Papers by Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2023
The "competition” (“oposición” in Spanish) is the method of personnel selection for the higher Co... more The "competition” (“oposición” in Spanish) is the method of personnel selection for the higher Corps of the Spanish civil
service, and hundreds of thousands of candidates participate in the competitive examinations each year. Despite this,
its predictive validity and its potential effects on equal treatment for men and women remain unknown. This article
presents two independent studies devoted to establishing the predictive validity and the degree of equal treatment of the
"competition". In the first one, the validity was examined with candidates for the Corps of Treasury Technicians. The results
indicated an operational validity ρ = .54 (N = 392) and an average Cohen's d value of .14 for equal treatment favorable to men.
The second study was conducted with candidates for the Corps of Senior Treasury Inspectorate and the operational validity
was ρ = .50 (N =.70) and Cohen's d of .33 favorable to women. The results indicate that the "competition" shows similar or
superior validity to that of the best personnel selection instruments. Finally, implications for practice are discussed and
recommendations are made to improve this system of access to the civil service.
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2023
The scientific literature has shown interest in identifying psychological strengths that predict ... more The scientific literature has shown interest in identifying psychological strengths that predict mental health and job
search behaviors in the unemployed population. Emotional intelligence (EI) and resilience are key psychological resources,
although there is a lack of understanding of underlying mechanisms involved during unemployment. In this study we
aimed to examine whether resilient coping serves as a mediator between EI and depressive symptoms, happiness, and
job search behaviors in unemployed. To prove whether resilient coping mediates this link, we recruited 401 unemployed
through LinkedIn and asked them to complete self-report questionnaires. Correlational results showed significant
relationships in the expected way. The results of the mediation analyses showed that resilient coping mediated the link
between EI and job search behaviors, happiness, and depressive symptoms. The findings suggest that career counseling
units should incorporate EI and resilience modules into their employability programs to promote the mental health and
employability of the unemployed.
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2023
Recent outbreaks of food related illness have brought greater attention to protecting food from c... more Recent outbreaks of food related illness have brought greater attention to protecting food from contamination.
Psychological approaches to behaviors during food processing can contribute to workers’ efforts to keep food safe and
avoiding contamination. This study examines the effectiveness of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in predicting selfreported food safety behaviors of turkey-processing workers. Consistent with the TPB, this study suggests that attitude
toward the behavior, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and behavior intention play important roles in
understanding how to prevent foodborne contamination. Results also show that background factors, specifically gender,
may be important in applying the TPB in specific work settings. Accordingly, salient beliefs that workers hold about food
safety play a crucial role in understanding how workers’ behaviors can be aligned with the need to keep food safe and
provide guidance for ways in which behaviors in organization can be modified to achieve desired outcomes.
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2023
The use of LinkedIn as a tool in the recruitment and selection process has become routine in huma... more The use of LinkedIn as a tool in the recruitment and selection process has become routine in human resource management.
However, a major drawback of such an approach is the lack of systematic and rigorous inferences on the psychological
characteristics of the candidates. Calls have been made by scholars for further research on the psychometric guarantee of
LinkedIn as a tool in the selection process. This study adopts signalling theory as a framework for exploring how LinkedIn
profile information signals a candidate’s soft skills. Using a sample of 169 ITC professionals, through a cross-sectional
design, soft skills were measured by means of a self-report questionnaire and LinkedIn profiles were assessed using
rubrics for measuring the LinkedIn Big Four. Our findings demonstrate that LinkedIn Big Four Breadth of Professional
Experience and Social Capital are valid signals of leadership, communication, problem solving, entrepreneurial and
commercial thinking, planning and organization, and teamwork. We discuss the practical and theoretical implications of
our results
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2023
This study examines the relationship between employees’ social tie diversity (ties heterogeneity ... more This study examines the relationship between employees’ social tie diversity (ties heterogeneity based on organizational
functions), innovative work behavior, informal field-based learning, and reciprocity (bidirectional ties proportion). A
sample of 182 workers from an Italian clothing manufacturing company was analyzed. The findings reveal that social
tie diversity positively influences innovative work behavior, and their relationship is mediated by informal field-based
learning. Additionally, reciprocity strengthens the indirect link between social tie diversity and innovative work behavior.
This research contributes to the network and innovation literature by corroborating the role of social tie diversity in
promoting innovative work behaviors, highlighting the importance of informal field-based learning, and emphasizing the
impact of reciprocity. By doing so, this study offers insights into processes and conditions under which social tie diversity
has the greatest impact on employee innovation, providing practical implications for fostering innovative work behaviors
in organizations.
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2023
Heavy Work Investment (HWI) is a construct that comprises both workaholism and work engagement. W... more Heavy Work Investment (HWI) is a construct that comprises both workaholism and work engagement. We tested a
path analysis model on 364 Italian workers, with servant leadership as a predictor of HWI and HWI as a predictor of
Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCB) and Counterproductive Work Behaviors (CWB). We also performed ANOVAs
and MANOVAs. Among the main findings, servant leadership is a positive predictor of both workaholism and work
engagement. Work engagement is a positive predictor of OCB and a negative predictor of CWB. Conversely, workaholism,
is a positive predictor of CWB, but it does not predict OCB. Hence, we encourage implementing soft-skills interventions
aimed at making leaders aware of the different worker types in their organization to develop tailored measures to foster
work engagement rather than workaholism. Also, we recommend controlling for work engagement when analyzing
workaholism, given the different findings that arose when controlling or not controlling for work engagement.
