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Doing Good Buffers Against Feeling Bad: Prosocial Impact Compensates for Negative Task and Self-Evaluations
Abstract
Although evidence suggests that negative task and self-evaluations are associated with emotional exhaustion, little research has examined factors that buffer against these effects. We propose that perceived prosocial impact, the experience of helping others, compensates for negative task and self-evaluations by focusing attention on positive outcomes for others. In Study 1, perceived prosocial impact attenuated the associations of low intrinsic motivation and core self-evaluations with emotional exhaustion among professional fundraisers. Study 2 replicated these results among public sanitation employees and extended them to supervisor performance ratings. Mediated moderation analyses indicated that by protecting against emotional exhaustion, perceived prosocial impact compensated for low intrinsic motivation and core self-evaluations to predict higher performance ratings. Our studies extend theory and research on burnout, helping, and citizenship.
... Additionally, focusing on how their actions benefit others can enhance employees' empathic abilities. 36,39 Furthermore, the experience of helping others fosters other-focused attention, shielding employees from energy expenditure caused by personal problems, distress, and frustrations. 39 Therefore, otherfocused happiness has the potential to increase employees' work-related vigor. ...
... 36,39 Furthermore, the experience of helping others fosters other-focused attention, shielding employees from energy expenditure caused by personal problems, distress, and frustrations. 39 Therefore, otherfocused happiness has the potential to increase employees' work-related vigor. ...
... These other-focused behaviors can aid employees in gaining physical, cognitive, and emotional energy. 37,39,42 Consequently, self-focused happiness can also enhance employees' work-related vigor. ...
Purpose
This paper aims to redefine happiness goals and explore the conditions and mechanisms through which these redefined happiness goals influence work-related outcomes.
Methods
The study developed and validated scales for self-focused happiness and other-focused happiness through exploratory factor analyses of 244 employees and confirmatory factor analyses of 300 employees. The proposed theoretical model was subsequently tested using a time-lagged analysis with data from 556 supervisor-employee dyads.
Results
The findings provide strong evidence for the categorization of happiness goals into self-focused happiness and other-focused happiness. Furthermore, both self-focused and other-focused happiness significantly contribute to work-related vigor, subsequently influencing employee creativity. Additionally, the impact of these happiness goals on vigor and creativity is contingent upon the availability of job resources.
Conclusion
This study highlights the substantial role of self-focused and other-focused happiness in enhancing employee vigor and creativity. However, the extent of these effects depends on the level of available job resources. These outcomes carry notable implications for the fields of positive psychology, positive organizational behavior, and creativity.
... However, when they are undertaking the activity due to controlled motivations, they might be doing it out of external pressure and be doing it half-heartedly . This also has a significant impact on quality of outcome with autonomous motivation being associated with organizational citizenship behaviours, affective and normative commitment, satisfaction, and performance (e.g., Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2008;Gagné et al., 2008Gagné et al., , 2010 while controlled motivations being associated with negative outcomes such as turnover intentions, psychological distress, and emotional exhaustion (e.g., Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2008, 2010Gagné et al., 2010;Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). ...
... In SDT contexts such as work, education, sports etc., it has been consistently found that autonomous motivation leads to positive outcomes like increased usage, job satisfaction and continued usage intentions while it negatively impacts turnover intentions (e.g., Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2008;Gagné et al., 2008Gagné et al., , 2010. Controlled motivation on the other hand has been found to increase turnover intentions and reduce job satisfaction & continued usage intentions (e.g., Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2008, 2010Gagné et al., 2010;Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). Specifically in context of mobile payment applications as well, autonomous motivation and controlled motivation have been found to have an positive and negative impact respectively on user adoption. ...
... These results are in line with past findings in SDT literature where it was found that when individuals are driven by autonomous motivations it leads to positive outcomes like job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behaviours, affective and normative commitment, and performance (e.g., Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2008;Gagné et al., 2008Gagné et al., , 2010. On the other hand, controlled motivation is generally associated with negative outcomes such as turnover intentions, psychological distress, and emotional exhaustion (e.g., Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2008, 2010Gagné et al., 2010;Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). In the context of utilitarian transactional applications, this is an important insight, as most of the work (in research as well as practice) so far in the domain has been focused on providing higher levels of extrinsic rewards to retain users. ...
The use of gamification is on the rise across various domains. This study explores the impact of gamification on users’ actual usage and future use intentions in the context of utilitarian apps like mobile payment systems. Owing to the transactional nature of these apps, their markets are characterised by low product differentiation, low switching costs, and high competition. These market characteristics make retaining continued usage from customers a serious challenge. This study draws from self-determination theory to develop a framework for gamification’s impact on the actual and future usage intentions of mobile payment users via autonomous & controlled motivations. The study compares the effects of gamification elements on actual usage and future usage intentions by evaluating two models. The outcomes of the study establish a significant effect of gamification on the two dependent variables. Moreover, the results, enhance our understanding of integrating game design elements within mobile payment apps. The results can help practitioners use gamification strategically to modify the post-adoption behaviour of m-payment users.
... As explained by Bakker et al. (2005), job resources may buffer the effects of job demands by enabling workers to better cope with demands and by altering strain-inducing cognitions related to job demands. Interestingly, Grant and colleagues also discuss how impact may mitigate the effects of adverse work conditions by shifting workers' focus from adverse tasks to how their actions can benefit others Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). Such a shift in focus can provide workers with justification for working through demanding situations, which may ultimately reduce strain (Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). ...
... Interestingly, Grant and colleagues also discuss how impact may mitigate the effects of adverse work conditions by shifting workers' focus from adverse tasks to how their actions can benefit others Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). Such a shift in focus can provide workers with justification for working through demanding situations, which may ultimately reduce strain (Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). ...
... Our findings suggest that in crisis situations, resources may indeed reduce strain. Our finding that impact is associated with lower levels of strain also extends Grant's (2007) theorizing by suggesting the effects of job impact may go beyond prosocial motivation and have implications for reducing strain in the face of adversity (Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted the relational nature of work, particularly for frontline workers who provide their labor in person. However, little is known about how relational job characteristics during the pandemic may affect workers or how frontline and nonfrontline workers may respond differently. We integrate theory on relational job architecture with the job demands–resources model to understand the effects of contact and impact during the pandemic. We propose contact as a job demand that increases strain outcomes among frontline workers and impact as a job resource that increases motivational outcomes among all workers. In addition, we propose perceived safety climate as a critical resource for mitigating the negative effects of contact among frontline workers and amplifying the positive effects of impact among all workers. We test hypotheses among 452 full-time workers (209 frontline, 243 nonfrontline) using a two-wave survey design. We find no support for the idea that contact operates as a job demand among frontline workers. In contrast, among nonfrontline workers, contact was associated with higher levels of burnout at lower levels of job impact and perceived safety climate. Impact and perceived safety climate acted as important resources among all workers, predicting both motivational and strain outcomes 4 months later. In addition, the positive effects of impact on prosocial motivation were amplified at higher levels of perceived safety climate among all workers. Our results suggest that impactful work, when conducted in a safe climate, is a key resource for enhancing prosocial motivation during crisis situations.
... Prosocial behavior is socially respected, and the social rewards it accrues may, consequently, improve mood (20). Conversely, prosocial behavior may protect against negative feelings (21), depression and anxiety (22,23). These studies have not considered the high rates of comorbidity observed. ...
... Our findings indicated that higher levels of prosocial behavior were associated with lower levels of anxiety and lower levels of depression. Specifically, prosocial behavior was negatively associated with anxiety and depression, consistent with some previous research (21)(22)(23), suggesting that prosocial behavior may prevent anxiety and depression. Prosocial behaviors are positive and friendly voluntary behaviors that an individual displays toward others. ...
Background
A growing number of studies have suggested that adolescents’ prosocial behavior can protect against depression and anxiety. It is known that anxiety and depression are often comorbid. However, it remains unclear if when depression is present, prosocial behavior remains protective against anxiety, and if when anxiety is present, prosocial behavior remains protective against depression. The purpose of this study was to determine the association of anxiety and depressive with prosocial behavior.
Methods
A large representative sample of middle-school students was recruited for a cross-sectional study and completed standardized instruments (the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI), Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders–Child version (SCARED-C), and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)). We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the protective effect of prosocial behavior against anxiety when depression was present.
Results
A survey of 3,510 students was conducted, and the final analysis included 3,169 students, comprising 1,616 boys (51.0%) and 1,553 girls (49.0%), with a mean age of 13.09 years (SD = 1.31, range 11–16).The prevalence rates of anxiety and depression in early adolescents were 31.6 and 16.7%, respectively. More than two-thirds of depressed adolescents had comorbid anxiety, while more than one-third of anxious adolescents had comorbid depression. Regression models showed that compared with depressed adolescents, adolescents without depressive symptoms exhibited a significant negative correlation between prosocial behaviors and anxiety and depression (β = −0.01, p > 0.01, β = −0.06, p > 0.01; β = −0.11, p < 0.01, and β = −0.17, p < 0.01). There was no difference in the relationship between prosocial behavior and depression between anxious and non-anxious adolescents (p > 0.05).
Conclusion
Anxiety and depression are common in adolescence and are often comorbid disorders. However, the comorbidity is not symmetrical. Specifically, the protective effect of prosocial behavior against anxiety is weaker in depressed adolescents. Findings are discussed in light of related research and theory, and insights for intervention programs and future research are presented.
... Therefore, it is not surprising that even during the Covid-19 crisis, new ventures and innovations were created to help others alleviate suffering. This is rooted in the idea that a crisis event can trigger prosocial motivation (Grant and Sonnentag 2010) as well as proactive behaviour where individuals act in good time to change a situation (Lebel 2017), so that helping others acts as a buffer against negative emotions (Grant and Sonnentag 2010). That is interesting because the literature has often linked positive traits and emotions such as hope, optimism, persistence, and flexibility to entrepreneurial resilience (De Vries and Shields 2006;Hmielski et al. 2015;Spivak et al. 2014). ...
... Therefore, it is not surprising that even during the Covid-19 crisis, new ventures and innovations were created to help others alleviate suffering. This is rooted in the idea that a crisis event can trigger prosocial motivation (Grant and Sonnentag 2010) as well as proactive behaviour where individuals act in good time to change a situation (Lebel 2017), so that helping others acts as a buffer against negative emotions (Grant and Sonnentag 2010). That is interesting because the literature has often linked positive traits and emotions such as hope, optimism, persistence, and flexibility to entrepreneurial resilience (De Vries and Shields 2006;Hmielski et al. 2015;Spivak et al. 2014). ...
