Tinka van Vuuren, Jeroen P. de Jong and Peter G.W. Smulders
The purpose of this paper is to test the relationship between subjective job insecurity and self-rated job performance, and to assess how this association is different across…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the relationship between subjective job insecurity and self-rated job performance, and to assess how this association is different across different employment groups.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a data set owned by TNO and Statistics Netherlands of more than 89,000 Dutch workers and self-employed that is a representative sample of the Dutch workforce. The authors included data from 2014 and 2016 assessing subjective job insecurity in terms of “a concern about the future of one’s job/business” and self-rated job performance.
Findings
The effect size of the association between subjective job insecurity and self-rated job performance is small. For temporary agency workers and on-call workers, the association between subjective job insecurity and job performance is weaker compared to permanent workers and fixed-term workers. However for self-employed workers with and without employees, however, the relation between subjective job insecurity and job performance is stronger compared to permanent workers.
Research limitations/implications
The biggest limitation is the cross-sectional design of the study, which limits conclusions about causality.
Practical implications
The finding that subjective job insecurity goes together with less work performance shows that job insecurity has no upside for the productivity of companies.
Originality/value
The study provides a deeper understanding of the relationship between subjective job insecurity and self-rated job performance on a national level.
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Frits Schreuder, Rene Schalk and Jeroen de Jong
This study aims to examine reciprocal exchange in teams using a psychological contract (PC) framework. Adopting Rousseau’s conceptualization of the contract, the authors explore…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine reciprocal exchange in teams using a psychological contract (PC) framework. Adopting Rousseau’s conceptualization of the contract, the authors explore the extent to which the team members reciprocate perceived team obligations and fulfilment by adjusting their own obligations and fulfilment. A new scale for the measurement of obligations and fulfilment was developed. Team commitment was hypothesized as a mediating variable.
Design/methodology/approach
The new PC scale was tested in a longitudinal study design. A survey of a representative sample of 230 Dutch first-year college students nested in 73 teams was conducted.
Findings
The authors found that in student teams, perceived team obligations at Time 1 are positively associated with perceived member obligations at Time 2. Furthermore, they found higher commitment to the team as the team fulfilled the obligations as perceived by its members. Contrary to the exchange theory, in student teams, perceived fulfilment of obligations at Time 1 is not reciprocated by more obligations of its members at Time 2. No significant mediating effects are found of team commitment.
Originality/value
To date, this study provides the first measurement of contract fulfilment in non-hierarchical team relationships. The instrument can act as a tool to assess future team effectiveness and performance and adjust team composition accordingly.
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Pauline van Dorssen-Boog, Tinka van Vuuren, Jeroen de Jong and Monique Veld
While both perceived job autonomy and self-leadership are assumed to be important for optimal functioning of healthcare workers, their mutual relationship remains unclear. This…
Abstract
Purpose
While both perceived job autonomy and self-leadership are assumed to be important for optimal functioning of healthcare workers, their mutual relationship remains unclear. This cross-lagged study aims to theorize and test that perceived job autonomy and self-leadership have a reciprocal relationship, which is moderated by need for job autonomy.
Design/methodology/approach
Two-wave panel data were used to measure cross-lagged relationships over a time period of three months. Self-leadership is indicated by both self-leadership strategies and self-leadership behavior. The data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression (HMR).
Findings
Job autonomy was not causally nor reverse related to self-leadership strategies, but did relate to self-leadership behavior in both directions. Need for job autonomy did not influence the causal and reverse relationships between job autonomy and self-leadership (strategies and behavior). Instead, need for job autonomy discarded the influence of job autonomy on self-leadership behavior, and predicted self-leadership behavior over time.
Practical implications
For optimizing healthcare jobs, human resource management (HRM) policy makers need to consider other interventions such as training self-leadership, or developing an autonomy supportive work environment, since job autonomy does not lead to more use of self-leadership strategies.
