Guy Notelaers

Job insecurity and employability in fixed-term contractors, agency workers, and permanent workers: Associations with job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment.

This study investigates how job insecurity and employability relate to job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment in permanent workers, fixed-term contract workers, and temporary agency workers. The authors hypothesized that (a) job insecurity relates negatively to job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment, and this relationship is strongest in permanent workers and weakest in temporary agency workers; and that (b) employability relates positively to job satisfaction and negatively to affective organizational commitment, and this relationship is strongest in temporary agency workers and weakest in permanent workers. Hypotheses were tested in workers (permanent: n = 329; fixed term; n = 160; temporary agency: n = 89) from 23 Belgian organizations. The results show that job insecurity related negatively to the outcomes for permanent workers and temporary agency workers. This relationship was not significant for fixed-term contract workers. Employability related negatively to the outcomes for fixed-term contract workers and temporary agency workers, and this relationship was not significant for permanent workers. The 3 groups had different interpretations of what constitutes a stressor and about what signals a good employment relationship.

Measuring exposure to bullying and harassment at work: validity, factor structure and psychometric properties of the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised.

Abstract This study investigates the psychometric properties, factor structure and validity of the revised Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R), an instrument designed to measure exposure to bullying in the workplace. By reanalyzing data based on a heterogeneous sample of 5288 UK employees, the results show that the 22-item instrument has a high internal stability, with three underlying factors: personal bullying, work-related bullying and physically intimidating forms of bullying, although the instrument may also be used as a single factor measure. Criterion validity was explored by relating the scores on the NAQ-R to a single-item measure of perceived victimization from bullying, showing high correlations with both the total NAQ-R and scores on the three factors. Targets of bullying scored significantly higher on all 22 items compared to non-targets. The NAQ-R correlated as expected with measures of mental health, psychosocial work environment and leadership, indicating a good construct validity of the instrument. Furthermore, a latent class cluster (LCC) analysis showed that the instrument may be used to differentiate between groups of employees with different levels of exposure to bullying, ranging from infrequent exposure to incivility at work to severe victimization from bullying and harassment. The more commonly used operational criteria can also be used to detect targets of bullying. Hence, the NAQ-R is proposed as a standardized and valid instrument for the measurement of workplace bullying.

Should I stay or should I go? Examining longitudinal relations among job resources and work engagement for stayers versus movers

Abstract This two-wave (16-month lag) Belgian panel study is one of the first to test theory-driven hypotheses on the relations between job resources, work engagement, and actual turnover across time. The study focuses on three groups: stayers, workers who have obtained promotions (“promotion makers”), and external job movers. In line with the Job Demands-Resources model, we hypothesized normal cross-lagged effects of job resources on work engagement for stayers. Based on broaden-and-build theory, a reversed causal effect of work engagement on job resources was predicted for the job changers. Additionally, we examined whether the changes in the job change groups matched the refuge hypothesis (that less engaged workers change to jobs providing more resources) or the positive gain hypothesis (that engaged workers get promoted to jobs having even more resources). The results partially supported our hypotheses. We found that low work engagement, low job autonomy, and low departmental resources predicted actual transfer to another company. Furthermore, for stayers we found positive effects of job autonomy on work engagement, but also reversed causal effects. For external movers and promotion makers the expected reversed causal effects of work engagement were found. The across time mean changes support the positive gain hypothesis for promotion makers, and the refuge hypothesis for external movers.

Measuring exposure to bullying at work: The validity and advantages of the latent class cluster approach

Abstract This paper addresses the construct and predictive validity of two methods for classifying respondents as victims of workplace bullying. Although bullying is conceived as a complex phenomenon, the dominant method used in bullying surveys, the operational classification method, only distinguishes two groups: victims versus non-victims. Hence, the complex nature of workplace bullying may not be accounted for. Therefore a latent class cluster approach is suggested to model the data, which was obtained by using the Negative Acts Questionnaire (NAQ) administered to employees in Belgium (n=6,175). Latent class modelling is a method of analysis that does not appear to have been used in occupational health psychology before. In this study, six latent classes emerged: “not bullied,” “limited work criticism,” “limited negative encounters,” “sometimes bullied,” “work related bullied,” and “victims.” The results show that compared to the traditional operational classification method, the latent class cluster approach shows higher construct and higher predictive validity with respect to self-assessments and indicators of strain and well-being at work. The consequences of these results for theory, future research, and practice are discussed.

