Most Cited Journal of Vocational Behavior Articles
The most cited articles published since 2011, extracted from Scopus.
Career Adapt-Abilities Scale: Construction, reliability, and measurement equivalence across 13 countriesMark L. Savickas | Erik J. Porfeli
Volume 80, Issue 3, June 2012, Pages 661-673
Researchers from 13 countries collaborated in constructing a psychometric scale to measure career adaptability. Based on four pilot tests, a research version of the proposed scale consisting of 55 items was field tested in 13 countries. The resulting Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) consists of four scales, each with six items. The four scales measure concern, control, curiosity, and confidence as psychosocial resources for managing occupational transitions, developmental tasks, and work traumas. The CAAS demonstrated metric invariance across all the countries, but did not exhibit residual/strict invariance or scalar invariance. The reliabilities of the CAAS subscales and the combined adaptability scale range from acceptable to excellent when computed with the combined data. As expected, the reliability estimates varied across countries. Nevertheless, the internal consistency estimates for the four subscales of concern, control, curiosity, and confidence were generally acceptable to excellent. The internal consistency estimates for the CAAS total score were excellent across all countries. Separate articles in this special issue report the psychometric characteristics of the CAAS, including initial validity evidence, for each of the 13 countries that collaborated in constructing the Scale. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.
Development and validation of the job crafting scaleMaria Tims | Arnold B. Bakker | Daantje Derks
Volume 80, Issue 1, February 2012, Pages 173-186
We developed and validated a scale to measure job crafting behavior in three separate studies conducted in The Netherlands (total N= 1181). Job crafting is defined as the self-initiated changes that employees make in their own job demands and job resources to attain and/or optimize their personal (work) goals. In Study 1 and 2 the Dutch job crafting scale (JCS) was developed and tested for its factor structure, reliability, and convergent validity. The criterion validity of the JCS was examined in Study 3. The results indicated that there are four independent job crafting dimensions, namely increasing social job resources, increasing structural job resources, increasing challenging job demands, and decreasing hindering job demands. These dimensions could be reliably measured with 21 items. The JCS shows convergent validity when correlated with the active constructs proactive personality (+), personal initiative (+), and the inactive construct cynicism (-). In addition, results indicated that self-reports of job crafting correlated positively with colleague-ratings of work engagement, employability, and performance - thus supporting the criterion validity of the JCS. Finally, self-rated job crafting behaviors correlated positively with peer-rated job crafting behaviors. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.
A relational theory of workingDavid L. Blustein
Volume 79, Issue 1, August 2011, Pages 1-17
Building on diverse influences from critical perspectives in vocational psychology and the relational movement in contemporary psychological discourse, this article introduces the relational theory of working. Attending to the full array of people who work and who want to work, the relational theory conceptualizes working as an inherently relational act. A relational theory provides a framework for understanding ways in which working is embedded in external and internal relational contexts. To establish the conceptual infrastructure for the relational theory, several propositions are advanced, which summarize observations and inferences about the intersection of working and relationships and highlight the inherent relational context of working. The article concludes with implications for practice, policy, and research. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.
A meta-analysis of burnout with job demands, resources, and attitudesGene M. Alarcon
Volume 79, Issue 2, October 2011, Pages 549-562
A meta-analysis was conducted on job demands, resources, and attitudes and their relation with burnout in regard to the COR theory. The version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory used was explored as a moderator of the aforementioned variables. Results suggest that higher demands, lower resources, and lower adaptive organizational attitudes are associated with burnout. In particular, results of the current study show stronger relations than previous meta-analysis (Lee & Ashforth, 1996) have suggested. The scale type also provided some evidence of moderation, with stronger effects found in samples that utilized the MBI-HSS. Implications of the findings in relation to the COR theory and future research directions to clarify the relation between job demands, job resources, organizational attitudes and burnout are discussed. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.
