The consequences of job crafting and engagement in the relationship between passion for work and individual performance of Portuguese workers

Introduction

This study sought to relate the two types of work passion, harmonious passion and obsessive passion, to the organizational consequences of engagement, job crafting, and perceived individual job performance. This study was based on the Employee Work Passion Appraisal model and conducted to evaluate possible statistical associations of the dualistic approach of passion used as an antecedent of positive and negative organizational outcomes (engagement, job crafting, and perceived individual job performance).

Methods

The data collection and analysis for this study were accomplished by a transversal and quantitative study design. A non-probabilistic method was used to select a convenience sample composed of 305 Portuguese workers and was collected online from March to October 2020. The proposed hypotheses were evaluated using partial structural equation models.

Results

Overall, the results supported the proposed hypotheses and showed that harmonious passion positively affected organizational outcomes, while obsessive passion negatively affected these outcomes; notably, our findings also revealed high individual performance, high obsessive passion, and consequently, a significant increase in structural labor resources, a significant decrease in harmful labor demands, and high absorption.

Discussion

The findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between harmonious passion and obsessive passion in understanding their consequences for organizational outcomes. Promoting harmonious passion while managing the potential negative effects of obsessive passion is crucial for enhancing positive job-related behaviors and performance. Future research should explore interventions and strategies to foster harmonious passion, mitigate the negative impacts of obsessive passion, and ultimately improve overall work engagement and performance.

Linking job crafting, innovation performance, and career satisfaction: The mediating role of work engagement

BACKGROUND

The demand for innovation and satisfaction is increasing rapidly due to technological advancement and the fast-changing business environment.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this article is to investigate how job crafting augments work outputs (i.e., innovation performance and career satisfaction) through work engagement.

METHODS

Data were collected from 477 workers working in the Pakistan manufacturing sector. A structural equation modeling technique was used to investigate the mediation model.

RESULTS

Job crafting has a direct and indirect association with innovation performance and career satisfaction - via employees' work engagement. Additionally, the mediating impact was stronger for innovation performance than for career satisfaction. The findings advocate that managers should pay attention to employees' job crafting to improve employees' work engagement in manufacturing organizations. To improve employees' innovation performance and career satisfaction via work engagement, it is important to improve organization-wide job crafting in traditional manufacturing organizations. Strategic and managerial actions related to job crafting might boost employees' engagement in the organization that environments provide incessantly better outcomes.

CONCLUSION

By linking job crafting and work engagement to their attitude towards career satisfaction and innovation performance in Pakistani manufacturing firms, this study adds a new dimension to the study of Pakistani manufacturing employees and typically to the best practices in career debates. This knowledge is important and unique because it accentuates that in addition to work engagement, which focuses primarily on employee growth in the organization, job crafting should also be given equal importance to advance manufacturing employees' outcomes.

How perceived school culture relates to work engagement among primary and secondary school teachers? Roles of affective empathy and job tenure

Evidence suggests that perceived school culture is the most powerful predictor of teachers' work performance. However, studies to date have paid little attention to the potential mechanisms behind this association. On the basis of the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, the present study explored the mediating role of affective empathy and the moderating role of job tenure in the association between perceived school culture and teachers' work engagement. 647 primary and secondary school teachers completed questionnaires measuring perceived school culture, affective empathy, and work engagement. After gender and educational level were included as covariates, the results showed that perceived school culture positively correlated with teachers' work engagement, and more importantly, this association was partially mediated by affective empathy. In addition, job tenure significantly moderated the direct association between perceived school culture and work engagement. Specifically, there was a stronger association between perceived school culture and work engagement for teachers with shorter job tenure than those with longer job tenure. The findings suggested the direct effect of perceived school culture on work engagement, and the indirect effect of perceived school culture on work engagement through the mediating role of affective empathy. These findings enrich our understanding of how perceived school culture associates with work engagement, and highlight the moderating role of job tenure in the direct association between perceived school culture and work engagement.

Work engagement, affective commitment, and career satisfaction: the mediating role of knowledge sharing in context of SIEs

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine linkages between work engagement, affective commitment, and career satisfaction, while probing the mediating role of knowledge sharing in context of self-initiated- expatriates (SIEs).

