Positive gain spirals at work: From job resources to work engagement, personal initiative and work-unit innovativeness

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Abstract

The present cross-lagged panel study aimed to investigate the energizing power of job resources and related gain spirals. Drawing on Hobfoll’s Conservation of Resources (COR) theory’s rarely tested assumptions of cumulative resource gains and gain spirals a reciprocal process was expected: (1) job resources lead to work engagement and work engagement leads to personal initiative (PI), which, in turn, has a positive impact on work-unit innovativeness, and (2) work-unit innovativeness leads to PI, which has a positive impact on work engagement, which finally predicts future job resources. The study was based on a two-wave 3-year panel design among 2555 Finnish dentists. Structural equation modeling was employed to study cross-lagged associations. The results mainly confirmed our hypotheses: positive and reciprocal cross-lagged associations were found between job resources and work engagement and between work engagement and PI. In addition, PI had a positive impact on work-unit innovativeness over time.

Introduction

In modern organizations, employees are expected to be engaged in their work, show initiative and be innovative, and to achieve this, organizations should arrange working conditions with sufficient motivating and energizing resources (Schaufeli & Salanova, 2006). In the current study, we propose that the positive strengths in work life may cluster together resulting in resource gains and upward spirals in individual employees as well as in their work communities. To gain actual information regarding these assumptions, we investigated the reciprocal cross-lagged effects between task-level job resources, work engagement, personal initiative, and work-unit innovativeness using two-wave 3-year follow-up data among Finnish dentists.

The impact of various resources on well-being has been widely acknowledged. For example, Stevan Hobfoll’s influential Conservation of Resources (COR) theory assumes that various resources are salient factors in gaining new resources and enhancing well-being (Hobfoll, 1998, Hobfoll, 2001, Westman et al., 2004). According to the theory, resources are things that people value and therefore strive to obtain, retain, and protect. In addition, one of the sub-principles of the COR theory posits that whereas those with fewer resources are more vulnerable to resource loss, those with greater resources are, correspondingly, less vulnerable to resource loss and more capable of resource gain (Hobfoll, 2001). This signifies a general tendency for enrichment of resources among those with initial resource reservoir with the consequence that increasing resources tend to form resource caravans (Hobfoll, 2002).

Similarly, in the occupational context, the Job Demands–Resources model (JD-R model; Bakker and Demerouti, 2007, Demerouti et al., 2001) has underlined the motivational and wellness-promoting potential of job-related resources. The JD-R model posits that various job demands (e.g. time pressure, emotional workload, problems in physical work environment) may lead to resource loss, such as health problems and drainage of employee’s energy resources in the form of, for instance, burnout. On the other hand, the JD-R model also suggests that job resources (e.g. autonomy, immediate feedback, and rewards) are especially salient for resource gain, for example, true well-being and motivation at work, also termed work engagement. Thus, regarding resource losses and gains the JD-R model can be viewed as a specific work-related application of the more general and parsimonious COR theory.

Demerouti and her colleagues (2001) have defined job resources as those physical, psychological, social, or organizational aspects of the job that not only potentially reduce the negative effects of job demands and help to achieve work goals but may also stimulate personal growth, learning and development − and positive state of work engagement. Work engagement is defined as a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption (Schaufeli, Salanova, González-Roma, & Bakker, 2002). Vigor refers to high levels of energy and mental resilience while working, the willingness to invest effort in one’s work, and persistence in the face of difficulties. Dedication is characterized by a sense of significance, enthusiasm, inspiration, pride, and challenge. The third defining characteristic of engagement is identified as absorption, a sense of being fully concentrated and happily engrossed in one’s work, so that time passes quickly and detaching oneself from work may seem difficult.

Research shows that job resources indeed are important antecedents of work engagement. For example, Mauno and her colleagues (Mauno, Kinnunen, & Ruokolainen, 2007) found that job control and organization-based self-esteem were the best lagged predictors of the three dimensions of work engagement among Finnish health care personnel. In an experimental study, Llorens, Schaufeli, Bakker, and Salanova (2007) showed that task resources (time and method control) predicted work engagement via efficacy. In addition, among Finnish teachers several job resources, such as job control, supervisor support, access to information, and good organizational climate, were positively associated with work engagement (Hakanen, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2006). Moreover, by boosting work engagement, job resources may also initiate far-reaching motivational processes that extend beyond employee well-being. Studies by Schaufeli and Bakker (2004) and Hakanen and his colleagues (2006) showed that job resources had a positive impact on various indicators of organizational commitment through work engagement. In addition, Salanova, Agut, and Peiró (2005) found that work engagement mediated the impact of organizational job resources on performance and on customer loyalty.

In the current study that derives its foundation from the COR theory, we expect that while job resources will predict increased work engagement, work engagement will predict future personal initiative. Personal initiative (PI) refers to active and initiative-taking behaviour that goes beyond the formal requirements at work. More specifically, PI: (1) is consistent with the organization’s mission, (2) has long-term focus, (3) is goal directed and action oriented, (4) is persistent when facing barriers or setbacks, and (5) is self-starting and proactive (Frese, Fay, Hilburger, Leng, & Tag, 1997). As a characteristic, PI is positively associated with performing well both in formal and informal tasks (Fay & Frese, 2001). Psychologically, the link from work engagement to PI can also be argued from the perspective of the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2000). According to this theory, positive emotions broaden people’s momentary thought-action repertoires and build their enduring personal resources. Feeling good sparks willingness to play, try things out, and experiment. This kind of initiative and creative activity fosters new ideas, novel solutions, and optimal functioning not just momentarily, but also in the long-term (Fredrickson, 2000). Thus, employees experiencing a positive state of emotional and motivational fulfilment at work, also termed work engagement, may over time acquire more initiative. We were able to locate two studies supporting this assumption. When interviewing engaged employees, Schaufeli and his colleagues (2001) found that these people were especially active in taking initiative at work. In addition, Sonnentag (2003) found that psychological recovery during leisure time predicted higher work engagement, which in turn positively predicted PI.