Calling and work-related outcomes: Career commitment as a mediatorRyan D. Duffy | Bryan J. Dik | Michael F. Steger
Volume 78, Issue 2, April 2011, Pages 210-218
The current study tested the hypothesis that experiencing a calling to a particular career would relate positively to work-related outcomes, and that these relations would be mediated by career commitment. Using a sample of 370 employees representing diverse occupations at a Western research university, results supported these hypotheses as calling moderately correlated with career commitment, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment and weakly correlated with withdrawal intentions. Career commitment was found to fully mediate the calling-job satisfaction relation, partially mediate the calling-organizational commitment relation, and act as a suppressor in the relation between calling and withdrawal intentions; calling was associated with somewhat greater withdrawal intentions once a person's level of career commitment was taken into consideration. These results suggest that career commitment may represent a critical link between calling and work-related well-being. Implications for research and practice are explored. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.
Employee commitment in context: The nature and implication of commitment profilesJohn P. Meyer | Laura J. Stanley | Natalya M. Parfyonova
Volume 80, Issue 1, February 2012, Pages 1-16
It is well established that employee commitment can take different forms (e.g., affective, normative, and continuance), yet it is only recently that theory has been advanced to explain how these different forms combine to influence behavior (Meyer & Herscovitch, 2001). We tested this theory with data from employees in three human services organizations (N = 403). Using latent profile analyses, we identified six distinct profile groups and found that they differed on measures of need satisfaction, regulation, affect, engagement, organizational citizenship behavior, and well-being. The observed differences are consistent with the notion that a commitment profile provides a context that determines how the individual components are experienced (Gellatly, Meyer, & Luchak, 2006). We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this context effect. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.
Competency development and career success: The mediating role of employabilityAns De Vos | Sara De Hauw | Beatrice I J M Van der Heijden
Volume 79, Issue 2, October 2011, Pages 438-447
The present study aims to unravel the relationship between competency development, employability and career success. To do so, we tested a model wherein associations between employee participation in competency development initiatives, perceived support for competency development, self-perceived employability, and two indicators of subjective career success (i.e. career satisfaction and perceived marketability) have been specified. A survey was conducted among a sample of 561 employees of a large financial services organization. The results support the idea that employee participation in competency development initiatives as well as perceived support for competency development is positively associated with workers' perceptions of employability. Moreover, self-perceived employability appeared to be positively related with career satisfaction and perceived marketability. A full mediation effect was found for the relationship between participation in competency development initiatives and both career satisfaction and perceived marketability, while a partial mediation effect was found in case perceived support for competency development was the predictor variable. The implications of our findings for understanding the process through which individuals and organizations can affect subjective career success are discussed. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.
Career Adapt-Abilities Scale-USA Form: Psychometric properties and relation to vocational identityErik J. Porfeli | Mark L. Savickas
Volume 80, Issue 3, June 2012, Pages 748-753
This article reports construction and initial validation of the United States form of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS). The CAAS consists of four scales, each with six items, which measure concern, control, curiosity, and confidence as psychosocial resources for managing occupational transitions, developmental tasks, and work traumas. Internal consistency estimates for the subscale and total scores ranged from good to excellent. The factor structure was quite similar to the one computed for combined data from 13 countries. An attempt to strengthen the subscale internal consistency estimates and coherence of the factor structure by adding additional items failed. In the end the USA Form is identical to the International Form. Concurrent validity evidence was collected relative to career identity, given that adaptability and identity have been identified as meta-competencies for career construction in information societies. Relations between career adaptability and vocational identity formation processes and status outcomes were as predicted. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.
