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The purpose of this paper is to test whether a four‐dimensional model of occupational commitment could help to help explain intent to leave one's occupation.

A total of 2,032 massage therapists and bodywork practitioners completed an on‐line survey measuring occupational commitment, intent to leave occupation, job satisfaction, job perception, and personal variables. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the study hypotheses.

Controlling for personal and then job‐related variables, general job satisfaction was a significant negative correlate of intent to leave the occupation beyond these variables. Controlling for personal, job‐related and job satisfaction, three of the four occupational commitment dimensions, affective, accumulated costs, and limited alternatives, were each significant negative correlates of intent to leave. Normative commitment was not a significant correlate. After controlling for lower‐order interactions, a four‐way interaction of the occupational commitment dimensions explained significant additional variance in intent to leave. Separate “high” (versus “low”) cumulative commitment subgroups were created by selecting respondents who were equal to or above (versus below) the median on each of the four occupational commitment dimensions. An independent samples t‐test indicated that low cumulative commitment massage therapists and bodywork practitioners were more likely to intend to leave than high cumulative commitment practitioners.

Despite the cross‐sectional, self‐report research design, the results suggest that a four‐dimensional model of occupational commitment is useful for understanding intent to leave occupation. Given the costs and difficulties associated with changing occupations, follow‐up research using other samples and additional noted research design variables is needed.

The results and recommendations in the paper will be of interest to those involved in the field of human resources.

Addresses the standardization of the measurements and the labels for concepts commonly used in the study of work organizations. As a reference handbook and research tool, seeks to improve measurement in the study of work organizations and to facilitate the teaching of introductory courses in this subject. Focuses solely on work organizations, that is, social systems in which members work for money. Defines measurement and distinguishes four levels: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio. Selects specific measures on the basis of quality, diversity, simplicity and availability and evaluates each measure for its validity and reliability. Employs a set of 38 concepts ‐ ranging from “absenteeism” to “turnover” as the handbook’s frame of reference. Concludes by reviewing organizational measurement over the past 30 years and recommending future measurement reseach.

The aim of the paper is to formally test that physical exhaustion is distinguishable from work exhaustion, and to investigate common as well as differential correlates of each type of exhaustion.

An on‐line survey sample of 1,895 complete‐data massage therapists and body workers (MT & BWs) was used to test the study hypotheses.

Factor analytic support was found for distinguishable measures of work exhaustion and physical exhaustion. In separate regression models common significant correlates for both types of exhaustion included: gender (females higher), higher surface acting, higher accumulated and continuing education occupational costs, and lower job satisfaction. However, job satisfaction had a significantly stronger negative correlation to work exhaustion versus physical exhaustion. Looking at impact on occupational outcomes, physical exhaustion had a stronger positive correlation to being forced to stay in occupation than work exhaustion, but work exhaustion had a stronger positive correlation to intent to leave occupation than physical exhaustion. Unique correlates for work exhaustion included more years in practice and lower education level, while unique correlates for physical exhaustion included: more average days worked/week, higher deep acting, and higher occupational identification.

From a measurement perspective, the three‐item measure of physical exhaustion and five item measure of work exhaustion each had a good reliability. However, ideally more items should be used to measure physical exhaustion, and other work exhaustion scales should be utilized to validate the results. Expanding the job demands‐resources framework to also include occupational‐level variables, such as accumulated costs, seems to hold promise for helping to further understand the antecedents of exhaustion.

Work and physical exhaustion can impact on occupational outcomes and are risks for other samples such as nurses, home health care aides, physical therapists, and athletic trainers. Many MT & BWs work alone and meditation is suggested as an effective method to improve job satisfaction, reduce work exhaustion and decrease occupational intent to leave.

The paper uses a sample of massage therapists and body workers and overall the findings suggest that work exhaustion and physical exhaustion are related but distinct exhaustion components.

Using a sample of 103 Indian supervisor‐pharmaceutical sales representative dyads, this study hypothesized that procedural justice, distributive justice, perceived organizational support, and communication satisfaction with supervisor would have a stronger positive relationship to organizational citizenship behavior than to in‐role behavior. Supportive result was found for one variable, i.e., communication satisfaction with supervisor had a stronger relationship to organizational citizenship behavior.