Design/methodology/approach

A mediation model was tested using survey data from 266 SIEs working in US information technology (IT) multinational corporations (MNCs).

Findings

The results revealed significant direct and indirect effects of work engagement on affective commitment and career satisfaction through knowledge sharing.

Research limitations/implications

Although common method bias and validity of measurement were assessed in this study, the survey data were cross-sectional. Rigorous testing of the proposed mediated model through longitudinal design must be undertaken to allow for stronger inferences about causation.

Practical implications

The results suggest that organizations must nurture a knowledge sharing culture to promote knowledge exchange amongst SIEs. This study also underscores the importance of SIEs' work engagement as an enabler of knowledge sharing. Managers have a critical role in creating the right work environment, where SIEs feel engaged in their work and motivated to share knowledge.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine interlinkages between work engagement, knowledge sharing, affective commitment and career satisfaction in SIEs' context.

The relationship between work engagement and workaholism: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between two sub-constructs of heavy work investment: work engagement and workaholism.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to synthesize and critically assess existing research on the relationship between these concepts.

Findings

The review revealed three major shortcomings of the extant literature: a dichotomous perspective, variations in measurements and the unaddressed complexity of the relationship.

Originality/value

Based on these findings, this study provides a discussion on the limitations and suggestions for future research on work engagement and workaholism, including using a person-centered approach.

Do “decent work” dimensions lead to work engagement? Empirical evidence from higher education institutions in India

Purpose

The study aims to investigate the impact of “decent work” dimensions on faculty members’ work engagement levels in the higher education institutions in India.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were obtained from 293 faculty members working in higher education institutes in India. The proposed study hypotheses were tested by deploying the statistical technique of multiple regression analysis using statistical package for social sciences Version-24.

Findings

Results demonstrated that of the five dimensions of “decent work,” only “access to health care” and “complementary values” were significant predictors of work engagement. “Adequate compensation,” “free time and rest” and “safe interpersonal working conditions” as dimensions of “decent work” were not found to be significantly related to work engagement.

Research limitations/implications

Findings encourage education policymakers to implement a “decent work” policy for faculty members with greater emphasis on ensuring workplace-fit and provision of adequate health-care facilities to keep the workforce engaged.

Originality/value

It is one of the few studies conducted in the South-Asian context that highlight “decent work” as a crucial job resource, useful in enhancing the work engagement of faculty members in higher education institutions.

A Study on the Effect of Change Management on Organizational Innovation: Focusing on the Mediating Effect of Members’ Innovative Behavior

This study is an empirical study on the impact of change management on organizational innovation through innovative behavior in the public sector. The independent variables are the four elements of change management (organizational goal, transformational leadership, participation and communication, education and training), the dependent variable is organizational innovation, and the mediating variable is the innovative behavior of members. The data used for the analysis is the Public Service Recognition Survey 2018 by KIPA (the Korea Institute of Public Administration). Hayes’ Process Macro analysis (Model 4) was performed to verify the mediating variable. As a result of the analysis, it was found that change management factors have a positive effect on innovative behavior and organizational innovation. In addition, public officials’ innovative behavior played a mediating role between change management and organizational innovation. It was confirmed that the innovative behavior of organizational members is essential to achieve organizational innovation. Among the factors of change management, participation and communication had the highest influence on innovative behavior and organizational innovation.

The role of job involvement and career commitment between person–job fit and organizational commitment: a study of higher education sector

Purpose

Organizations try to appoint individuals who fit in with their values and goals. Employees who do not fit in with the organization's core values and goals prefer not to stay on for a longer period of time. The present study is an attempt to explore the impact of person–job (P–J) fit on organizational commitment through job involvement and career commitment with an application of a serial multiple mediation model.

Design/methodology/approach

Data have been collected through a structured questionnaire. The population comprised the teachers, working in the higher education sector. The different constructs used have been duly validated with the help of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Further data reliability and scale validity have been checked too. In order to test the serial multiple mediation model, the authors adopted a regression-based approach and bootstrapping method suggested by Hayes (2012; 2013). Accordingly, PROCESS developed by Hayes (2012) has been used.

Findings

The results revealed that job involvement and career commitment mediate the relationship between P–J fit and organizational commitment individually as well as together.