Training career adaptability to facilitate a successful school-to-work transitionJessie Koen | Ute Christine Klehe | Annelies E M Van Vianen
Volume 81, Issue 3, December 2012, Pages 395-408
The transition from school to work is one of the most critical steps in graduates' careers, as it can determine vocational outcomes and future career success. Yet, these newcomers to the labor market often take longer than regular job seekers to find a suitable job, are more likely to experience a job mismatch and to suffer from underemployment. In this study, we proposed that career adaptability might help remedy this problem. We therefore developed a training aimed at providing graduates with career adaptability resources, with the assumption that this may foster training-participants' later career adaptability and employment quality. A longitudinal field quasi-experiment compared the development of each career adaptability dimension between a training group (n= 32) and a control group (n= 24) over three points in time (pre-training measurement, post-training measurement and follow-up measurement six months later). Repeated measures analyses showed an overall increase in concern, control and curiosity within the training group, whereas there was no increase (concern) or even an overall decrease (control and curiosity) within the control group. Consequently, the training succeeded in enhancing participants' control and curiosity in the long run. Furthermore, among participants who had found employment half a year later, training participants reported higher employment quality than did members of the control group. In sum, results show that providing graduates with career adaptability resources can raise their chances on finding a qualitatively good job. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.
Extending the challenge-hindrance model of occupational stress: The role of appraisalJennica R. Webster | Terry A. Beehr | Kevin Love
Volume 79, Issue 2, October 2011, Pages 505-516
Interest regarding the challenge-hindrance occupational stress model has increased in recent years, however its theoretical foundation has not been tested. Drawing from the transactional theory of stress, this study tests the assumptions made in past research (1) that workload and responsibility are appraised as challenges and role ambiguity and role conflict are appraised as hindrances, and (2) that these appraisals mediate the relationship between these stressors and outcomes (i.e., strains, job dissatisfaction, and turnover intentions). For a sample of 479 employees, we found that although workload, role ambiguity, and role conflict could be appraised primarily as challenges or hindrances, they could also simultaneously be perceived as being both to varying degrees. Support was also found for a model in which primary appraisal partially mediated the stressor-outcome relationship. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.
The Job Demands-Resources model: An analysis of additive and joint effects of demands and resourcesQiao Hu | Wilmar B. Schaufeli | Toon W. Taris
Volume 79, Issue 1, August 2011, Pages 181-190
The present study investigated the additive, synergistic, and moderating effects of job demands and job resources on well-being (burnout and work engagement) and organizational outcomes, as specified by the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. A survey was conducted among two Chinese samples: 625 blue collar workers and 761 health professionals. A series of multi-group structural equation modeling analyses supported the two processes proposed by the JD-R model: (1) the stress process that originates from job demands and leads, via burnout, to negative organizational outcomes (turnover intention and low organization commitment); and (2) the motivational process that originates from job resources and leads, via work engagement, to positive organizational outcomes. In contrast to moderating effects, synergistic effects of job demands and job resources on burnout and work engagement were found in both samples. However, after controlling for additive effects of job demands and job resources, these synergistic effects largely disappeared. In conclusion, the hypothesized additive effects of the JD-R model were found but the evidence for additional synergistic and moderating effects was weak. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.
Career Adapt-Abilities Scale in a French-speaking Swiss sample: Psychometric properties and relationships to personality and work engagementJérôme Rossier | Gregory Zecca | Sarah D. Stauffer | Christian Maggiori | Jean Pierre Dauwalder
Volume 80, Issue 3, June 2012, Pages 734-743
The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) in a French-speaking Swiss sample and its relationship with personality dimensions and work engagement. The heterogeneous sample of 391 participants (M age=39.59, SD=12.30) completed the CAAS-International and a short version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. To assess personality dimensions, participants completed either the Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire (n=283) or the NEO-FFI-R (n=108). The internal consistencies for the four subscales and total scores of the CAAS ranged from good to excellent, and skewness and kurtosis values indicated that scores were normally distributed. Gender differences and correlations with age were small or negligible. Several CFA models confirmed the factor structure of the French version of the CAAS-International, with loadings very similar to the ones observed for the international form. Adaptability was related to different personality dimensions, particularly neuroticism and conscientiousness, and also to work engagement. When predicting work engagement, career adaptability had a significant incremental validity over personality dimensions. Finally, career adaptability partially moderated the relationship between personality and work engagement, suggesting that career adaptability also contributes to regulating the expression of personality dispositions. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.
