Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T06:53:30.133Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Unpacking the curvilinear relationship between negative affectivity, performance, and turnover intentions: The moderating effect of time-related work stress

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2016

Dave Bouckenooghe ,
Usman Raja ,
Arif Nazir Butt ,
Muhammad Abbas  and
Sabahat Bilgrami
Dave Bouckenooghe*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Business, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Usman Raja
Affiliation:
Faculty of Business, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Arif Nazir Butt
Affiliation:
Suleman Dawood School of Business, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan
Muhammad Abbas
Affiliation:
FAST School of Management, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan
Sabahat Bilgrami
Affiliation:
Mentors, Lahore, Pakistan
*
Corresponding author: dbouckenooghe@brocku.ca
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study explores the relationships of negative affectivity with two frequently studied outcome variables job performance and turnover intentions. Conventional wisdom holds that negative affectivity has a harmful impact on both job performance and intentions to leave; however, we propose a more nuanced perspective using empirical and theoretical arguments (e.g., self-regulation theory) to highlight the functional effects of negative affectivity. To test our hypotheses, we collected self-reported and supervisor-reported data from seven organizations in Pakistan. The findings based on data collected from 280 employees show that while negative affectivity is detrimental for job performance, this effect is mitigated as negative affectivity increases. It further shows that the linear negative main effect of negative affectivity on job performance is more pronounced when employees experience less time-related work stress. Finally, the curvilinear relationship between negative affectivity and turnover intentions is moderated by time-related work stress. The relationship has a U shape at high levels of time-related work stress, whereas at low levels it has an inverted U shape. A discussion of the limitations, future research, and implications for theory building and practice conclude the article.

Keywords

negative affectivityin-role job performanceturnover intentionstime-related work stress
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , May 2017 , pp. 373 - 391
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbas, M., Raja, U., Darr, W., & Bouckenooghe, D. (2014). Combined effects of perceived politics and psychological capital on job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and performance. Journal of Management, 40, 1813–1830. doi:10.1177/0149206312455243 Google Scholar
Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 411–423. doi:10.1037//0033-2909.103.3.411 Google Scholar
Aspinwall, L.G. (1998). Rethinking the role of positive affect in self-regulation. Motivation and Emotion, 22, 1–32. doi:10.1023/a:1023080224401 Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: Freeman.Google Scholar
Barrick, R. M., & Mount, M. K. (2005). Yes, personality matters: Moving on to more important matters. Human Performance, 18, 359–372. doi:10.1207/s15327043hup1804_3 Google Scholar
Baruch, Y., & Holtom, B. C. (2008). Survey response rate levels and trends in organizational research. Human Relations, 61, 1139–1160. doi:10.1177/0018726708094863 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bommer, W. H., Johnson, J. L., Rich, G. A., Podsakoff, P. M., & MacKenzie, S. B. (1995). On the interchangeability of objective and subjective measures of employee performance: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 48, 587–605. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.1995.tb01772.x Google Scholar
Borman, W. C., & Motowidlo, S. J. (1997). Task performance and contextual performance: The meaning of personnel selection research. Human Performance, 10, 90–109. doi:10.1207/s15327043hup1002_3 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowling, N. A., Hendricks, E. A., & Wagner, S. H. (2008). Positive and negative affectivity and facet satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Journal of Business and Psychology, 23, 115–125. doi:10.1007/s10869-008-9082-0 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brief, A. P., & Weiss, H. M. (2002). Organizational behavior: Affect in the workplace. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 279–307. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135156 Google Scholar
Butt, A. N., Choi, J. N., & Jaeger, A. (2005). The effects of self-emotion, counterpart emotion, and counterpart behavior on negotiator behavior: A comparison of individual-level and dyad-level dynamics. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 681–704. doi:10.1002/job.328 Google Scholar
Cammann, C., Fichman, M., Jenkins, D., & Klesh, J. (1979). The Michigan organizational assessment questionnaire. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.Google Scholar
Carver, C. S. (2006). Approach, avoidance, and the self-regulation of affect and action. Motivation and Emotion, 30, 105–110. doi:10.1007/s11031-006-9044-7 Google Scholar
Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2011). Self-regulation of action and affect. In K. D. Vohs & R. F. Baumeister (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation: Research, Theory and Applications (pp. 3–21). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Caulfield, N., Chang, D., Dollard, M. F., & Elshaug, C. (2004). A review of occupational stress interventions in Australia. International Journal of Stress Management, 11, 149–166. doi:10.1037/1072-5245.11.2.149 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chi, S.-C. S., & Yang, M.-Y. (2015). How does negative mood affect turnover intention? The interactive effect of self-monitoring and conflict perception. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 24, 31–43. doi:10.1080/1359432X.2013.856299 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chiu, R. K., & Francesco, A. M. (2003). Dispositional traits and turnover intention: Examining the mediating role of job satisfaction and affective commitment. International Journal of Manpower, 24, 284–298. doi:10.1108/01437720310479741 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Connolly, J. J., & Viswesvaran, C. (2000). The role of affectivity in job satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 29, 265–281. doi:10.1016/s0191-8869(99)00192-0 Google Scholar
Connor-Smith, J. K., & Flachsbart, C. (2007). Relations between personality and coping: A meta-analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 1080–1107. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.93.6.1080 Google Scholar
Cortina, J. M. (1993). Interaction, nonlinearity, and multicollinearity: Implications for multiple regression. Journal of Management, 19, 915–922. doi:10.1177/014920639301900411 Google Scholar
Cropanzano, R., James, K., & Konovsky, M. A. (1993). Dispositional affectivity as a predictor of work attitudes and job performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 14, 595–606. doi:10.1002/job.4030140609 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
da Motta Veiga, S. P., & Turban, D. B. (2014). Are affect and perceived stress detrimental or beneficial to job seekers? The role of learning goal orientation in job search self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 125, 193–203. doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2014.09.007 Google Scholar
Dawson, J. F., & Richter, A. W. (2006). Probing three-way interactions in moderated multiple regression: Development and application of a slope difference test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 917–926. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.91.4.917 Google Scholar
Dillman, D. A. (1991). The design and administration of mail surveys. Annual Review of Sociology, 17, 225–249. doi:10.1146/annurev.so.17.080191.001301 Google Scholar
Dollard, M. F. (2006). Throwaway workers. InPsych, 28, 8–12. doi:10.1021/es00057a721 Google Scholar
Elliot, A. J., & Thrash, T. M. (2002). Approach-avoidance motivation in personality: Approach and avoidance temperaments and goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 804–818. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.82.5.804 Google Scholar
Fiedler, K. (2000). Towards an integrative account of affect and cognition phenomena. In J. P. Forgas (Ed.), Feeling and thinking: The role of affect in social cognition (pp. 223–252). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Forgas, J. P. (1998). On being happy and mistaken. Mood effects on the fundamental attribution error. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 318–331. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.75.2.318 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fortunato, V. J., & Williams, K. J. (2002). The moderating effects of dispositional affectivity on performance and task attitudes in a goal-setting context. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32, 2321–2353. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2002.tb01865.x Google Scholar
George, J. M., & Brief, A. P. (1996). Negative affectivity and coping with job loss. Academy of Management Review, 21, 7–12.Google Scholar
George, J. M., & Zhou, J. (2002). Understanding when bad moods foster creativity and good ones don’t: The role of context and clarity of feelings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 687–697.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gerber, M., Hartmann, T., Brand, S., Holsboer-Trachsler, E., & Pühse, U. (2010). The relationship between shift work, perceived stress, sleep and health in Swiss police officers. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38, 1167–1175. doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2010.09.005 Google Scholar
Gilboa, S., Shirom, A., Fried, Y., & Cooper, C. (2008). A meta-analysis of work demand stressors and job performance: Examining main and moderating effects. Personnel Psychology, 61, 227–272. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2008.00113.x Google Scholar
Gray, J. A. (1970). The psychophysiological basis of introversion-extraversion. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 8, 249–266. doi:10.1016/0005-7967(70)90069-0 Google Scholar