Globally, small and medium enterprises (SME) entrepreneurs were hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent measures such as lockdowns and market closures. Africa was no exception. Entrepreneurial intentions and activities were expected to have a broad downturn with established entrepreneurs being forced to downsize or quit their businesses, while fewer novel entrepreneurs entered the market and started their own companies. At the same time, entrepreneurship is considered one of the few viable options to ensure an income during uncertain economic times. Furthermore, the Covid-19 crisis was said to drive innovation and technological advancements globally, and perhaps even more so in Africa due to its young demographic.
This edited volume includes insights gathered during the 2021 NVAS Africa Day which had the theme: ‘entrepreneurial responses to Covid-19 in Africa.’ This volume shines a light on two broader themes: entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurial resilience in Africa in times of Covid-19. The conference was organized by NVAS (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Afrikastudies) and the African Studies Centre of Leiden University.
The first two chapters consider whether the pandemic and its broader consequences increase entrepreneurial intentions. Is entrepreneurship a pathway out of the crisis for individuals, providing an income and financial stability in a stressed labour market? Or have individuals turned away from entrepreneurship due to the risk and a lack of start-up funds and subsequent investments? The final two chapters consider how the Covid-19 pandemic spurred entrepreneurial resilience and innovation in terms of new products, markets, and strategies. Together, these studies provide a cross-sectional and cross-methodological anthology of entrepreneurial responses to Covid-19 in Africa.
With contributions from Neema Komba, Chanyoung Park, Lotte-Marie Brouwer, Magnus Godvik Ekeland, Hanaâ Benchrifa, Steven Kator Iorfa and Maud van Merriënboer.
... However, as De Cooman et al. (2011) argue, past research may be inappropriately identifying prosocial drivers as a form of intrinsic motivation, contributing to potentially erroneous conclusions that not-for-profit employees are less extrinsically motivated than other workers. Research also identifies that individuals, at different times, can be motivated by one type of motivator (prosocial or intrinsic) but not the other and that the two types can be synchronously present (Grant, 2008;Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). More research is required to better understand how different types of motivation co-exist and shape innovative behaviour (Grant, 2007). ...
... Although champions acknowledged that these instances had been tiring, their persistence was supported by, rather than reduced because of, their prosocial motivation. This supports findings that autonomous forms of extrinsic motivation (of which prosocial motivation can be classified) can engender a focus on longer term outcomes (Ryan & Deci, 2000), acting synergistically to not only support individuals during times of intense work, but potentially boosting performance (Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). This insight extends Amabile and Pratt's (2016) findings regarding synergistic forms of extrinsic motivation in two ways. ...
Governments have increasingly tasked the not‐for‐profit sector with supporting the provision of public goods and services. Alongside this role, not‐for‐profits have faced increasingly challenging external contexts, including heightened competition and tighter funding regimes. This makes effective innovation critical for the successful delivery of social goods within this setting particularly, and in other public service‐oriented organisations more broadly. However, we know little about how innovation occurs in such contexts and even less about the motivations of those who choose to expend the effort to drive innovation there. This study examines the motivations of a key innovation agent, the innovation champion, in the challenging and dynamic not‐for‐profit context. Via a multi‐case study, qualitative approach with 46 interviews, we utilise self‐determination theory to surface what motivates innovation champions to develop and drive new idea generation and implementation. The motivations for championing innovations in not‐for‐profits are varied, spanning intrinsic, prosocial, and other extrinsic drivers. With wider implications for public service‐oriented organisations, our work also suggests that champions in such contexts are variably motivated throughout an innovation project and appear to be simultaneously intrinsically and prosocially motivated. We also find that boredom, or its avoidance, can motivate champions toward innovative activities.
Points for practitioners
Innovation champions, with their passion for change and desire for stimulation, are a valuable agent to foster innovation and combat organisational inertia.
Providing autonomous time, away from scheduled tasks and formal role requirements, can provide employees with the ‘cognitive space’ or ‘slack time’ required for innovative thinking.
Fostering innovation championing can contribute to enhanced employee engagement and a sense of fulfilment in one's role.
Innovation champions are not motivated in any one single way; their motivations span from self‐interest to contributing to a ‘greater good’. Where consistency exists, such individuals share an underlying passion for change and a desire to avoid boredom.
Leaders can clearly articulate the organisation's mission as one way to enhance champion motivation, particularly where their work has longer term and/or indirect value to target beneficiaries.
... Therefore, it is not surprising that even during the Covid-19 crisis, new ventures and innovations were created to help others alleviate suffering. This is rooted in the idea that a crisis event can trigger prosocial motivation (Grant and Sonnentag 2010) as well as proactive behaviour where individuals act in good time to change a situation (Lebel 2017), so that helping others acts as a buffer against negative emotions (Grant and Sonnentag 2010). That is interesting because the literature has often linked positive traits and emotions such as hope, optimism, persistence, and flexibility to entrepreneurial resilience (De Vries and Shields 2006;Hmielski et al. 2015;Spivak et al. 2014). ...
... Therefore, it is not surprising that even during the Covid-19 crisis, new ventures and innovations were created to help others alleviate suffering. This is rooted in the idea that a crisis event can trigger prosocial motivation (Grant and Sonnentag 2010) as well as proactive behaviour where individuals act in good time to change a situation (Lebel 2017), so that helping others acts as a buffer against negative emotions (Grant and Sonnentag 2010). That is interesting because the literature has often linked positive traits and emotions such as hope, optimism, persistence, and flexibility to entrepreneurial resilience (De Vries and Shields 2006;Hmielski et al. 2015;Spivak et al. 2014). ...
In this paper, we explore two popular medically-inspired innovations in Kenya and Tanzania during the Covid-19 pandemic to illustrate how a newly identified infective agent triggered collective, top-down, targeted, and repurposed innovations in the East African context. We point out the key determinants in the development and adoption of new approaches during the Covid-19 crisis and illuminate the collective processes of emotional regulation and social support that led to collective adaptation and ultimately, resilience. Our findings contribute to the growing body of literature on entrepreneurial resilience.
... Therefore, it is not surprising that even during the Covid-19 crisis, new ventures and innovations were created to help others alleviate suffering. This is rooted in the idea that a crisis event can trigger prosocial motivation (Grant and Sonnentag 2010) as well as proactive behaviour where individuals act in good time to change a situation (Lebel 2017), so that helping others acts as a buffer against negative emotions (Grant and Sonnentag 2010). That is interesting because the literature has often linked positive traits and emotions such as hope, optimism, persistence, and flexibility to entrepreneurial resilience (De Vries and Shields 2006;Hmielski et al. 2015;Spivak et al. 2014). ...
... Therefore, it is not surprising that even during the Covid-19 crisis, new ventures and innovations were created to help others alleviate suffering. This is rooted in the idea that a crisis event can trigger prosocial motivation (Grant and Sonnentag 2010) as well as proactive behaviour where individuals act in good time to change a situation (Lebel 2017), so that helping others acts as a buffer against negative emotions (Grant and Sonnentag 2010). That is interesting because the literature has often linked positive traits and emotions such as hope, optimism, persistence, and flexibility to entrepreneurial resilience (De Vries and Shields 2006;Hmielski et al. 2015;Spivak et al. 2014). ...
The year 2020 will be forever associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. This health crisis disrupted global interactions with countries closing borders and regions being locked down.
In Morocco, according to HCP (Higher Planning Commission), 57% of all companies have stopped their activities. The most affected sectors are the hospitality industry with 89% of companies shut down, the textile industry with 76%, leather industries with 73% and the construction industry with 60%.
With the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, it is unclear what its impact on entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intentions would be. Research has shown that crisis may have a two-edged impact on entrepreneurial intentions. On one hand, crisis may motivate individuals to defend their financial and social status through supporting their entrepreneurial intentions while on the other hand, crisis may limit the available financial resources and negatively impact the psychological and mental states necessary for entrepreneurial intentions to thrive.
The purpose of this study therefore is to investigate the impact of a socio-economic crisis (with a high level of uncertainty as COVID-19 pandemic) on the entrepreneurial intentions of young people (university students). The paper provides insights about drivers and barriers that affect the intentions of becoming an entrepreneur. Based on the theory of planned behavior and Social cognitive theory, we adopt a quantitative cross-sectional methodology using a survey of university students in Morocco which allows us to analyze whether the crisis had a positive or negative effect on entrepreneurial intentions of Moroccan students.
Findings showed that negative perceptions about COVID-19 positively associated with entrepreneurial attitudes, subjective norms and behavioral control. The ability to cope with COVID-19 moderated the association of COVID-19 perception and entrepreneurial intentions such that students who had negative perceptions about COVID-19 but could cope well had less entrepreneurial intentions. Proactive behavior also moderated the association of COVID-19 perception and entrepreneurial intentions suggesting that having negative perceptions about COVID-19 and being highly proactive led to less entrepreneurial intentions.
These findings were discussed along implications for future research and policy implementation.
... According to COR theory, individuals are drawn to protect their resources (such as being highly intrinsically motivated) and are drawn to acquire new resources and positive outcomes (such as well-being) resulting in so-called gain spirals (Halbesleben et al., 2014;Hobfoll, 2001). Indeed, previous (mostly cross-sectional) research has already shown intrinsic motivation to be negatively related to emotional exhaustion (Fernet et al., 2004(Fernet et al., , 2010Gagné et al., 2014;Grant & Sonnentag, 2010) and positively related to job satisfaction (Cho & Perry, 2011;Roche & Haar, 2020). There is also first evidence for the relation between intrinsic motivation and a change in emotional exhaustion over time, at least from a short-term, day-level perspective (Kammeyer-Mueller et al., 2013). ...
... Our results showed that the indirect adverse effect via diminished detachment and the direct beneficial effect of high intrinsic motivation balance each other out. This finding contradicts previous mostly cross-sectional findings linking high intrinsic motivation and low emotional exhaustion, which might seem surprising at first glance (Fernet et al., 2004(Fernet et al., , 2010Gagné et al., 2014;Grant & Sonnentag, 2010;Van den Broeck et al., 2011). On closer examination, this finding underlines the importance of examining not only cross-sectional relationships but also changes in crucial outcome variables. ...
Ensuring employee well‐being is a crucial task for organizations. While previous research has mainly focused on positive effects of intrinsic motivation, in this study, we took a more comprehensive view on intrinsic motivation and work‐related well‐being. More specifically, building on conservation of resources theory, we focused on two facets of work‐related well‐being (job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion) and examined direct (beneficial) and indirect (adverse) effects on well‐being via detachment as an inconsistent mediation model. Furthermore, we took a closer look at how the use of flex place practices (FPPs), giving employees the opportunity to choose from where to work, can attenuate potential adverse effects of high intrinsic motivation. We collected data from 408 employees of a European manufacturer at two points of measurement, the first one before and the second one after the introduction of FPPs. Results showed that intrinsic motivation had a positive direct effect on changes in well‐being, and an adverse indirect effect on changes in well‐being via reduced detachment. For employees using FPPs, this adverse indirect effect was dissolved. This research is among the first to explore potential downsides of intrinsic motivation and the role of FPPs in the functioning of intrinsic motivation.
