TY - JOUR

T1 - Focus on opportunities as a boundary condition of the relationship between job control and work engagement: A multi-sample, multi-method study

AU - Schmitt, Antje

AU - Zacher, Hannes

AU - de Lange, Annet H.

PY - 2013/10/1

Y1 - 2013/10/1

N2 - The concept of focus on opportunities describes how many new goals, options, and possibilities employees believe to have in their personal future at work. In this multi-sample, multi-method study, the authors investigated relationships between focus on opportunities and general and daily work engagement and the moderating role of focus on opportunities on between- and within-person relationships between job control and work engagement. Based on a social cognitive theory framework on the motivating potential of a future temporal focus, it was hypothesized that focus on opportunities is positively related to work engagement. Further, consistent with the notion of compensatory resources, it was expected that job control is not related to work engagement among employees with a high focus on opportunities, whereas job control, as an external resource of the work environment, is positively related to work engagement among employees with a low focus on opportunities. Both a cross-sectional survey study (N=174) and a daily diary study (N=64) supported the hypotheses. The study contributes to research on the job demands-resources model as it emphasizes the role of focus on opportunities as a motivational factor in the relationship between job control and work engagement.

AB - The concept of focus on opportunities describes how many new goals, options, and possibilities employees believe to have in their personal future at work. In this multi-sample, multi-method study, the authors investigated relationships between focus on opportunities and general and daily work engagement and the moderating role of focus on opportunities on between- and within-person relationships between job control and work engagement. Based on a social cognitive theory framework on the motivating potential of a future temporal focus, it was hypothesized that focus on opportunities is positively related to work engagement. Further, consistent with the notion of compensatory resources, it was expected that job control is not related to work engagement among employees with a high focus on opportunities, whereas job control, as an external resource of the work environment, is positively related to work engagement among employees with a low focus on opportunities. Both a cross-sectional survey study (N=174) and a daily diary study (N=64) supported the hypotheses. The study contributes to research on the job demands-resources model as it emphasizes the role of focus on opportunities as a motivational factor in the relationship between job control and work engagement.

KW - Business psychology

KW - work engagement

KW - forcus on opportunities

KW - job control

KW - daily diary study

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84881670166&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/6c216e63-693f-3798-aa92-535050c91ea8/

U2 - 10.1080/1359432x.2012.698055

DO - 10.1080/1359432x.2012.698055

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 22

SP - 505

EP - 519

JO - European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology

JF - European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology

SN - 1359-432X

IS - 5

ER -