The Role of Occupational Self-Efficacy in Mediating the Effect of Job Insecurity on Work Engagement, Satisfaction and General Health

Aging engineers' occupational self-efficacy-a mixed methods study

Introduction

Engineers' work has become more complex with increased demands in today's changing working life. Self-efficacy is essential to successfully adapt to work-related changes and to cope with adverse job demands. However, less is known about aging engineers' occupational self-efficacy. Therefore, this study explores facilitators and barriers to aging engineers' occupational self-efficacy beliefs to continue working until expected retirement age. An additional purpose is to explore if any of the aspects described by the engineers are more prominent.

Methods

The study design was exploratory, using mixed methods with a qualitative to quantitative approach. A total of 125 engineers, aged between 45 and 65 years, answered two open-ended survey questions about what positively and negatively affect their occupational self-efficacy beliefs to continue working. First, data was analyzed using an inductive manifest qualitative content analysis. Next, descriptive statistics were performed based on the results of the qualitative study.

Results

The analyses revealed that health and working conditions that affect health were crucial facilitators and barriers for the aging engineers' occupational self-efficacy to continue working until expected retirement age. Furthermore, the engineers emphasized competence, motivation from meaningful tasks, family and leisure, and private economy.

Discussion

The aging engineers' own health seems to be prominent in their self-efficacy regarding a full working life; consequently, support still needs to address issues affecting health.

The relationship between sleep quality and occupational well-being in employees: The mediating role of occupational self-efficacy

Objective

This study aimed to examine the impact of sleep quality on occupational well-being in employees by primarily focusing on the mediating role of occupational self-efficacy.

Methods

A total of 487 junior staff completed a set of questionnaires comprised Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scale, Occupational Self-efficacy Scale, and occupational well-being measurements.

Results

The results revealed that both sleep quality and occupational self-efficacy were significantly correlated with occupational well-being. The structural equation modeling analysis and the bootstrap test indicated that occupational self-efficacy partially mediated the effect of poor sleep quality on occupational well-being.

Discussion

These findings expand upon existing research on the relationship between sleep quality and well-being among occupational workers, shed light on the correlation of poor sleep quality with occupational well-being, and are valuable in promoting the occupational well-being of employees.

The Mediation Chain Effect of Cognitive Crafting and Personal Resources on the Relationship between Role Ambiguity and Dentists' Emotional Exhaustion

Based on Job Demands-Resources (JD-R), Conservation of Resources (COR) and self-regulation theories integration, this study investigated the association between role ambiguity and emotional exhaustion among 191 Romanian dentists, as well as the chain mediating role of cognitive crafting and three personal resources (resilience, optimism, and self-efficacy). Three conceptual models which included, separately, the three personal resources were proposed. PROCESS macros were used to verify the hypotheses related to the testing of the path mediation models. The results indicated that role ambiguity was directly and positively associated with dentists' burnout. More importantly, the sequential indirect effect of role ambiguity on burnout via mediators in chains (cognitive crafting and resilience for the first model; cognitive crafting and optimism for the second model; cognitive crafting and self-efficacy for the third model) was significant. The findings provide a direction for dentists' health intervention because it reveals how the negative impact of role ambiguity on emotional exhaustion increasing can be buffered by the cumulative effect of cognitive crafting and different personal resources, as a result of their chain reinforcement.

Exploring the differential effects of career and psychosocial mentoring on newcomer socialization

Drawing on the social cognitive career theory, this study proposed an integrative framework to uncover how and when different types of mentoring accelerate newcomer’s socialization in corresponding domains. We tested this relational model with time-lagged, multisource survey data collected from 157 newcomers and 88 supervisors. The results indicated that career mentoring facilitated newcomer task mastery, task performance, and job satisfaction by improving newcomer occupational self-efficacy, whereas psychosocial mentoring promoted newcomer job satisfaction and social integration via inspiring newcomer social self-efficacy. Furthermore, newcomer learning adaptability amplified the influence of career mentoring on newcomer occupational self-efficacy, as well as the impact of psychosocial mentoring on newcomer social self-efficacy. Our study extended the mentoring and socialization literature and provided significant practical implications for managers on how to arrange tailored mentoring to facilitate newcomer socialization.