Research limitations/implications

The present study is confined to government degree colleges only. The element of subjectivity might not have been checked completely as teachers have responded on the basis of their own experience and perceptions regarding the items in the questionnaire. The study is cross sectional in nature.

Practical implications

The paper addresses the interest of wide spectrum of stakeholders including the management, organizations and employees. So, the authors have extended general implications, which are for all those organizations that want to improve person–organization (P–O) fit and commitment of their employees. These implications will help organizations to take specific initiatives to improve the P–J fit of their employees, which will subsequently enhance their commitment level.

Originality/value

The findings of the present study will help the stakeholders in the higher education sector to identify best employees and undertake the initiatives to generate better job involvement and commitment, which will be a win–win strategy for both (employees as well as the organizations).

Employee engagement: exploring higher education non-tenure track faculty members’ perceptions

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study employee engagement in higher education by examining full-time non-tenure track faculty members’ perceptions at a North East US state public university.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used semi-structured face-to-face personal interviews with 11 non-tenure track full-time university faculty. Using a phenomenological approach, thematic analysis was conducted for employee interview data. The data was further refined through first and second cycle coding. The primary eight coded clusters were further reduced to three data clusters, each representing an evolving unit of meaning.

Findings

The analysis revealed three themes relating to how full-time non-tenure track faculty experience and understand engagement: required institutional engagement, perceived necessary engagement and relational collegial engagement.

Originality/value

The study adds to the limited research available on non-tenure track faculty members within higher education organization and their perceptions of engagement.

Interactions of Approach and Avoidance Job Crafting and Work Engagement: A Comparison between Employees Affected and Not Affected by Organizational Changes

Job crafting describes proactive employee behaviors to improve the design of their work and working conditions, and to adapt their job to better suit their abilities and needs. During organizational changes, employees may use job crafting to adjust to the changes in their work and protect their well-being and motivation, i.e., work engagement. However, research shows that although the effects of job crafting strategies that expand the design of work (approach job crafting) have been positive on work engagement, the effects of job crafting strategies that diminish the scope of work (avoidance job crafting) have often been negative. This study investigated the effects of the interactions between different job crafting strategies on work engagement, an aspect that has not thus far been studied. Specifically, we hypothesized that avoidance job crafting is not harmful for work engagement when it is conducted in combination with approach job crafting, particularly during times of organizational change. A two-wave, 18-month follow-up study was conducted among public sector workers who either experienced (n = 479) or did not experience (n = 412) changes in their work. Latent moderated structural equation modeling revealed that avoidance job crafting did not reduce work engagement when combined with approach job crafting behaviors. Moreover, job crafting best benefited work engagement when it was combined with these opposing strategies. However, job crafting was beneficial for work engagement only among employees who were affected by organizational changes, that is, among employees whose job design had changed. Practically, organizations implementing changes could encourage proactive job redesign approaches among their employees—particularly both approach and avoidance types of job crafting strategies.

Does Work-Life Balance Moderate the Relationship between Career Commitment and Career Success? Evidence from an Emerging Asian Economy

This study examines the relationship between career commitment and employee career success (objective and subjective success) in middle-level employees working in the service sector. Further, the study investigates the moderating effect of work-life balance on the relationship between career commitment and career success. By analyzing data from 360 middle level working employees, our empirical results show that career commitment has a positive and significant effect on the objective and subjective career success of employees. Work-life balance positively moderates the relationship between career commitment and subjective career success, whereas it fails to moderate the relationship between career commitment and objective career success. The study contributes by providing a better understanding of the employee’s perception of career commitment and career success and their management in emerging markets. Avenues for future research are identified.

Social effects of engaged leaders on subordinates' experiences in the workplace

We drew on the theory of conservation of resources to examine the social effects of a leader's work engagement on followers' psychological capital, work engagement, and job satisfaction. With a sample of 530 employees nested within 54 teams, we tested our hypotheses using multilevel path analyses in Mplus. As hypothesized, we found that the leader's work engagement was positively related to followers' psychological capital, work engagement, and job satisfaction. Further, followers' psychological capital mediated the relationship between the leader's work engagement and followers' work engagement and job satisfaction. In particular, the leader's work engagement was positively related to followers' psychological capital, which, in turn, was positively associated with both their work engagement and job satisfaction. Implications of our findings are that if leaders openly express their identification with their work and put great effort into their job, followers are more likely to achieve high levels of team effectiveness.

