Abstract
Work motivation is critical for successful school-to-work transitions, but little is known about its determinants among labor market entrants. Applying a social identity framework, we examined whether work motivation and job searching are social-contextually determined. We expected that some job seekers are more sensitive to contextual influence, depending on their personality. Mediation analyses on 591 Dutch vocational training students indicate that the perception of more positive work norms in someone's social context was related to higher levels of intrinsic motivation, which in turn predicted higher preparatory job search behavior and job search intentions. Multi-group analysis shows that perceived work norms more strongly predict work motivation among overcontrollers compared to resilients and undercontrollers. In conclusion, work motivation and job searching appear contextually determined: especially among those sensitive to contextual influence, people seem to work when they believe that is what people like them do.
Highlights
We study the extent to which perceived group norms in someone’s social context are relevant to individual work motivation and job search behavior, and whether these relations differ between personality types
To decide on the number of classes, we considered the interpretability of the classes as well as the best model fit indices for Latent Class Analysis (LCA): Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) and Bootstrapped Likelihood Ratio Test (BLRT) (Nylund et al, 2007)
In line with expectations, perceived work norms are positively correlated with indicators of work motivation and job searching
Summary
Focusing on the domain of work, abundant research has shown that motivated employees are more involved and perform better in their job (e.g., van Knippenberg and Schie, 2000; Barrick et al, 2002), while motivated labor market entrants are more involved and successful in their job search process (see Kanfer et al, 2001, for a metaanalysis). Building on the social identity framework that has been used among employees, we examine whether labor market entrants’ work motivation is social-contextually determined. This social-contextual influence on the job search process may be especially strong for people who are sensitive to social contexts. We study the extent to which perceived group norms in someone’s social context are relevant to individual work motivation and job search behavior, and whether these relations differ between personality types (i.e., resilients, overcontrollers, undercontrollers)
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