The purpose of this paper is to distinguish knowledge gained vs skills learned as two learning-related training criteria; and to then test the impact of two career motivation variables, home care intent and stepping stone, for explaining these training criteria beyond controlled-for variables.

The research used a sample of 720 personal/home care aides (P/HCAs) who filled out pre-training and post-training surveys. Training consisted of 25 modules, lasting approximately 100 hours on various P/HCA knowledge bases, with training sessions generally five to six hours/day, four to five days/week over a three to four week period. Factor analyses, correlation, and hierarchical regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses.

Results showed that these two learning outcomes, knowledge gained vs skills learned, could be differentiated and reliably measured. Subsequent hierarchical regression analyses showed additional discriminant validity for these two learning outcomes. For the two measured career motivation variables, home care intent and stepping stone, home care intent was positively related to both learning outcomes but stepping stone only had a significant positive impact on skills learned. Training delivery was significantly related only to knowledge gained, while instructor rating was significantly related only to skills learned.

A unique sample of P/HCA trainees was utilized to test for this previously untested learning outcome distinction. As the population ages and demand increases for P/HCAs, additional training and studies evaluating such training will be needed.

This paper's aim is to study a neglected relationship: testing the impact of emotional labor on the work exhaustion for samples of emergency medical service (EMS) professionals.

Three distinct samples of EMS professionals, i.e. emergency medical technician (EMT) – basic, EMT – intermediate, and paramedic, were surveyed to test the impact of three variable sets, personal (e.g. gender, age, health), work‐related (e.g. years of service, job satisfaction), and emotional labor (i.e. surface acting, deep acting) on work exhaustion.

Results across the three samples consistently showed that surface acting had a significantly stronger positive impact than deep acting on work exhaustion. In addition it was found that surface acting had a significantly stronger negative relationship to job satisfaction than deep acting. Surface acting also had a significant negative relationship to perceived health. Years of service were positively related to work exhaustion across all samples, while job satisfaction was negatively related.

Work exhaustion is an occupational risk for EMS professionals. Individuals considering EMS as a career must have realistic expectations and information about the rewards as well as challenges facing them. To help buffer the impact of emotional labor on work exhaustion and related outcomes, EMS stakeholders should consider facilitating mentor and/or peer support group programs to enhance the development of stronger camaraderie in different EMS‐based organizations (e.g. hospitals, fire services).

Prior research has not tested for the impact of emotional labor on work exhaustion for EMS professionals. Even after controlling for personal and work‐related variables, surface acting maintained a stronger positive impact than deep acting on work exhaustion. Key demographics for each of the three samples (type of work, community size, gender) indicate representativeness to previous cohort samples of nationally certified EMS professionals.

This paper replicates with a unionized, Indian sample, the well‐established finding that managerial evaluations of employee performance are affected by both objective productivity and organizational citizenship behavior. Data from the managers of 104 Indian pharmaceutical sales representatives and company records replicated the findings of previous research. While objective productivity alone accounted for 9 percent of the variance in subjective performance, objective productivity and organizational citizenship behavior together accounted for 41 percent of the variance. Implications of the findings for future research and managerial practice are discussed.

This paper's aim is to study a neglected research outcome within the last ten years, i.e. the impact of unemployment on the willingness of those laid off (victims) to endorse their previous employer to others.

A unique sample of unemployed victims completed an on‐line survey investigating the impact of personal background variables, organizational background variables and layoff treatment variables on their willingness to endorse their previous employer.

As expected, the perceived legitimacy of closure/procedural justice explained willingness to endorse. It was also found that higher perceived distributive justice was related to willingness to endorse. Collectively both layoff treatment variables explained most of the endorsement variance. Length of unemployment was positively related to anger and depression, and anger and depression were each negatively related to previous employer endorsement. In addition, it was also found that an unexpected new outcome, potential rehire, emerged as related to but distinct from willingness to endorse. Supporting this distinctiveness, victims who were angrier about being unemployed were less likely to endorse their previous employer to others, but victims who were more depressed about being unemployed were willing to potentially reapply to their former employer.