Crafting Jobs for Occupational Satisfaction and Innovation among Manufacturing Workers Facing the COVID-19 Crisis

China's manufacturing employees are confronted with unprecedent occupational and innovation challenges caused by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis coupled with the pressure of being replaced by digital technologies. To gain a better understanding of the rising occupational uncertainty during this critical time, based on the job demands-resources (JD-R) theory, we examined the associations of employees' job crafting behaviors (JCB) with their occupational satisfaction and innovation workplace behavior (IWB), as well as the mediating effect of work engagement on the above relationships. The final usable data were obtained from the formal survey of 311 employees of six manufacturing companies that have returned to work amid COVID-19. Structural equation modelling was adopted to analyze the data. Results show that employees' JCB strengthens their occupational satisfaction and IWB via work engagement. Theoretically, our research enriches the existing body of knowledge about JCB from a cross-disciplinary angle integrating the perspectives of career and psychology. Practically, we offer valuable first-hand evidence about how manufacturing employees conducted JCB to re-orient their careers and to innovate in the face of the high unemployment situation.

The Relationship Between Work Engagement and Work–Life Balance in Organizations: A Review of the Empirical Research

Employers increasingly attempt to create the right environments where employees experience work–life balance. At the same time, organizations concerned with their organizational-level outcomes encourage improving employee work engagement. The question becomes, how do employee work–life balance and work engagement relate to one another? A similar question concerns human resource development (HRD) practitioners who seek to help both employees with balancing their work and life and employers with their organizational goals. A body of literature has examined the relationship between work–life balance and work engagement, which we review in this article. We identify and synthesize the findings of 37 articles empirically investigating the relationship between work–life balance and work engagement. The findings showed the various antecedents, mediators, and moderators that depict the relationships between work engagement and work–life balance. Furthermore, we provide insight into HRD scholarship regarding how to clarify the direction of causality between two concepts, which has been largely left inconclusive. Finally, our article proposes insightful directions for future research and practice in the field of HRD.

Does work engagement mediate the perceived career support- and career adaptability- work performance relationship?

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of work engagement between the relationship of perceived career support and work performance as well as between the relationship of career adaptability and work performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected form 606 i-generation liquid knowledge workers. They had completed their internship program in the industry for a period of at least one month. Regression analysis was carried out to test the hypothesized framework.

Findings

Most of the results indicated support for the hypotheses. Work engagement was found to be mediating the perceived career support and work performance relationship fully. However, work engagement was found to be mediating the career adaptability and work performance relationship only partially.

Research limitations/implications

Engaging liquid workers plays a crucial role in passing the positive effects of perceived career support and career adaptability to work performance.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that managers may take steps to enhance engagement levels of the employees so that it can help the interns high on perceived career support and career adaptability perform well at work.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is unique that tests and finds the intervening role of work engagement between work performance and the two career-related constructs.

JD-R model on psychological well-being and the moderating effect of job discrimination in the model

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the moderating effect of chronic job discrimination on the relationships among job demands, job resources, personal resources and psychological well-being among aged workers.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used “National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS Refresher)” data collected from 862 aged workers in the United States from 2011-2014. A moderated multiple regression analysis was adopted.

Findings

The results of the multiple regression analysis show that skill discretion, self-esteem, optimism and active coping had positive effects on psychological well-being, while chronic job discrimination had a negative effect on psychological well-being. Co-worker support, supervisor support, job demands and decision-making authority were not significant. Among the interaction terms, the moderating effect between optimism and chronic job discrimination was significant.

Originality/value

Based on the results, this study offers implications for understanding the effects of job discrimination in the workplace among aged workers and their perceived psychological well-being, in the context of job demands and resources (JD-R) model.