... Previous studies have suggested that conducting prosocial behavior can enable individuals' psychological flourishing (Nelson et al., 2016), increase their perceptions of meaning in life (Klein, 2017), and enhance their selfesteem (Fu et al., 2017). Moreover, prosocial behaviors, as exemplified in acts of helping or cooperation, have been found to foster individuals' positive self-concept and self-evaluation (Cauley & Tyler, 1989;Grant & Sonnentag, 2010;Lemay et al., 2021). In light of these studies, our finding takes a step further by associating OCC informationsharing behavior on social media as a publicly token prosocial act with individuals' relational aspect of self-concept. ...
Information-sharing behavior constitutes one of the key elements for the success of online charitable crowdfunding (OCC) projects, but it has received relatively limited academic attention so far. From a relational perspective, this study proposed a conceptual model to better understand the relationship between consciousness of social face, two types of impression management motivations, OCC information-sharing behavior, and perceived relational value. An online survey was conducted among 1,166 Internet users in China (47.2% were male; 70.8% fell within the age group of 18-35 years old). The finding showed that consciousness of social face was positively associated with information-sharing behavior through the positive mediation of promotion-focused impression management motivation and the negative mediation of prevention-focused impression management motivation. Furthermore, information-sharing behavior was positively associated with perceived relational value. This study sheds light on the impact of social face consciousness on prosocial information-sharing behavior through impression management motivations and offers practical implications concerning how to promote individuals' OCC information sharing behavior on social media.
... ward suicide prevention. Additionally, according to previous study, prosocial behavior may protect against negative emotions [22] such as depression and anxiety [23,24], and high levels of prosocial behavior were associated with lower levels of anxiety and depression [25]. Therefore, low strength may be associated with depression. ...
Objectives
South Korea has the highest suicide rate among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries; there is an increasing trend in suicide attempts among middle and high school students. Various factors contribute to the risk of suicide among adolescents, and the perception of suicide prevention has emerged as a significant factor. This study aimed to investigate the association between emotional and behavioral difficulties among middle and high school students and their perceptions of suicide prevention and to explore differences in suicide perception according to age.
Methods
A survey was conducted among community middle and high school students, including 530 participants, between 2020 and 2021. Emotional and behavioral difficulties were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire-Korean version, and participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on the importance and possibility of suicide prevention. A correlation test and analysis of variance were used to examine the relationships between the variables, and suicide awareness was compared according to age.
Results
The participants who displayed higher strength or lower difficulty were more likely to respond positively to suicide prevention measures. They also exhibited high strength and low difficulty levels, thus agreeing with the importance of suicide prevention. Regarding age-related perceptions of suicide, adults aged 20–29 years reported the lowest probability of suicide prevention.
Conclusion
Suicide perceptions influence the incidence of suicide. Therefore, active societal engagement through suicide prevention campaigns and related education is essential to improve such perceptions. Continuous attention and support are required to address this issue.
... Nezaket takım ruhunu oluşturur ve iş yerinde dikkat çekmeyi sağlar: Nezaket davranışları ve prososyal davranışlar, iş yeri için de önemli ve gereklidir. Altruizm ve prososyal davranış iş tükenmişliği ve duygusal yorgunluğa karşı koruyucu bir işlev görür (Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). Bu davranışlar empatiyi, yaratıcılığı ve uygun bakış açısına sahip olmayı destekler (Grant & Berry, 2011). ...
... Critical incidents are defined in the research literature as time-limited events experienced by teachers or other professionals when performing their jobs which often require effort to resolve (Fritz & Sonnentag, 2006). They are often unexpected (Monnier et al., 2002) and tend to be associated with undesirable aspects that consume energy and resources (Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). Flannery (1999) also stresses the fact that they can be lifethreatening. ...
Critical incidents are unanticipated events (either positive or negative) that teachers may encounter during a lesson or other situation causing them to reflect on their approach and change accordingly. .Critical incidents have great potential for learning as they are vividly remembered and set the conditions for systematic reflection. However, despite the importance of the critical incident technique for professional learning in Initial Teacher Education (ITE), it is not generally used in teacher education programmes until the practicum stage when video-analysis is used. This study aims to analyse student teachers’ individual and group reflections regarding two cases recorded on video in Portugal and Spain. Under the context of an Erasmus research project entitled ‘Digital Practicum 3.0: Exploring Augmented Reality, Remote Classrooms, and Virtual Learning to enrich and expand preservice teacher education preparation (2020–1-ES01-KA226-HE - 096,120)’ two cohorts of 39 and 22 student teachers, respectively, reflected upon two critical incidents previously selected by the student teachers who had taught the two lessons that were video recorded. They had to watch the videos and analyse the incidents both in group discussion and individual reflection. Findings suggest that such a strategy is key to enhancing the development of critical reflection in Initial Teacher Education.
... Research on prosocial behaviors in the workplace has also found that it positively impacts empathy and performance, as well as reducing feelings of negative stress and burnout (Grant & Berry, 2011;Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). Chancellor et al. (2018) extended this area of research by focusing on understanding the impact of everyday prosocial actions on relationships at work. ...
... Helpers frequently remember poor job experiences as a maladaptive reaction to impeded work progress [33]. When work-goals are impeded, cognitive irritation levels are increasing [30,34,35]. This line of argument suggests the following study hypothesis. ...
Helping behavior positively influences organizational effectiveness, which is why the importance of this behavior is highlighted in Chinese enterprises, and employees are encouraged to engage in it. However, from an actor-centric perspective, helping behavior is not always beneficial. In this paper, cognitive-affective personality system theory is applied to link helping behavior to task performance, thus enhancing the understanding of the effects of helping behavior. By adopting a two-wave questionnaire survey, data from 202 leader-subordinate dyads were gathered. Then, the BruceR (V0.7.2) package of Rstudio (V4.1.1) was used to generate a multi-mediated moderation model and test the hypotheses. The following results were obtained: 1) Helping behavior was negatively associated with task performance. 2) Cognitive irritation and emotional exhaustion serially mediated the influences of helping behavior on task performance. 3) Team-level communal goal striving moderated the indirect influence of helping behavior on task performance; the indirect influence was only significant when the levels of team communal goal striving were low. From an actor-centric perspective, this paper presents evidence for the connection between helping behavior and task performance. Numerous implications for management approaches are presented to maximize the management of helping behavior.
... Prosocial impact is concerned with the experience of making a positive difference in the lives of others (Grant, 2007;Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). Until now, little attention has been given to prosocial impact (Bolino & Grant, 2016). ...
This chapter aims to explore the role of prosociality when exercising shared leadership in Finnish schools. Educational professionals work collectively to generate expertise conducive for shared leadership. Importantly, shared leadership could be deeply related to helping each other, which is referred to as prosociality. Potential development of shared leadership is achieved with help from others. However, no previous study has investigated the role of prosociality in exercising shared leadership. Therefore, research question is formed as following: How do the principals represent prosociality in shared leadership? This study explored prosociality through the lens of three aspects of prosociality: prosocial motivation, behaviour, and impact. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview from 12 Finnish principals in primary and lower secondary schools. The data were analysed with a thematic analysis in a deductive manner according to the three prosocial aspects. The findings showed that the principals acknowledge the prosocial elements that are deeply related to shared leadership. Moreover, the role of prosocial impact was highlighted by the principals.
... PPPI refers to "the subjective experience of benefiting others" . PPPI's is not just the prosocial task but to help others with the intention that helping will benefit the other person (Grant, 2008b;Grant and Sonnentag, 2010). Therefore, the sole purpose is offering the opportunity to deliver to others that has a long-term impact on the receiver's life. ...
Purpose-Past studies have largely focused on leaders' influence on employees' attitudes and behaviors, largely ignoring the followership and its consequences. This study investigates the social impact that followers induce on leaders through their intentions and actions. Following social impact theory (SIT), this study contributes to the growing research on supervisory knowledge hiding (KH) and related positive consequences beyond the traditional leader-centered approach. This paper investigates the serial mediation link between supervisory KH and supervisory knowledge-based trust (KBT) via perceived prosocial impact and supervisor directed citizenship behavior. Design/methodology/approach-Time-lagged dyadic data of 348 employees working in a bank under 54 supervisors were collected from Saudi Arabia. Findings-The findings suggest that supervisory KH entails a potential prosocial impact on employees to engage in supervisor-directed citizenship behavior that builds the KBT in supervisors about subordinates. The empirical support provides an understanding of the social impact of subordinates' influence on supervisors above and beyond traditional leadership literature by depicting the active role of followers in influencing leaders' behavior in building trust in knowledge management. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are also discussed. Originality/value-By studying the followership effect on leadership, this study extends the social impact process beyond a social phenomenon to the workplace in a supervisor-subordinate relationship. Moreover, examining the positive framing of a leader's KH to transform such behaviors through active followership role provides a new insight into positive consequences of supervisory behavior through social impact.
... Volunteering activities have four attributes that distinguish them from other prosocial behaviors, namely planned, continuing over a long period of time, including nonobligatory assistance, and finally, volunteering occurs in an organizational context (Penner, 2002 ) . Prosocial behavior can compensate for low internal motivation and predict better levels of performance (Grant & Sonnentag, 2010) Prosocial behavior is related to gender (Eisenberg et al, 2015;Shadiqi & Mangkurat, 2018) . Women have higher prosocial behavior than men because of traditional gender roles, where the traditional role evokes attitudes of giving attention, affection and nurturing so as to offer more social support and comfort ( Schroeder & Graziano, 2018) . ...
This study aims to determine the relationship between prosocial behavior and work engagement among female volunteers. The sampling technique in this study was to use purposive sampling where the sampling was adjusted to the research objectives and predetermined characteristics. The number of respondents was 115 female volunteers aged 24 to 65 years who were cadres of Posyandu toddlers, elderly Posyandu, Family Welfare Empowerment (PKK) and/or Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), coming from 11 districts in Indonesia. In addition, researchers used a convenience sampling technique in which research samples were taken according to the availability of respondents who met the criteria. The data analysis method used is simple regression analysis preceded by normality and linearity tests. The scale used is the prosocial behavior scale for adults and the work engagement scale (UWES version 1.1). The results showed that the R value in calculating the coefficient of determination was 0.561 (positive) which means that there is a positive and significant relationship between prosocial behavior and the engagement of women volunteers in 11 districts. The higher the prosocial behavior, the higher the engagement of female volunteers. The effective contribution of prosocial behavior to volunteer work engagement (R Square value) is 31.5% and 68.5% is influenced by other factors not examined in this study, so it can be concluded that there is a relationship between prosocial behavior and work engagement to female volunteers in 11 districts in Indonesia.