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2023
Through the lens of self-efficacy and conservation of resources theories, the present study aims ... more Through the lens of self-efficacy and conservation of resources theories, the present study aims to test the mediating role
of strengths self-efficacy and the moderating role of job insecurity in the relationship between strengths-based leadership
and employee strengths use. Research data from 286 employees working in various organizations in China were gathered
at three points in time, spaced by a four-week interval. A moderated mediation path analysis was utilized to test our
hypotheses. Results demonstrated that strengths self-efficacy mediates the positive association of strengths-based
leadership with employee strengths use, and job insecurity attenuates the direct association of strengths-based leadership
with strengths self-efficacy and the indirect relationship of strengths-based leadership with employee strengths use
through strengths self-efficacy. The present study advances our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the
relationship between strengths-based leadership and employee strengths use.
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2023
Purpose: Employee sickness absence increased steadily in recent years posing an important challen... more Purpose: Employee sickness absence increased steadily in recent years posing an important challenge for organizations
and research. The present study addresses this need by analysing the causal link of transformational leadership and
sickness absence, while also taking into consideration the context of leadership by studying the moderation effect of a
leader's perceived organizational support (POS) in that association. Design/Method: 57 middle managers of two Spanish
companies were randomly assigned to either the control (n = 22) or intervention (n = 35) condition. Multigroup linear
regression in MPlus was carried out to compare the effect of transformational leadership on follower sick leave during a
6 months pre and post-test period for both groups, while also taking into account the moderation effect of a leader's POS.
Findings: The analysis confirmed the association between transformational leadership and sick leave days due to shortterm spells, moderated by the leader’s levels of POS. Moreover, this relationship was stronger within the intervention
as compared to the control group. Conclusion: The present research provides causal evidence for the link between
transformational leadership and sickness absence, and offers an evidence-based and actionable leadership training
method for organizations seeking to reduce employee sick leave.
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2023
This paper analyzes the role of temporary/permanent employment in the way employees respond to pe... more This paper analyzes the role of temporary/permanent employment in the way employees respond to person-organization fit (P-O Fit) with organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), and whether mindfulness redraws this relationship. Compared to permanent employees, temporary employees may have fewer future prospects in their organization, thus leading them to engage less in this type of behavior, the potential returns of which are typically unspecified in time and are likely beyond their temporary reach. However, the self-regulatory, present-moment awareness and non-judgmental acceptance functions of mindfulness could reverse this relationship. Structural equation modeling using data from 280 employees of 10 Spanish hotels revealed that temporary (permanent) employees reacted to P-O Fit with lower (higher) OCBs, unless they were mindful, in which case their OCBs increased (decreased). The findings show that employment status and mindfulness redraw the P-O Fit-OCB relationship and that mindfulness makes temporary (permanent) employees respond to P-O Fit with increased (decreased) OCBs.
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2023
The growing trend towards individual career management requires understanding the driving forces ... more The growing trend towards individual career management requires understanding the driving forces of career changes.
In the current study we explore how personal resources, namely hope, optimism, self-efficacy, and social support are
associated with the motivational construct of career empowerment, which in turn predicts employees’ behavioral (OCB,
performance appraisal) and attitudinal (job engagement, life satisfaction) outcomes. We conducted a quantitative study in
which 251 full- and part-time employees completed paper-and-pencil surveys measuring internal and external resources,
and career empowerment. Our results indicate that the research variables are significantly and positively correlated with
one another. Mediation analyses with competing models indicate that career empowerment is a partial mediator between
personal resources and various outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2023
COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented health and economic crises across the world. Millions... more COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented health and economic crises across the world. Millions of businesses have
been obliged to shut down, and millions of jobs have been lost. These effects have created a very severe economic-related
stress level, which can have consequences on psychological well-being (PWB) and economic commitment (EC). This study
examined the relationships between objective and subjective indicators of income-related stress and employment-related
stress and PWB and EC. The 697 participants were contacted during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample
includes private-sector employees, civil service employees, self-employed, furloughed employees, and unemployed.
Results show that the economic stress produced by COVID-19, as estimated by a compound of objective and subjective
income-and employment-related stress, produced a negative effect on PWB (r = .21, p < .001) and EC (r = .29, p < .001).
Multiple regression showed that subjective income-related stress was the main predictor of PWB, positive affect, and
negative affect and that economic deprivation and objective employment-related stress were the predictors of EC and its
three components, affective, normative, and continuity. Finally, the contribution and some practical implications of the
findings are discussed.
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2023
Emilio Mira y López (1896-1964) was the great international figure of Spanish applied psychology ... more Emilio Mira y López (1896-1964) was the great international figure of Spanish applied psychology in the first half of
the 20th century. His work “The selection of drivers for the Bus General Company” (1922) was a key contribution to
the development of personnel selection and the evaluation of professional skills in Spain. Another relevant work, but
scarcely cited, has been “Initiation of school children in social life. Necessity of establishing vocational guidance schools or
institutes. Means for their creation and development”, to which this article is dedicated. Mira’s work consists of three parts
(a) the social preparation of the child at school, (b) the need to establish vocational guidance schools or institutes, and (c)
the means for its creation and development. Mira makes a distinction between guidance and selection tasks and discusses
various practical aspects such as the minimum working hours of such centers, the structure of the guidance process, and
the guidance functions of the center. Finally, the article summarizes Mira’s theoretical and practical contribution.
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2022
The purpose of this study is to investigate how several personality traits and two affective stat... more The purpose of this study is to investigate how several personality traits and two affective states might be associated with
organizational (affective) commitment in a Middle Eastern collectivist culture like Turkey. We tested moderated mediation
models of the effects of Big-Five personality traits on affective commitment to the organization while investigating the
mediation effects of two affective states (i.e., positive affectivity and negative affectivity) and the moderating effects
of a personality trait (i.e., core self-evaluations) on these relationships. Data were collected in a field study (N = 312)
using a time-lagged research design. As expected, the results indicated that the traits extraversion and agreeableness are
positively related to affective commitment through positive affectivity when core self-evaluations is high-to-medium
in strength. The results also showed that the indirect and negative effect of neuroticism on affective commitment via
negative affectivity was not supported. The main contribution of this study is the focus on personality and affectivecommitment linkages, giving an increased understanding of the processes, mechanisms, and conditions (i.e., indirect and
moderating) operating within these linkages.
