Applicant perspectives in selection: Going beyond preference reactions

In the present special issue new theoretical and empirical insights on applicant perceptions of selection procedures are provided. In this introductory editorial we address four primary goals. First, we introduce the reader to the topic of applicant perceptions and highlight key theoretical perspectives and past empirical findings. Second, we review the state of the literature and argue that research on applicant reactions has been prospering in the last two decades. Third, we summarize the six papers that have been assembled in this special issue and that are reviewed in the final paper as a discussants' commentary. We close with acknowledging and thanking all of those who have contributed to the publication of this special issue

The regulating role of mindfulness in enacted workplace incivility:An experience sampling study

Incivility at work poses a problem, both for individuals who are the targets of incivility and for organizations. However, relatively little is known about what drives or hinders individuals to engage in incivility, and how they respond to their own uncivil behavior. Adopting a self-regulation perspective, we link theories explaining enacted incivility as self-regulatory failure with research about the self-regulatory benefits of mindfulness. We develop and investigate a conceptual model on the role of trait mindfulness in antecedent- and consequent-based processes of enacted workplace incivility. Data from an experience-sampling study across 5 work days provided support for the majority of our hypotheses. Individuals high in trait mindfulness not only showed generally low levels of enacted incivility, but they also displayed less variability in enacted incivility over time. Specifically, while enacted incivility was entrained to the work week and systematically decreased from Monday to Friday for individuals low in mindfulness, enacted incivility remained stable over the course of the work week for individuals high in mindfulness. Furthermore, employees high in trait mindfulness reacted in a more morally mature manner and experienced guilt when having engaged in uncivil behavior compared to their low mindful counterparts. However, increases in guilt for high mindful individuals did not translate into lower levels of enacted incivility the following work day. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved

A Swiss army knife?:How science challenges our understanding of mindfulness in the workplace

While mindfulness has demonstrated many advantages in the workplace, this paper addresses important issues around the future of mindfulness at work. We begin by clarifying our understanding of mindfulness in the workplace. This is followed by a discussion on the problematic nature of mindfulness-based interventions in workplaces and potential guidance is provided for those who intend to undertake interventions. Finally, we examine how workplaces are naturalistic settings that differ in how they can nurture mindfulness in employees. Ultimately this paper provides organizations and practitioners insight into potential issues in navigating mindfulness at work, while also providing cautionary optimism around the future of mindfulness in the workplace

Designing and evaluating resource-oriented interventions to enhance employee well-being and health

peer-reviewedThis editorial introduces JOOP’s special issue on designing and evaluating resource-oriented interventions to enhance employees’ well-being and health. This special issue aims to stimulate research on resource-oriented interventions by bringing together examples of original intervention research, literature reviews on specific resources, and guidelines on how to design and evaluate resource-oriented interventions. We begin with a reflection on current issues pertaining to definition, design and focus of resource-oriented interventions at work, followed by a brief outline of the papers included in this special issue. Four papers examine how resource-oriented interventions can develop personal and job resources, thereby evaluating their effect on well-being, health, and to a lesser extent, performance. Two papers provide guidance on how to design and evaluate resource-oriented interventions in the workplace. The special issue concludes with a critical reflection on the current state of the field by Baumeister and Alghamdi, which points to the challenges and limitations of resourcebased intervention research, with the aim to inspire and advance future research in this field

Group creativity

Many creative endeavors take place in groups or teams. Because groups can build on more diverse resources than individuals, they have considerable creative potential. However, this potential often remains unfulfilled: Productivity loss and suboptimal decision-making threaten all aspects of the creative process. This article summarizes findings on group creativity including the pitfalls that threaten groups, and some basic principles of effective group design for creativity.</p

Graduate student selection: graduate record examination, socioeconomic status, and undergraduate grade point average as predictors of study success in a western European University

Graduate students' mobility has increased within Europe. Yet, empirical evidence on the validity of standardized admission tests in Europe is still scarce. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the incremental validity of the GRE (R) revised general test above undergraduate grade point average (U-GPA) by focusing on a multinational sample of master students (N=282) enrolled at a Dutch university. Results indicated that the Analytical Writing part of the GRE predicts graduate grade point average above and beyond U-GPA. Furthermore, the results suggest that the relationship is independent of students' socioeconomic status as indexed by parental education. Implications for graduate student selection in a European context are discussed

Breaking psychological contracts with the burden of workload: a weekly study of job resources as moderators

This intra-individual study examined relationships over time of job demands and resources with employee perceptions of psychological contract breach and violation, or the emotional impact of breach. Based on Conservation of Resources Theory, we expected job demands to increase the susceptibility of experiencing contract breach and violation over time, and we expected this relationship to be moderated by available job resources. In particular, autonomy and social support were expected to buffer relationships of job demands with breach, while development was expected to intensify relationships between job demands and breach. For violation, we expected job resources to intensify the relationships between job demands and breach, in line with the betrayal hypothesis. Analyses on weekly diary data showed that weekly job demands were related to higher contract breach perceptions in the following week when autonomy and social support were low and when development was high. Moreover, weekly job demands were related to higher violation in the next week, especially when social support was high. The study shows that job demands may be related to higher odds of experiencing a breach and higher violation, and job resources may play opposite roles in moderating the relationships of job demands with breach and violation

Applicant reactions to selection methods in China

This study examines applicant reactions to ten popular selection methods in China. Using a sample of 294 graduates we found that Chinese applicants’ reactions were highly favorable for work sample tests, interviews, and written ability tests, whereas Guanxi (i.e., relying on personal contacts when applying for a job) and graphology were perceived as the least favorable selection methods. Guanxi was also perceived as significantly less fair method compared with all others on all seven procedural dimensions studied. These findings suggest that Guanxi as an informal selection channel might threaten the fairness of personnel selection in China. Implications for the design of selection systems in Chinese companies are discussed, and ramifications for future research into applicant reactions are considered