... Task significance can act as a job-related resource, such that it alters employees' psychological perspectives regarding the nature of their work (Demerouti et al., 2001). Employees that report higher levels of task significance are inherently proud of their work (Garg & Rastogi, 2006;Hackman & Oldham, 1980) and have a strong sense of connection to the work itself (Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). Additionally, as perceptions of task significance increase, employees pursue work challenges with more interest and enthusiasm (Humphrey et al., 2007;Rosso et al., 2010). ...
One of the most perplexing aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic is that although it created employment uncertainty, employees were reporting a higher-than-expected intent to turnover. To understand this COVID-19-induced “Great Resignation,” we applied terror management theory (TMT). Specifically, we hypothesized that death anxiety from COVID-19 indirectly relates to turnover intentions via the increase in the need for meaningful work, and that task significance would conditionally moderate this indirect effect. We tested these hypotheses across four studies, including a multiwave field study, an online experiment study, a quasi-experiment study, and a field study based on five-wave longitudinal data collected weekly. Our findings illustrate that death anxiety caused by COVID-19 indirectly relates to turnover intentions via an increase in the need for meaningful work. Further, this effect holds at lower levels of task significance, but not at higher levels of task significance. This suggests that a job characteristic—task significance—can satisfy employees’ death anxiety–induced increase in the need for meaningful work, such that it does not eventuate in increased turnover intentions. Theoretical and practical implications related to COVID-19 and TMT as it relates to work contexts are discussed.
... Moreover, their distinctiveness, self-perception (e.g., the desire to see themselves as coherent or unitary) may be validated by participating in volunteering activities that is coherent with how they describe themselves. Furthermore, they may feel control to the extent that they consider their volunteer activities are crafting a positive change in the world (Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). ...
Employee volunteering is a topic of growing importance in workplaces around the globe. Similarly, growing research on this phenomenon has seen a significant increase over the past decade, most significantly in different manufacturing and service oriented firms. Nevertheless, the increased visibility of this notion, not much is written on this burning question and the direction for future research is also unclear. In addition, research is currently based on a variety of different definitions but nothing is said about the practices and the propositions which managers should acclimatize to foster enhanced volunteering initiatives within the organization. In order to advance management research on employee volunteering, this literature hinges upon on four contributions: (1) clarifying the theoretical background on corporate volunteering, (2) best practices which managers should adapt to foster corporate volunteering, (3) effects of volunteering on the well-being and engagement of employees, and (4) providing a future research agenda for the role of volunteering and its motives.
... Positive affect is a psychological resource that drives helping behavior (Bindl et al., 2012;Den Hartog & Belschak, 2007;Fritz & Sonnentag, 2009). Additionally, engaging in altruistic behavior can increase one's positive affect (Bono et al., 2013;Grant & Sonnentag, 2010;Heaphy & Dutton, 2008;Lin et al., 2017;Quinn et al., 2012;Zhan et al., 2021). Therefore, when individuals have sufficient or surplus resources, altruistic behavior seems to be a promoter in the resource gain spiral scenario. ...
This study draws on the conservation of resources theory to explore the role of altruistic behavior in resource gain and loss spirals and the association between particular genetic markers and these spirals. Using experience sampling data and genetic analysis, we found that positive affect (T1) was directly associated with altruistic behavior. A payoff of increased positive affect resulted from such behavior (T2). Individuals who started work with an elevated level of fatigue (T1) engaged in less altruistic behavior and became more fatigued (T2). Altruistic behavior mediated the positive affect/fatigue at T1 and T2. Hence, altruistic behavior may promote a resource gain spiral by enhancing positive affect resources. Furthermore, it buffers against a resource loss spiral by preventing increased fatigue. Moreover, genetic testing showed that the 2R carriers of the DRD4 polymorphism would respond with stronger positive affect and less fatigue after performing altruistic behaviors compared to non-2R carriers. Therefore, our research revealed the moderating role of individual differences in the relationship between altruistic behavior and resource gain and loss spirals.
... How do they reconcile the dissonance between their potentially idealized expectations and current subjective experiences? Such dissonance is stressful, for example, fundraisers with low perceived work impactfulness experience high emotional exhaustion and report more negative self-views (Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). Thus, individuals will likely strive to resolve the dissonance between their potentially idealized expectations and current subjective experiences (Elliot & Devine, 1994;Festinger, 1962). ...
Individuals start and join social enterprises to catalyze social impact but may not subjectively experience their work as impactful. In this article, we inductively uncover when social enterprise members question the impactfulness of their work and how they engage in sensemaking to experience their work as impactful. Exploring the experiences of members across two social enterprises with different missions, we provide insights into instances creating ambiguity of or discrepancies in impactfulness and unearth how individuals navigate these in different circumstances with two distinct sensemaking practices: internalizing and compensating. We reveal the efforts required to experience work as impactful, highlight the heterogeneity and agency in maintaining this perception, and suggest a potential dark side for members and missions of social enterprises.
... Psychological states and goals by specific situations(e.g., being in contact with others who need help) and personality traits, values, and identities are in the scope of prosocial motivation (Pavey, Greitemeyer, & Sparks, 2011;Thielmann, Spadaro, & Balliet, 2020). The prosocial impact is the experience of making a positive difference in the lives of others (Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). ...
... Notably, givers reported markedly weaker depressive symptoms and increased satisfaction with both their jobs and lives (Chancellor et al., 2018). The positive consequences from prosocial actions have meaningful downstream consequences for givers, buffering against burnout and emotional exhaustion among professional fundraisers and public sanitation employees in one series of experiments (Grant & Sonnentag, 2010), and increasing a giver's potential number of friends in another experiment with school-age children (Layous et al., 2012). Being good to others can also be good for oneself. ...
Performing random acts of kindness increases happiness in both givers and receivers, but we find that givers systematically undervalue their positive impact on recipients. In both field and laboratory settings (Experiments 1a through 2b), those performing an act of kindness reported how positive they expected recipients would feel and recipients reported how they actually felt. From giving away a cup of hot chocolate in a park to giving away a gift in the lab, those performing a random act of kindness consistently underestimated how positive their recipients would feel, thinking their act was of less value than recipients perceived it to be. Givers' miscalibrated expectations are driven partly by an egocentric bias in evaluations of the act itself (Experiment 3). Whereas recipients' positive reactions are enhanced by the warmth conveyed in a kind act, givers' expectations are relatively insensitive to the warmth conveyed in their action. Underestimating the positive impact of a random act of kindness also leads givers to underestimate the behavioral consequences their prosociality will produce in recipients through indirect reciprocity (Experiment 4). We suggest that givers' miscalibrated expectations matter because they can create a barrier to engaging in prosocial actions more often in everyday life (Experiments 5a and 5b), which may result in people missing out on opportunities to enhance both their own and others' well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
... Thus, becoming a member of a socially responsible organization in the hotel industry shape employee's self-concept, relieving turnover in the workplace (Guzzo et al., 2020;Ashforth & Mael, 2004;Ashforth & Mael, 1989;Van Knippenberg, 2000;Dutton et al., 1994). Moreover, the employees' perception of their job and working with an organization practicing a higher level of CSR plays a critical role in assisting the positive psychology of its employees; consequently, it decreases the possibility of stress, burnout and reduces negative emotional exhaustion (Koh & El'Fred, 2001;Raub & Blunschi, 2014;Rupp et al., 2006;Grant & Sonnentag, 2010;Yates & Hollensbe, 2013). A favorable corporate image and reputation through CSR are achieved in employees' attitudes towards work, such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and organizational identification, which influence lower turnover intention and enhance organizational citizenship behavior in the hotel industry (Guzzo et al., 2020). ...
The study examines the role of employee perceptions of Internal Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in employee Turnover Intention (TI) by exploring its mediating and moderating effects through Job Satisfaction (JS) and Work-Life Conflict (WLC) in the hotel industry. Data were collected from 130 employees in the top five hotels in Sri Lanka to explore employees' CSR experience. The hypothesized relationships were tested through the partial least squares structural equation modelling technique with SmartPLS-3. The results represent that, JS is completely mediated the relationship between CSR and TI while WLC is not moderating among CSR and JS. By providing a more socially responsible environment at the workplace, employee JS will enhance, and it directly reduces the TI of employees since employees feel like responsible citizens in society. The study enriches the available knowledge about the variables in organizational contexts and the understanding of the responses of employees while analyzing the CSR activities from employees’ perspectives.
... This is because helping or observing others helping lead to positive affective states and decrease depression. For example, Grant and Sonnentag (2010) found that prosocial motives had a buffering role on the association between negative task evaluation (conceptualized as a stressor) and emotional exhaustion. A potential reason could be the crossover of negative experiences from supervisors (e.g., avoiding help and ignoring the needs of co-workers) to subordinates (not engaging in proactivity). ...
The current study investigated employees' weekly responses to experienced job insecurity. Based on appraisal theory, it was postulated that employees may adopt three coping strategies in response to job insecurity (i.e., remaining silent, adapting, or being proactive) in order to maintain or improve their weekly well-being. We introduced a multilevel moderated mediation model, explaining how weekly job insecurity would be related to well-being in the following weeks through these three behaviors. We also expected that subordinate emotional regulation and supervisor prosocial motivation (both defined as trait variables) would function as contextual factors moderating the relationships of job insecurity with employee behavior and well-being. A 5-week diary study of 149 subordinates partially supported the model. The results showed longitudinal conditional indirect effects of job insecurity on subordinate well-being depending on subordinate emotional regulation style and supervisor prosocial motivation. In doing so, the study offers two main contributions to the job insecurity literature. First, employees are not passive responders to perceived job insecurity, but active shapers through coping depending on the context. Subordinates' emotional regulation strategy and supervisors' prosocial motivation, as trait variables, impact on how subordinates respond to perceived job insecurity over weeks. From a practical point of view, the dynamic nature of perceived job insecurity suggests implications for interventions to maintain subordinates' well-being.
... Furthermore, when employee well-being grows, results in decreased emotional exhaustion that otherwise appears from harming others (Grant & Campbell, 2007), and aiding in negative task and self-evaluations (Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). In addition, the emotional benefits extend outside the workplace: when employees perceive high prosocial impact at work, they experience greater activated positive affect at home (Sonnentag & Grant, 2012). ...