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2022
To date, experimental research on the effect of faking on personality measures has used two types... more To date, experimental research on the effect of faking on personality measures has used two types of designs: withinsubject designs and between-subjects designs. None of these designs permit us to control for the effects of transient error
on faking. Using a Latin-square design (LSD), the current study examines the effects of faking on the Big Five as assessed
by a quasi-ipsative forced-choice (FC) personality inventory. LSD is a type of experimental design that simultaneously
permits us to control for between-subject differences, within-subject variability, and transient error. The sample consisted
of 246 participants (four experimental groups, assessed twice, 2-3 week interval). The results showed that (1) faking
effect size can be largely attributed to transient error and (2) the quasi-ipsative FC format shows great resistance to
faking behavior. The average effect size (Cohen’s d) for the Big Five was 0.21, 0.12, and 0.09 for observed faking, transient
error, and true faking, respectively. On average, 62% of observed faking effect size can be attributed to transient error. To
conclude, we discuss the implications of these findings for the research and practice of personnel selection.
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2022
The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between self-care activities (mindfulness an... more The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between self-care activities (mindfulness and physical exercise) and
the use of personal and work resources and their relationship with well-being. The sample consisted of 294 workers
recruited from 20 organizations from different socioeconomic sectors in Spain. Results showed that mindfulness is
positively related to well-being through the mediating role of work resources and personal resources. However, whereas
personal resources showed a full mediating role in the hypothesized model, work resources did not show a significant
relationship with mindfulness. Finally, results showed positive and significant relationships between the mindfulness
x physical exercise interaction and all the dependent variables, and also the interaction between physical exercise and
mindfulness had a significant effect on each of these three dependent variables.
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2022
Social workers’ work engagement and burnout were tested in relation to (a) personal variable, i.e... more Social workers’ work engagement and burnout were tested in relation to (a) personal variable, i.e., emotional intelligence;
(b) organizational variables, i.e., work satisfaction and affective commitment. Regressions revealed emotional intelligence
- controlling self – negatively predicted depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment and positively predicted
three facets of work engagement. Emotional intelligence - understanding others – was a negative predictor of reduced
personal accomplishment. In addition, work satisfaction negatively predicted three components of burnout and positively
predicted emotional work engagement. Affective commitment was a positive predictor of three facets of work engagement
and negatively predicted reduced personal accomplishment. Implications for management are discussed.
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2022
Boundary spanning has been proven to have positive implications for innovation performance; yet, ... more Boundary spanning has been proven to have positive implications for innovation performance; yet, some individuals are
less boundary-spanning than others. Drawing on the attachment theory and organizational support theory, this study
develops a multi-level theoretical model to investigate how individuals’ attachment insecurity influences boundaryspanning behavior through self-efficacy and the moderating role of organizational support climate. To validate the
proposed model, we adopted a survey research, and collected data from NPD project teams in China. The results revealed
that both insecure attachment styles were associated with lower levels of individual boundary-spanning behavior, and
self-efficacy partially mediated these relationships. Moreover, organizational support climate played a moderating role
in the relationship between attachment anxiety and boundary-spanning behavior. With a high level of support climate,
the negative impact of attachment anxiety on boundary-spanning behavior was weakened. This elucidates the role of
individual affective motivation and team shared perceptions in shaping individual externally focused behavior.
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2022
This study focuses on anticipatory happiness during the week (current happiness but considering t... more This study focuses on anticipatory happiness during the week (current happiness but considering the rest of the week)
in employees confined due to COVID-19. In Diary Study 1, 71 employees with home-based telework participated on five
consecutive workdays (Monday-Friday). We found a quadratic change pattern with an acceleration of the increase in
anticipatory happiness right before the weekend. Results also confirmed a positive association between daily variability
in anticipatory happiness and daily fluctuations in job satisfaction and positive affect. In Diary Study 2, 83 employees who
carried out an essential activity outside the home participated for two consecutive weeks. Our findings showed a cubic
change pattern where anticipatory happiness reaches its highest average score on Friday, dropping sharply on Monday,
and then the cycle (rhythm) begins again. Changes in anticipatory happiness were positively associated with changes in
job satisfaction and positive affect, and negatively related to fluctuations in negative affect
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2022
Today’s societies are experiencing a digitalization that is transforming organizations and jobs. ... more Today’s societies are experiencing a digitalization that is transforming organizations and jobs. Scholars, practitioners,
and policy makers tend to focus on digital competences as a way to adapt the general population and workers to the
technological revolution, enhance competitiveness and employability, and reduce social exclusion. It is important to
develop “digital competences”, but we propose that this strategy only provides a partial view of the necessary capabilities.
To achieve a more complete picture, “digitalized competences” should also be considered, that is, non-digital competences
that are transformed through the intervention of digital technologies. Increasingly, jobs in which purely digital skills
are not core elements change dramatically when they incorporate digital objects and processes. This change forces
workers and professionals to perform traditional tasks in a very different way. It is likely that the shift from non-digital
to digitalized competences involves a more pervasive transformation for organizations, jobs, and workers than pure
digital competences. With this in mind, this article has two main objectives. First, we provide a definition of digitalized
competences, linked to job transformation. Second, we use a typology of competences (professional, core cognitive,
transversal, and leadership) and some cases to illustrate this change.
Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2022
Organizations’ survival ability is increasingly constrained by their innovation possibilities, th... more Organizations’ survival ability is increasingly constrained by their innovation possibilities, that is, by their capacity to
create and share knowledge in order to cope with new and more complex challenges. Aiming for the three axes on which
new organizational models must be based (economic, technological, and social innovation), this article carries out a
systematic review among five databases on the variables related to innovation in organizations. After applying exclusion
criteria, 132 papers out of the 1,215 originally found were analyzed. As a result, an integrating theoretical model was
proposed from the organizational psychology perspective: the model of knowledge-sharing organizations. The model
allows for cultural, psychosocial, and technological aspects and proposes three levels of analysis: 1) innovative culture
and governance (that groups together the characteristics of a culture oriented towards innovation, and the organizational
policies into which it is translated); 2) leadership, teams, and people (that includes variables that impact people’s
innovative capacity, leadership styles, and forms of teamwork); and 3) technological tools for innovation (that focus on
how technology can be used, specifically ICT, to enhance the organization’s innovative capacity). Future directions as well
as limitations are addressed at the end of the article.
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Papers by Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology
service, and hundreds of thousands of candidates participate in the competitive examinations each year. Despite this,
its predictive validity and its potential effects on equal treatment for men and women remain unknown. This article
presents two independent studies devoted to establishing the predictive validity and the degree of equal treatment of the
"competition". In the first one, the validity was examined with candidates for the Corps of Treasury Technicians. The results
indicated an operational validity ρ = .54 (N = 392) and an average Cohen's d value of .14 for equal treatment favorable to men.
The second study was conducted with candidates for the Corps of Senior Treasury Inspectorate and the operational validity
was ρ = .50 (N =.70) and Cohen's d of .33 favorable to women. The results indicate that the "competition" shows similar or
superior validity to that of the best personnel selection instruments. Finally, implications for practice are discussed and
recommendations are made to improve this system of access to the civil service.
search behaviors in the unemployed population. Emotional intelligence (EI) and resilience are key psychological resources,
although there is a lack of understanding of underlying mechanisms involved during unemployment. In this study we
aimed to examine whether resilient coping serves as a mediator between EI and depressive symptoms, happiness, and
job search behaviors in unemployed. To prove whether resilient coping mediates this link, we recruited 401 unemployed
through LinkedIn and asked them to complete self-report questionnaires. Correlational results showed significant
relationships in the expected way. The results of the mediation analyses showed that resilient coping mediated the link
between EI and job search behaviors, happiness, and depressive symptoms. The findings suggest that career counseling
units should incorporate EI and resilience modules into their employability programs to promote the mental health and
employability of the unemployed.
Psychological approaches to behaviors during food processing can contribute to workers’ efforts to keep food safe and
avoiding contamination. This study examines the effectiveness of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in predicting selfreported food safety behaviors of turkey-processing workers. Consistent with the TPB, this study suggests that attitude
toward the behavior, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and behavior intention play important roles in
understanding how to prevent foodborne contamination. Results also show that background factors, specifically gender,
may be important in applying the TPB in specific work settings. Accordingly, salient beliefs that workers hold about food
safety play a crucial role in understanding how workers’ behaviors can be aligned with the need to keep food safe and
provide guidance for ways in which behaviors in organization can be modified to achieve desired outcomes.
However, a major drawback of such an approach is the lack of systematic and rigorous inferences on the psychological
characteristics of the candidates. Calls have been made by scholars for further research on the psychometric guarantee of
LinkedIn as a tool in the selection process. This study adopts signalling theory as a framework for exploring how LinkedIn
profile information signals a candidate’s soft skills. Using a sample of 169 ITC professionals, through a cross-sectional
design, soft skills were measured by means of a self-report questionnaire and LinkedIn profiles were assessed using
rubrics for measuring the LinkedIn Big Four. Our findings demonstrate that LinkedIn Big Four Breadth of Professional
Experience and Social Capital are valid signals of leadership, communication, problem solving, entrepreneurial and
commercial thinking, planning and organization, and teamwork. We discuss the practical and theoretical implications of
our results
functions), innovative work behavior, informal field-based learning, and reciprocity (bidirectional ties proportion). A
sample of 182 workers from an Italian clothing manufacturing company was analyzed. The findings reveal that social
tie diversity positively influences innovative work behavior, and their relationship is mediated by informal field-based
learning. Additionally, reciprocity strengthens the indirect link between social tie diversity and innovative work behavior.
This research contributes to the network and innovation literature by corroborating the role of social tie diversity in
promoting innovative work behaviors, highlighting the importance of informal field-based learning, and emphasizing the
impact of reciprocity. By doing so, this study offers insights into processes and conditions under which social tie diversity
has the greatest impact on employee innovation, providing practical implications for fostering innovative work behaviors
in organizations.
path analysis model on 364 Italian workers, with servant leadership as a predictor of HWI and HWI as a predictor of
Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCB) and Counterproductive Work Behaviors (CWB). We also performed ANOVAs
and MANOVAs. Among the main findings, servant leadership is a positive predictor of both workaholism and work
engagement. Work engagement is a positive predictor of OCB and a negative predictor of CWB. Conversely, workaholism,
is a positive predictor of CWB, but it does not predict OCB. Hence, we encourage implementing soft-skills interventions
aimed at making leaders aware of the different worker types in their organization to develop tailored measures to foster
work engagement rather than workaholism. Also, we recommend controlling for work engagement when analyzing
workaholism, given the different findings that arose when controlling or not controlling for work engagement.
of strengths self-efficacy and the moderating role of job insecurity in the relationship between strengths-based leadership
and employee strengths use. Research data from 286 employees working in various organizations in China were gathered
at three points in time, spaced by a four-week interval. A moderated mediation path analysis was utilized to test our
hypotheses. Results demonstrated that strengths self-efficacy mediates the positive association of strengths-based
leadership with employee strengths use, and job insecurity attenuates the direct association of strengths-based leadership
with strengths self-efficacy and the indirect relationship of strengths-based leadership with employee strengths use
through strengths self-efficacy. The present study advances our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the
relationship between strengths-based leadership and employee strengths use.
and research. The present study addresses this need by analysing the causal link of transformational leadership and
sickness absence, while also taking into consideration the context of leadership by studying the moderation effect of a
leader's perceived organizational support (POS) in that association. Design/Method: 57 middle managers of two Spanish
companies were randomly assigned to either the control (n = 22) or intervention (n = 35) condition. Multigroup linear
regression in MPlus was carried out to compare the effect of transformational leadership on follower sick leave during a
6 months pre and post-test period for both groups, while also taking into account the moderation effect of a leader's POS.
