Months Of Employment Research Articles

Links between work experiences and organizational commitment during the first year of employment: A longitudinal analysis*

In this study, the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire and self‐report measures of work experiences were completed by newly hired university graduates 1, 6 and 11 months after starting employment. The time‐lagged influence of work experiences on commitment, and of commitment on work experiences, was examined using structural regression analyses. The results revealed effects of work experiences in the first month of employment on commitment measured after 6 and 11 months. The strongest and most consistent effects were obtained for confirmation of pre‐entry expectations and the opportunity for self‐expression. Some, albeit weaker, evidence was also provided for time‐lagged effects of commitment on perceived work experiences, particularly in the 6–11‐month lag. Implications for theory and research concerning the development of commitment are discussed.

Relationships Between Role Models And Role Perceptions Of New Graduate Nurses

This study was conducted to examine relationships between role models and role perceptions of new graduate nurses. The sample consisted of the 25 senior nursing students in a generic baccalaureate nursing program who were administered questionnaires 1 month prior to graduation and 3 months after beginning employment. Results indicated that: (a) a majority of faculty role models of new graduate nurses are replaced by work-related role models in the first 3 months of employment, (b) the most important role model characteristic was clinical experience/performance, and (c) role perception orientations of new graduate nurses are overwhelmingly professional prior to graduation, but become more bureaucratic after exposure to work-related models. This study validates the findings of similar research conducted over the past 25 years. Further research is needed into factors that lead to the perpetuation of a bureaucratic work environment and bureaucratic nurses, in spite of professionally oriented nursing education.

In Vivo Use of Picture Prompt Training to Increase Independent Work at a Restaurant

Procedures used to train an adult with severe disabilities to perform a variety of food service tasks in a restaurant are described. Dependent measures included (a) the rate of prompts delivered per 5-min interval and (b) the percentage of steps of the task analyses performed correctly. A multielement feature was embedded within a multiple baseline design, which allowed experimenters to determine when fading of instructional stimuli should occur. Maintenance and long-term follow-up data are presented. Following 20 months of employment, the owners continue to express their satisfaction with the participant's work performance.

Transition from student to physical therapist. Changes in perceptions of professional role and relationship between perceptions and job satisfaction.

A longitudinal study of 15 entry-level postbaccalaureate degree graduates was conducted to determine whether their perceptions of the professional role of the physical therapist and of self in that role changed after employment had begun and whether a relationship exists between these perceptions and job satisfaction. Data were collected by mail using a semantic differential test for measuring role perceptions and a questionnaire that included items related to job satisfaction and to demographic data. The return rate was 93%. At the time of data collection, the graduates had been employed for 12 to 18 months. The data on role perceptions were compared with data previously reported by Fincher Corb et al that had been collected on these same subjects when they entered the physical therapy education program and when they completed the program. Kendall's coefficient of concordance revealed significant differences (p less than .05) in three concepts relating to the professional role of the physical therapist and in one concept relating to self in that role. In each instance, the role perception score was lower after 12 to 18 months of employment. Job satisfaction scores were relatively high among the subjects. Spearman correlation coefficients calculated between job satisfaction and role perception scores revealed a positive and direct relationship between three role concepts and job satisfaction. Results of this study provide information about the professional socialization process in physical therapy.

Smile Though Your Heart Is Aching

However much it might sound like an old chestnut, this is not an apocryphal story. During my first month of employment in a library when my advisory work had consisted entirely of fielding questions about the availability of lavatories, public telephones and photocopiers I was approached by a man who said, “You used to have a book, I can't remember what it's called”, and vaguely waving towards the windows added, “it had a green cover and used to be over there”. For a timid waif, as yet unaware that there was such a grandiose thing as enquiry technique, this was a devastating challenge so I looked anxiously around for professional assistance. But as usual, my senior colleagues were either at a meeting, hiding from the public in the office or else out in the foyer harassing a defenceless pensioner for spilling tea over a crochet book. Manfully I single‐handedly set about the task. By careful questioning, some inspired guess‐work and a bit of luck (I still hadn't quite got the hang of the catalogue) I advanced from subject to title and triumphantly dug the required item out of the reserve store. Naturally it had a red cover.