Career Self-Efficacy, Future Perceptions, and Life Satisfaction: Investigating Two Adolescent Career Development Models

This study examined two models of adolescents’ future perceptions and life satisfaction through a sense of career self-efficacy. Derived from the satisfaction model proposed by social cognitive career theory (SCCT), both examined models address work and family domains but differ in how career self-efficacy is appraised. The integrative model considers career self-efficacy a latent variable, incorporating three self-efficacy types as follows: occupational, spousal, and managing work and family roles. The alternative discrete model considers these three self-efficacy types separately. Israeli Jewish adolescents ( N = 264) completed measures of the three self-efficacy domains, future perceptions, and life satisfaction. Findings for both models extended the SCCT’s satisfaction model’s applicability to adolescents. The broader, integrative definition of career self-efficacy proved superior to the alternative model, reckoning the self-esteem types discretely. Research and practice implications are discussed.

Is teleworking at odds with social sustainability and organizational learning?

Purpose

The well-being of individuals is an essential issue of sustainability research. This study aims to focus on the particular case of teleworkers and the work conditions which may hinder their well-being. More specifically, this study analyses the impact of social isolation and work overload on the work engagement and life satisfaction of teleworkers during COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

With a sample of 188 workers from the Portuguese banking sector, the authors use structural equations modelling to test a conceptual model. The authors carry out data analysis with partial least squares.

Findings

Social isolation and work overload are both negatively associated with the three dimensions of work engagement, namely, vigour, absorption and dedication. In turn, vigour is positively associated with life satisfaction. Social isolation and work overload are indirectly associated with life satisfaction through vigour. Results from multi-group analysis show that the negative relationship between social isolation and dedication is stronger for less senior teleworkers. By contrast, the negative relationship between work overload and dedication is stronger for more senior teleworkers. Additionally, the positive relationship between vigour and life satisfaction is stronger for permanent workers than for temporary ones.

Originality/value

This study tests the assumptions of the job demands-resources under the novel conditions of telework during COVID-19, focusing its ubiquitous conditions – social isolation and work overload. For human resources managers, this study highlights the need to take seniority and job stability in consideration when devising onboarding and working arrangement strategies for teleworkers.

How knowledge sharing encourages innovative work behavior through occupational self-efficacy? The moderating role of entrepreneurial leadership

Purpose

Innovation has become a necessity for the information technology (IT) sector, especially during COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how knowledge sharing affects employees’ innovative work behavior (IWB). Specifically, the study examined occupational self-efficacy (as mediating mechanism) and entrepreneurial leadership (as boundary condition) to encourage IWB.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used social media platforms to collect data from 270 employees working in the IT sector through “google forms” on convenience basis between March and August, 2021. The study applied structural equation modeling in two stages to examine the measurement model (for uni-dimensionality) and the structural model (for hypotheses testing).

Findings

The study noted that knowledge sharing positively affects employees’ IWB and occupational self-efficacy positively explains this association. In addition, employees’ perception of entrepreneurial leadership strengthens the association between knowledge sharing and IWB.

Research limitations/implications

The study collected data from a developing country during COVID-19 by using a cross-sectional design that may restrict causality. However, the findings suggest the management not only encourages knowledge sharing environment but also engages employees in various training that motivate them to experiment with new ideas and techniques.

Originality/value

This study extends the existing literature on knowledge sharing and IWB by exploring occupational self-efficacy as mediating mechanism and entrepreneurial leadership as a boundary condition.