... To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the predictive utility of the quality of gratitude expressions on helping behavior. In line with theoretical arguments that gratitude expressions are more likely to be effective in increasing a sense of social connectedness (Algoe et al., 2013) and signaling the impact of one's help (Grant & Sonnentag, 2010) when they include more elaborated linguistic signals of appreciation (Yoshimura & Berzins, 2017), our findings indicate that the quality of gratitude expressions matters to increase future help provision. More importantly, our work highlights that highquality expressions of gratitude can be more critical for helpers who experience low autonomous motivation in a helping episode. ...
Moral identity has been considered an important predictor of prosocial behavior. This article extends prior research by investigating how and when moral identity predicts helping behavior. Specifically, we examine the mediating effect of episodic autonomous motivation on the relationship between moral identity and future helping intentions. We also test the moderating effect of an important contextual factor in helping episodes: the quality of the gratitude expression received by helpers. In two studies using autobiographical recall tasks with different samples (Study 1: N = 134, college students; Study 2: N = 192, adult workers), we found convergent evidence that helpers with high moral identity experience higher autonomous motivation in a helping episode, which in turn increases their willingness to help the same beneficiary in the future. We further found support for the interactive effects between autonomous motivation and gratitude quality on future helping intentions. High-quality gratitude expressions are particularly important in predicting subsequent helping for helpers with low episodic autonomous motivation. In this case, high-quality gratitude expressions can compensate for the lack of intrinsic motivation in a helping episode and increase future help provision.
... Individuals with high prosocial behavior are more likely to exhibit normal social adaptation patterns, including peer acceptance, social self and general self. On the other hand, individuals with low prosocial behaviors are more likely to have more internalization problems and peer rejection, showing more maladaptation (Li, Zheng, & Liu, 2019).When individuals engage in more helping behaviors, they also have a higher sense of purpose and more positive emotions, and thus exhibit fewer depressive symptoms (Grant & Sonnentag, 2010;Li et al., 2019). Numerous studies have shown that higher prosocial behavior among adolescents is significantly associated with lower levels of depression (Eli et al., 2021;Li et al., 2019).The theory of resource conservation puts forward that individuals will try their best to acquire, protect and maintain their existing resources (such as individual resources and situational resources). ...
To investigate the relationship between stress response and depression in vocational medical school students at the initial stage of COVID-19 epidemic, and to explore the mediating role of meaning in life and the moderating role of prosocial behavior. The COVID-19 Stress Response Questionnaire, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, the Prosocial Behavior Scale and the Depression Scale, were used to investigate 3526 vocational medical school students. The results showed that: (1) The relationship between stress response and depression in vocational medical school students was partially mediated by presence of meaning and search for meaning. Stress response has indirect effect on depression of vocational medical school students through meaning in life. (2) Prosocial behavior moderated the relationship between meaning in life and depression. Specifically, meaning in life has a more significant effect on depression for college students with higher levels of prosocial behavior.
... We thus consider task significance as a psychological resource that would likely help to manage the harmful effects of surface acting on employees' emotional exhaustion (Grant, 2008). According to the JD-R theory, we therefore argue that emergency rescue workers with a higher sense of task significance are more likely to justify the effort of performing surface acting because they are internally motivated to do it (Grant & Sonnentag, 2010) and view their work as creating a positive impact on others and contributing to society. Therefore, we propose that: ...
Drawing from the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and job characteristics model (JCM), this study examined the relationship between emergency rescue workers’ surface acting and turnover intentions through emotional exhaustion. We hypothesized that task significance is a pertinent boundary condition that attenuates the surface acting–emotional exhaustion relationship. We also introduced job control as another boundary condition in the emotional exhaustion–turnover intentions relationship. Three-wave data gathered from 256 emergency rescue workers revealed that participants’ surface acting increased their emotional exhaustion which triggered their intention to quit. Task significance was found to moderate the surface acting–emotional exhaustion relationship, such that the interaction effect at medium and high levels drastically reduces the exhaustion level of emergency workers. Individuals with high job control show high turnover intentions in the case of those with medium and high emotional exhaustion. These findings have significant implications for human resource management research and practice, especially around job design for those emergency rescue workers likely serving as emotional laborers.
... Therefore, accurately recognizing their emotional state and identifying the source of negative emotions is more likely to lead individuals to recognize a wider range of effective copying strategies, such as helping others. Indeed, research finds that helping others serves as a remedy for negative emotional states (Grant & Sonnentag, 2010). ...
Past research has documented the many psychological and behavioral benefits of negative emotion differentiation, that is, the degree to which one can identify, distinguish, and describe specific negative feeling states. Drawing on Affective Events Theory, we argue that negative emotion differentiation affects how individuals react to a need-laden affective event (i.e., being in a situation where one is asked for some assistance). Specifically, we posit that individuals high in negative emotion differentiation will be more adept at interpreting their negative emotions as arising from others' needs (i.e., moral emotions) and regulating them through helping behavior. We tested this basic premise in two studies conducted in East Asia – a field study involving working adults in a general work setting and a quasi-experiment involving a student sample. In both studies, we examined the role of negative emotion differentiation in how individuals respond to negative emotions facing a need-laden affective event. The results supported our predictions, as high negative emotion differentiation weakened the negative relationship between general negative emotions and subsequent helping behavior (Study 1) and strengthened the positive relationship between negative moral emotions and helping behavior (Study 2). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
... A study conducted by Grant and Sonnentag (2010) on public sanitation workers showed that the perceived social worth of the work performed could reduce perceived emotional exhaustion and also improve their performance. This means that the social worth felt by a worker who performed a particular job can encourage him/her to perform better. ...
Social innovation has a great chance to overcome problems in complex environments. Individuals’ concern for environmental, social, and ethical issues has gradually grown, prompting the rise of new types of consumers, who shift their environmental concerns into action. Social entrepreneurship participants mostly act as beneficiaries and initiators in the process of social innovation. Social exchange theory explains the linkage between individual psychological factors and personal social cognitive perceptions that inspire social innovation intention. The current research framework is constructed to inspect the individual mental process of psychological motivation associated with social innovation intention. The purpose is to understand the relationships between the psychological level of moral idealism, ecological concern, and prior experience on cognitive perceptions of social worth; subsequently, social worth, prosocial motivation, perspective-taking, and positive feelings are examined to discover their influence on social innovation behavioral intention. The transmitting role of social worth exercises a transformative function between participants’ psychological motivation, social cognition, and social innovation intention. The research is conducted using partial least squares (PLS) analysis software. The research results reinforce our understanding of theories of individual psychological motivations on social innovation. The findings also offer some suggestions for sustainability education to social enterprise practitioners with respect to recruiting young people and continuing to generate new ideas.
Marketing skills are a very valuable asset in the competitive business world. Strong marketing skills have a significant impact on achieving company goals. This includes several important capabilities, including communication skills, the ability to analyze markets, and a deep understanding of consumer behavior. Employees who have strong marketing skills have a greater tendency to achieve their sales targets and build strong relationships with their customers. Effective communication is one of the key elements of marketing skills. The ability to communicate clearly and persuasively, both orally and in writing, allows marketing professionals to communicate the value of their products or services in a compelling way. It also helps in building strong relationships with clients, which is often the deciding factor in maintaining business and achieving long-term success. It is also important to understand market data and analyze market trends, as this helps in designing the right strategy to reach the target market. Meanwhile, interpersonal skills are the key to success in modern business. This includes effective communication skills, the ability to work in a team, negotiation skills, empathy, and the ability to resolve conflicts. Employees who have strong interpersonal skills tend to be more successful in achieving their goals and feel satisfied with their work environment. This is critical in facing challenges in a rapidly changing business. Therefore, this research underlines the importance of developing marketing and interpersonal skills for employees in a competitive business environment. These skills not only benefit the individual but also have a positive impact on the entire organization. By better understanding the relationship between these skills and job performance, companies can direct their efforts to achieve success in an ever-changing marketplace. Additionally, this article highlights the need to invest in employee training to develop these skills.
Social entrepreneurs strive to alleviate the suffering of people in need (targets). However, helping others may also cause social-venturing fatigue—mental or physical exhaustion that severely diminishes engagement in social-venturing activities. Understanding the development and outcomes of social-venturing fatigue is important because it can harm both the social entrepreneur’s well-being and the venture’s targets. Therefore, this paper develops a fatigue model of social venturing in which an entrepreneur’s prosocial motivation drives his or her social-venturing effort. This effort can create benefits for targets but also generate social-venturing fatigue in the entrepreneur. Social-venturing fatigue triggers the entrepreneur’s detachment from the targets and desensitization to their social problems, diminishes the entrepreneur’s prosocial motivation for the targets, and/or leads the entrepreneur to exit social-venturing altogether. The entrepreneur’s psychosocial resources, the salience of the targets’ benefits, and the targets’ feedback about progress in solving their problems moderate the impact of social-venturing effort in generating the entrepreneur’s fatigue. Therefore, we provide new insights into (1) the antecedents and consequences of social-venturing fatigue; (2) why some social entrepreneurs start strong but their efforts diminish over time; and (3) how social venturing can help entrepreneurs build resources that protect them from fatigue.
The study on the correlation of in-service training and teachers' job performance in public secondary schools in Enugu State, Nigeria has been conducted. Research design adopted was a correlational research design and a sample of 619 public secondary school teachers was drawn through stratified random sampling techniques from a population of 6,185 teachers who made up the respondents. Three research objectives guided the study. Investigation was based on the data collected through the administration of copies of researchers' adapted instrument titled, "In-Service Training Questionnaire (ITQ) and Teachers' Job Performance Questionnaire (TJPQ)". The research instrument was validated by three experts pulled from measurement and evaluation using content validity. The reliability coefficient of 0.866 was obtained in test-retest method using Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The three null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 alpha level using Regression Analysis. The major findings of the study showed that teachers mean rating on their participation in in-service training programmes was above average, teacher mean rating of their job performance was above average, and there were strong positive and significant relationships between teacher professional in-service training, teacher workshop training, teacher orientation and conference attendance and job performance in public secondary schools in Enugu State, Nigeria. From the study it was concluded that in-service training has strong correlation on teacher job performance in public secondary schools. Based on the findings, the following some recommendations were made-opportunities for in-service training programme should be made available to all categories of teachers, all stakeholders should revitalize the organization of regular seminars, workshops and conferences for old and newly employed practicing teachers and government should bear the financial burden for teachers' in-service training programmes by making budgeting allocation for that purpose among others. Also, distance supported e-learning at school level should be encouraged.
