Abbie J. Shipp

The phenomenology of fit: linking the person and environment to the subjective experience of person-environment fit.

The authors distinguished 3 approaches to the study of perceived person-environment fit (P-E fit): (a) atomistic, which examines perceptions of the person and environment as separate entities; (b) molecular, which concerns the perceived comparison between the person and environment; and (c) molar, which focuses on the perceived similarity, match, or fit between the person and environment. Distinctions among these approaches have fundamental implications for theory, measurement, and the subjective experience of P-E fit, yet research has treated these approaches as interchangeable. This study investigated the meaning and relationships among the atomistic, molecular, and molar approaches to fit and examined factors that influence the strength of these relationships. Results showed that the relationships among the approaches deviate markedly from the theoretical logic that links them together. Supplemental analyses indicated that molar fit overlaps with affect and molecular fit gives different weight to atomistic person and environment information depending on how the comparison is framed. These findings challenge fundamental assumptions underlying P-E fit theories and have important implications for future research.

Changes in newcomer job satisfaction over time: examining the pattern of honeymoons and hangovers.

In this study, the authors contribute insight into the temporal nature of work attitudes, examining how job satisfaction changes across the 1st year of employment for a sample of organizational newcomers. The authors examined factors related to job change (i.e., voluntary turnover, prior job satisfaction) and newcomer experiences (i.e., fulfillment of commitments, extent of socialization) that may strengthen or weaken the job satisfaction pattern. Results of a study of 132 newcomers with data collected at 4 unique time periods show a complex curvilinear pattern of job satisfaction, such that satisfaction reached a peak following organizational entry and decreased thereafter. However, examination of moderating factors revealed that individuals who reported less satisfaction with their prior job and those having more positive experiences on the new job, such as greater fulfilled commitments and a higher degree of socialization, were most likely to experience this pattern. Findings from this study offer important implications for theory and research on changes in newcomer attitudes over time as well as practical insight on key factors that shape the pattern of job attitudes as individuals enter and experience a new workplace.

Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Career Outcomes The Cost of Being a Good Citizen

Existing research suggests that relationships among organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), task performance, and individual career outcomes are necessarily positive. The authors question this assumption and hypothesize that in organizations with outcome-based control systems, time spent on OCB comes at a cost to task performance. Building on this idea, the authors propose not only that time spent on task performance is more important than time spent on OCB in determining career outcomes (i.e., performance evaluation, salary increase, advancement speed, promotion) in an outcome-based control system but also that time spent on OCB may negatively impact career outcomes. Results based on archival data from 3,680 employees in a professional services firm lend some support for these ideas. Specifically, time spent on task performance was more important than OCB in determining all four career outcomes. Further, controlling for time spent on task performance, employees who spent more time on OCB had lower salary increases and advanced more slowly than employees who spent less time on OCB. These findings suggest that relationships between OCB and outcomes are more complex than originally thought and that boundary conditions may apply to conclusions drawn about the outcomes of OCB.

Is burnout static or dynamic? A career transition perspective of employee burnout trajectories

Despite decades of theory and empirical research on employee burnout, its temporal and developmental aspects are still not fully understood. This lack of understanding is problematic because burnout is a dynamic phenomenon and burnout interventions may be improved by a greater understanding of who is likely to experience changes in burnout and when these changes occur. In this article, we advance existing burnout theory by articulating how the 3 burnout dimensions should differ in their pattern of change over time as a result of career transition type: organizational newcomers, internal job changers (e.g., promotions or lateral moves), and organizational insiders (i.e., job incumbents). We tested our model in a broad sample of 2,089 health care employees, with 5 measurement points over 2 years. Using random coefficient modeling, we found that burnout was relatively stable for organizational insiders but slightly dynamic for organizational newcomers and internal job changers. We also found that the dimensions of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were more sensitive to career transition type than reduced personal accomplishment. Finding some differences among different types of employees as well as the dimensions of burnout may begin to explain longstanding inconsistencies between theory and research regarding the dynamics of burnout, offering directions for future research that address both dynamism and stability.