Psychological Contract, Self-Efficacy, Job Stress, and Turnover Intention: A View of Job Demand-Control-Support Model

The outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused enterprises to face more challenges, such as operational management, production and sales management, and human resource management, among other issues. In the context of the global knowledge economy, employees with high knowledge and skills have become an important source of corporate growth and breakthroughs. However, employees may intend to transfer to other companies due to the pressure of the external and internal environments, so the main topic explored by this paper will be the change of employees' turnover intention. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence mechanism that propels the employees' self-efficacy, job stress, and turnover intention, and the moderating effect of transformational leadership. A total of 553 valid responses from several information service companies in China are collected via purposive sampling and used in the data analysis. This study conducts partial least squares structural equation modeling partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze collected data. The results of the path analysis with structural equation modeling show that employees' psychological contracts have a positive impact on the self-efficacy and a negative impact on the job stress. Employees' self-efficacy has a negative impact on job stress and turnover intention; transformational leadership plays a significant moderator in the research framework. Based on research findings, the theoretical and managerial implications are presented.

Nexus of Ethical Leadership, Career Satisfaction, Job Embeddedness, and Work Engagement in Hospitality Industry: A Sequential Mediation Assessment

The paper proposes a research model explaining the sequential mediation effect of job embeddedness (JE) and work engagement (WENG) between ethical leadership (EL) and career satisfaction (CS). The model also examines whether JE heightens WENG, a factor indirectly influenced by ethical practices ending in employee satisfaction. The study used a time-lagged data collection procedure and survey responses of 247 hotel workers in China. Data were analyzed through structural equation modeling. The results showed that EL directly and indirectly (through sequential mediation effect of JE and WENG) contributes to employee CS. The present empirical framework extends the hospitality industry literature by explaining the precise mechanism (i.e., JE and WENG) through which EL generates CS among hospitality workers in China. The paper offers theoretical and practical implications and future research directions.

Effects of Integrated Workplace Violence Management Intervention on Occupational Coping Self-Efficacy, Goal Commitment, Attitudes, and Confidence in Emergency Department Nurses: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

Patient and visitor violence (PVV), the most prevalent source of workplace violence, is largely ignored, underreported, and a persistent problem in emergency departments. It is associated with physical injuries, psychological distress, and occupational stress in nurses. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in Taiwan from January to December 2020. This study aimed to test the efficacy of an integrated Workplace Violence Prevention and Management Training Program on PVV in 75 emergency department (ED) nurses from a hospital. Cluster sampling was used because the policy of subdivision strategy was enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic. ED nurses received either the intervention or 1-hour in-service class. Data were collected from questionnaires. Data were analyzed mainly by the repeated measure analysis of variance and generalized estimating equations. The intervention had positive effects on developing stronger goal commitment, improving occupational coping self-efficacy, increasing confidence in ability to deal with violent situations, and modifying attitudes toward the causes and management of PVV in ED nurses (p < 0.05). The marginal R2 of the generalized estimating equation model for goal commitment, occupational coping self-efficacy, confidence, attitudes toward aggression in ED and aggressive behavior variables was high as 0.54 (p < 0.001), 0.45 (p < 0.001), 0.58 (p < 0.001), 0.29 (p < 0.05), and 0.72 (p < 0.001), respectively. These study models could effectively predict changes in the mean values. The benefit was driven by the effect of the intervention in ED nurses. Thus, the intervention, when applied in conjunction with routine in-service class, could exert synergistic improvements on outcomes measured in nurses.

Safety Stressors and Construction Workers' Safety Performance: The Mediating Role of Ego Depletion and Self-Efficacy

As an important influencing factor of construction workers' safety performance, safety stressor has received increasing attention. However, no consensus has been reached on the relationship between different types of safety stressors and the subdimensions of safety performance, and the mechanism by which safety stressors influence safety performance remains unclear. This study proposed a multiple mediation model with ego depletion and self-efficacy as mediators between safety stressors and workers' safety performance. Data were collected from 335 construction workers in China. Results demonstrated that: (1) the three types of safety stressors (i.e., safety role ambiguity, safety role conflict, and interpersonal safety conflict) all had negative effects on workers' safety performance (i.e., safety compliance and safety participation); (2) self-efficacy mediated all the relationships between the three safety stressors and safety performance; (3) ego depletion only mediated part of the relationships between the three safety stressors and safety performance; and (4) only part of the multiple-step mediating effects through ego depletion and self-efficacy were supported. This study made contributions by shedding light on the mechanism by which safety stressors influence workers' safety performance and providing more empirical evidence for the relationship between various safety stressors and the subdimensions of safety performance. Additionally, targeted strategies for improving workers' safety performance were proposed according to the findings.

