Rookies connected: Interpersonal relationships among newcomers, newcomer adjustment processes, and socialization outcomes.

How do relationships among newcomers in the same cohort impact how quickly they develop clear understandings of their new roles and, ultimately, key socialization outcomes? We study newcomers' relationships with cohort members in the same unit (i.e., intra-unit relationships) and those in different units (i.e., inter-unit relationships). While organizations invest substantial time and resources in promoting broad networking among newcomers, we offer a theoretical and empirical account of how too many connections among fellow newcomers early in the socialization process can slow their adjustment-namely, their growth in role clarity. In Study 1, we surveyed 189 newcomers in an international conglomerate from their orientations through their first 4 months and linked responses to 3 years of their job performance and turnover records. After controlling for the initial level of role clarity, we found an inverted U-shaped relationship between newcomers' intra-unit peer connections and growth in role clarity, whereas their inter-unit peer connections did not significantly relate to growth in role clarity. Growth in role clarity positively related to subsequent newcomers' job satisfaction and job performance, which were then negatively related to turnover. Study 2's results indicated that sensemaking with fellow newcomers operated as a key mechanism linking the nonlinear relationships between intra-unit newcomer-newcomer relationships and growth in role clarity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Job search and employment success: A quantitative review and future research agenda.

Job search is an important activity that people engage in during various phases across the life span (e.g., school-to-work transition, job loss, job change, career transition). Based on our definition of job search as a goal-directed, motivational, and self-regulatory process, we present a framework to organize the multitude of variables examined in the literature on job seeking and employment success. We conducted a quantitative synthesis of the literature to test relationships between job-search self-regulation, job-search behavior, and employment success outcomes. We also quantitatively review key antecedents (i.e., personality, attitudinal factors, and contextual variables) of job-search self-regulation, job-search behavior, and employment success. We included studies that examined relationships with job-search or employment success variables among job seekers (e.g., new labor market entrants, unemployed individuals, employed individuals), resulting in 378 independent samples (N = 165,933). Most samples (74.3%, k = 281) came from articles published in 2001 or later. Findings from our meta-analyses support the role of job-search intensity in predicting quantitative employment success outcomes (i.e., rc = .23 for number of interviews, rc = .14 for number of job offers, and rc = .19 for employment status). Overall job-search intensity failed to predict employment quality. Our findings identify job-search self-regulation and job-search quality as promising constructs for future research, as these predicted both quantitative employment success outcomes and employment quality. Based on the results of the theoretical and quantitative synthesis, we map out an agenda for future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The comparative effects of supervisor helping motives on newcomer adjustment and socialization outcomes.

The preponderance of organizational socialization research has focused on the perceptions and interests of newcomers. Yet, insiders-particularly immediate supervisors-are central to newcomers' adjustment, primarily in providing newcomers help. To facilitate such behavior, however, it is necessary to understand supervisors' helping motivations. Beginning from a new theoretically grounded taxonomy, we examined how supervisor reports of their own self-oriented, other-oriented, and normative motives predicted newcomer-rated received help and subsequent adjustment/socialization outcomes. We also examined the moderating role of newcomer motive perceptions on whether help was reciprocated to supervisors. Our model was tested with multiwave data from newcomers and supervisors during the first 3 months of starting a job. Newcomers reported receiving greater help from supervisors who described themselves as being motivated by self-oriented tangible gains and other-orientation, whereas supervisors who described themselves as being motivated by self-oriented enhancement were seen as less helpful. Further, when newcomers perceived that supervisors were more motivated by other-orientation and less by self-oriented tangible gains, newcomers reciprocated more help to the supervisor later on. Our results advance theory about the role of interpersonal helping during socialization, revealing that not all provided help is interpreted similarly by newcomers, and that differing supervisor motivations should also be factored into account. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Extraversion advantages at work: A quantitative review and synthesis of the meta-analytic evidence.

How and to what extent does extraversion relate to work relevant variables across the lifespan? In the most extensive quantitative review to date, we summarize results from 97 published meta-analyses reporting relations of extraversion to 165 distinct work relevant variables, as well as relations of extraversion's lower order traits to 58 variables. We first update all effects using a common set of statistical corrections and, when possible, combine independent estimates using second-order meta-analysis (Schmidt & Oh, 2013). We then organize effects within a framework of four career domains-education, job application, on the job, and career/lifespan-and five conceptual categories: motivations, values, and interests; attitudes and well-being; interpersonal; performance; and counterproductivity. Overall, extraversion shows effects in a desirable direction for 90% of variables (grand mean ρ̄ = .14), indicative of a small, persistent advantage at work. Findings also show areas with more substantial effects (ρ̄ ≥ .20), which we synthesize into four extraversion advantages. These motivational, emotional, interpersonal, and performance advantages offer a concise account of extraversion's relations and a new lens for understanding its effects at work. Our review of the lower order trait evidence reveals diverse relations (e.g., the positive emotions facet has consistently advantageous effects, the sociability facet confers few benefits, the sensation-seeking facet is largely disadvantageous), and extends knowledge about the functioning of extraversion and its advantages. We conclude by discussing potential boundary conditions of findings, contributions and limitations of our review, and new research directions for extraversion at work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Using machine learning to translate applicant work history into predictors of performance and turnover.

