Information provided on applicants' resumes provides a convenient, cost-effective means for applicant screening. We sought to determine if recruiters' assessments of the presence of certain types of information on job applicants' resumes was related to applicants' general mental ability and personality traits. Forty recruiters from 35 organizations assessed the extent to which specified items were present on the resumes of job applicants. Results indicated relationships between recruiters' judgments regarding applicants' resume information and applicants' cognitive ability and Big Five personality characteristics. Implications for the use of resume information in the selection process are discussed.
In this study we explore whether emotion experienced at work mediates the relationships between perceived supervisor support, psychological hardiness, and employee cynicism. Data were collected from employees working at a medical technology company located in Switzerland. Mediational analyses showed that employees' positive and negative emotions experienced amidst an organizational crisis fully accounted for the relations between perceived supervisor support and cynicism and psychological hardiness and cynicism. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.
In the present study we sought to clarify the functional distinctions between organization identity strength, organizational identification, and organizational commitment. Data were obtained from 10?948 employees of a large steel manufacturer. First, confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the discriminant validity of the three focal constructs. Next, drawing on research that suggests hierarchical differentiation may influence individuals' conceptual frame of reference, we examined each focal construct's measurement equivalence across three hierarchical levels (officers, n?=?1,056, middle-management, n?=?1049, workers, n?=?1050). Finally, multigroup structural equation modeling was used to simultaneously estimate the between-group correlations between turnover intention and organization identity strength, organizational identification, and organizational commitment. Results indicated that (a) the measures used to reflect the three focal constructs were empirically distinct, (b) the focal constructs were conceptually equivalent across hierarchical levels, and (c) the pattern of correlations with turnover intention was different for employees with management responsibilities versus workers with no management responsibility. The present findings suggest perceptions of a strong organizational identity, organizational identification, and organizational commitment may influence employees' turnover intention in unique ways, depending on their hierarchical level within the organization.
Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was applied to the responses of 4, 909 employees of a multinational organization with locations in 50 countries to examine the measurement equivalence of otherwise identical Web-based and paper-and-pencil versions of 20 items comprising the transformational leadership component of Bass and Avolio's Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. The results supported configural, metric, scalar, measurement error, and relational equivalence across administration modes, indicating that the psychometric properties of the 20 items were similar whether administered as a paper-and-pencil or Web-based measure. Although caution is always advised when considering multiple modes of administration, the results suggest that there are minimal measurement differences for well-developed, psychometrically sound instruments applied using either a paper-and-pencil or an online format. Thus, the results open a methodological door for survey researchers wishing to (a) assess transformational leadership with a Web-based platform and (b) compare or combine responses collected with paper-and-pencil and Web-based applications.
We sought to establish whether mean level within-team assessments of a leader's transformational behavior and the extent of perceived variability (i.e., consensus) among team members' ratings around this mean level are separate yet related indicators of leader quality. To this end, using data from 108 work teams in a multinational field setting, we explored the relationship between managers' transformational leadership behavior and team performance as moderated by the extent of variability among team members' leadership behavior ratings. Recognizing that the relationship between leader behavior and team performance is indirect, we further examined whether team empowerment served as a mediating mechanism through which transformational leadership is evoked. Study results, based on ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses and bootstrapped estimates, were consistent with the hypothesized conceptual scheme of moderated mediation, in that the joint effects of transformational leadership behavior and consensus about transformational leadership were found to have an indirect effect on team performance through team empowerment. These findings broaden the focus of transformational leadership theory by illustrating that, within a team context, the transformational leadership-performance linkage is more nuanced than previously believed
The high implicit taxation of employment income (i.e. disabled lose benefits if labor incomes exceed a certain threshold) is considered one of the prime reasons for the low outflow from disability insurance. This paper presents the short-term results of a conditional cash program that financially incentivizes work related reduction of disability benefits. A randomized group of disability insurance beneficiaries receive the offer to claim a payment ("seed capital") of up to CHF 72,000 (USD 71,000) if they take up or expand employment and reduce disability insurance claims. Despite the large financial incentive, the results show that interest in taking-up the financial incentive is low at only 3%. This finding is consistent with the literature from other settings: financial incentives - even if they directly incentivize outflow and are rather generous - tend to be ineffective in stimulating outflow from the disability insurance.
Keeping employees physically and psychologically healthy and thriving has increasingly become a challenge for organizations. Because poor health is associated with various negative consequences for the individual as well as at organizational level, researchers have started to investigate pathways for fostering, retaining, and restoring health and well-being in the work-place. Various studies underline the important role of leaders in creating work-place conditions that either positively or negatively influence employee health and well-being. In this chapter, we therefore differentiate between relationship-oriented and task-oriented leadership behaviors while providing an overview of the association between established leadership theories and indicators of employee health. Moreover, we focus on health-specific leadership styles, which are assumed to have a more direct effect on followers’ health than more general styles. We have assumed that health-focused leadership skills complement general leadership skills. Avenues for future research are discussed and practical conclusions provided.