Validation of the Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale in a Sample of Chinese Employees

Occupational self-efficacy, which refers to the belief that one is competent to fulfill work-related tasks or activities, has attracted increasing attention in recent years. The six-item version of the Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale (OSS-6) is an excellent tool for evaluating occupational self-efficacy; however, there is currently no report of the reliability and validity of the OSS-6 among Chinese people. This study aimed to translate the OSS-6 into Chinese and evaluate its reliability and validity in a sample of Chinese employees. A total of 433 junior staff at several firms completed the Chinese version of the OSS-6, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire, the in-role performance scale, and the career calling scale. Four weeks later, 94 participants were recalled and were retested using the OSS-6. Factor analysis results supported the one-factor model of the OSS-6. Excellent internal consistency was obtained with the OSS-6. Additionally, the OSS-6 results were significantly correlated with general self-efficacy, self-esteem, job satisfaction, in-role performance, and career calling. Furthermore, occupational self-efficacy was found to partially mediate the effects of career calling on job satisfaction and in-role performance. The results of this study supported the cross-cultural consistency of the structure of the OSS-6 and showed that the Chinese version of the OSS-6 demonstrated excellent validity and reliability. Therefore, the Chinese version of the OSS-6 can be used as an assessment tool for evaluating occupational self-efficacy in future studies.

Occupational self-efficacy and work engagement associated with work ability among an ageing work force: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Occupational self-efficacy (OSE) is an appropriate adaption capability to react to continuous changes in work life today. While self-efficacy is an important component in work context, there is less knowledge regarding older workers' OSE.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the relationship between work ability, OSE and work engagement among a middle-aged workforce, and whether there were any differences between age groups and between professionals in different work context.

METHODS

Data were collected by questionnaire, which included Work Ability Index (WAI), Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale, and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale.

RESULTS

A total of 359 home care workers and engineers (response rate 43%) participated. The average age was 54 (SD±5.3) years, 69%were women. The results of logistic regression analyses revealed an association between WAI, OSE (OR 0.66; 95%CI 0.52 to 0.86) and work engagement (OR 0.61; 95%CI 0.47 to 0.78). Higher OSE and work engagement were related to higher work ability. No difference in OSE (5.9; ±0.8) between professional groups was seen, but the home care workers scored considerably higher work engagement (5.1; ±0.9) than the engineers (4.5; ±1.3).

CONCLUSIONS

Improving OSE could be worthwhile to support work ability among middle-aged workers, despite dissimilarities in work context and educational level.

The Effects of Academic Self-Efficacy on Vocational Students Behavioral Engagement at School and at Firm Internships: A Model of Engagement-Value of Achievement Motivation

There has been a marked increase in internship participation in recent decades. Many students who take cooperative programs consider internships to be the most appropriate entry point into their chosen careers. However, few studies have investigated factors related to internships from an engagement-value perspective that can influence the intention to continue doing internships with firms. This study concluded that academic self-efficacy was positively related to school and firm engagement; school engagement did not significantly relate to, but firm engagement did positively relate to the perceived usefulness of internships; and perceived usefulness of internships was positively related to intention to continue doing internships.

Determining factors of labour market outcomes for recently graduated, underrepresented college students

This study examined the factors that determined labour market outcomes for recently graduated, underrepresented college students. Chile’s largest higher education institution, which has a significant number of first-generation students from more deprived social sectors, was considered. A quantitative methodology was applied using logistic and multinomial regression models. Occupational status and income level were chosen as the dependent variables and five dimensions of independent variables were considered: sociodemographic attributes, human capital, academic characteristics, personality traits, and work environment. The results indicated that males, graduates who worked during their studies, heads of households, graduates from technical-professional high schools, those who completed their higher education studies in a timely manner, those who worked for larger private companies, and those who worked in a different geographical region to the one in which they studied had better labour market outcomes. Suggestions for institutional practices to help underrepresented students have successful career transitions are discussed.

