Forget about the money? A latent profile analysis of calling and work motivation in Chinese employees

Zhang, C., & Hirschi, A. (2021). Forget about the money? A latent profile analysis of calling and work motivation in Chinese employees. Career Development International.

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Abstract

Purpose – Calling is typically associated with more intrinsic than extrinsic work motivation.

This could give the impression that employees with a calling do not need or care about external rewards. To deepen the understanding of the relationship between calling and work motivation, we tested how calling is combined with different types of work motivation and how such combinations affect work outcomes differentially.
Design/methodology/approach – We applied latent profile analysis among Chinese employees with diverse occupations (N = 1,290) to identify calling and work motivation profiles and test their relations with work outcomes, assessed four months later.
Findings – Four profiles emerged: externally motivated low calling, moderately externally motivated calling, moderately motivated calling, and highly motivated calling. Employees with weaker and stronger callings indicated being extrinsically motivated for work. Employees in the highly motivated calling profile exhibited highest job satisfaction, lowest cynicism, and lowest turnover intentions, followed by employees in the moderately motivated calling profile, the moderately externally motivated calling profile, and the externally motivated low calling profile.
Implications – Our findings imply that employees with a strong calling do care about external rewards and also benefit from external incentives to work.
Originality/value – This study is the first to explore the differential relationship between callingZhang, C., & Hirschi, A. (2021). Forget about the money? A latent profile analysis of calling and work motivation in Chinese employees. Career Development International. and work motivation. Moreover, our findings offer insights regarding the under- researched notion that different types of calling predict work outcomes differently.

Keywords: Calling profiles, work motivation, external motivation, latent profile analysis, job satisfaction
Article classification: Research paper

Explaining Age Differences in the Motivating Potential of Intergenerational Contact at Work

Burmeister, A., Hirschi, A., & Zacher, H. (in press). Explaining age differences in the motivating potential of intergenerational contact at work. Work, Aging and Retirement.

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Abstract

Understanding the effects of intergenerational contact at work is important given aging and increasingly age-diverse workforces. The aim of this research was to better understand who derives motivational benefits from intergenerational contact, and the processes by which this occurs. To do so, we adopted a motivational lens grounded in need-based theories of work motivation and lifespan development theory. We argue that the motivating effect of intergenerational contact on work engagement via sense of belonging is more pronounced for older compared to younger employees due to changes in goal priorities across the lifespan. Specifically, we posit the generativity motive and perceived remaining time at work as lifespan-related mechanisms that explain the moderating effects of age on the links between intergenerational contact and work engagement. In Study 1, a laboratory experiment with 45 younger and 45 older participants in Switzerland, we found support for a causal effect of intergenerational contact on sense of belonging. In Study 2, a three-wave field study with 560 employees in Germany, we found that sense of belonging mediated the relation between intergenerational contact and work engagement. Further, perceived remaining time at work explained the moderating effect of age on the link between sense of belonging and work engagement. By highlighting age differences in the motivating potential of intergenerational contact, we advance research on intergroup contact, employee motivation, and workforce aging.

Keywords: workforce aging; intergenerational potential; life span development theory; intergroup contact theory; need-based theories of work motivation

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Understanding the motivational benefits of knowledge transfer for older and younger workers in age-diverse coworker dyad

Burmeister A., Wang, M., & Hirschi, A. (2020). Understanding the motivational benefits of knowledge transfer for older and younger workers in age-diverse coworker dyads: An actor-partner interdependence model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(7), 748-759. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000466

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Abstract

The growing age diversity in organizations in most industrialized economies provides opportunities to motivate both older and younger workers by enabling them to benefit from each other through knowledge transfer. In this study, we integrate self-determination theory with socio-emotional selectivity theory to argue that the alignment between workers’ age and their roles in knowledge transfer can generate motivational benefits for them. More specifically, we argue that receiving knowledge from coworkers (i.e., actor knowledge receiving) is more closely aligned with younger workers’ goal priorities, while having coworkers receive one’s knowledge (i.e., partner knowledge receiving) is more closely aligned with older workers’ goal priorities. We expect that these motivational benefits manifest in younger and older workers’ need fulfillment at work, which can shape their subsequent intention to remain with the organization. We used an actor-partner interdependence model to test our hypotheses with time-lagged data from a sample of 173 age-diverse coworker dyads, and found support for most of our hypotheses. The age-specific motivational perspective that we adopt has implications for self-determination theory and research on knowledge transfer and mentoring.