Finally, we expect that individual resource gains from job resources to work engagement and from work engagement to PI will boost work-unit innovativeness. In this study, we use the concept of innovativeness to refer to the perceptions of innovative behaviour and climate in one’s team or work-unit: discussing work tasks, means and goals in the workplace, making constant functional improvements, and getting feedback and proposals for improvement from clients. In previous studies, PI has been positively associated with individual innovative behavior (Miron et al., 2004, Ohly et al., 2006), and innovative organizational culture (Miron et al., 2004). The importance of individual innovativeness for work-unit innovativeness has also been established in previous studies (Bharadwaj and Menon, 2000, West and Anderson, 1996).

We constructed the following hypotheses related to resource gains:

  • Hypothesis 1a. Task-level job resources have a positive cross-lagged effect on work engagement.

  • Hypothesis 1b. Work engagement has a positive cross-lagged effect on PI.

  • Hypothesis 1c. PI has a cross-lagged, positive effect on perceptions of work-unit innovativeness.

So far, we have hypothesized a cumulative resource gain process from job resources to future work-unit innovativeness. Furthermore, we expect to find gain spirals between the study variables: in addition to the hypothesized causal effects, it may be hypothesized that reversed causal effects can also be detected between the study variables. For example, not only is it assumed that work engagement fosters PI, but PI may also predict future work engagement. Supporting the possibility of reciprocal relationships, Zapf, Dormann, and Frese (1996) found in their review on longitudinal studies on organizational stress at least some indications for a reverse causal effect in approximately half of the studies that tested reversed relationships. Support for the expected reciprocal effects can also be found from the propositions of “loss spirals” and “gain spirals” in the COR theory. According to Hobfoll, 1998, Hobfoll, 2001, those who lack resources are not only more vulnerable to resource loss, but initial loss also begets future loss. Conversely to this “loss spiral,” those who possess resources are more capable of gain, and in addition, initial resource gain begets future gain thus generating “gain spirals.” According to COR, these gain cycles are plausible, because when initial gains are made still greater resources become available: with resource surpluses employees and work-units are less vulnerable and able to invest more resources that are not required for everyday functioning or reserve capacity (Hobfoll, 1998, p. 82).

However, research has thus far shown more interest in resource losses and loss spirals than gain spirals (e.g. De Lange et al., 2004, Demerouti et al., 2004). One explanation for this could be that the COR theory emphasizes the primacy of loss processes, which are expected to be quicker and more impactful than gain cycles (Hobfoll, 2001). Another reason could lie in the general dominance of negative aspects in psychology in relation to positive psychology (Luthans, 2002). We were able locate two longitudinal studies supporting “gain spirals.”Salanova, Bakker, and Llorens (2006) have shown that school teachers’ personal and organizational resources led to positive flow experiences at work, while flow at work predicted personal and organizational resources. In another study, Llorens et al. (2007) found that task resources contributed to the work engagement of students, and work engagement increased task resources over time. Both these relationships were mediated by efficacy beliefs.

Following the assumptions of gain spirals, we expected that (1) work-unit innovativeness would promote PI, (2) PI would promote work engagement, and (3) work engagement would foster later task-level job resources. Although the positive consequences of innovativeness are sparsely examined (Anderson, de Dreu, & Nijstad, 2004) work-unit innovativeness can be expected to be positively related to future PI. Work-unit innovativeness may encourage employees and support new ways of doing things at work, being proactive, and going beyond the formal requirements of the job. The reversed associations from PI to work engagement and from work engagement to job resources would mean that the more an employee takes initiative, the more engaged he or she will become, and, in turn, more engaged employees may assess their job resources more positively and be more capable of acquiring and mobilizing new job resources. With view to reversed causal relationships and gain spirals, we formulated the following hypotheses:

  • Hypothesis 2a. The perception of work-unit innovativeness has a positive cross-lagged effect on PI.

  • Hypothesis 2b. PI has a positive cross-lagged effect on work engagement.

  • Hypothesis 2c. Work engagement has a positive cross-lagged effect on task-level job resources.

Taken together, the study model consisting of the hypothesized cross-lagged reciprocal relationships is depicted in Fig. 1.

Section snippets

Participants and procedure

Data was first gathered through a postal questionnaire survey between January and April 2003 and again between January and April 2006. An interval of 3 years for the follow-up was based on practical decisions and financial arrangements, and could not be influenced by the researchers. In the first phase, the questionnaire was posted to every working-age member of Finnish Dental Association (N = 4531) covering 98% of all Finnish dentists. At baseline, 71% (N = 3255) returned the questionnaire. The

Descriptive statistics

Means, standard deviations, and intercorrelations between the study variables are presented in Table 1. All the study variables correlated positively with each other. The dimensions of work engagement correlated highly over 3 years (ranging from .67 to .71). Similarly, PI was rather stable over time (the Pearson correlation was .66). Out of the work engagement dimensions, dedication seemed to have the highest temporal and synchronous correlations with job resources, whereas vigor seemed to have

Discussion

The aim of this two-wave 3-year cross-lagged panel study among Finnish dentists was to examine positive resource caravans and gain spirals at work. In particular, our purpose was twofold: (1) to study resource gain hypothesis, or explore whether or not job resources lead to future work engagement, work engagement to future PI, and finally PI to future work-unit innovativeness and (2) to investigate gain spiral hypothesis, in other words, whether reciprocal cross-lagged relationships can be

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Finnish Work Environment Fund (Grant No. 105325) and the Finnish Dental Association.

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