Gray, J. A. (1987). The psychology of fear and stress (2nd ed.), New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hamid, S., Malik, A. U., Kamran, I., & Ramzan, M. (2014). Job satisfaction among nurses working in the private and public sectors: A qualitative study in tertiary care hospitals in Pakistan. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 7, 25–35. doi:10.2147/jmdh.s5507710.2147/jmdh.s55077 Google Scholar
Hobfoll, S. E. (2002). Social and psychological resources and adaptation. Review of General Psychology, 6, 307–324. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.6.4.307 Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. (1983). The cultural relativity of organizational practices and theories. Journal of International Business Studies, 14, 75–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hogan, R. (2005). In defense of personality measurement: New wine for old whiners. Human Performance, 18, 331–341. doi:10.1207/s15327043hup1804_1 Google Scholar
Höge, T. (2009). When work strain transcends psychological boundaries: An inquiry into the relationship between time pressure, irritation, work-family conflict and psychosomatic complaints. Stress and Health: Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 25, 41–51. doi:10.1002/smi.1226 Google Scholar
Huang, J. L., Ryan, A. M., Zabel, K. L., & Palmer, A. (2014). Personality and adaptive performance at work: A meta-analytic investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99, 162–179. doi:10.1037/a0034285 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Janssen, O. (2001). Fairness perceptions as a moderator in the curvilinear relationships between job demands, and job performance and job satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 1039–1050. doi:10.2307/3069447 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, R. E., Tolentino, A. L., Rodopman, O. B., & Cho, E. (2010). We (sometimes) know not how we feel: Predicting work behaviors with an implicit measure of trait affectivity. Personnel Psychology, 63, 197–219. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2009.01166.x Google Scholar
Judge, T. A., Heller, D., & Mount, M. K. (2002). Five-factor model of personality and job satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 530–541. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.87.3.530 Google Scholar
Kaplan, S., Bradley, J. C., Luchman, J. N., & Haynes, D. (2009). On the role of positive and negative affectivity in job performance: A meta-analytic investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 162–176. doi:10.1037/a0013115 Google Scholar
Kausar, R., & Anwar, T. (2010). Perceived stress, stress appraisal and coping strategies used in relation to television coverage of terrorist incidents. Pakistan Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 8, 119–131.Google Scholar
Khan, K., Abbas, M., Gul, A., & Raja, U. (2015). Organizational justice and job outcomes: Moderating role of Islamic work ethic. Journal of Business Ethics, 126, 235–246.Google Scholar
Kinicki, A. J., & Vecchio, R. P. (1994). Influences on the quality of supervisor-subordinate relations: The role of time-pressure, organizational commitment, and locus of control. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, 75–82. doi:10.1002/job.4030150108 Google Scholar
Larsen, R. J., & Ketelaar, T. (1991). Personality and susceptibility to positive and negative emotional states. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 132–140. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.61.1.132 Google Scholar
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Lebreton, J. M., & Senter, J. L. (2008). Answers to 20 questions about interrater reliability and interrater agreement. Organizational Research Methods, 11, 815–852. doi:10.1177/1094428106296642 Google Scholar
McEvoy, G. M., & Cascio, W. F. (1989). Cumulative evidence of the relationship between employee age and job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 11–17. doi:10.1037//0021-9010.74.1.11 Google Scholar
Murphy, P. (1996). Chaos theory as a model for managing issues and crisis. Public Relations Review, 22, 95–113. doi:10.1016/s0363-8111(96)90001-6 Google Scholar
Naseer, S., Raja, U., Syed, F., Donia, M., & Darr, W. (2016). Perils of being in-group of a bad leader: Exploring the combined effects of despotic leadership, leader member exchange, and perceived organizational politics on behaviors. The Leadership Quarterly, 27, 14–33.Google Scholar
Ng, T. W., & Sorensen, K. L. (2009). Dispositional affectivity and work-related outcomes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 39, 1255–1287. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2009.00481.x Google Scholar
OECD (2013). OECD Factbook 2013: Economic, Environmental and Social Statistics. Paris Cedex: OECD Publishing.Google Scholar
Parker, D. F., & DeCotiis, T. A. (1983). Organizational determinants of job stress. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 32, 160–177. doi:10.1016/0030-5073(83)90145-9 Google Scholar
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J.-Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879–903. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raja, U., & Johns, G. (2010). The joint effects of personality and job scope on in-role performance, citizenship behaviors, and creativity. Human Relations, 63, 981–1005. doi:10.1177/0018726709349863 Google Scholar