Originality/value
This study used a cross-lagged study design which gives the opportunity to investigate causal relationships between job autonomy and self-leadership. Both self-leadership strategies and self-leadership behavior are included.
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Jeroen P. de Jong and Oana C. Fodor
The authors first examine the extent to which having an accurate understanding of and anticipate on one another’s work routines (defined as crossattuning) explains additional…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors first examine the extent to which having an accurate understanding of and anticipate on one another’s work routines (defined as crossattuning) explains additional variance of team performance above and beyond other implicit coordination concepts such as team familiarity and transactive memory. Furthermore, the authors aim to propose that social sensitivity interacts with team size and team longevity in supporting the emergence of cross-attuning.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors first use a quasi-experimental design with 35 student-teams in Study 1 to test the discriminant validity of their construct. In Study 2, the authors use a field study with 66 work teams to test their hypotheses.
Findings
Study 1 shows that cross-attuning has a positive effect on team performance and that it explains additional variance above other implicit coordination-concepts. In Study 2, the authors confirm cross-attuning associates with supervisor-rated team performance and find that team social sensitivity is more positively related to cross-attuning in small teams with low longevity and in large teams with high longevity in comparison to large teams with low longevity.
Originality/value
The study of implicit coordination mechanisms in teams has primarily focused on having knowledge about other team members’ expertise and competencies and how teams cope with unexpected events. How teams deal with individual work routines – repetitive work-related behavior that is limited in considering alternative actions and the task environment – have received limited attention, despite the potential of these individual routines to thwart successful team task completion.
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Marieke van den Tooren and Jeroen de Jong
The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the main propositions of the job demands-resources (JDR) model are moderated by type of contract (i.e. temporary contract vs…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the main propositions of the job demands-resources (JDR) model are moderated by type of contract (i.e. temporary contract vs permanent contract).
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected in a large, heterogeneous sample from different countries, sectors, and jobs (n=3,845). Hypotheses were tested by means of multilevel analyses.
Findings
Results showed moderate support for the main effects of job demands (job insecurity and time pressure) and job resources (autonomy and social support) and weak support for the buffer effect of job resources in the prediction of job satisfaction and general health. The impact of contract type on the main propositions of the JDR model appeared to be weak. Yet, the evidence that was found suggests that temporary workers may be more tolerant to job insecurity and more likely to benefit from the buffering role of autonomy than permanent workers.
Originality/value
This is the first study to investigate whether the relation between job demands and job resources and employee health and well-being differs for permanent workers and temporary workers.
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Michael Clinton, Claudia Bernhard‐Oettel, Thomas Rigotti and Jeroen de Jong
The purpose of this paper is to explore an expanded temporal context of non‐permanent work through an examination of the influence of previous experience of temporary working…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore an expanded temporal context of non‐permanent work through an examination of the influence of previous experience of temporary working, contract duration and time remaining on contract and expectations of continued employment on reports of job insecurity, job satisfaction, in‐role performance and organisational commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
Hypotheses were tested using responses of 1,169 temporary workers from a multi‐national, cross‐sectional questionnaire study.
Findings
Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that having previous experience of temporary work was associated with higher in‐role performance. No significant effects were found for contract duration, but shorter time remaining on present contract was associated with greater job insecurity and also greater in‐role performance. However the strongest effects were found for expectations of continued employment, with stronger expectations being linked to more positive reports of each outcome. A number of moderation effects were found that indicated interactions between temporal variables and revealed a moderating role of preference for temporary work.
Originality/value
The paper is one of the first to formally consider the influence of a broader temporal context on attitudes and behaviours of temporary workers. Significant associations were found between elements relating to each of the past, present and future and important individual and organisational variables in the present. These effects were sustained above and beyond the influence of variables such as country, sector, preferences, skill level, contract type, and demographics that are known to affect temporary workers' attitudes and behaviours.