Explaining the Pathways Between Approach-Avoidance Personality Traits and Employees’ Job Search Behavior

Research suggests that certain personality characteristics lead to greater (or lesser) withdrawal from work, yet little research has examined exactly how personality translates into withdrawal behavior. To address this question, the present study demonstrated that the approach-avoidance personality traits of extraversion and neuroticism each showed simultaneous positive and negative effects on job search behaviors of employed individuals depending on the mediating mechanism involved (i.e., ambition values, job search self-efficacy, perceived job challenge, work burnout, perceived financial inadequacy, and job satisfaction). The authors’ findings extend theoretical insights on the pathways linking dispositional traits and employee withdrawal behaviors and suggest how employers can more precisely anticipate and mitigate employees’ search for new employment.

Viewing the interpersonal mistreatment literature through a temporal lens

Given increasing awareness of time’s critical role, we assess the current position of time in the workplace mistreatment literature. Focusing on four mistreatment constructs (viz., abusive supervision, workplace bullying, workplace incivility, and social undermining) found in the organizational psychology literature, our search revealed 266 studies that have empirically examined the consequences of these forms of interpersonal mistreatment. We examine and critique these studies, finding that with a few exceptions, most have failed to design and test theoretical relationships in a manner consistent with construct definitions. As interpersonal mistreatment research has neglected the role of time, we conclude that the substantial number of existing studies offer limited insight into the true nature of mistreatment’s consequences over time. We go on to elaborate on the types of theoretical insights that might emerge when a temporal lens (objective time and/or subjective time) is adopted by mistreatment researchers.

Temporal focus: Thinking about the past, present, and future

We review recent findings on temporal focus-the degree to which individuals think about the past, present, and/or future. Hypothetically, focusing on each time period could be beneficial as one can learn from the past, savor the present moment, and plan for the future. Yet research demonstrates that characteristically thinking about the past is disadvantageous, thinking about the future is advantageous, and thinking about the present has mixed outcomes. This paper examines these findings to consider where individuals should focus their attention in time, highlighting established (e.g., country level differences) and emerging (e.g., temporal focus profiles) research on the topic.

Fitting as a temporal sensemaking process: Shifting trajectories and stable themes

This study identifies several mechanisms and the overall process by which individuals understand their evolving fit with their work environment. Prior person‒environment research has emphasized one-time quantitative assessments of fit, primarily as new entrants enter their work environment. In this study, we employed a qualitative approach to investigate the following question: how do long-tenured professionals make sense of fit over time? Three key findings emerged from the fit-related histories we collected. First, we discovered four prototypical fit trajectories, which were constructed from temporal comparisons with past, present and future fit, and employed to make momentary sense of events occurring in the work environment. Second, we identified two fit processes that played out over time: a slow accumulation journey and a sudden identity-threat journey. Third, we found that individuals’ set of fit experiences was explained by one of four enduring fit themes, explaining their pattern of fit experiences over time and their reaction to misfit. Most surprising was the significant turnover among our long-tenured participants in the year or so following our interviews. Our findings break from traditional thinking about fit as predicting outcomes in the moment, to fitting as both a journey and a retrospective and prospective process of sensemaking.

The experience of work stress and the context of time: Analyzing the role of subjective time

Scholars have generally neglected the importance of the subjective aspects of time in the field of work stress. In this paper we analyze the joint effects of employee perceptions of subjective time and cultural, organizational, individual, and situational factors on employee experiences of stress. By explicitly considering the role of subjective time in stress research, we develop several propositions and discuss recommendations for future research. We discuss implications for organizational practice in reducing stress, revolving around the manipulation and experience of time.

IS THE PAST PRESENT? PREDICTING SATISFACTION WITH PA, NA AND TEMPORAL COMPARISON.

This paper used temporal comparison theory (Albert, 1977) to predict how dispositional affectivity interacts with current and previous rewards to influence satisfaction. We predict that people prefer increasing rewards over time, however, the strength of the relationship between rewards and satisfaction depend upon dispositional affectivity.