Job Insecurity and Safety Behaviour: The Mediating Role of Insomnia and Work Engagement

From the perspective of resource conservation theory, this study selected 568 enterprise employees as subjects and conducted data collection using a random sampling method to explore the relationship between job insecurity and safe behaviours as well as the role of insomnia and job engagement in this relationship. The results show that (1) job insecurity is negatively correlated with safety behaviour, (2) insomnia mediates the relationship between job insecurity and safety behaviour, (3) work engagement plays a mediating role in the relationship between job insecurity and safety behaviour, and (4) insomnia and work engagement play a serial mediating role in the relationship between job insecurity and safety behaviour.

Chinese university teachers' job and life satisfaction: examining the roles of basic psychological needs satisfaction and self-efficacy

Combining the Self-determination Theory and Social Cognitive Career Theory, the present study proposed a conceptual process model examining the relationships among work-related basic psychological needs satisfaction (BPNS; satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs), self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction. To test the model, the study focused on a sample that is seldom investigated in the occupational well-being literature, namely university teachers. In total, 275 Chinese university teachers completed an online survey. Structural equation modeling technique and bootstrapping method were employed to evaluate the research model. The results indicated that autonomy satisfaction and competence satisfaction were directly related to self-efficacy and indirectly related to job satisfaction via the mediating variable of self-efficacy. In contrast, Self-efficacy did not mediate the relationship between relatedness satisfaction and job satisfaction since relatedness satisfaction was not predictive of self-efficacy. In addition, job satisfaction was found to mediate the relationship between self-efficacy and life satisfaction. Implications for university managerial practices were discussed in order to promote teachers' well-being in both job and life domains.

A motivational standpoint of job insecurity effects on organizational citizenship behaviors: A generational study

Our research reports an empirical analysis of a path model linking job insecurity to organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) via two mediators, that is, intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction. The aim is to evaluate the path model invariance across three generational cohorts, that is, generation X, generation Y, and generation Z. A sample of employees in service companies based in Canada was surveyed. We utilized a partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach, which included path analysis and multi-group analysis (MGA) to test proposed hypotheses. We found that job insecurity negatively predicted intrinsic motivation which positively related to job satisfaction. Job satisfaction influenced OCBs positively. Both intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction mediated the indirect effects of job insecurity onto OCBs. Generation X was more pronounced in their reaction to job insecurity than later generations given the strong negative effects on intrinsic motivation and hence on their job. However, generation Z employees followed their parents from generation X regarding engaging more in OCBs when they are satisfied with their job than generation Y. In general, therefore, it should come as no surprise that generation X employees' OCBs can be expected to plummet due to the elevated levels of job insecurity during pandemic times (e.g., COVID-19) more intensely than Generation Y. Clearly, with COVID-19 having led many organizations around the world to adopt virtual workplace environments, generational differences amongst employees have to be considered as a matter of crucial concern for these organizations.

Concerned Whether You'll Make It in Life? Status Anxiety Uniquely Explains Job Satisfaction

Ever feel concerned that you may not achieve your career goals or feel worried about where your life is going? Such examples may reflect the experience of status anxiety, that is, concerns that one may be stuck or not able to move up in life, or worries that one may be too low in standing compared to society's standards. Status anxiety is believed to be exacerbated by economic inequality and negatively affect well-being. While job satisfaction is an important determinant of well-being, no research has examined whether status anxiety can also help explain people's satisfaction with their jobs. We tested whether status anxiety differs from other organizational constructs and uniquely relates to job satisfaction among full-time working adults. In a pilot study, we found that status anxiety is separate from the concept of job insecurity (e.g., perceived threat of job loss). Results of our main study also indicated that higher status anxiety significantly predicted lower job satisfaction beyond several other indicators of organizational attitudes (job insecurity, occupational self-efficacy, distributive, procedural, and interactional justice), as well as the tendency to seek status and several background factors (e.g., income, education, perceived socioeconomic status). We discuss the unique role of status anxiety in job satisfaction and the implications of this research to our understanding of status concerns, as well as organizational attitudes and policies.

