in two very different measures of job complexity. Findings indicate that changes in situational factors such as job complexity are important predictors of job satisfaction, consistent with Hackman and Oldham's (1975, 1976) job design model. In contrast, measurement problems preclude accurate assessment of the predictive power of dispositional factors. Contrary to the concern raised by Staw and Ross (1985) and Staw, Bell, and Clausen (1986), it does not appear likely that the success of personnel programs will be significantly constrained by the influence of attitudinal consistency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of core self-evaluations traits—self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability—with job satisfaction and job performance: A meta-analysis.

This article presents meta-analytic results of the relationship of 4 traits—self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability (low neuroticism)—with job satisfaction and job performance. With respect to job satisfaction, the estimated true score correlations were .26 for self-esteem, .45 for generalized self-efficacy, .32 for internal locus of control, and .24 for emotional stability. With respect to job performance, the correlations were .26 for self-esteem, .23 for generalized self-efficacy, .22 for internal locus of control, and .19 for emotional stability. In total, the results based on 274 correlations suggest that these traits are among the best dispositional predictors of job satisfaction and job performance. T. A. Judge, E. A. Locke, and C. C. Durham's (1997) theory of core self evaluations is used as a framework for discussing similarities between the 4 traits and their relationships to satisfaction and performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stability in the midst of change: A dispositional approach to job attitudes.

Analyzed data on the job satisfaction of over 5,000 45–59 yr old males to investigate the dispositional argument that job attitudes are consistent within individuals, showing stability both over time and across situations. Data were collected longitudinally over multiple waves, with the majority of the sample assessed on job satisfaction during 1966, 1969, and 1971. Results show significant stability of attitudes over a 5-yr time period and significant cross-situational consistency when individuals changed employers and/or occupations. Prior attitudes were also a stronger predictor of subsequent job satisfaction than either changes in pay or the social status of the job. Implications of these results for developing dispositional theories of work behavior are discussed, along with possible implications for popular situational theories (e.g., job design, social information processing). (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antecedents of complex social cognitions.

Examined the hypothesis that individuals process their experiences at higher levels of cognitive complexity when the situational affordances are congruent with their motivational dispositions. Power- and intimacy-motivated Ss viewed a videotape of 2 job candidates involved in a peer interview under conditions that made either power or intimacy a relevant concern. As predicted, the complexity with which Ss evaluated the target persons was greater when perceivers' motives were congruent with the situation. Findings are discussed in terms of a congruency model of the antecedents of cognitive complexity that includes both dispositional and situational influences and represents their impact on multiple components of cognitive complexity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dispositional effects on job and life satisfaction: The role of core evaluations.

Past research has suggested that dispositional sources of job satisfaction can be traced to measures of affective temperament. The present research focused on another concept, core self-evaluations, which were hypothesized to comprise self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and nonneuroticism. A model hypothesized that core self-evaluations would have direct effects on job and life satisfaction. It also was hypothesized that core self-evaluations would have indirect effects on job satisfaction. Data were collected from 3 independent samples in 2 countries, using dual source methodology. Results indicated that core self-evaluations had direct and indirect effects on job and life satisfaction. The statistical and logical relationship among core evaluations, affective disposition, and satisfaction was explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the heritability of job satisfaction: The mediating role of personality.

In this article the authors investigate the extent to which traits reflecting individual differences in personality and affectivity explain or mediate genetic influences on job satisfaction. Using estimates of the dispositional source of job satisfaction according to 2 dispositional frameworks--the five-factor model and positive affectivity-negative affectivity (PA-NA)--and behavioral-genetic estimates of the heritabilities of job satisfaction and the dispositional factors, the authors computed the proportion of genetic variance in job satisfaction that is explained by these trait frameworks. Results indicate that the affectivity model is a stronger mediator of genetic effects on job satisfaction than the five-factor model. PA and NA mediate about 45% of the genetic influences on job satisfaction, whereas the five-factor model mediates approximately 24% of these genetic effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trust, trustworthiness, and trust propensity: A meta-analytic test of their unique relationships with risk taking and job performance.