Power motivation is considered a key component of successful leadership. Based on its dualistic nature, the need for power (nPower) can be expressed in a dominant or a prosocial manner. Whereas dominant motivation is associated with antisocial behaviors, prosocial motivation is characterized by more benevolent actions (e.g., helping, guiding). Prosocial enactment of the power motive has been linked to a wide range of beneficial outcomes, yet less has been investigated what determines a prosocial enactment of the power motive. According to Personality Systems Interactions (PSI) theory, action orientation (i.e., the ability to self-regulate affect) promotes prosocial enactment of the implicit power motive and initial findings within student samples verify this assumption. In the present study, we verified the role of action orientation as an antecedent for prosocial power enactment in a leadership sample (N = 383). Additionally, we found that leaders personally benefited from a prosocial enactment strategy. Results show that action orientation through prosocial power motivation leads to reduced power-related anxiety and, in turn, to greater leader well-being. The integration of motivation and self-regulation research reveals why leaders enact their power motive in a certain way and helps to understand how to establish a win-win situation for both followers and leaders.
We provide a conceptual framework for analyzing studies on management controls and management control systems (MCSs). This framework describes and analyzes the directing and activating processes of management controls and MCSs. Because our focus is on why management controls are effective, our conceptual framework complements earlier frameworks that focus on specific empirical methods, controls, and literature maps. We discuss several applications of the framework, such as depicting an individual research study, comparing multiple research studies examining the same control, and organizing an area of research. Our approach benefits consumers of management accounting research by increasing understanding and access to extant research. In addition, the application of our approach can reveal gaps in the literature or the potential for mediating factors to explain conflicting findings and can thus inform future research.
Proactivity at work is generally assumed to be preceded by positive motivational states with positive outcomes for employees. However, recent perspectives suggest downsides to proactive behavior, including that it can be driven by negative emotions or experienced as depleting for employees. Bringing these previously disconnected ideas together, we utilize cognitive-motivational-relational and self-determination theories to holistically examine the negative antecedents of proactivity and its outcomes. We argue that employees, particularly those with high impression management motives, experience burnout when financial precarity and fear drive them to proactively learn new skills. We test and show support for these hypotheses in a four-wave study of 1,315 university employees during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, an external event that threatened employees’ financial security. Theoretically, our findings broaden our understanding of the antecedents and consequences of proactivity, while expanding the role of fear at work beyond “flight” responses to include motivating protective effort. Practically, our findings help to understand both how employees proactively develop their skills in light of financial precarity and how these proactive efforts are experienced as depleting.
Although scholars have attempted to explore supervisor feedback as an antecedent of voice, the underlying mechanism remains under-explored. The current research addresses this critical issue from the perspective of conservation of resources theory by delineating how and when supervisor feedback influences employee voice from an energy perspective. Using dyadic data collected from 671 employees and their 218 direct supervisors in a retailer company, we found that supervisor favorable feedback increases employees’ relational energy, which, in turn, promotes employee voice. Conversely, supervisor unfavorable feedback decreases employees’ relational energy and inhibits employee voice. Furthermore, we found that leader–member exchange quality is an important boundary condition for the relationship between supervisor favorable feedback and voice via relational energy. These findings highlight the role of energy in the relationship between supervisor feedback and employee voice. They also present implications for management to improve supervisors’ skills at providing feedback.
Purpose
This research aims to investigate the effects of innovation types (exploratory innovation vs. exploitative innovation) on users' psychological perceptions (perceived self-improvement and prosocial impact) and continuous knowledge sharing intention and the moderating effects of monetary incentives.
Design/methodology/approach
The research model was developed based on the self-determination theory. A two-study approach involving an online survey ( n = 338) and an online experiment ( n = 160) was employed to collect quantitative data. Structural equation modeling and variance analysis were adapted to analyze the data.
Findings
The results show that exploratory innovation leads to higher perceived self-improvement among users than exploitative innovation, whereas exploitative innovation leads to higher perceived prosocial impact than exploratory innovation. The perceived self-improvement and perceived prosocial impact positively affects users' continuous knowledge sharing intention. Monetary incentives moderate the relationships among perceived self-improvement, perceived prosocial impact and continuous knowledge sharing intention.
Originality/value
This research highlights the role of users' experience of initial participation in forming continuous knowledge sharing intentions and also reveals the effectiveness of monetary incentives in different types of innovation activities. The findings provide a more comprehensive understanding of the antecedents of users' continuous knowledge sharing behavior, offering new insights and recommendations for managerial practitioners.
Recovery experiences (i.e., psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery, and control; Sonnentag and Fritz (Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 12, 204–221, 2007)) are thought to enhance both work and health outcomes, though the mechanisms are not well understood. We propose and test an integrated theoretical model in which work engagement and exhaustion fully mediate the effects of recovery experiences on job performance and health complaints, respectively. Meta-analytic associations (k = 316; independent samples; N = 99,329 participants) show that relaxation and mastery experiences positively predict job outcomes (work engagement, job performance, citizenship behavior, creativity, job satisfaction) and personal outcomes (positive affect, life satisfaction, well-being), whereas psychological detachment reduces negative personal outcomes (negative affect, exhaustion, work-family conflict), but does not seem to benefit job outcomes (work engagement, job performance, citizenship behavior, creativity). Control experiences exhibit negligible incremental effects. Path analysis largely supports the theoretical model specifying separate pathways by which recovery experiences predict job and health outcomes. Methodologically, diary and post-respite studies tend to exhibit smaller effects than do cross-sectional studies. Finally, within-person correlations of recovery experiences with outcomes tend to be in the same direction, but smaller than corresponding between-person correlations. Implications for recovery experiences theory and research are discussed.
Network centrality is vital for employees to attain superior performance or desired outcomes and yet we still know little of what makes employees develop central positions. A major challenge is that employees feel discomfort forming networks for opportunistic purposes that benefit them directly. This challenge can be overcome once we focus on the requirements raised by jobs. This paper posits that employees will be motivated to form networks in order to acquire the information capacity needed to satisfy the information requirements raised by the characteristics of their jobs. The study explores how the five enriching job characteristics influence the central position an employee occupies in the organizational network. Interestingly, not all job characteristics benefit networks. Evidence shows that task autonomy, task variety and task significance exercise a positive effect on network centrality but task identity and feedback from the job exercise a negative effect. Network centrality then mediates the relationship between job characteristics and performance. While dispositional determinants explain only between 3% and 5% of variance in network centrality, the model presented explains up to 32% of variance, thereby offering a solid answer to the core question of what determines network centrality.
In recent years, a rapidly growing literature has shed light on important costs and benefits of prosocial motivation in the workplace. However, researchers have studied prosocial motivation using various labels, conceptualizations, and operationalizations, leaving this body of knowledge fragmented. In this study, we contribute to the literature by providing an integrated framework that organizes extant constructs and measures of prosocial motives along two dimensions: level of autonomy (discretionary/obligatory) and level of generality (global/contextual/positional). Drawing upon this framework, we conducted a meta-analysis with 252 samples and 666 effect sizes to examine the effects of prosocial motivation on workplace outcomes. Moderator analyses were performed to resolve inconsistencies in the empirical literature and understand the context under which prosocial motivation had the strongest or weakest effect. We found that prosocial motivation, in general, was beneficial for employee well-being (𝜌̅ = .23), prosocial behavior (𝜌̅ = .35), job performance (𝜌̅ = .20), and career success (𝜌̅ = .06). The direction and magnitude of these effects depended on the autonomy, generality, and measurement of prosocial motivation, the nature of the outcome (i.e., type of prosocial behavior, subjectivity of performance measures, and forms of career success), as well as the cultural context. Importantly, prosocial motivation had incremental validity above and beyond general cognitive ability and Big Five personality traits for predicting all four outcomes. We discuss the theoretical, methodological, and practical implications from these findings and offer a guiding framework for future research efforts.
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to empirically examine the relationship between managers' emotional exhaustion and the ethnic diversity, workload requirements, and friendship ties within their work-groups.
Design/methodology/approach
The research employs a full-network sample of all managers from an indigenously owned ethnically diverse IT firm located in the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. Using a social network design within a regression model, the relationship between managerial power and operational workload and the burnout dimension of emotional exhaustion is initially examined as a baseline model. Work-group ethnicity and friendship ties are then examined as moderators to this relationship. The authors then examine the role of work-group ethnicity and friendship ties as a buffer mechanism using an efficient frontier analysis where managers act as decision-making units.
Findings
The study indicates that ethnic diversity acts more as a “negative moderator” to emotional exhaustion, while friendship ties act as both a “positive moderator” and “buffer” to work-related emotional exhaustion.
Originality/value
This is one of the few empirical studies that has examined the issues of ethnic diversity and burnout using social network and efficient frontier methodologies. This is also one of the first empirical studies to investigate these issues using an in-depth, full-sample case study of actual, real-work network relationships.
The change in the United States from a manufacturing economy to a service economy has important implications for theoretical models of the relationships between job characteristics and workers' psychological distress. A sample of 600 men and women employed full-time were recruited to test 2 theoretical models. The job demand–control model posits that jobs that are both high in job demands and low in decision latitude are associated with greater psychological distress. The job demand–service model posits that jobs that are high in job demands and low in service to others are associated with greater psychological distress. Results show that the job demand–control model is a significant predictor of psychological distress among employees in the manufacturing industry, whereas the job demand–service model is a significant predictor of psychological distress among employees in the services industries.
Studies that combine moderation and mediation are prevalent in basic and applied psychology research. Typically, these studies are framed in terms of moderated mediation or mediated moderation, both of which involve similar analytical approaches. Unfortunately, these approaches have important shortcomings that conceal the nature of the moderated and the mediated effects under investigation. This article presents a general analytical framework for combining moderation and mediation that integrates moderated regression analysis and path analysis. This framework clarifies how moderator variables influence the paths that constitute the direct, indirect, and total effects of mediated models. The authors empirically illustrate this framework and give step-by-step instructions for estimation and interpretation. They summarize the advantages of their framework over current approaches, explain how it subsumes moderated mediation and mediated moderation, and describe how it can accommodate additional moderator and mediator variables, curvilinear relationships, and structural equation models with latent variables.
Using self-determination theory, two studies found that holding an extrinsic, relative to an intrinsic, work value orientation was associated with less positive outcomes (i.e. less satisfaction with, dedication to and vitality while on the job) and more negative outcomes (i.e. higher emotional exhaustion, short-lived satisfaction after successful goal-attainment, and turn-over intention). These relations were not limited to job outcomes, but also emerged using indicators of employees' general mental health. Moreover, income level did not moderate these relations. Study 2 found that holding an extrinsic, relative to an intrinsic, work value orientation was detrimental to employees' job outcomes because these orientations thwarted the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness at work.