Occupational Self-Efficacy and Psychological Capital Amongst Nursing Students: A Cross Sectional Study Understanding the Malleable Attributes for Success

With a predicted shortfall in the worldwide nursing workforce, efforts to understand attributes that influence attrition and workforce longevity remain fundamental. Self-efficacy and the broader construct of psychological capital have been linked to positive workplace-based attributes in occupations. The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between general self-efficacy, occupational (nursing) self-efficacy, and psychological capital and their predictive factors among nursing students. A cross sectional design was used to address the aims of the study where all nursing students studying a three-year bachelor's degree were invited to complete a questionnaire examining traits that might assist in the preparation for, and longevity in, a nursing career. Although the participating nursing students demonstrated high levels of general self-efficacy, their reported levels of nursing-specific self-efficacy were significantly lower. Psychological capital measures indicated that students had high levels of belief, hope, and resilience concerning their capacity to commit to and achieve goals, succeed now and into the future, and overcome obstacles. The findings suggest an opportunity exists for education providers to nurture the malleable aspects of self-efficacy and psychological capital, while developing greater capacity to bounce back and overcome the challenges that nursing students may encounter in their undergraduate academic training, and to reduce attrition as they prepare to enter the workplace.

The Relationships between Employee Occupational Self-efficacy, Structural Empowerment, and Work Engagement

Nowadays the competitive advantage of any organization mainly relies not only on technologies or material resources but also on competitive, energetic, engaged employees, who are willing to share their knowledge, skills, and experience. Organizations must not only recruit talents but also inspire them and create the conditions in which they reveal themselves and have the prospect for professional growth. According to Bandura (1982), the personal belief of how well one can execute courses of action required to deal with prospective situations may become crucial for work success. The present study integrates Bandura’s (1982; 1989) Social Cognitive, Kanter’s (1977; 1979) Structural Empowerment, and Schaufeli and Bakker’s(2004) Work Engagement theories and is aimed (1) to analyze the relationships between employee occupational self-efficacy, structural empowerment, and work engagement and (2) to determine the role of occupational self-efficacy in the relationships between the elements of structural empowerment and work engagement. A total of 1636 specialist level employees from one Lithuanian public sector organization were surveyed online. Ninety four percent of the respondents were female, six percent were male. The average age of the respondents was 45.71 (SD = 10.34) years, with the average of 8.29 (SD = 7.23) years of working experience. All respondents had higher education. Occupational self-efficacy was measured using the Schyns & von Collani (2002) OCCSEEF scale (short version), structural empowerment elements (access to opportunity, information, support, and resources, informal power and formal power) were measured using the Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire – II (CWEQ – II) (Laschinger, Finegan, Shamian, & Wilk, 2001), and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) (Schaufeli, Bakker, & Salanova, 2006) was used to measure work engagement. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to determine the mediating role of occupational self-efficacy in the relationships between elements of structural empowerment and work engagement. The analysis revealed that all dimensions of structural empowerment positively predicted occupational self-efficacy, and that occupational self-efficacy positively predicted work engagement. Formal power directly positively predicted work engagement, occupational self-efficacy fully mediated the relationship between informal power and work engagement and partially mediated the relationships between certain predictors (access to opportinity, information, and resources) and work engagement. Despite some limitations (e.g., this being a cross-sectional study, and that specialist level employees were surveyed from one organization), the results of the study highlighted, first, that employee occupational self-efficacy and work engagement might be strengthened by empowering organizational structures, and, second, that occupational self-efficacy is an important personal characteristic explaining the relationships between empowering organizational structures and employee work engagement. Perspectives for future research and practical implications are discussed.