Abstract
Research has shown that individual differences in adult attachment predict several organizational outcomes. However, little is known about the mechanism that underlies these associations. The current study examines whether self-compassion can serve as a potential mediator explaining the associations between individual differences in attachment and organizational outcomes. Four outcome measures were evaluated: job performance (HPQ; Kessler et al., 2003), organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) (Goodman and Svyantek, 1999), turnover intentions (Abrams et al., 1998), and emotional exhaustion (Schaufeli et al., 1996). In addition, participants (N = 202, response rate 81%) also completed several questionnaires assessing attachment style (ECR; Brennan et al., 1998) and self-compassion (SCS; Neff, 2003). Using structural equation modeling (SEM) for testing the research hypotheses, the hypothesized model was supported, with self-compassion mediating the relationship between attachment styles and all four work-related outcomes. The research findings suggest that self-compassion can provide a solid mechanism for understanding organizational outcomes and for understanding individual differences related to attachment functioning in the workplace.
Highlights
Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1982) provides a fundamental relational framework for understanding how people experience their close relationships, interpret the other’s intentions, and how they regulate their affect and behaviors in social settings (Collins et al, 2006; Mikulincer and Shaver, 2017; Fraley, 2019)
Recent accumulating evidence has indicated that individual differences in attachment predict employee functioning and organizational outcomes at the workplace, such as employment relationships (Albert et al, 2015; Yip et al, 2018), burnout (e.g., Reizer, 2015), organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) (e.g., Harms et al, 2016), job performance (Ronen and Zuroff, 2017), and turnover intentions (e.g., Richards and Schat, 2011)
By expanding the knowledge of the mechanisms of attachment, the current study suggests that self-compassion can explain the effect of attachment on diverse organizational outcomes
Summary
Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1982) provides a fundamental relational framework for understanding how people experience their close relationships, interpret the other’s intentions, and how they regulate their affect and behaviors in social settings (Collins et al, 2006; Mikulincer and Shaver, 2017; Fraley, 2019). Recent accumulating evidence has indicated that individual differences in attachment predict employee functioning and organizational outcomes at the workplace, such as employment relationships (Albert et al, 2015; Yip et al, 2018), burnout (e.g., Reizer, 2015), organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) (e.g., Harms et al, 2016), job performance (Ronen and Zuroff, 2017), and turnover intentions (e.g., Richards and Schat, 2011). This stream of research is still burgeoning, with nearly 50% of the papers on attachment at the workplace having been published after 2010 (Yip et al, 2018, p. 186).
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