Findings: The analysis confirmed the association between transformational leadership and sick leave days due to shortterm spells, moderated by the leader’s levels of POS. Moreover, this relationship was stronger within the intervention
as compared to the control group. Conclusion: The present research provides causal evidence for the link between
transformational leadership and sickness absence, and offers an evidence-based and actionable leadership training
method for organizations seeking to reduce employee sick leave.
In the current study we explore how personal resources, namely hope, optimism, self-efficacy, and social support are
associated with the motivational construct of career empowerment, which in turn predicts employees’ behavioral (OCB,
performance appraisal) and attitudinal (job engagement, life satisfaction) outcomes. We conducted a quantitative study in
which 251 full- and part-time employees completed paper-and-pencil surveys measuring internal and external resources,
and career empowerment. Our results indicate that the research variables are significantly and positively correlated with
one another. Mediation analyses with competing models indicate that career empowerment is a partial mediator between
personal resources and various outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
been obliged to shut down, and millions of jobs have been lost. These effects have created a very severe economic-related
stress level, which can have consequences on psychological well-being (PWB) and economic commitment (EC). This study
examined the relationships between objective and subjective indicators of income-related stress and employment-related
stress and PWB and EC. The 697 participants were contacted during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample
includes private-sector employees, civil service employees, self-employed, furloughed employees, and unemployed.
Results show that the economic stress produced by COVID-19, as estimated by a compound of objective and subjective
income-and employment-related stress, produced a negative effect on PWB (r = .21, p < .001) and EC (r = .29, p < .001).
Multiple regression showed that subjective income-related stress was the main predictor of PWB, positive affect, and
negative affect and that economic deprivation and objective employment-related stress were the predictors of EC and its
three components, affective, normative, and continuity. Finally, the contribution and some practical implications of the
findings are discussed.
the 20th century. His work “The selection of drivers for the Bus General Company” (1922) was a key contribution to
the development of personnel selection and the evaluation of professional skills in Spain. Another relevant work, but
scarcely cited, has been “Initiation of school children in social life. Necessity of establishing vocational guidance schools or
institutes. Means for their creation and development”, to which this article is dedicated. Mira’s work consists of three parts
(a) the social preparation of the child at school, (b) the need to establish vocational guidance schools or institutes, and (c)
the means for its creation and development. Mira makes a distinction between guidance and selection tasks and discusses
various practical aspects such as the minimum working hours of such centers, the structure of the guidance process, and
the guidance functions of the center. Finally, the article summarizes Mira’s theoretical and practical contribution.
organizational (affective) commitment in a Middle Eastern collectivist culture like Turkey. We tested moderated mediation
models of the effects of Big-Five personality traits on affective commitment to the organization while investigating the
mediation effects of two affective states (i.e., positive affectivity and negative affectivity) and the moderating effects
of a personality trait (i.e., core self-evaluations) on these relationships. Data were collected in a field study (N = 312)
using a time-lagged research design. As expected, the results indicated that the traits extraversion and agreeableness are
positively related to affective commitment through positive affectivity when core self-evaluations is high-to-medium
in strength. The results also showed that the indirect and negative effect of neuroticism on affective commitment via
negative affectivity was not supported. The main contribution of this study is the focus on personality and affectivecommitment linkages, giving an increased understanding of the processes, mechanisms, and conditions (i.e., indirect and
moderating) operating within these linkages.
on faking. Using a Latin-square design (LSD), the current study examines the effects of faking on the Big Five as assessed
by a quasi-ipsative forced-choice (FC) personality inventory. LSD is a type of experimental design that simultaneously
permits us to control for between-subject differences, within-subject variability, and transient error. The sample consisted
of 246 participants (four experimental groups, assessed twice, 2-3 week interval). The results showed that (1) faking
effect size can be largely attributed to transient error and (2) the quasi-ipsative FC format shows great resistance to
faking behavior. The average effect size (Cohen’s d) for the Big Five was 0.21, 0.12, and 0.09 for observed faking, transient
error, and true faking, respectively. On average, 62% of observed faking effect size can be attributed to transient error. To
conclude, we discuss the implications of these findings for the research and practice of personnel selection.
the use of personal and work resources and their relationship with well-being. The sample consisted of 294 workers
recruited from 20 organizations from different socioeconomic sectors in Spain. Results showed that mindfulness is
positively related to well-being through the mediating role of work resources and personal resources. However, whereas
personal resources showed a full mediating role in the hypothesized model, work resources did not show a significant
relationship with mindfulness. Finally, results showed positive and significant relationships between the mindfulness
x physical exercise interaction and all the dependent variables, and also the interaction between physical exercise and
mindfulness had a significant effect on each of these three dependent variables.