The presence of a calling and academic satisfaction: Examining potential mediatorsRyan D. Duffy | Blake A. Allan | Bryan J. Dik
Volume 79, Issue 1, August 2011, Pages 74-80
The present study examined the relation of calling and academic satisfaction with a diverse sample of 312 undergraduate students. The presence of a calling was moderately correlated with academic satisfaction, and a multiple mediation model was utilized to test three potential mediators to this relation: career decision self-efficacy, work hope, and meaning in life. Using bootstrapping techniques, significant indirect effects were found for two of the three mediators, career decision self-efficacy, and work hope. After including the mediators in the model, the relation of calling and academic satisfaction was non-significant. These results indicate that calling relates to greater satisfaction in the academic domain in part because of increased career decision self-efficacy and work hope. Directions for future research are discussed. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.
Dispositional variables and work-family conflict: A meta-analysisTammy D. Allen | Ryan C. Johnson | Kristin N. Saboe | Eunae Cho | Soner Dumani | Sarah Evans
Volume 80, Issue 1, February 2012, Pages 17-26
Meta-analysis was used to comprehensively summarize the relationship between dispositional variables and both directions of work-family conflict. The largest effects detected were those associated with negative affect, neuroticism, and self-efficacy; all were in expected directions. In general, negative trait-based variables (e.g., negative affect and neuroticism) appear to make individuals more vulnerable to work-family conflict, while positive trait-based variables (e.g., positive affect and self-efficacy) appear to protect individuals from work-family conflict. In addition, the different dimensions of work-family conflict (time, strain, and behavior) exhibited different patterns of relationships with several of the dispositional variables. No moderating effects were found for sex, parental status, or marital status. Results support the notion that dispositions are important predictors of work-family conflict. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.
Callings in career: A typological approach to essential and optional componentsAndreas Hirschi
Volume 79, Issue 1, August 2011, Pages 60-73
A sense of calling in career is supposed to have positive implications for individuals and organizations but current theoretical development is plagued with incongruent conceptualizations of what does or does not constitute a calling. The present study used cluster analysis to identify essential and optional components of a presence of calling among 407 German undergraduate students from different majors. Three types of calling merged: "negative career self-centered", "pro-social religious", and "positive varied work orientation". All types could be described as vocational identity achieved (high commitment/high self-exploration), high in career confidence and career engagement. Not defining characteristics were centrality of work or religion, endorsement of specific work values, or positivity of core self-evaluations. The results suggest that callings entail intense self-exploration and might be beneficial because they correspond with identity achievement and promote career confidence and engagement while not necessarily having pro-social orientations. Suggestions for future research, theory and practice are suggested. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.
Managing organizational commitment: Insights from longitudinal researchPaula C. Morrow
Volume 79, Issue 1, August 2011, Pages 18-35
This article summarizes what is known about the active management of affective organizational commitment (AOC) through a review of 58 studies employing longitudinal research designs. The review yields six broad categories of antecedents that have empirically demonstrated effects on AOC: socialization practices, organizational changes, human resource practices, interpersonal relations, employee-organizational relations, and a residual "other" category. Insights from the review include (a) that perceptions of personal attachment to the organization are among the most substantiated (but tenuous) strategies for enhancing AOC, (b) that theorizing and research efforts have focused almost exclusively on achieving high levels of AOC, and (c) organizations have been reticent to address situations when AOC is low. Implications and recommendations for the theoretical, research and practical advancement of AOC are offered. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.
Coping with an insecure employment environment: The differing roles of protean and boundaryless career orientationsJon P. Briscoe | Stephanie C. Henagan | James P. Burton | Wendy M. Murphy
Volume 80, Issue 2, April 2012, Pages 308-316
In this paper, we utilize a sample of working adults (N=362) in the context of the recent economic recession to explore the coping mechanisms associated with different career attitudes and their subsequent impact on important individual work outcomes. Results of structural equation modeling (SEM) demonstrated that boundaryless mindset and self-directed protean career attitudes were differentially correlated with external support seeking, active coping, and identity awareness, which in turn were differentially correlated with individual work outcomes of job search behavior, performance, career success, and psychological well-being. Evidence for both full and partial mediation within the model tested is presented, as well as the potential implications of these findings and suggested avenues for future research. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.