Investigates the antecedents and outcomes of salesperson burnout. Prior research on burnout in personal selling is extended by including a more complete set of predictors of burnout, and by testing the conceptual model of burnout using a multi-company sample of field salespeople in an international setting. Relationships among burnout, attitudes, and behavior are predicted based on relevant literature, and are tested using survey results from 148 field salespeople in Australia. Path analysis results show that the proposed conceptual model fits the data well. Intrinsic motivation, role ambiguity, and role conflict are all significant antecedents of burnout. Job satisfaction and salesperson performance are direct outcomes of burnout, and also mediate the indirect influence of burnout on organizational commitment and intention to leave. Implications for salesforce management and future research are discussed.
conceptual and empirical perspectives on the relationship between helping and coping are presented
presents empirical evidence on the nature and degree of helping by individuals presumed to be exposed to stress, including siblings of children with disabilities and elderly persons / show that contrary to stereotypes of people presumed to be under stress, many such people do help others despite their own troubles
[describes] the results of two of my own emerging field studies, the results of which, when taken in combination with evidence presented in the first section, should increase the plausibility that helping serves as an effective coping mechanism (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study investigated 3 broad classes of individual-differences variables (job-search motives, competencies, and constraints) as predictors of job-search intensity among 292 unemployed job seekers. Also assessed was the relationship between job-search intensity and reemployment success in a longitudinal context. Results show significant relationships between the predictors employment commitment, financial hardship, job-search self-efficacy, and motivation control and the outcome job-search intensity. Support was not found for a relationship between perceived job-search constraints and job-search intensity. Motivation control was highlighted as the only lagged predictor of job-search intensity over time for those who were continuously unemployed. Job-search intensity predicted Time 2 reemployment status for the sample as a whole, but not reemployment quality for those who found jobs over the study's duration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Th empathy–altruism hypothesis interprets the empathy–helping link as evidence of true altruism. The negative state relief model interprets the same relation as an artifact of egoistic sadness-reduction. Neither view expresses the possibility that empathic concern reflects a general sensitivity to the emotional state of the victim and a specific sensitivity to vicarious joy at the resolution of the victim's needs. It is proposed that the prospect of empathic joy, conveyed by feedback (FB) from the help recipient, is essential to the special tendency of empathic witnesses to help. In neither of the alternative models does goal attainment depend on FB. Results of an experimental contrast were consistent with the empathic joy hypothesis and inconsistent with the alternatives. Empathically aroused witnesses offered help reliably to a person in distress only when they expected FB on the result; when denied FB, empathic witnesses were no more likely to help than their nonempathic counterparts. In contrast, nonempathic witnesses were unaffected by the availability of FB in deciding whether to help. Implications of an empathic joy-based motive are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Psychology has increasingly turned to the study of psychosocial resources in the examination of well-being. How resources are being studied and resource models that have been proffered are considered, and an attempt is made to examine elements that bridge across models. As resource models span health, community, cognitive, and clinical psychology, the question is raised of whether there is overuse of the resource metaphor or whether there exists some underlying principles that can be gleaned and incorporated to advance research. The contribution of resources for understanding multicultural and pan-historical adaptation in the face of challenge is considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Presents a comprehensive review of research and theory on reactions to help, organized in terms of 4 conceptual orientations (equity, attribution, reactance, and threat to self-esteem). For each orientation, the basic assumptions and predictions are discussed, supportive and nonsupportive data are reviewed, and an overall appraisal is offered. Threat to self-esteem is proposed as an organizing construct for research on reactions to help, and a model based on this construct is presented. It is argued that a formalized threat-to-self-esteem model is more comprehensive and parsimonious for predicting reactions to help than are equity, attribution, or reactance models. (111 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
We live in a social arena. Yet, in our interactions with others do we ever really care about them, or is the real target of our concern always, exclusively ourselves? For many years psychology, including social psychology, has assumed that we are social egoists, caring exclusively for ourselves. Today, the computer analogy that underlies so much thinking in cognitive and social psychology overlooks the fact that we care altogether. Recent evidence in support of the empathy-altruism hypothesis suggests a very different view. It suggests that not only do we care but also that when we feel empathy for others in need, we are capable of caring for them for their sakes and not our own. Limits on the human capacity for altruistic caring are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Generativity may be conceived in terms of 7 interrelated features: cultural demand, inner desire, generative concern, belief in the species, commitment, generative action, and personal narration. Two studies describe the development and use of 3 assessment strategies designed to tap into the generativity features of concern, action, and narration. A self-report scale of generative concern, the Loyola Generativity Scale (LGS), exhibited good internal consistency and retest reliability and showed strong positive associations with reports of actual generative acts (e.g., teaching a skill) and themes of generativity in narrative accounts of important autobiographical episodes. In 1 sample of adults between the ages of 19 and 68, LGS scores of fathers were higher than those of men who had never had children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study described the various ways that newcomers proactively attempt to gain feelings of personal control during organizational entry and examined their longitudinal effects on self-reported performance and satisfaction in a sample of organizational newcomers. The results suggest that individuals engage in proactive activities such as information and feedback seeking, relationship building, job-change negotiating, and positive framing during entry and that individual differences in desired control were related to 6 proactive entry tactics. However, only some of these tactics were related to self-reported performance and job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Although the effects of transformational leadership on task performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) are well-documented, the mechanisms that explain those effects remain unclear. We propose that transformational leadership is associated with the way followers view their jobs, in terms of Hackman and Oldham's (1976) core job characteristics. Results of our study support a structural model whereby indirect effects supplement the direct effects of transformational leadership on task performance and OCB through the mechanisms of job characteristics, intrinsic motivation, and goal commitment. Additional analyses revealed that transformational leadership relationships were significantly stronger for followers who perceived high-quality leader-member exchange.
On numerous occasions it has been suggested that an individual’s self-esteem, formed around work and organizational experiences, plays a significant role in determining employee motivation, work-related attitudes and behaviors. We review more than a decade of research on an organization-based conceptualization of self-esteem. It is observed that sources of organization structure, signals about worth from the organization, as well as, success-building role conditions predict organization-based self-esteem. In addition, organization-based self-esteem is related to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, motivation, citizenship behavior, in-role performance, and turnover intentions, as well as, other important organization-related attitudes and behaviors. Explanations for these effects and directions for future research are discussed.
Burnout is a prolonged response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors on the job, and is defined by the three dimensions of exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy. The past 25 years of research has established the complexity of the construct, and places the individual stress experience within a larger organizational context of people's relation to their work. Recently, the work on burnout has expanded internationally and has led to new conceptual models. The focus on engagement, the positive antithesis of burnout, promises to yield new perspectives on interventions to alleviate burnout. The social focus of burnout, the solid research basis concerning the syndrome, and its specific ties to the work domain make a distinct and valuable contribution to people's health and well-being.
Cognitive evaluation theory, which explains the effects of extrinsic motivators on intrinsic motivation, received some initial attention in the organizational literature. However, the simple dichotomy between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation made the theory difficult to apply to work settings. Differentiating extrinsic motivation into types that differ in their degree of autonomy led to self-determination theory, which has received widespread attention in the education, health care, and sport domains. This article describes self-determination theory as a theory of work motivation and shows its relevance to theories of organizational behavior. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An interactionist principle of trait activation is proposed, emphasizing situation trait relevance (i.e., opportunity for trait expression) as a moderator of trait–behavior relations and cross-situational consistency (CSC). One hundred fifty-six students completed trait measures and expressed intentions in 10 scenarios targeted to each of five traits (e.g., risk taking). Trait–intention correlations within scenario sets were themselves correlated with mean situation trait relevance ratings provided by 26 proficient judges; CSCs in intentions (45 correlations per trait) were correlated with an index of shared trait relevance in situation pairs. In support of trait activation, (a) trait–intention relations for three traits were higher in more relevant situations (e.g., second-order r = .66 for risk taking) and (b) CSCs were higher in scenarios jointly high in targeted trait relevance (e.g., second-order r = .55 for risk taking). Discussion highlights applications of trait activation in diverse research domains.
We propose that employees craft their jobs by changing cognitive, task, and/or relational boundaries to shape interactions and relationships with others at work. These altered task and relational configurations change the design and social environment of the job, which, in turn, alters work meanings and work identity. We offer a model of job crafting that specifies (1) the individual motivations that spark this activity. (2) how opportunities to job craft and how individual work orientations determine the forms job crafting takes, and (3) its likely individual and organizational effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Academy of Management Review is the property of Academy of Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Positive emotions are hypothesized to undo the cardiovascular aftereffects of negative emotions. Study 1 tests this undoing effect. Participants (n = 170) experiencing anxiety-induced cardiovascular reactivity viewed a film that elicited (a) contentment, (b) amusement, (c) neutrality, or (d) sadness. Contentment-eliciting and amusing films produced faster cardiovascular recovery than neutral or sad films did. Participants in Study 2 (n = 185) viewed these same films following a neutral state. Results disconfirm the alternative explanation that the undoing effect reflects a simple replacement process. Findings are contextualized by Fredrickson's broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (B. L. Fredrickson, 1998).
The change in the United States from a manufacturing economy to a service economy has important implications for theoretical models of the relationships between job characteristics and workers' psychological distress. A sample of 600 men and women employed full-time were recruited to test 2 theoretical models. The job demand-control model posits that jobs that are both high in job demands and low in decision latitude are associated with greater psychological distress. The job demand-service model posits that jobs that are high in job demands and low in service to others are associated with greater psychological distress. Results show that the job demand-control model is a significant predictor of psychological distress among employees in the manufacturing industry, whereas the job demand-service model is a significant predictor of psychological distress among employees in the services industries.
Psychology has increasingly turned to the study of psychosocial resources in the examination of well-being. How resources are being studied and resource models that have been proffered are considered, and an attempt is made to examine elements that bridge across models. As resource models span health, community, cognitive, and clinical psychology, the question is raised of whether there is overuse of the resource metaphor or whether there exists some underlying principles that can be gleaned and incorporated to advance research. The contribution of resources for understanding multicultural and pan-historical adaptation in the face of challenge is considered.
