Understanding workaholics' motivations: a self-determination perspective

In order to explain the diverging well-being outcomes of workaholism, this study aimed to examine the motivational orientations that may fuel the two main components of workaholism (i.e. working excessively and working compulsively). Drawing on Self-Determination Theory, both autonomous and controlled motivation were suggested to drive excessive work, which therefore was expected to relate positively to both well-being (i.e. vigor) and ill-health (i.e. exhaustion). Compulsive work, in contrast, was hypothesized to originate exclusively out of controlled motivation and therefore to only associate positively with ill-being. Structural equation modeling in a heterogeneous sample of Belgian white-collar workers (N=370) confirmed that autonomous motivation associated positively with excessive work, which then related positively to vigor. Controlled motivation correlated positively with compulsive work, which therefore related positively with exhaustion. The hypothesized path from controlled motivation to exhaustion through excessive work was not corroborated. In general, the findings suggest that primarily compulsive work yields associations with ill-being, since it may stem from a qualitatively inferior type of motivation

What Does it Take to Break the Silence in Teams:Authentic Leadership and/or Proactive Followership?

Leadership may help break the silence in teams, but this may not be equally true for all employees. Using behavioral plasticity theory, we propose that authentic leadership—a set of leadership behaviors through which leaders enact their true selves—reduces silence and motivates speaking up in employees low on proactive personality, but hardly affects employees who are proactive by nature, because proactive employees are less susceptible to social influences. Using data from 223 employees (nested in 45 work teams), we indeed find authentic leadership to reduce silence in employees with less proactive personalities, but not in more proactive employees. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for silence and authentic leadership.<br/

Train to retain:Training opportunities, positive reciprocity, and expected retirement age

This article contributes to research on older workers' sustainable employment by investigating the relation between training and expected retirement age. Past research has produced inconsistent findings, partly because studies rarely distinguish between the effects of training opportunities and actual training participation. To address this limitation, we examine the incremental effect of training opportunities over and above actual training participation. Grounded in social exchange theory, we argue that the effect of training opportunities on expected retirement age depends on employees' positive reciprocity orientation. Using matched employer–employee data (880 employees matched to 284 employers) our findings show that training opportunities associate with expected retirement age over and above employees' actual training participation, but only for employees with strong positive reciprocity beliefs. Moreover, a supplementary analysis showed that the strengthening effect of positive reciprocity only holds for organizations that are financially healthy. These findings are consistent with the idea that positive reciprocators will only avoid early retirement as a response to training opportunities when it is seen as a credible gesture to facilitate employees' future employability

De zelf- versus ander-gerefereerde angstvragenlijst: validatie van een Franstalige versie en verschillen in faalangst tussen Vlaamse en Waalse sollicitanten in België

The Self- versus Other-referenced Anxiety Questionnaire: Differences in test anxiety between Flemish and Walloon apllicants in Belgium. Karin Proost, Eva Derous, Bert Schreurs en Karel de Witte, Gedrag & Organisatie volume 24, June 2011, nr. 2, pp. 165-182. The purpose of the present study was to validate a French version of the Self- versus Other-referenced Anxiety Questionnaire (SOAQ) and to study the difference in test anxiety between Flemish and French speaking applicants in Belgium. In a sample of 4229 applicants that applied for position at the Federal Government, adequate measurement invariance was found for the French version of the SOAQ. Flemish applicants were found to experience higher levels of both self- and other-referenced anxiety than Walloon applicants. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

What’s in a word? Using construal-level theory to predict voice endorsement

Voice endorsement is a pivotal means by which employees can influence leadership processes and the organization at large. Up till now, research on voice endorsement has lacked unified theoretical frameworks that can shed light on antecedents of voice endorsement in a more integrative way as well as help identify new and relevant antecedents in a systematic and theory-based manner. We propose that construal-level theory can serve as one such unifying framework and showcase this potential by applying it to voice endorsement. Drawing on construal-level theory we propose that when an employee frames his/her voice messages in a manner that is compatible with the psychological distance between the employee and the supervisor, the supervisor will find the employee’s voice messages easier to process and, consequently, will be more likely to endorse them. Three experiments using different manipulations of voice message frame and psychological distance, and a mini meta-analysis of the three experiments, provide support for our construal compatibility hypothesis and initial evidence for the experienced ease-of-processing logic. We discuss how our construal-level approach to voice endorsement can shed light on previous findings as well as open up new avenues for future research

When Task Conflict Becomes Personal: The Impact of Perceived Team Performance

Although potentially beneficial, task conflict may threaten teams because it often leads to relationship conflict. Prior research has identified a set of interpersonal factors (e.g., team communication, team trust) that help attenuate this association. The purpose of this article is to provide an alternative perspective that focuses on the moderating role of performance-related factors (i.e., perceived team performance). Using social identity theory, we build a model that predicts how task conflict associates with growth in relationship conflict and how perceived team performance influences this association. We test a three-wave longitudinal model by means of random coefficient growth modeling, using data from 60 ongoing teams working in a health care organization. Results provide partial support for our hypotheses. Only when perceived team performance is low, do task conflicts relate with growth in relationship conflict. We conclude that perceived team performance seems to enable teams to uncouple task from relationship conflict

The effect of selection expectancies and evaluations on applicant attraction: an empirical study within the Belgian military

This doctoral proposition is divided into five sections. In the first section, the present study will be framed within the context of previous research at the Center for Organizational and Personnel Psychology. In the second section, the literature relevant for this doctoral study is reviewed. This section is subdivided into four paragraphs. The first paragraph deals with literature on applicant reactions. In this paragraph we introduce the term ‘selection expectancies’ to refer to applicants’ expectancies of forthcoming selection practices. The second paragraph focuses on expectancies as a potential antecedent of applicant perceptions, evaluations, attitudes, intentions, and behavior. In the third paragraph, two well-known behavioral intention models are briefly discussed, namely the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior. Throughout this doctoral study, we will use these theories to connect applicant reactions to applicant behaviors. The fourth paragraph describes a preparatory study on potential applicant reactions to military recruiters that we conducted in the Belgian military by virtue of financial support from the U.S. Office of Naval Research. The main hypotheses of this doctoral proposal and the concrete methodological designs can be found in the third part of this paper. This section consists of two separate studies. In the first study, we will examine the effect of selection expectancies on applicants’ job pursuit attitude, intention, and behavior, thereby using the theory of planned behavior as our theoretical framework. In the second study, we will examine the effect of (un)met selection expectancies on applicant attraction. Both studies will be conducted within the Belgian military. The fourth and fifth section respectively contains some concluding remarks and a reference list. 2status: publishe