Trait mindfulness and work-family balance among working parents: The mediating effects of vitality and sleep qualityTammy D. Allen | Kaitlin M. Kiburz
Volume 80, Issue 2, April 2012, Pages 372-379
The present study investigates the relationship between trait mindfulness and work-family balance among a sample of working parents. Sleep quality and vitality are tested as mediators of this relationship. Results indicate that those with greater mindfulness report greater work-family balance, better sleep quality, and greater vitality. As expected, the relationship between mindfulness and work-family balance was mediated by sleep quality and vitality. Results support the usefulness of further examination of the benefits of mindfulness in the work-family context. © 2011 Elsevier Inc..
Applying the job demands-resources model to the work-home interface: A study among medical residents and their partnersArnold B. Bakker | Lieke L. ten Brummelhuis | Jelle T. Prins | Frank M M A van der Heijden
Volume 79, Issue 1, August 2011, Pages 170-180
Work-home interference (WHI) is a prevalent problem because most employees have substantial family responsibilities on top of their work demands. The present study hypothesized that high job demands in combination with low job resources contribute to WHI. The job demands-resources (JD-R) model was used as a theoretical framework. Using a sample of 230 medical residents and their partners, our results show that the combination of high job demands (i.e., work overload, emotional and cognitive demands) and low job resources (i.e., participation in decision making, supervisory coaching, feedback, and opportunities for development) was positively related to partner ratings of the employee's WHI. When job resources were high, most job demands were not related to WHI. These findings show that the JD-R model is a conceptual framework that can be fruitfully applied to the work-family interface, adding to our understanding of which particular job designs facilitate or prevent work-home interference. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.
Career adaptability predicts subjective career success above and beyond personality traits and core self-evaluationsHannes Zacher
Volume 84, Issue 1, February 2014, Pages 21-30
The Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) measures career adaptability as a higher-order construct that integrates four psychosocial resources of employees for managing their career development: concern, control, curiosity, and confidence. The goal of the present study was to investigate the validity of the CAAS with regard to its effects on two indicators of subjective career success (career satisfaction and self-rated career performance) above and beyond the effects of employees' Big Five personality traits and core self-evaluations. Data came from a large and heterogeneous sample of employees in Australia (N=1723). Results showed that overall career adaptability positively predicted career satisfaction and self-rated career performance above and beyond the Big Five personality traits and core self-evaluations. In addition, concern and confidence positively predicted the two indicators of subjective career success. The findings provide further support for the incremental validity of the CAAS. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.
Social cognitive predictors of the interests and choices of computing majors: Applicability to underrepresented studentsRobert W. Lent | Frederick G. Lopez | Hung Bin Sheu | Antonio M. Lopez
Volume 78, Issue 2, April 2011, Pages 184-192
In a replication and extension of earlier research, we examined the explanatory adequacy of the social cognitive choice model (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) in a sample of 1404 students majoring in a variety of computing disciplines at 23 historically Black and 27 predominantly White universities. Participants completed measures of self-efficacy, outcome expectations, interests, goals, and social supports and barriers relative to the pursuit of computing degrees. The social cognitive model generally provided adequate fit to the data across two academic year cohorts (2006, 2007), gender, institutional setting, racial/ethnic groups (European and African Americans), and educational level (beginning and advanced undergraduates). Outcome expectations, however, did not contribute uniquely to the predictive model. Implications for further research on social cognitive theory in the context of science and technology fields are discussed. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.