(b) organizational variables, i.e., work satisfaction and affective commitment. Regressions revealed emotional intelligence
- controlling self – negatively predicted depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment and positively predicted
three facets of work engagement. Emotional intelligence - understanding others – was a negative predictor of reduced
personal accomplishment. In addition, work satisfaction negatively predicted three components of burnout and positively
predicted emotional work engagement. Affective commitment was a positive predictor of three facets of work engagement
and negatively predicted reduced personal accomplishment. Implications for management are discussed.
less boundary-spanning than others. Drawing on the attachment theory and organizational support theory, this study
develops a multi-level theoretical model to investigate how individuals’ attachment insecurity influences boundaryspanning behavior through self-efficacy and the moderating role of organizational support climate. To validate the
proposed model, we adopted a survey research, and collected data from NPD project teams in China. The results revealed
that both insecure attachment styles were associated with lower levels of individual boundary-spanning behavior, and
self-efficacy partially mediated these relationships. Moreover, organizational support climate played a moderating role
in the relationship between attachment anxiety and boundary-spanning behavior. With a high level of support climate,
the negative impact of attachment anxiety on boundary-spanning behavior was weakened. This elucidates the role of
individual affective motivation and team shared perceptions in shaping individual externally focused behavior.
in employees confined due to COVID-19. In Diary Study 1, 71 employees with home-based telework participated on five
consecutive workdays (Monday-Friday). We found a quadratic change pattern with an acceleration of the increase in
anticipatory happiness right before the weekend. Results also confirmed a positive association between daily variability
in anticipatory happiness and daily fluctuations in job satisfaction and positive affect. In Diary Study 2, 83 employees who
carried out an essential activity outside the home participated for two consecutive weeks. Our findings showed a cubic
change pattern where anticipatory happiness reaches its highest average score on Friday, dropping sharply on Monday,
and then the cycle (rhythm) begins again. Changes in anticipatory happiness were positively associated with changes in
job satisfaction and positive affect, and negatively related to fluctuations in negative affect
and policy makers tend to focus on digital competences as a way to adapt the general population and workers to the
technological revolution, enhance competitiveness and employability, and reduce social exclusion. It is important to
develop “digital competences”, but we propose that this strategy only provides a partial view of the necessary capabilities.
To achieve a more complete picture, “digitalized competences” should also be considered, that is, non-digital competences
that are transformed through the intervention of digital technologies. Increasingly, jobs in which purely digital skills
are not core elements change dramatically when they incorporate digital objects and processes. This change forces
workers and professionals to perform traditional tasks in a very different way. It is likely that the shift from non-digital
to digitalized competences involves a more pervasive transformation for organizations, jobs, and workers than pure
digital competences. With this in mind, this article has two main objectives. First, we provide a definition of digitalized
competences, linked to job transformation. Second, we use a typology of competences (professional, core cognitive,
transversal, and leadership) and some cases to illustrate this change.
create and share knowledge in order to cope with new and more complex challenges. Aiming for the three axes on which
new organizational models must be based (economic, technological, and social innovation), this article carries out a
systematic review among five databases on the variables related to innovation in organizations. After applying exclusion
criteria, 132 papers out of the 1,215 originally found were analyzed. As a result, an integrating theoretical model was
proposed from the organizational psychology perspective: the model of knowledge-sharing organizations. The model
allows for cultural, psychosocial, and technological aspects and proposes three levels of analysis: 1) innovative culture
and governance (that groups together the characteristics of a culture oriented towards innovation, and the organizational
policies into which it is translated); 2) leadership, teams, and people (that includes variables that impact people’s
innovative capacity, leadership styles, and forms of teamwork); and 3) technological tools for innovation (that focus on
how technology can be used, specifically ICT, to enhance the organization’s innovative capacity). Future directions as well
as limitations are addressed at the end of the article.
service, and hundreds of thousands of candidates participate in the competitive examinations each year. Despite this,
its predictive validity and its potential effects on equal treatment for men and women remain unknown. This article
presents two independent studies devoted to establishing the predictive validity and the degree of equal treatment of the
"competition". In the first one, the validity was examined with candidates for the Corps of Treasury Technicians. The results
indicated an operational validity ρ = .54 (N = 392) and an average Cohen's d value of .14 for equal treatment favorable to men.
The second study was conducted with candidates for the Corps of Senior Treasury Inspectorate and the operational validity
was ρ = .50 (N =.70) and Cohen's d of .33 favorable to women. The results indicate that the "competition" shows similar or
superior validity to that of the best personnel selection instruments. Finally, implications for practice are discussed and
recommendations are made to improve this system of access to the civil service.
search behaviors in the unemployed population. Emotional intelligence (EI) and resilience are key psychological resources,
although there is a lack of understanding of underlying mechanisms involved during unemployment. In this study we
aimed to examine whether resilient coping serves as a mediator between EI and depressive symptoms, happiness, and
job search behaviors in unemployed. To prove whether resilient coping mediates this link, we recruited 401 unemployed
through LinkedIn and asked them to complete self-report questionnaires. Correlational results showed significant
relationships in the expected way. The results of the mediation analyses showed that resilient coping mediated the link
between EI and job search behaviors, happiness, and depressive symptoms. The findings suggest that career counseling
units should incorporate EI and resilience modules into their employability programs to promote the mental health and
employability of the unemployed.
Psychological approaches to behaviors during food processing can contribute to workers’ efforts to keep food safe and
avoiding contamination. This study examines the effectiveness of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in predicting selfreported food safety behaviors of turkey-processing workers. Consistent with the TPB, this study suggests that attitude
toward the behavior, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and behavior intention play important roles in
understanding how to prevent foodborne contamination. Results also show that background factors, specifically gender,
may be important in applying the TPB in specific work settings. Accordingly, salient beliefs that workers hold about food
safety play a crucial role in understanding how workers’ behaviors can be aligned with the need to keep food safe and
provide guidance for ways in which behaviors in organization can be modified to achieve desired outcomes.