Prevalence of workplace bullying in Norway: Comparisons across time and estimation methods

This study investigates the prevalence of exposure to workplace bullying in a representative sample of 2539 Norwegian employees utilizing different measurement and estimation methods. The prevalence of workplace bullying varied from 2 to 14.3% depending on method of measurement and estimation. Latent class cluster analysis is concluded to give the most reliable estimate (6.8%). Compared to a similar Norwegian study published in 1996, the prevalence of self-reported victimization from bullying is considerably reduced; from 8.6% in the early 1990s to 4.6% in 2005. In the 1996 study, 4.6% labelled themselves as victims of severe bullying, the corresponding number being 2% in 2005.

The Prevalence of Destructive Leadership Behaviour

This study investigates the prevalence of the four types of destructive leadership behaviour in the destructive and constructive leadership behaviour model, in a representative sample of the Norwegian workforce. The study employs two estimation methods: the operational classification method (OCM) and latent class cluster (LCC) analysis. The total prevalence of destructive leadership behaviour varied from 33.5% (OCM) to 61% (LCC), indicating that destructive leadership is not an anomaly. Destructive leadership comes in many shapes and forms, with passive forms prevailing over more active ones. The results showed that laissez-faire leadership behaviour was the most prevalent destructive leadership behaviour, followed by supportive–disloyal leadership and derailed leadership, while tyrannical leadership behaviour was the least prevalent destructive leadership behaviour. Furthermore, many leaders display constructive as well as destructive behaviours, indicating that leadership is not either constructive or destructive. The study contributes to a broader theoretical perspective on what must be seen as typical behaviour among leaders.

Measuring Exposure to Workplace Bullying

This chapter aims at summarising some descriptive empirical fi ndings of bullying in the workplace. We will start with the frequency and the duration of bullying. This is followed by an examination of the number, gender, and status of bullies and victims; the distribution of bullying across industries and occupations; and the use of various categories of bullying. The empirical basis of this chapter is restricted to studies carried out in Europe (see Table 3.3, Appendix, for an overview of the included studies). The phenomenon of bullying, which includes being exposed to persistent insults or offensive remarks, persistent criticism, and personal or even physical abuse, has been labelled “mobbing at work” in some Scandinavian and German countries (Leymann, 1996) and “bullying at work” in many Englishspeaking countries (Liefooghe and Olafsson, 1999). Typically, a victim is CONTENTS

A job characteristics approach to explain workplace bullying

This article analyses job characteristics as antecedents of workplace bullying, in line with the early Scandinavian research tradition. Research thus far suggests a large variety of possible job related antecedents. Recent review findings and methodological criticism, however, suggests that these findings need to be treated with caution. Warrs Vitamin model is used to summarize relevant job-related antecedents of workplace bullying. All relationships are tested simultaneously in a hierarchical regression analysis, controlling for covariates. A large and heterogeneous sample of Belgian workers is used to test the hypotheses (n = 6175). The results show that task autonomy is not significantly related to bullying. In line with earlier research, role conflicts and role ambiguity are the most important antecedents. Also (lack of) participation in decision making, (lack of) skill utilization, workload, cognitive demands, changes in the job, job insecurity, and (lack of) task-related feedback are found to be directly related to workplace bullying. These findings are discussed in the light of the literature and some suggestions for practice are formulated.

Job insecurity and employee health: The buffering potential of job control and job self-efficacy

Abstract This study examines the direct and moderating effects of two types of control that employees have over the work situation – job control and job self-efficacy – on the relationship between job insecurity and employee health. The authors hypothesize that job control and job self-efficacy attenuate the negative effects of job insecurity on both a short-term (i.e. need for recovery) and a long-term health outcome (i.e. impaired general health). These hypotheses were examined using survey data collected from a heterogeneous sample of 1368 Belgian workers. Results of moderated regression analysis showed that job control, but not job self-efficacy, buffered the negative effects of job insecurity on employee health. We conclude that organizations can temper the negative health effects of job insecurity by giving their employees more control over their work.

Transitioning between temporary and permanent employment: A two‐wave study on the entrapment, the stepping stone and the selection hypothesis

The present two-wave study investigates how transitioning between temporary and permanent employment relates to a number of psychological consequences; namely, work engagement, affective organizational commitment, life satisfaction, and turnover intention. We hypothesize that temporary employment associates with unfavourable outcomes when it is a trap (entrapment hypothesis), while no such unfavourable outcomes are expected for those who transition to permanent employment (stepping stone hypothesis). Furthermore, we investigate the assumption that transitioning from permanent to temporary employment relates to unfavourable outcomes. Finally, we investigate dynamics related to selection into temporary or permanent employment. Hypotheses are tested on a sample of 1,475 workers. The results show that continuous temporary employment does not relate to unfavourable outcomes over time, while gaining permanent employment associates with increased work engagement. Also, permanent workers who transition to temporary employment are more engaged and committed after transitioning. No evidence for possible selection mechanisms is found.