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Jeroen de Jong, Nele De Cuyper, Hans De Witte, Inmaculada Silla and Claudia Bernhard‐Oettel
This paper aims to offer a typology of temporary workers, based on their motives for accepting their work arrangement, which includes voluntary, involuntary and stepping‐stone…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to offer a typology of temporary workers, based on their motives for accepting their work arrangement, which includes voluntary, involuntary and stepping‐stone motives, and relate this typology to various individual and work‐related variables.
Design/methodology/approach
Latent class analysis of 645 European workers was used to construct a typology of temporary workers. Variation of individual and work‐related variables between types of temporary workers was analyzed using ANOVA.
Findings
The analyses suggest that there are three types of workers: involuntary temporary workers highlight the involuntary motive and the stepping‐stone motive; the stepping‐stone type stresses the stepping‐stone motive only, and the non‐involuntary group disagrees with all three motives. Moreover, the groups differed significantly on important work‐related variables such as occupational position, tenure, employability, and work‐involvement. However, differences in individual variables were limited.
Research limitations/implications
The research puts forward a more complex typology of temporary workers than is usually suggested. Moreover, the study shows a non‐involuntary group for which temporary employment can become a trap, and hence these workers should be targeted by future policy and interventions.
Originality/value
The research offers a typology of temporary workers, which is founded on motivation theory, and existing research on motives for accepting temporary employment.
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Jeroen de De Jong, Michael Clinton, Thomas Rigotti and Claudia Bernhard-Oettel
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the nonlinear association between proportions of breached obligations within the psychological contract (PC) and three dimensions of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the nonlinear association between proportions of breached obligations within the psychological contract (PC) and three dimensions of employee well-being, and the mediating role of contract violation in these relationships. With this study the authors gain a more detailed understanding of PC evaluations and their consequences for well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors build on asymmetry effects theory and affective events theory to propose that breached obligations outweigh fulfilled obligations in their association with well-being. The hypotheses are tested using a sample of 4,953 employees from six European countries and Israel.
Findings
The results provide support for the hypotheses, as the effect sizes of the indirect relationships for breached obligations on well-being via violation are initially strong compared to fulfilled obligations, but decrease incrementally as the proportion of breached obligations become greater. At a certain point the effect sizes become nonsignificant.
Research limitations/implications
The study shows that PC theory and research needs to better acknowledge the potential for asymmetrical effects of breach relative to fulfillment, such that the breach of obligations can sometimes have a stronger effect on employee well-being than the fulfillment of obligations.
Practical implications
Those responsible for managing PCs in organizations should be aware of the asymmetrical effects of breach relative to fulfillment, as trusting on the acceptance or tolerance of employees in dealing with breached obligations may quickly result in lower well-being.
Originality/value
The findings have implications for the understanding of PC breach and its associations with employee well-being.
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Jeroen P. de Jong and Petru L. Curseu
The purpose of this paper is to investigate if the personality trait of desire for control over others (DFCO) matters to team leadership and performance, and how commitment to the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate if the personality trait of desire for control over others (DFCO) matters to team leadership and performance, and how commitment to the leader mediates this relationship. Furthermore, the authors study whether intergroup competition moderates this indirect relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors test hypotheses for mediation and moderation using a sample of 78 groups and their leaders. Commitment to the leader and intergroup competition were measured at the team member level, while DFCO and team performance was rated by the team leader. Bootstrapping was used to assess the significance of the (conditional) indirect effects.
Findings
The results show that leader’s DFCO does not relate to team performance through commitment to the leader. Leader’s DFCO only relates negatively to team performance through commitment to the leader when the team operates in a context with little or moderate intergroup competition. In a highly competitive environment, however, leader’s DFCO does little damage to team performance.
Originality/value
This research is the first study to focus on DFCO as a personality trait of a group leader. In doing so, it adds to the continuing debate about leader personality and context, as well as the ongoing study on how subordinates respond to different levels of control over decisions in groups.