Irene E. De Pater

Emotional stability, core self-evaluations, and job outcomes: A review of the evidence and an agenda for future research

In this article we present a review of research on core self-evaluations, a broad personality trait indicated by 4 more narrow traits: self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability. We review evidence suggesting that the 4 core traits are highly related, load on a single unitary factor, and have dubious incremental validity controlling for their common core. We more generally investigate the construct validity of core self-evaluations. We also report on the development and validation of the first direct measure of the concept, the Core Self-Evaluations Scale (CSES). Cross-cultural evidence on the CSES is provided. We conclude by offering an agenda for future research, discussing areas where future core self-evaluations research is most needed.

Fitting in: Surface- and Deep-Level Cultural Differences and Expatriates’ Adjustment

This study examined the impact of surface- and deep-level cultural differences on the cross-cultural adjustment of expatriates. Surface-level differences concern easily visible dissimilarities betw...

Managing Voluntary Turnover Through Challenging Assignments

This study examines employees’ challenging assignments as manageable means to reduce turnover intentions, job search behaviors, and voluntary turnover. Results indicate that challenging assignments are negatively related to turnover intentions and job search behaviors and that these relationships are mediated by on-the-job learning. Moreover, results show that an increase in challenging assignments over time is negatively related to voluntary employee turnover, when controlling for employees’ initial turnover intentions and job search behaviors. A decrease in challenging assignments is positively related to voluntary turnover, when controlling for employees’ initial turnover intentions and job search behaviors. These results suggest that challenging assignments may be a valuable tool for managers and their organizations to lower voluntary employee turnover.

Career management: Taking control of the quality of work experiences

Due to flatter and rapidly changing organisations, employees rather than employers will be responsible for employees’ development and careers. This chapter focuses on career management through personal development. Extant literatures have primarily addressed the quantity of employees’ work experiences as being important for personal development, whereas the quality of these experiences has been neglected. We argue that the quality of work experiences will become crucial for people’s objective and subjective career success. The best way to increase the quality of work experiences is to engage in challenging assignments, since these types of assignment stimulate learning, development, and career flexibility. Whether employees encounter challenging experiences depends on personal initiatives as well as opportunities provided by employers. People’s specific motives, self-efficacy, proactivity and career anchors may stimulate or prohibit them to initiate challenging assignments. In a similar vein, the work context and particularly supervisor task assignments may offer opportunities for or restrain employees from having challenging experiences. Employees need the coaching of others to manage their careers.

Individual task choice and the division of challenging tasks between men and women

Challenging experiences are considered important for career development, and previous studies have suggested that women have fewer o f those experiences in their jobs than men have. However, the nature and possible determinants of this gender gap in job challenge have hardly been empirically studied. In the present study, the authors examine (a) gender differences in individuals’ choice to perform challenging tasks and (b) gender differences in the allocation of challenging tasks in opposite-sex dyads. Results show that the men and women in the sample did not differ in their individual choice to perform challenging tasks, but after task allocation in opposite-sex dyads men ended up with more of the challenging tasks, whereas women ended up with more of the nonchallenging tasks. The authors discuss the possible consequences of these results for women’s career development.

Attributed causes for work–family conflict: Emotional and behavioral outcomes

Work–family conflict may give rise to different emotional reactions, depending on the causal attributions people make for the experience of work–family conflict. These emotional reactions, in turn, may result in specific behavioral reactions, that may either be adaptive or maladaptive in nature. In this essay, we advance this thesis using attribution theory and theory of emotions that specifies different behavioral outcomes associated with different attribution-induced negative emotions. We develop a model of causal attributions for work–family conflict that includes differentiated emotional reactions (e.g., guilt and shame) and both adaptive (e.g., job crafting, self-development) and maladaptive (e.g., withdrawal, aggression, turnover) behavioral outcomes of work–family conflict. We conclude the article with directions for future research, guided by the proposed model.

Age, Gender, and Compensation A Study of Hollywood Movie Stars

Research on the gender-wage gap shows equivocal evidence regarding its magnitude, which likely stems from the different wage-related variables researchers include in their calculations. To examine whether pay differentials solely based on gender exist, we focused on the earnings of top performing professionals within a specific occupation to rule out productivity-related explanations for the gender-wage gap. Specifically, we investigated the interaction of gender and age on the earnings of Hollywood top movie stars. The results reveal that the average earnings per film of female movie stars increase until the age of 34 but decrease rapidly thereafter. Male movie stars’ average earnings per film reach the maximum at age 51 and remain stable after that.

Let's have fun tonight: The role of pleasure in daily recovery from work

The present study aims to advance insight into the role of pleasure in the daily effort-recovery cycle. Specifically, using a within-individual study design, we examine the associations between the pleasure employees experience during the evening after work and their recovery state that evening and at various points in time during the next workday. We also investigate associations between employees recovery state at the end of the workday and the pleasure they experience during the subsequent evening. Multilevel analyses show that on days when employees experience higher levels of pleasure during the evening after work, they have a more favorable recovery state during that evening. Importantly, the extent to which employees experience pleasure during the evening after work is also positively related to their recovery state during the next workday. Finally, our study shows that on days when employees are in a more unfavorable recovery state at the end of the workday, they experience lower levels of pleasure during the subsequent evening after work. This study increases our insight into the role of pleasure in recovering from work and underlines the importance of engaging in pleasant activities after work.