The trust literature distinguishes trustworthiness (the ability, benevolence, and integrity of a trustee) and trust propensity (a dispositional willingness to rely on others) from trust (the intention to accept vulnerability to a trustee based on positive expectations of his or her actions). Although this distinction has clarified some confusion in the literature, it remains unclear (a) which trust antecedents have the strongest relationships with trust and (b) whether trust fully mediates the effects of trustworthiness and trust propensity on behavioral outcomes. Our meta-analysis of 132 independent samples summarized the relationships between the trust variables and both risk taking and job performance (task performance, citizenship behavior, counterproductive behavior). Meta-analytic structural equation modeling supported a partial mediation model wherein trustworthiness and trust propensity explained incremental variance in the behavioral outcomes when trust was controlled. Further analyses revealed that the trustworthiness dimensions also predicted affective commitment, which had unique relationships with the outcomes when controlling for trust. These results generalized across different types of trust measures (i.e., positive expectations measures, willingness-to-be-vulnerable measures, and direct measures) and different trust referents (i.e., leaders, coworkers). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measurement artifacts in the assessment of counterproductive work behavior and organizational citizenship behavior: Do we know what we think we know?

An experiment investigated whether measurement features affected observed relationships between counterproductive work behavior (CWB) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and their relationships with other variables. As expected, correlations between CWB and OCB were significantly higher with ratings of agreement rather than frequency of behavior, when OCB scale content overlapped with CWB than when it did not, and with supervisor rather than self-ratings. Relationships with job satisfaction and job stressors were inconsistent across conditions. We concluded that CWB and OCB are likely unrelated and not necessarily oppositely related to other variables. Researchers should avoid overlapping content in CWB and OCB scales and should use frequency formats to assess how often individuals engage in each form of behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive ability predicts objectively measured counterproductive work behaviors.

Over the past 2 decades, increasing attention has been directed at the relationship between individual differences and counterproductive work behaviors (CWB). However, most of this research has focused on personality variables as potential predictors of CWB; surprisingly little research has investigated the link between counterproductivity and cognitive ability. This study presents the first focal investigation of the cognitive ability-CWB relationship. The authors measured organizational and interpersonal CWB using organizational records of formally recorded incidents (e.g., destruction of property, physical violence). In a predictive study, for a large sample of law enforcement job applicants, a standardized psychometric test of cognitive ability predicted CWB, whereas educational attainment did not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Testing the robustness of the job demands-resources model": Erratum.

Reports an error in "Testing the Robustness of the Job Demands-Resources Model" by Susana Llorens, Arnold B. Bakker, Wilmar Schaufeli and Marisa Salanova (International Journal of Stress Management, 2006[Aug], Vol 13[3], 378-391). Several corrections of errata in a paper by the authors published in the 2006 issue of the International Journal of Stress Management are presented: (1) The sentence beginning on page 385, line 16 should read "To avoid identification problems, the error variance of Organizational commitment and Emotional load were constrained using the formula (1 - α) × sigma2." (2) The sentence on page 385, line 18, should be deleted. (3) Degrees of freedom for M3 in Table 2 were incorrectly reported. The correct degrees of freedom were 54. The corrected table is provided. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2006-10511-007.) According to the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, job demands and resources evoke two relatively independent processes: health impairment and employee motivation. The robustness of the JD-R model was tested in two different occupational samples, the first of 654 Spanish employees and the second of 477 Dutch employees. Structural equation modeling analyses provided partial evidence for the two processes. Multigroup analyses showed that the structural paths of the model were invariant across countries, although the strength of the relationships differed. We conclude that the basic structure of the JD-R model is maintained, even when applied in different national and occupational contexts, when using different ways of gathering data (computerized versus paper and pencil), and when using slightly different measures to assess the key variables of the model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dispositions and work reactions: A multilevel approach.

Multiple levels of analysis were used to examine the link between stable dispositions and more state-oriented work reactions such as job satisfaction. Participants in the study were employees from a large state education system and an urban hospital. The proportion of between-group variance in positive work affect, negative work affect, and job satisfaction increased after dispositional measures of neuroticism and extraversion were included, although the confidence intervals overlapped. Aggregate perceptions of excessive job demands explained more between-group variance in work reactions after dispositions were included. Previous research conducted at a single level of analysis suggests that the inclusion of stable dispositions can attenuate the link between work characteristics and work reactions. The present study suggests the opposite pattern when group-level variance is considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of goal orientation on job search and reemployment: A field experiment among unemployed job seekers.

Because unemployment has detrimental effects on the well-being of unemployed people, it is important that unemployed individuals move back to work. The present study aimed at improving the understanding of the job search and reemployment process by applying goal orientation theory to job seeking. Using a 3-group field experimental design among 109 unemployed job seekers, the authors examined the effects of situational learning and performance goal orientation on participants’ job search intentions, job search behavior, and reemployment status. A situational focus on learning goals was found to be beneficial for the job search process, leading to more search intentions, more search behavior, and higher reemployment probabilities. These effects seemed to be independent of people’s dispositional goal orientation. Findings indicate that goal orientation is a promising construct for both science and practice in the field of job seeking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When a happy worker is a productive worker: A preliminary examination of three models.