We live in a social arena. Yet, in our interactions with others do we ever really care about them, or is the real target of our concern always, exclusively ourselves? For many years psychology, including social psychology, has assumed that we are social egoists, caring exclusively for ourselves. Today, the computer analogy that underlies so much thinking in cognitive and social psychology overlooks the fact that we care altogether. Recent evidence in support of the empathy-altruism hypothesis suggests a very different view. It suggests that not only do we care but also that when we feel empathy for others in need, we are capable of caring for them for their sakes and not our own. Limits on the human capacity for altruistic caring are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study described the various ways that newcomers proactively attempt to gain feelings of personal control during organizational entry and examined their longitudinal effects on self-reported performance and satisfaction in a sample of organizational newcomers. The results suggest that individuals engage in proactive activities such as information and feedback seeking, relationship building, job-change negotiating, and positive framing during entry and that individual differences in desired control were related to 6 proactive entry tactics. However, only some of these tactics were related to self-reported performance and job satisfaction.
We propose a model of group processes that accords a key role to the verification of people's self-views (thoughts and feelings about the self). This approach partially incorporates past work on self-categorization (under the rubric of verification of social self-views) and introduces a new set of processes (the verification of personal self-views) to the groups literature. Conceptual analysis and recent empirical evidence suggest the self-verification framework offers a novel perspective on finding value in diversity.
In order to produce a beneficial result, professionals must sometimes cause harm to another human being. To capture this phenomenon, we introduce the construct of "necessary evils" and explore the inherent challenges such tasks pose for those who must perform them. Whereas previous research has established the importance of treating victims of necessary evils with interpersonal sensitivity, we focus on the challenges performers face when attempting to achieve this prescribed standard in practice.
A dynamic, compartmental, simulation model (WETLAND) was developed for the design and evaluation of constructed wetlands to optimize nonpoint source (NPS) pollution control. The model simulates the hydrologic, nitrogen, carbon, dissolved oxygen (DO), bacteria, vegetative, phosphorous, and sediment cycles of a wetland system. Written in Fortran 77, the WETLAND models both free-water surface (FWS) and subsurface flow (SSF) wetlands, and is designed in a modular manner that gives the user the flexibility to decide which cycles and processes to model. WETLAND differs from many existing wetland models in that the interactions between the different nutrient cycles are modeled, minimizing the number of assumptions concerning wetland processes. It also directly links microbial growth and death to the consumption and transformations of nutrients in the wetland system. The WETLAND model is intended to be utilized with an existing NPS hydro-logic simulation model, such as ANSWERS or BASINS, but also may be used in situations where measured input data to the wetland are available. The model was calibrated and validated using limited data from a FWS wetland located at Benton, Kentucky. The WETLAND predictions were not statistically different from measured values for of five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), suspended sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorous. Effluent DO predictions were not always consistent with measured concentrations. A sensitivity analysis indicated the most significant input parameters to the model were those that directly affected bacterial growth and DO uptake and movement. The model was used to design a hypothetical constructed wetland in a subwatershed of the Nomini Creek watershed, located in Virginia. Two-year simulations were completed for five separate wetland designs. Predicted percent reductions in BOD5 (4 to 45 percent), total suspended solids (85 to 100 percent), total nitrogen (42 to 56 percent), and total phosphorous (38 to 57 percent) were similar to levels reported by previous research.
This research investigated how experiences in a particular boundary-spanning context (community outreach) affected members' organizational identity and identification. Multimethod panel data from 219 participants showed that intergroup comparisons with clients (emphasizing differences) and intragroup comparisons with other organization members (emphasizing similarities) changed how members construed their organization's defining qualities. Intergroup comparisons also enhanced the esteem members derived from organizational membership, which, in turn, strengthened organizational identification. Supervisors reported higher interpersonal cooperation and work effort for members whose organizational identification became stronger. The results reveal potential outcomes of boundary-spanning work as well as how organizational identification processes operate in everyday work contexts.
The central focus of this research is on the development and testing of a theoretical framework to understand performance and retention of volunteers. The framework is centered on identity theory and includes both general and specific role identity as well as organizational variables. Data were obtained from two samples of volunteers for the American Cancer Society (ACS). Specific role identity as an ACS volunteer is predicted from general role identity and several factors related to perceived experiences in the organization. Specific role identity explains significant amounts of variance in the number of hours worked for ACS and other organizations as well as intent to remain an ACS volunteer. Results also suggest that volunteers may experience conflicts between the demands of their general and specific role identities. Finally, the effects of ACS role identity on volunteer behavior are compared with those of organizational commitment.
Proactivelyseeking help from others involves “social costs” because the help seeker appears incompetent, dependent, and inferior to others. This article hypothesizes that these costs are especially threatening when the help seeker is male and in a male-oriented occupational role, when the helper is in a higher or lower status role than the help seeker, and when the task is novel and central to the organization’s core competence. A field study examined physician and nurse help seeking regarding a new computer system within a large hospital. The results showed that individuals reported less help seeking when theywere male, in male-oriented occupations, and when the task was central to the organization’s core competence. Perceived social costs mediated these effects.
This study examined the relationship between job stress and employee well-being among teachers in Canada and Pakistan. Job stress was operationalized in terms of perceived experiences at the job which were chronic in nature. Employee well-being was operationalized in terms of burnout and its three dimensions (emotional exhaustion, lack of accomplishment and depersonalization), intrinsic motivation, job involvement and turnover intention. Data were collected by means of a structured questionnaire from teachers in metropolitan cities in Canada (N=420) and Pakistan (N=335). Pearson correlation and moderated multiple regression were used to analyze the data. In both countries, job stress was significantly related to a number of well-being variables. Moderated multiple regression did not support the role of gender as a moderator of the stresswell-being relationship. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Previous research has suggested that high levels of burnout lead to impaired functioning on the job. However, as this research has usually relied on self-reported performance, it is imperative to examine whether this association is also confirmed when using “objective” performance data (e.g., supervisor reports). This study reviewed previous research on the associations between burnout (exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment) and various types of objective performance. A systematic literature search identified 16 studies dealing with the burnout–performance relationship. These studies showed the wide variety of approaches that are used to study burnout and objective performance. Using data from these 16 studies, a meta-analysis was conducted to obtain mean correlations. The meta-analytical correlations between exhaustion and in-role behaviour (based on five studies), organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB; five studies), and customer satisfaction (two studies) were −.22, −.19, and −.55, respectively, underlining the practical relevance of burnout research for organizational performance. The evidence for the relationships between depersonalization, personal accomplishment, and performance was inconclusive. Future research should focus on valid indicators of job performance, should more often employ longitudinal designs and large samples, and should consider the theoretical basis for the study expectations more extensively.
The pursuit of happiness is an important goal for many people. However, surprisingly little scientific research has focused on the question of how happiness can be increased and then sustained, probably because of pessimism engendered by the concepts of genetic determinism and hedonic adaptation. Nevertheless, emerging sources of optimism exist regarding the possibility of permanent increases in happiness. Drawing on the past well-being literature, the authors propose that a person's chronic happiness level is governed by 3 major factors: a genetically determined set point for happiness, happiness-relevant circumstantial factors, and happiness-relevant activities and practices. The authors then consider adaptation and dynamic processes to show why the activity category offers the best opportunities for sustainably increasing happiness. Finally, existing research is discussed in support of the model, including 2 preliminary happiness-increasing interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This article illustrates how work contexts motivate employees to care about making a positive difference in other people's lives. I introduce a model of relational job design to describe how jobs spark the motivation to make a prosocial difference, and how this motivation affects employees' actions and identities. Whereas existing research fo-cuses on individual differences and the task structures of jobs, I illuminate how the relational architecture of jobs shapes the motivation to make a prosocial difference. Why do I risk my life by running into a burning building, knowing that at any moment . . . the floor may give way, the roof may tumble on me, the fire may engulf me? . . . I'm here for my community, a community I grew up in, a community where I know lots of people, a community that knows me (fire-fighter; International Firefighters' Day, 2004).
Predictions from interpersonal traits to affect were examined in the context of 3 models. In the global trait model, traits were used to predict affect aggregated over a 20-day period. In the situational congruence model, traits were used to predict affect in trait-relevant situations. In the behavioral concordance model, the co-occurrence between behaviors and affect was examined for individual participants, and then traits were used to predict the degree to which behavior and affect co-occurred. No support was found for the global trait and situational congruence models. Support was found for the behavioral concordance model for 3 of the 4 traits. Individuals high on agreeableness and quarrelsomeness experienced pleasant affect when they engaged in behaviors concordant with their traits. Individuals high on agreeableness, quarrelsomeness, and dominance experienced unpleasant affect when they engaged in behaviors opposite to their traits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Burnout is a psychological response to work stress that is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced feelings of personal accomplishment. In this paper, we review the burnout literature from 1993 to present, identifying important trends that have characterized the literature. We focus our attention on theoretical models that explain the process of burnout, the measurement of burnout, means of reducing burnout, and directions for the future of burnout research.
Service employees often perceive their actions as harming and benefiting others, and these perceptions have significant consequences for their own well-being. We conducted two studies to test the hypothesis that perceptions of benefiting others attenuate the detrimental effects of perceptions of harming others on the well-being of service employees. In Study 1, a survey of 377 transportation service employees and 99 secretaries, perceived prosocial impact moderated the negative association between perceived antisocial impact and job satisfaction, such that the association decreased as perceived prosocial impact increased. In Study 2, a survey of 79 school teachers, perceived prosocial impact moderated the association between perceived antisocial impact and burnout, and this moderated relationship was mediated by moral justification; the results held after controlling for common antecedents of burnout. The results suggest that perceptions of benefiting others may protect service employees against the decreased job satisfaction and increased burnout typically associated with perceptions of harming others. Implications for research on burnout, job satisfaction, positive organizational scholarship and job design are discussed.
Despite an emerging body of research on a personality trait termed core self-evaluations, the trait continues to be measured indirectly. The present study reported the results of a series of studies that developed and tested the validity of the Core Self-Evaluations Scale (CSES), a direct and relatively brief measure of the trait. Results indicated that the 12-item CSES was reliable, displayed a unitary factor structure, correlated significantly with job satisfaction, job performance, and life satisfaction, and had validity equal to that of an optimal weighting of the 4 specific core traits (self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, neuroti-cism, and locus of control), and incremental validity over the 5-factor model. Overall, results suggest that the CSES is a valid measure that should prove useful in applied psychology research.
A model is proposed that specifies the conditions under which individuals will become internally motivated to perform effectively on their jobs. The model focuses on the interaction among three classes of variables: (a) the psychological states of employees that must be present for internally motivated work behavior to develop; (b) the characteristics of jobs that can create these psychological states; and (c) the attributes of individuals that determine how positively a person will respond to a complex and challenging job. The model was tested for 658 employees who work on 62 different jobs in seven organizations, and results support its validity. A number of special features of the model are discussed (including its use as a basis for the diagnosis of jobs and the evaluation of job redesign projects), and the model is compared to other theories of job design.