Keywords

socio-emotional selectivity theory, self-determination theory, work motivation, employee retention, mentoring, actor-partner interdependence model

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Latent profiles of work motivation in adolescents in relation to work expectations, goal engagement, and changes in work experiences

Valero, D. & Hirschi, A. (2016). Latent profiles of work motivation in adolescents in relation to work expectations, goal engagement, and changes in work experiences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 93, 67-80, doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2016.01.003.

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Abstract

Motivation plays a key role in successful entry into working life. Based on a cross-sectional and a one-year longitudinal study, we used a person-centered approach to explore work-related motivation (i.e., autonomous goals, positive affect, and occupational self-efficacy) among 577 students in 8th grade (Study 1) and 949 adolescents in vocational training (Study 2). Based on latent profile analysis, in both studies we identified four groups that were characterized by different levels of overall motivation and one group characterized by low positive affect and mean levels in autonomous goals and self-efficacy. Profiles characterized by high levels of motivation showed the highest levels of positive work expectations and goal engagement and the lowest levels of negative work expectations in Study 1 and the highest levels of person-job fit, work engagement, and job satisfaction in Study 2. Moreover, latent difference score analysis showed that motivational profiles predicted changes in person-job fit and work engagement across one year but not in job satisfaction. The results imply that career counselors should be aware of characteristic motivational patterns of clients that may require specific counseling approaches.

A new perspective on workaholism: The role of personal and contextual career-related antecedents

Spurk, D., Hirschi, A., & Kauffeld, S. (in press). A new perspective on workaholism: The role of personal and contextual career-related antecedents. Journal of Career Assessment, 24(2), 747-764. doi: 10.1177/106907271561612751

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to present and test a model assuming that career-related variables might function as antecedents of workaholism—the tendency to work compulsively and excessively. More specifically, based on conservation of resource theory and social identity theory, the study tested whether personal (i.e., career insecurity, extrinsic career goals, and career commitment) and contextual variables (i.e., career barriers and perceived organizational support) are related to workaholism. We tested our assumptions by means of stepwise hierarchical regression analyses within a large sample of N = 685 scientists working in different occupational fields (e.g., social science, arts and humanities, economics, and science, technology, engineering, mathematics) in German research institutes and universities. The results showed that career insecurity, career barriers, career commitment, and extrinsic career goals were positively associated, and perceived organizational support was negatively associated, with workaholism. Furthermore, the set of analyzed career variables showed incremental validity and explained a significant portion of variance in workaholism beyond control variables (i.e., gender, age, work hours, and occupational field) and personality (i.e., extroversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticism).

Chance events and career decidedness: Latent profiles in relation to work motivation

Hirschi, A., & Valero, D. (2017). Chance events and career decidedness: Latent profiles in relation to work motivation. Career Development Quarterly. 65(1).  

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Abstract

Research has shown that chance events affect careers but has not established the nature of their effects. Moreover, the relationship between chance and career decidedness is not well understood. The present study used a person-centered approach with latent profile analysis to examine 312 Swiss adolescents in their first year of vocational training. We identified five qualitatively differing profiles according to levels of perceived chance events and career decidedness: balanced scorers, undecided with mean chance, undecided with high chance, decided with chance, and decided without chance. The groups differed significantly in work motivation (i.e., occupational self-efficacy beliefs, perceived person-job fit, and work engagement). Decided adolescents reported more favorable work motivation regardless of their level of perceived chance events. The results imply that promoting decidedness remains a valuable goal in career counseling despite the occurrence of unpredicted events.

Keywords: chance events; work motivation; career decidedness; adolescents

Hope in adolescent careers: Mediating effects of work motivation on career outcomes in Swiss apprentices

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Valero, D., Hirschi, A. & Strauss, K. (2015). Hope in adolescent careers: Mediating effects of work motivation on career outcomes in Swiss apprentices. Journal of Career Development, 42(5), 381-395. doi:10.1177/0894845314566866