Work Engagement in Nonprofit Organizations: A Conceptual Model

Using the revised job demands–resources (JD-R) model as a theoretical framework, our article aims to develop a conceptual model of the work engagement of paid workers in nonprofit organizations (NPOs) by identifying its antecedents and outcomes discussed in the literature. We found that job resources are prevalent antecedents for work engagement, while three categories of the JD-R model are all significant with work engagement. Although some findings are similar with existing studies for for-profit organizations, others implied that we need a different approach to work engagement of NPO workers. We finally offer a proposed JD-R model of work engagement in NPOs that has a new category, ideological resources. At the end of this article, we discuss the findings and academic/practical implications, along with recommendations for future research.

Trust in Supervisor and Job Engagement: Mediating Effects of Psychological Safety and Felt Obligation

In the social context of job engagement, the role of trust in supervisor in predicting engagement of employees has received attention in research. Very limited research, however, has investigated the mechanisms mediating this dynamic relationship. To address this important gap in knowledge, the aim of this study was to examine psychological safety and felt obligation as two psychological mechanisms mediating the effect of trust in supervisor on job engagement. Drawing from job engagement and social exchange theories, the mediating roles of psychological safety and felt obligation in the trust-engagement relationship were empirically investigated in the Malaysian context. Using self-report questionnaires, data were collected from 337 nurses employed in a public hospital located near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Results fully supported the proposed serial multiple mediator model. Trust in supervisor was indirectly related to job engagement via psychological safety followed by felt obligation. This study provides empirical evidence that trust in supervisor makes employees feel psychologically safe to employ and express their selves in their job roles. This satisfaction of the psychological safety need is interpreted by employees as an important socioemotional benefit that, in turn, makes them feel obligated to pay back to their organization through their enhanced level of job engagement. Implications for theory and practice were discussed.

Developing Trainers for a Changing Business Environment: The Role of Informal Learning in Career Development

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship among skill variety, autonomy, and job involvement with the mediating effect of informal learning in the South Korean business context. This study adopts a cross-sectional survey-based research design, drawing on the responses of 226 South Korean trainers to a survey regarding their facilitation experiences. Structural equation modeling is used in order to examine the influential relationship among the research variables. The results suggest that trainers exhibit higher levels of job involvement when they possess significant skill variety and high levels of autonomy and informal learning. Moreover, informal learning is shown to mediate the relationship between the job characteristics and job involvement. Recent changes in the knowledge economy have required professional trainers to expand their capabilities to lead organizations in the execution of business strategies. This study highlights the importance of informal learning to the trainers’ professional and career advancement.

The Relationship Between Work Engagement and Organizational Commitment: Proposing Research Agendas Through a Review of Empirical Literature

Work engagement and organizational commitment are among the most studied topics in a range of fields, including human resource development (HRD) and organization development (OD). The value of such work is evident in the direct influence of work engagement and organizational commitment on employee well-being and organizational performance. However, scholars have divergent perspectives on the relationship between these two concepts. While some studies have examined work engagement as a precursor to organizational commitment, others have investigated work engagement as an outcome of organizational commitment. Despite the contrasting perspectives, little research effort has been made to reconcile these differing views through the synthesis and analysis of the extant literature. Therefore, this study aims to examine the current state of engagement-commitment research and then to suggest HRD implications for research and practice based on a review of selected literature.

Mediator analysis of passion for work in Indian millennials

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between protean career attitude (PCA) and proactive work behaviors (PWB) and with the theoretical underpinning of self-determination theory to ascertain if passion for work acts as a mediator for PCA and PWB.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey of 255 millennial employees working in diverse industries in India (such as information technology, banking and education) was conducted. Regression analysis was used to measure the direct effects of the hypothesized relationships. Sobel test and bootstrapping analysis were used to measure the indirect effects of the hypothesized relationship.

Findings

PCA assists in fostering passion for work. Passion for work is positively related with PWB and fully mediates the relationship between PCA and PWB.

Practical implications

Employers should provide flexibility in work design and autonomy in career decisions. Also, Human resource managers should provide career growth opportunities to retain millennial talent.

Originality/value

This study bridges the knowledge gap between different domains of knowledge including PCA, passion for work and PWB. This study is one of the rare attempts to understand the relationship between PCA and PWB through the lens of passion for work. It also bridges the gap relating to its context. With an increasing number of millennials in workforce in India, an understanding of their career attitudes and outcome behaviors has become a significant concern. The results of the present study underpin career motivation theory, self-determination theory and generational cohort theory.