Career adaptability, job search self-efficacy and outcomes: A three-wave investigation among Chinese university graduatesYanjun Guan | Hong Deng | Jiaqing Sun | Yanan Wang | Zijun Cai | Lihui Ye | Ruchunyi Fu | Yang Wang | Shu Zhang | Yuhui Li
Volume 83, Issue 3, December 2013, Pages 561-570
Based on career construction theory, the current research examined the role of career adaptability in Chinese university graduates' job search process (. N=. 270). Results from a three-wave survey study showed that the four dimension of career adaptability (measured at wave 1) correlated positively with university graduates' job search self-efficacy (measured at wave 2) and their employment status (measured at wave 3). Among graduates who became employed, career adaptability dimensions also predicted positively their person-environment (P-E) fit perceptions (measured at wave 3). The results further showed that with the effects of demographics (gender, age, education level and major) and family background (family economical status and parental education) controlled for, when putting the four dimensions of career adaptability together, career concern and career control served as the strongest predictors for job search self-efficacy, which further mediated the positive effects of these two dimensions on employment status. In addition, career control also had indirect effect on P-E fit through the mediation of job search self-efficacy. Additional analyses using the global indicator of career adaptability also supported this mediation model such that career adaptability significantly predicted employment status and P-E fit, with these relations mediated by job search self-efficacy. These findings carry implications for research on career construction theory, as well as career education and career counseling practices. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.
Relationships between emotional labor, job performance, and turnoverRobyn E. Goodwin | Markus Groth | Stephen J. Frenkel
Volume 79, Issue 2, October 2011, Pages 538-548
The present study investigates the relationship between the emotional labor strategies surface acting and deep acting and organizational outcomes, specifically, employees' overall job performance and turnover. Call center employees from two large financial service organizations completed an online survey about their use of surface and deep acting. Their responses were matched with supervisors' ratings of overall job performance and organizational turnover records obtained 9 months later. Results indicate that surface acting is directly related to employee turnover and emotional exhaustion and that the relationship between surface acting and job performance is indirect via employee affective delivery. Deep acting was not linked to these outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed from the perspective of emotional labor theories. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.
Work-nonwork boundary management profiles: A person-centered approachEllen Ernst Kossek | Marian N. Ruderman | Phillip W. Braddy | Kelly M. Hannum
Volume 81, Issue 1, August 2012, Pages 112-128
The goal of this paper is to advance the measurement and theory of work-nonwork boundary management styles. Boundary management styles are defined as the approaches individuals use to demarcate boundaries and attend to work and family and other nonwork roles, given identity centralities and perceived boundary control. We argue that research should be augmented with a person-centered approach, which examines how psychological measures are integrated into configurations. Integrating role and boundary theories, we identify three main characteristics of work-nonwork boundary management: (1) cross-role interruption behaviors (work to nonwork, and nonwork to work interruptions); (2) identity centrality of work and family roles, and (3) perceived control of boundaries. Using a variable-centered approach, we refined and validated these measures to create an assessment (Work-Life Indicator) that captured boundary management profiles. The profiles reflect how interruption behaviors, identity centralities, and boundary control interrelate to cluster into profiles, a set of psychological characteristics organized into a pattern of work-nonwork boundary functioning. We identify boundary management profiles and examine their relationships to key work-family outcomes. Regardless of the level and direction of interruption behaviors and centrality of work-family identities, we found that low control boundary management profiles (reactors, job warriors) tended to experience more negative work and family outcomes than did high control profiles (fusion lovers, dividers, family guardians, eclectics). © 2012 Elsevier Inc..
Predicting the job and life satisfaction of Italian teachers: Test of a social cognitive modelRobert W. Lent | Laura Nota | Salvatore Soresi | Maria C. Ginevra | Ryan D. Duffy | Steven D. Brown
Volume 79, Issue 1, August 2011, Pages 91-97
This study tested a social cognitive model of work and life satisfaction (Lent & Brown, 2006, 2008) in a sample of 235 Italian school teachers. The model offered good overall fit to the data, though not all individual path coefficients were significant. Three of five predictors (favorable work conditions, efficacy-relevant supports, and positive affectivity) produced significant, direct paths to job satisfaction. Job satisfaction, progress at personal work goals, and positive affectivity were predictive of teachers' life satisfaction. Task self-efficacy was related indirectly both to job satisfaction (via work conditions) and life satisfaction (via goal progress). Implications of the findings for future research and efforts to promote teachers' job satisfaction are discussed. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.