This 2-yr longitudinal field study examined the contributions of psychological well-being, job satisfaction, and dispositional affect--positive and negative affect--to job performance. 49 public sector management professionals from a governmental county agency participated in this study. Measures of job satisfaction, dispositional affect, and psychological well-being were available at Time 1. Measures of composite job performance were available at Time 1 and Time 2 (2 yrs later). Results show that while psychological well-being predicted job performance, the data fail to establish relations between job satisfaction and dispositional affect as predictors of job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testing the robustness of the job demands-resources model.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 14(2) of International Journal of Stress Management (see record 2007-07240-008). Several corrections of errata in a paper by the authors published in the 2006 issue of the International Journal of Stress Management are presented: (1) The sentence beginning on page 385, line 16 should read "To avoid identification problems, the error variance of Organizational commitment and Emotional load were constrained using the formula (1 - α) × sigma2." (2) The sentence on page 385, line 18, should be deleted. (3) Degrees of freedom for M3 in Table 2 were incorrectly reported. The correct degrees of freedom were 54. The corrected table is provided.] According to the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, job demands and resources evoke two relatively independent processes: health impairment and employee motivation. The robustness of the JD-R model was tested in two different occupational samples, the first of 654 Spanish employees and the second of 477 Dutch employees. Structural equation modeling analyses provided partial evidence for the two processes. Multigroup analyses showed that the structural paths of the model were invariant across countries, although the strength of the relationships differed. We conclude that the basic structure of the JD-R model is maintained, even when applied in different national and occupational contexts, when using different ways of gathering data (computerized versus paper and pencil), and when using slightly different measures to assess the key variables of the model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A meta-analysis of the relation of job characteristics to job satisfaction.

Determined, using meta-analysis procedures, the relation between job characteristics and job satisfaction in 28 studies. The role of growth need strength (GNS) as a possible moderator of this relation was also investigated. Results indicate a moderate relation between job characteristics and job satisfaction. This relation was stronger for employees high in GNS. It is suggested that situational characteristics were more important in determining satisfaction for employees low in GNS. A model based on these findings is proposed. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moderating influence of self-esteem on relationships between job complexity, performance, and satisfaction.

Administered the Job Diagnostic Survey, the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, and measures of job complexity, job performance, and sense of competence to 166 15–22 yr old 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd-, and 4th-yr electrical apprentices. The measures were readministered 20 mo later to 92 of the original 1st- and 2nd-yr Ss to investigate the moderating influence of employee self-esteem on relationships between organizational variables. Analysis showed that global self-esteem and sense of competence did not moderate relationships between (1) job satisfaction and job performance and (2) job complexity and job performance or job satisfaction. It is suggested that the moderating effect of self-esteem on relationships involving job satisfaction, performance, and complexity may have little practical consequence. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of dysfunctional thought processes on subjective well-being and job satisfaction.

Although the dispositional approach to job satisfaction has received a good deal of recent attention, a fundamental deficiency in past dispositional research is a failure to use existing theories to explain why individuals are unhappy and dissatisfied with their jobs. E. A. Locke (1976), T. A. Judge (1992), and Judge and C. L. Hulin (in press) suggested that thinking processes should be studied in relation to job satisfaction. This study tested the thesis that the cognitive theory of depression, which focuses on individuals' thought processes, will help in understanding both subjective well-being and job satisfaction. A confirmatory model involving subjective well-being, job satisfaction, dysfunctional thought processes, and other relevant influences was hypothesized and tested by using a stratified random sample of university employees. Ratings were obtained from 2 sources to reduce single-source bias. Results indicate strong support for the overall model and for the adverse effect of dysfunctional thought processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Five-factor model of personality and job satisfaction: A meta-analysis.

This study reports results of a meta-analysis linking traits from the 5-factor model of personality to overall job satisfaction. Using the model as an organizing framework, 334 correlations from 163 independent samples were classified according to the model. The estimated true score correlations with job satisfaction were -.29 for Neuroticism, .25 for Extraversion, .02 for Openness to Experience, .17 for Agreeableness, and .26 for Conscientiousness. Results further indicated that only the relations of Neuroticism and Extraversion with job satisfaction generalized across studies. As a set, the Big Five traits had a multiple correlation of .41 with job satisfaction, indicating support for the validity of the dispositional source of job satisfaction when traits are organized according to the 5-factor model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)