Work history information reflected in resumes and job application forms is commonly used to screen job applicants; however, there is little consensus as to how to systematically translate information about one's work-related past into predictors of future work outcomes. In this article, we apply machine learning techniques to job application form data (including previous job descriptions and stated reasons for changing jobs) to develop interpretable measures of work experience relevance, tenure history, and history of involuntary turnover, history of avoiding bad jobs, and history of approaching better jobs. We empirically examine our model on a longitudinal sample of 16,071 applicants for public school teaching positions, and predict subsequent work outcomes including student evaluations, expert observations of performance, value-added to student test scores, voluntary turnover, and involuntary turnover. We found that work experience relevance and a history of approaching better jobs were linked to positive work outcomes, whereas a history of avoiding bad jobs was associated with negative outcomes. We also quantify the extent to which our model can improve the quality of selection process above the conventional methods of assessing work history, while lowering the risk of adverse impact. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Job attitudes, job satisfaction, and job affect: A century of continuity and of change.

Over the past 100 years, research on job attitudes has improved in the sophistication of methods and in the productive use of theory as a basis for fundamental research into questions of work psychology. Early research incorporated a diversity of methods for measuring potential predictors and outcomes of job attitudes. Over time, methods for statistically assessing these relationships became more rigorous, but the field also became narrower. In recent years, developments in theory and methodology have reinvigorated research, which now addresses a rich panoply of topics related to the daily flow of affect, the complexity of personal motives and dispositions, and the complex interplay of attitude objects and motivation in shaping behavior. Despite these apparent changes, a review of the concepts and substantive arguments that underpin this literature have remained remarkably consistent. We conclude by discussing how we expect that these major themes will be addressed in the future, emphasizing topics that have proven to be enduring guides for understanding the ways that people construe and react to their appraisals of their work. (PsycINFO Database Record

Mood and the market: can press reports of investors' mood predict stock prices?

We examined whether press reports on the collective mood of investors can predict changes in stock prices. We collected data on the use of emotion words in newspaper reports on traders' affect, coded these emotion words according to their location on an affective circumplex in terms of pleasantness and activation level, and created indices of collective mood for each trading day. Then, by using time series analyses, we examined whether these mood indices, depicting investors' emotion on a given trading day, could predict the next day's opening price of the stock market. The strongest findings showed that activated pleasant mood predicted increases in NASDAQ prices, while activated unpleasant mood predicted decreases in NASDAQ prices. We conclude that both valence and activation levels of collective mood are important in predicting trend continuation in stock prices.

On the value of aiming high: the causes and consequences of ambition.

Ambition is a commonly mentioned but poorly understood concept in social science research. We sought to contribute to understanding of the concept by developing and testing a model in which ambition is a middle-level trait (Cantor, 1990)-predicted by more distal characteristics but, due to its teleological nature, more proximally situated to predict career success. A 7-decade longitudinal sample of 717 high-ability individuals from the Terman life-cycle study (Terman, Sears, Cronbach, & Sears, 1989) was used in the current study. Results indicated that ambition was predicted by individual differences-conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, and general mental ability-and a socioeconomic background variable: parents' occupational prestige. Ambition, in turn, was positively related to educational attainment, occupation prestige, and income. Ambition had significant total effects with all of the endogenous variables except mortality. Overall, the results support the thesis that ambition is a middle-level trait-related to but distinct from more distal individual difference variables-that has meaningful effects on career success.

Job attitudes.

Job attitudes research is arguably the most venerable and popular topic in organizational psychology. This article surveys the field as it has been constituted in the past several years. Definitional issues are addressed first, in an attempt to clarify the nature, scope, and structure of job attitudes. The distinction between cognitive and affective bases of job attitudes has been an issue of debate, and recent research using within-persons designs has done much to inform this discussion. Recent research has also begun to reformulate the question of dispositional or situational influences on employee attitudes by addressing how these factors might work together to influence attitudes. Finally, there has also been a continual growth in research investigating how employee attitudes are related to a variety of behaviors at both the individual and aggregated level of analysis.

The role of core self-evaluations in the coping process.

In 2 studies, the authors investigated whether core self-evaluations (CSE) serve as an integrative framework for understanding individual differences in coping processes. A meta-analytic review demonstrated that CSEs were associated with fewer perceived stressors, lower strain, less avoidance coping, more problem-solving coping, and were not strongly related to emotion-focused coping. Consistent with the meta-analytic results, a daily diary study demonstrated that individuals with high CSE perceived fewer stressors, experienced less strain after controlling for stressors, and engaged in less avoidance coping. However, both studies demonstrated that emotional stability was uniquely related to the stress and coping process and that emotional stability moderated the relationship between stressors and strain. The discussion focuses on the distinction between depressive self-concept represented by CSE and the anxiety and worry represented by emotional stability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

The role of temporal shifts in turnover processes: it's about time.