Rubino, C., Perry, S. J., Milam, A. C., Spitzmueller, C., & Zapf, D. (2012). Demand–control–person: Integrating the demand–control and conservation of resources models to test an expanded stressor-strain model. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 17, 456–472. doi:10.1037/a0029718 Google Scholar
Schwarz, N., & Bohner, G. (1996). Feelings and their motivational implications: Moods and the action sequence. In J. A. Bargh & P. Gollwitzer (Eds.), The psychology of action: Linking thought and motivation to behavior (pp. 119–145). New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Shore, L. M., & Martin, H. J. (1989). Job satisfaction and organizational commitment in relation to work performance and turnover intentions. Human Relations, 42, 625–638. doi:10.1177/001872678904200705 Google Scholar
Simons, T. L., & Peterson, R. S. (2000). Task conflict and relationship conflict in top management teams: The pivotal role of intragroup trust. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 102–111. doi:10.1037//0021-9010.85.1.102 Google Scholar
Spector, P. E. (2003). Individual differences in health and well-being in organizations. In D. A. Hofmann & L. E. Tetrik (Eds.), Health and safety in organizations: A multilevel perspective (pp. 29–55). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Spector, P. E., & Jex, S. M. (1998). Development of four self-report measures of job stressors and strain: Interpersonal conflict at work scale, organizational constraints scale, quantitative workload inventory, and physical symptoms inventory. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 3, 356–367. doi:10.1037//1076-8998.3.4.356 Google Scholar
Tett, R. P., & Burnett, D. D. (2003). A personality trait-based interactionist model of job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 500–517. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.88.3.500 Google Scholar
Tett, R. P., Jackson, D. N., Rothstein, M., & Reddon, J. R. (1999). Meta-analysis of bidirectional relations in personality-job performance research. Human Performance, 12, 1–29. doi:10.1207/s15327043hup1201_1 Google Scholar
Thatcher, J. B., & Perrewe, P. L. (2002). An empirical examination of individual traits as antecedents to computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy. MIS Quarterly, 26, 381–396. doi:10.2307/4132314 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thoresen, C. J., Kaplan, S. A., Barsky, A., Warren, C. R., & de Chermont, K. (2003). The affective underpinnings of job perceptions and attitudes: A meta-analytic review and integration. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 914–945. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.6.914 Google Scholar
Tsui, A. S., Nifadkar, S., & Ou, A. Y. (2007). Cross-national, cross-cultural behavior: Advances, gaps and recommendations. Journal of Management, 33, 426–478.Google Scholar
Walsh, C., & Dollard, M.F. (1999). Illusory correlation: Is work stress really worse in the public sector? Journal of Occupational Health and Safety, 15, 219–229.Google Scholar
Watson, D., & Clark, L. A. (1984). Negative affectivity: The disposition to experience aversive emotional states. Psychological Bulletin, 96, 465–490. doi:10.1037//0033-2909.96.3.465 Google Scholar
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063–1070. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063 Google Scholar
Watson, D., Wiese, D., Vaidya, J., & Tellegen, A. (1999). The two general activation systems of affect: Structural findings, evolutionary considerations, and psychobiological evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 820–838. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.76.5.820 Google Scholar
Weiss, H. M., & Cropanzano, R. (1996). Affective events theory: A theoretical discussion of the structure, causes, and consequences of affective experiences at work. In B. M. Staw & L. L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior (pp. 1–74). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.Google Scholar
Williams, L. J., & Anderson, S. E. (1991). Job satisfaction and organizational commitment as predictors of organizational citizenship and in-role behaviors. Journal of Management, 17, 601–617. doi:10.1177/014920639101700305 Google Scholar
Wrosch, C., Scheier, M. F., Miller, G. E., Schulz, R., & Carver, C. S. (2003). Adaptive self-regulation of unattainable goals: Goal disengagement, goal reengagement, and subjective well-being. Personality and Social Psychological Bulletin, 26, 1494–1508.Google Scholar
Yang, J., & Diefendorff, J. (2009). The relations of daily counterproductive workplace behavior with emotions, situational antecedents, and personality moderators: A diary study in Hong Kong. Personnel Psychology, 62, 259–295. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2009.01138.x Google Scholar
Zohar, D., Tzischinski, O., & Epstein, R. (2003). Effects of energy availability on immediate and delayed emotional reactions to work events. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 1082–1093. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.88.6.1082 Google Scholar