Job design

About: Job design is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 9218 publications have been published within this topic receiving 426180 citations.

The Impact of Job Insecurity on Marital and Family Relationships.

Abstract: The recent economic recession and slow economic rebound are major stressors for many American families. "The U. S. workplace is in a profound, historic state of turmoil that for millions of individuals is approaching panic" (Dan Lacey, labor consultant, cited in Gwynne, 1992, p. 35). The results of this turmoil include unemployment, underemployment, and job insecurity for many Americans. The negative effects of unemployment on individuals and marital and family relations are well documented (Larson, 1984; Voydanoff, 1990; Voydanoff & Donnelly, 1988). In contrast, researchers have virtually ignored the effects of job insecurity upon individuals and on marriage and family relations (Voydanoff, 1990; Wilson, Larson, & Stone, 1993). As businesses and government agencies continue to restructure and downsize, it is expected that the number of job insecure Americans will increase. This insecurity may result from several circumstances, including threat of job loss, job description changes, added responsibility due to the lay-off of coworkers, salary or benefits freezes or cutbacks, forced relocation, or loss of potential for promotion. Some of these circumstances (e.g., threat of job loss, job description changes, and added responsibilities) may create boundary ambiguity for workers. Boundary ambiguity is a construct in stress theory that makes it possible to predict an individual's and family's level of stress (Boss & Greenberg, 1984). When a worker is unclear about who will have a job tomorrow, what his/her job description and responsibilities are, or who is working with him/her, the worker's job boundaries are said to be ambiguous (Boss & Greenberg, 1984). Ambiguity leads to increased stress for both the worker and the worker's family. Studies of the impact of job insecurity and ambiguity on employee mental health and family functioning are almost nonexistent, even though job security is an important prerequisite for establishing and maintaining strong families and job insecurity affects many more workers than does unemployment (Voydanoff, 1990; Wilson et al., 1993). Only three marginally related studies were found in the research literature Cobb and Kasl (1977) found the anticipation period before termination to be more detrimental than actual job loss to the mental and physical health of a group of workers who were later unemployed. Kuhnert (1386) found that job security had a greater impact on the employee's self-esteem and physical well-being than job satisfaction or involvement with the job. The only study on the impact of job insecurity on family relations was conducted by Voydanoff and Donnelly (1988). Results showed that, for wives, job insecurity for themselves and for their spouses was negatively related to overall marital and family satisfaction. However, job insecurity was not significantly related to overall marital and family satisfaction for husbands. Voydanoff (1990), in a review of the research conducted in the 1980s on economic distress and families, concluded "certain changes in American corporate policy, such as mergers, acquisitions, moving jobs to other countries, and forced retirement have created substantial employment uncertainty. The effects of this uncertainty on individual adjustment and family relations have yet to be explored" (p. 1111). The purpose of the present study was to build upon Voydanoff and Donnelly's (1988) research by conducting a more comprehensive and detailed study of the effects of job insecurity stress on the family. More specifically, this study's objectives were to: (a) determine the effects of job insecurity on the marital relationship and specific family dynamics, such as family communication, family role clarity, and family affection; (b) gather information on the number of family problems encountered; (c) deter is mine the clinical significance of the marriage and family problems reported by a sample of job-insecure individuals by comparing them with a nonclinical standardization sample; and (d) determine the types of family services desired by job insecure employees and their spouses. …

The hidden face of job insecurity

Abstract: Drawing on nationally representative data for British employees, the article argues for a more comprehensive concept of job insecurity, including not only job tenure insecurity but also job status insecurity, relating to anxiety about changes to valued features of the job. It shows that job status insecurity is highly prevalent in the workforce and is associated with different individual, employment and labour market characteristics than those that affect insecurity about job loss. It is also related to different organizational contexts. However, the article also shows that the existence of effective mechanisms of employee participation can reduce both types of job insecurity.

Age-Differential Effects of Job Characteristics on Job Attraction: A Policy-Capturing Study

Abstract: Based on an integration of job design and lifespan developmental theories, Truxillo et al. (2012) proposed that job characteristics interact with employee age in predicting important work outcomes. Using an experimental policy-capturing design, we investigated age-differential effects of four core job characteristics (i.e., job autonomy, task variety, task significance, and feedback from the job) on job attraction (i.e., individuals' rating of job attractiveness). Eighty-two employees between 19 and 65 years (Mage = 41, SD = 14) indicated their job attraction for each of 40 hypothetical job descriptions in which the four job characteristics were systematically manipulated (in total, participants provided 3,280 ratings). Results of multilevel analyses showed that the positive effects of task variety, task significance, and feedback from the job were stronger for younger compared to older employees, whereas we did not find significant age-differential effects of job autonomy on job attraction. These findings are only partially consistent with propositions of Truxillo et al.'s (2012) lifespan perspective on job design.

Leadership behaviour of nurse managers in relation to job satisfaction and work climate

Abstract: Aim This study examines how nurse managers’ leadership behaviour relates to job satisfaction and a creative work climate. Background The nursing shortage is a challenge for managers all over the world. Leadership is a core element of management and it is important to elucidate leadership behaviour in order to increase knowledge about attracting and retaining talented staff. Method We studied 770 subordinates at a large university hospital. Three questionnaires for assessing perceived leadership behaviour, creative work climate and job satisfaction were used. Results Subordinates with a manager perceived as ‘super’ have the highest rates on job satisfaction. The correlation between leadership and creative work climate is stronger than between leadership and job satisfaction. Between job satisfaction and work climate the correlation is strong. Conclusions The study shows that the relationship between a creative work climate and job satisfaction is strong. A managers’ ability to lead has a major affect on work climate. Implication for nursing management Nurse managers must work on developing their leadership behaviour towards being an all-round leader that cares about people, is concerned about productivity and can handle changes. Support of ideas and initiatives are important in order to enable subordinates to perceive their work as challenging.

Types of Workplace Social Support in the Prediction of Job Satisfaction

Abstract: Research on social support and job satisfaction has yielded mixed results, partly because studies have rarely examined different types of workplace social support, such as collegial support, task support, coaching, and career mentoring. This study identified the relative contributions of different types of social support to job satisfaction and explored the relationship between social support and job tenure. Overall, social support accounted for approximately 17% of the variance in job satisfaction and 9% of the variance in job tenure. Career mentoring and task support were the types of social support most predictive of job satisfaction. Coaching and task support were the types of social support most predictive of job tenure.