However, a major drawback of such an approach is the lack of systematic and rigorous inferences on the psychological
characteristics of the candidates. Calls have been made by scholars for further research on the psychometric guarantee of
LinkedIn as a tool in the selection process. This study adopts signalling theory as a framework for exploring how LinkedIn
profile information signals a candidate’s soft skills. Using a sample of 169 ITC professionals, through a cross-sectional
design, soft skills were measured by means of a self-report questionnaire and LinkedIn profiles were assessed using
rubrics for measuring the LinkedIn Big Four. Our findings demonstrate that LinkedIn Big Four Breadth of Professional
Experience and Social Capital are valid signals of leadership, communication, problem solving, entrepreneurial and
commercial thinking, planning and organization, and teamwork. We discuss the practical and theoretical implications of
our results
functions), innovative work behavior, informal field-based learning, and reciprocity (bidirectional ties proportion). A
sample of 182 workers from an Italian clothing manufacturing company was analyzed. The findings reveal that social
tie diversity positively influences innovative work behavior, and their relationship is mediated by informal field-based
learning. Additionally, reciprocity strengthens the indirect link between social tie diversity and innovative work behavior.
This research contributes to the network and innovation literature by corroborating the role of social tie diversity in
promoting innovative work behaviors, highlighting the importance of informal field-based learning, and emphasizing the
impact of reciprocity. By doing so, this study offers insights into processes and conditions under which social tie diversity
has the greatest impact on employee innovation, providing practical implications for fostering innovative work behaviors
in organizations.
path analysis model on 364 Italian workers, with servant leadership as a predictor of HWI and HWI as a predictor of
Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCB) and Counterproductive Work Behaviors (CWB). We also performed ANOVAs
and MANOVAs. Among the main findings, servant leadership is a positive predictor of both workaholism and work
engagement. Work engagement is a positive predictor of OCB and a negative predictor of CWB. Conversely, workaholism,
is a positive predictor of CWB, but it does not predict OCB. Hence, we encourage implementing soft-skills interventions
aimed at making leaders aware of the different worker types in their organization to develop tailored measures to foster
work engagement rather than workaholism. Also, we recommend controlling for work engagement when analyzing
workaholism, given the different findings that arose when controlling or not controlling for work engagement.
of strengths self-efficacy and the moderating role of job insecurity in the relationship between strengths-based leadership
and employee strengths use. Research data from 286 employees working in various organizations in China were gathered
at three points in time, spaced by a four-week interval. A moderated mediation path analysis was utilized to test our
hypotheses. Results demonstrated that strengths self-efficacy mediates the positive association of strengths-based
leadership with employee strengths use, and job insecurity attenuates the direct association of strengths-based leadership
with strengths self-efficacy and the indirect relationship of strengths-based leadership with employee strengths use
through strengths self-efficacy. The present study advances our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the
relationship between strengths-based leadership and employee strengths use.
and research. The present study addresses this need by analysing the causal link of transformational leadership and
sickness absence, while also taking into consideration the context of leadership by studying the moderation effect of a
leader's perceived organizational support (POS) in that association. Design/Method: 57 middle managers of two Spanish
companies were randomly assigned to either the control (n = 22) or intervention (n = 35) condition. Multigroup linear
regression in MPlus was carried out to compare the effect of transformational leadership on follower sick leave during a
6 months pre and post-test period for both groups, while also taking into account the moderation effect of a leader's POS.
Findings: The analysis confirmed the association between transformational leadership and sick leave days due to shortterm spells, moderated by the leader’s levels of POS. Moreover, this relationship was stronger within the intervention
as compared to the control group. Conclusion: The present research provides causal evidence for the link between
transformational leadership and sickness absence, and offers an evidence-based and actionable leadership training
method for organizations seeking to reduce employee sick leave.
In the current study we explore how personal resources, namely hope, optimism, self-efficacy, and social support are
associated with the motivational construct of career empowerment, which in turn predicts employees’ behavioral (OCB,
performance appraisal) and attitudinal (job engagement, life satisfaction) outcomes. We conducted a quantitative study in
which 251 full- and part-time employees completed paper-and-pencil surveys measuring internal and external resources,
and career empowerment. Our results indicate that the research variables are significantly and positively correlated with
one another. Mediation analyses with competing models indicate that career empowerment is a partial mediator between
personal resources and various outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
been obliged to shut down, and millions of jobs have been lost. These effects have created a very severe economic-related
stress level, which can have consequences on psychological well-being (PWB) and economic commitment (EC). This study
examined the relationships between objective and subjective indicators of income-related stress and employment-related
stress and PWB and EC. The 697 participants were contacted during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample
includes private-sector employees, civil service employees, self-employed, furloughed employees, and unemployed.
Results show that the economic stress produced by COVID-19, as estimated by a compound of objective and subjective
income-and employment-related stress, produced a negative effect on PWB (r = .21, p < .001) and EC (r = .29, p < .001).
Multiple regression showed that subjective income-related stress was the main predictor of PWB, positive affect, and
negative affect and that economic deprivation and objective employment-related stress were the predictors of EC and its
three components, affective, normative, and continuity. Finally, the contribution and some practical implications of the
findings are discussed.
the 20th century. His work “The selection of drivers for the Bus General Company” (1922) was a key contribution to
the development of personnel selection and the evaluation of professional skills in Spain. Another relevant work, but
scarcely cited, has been “Initiation of school children in social life. Necessity of establishing vocational guidance schools or
institutes. Means for their creation and development”, to which this article is dedicated. Mira’s work consists of three parts
(a) the social preparation of the child at school, (b) the need to establish vocational guidance schools or institutes, and (c)
the means for its creation and development. Mira makes a distinction between guidance and selection tasks and discusses
various practical aspects such as the minimum working hours of such centers, the structure of the guidance process, and
the guidance functions of the center. Finally, the article summarizes Mira’s theoretical and practical contribution.
