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This study was designed to investigate whether workplace positivity of full-time workers was related to health ratings. Positivity was conceptualized by a high rating of perceived work-performance, and work-engagement as defined by the Utrecht Work-Engagement Scale, including vigor, dedication, and absorption (Schaufeli, & Bakker, 2004). Health was measured utilizing the RAND SF-36 health survey including the eight subscales: overall, general health, physical and social functioning, emotional well-being, role limitations due to physical health or emotional problems, energy or fatigue, and bodily pain. All measures were collected simultaneously. It was predicted that perceived work-performance and all measures of work-engagement are positively associated with the aforementioned health ratings. Multiple regression analyses revealed that higher (positive) perception of work-performance and vigor were positively related to health ratings. Absorption was negatively related to health ratings. Dedication was only negatively related to physical functioning. These findings suggest that not all measures of positivity in the workplace are related to better health. Implications and future directions are discussed.
ContributorsFlores, Melissa Ann (Author) / Vargas, Perla A (Thesis advisor) / Burleson, Mary H (Committee member) / Hall, Deborah (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Over the past several years, engagement and embeddedness have become popular research topics for academics and practitioners alike. Research has demonstrated associations between these constructs and a variety of predictors and outcomes. Prior research has not, however, placed enough emphasis on the roles of employee type, industry type, and work setting in determining predictors and outcomes. Additionally, the relative roles of engagement and embeddedness in predicting outcomes have not been thoroughly investigated. This study investigated the predictors and outcomes of engagement and embeddedness among unskilled, production line employees working in food processing in the agricultural industry by conducting a survey of employees and their supervisors. Employees answered questions about personality, motivation, satisfaction, engagement, and embeddedness while supervisors answered questions about each employee's performance. Results suggest that both engagement and embeddedness predict employee satisfaction and that engagement does so more strongly, both of which support prior research. However, results contradict prior research by suggesting that embeddedness is strongly predicted by traits internal to the employee while engagement is not, and neither engagement nor embeddedness significantly predicts employee performance. Further, the findings suggest that employees working in different settings and industries may experience work differently, and the measurements used to understand their experiences should reflect these differences.
ContributorsBryan, Kathleen (Author) / Newman, Matthew L. (Thesis advisor) / Hall, Deborah L. (Committee member) / Schweitzer, Nick (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
There are some factors that have been used to explain why the presence of a calling (i.e., “an approach to work that reflects the belief that one's career is a central part of a broader sense of purpose and meaning in life and is used to help others or advance the greater good in some fashion” (Duffy & Dik, 2013, p. 429) reduces work stress and its potential negative outcomes, such as absenteeism, job performance and productivity, work-related accidents and overall employee health. The effect of problem-focused coping, however, remains largely untested as a potential mediator in this relation. The present study was conducted to quantitatively test whether problem-focused coping would mediate the relation between having a calling to work and perceived work stress in zookeepers. Participants were recruited through an online survey. They responded to questionnaires regarding calling, problem-focused coping, and work stress. Using hierarchical regression analyses, it was found that problem-focused coping partially mediated the relation between presence of a calling and perceived work stress. Specifically, having the presence of a calling to work predicted greater problem-focused style of coping, which, in turn, led to lower perceived work stress. Future directions for research were discussed.
ContributorsKemsley, Jourdan (Author) / Miller, Paul (Thesis advisor) / Hall, Deborah (Committee member) / Duran, Nicholas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Adaptability has emerged as an essential skill in the engineering workforce due to constant technological and social change, engineering grand challenges, and the recent global pandemic. Although engineering employers and national reports have called for increased adaptability among engineers, what adaptability means in the engineering workplace has not been investigated. This dissertation uses qualitative semi-structured critical incident interviews with engineering managers from four corporations to better understand their perceptions of adaptability and then incorporates these findings into a scenario-based intervention for the engineering classroom. Thematic analysis of the interviews with engineering managers expanded existing frameworks for workplace adaptability to provide an engineering-specific understanding of adaptability as a construct. Managers’ perceptions of adaptability span six dimensions, each important when teaching this competency to engineering students: Creative Problem Solving; Interpersonal Adaptability; Handling Work Stress; Dealing with Uncertain and Unpredictable Situations; Learning New Technologies, Tasks, and Procedures; and Cultural Adaptability. Managers’ beliefs about the importance of a balanced approach to being adaptable in different work contexts, and the influence of personal characteristics such as self-awareness and having had specific experiences related to being adaptable, emerged from the findings as well. Composite narratives reflecting real-life situations encountered by engineers in the workplace were developed based on findings from the engineering manager interviews to provide greater texture to the data. Six of the narratives mapped to the six dimensions of adaptability identified in the thematic analysis, while the seventh narrative illustrated the importance of balance and context when deciding whether and how to be adaptable. They revealed how multiple dimensions of adaptability work together and that contextual factors like support from managers and coworkers are integral to an engineer’s adaptability. The narratives were condensed into two scenarios for use in a classroom-based intervention with first-year engineering students at a large public university. After the intervention, many students’ definitions of adaptability became more multi-dimensional and reflective of adaptability context and balance. Students also reported a better understanding of engineering work, an expanded definition of adaptability, greater delineation of adaptability, increased self-awareness, greater appreciation for the importance of adaptability balance, and enhanced feelings of job preparedness.
ContributorsSajadi, Susan (Author) / Brunhaver, Samantha R (Thesis advisor) / Kellam, Nadia N (Committee member) / Mckenna, Ann F (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Providing adequate resources for undergraduate students’ career development has been of utmost importance to meet demands from national agencies and industry leaders. At Arizona State University, the size of the undergraduate populations in the School of Life Sciences (SOLS) grew from 1,591 to 3,661, an increase of over 130% from 2003-2017. As of December 19, 2019, SOLS hosted a record 5,318 undergraduate majors on campus and 1,646 students in its online biological sciences program. This steady increase in life science undergraduate student enrollment at ASU attested to the need for appropriate career development education to be woven into the curriculum. Under the framework of higher education’s purpose to provide adequate resources for career success, a career development intervention was designed and implemented as a career planning course for life science students. The purpose of this project was to provide a continuum of job and career information to SOLS’ students to ensure they had appropriate, comprehensive information as they learned about and considered various career opportunities in the life sciences. Three theoretical perspectives guided the research project: Holland’s (1985, 1997) theory of vocational personalities and their connections to work environments, Sampson, Peterson, Reardon and Lenz’s (2003) cognitive information processing career decision theory (CIP), and Bandura’s (1986) self-efficacy theory. Survey results showed increases in all seven constructs—knowledge of career exploration and development tasks, perception of possible professional and career goals and opportunities, goal selection, occupational information, problem solving, planning, self-appraisal—over time among the students. Interview data indicated students noted (a) enrollment in the course for reasons such as determining a career choice that met their needs and preferences while managing expectations and pressures from external sources; (b) broadening perceptions of career options, and (c) developing career exploration and planning skills. The success from this discipline-specific career development course was timely because university leaders were seeking solutions to increase students’ career readiness. The discussion focused on complementarity of the data, connections to the extant research, implications for practice and research, personal lessons learned, and a conclusion.
ContributorsChristianson, Serena L. (Author) / Buss, Ray R. (Thesis advisor) / Fong, Raquel (Committee member) / Reardon, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021