Study results reinforce the importance of perceived justice affecting not only layoff victims' previous employer endorsement but also their potential rehiring.

A uniquely unemployed sample, primarily executives, middle managers and professional, salaried individuals, with most being longer‐term unemployed, was utilized. There was also a stronger measure of distributive justice. Potential rehire emerged as a distinct outcome from willingness to endorse previous employer.

The purpose of this paper is to test a process model of coping with job loss by examining the impact of distal to proximal variable sets for incrementally explaining two distinct subjective well‐being variables: life satisfaction and unemployment stigma. A second purpose is to test for mean differences between study scales for increasingly long‐term unemployed individuals.

A unique sample of unemployed victims completed an online survey investigating the impact of six variable sets on life satisfaction and unemployment stigma. These sets fall within the McKee‐Ryan et al. taxonomy and included: human capital and demographics; personal and financial coping resources; cognitive appraisal; escape‐focused coping; problem‐focused coping; and job search effort.

Results partially supported the hypothesized variable set impact order on both life satisfaction and unemployment stigma. In addition some significant differences on study variables were found comparing four unemployed groups: up to six months; and three progressively long‐term unemployed groups, i.e. seven to 12 months; 13 to 24 months; and over 24 months, with the over 24 month unemployed respondents (23 per cent of the sample) suffering the most.

The cross‐sectional self‐report study research design is the foremost limitation. However, given the challenges of collecting unemployment related‐data on such a diverse sample, the unemployment agency/job services recent‐job‐loss‐respondent longitudinal data collection approach used in previous research was not an option. The one‐factor test found that only 15 per cent of “common method variance” was explained by the first factor, suggesting that this is not an overriding limitation. Survey constraints necessitated using shortened validated scales in several instances. However, the authors did select the highest loading items when shortening scales and such scales were generally reliable.

Implications of study results for careers and steps to prevent longer‐term unemployment are discussed. There seemed to be a general “disconnect” between unemployed respondent self‐ratings of positive skill assessment, networking comfort, and proactive search, all of which were fairly high, against recent behavioral job search which was lower. This disconnect suggests that it may be hard for many unemployed to objectively look at their job search process.

A unique unemployed sample, primarily executives, middle managers and professional, salaried individuals, with most being longer‐term unemployed, was utilized. Initial psychometric support for several new scales was found, including unemployment stigma and behavioral job search. This study represented a fairly comprehensive test of the McKee‐Ryan et al. taxonomy for correlates of psychological well‐being during unemployment specifically applied to life satisfaction and unemployment stigma. An innovative on‐line data collection approach, snowball sampling, was used.

Little research has been done in studying the impact of sleep‐related impairments on the perceived health and retention intent of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) workers. This paper aims to fill some of the gaps.

This study used a time‐lagged research design to test the impact of three sleep impairments measured in 2005, i.e. sleepiness, relationship difficulty due to sleepiness, and general activity difficulty due to sleepiness, on perceived general health measured in 2006 and 2007, and 2007 intent to leave the EMS profession. Background and work‐related variables, also measured in 2005, were controlled for. A total of 288 complete data EMS repeat‐respondents constituted the study sample across the three years. Although this was only a very small percentage of the total number of respondents, this sample was found to be demographically representative of the incomplete data respondents.

The three‐sleep impairment variable set had a collective significant additional impact for explaining both years of subsequent perceived health and retention intent, beyond the controlled‐for background and work‐related variable sets. The perceived general health variable set explained a small but unique amount of additional variance in retention intent beyond the controlled for background, work‐related and sleep impairment variable sets.

People's lives can depend on the quick and efficient reactions of EMS workers. There has been little prior research studying the impact of sleep impairments on health and retention outcomes using an EMS sample. The results seem promising enough to suggest continued study of the impact of sleep‐related impairments on work outcomes for EMS personnel, and other samples sharing common work stresses.