organizational (affective) commitment in a Middle Eastern collectivist culture like Turkey. We tested moderated mediation
models of the effects of Big-Five personality traits on affective commitment to the organization while investigating the
mediation effects of two affective states (i.e., positive affectivity and negative affectivity) and the moderating effects
of a personality trait (i.e., core self-evaluations) on these relationships. Data were collected in a field study (N = 312)
using a time-lagged research design. As expected, the results indicated that the traits extraversion and agreeableness are
positively related to affective commitment through positive affectivity when core self-evaluations is high-to-medium
in strength. The results also showed that the indirect and negative effect of neuroticism on affective commitment via
negative affectivity was not supported. The main contribution of this study is the focus on personality and affectivecommitment linkages, giving an increased understanding of the processes, mechanisms, and conditions (i.e., indirect and
moderating) operating within these linkages.
on faking. Using a Latin-square design (LSD), the current study examines the effects of faking on the Big Five as assessed
by a quasi-ipsative forced-choice (FC) personality inventory. LSD is a type of experimental design that simultaneously
permits us to control for between-subject differences, within-subject variability, and transient error. The sample consisted
of 246 participants (four experimental groups, assessed twice, 2-3 week interval). The results showed that (1) faking
effect size can be largely attributed to transient error and (2) the quasi-ipsative FC format shows great resistance to
faking behavior. The average effect size (Cohen’s d) for the Big Five was 0.21, 0.12, and 0.09 for observed faking, transient
error, and true faking, respectively. On average, 62% of observed faking effect size can be attributed to transient error. To
conclude, we discuss the implications of these findings for the research and practice of personnel selection.
the use of personal and work resources and their relationship with well-being. The sample consisted of 294 workers
recruited from 20 organizations from different socioeconomic sectors in Spain. Results showed that mindfulness is
positively related to well-being through the mediating role of work resources and personal resources. However, whereas
personal resources showed a full mediating role in the hypothesized model, work resources did not show a significant
relationship with mindfulness. Finally, results showed positive and significant relationships between the mindfulness
x physical exercise interaction and all the dependent variables, and also the interaction between physical exercise and
mindfulness had a significant effect on each of these three dependent variables.
(b) organizational variables, i.e., work satisfaction and affective commitment. Regressions revealed emotional intelligence
- controlling self – negatively predicted depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment and positively predicted
three facets of work engagement. Emotional intelligence - understanding others – was a negative predictor of reduced
personal accomplishment. In addition, work satisfaction negatively predicted three components of burnout and positively
predicted emotional work engagement. Affective commitment was a positive predictor of three facets of work engagement
and negatively predicted reduced personal accomplishment. Implications for management are discussed.
less boundary-spanning than others. Drawing on the attachment theory and organizational support theory, this study
develops a multi-level theoretical model to investigate how individuals’ attachment insecurity influences boundaryspanning behavior through self-efficacy and the moderating role of organizational support climate. To validate the
proposed model, we adopted a survey research, and collected data from NPD project teams in China. The results revealed
that both insecure attachment styles were associated with lower levels of individual boundary-spanning behavior, and
self-efficacy partially mediated these relationships. Moreover, organizational support climate played a moderating role
in the relationship between attachment anxiety and boundary-spanning behavior. With a high level of support climate,
the negative impact of attachment anxiety on boundary-spanning behavior was weakened. This elucidates the role of
individual affective motivation and team shared perceptions in shaping individual externally focused behavior.
in employees confined due to COVID-19. In Diary Study 1, 71 employees with home-based telework participated on five
consecutive workdays (Monday-Friday). We found a quadratic change pattern with an acceleration of the increase in
anticipatory happiness right before the weekend. Results also confirmed a positive association between daily variability
in anticipatory happiness and daily fluctuations in job satisfaction and positive affect. In Diary Study 2, 83 employees who
carried out an essential activity outside the home participated for two consecutive weeks. Our findings showed a cubic
change pattern where anticipatory happiness reaches its highest average score on Friday, dropping sharply on Monday,
and then the cycle (rhythm) begins again. Changes in anticipatory happiness were positively associated with changes in
job satisfaction and positive affect, and negatively related to fluctuations in negative affect
and policy makers tend to focus on digital competences as a way to adapt the general population and workers to the
technological revolution, enhance competitiveness and employability, and reduce social exclusion. It is important to
develop “digital competences”, but we propose that this strategy only provides a partial view of the necessary capabilities.
To achieve a more complete picture, “digitalized competences” should also be considered, that is, non-digital competences
that are transformed through the intervention of digital technologies. Increasingly, jobs in which purely digital skills
are not core elements change dramatically when they incorporate digital objects and processes. This change forces
workers and professionals to perform traditional tasks in a very different way. It is likely that the shift from non-digital
to digitalized competences involves a more pervasive transformation for organizations, jobs, and workers than pure
digital competences. With this in mind, this article has two main objectives. First, we provide a definition of digitalized
competences, linked to job transformation. Second, we use a typology of competences (professional, core cognitive,
transversal, and leadership) and some cases to illustrate this change.
create and share knowledge in order to cope with new and more complex challenges. Aiming for the three axes on which
new organizational models must be based (economic, technological, and social innovation), this article carries out a
systematic review among five databases on the variables related to innovation in organizations. After applying exclusion
criteria, 132 papers out of the 1,215 originally found were analyzed. As a result, an integrating theoretical model was
proposed from the organizational psychology perspective: the model of knowledge-sharing organizations. The model
allows for cultural, psychosocial, and technological aspects and proposes three levels of analysis: 1) innovative culture
and governance (that groups together the characteristics of a culture oriented towards innovation, and the organizational
policies into which it is translated); 2) leadership, teams, and people (that includes variables that impact people’s
innovative capacity, leadership styles, and forms of teamwork); and 3) technological tools for innovation (that focus on
how technology can be used, specifically ICT, to enhance the organization’s innovative capacity). Future directions as well
as limitations are addressed at the end of the article.