To better understand the process of organizational withdrawal, a turnover model incorporating dynamic predictors measured at 5 distinct points in time was examined by following a large occupationally and organizationally diverse sample over a 2-year period. Results demonstrated that turnover can be predicted by perceived costs of turnover, organizational commitment, and critical events measured soon after entry into the organization. Occupational unemployment rates, job satisfaction, and search for alternative jobs also become significant predictors when measured over time. Critical events predicted turnover in a manner distinct from the operation of attitudes, consistent with the unfolding model (Lee & Mitchell, 1994). The path to turnover was marked by consistently low perceived costs of turnover and satisfaction, decreases in commitment, and increases in job search over time.

Emotional labor demands and compensating wage differentials.

The concept of emotional labor demands and their effects on workers has received considerable attention in recent years, with most studies concentrating on stress, burnout, satisfaction, or other affective outcomes. This study extends the literature by examining the relationship between emotional labor demands and wages at the occupational level. Theories describing the expected effects of job demands and working conditions on wages are described. Results suggest that higher levels of emotional labor demands are associated with lower wage rates for jobs low in cognitive demands and with higher wage rates for jobs high in cognitive demands. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Unwrapping the organizational entry process: disentangling multiple antecedents and their pathways to adjustment.

This 4-wave longitudinal study of newcomers in 7 organizations examined preentry knowledge, proactive personality, and socialization influences as antecedents of both proximal (task mastery, role clarity, work group integration, and political knowledge) and distal (organizational commitment, work withdrawal, and turnover) indicators of newcomer adjustment. Results suggest that preentry knowledge, proactive personality, and socialization influences from the organization, supervisors, and coworkers are independently related to proximal adjustment outcomes, consistent with a theoretical framework highlighting distinct dimensions of organizational and work task adjustment. The proximal adjustment outcomes partially mediated most of the relationships between the antecedents of adjustment and organizational commitment, work withdrawal, and turnover.

Have health conditions associated with latex increased since the issuance of universal precautions?

OBJECTIVES: This study explored whether the prevalence of latex-related health conditions has increased among individuals employed in medical occupations relative to those employed in nonmedical occupations since the issuance of universal precautions in 1987. METHODS: Data derived from the 1983 to 1994 versions of the National Health Interview Survey were used to obtain odds ratios comparing prevalence rates of latex-related symptoms over time. RESULTS: No statistical evidence was found that the universal precautions resulted in increased prevalence rates of latex-related health conditions among medical workers relative to those employed in nonmedical occupations. CONCLUSIONS: Increased use of latex gloves among health care personnel subsequent to the implementation of universal precautions appears to have had no effect on latex allergic reactions experienced by these workers.

Natural rubber latex allergy workers' compensation claims: Washington State healthcare workers, 1991-1999.

Occupational reaction to natural rubber latex experienced by healthcare employees was examined using data of all workers' compensation claims filed by state-insured healthcare employees in Washington State for the period 1991-1999 (n = 65,703). As latex reaction is not a condition for which there are specific identification codes, these claims were estimated by coupling source and nature of injury records that were consistent with reactions to latex. It was found that the claim rate was on average 2.66 per 10,000 state-insured healthcare workers annually. The most common condition experienced was dermal (84.3%), and most common body part affected was the hand (70.0%). Because few claims cited respiratory or conjunctivitis as reaction experienced, little evidence was discovered to support that glove powder acted as a widespread latex allergen transmitter in healthcare environments. Most cases did not require indemnity payment for lost work time (81.2%), suggesting most reactions were minor. The average cost per natural rubber latex claim was $2,759.10, compared to $3,178.18 for the average healthcare worker claim for all causes. Overall, the average cost per state-insured healthcare worker employed during this time was under $0.74 per year. Nursing aides/orderlies were the most frequent healthcare occupation filing a claim (33.2%). The majority of claimants were female (87.9%), and unmarried workers (52.0%) filed slightly more claims than married workers (48.0%). In comparison with other workers' compensation claims filed by healthcare workers during this period, 0.34 percent of the total was potentially related to natural rubber latex, with other common healthcare workplace items cited more frequently as source of occupational injury.

Comparing meta-analytic moderator estimation techniques under realistic conditions.

One of the most problematic issues in contemporary meta-analysis is the estimation and interpretation of moderating effects. Monte Carlo analyses are developed in this article that compare bivariate correlations, ordinary least squares and weighted least squares (WLS) multiple regression, and hierarchical subgroup (HS) analysis for assessing the influence of continuous moderators under conditions of multicollinearity and skewed distribution of study sample sizes (heteroscedasticity). The results show that only WLS is largely unaffected by multicollinearity and heteroscedasticity, whereas the other techniques are substantially weakened. Of note, HS, one of the most popular methods, typically provides the most inaccurate results, whereas WLS, one of the least popular methods, typically provides the most accurate results.