Gedrag & Organisatie - Volume 19, Issue 2, 2006

Self-efficacy: the Effect of JOBS, a Group Intervention for the Unemployed

Veerle Brenninkmeijer, Arjan Van Houwelingen, Roland Blonk & Nico Van Yperen, Gedrag & Organisatie, Volume 19, Juni 2006, nr. 2, pp. 97.

This study is about the JOBS training, a group training for the unemployed (Vinokur, Van Ryn, Gramlich & Price, 1991) by increasing individuals' self-efficacy. First, a theoretical comparison was made between Bandura's (1977a) four sources of self-efficacy and the components of the JOBS training. Subsequently, we tested the effect of JOBS on self-efficacy in a longitudinal study among 281 JOBS participants. JOBS indeed increased the self-efficacy at both the short and long term (after one and six months). The increase on the short term was stronger among women. The increase in self-efficacy was not related to the actual job finding, but the absolute level of self-efficacy was.

Does coping affect (the relationship between) job insecurity, well-being and job satisfaction?

Katrien Bohets & Hans De Witte, Gedrag & Organisatie, Volume 19, Juni 2006, nr. 2, pp. 113.

The consequences of both quantitative and qualitative job insecurity on well-being and job satisfaction are analysed. Quantitative job insecurity refers to the continuity of the actual job, whereas qualitative job insecurity refers to the continuity of valued job characteristics. The association of both kinds of insecurity with emotion-focused coping (avoidance) is studied, as well as the moderating role of problem-focused coping in the relation between job insecurity, satisfaction and well-being. Data of 568 employees from 23 companies are used to test the hypotheses. The results show that both forms of job insecurity are associated with a decrease in well-being and job satisfaction, as expected. Job insecurity is also associated with an increase in avoidance behaviours (emotion-focused coping) and with a decrease in problem-focused coping behaviours. Problem-focused coping (and avoidance) do not moderate the relationship between job insecurity, satisfaction and well-being.

How to measure bullying at work? A latent class analysis of the Negative Acts Questionnaire

Guy Notelaers , Hans De Witte , Jeroen Vermunt & Stale Einarsen,Gedrag & Organisatie, Volume 19, Juni 2006, nr. 2, pp. 140.

Bullying at work can be defined as a gradually escalating process. The actual measurements of bullying, however, do not adequately measure this process, and show several methodological and substantive shortcomings. In this study, a latent class analysis is performed on data (N = 6175) gathered with the Negative Acts Questionnaire ('objective' measurement of bullying). Six clusters can be distinguished: those 'not bullied' (35,3%), the 'limited work criticism'-cluster (27,7%), those with 'limited negative encounters' (16,5%), the 'sometimes bullied' (9%), the 'work related bullied' (8,3%) and the 'victims' (3,2%). These results suggest a cumulative measurement model for bullying at work, in which the type of negative behaviours and their intensity gradually increase. The results of this latent class analysis fit the definition of bullying at work in which such a gradual escalation is described. The size of the victims group also fits the size mentioned in the international literature, when bullying is measured with a subjective method.

The impact of behavioral control in the workplace on employee affective commitment and performance levels: testing two alternative explanations

Koen Dewettinck & Dirk Buyens,Gedrag & Organisatie, Volume 19, Juni 2006, nr. 2, pp. 161.

In this study, we proposed and empirically tested a process model in which supervisory behavioral control is linked to frontline employee affective commitment and performance levels. We tested two alternative explanations by investigating the intermediate role of job autonomy and situational learning orientation, using multiple-source survey data from a sample of 1184 frontline service employees and their supervisors. Results indicate that situational learning orientation is an important construct in linking behavioral control to performance. Job autonomy showed to be important in explaining employee outcomes, but was as such only marginally related to behavioral control. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Het volgende artikel, getiteld 'Work characteristics and the emergence of a sustainable workforce: do job design principles matter?', is in het Engels geschreven. U zult zich misschien afvragen of Gedrag & Organisatie haar beleid, namelijk om uitsluitend in het Nederlands te publiceren, gaat verlaten. Het antwoord is nee en ja.

Work characteristics and the emergence of a sustainable workforce: Do job design principles matter?

Doris Fay & Alexandra Kamps, Gedrag & Organisatie, Volume 19, June 2006, nr. 2, pp. 184.

Today's organisations require a workforce with high levels of adaptability and flexibility, that is, a sustainable workforce. Drawing on the notion of socialization through work, this study looks at the potential role of job design for building a sustainable workforce. Drawing on data from 335 individuals from the new German countries, we tested whether levels of desirable attitudes and behaviours are associated with the application of Tayloristic design principles. Perceptions of work characteristics (job control, complexity, task completeness, prescription of one-best-way of doing the job) were used to create groups of work places that differed in degree of Taylorism. Comparison of jobs with high versus low levels of Taylorism showed that individuals with Tayloristic jobs had lower work-related self-efficacy, lower personal initiative, innovativity and readiness to change, and higher levels of control rejection and depression than individuals in less Tayloristic jobs. Implications for changing job demands and future work are discussed.

Het Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) introduceerde in 1964 de zogenaamde impact factor (IF), een grootheid die aangeeft hoe vaak het gemiddelde artikel in een bepaald wetenschappelijk tijdschrift gedurende een bepaalde periode na verschijning (gewoonlijk maximaal twee jaar) wordt aangehaald in andere wetenschappelijke publicaties. Dergelijke impactfactoren worden de laatste jaren steeds vaker gebruikt als instrument om inzicht te verkrijgen in de kwaliteit van wetenschappelijke tijdschriften, onderzoeksprogramma's, publicaties, individuele onderzoekers en onderzoeksgroepen. De achterliggende redenering is eenvoudig. Publicaties die vaak worden aangehaald zijn blijkbaar interessant voor een grote groep onderzoekers, wat suggereert dat die publicatie veel impact heeft op het onderzoek dat in een bepaald veld wordt verricht. Tijdschriften waarin veel van dergelijke veelaangehaalde artikelen verschijnen zijn dientengevolge van groot belang voor het veld; datzelfde geldt voor onderzoekers en onderzoeksgroepen die veel publicaties met een hoge impact realiseren. Kortom, impact is gelijk aan invloed is gelijk aan kwaliteit en prestige. Omdat de IF ook nog eens gemakkelijk en aan de hand van objectieve en duidelijke criteria te berekenen is, is deze grootheid een ideaal instrument om de kwaliteit van tijdschriften, onderzoekers en hun onderzoek in kaart te brengen en te beoordelen.