Organizational Commitment: Pre-Employment Propensity and Initial Work Experiences

This study tracked the development of organizational commitment from a pre-employment period through the first three months of employment. All major linkages in the Mowday, Porter and Steers (1982) model of the determinants of organizational commitment were tested and supported. Commitment had a strong association with behavioral intentions to turnover, which in turn were significantly associated with subsequent turnover behavior.

The Effects of Youth Employment Program Participation On Later Employment

A three-year follow-up of a national sample of 419 youth employment training program participants and356 nonparticipants of comparable background showed that participants obtained more months of employment and had greater job satisfaction. These statistically significant differences were sustained even after controlling for the effects of age, sex, race/ethnicity, economic status, and local unemployment rate as well as for preprogram levels of education and reading ability. Program effectiveness, as determined by par ticipant-control differences in months of employment, was greater for minority than nonminority youth and greater for females than for males.

Cautionary Tales From Beginning Practitioners: The Fate of Personal Models of Social Work in Beginning Practice

Summary: The relationship between professional education and beginning practice is examined by considering whether the personal models of social work developed and reviewed by the individual during social work education survived the transition from student to autonomous practitioner. Fifteen University of Queensland social work graduates were engaged in a task of making explicit their personal models of social work, by way of repertory grid technique, in their first eight months of employment. The repertory grid was used as a conversational tool to monitor the development of and changes in their personal models of social work. The social workers were thus engaged in a process consciously reflecting on the meaning of, and the reasons for, these developments and changes. Whilst the study found that personal models do survive the transition to social work practice, it also highlighted areas of concern. On the whole graduates did not feel prepared for work, and the initial period of practice was one of considerable difficulty. Many experienced considerable difficulty in subsuming the organizational context within their personal model of social work.

Tales of the Unexpected: Surprises Experienced by Graduates in the Early Months of Employment

Abstract Although newcomers to work organisations attempt to anticipate what will happen to them, there are often unexpected events and perceptions which can have a major impact. These surprises are an important aspect of their experiences. The incidence and nature of surprises experienced by 104 graduates in their first few months of employment, and the role of surprises in making sense of the new work environment, are explored. The general atmosphere at work was the most commonly reported source of surprise, whilst the nature of the work and the respondents' own feelings and reactions were least commonly reported as surprising. However, these latter two sources of surprise were relatively frequently reported as sources of graduates' single most surprising experience. Illustrations are given of the role of surprise in adjustment to work, and the results are discussed with particular reference to their implications for careers counselling.

Tales of the unexpected: Surprises experienced by graduates in the early months of employment

Tales of the unexpected: Surprises experienced by graduates in the early months of employment

Changes in respiratory variables of grain handlers and civic workers during their initial months of employment.

The health effects of employment as a grain handler were studied by examining workers on two occasions, firstly, immediately before or soon after they were hired and again about two and a half months after they were employed. Over this time there was a substantial increase in the prevalence of cough, sputum, and eye irritation, accompanied by small pulmonary function changes suggestive of a restrictive ventilatory defect. No comparable changes in symptoms were observed over a similar number of months in grain handlers employed for an average of nine years or in control workers consisting of newly hired or long term civic outside labourers. The long term grain handlers, however, developed a similar change in their pulmonary function. These findings indicate the occurrence of a change in the health of grain elevator workers after a relatively brief duration of employment.

Program evaluation in epilepsy rehabilitation.

The Vocational Services Program of the University of Washington Regional Epilepsy Center is described, and data relating to the first 106 clients who entered the program are examined. A major emphasis of the study was characteristic differences between those clients later competitively employed and program dropouts. Other study purposes related to examining client satisfaction ratings of different aspects of services and establishing whether a relationship existed between seizure occurrences and job loss. Stepwise discriminant function analysis indicated that "months employed in the last 24" appeared to be the stable discriminator between the employed and dropout groups. The group later employed averaged 12 of the prior 24 months in employment, whereas dropouts approximated 7. Associated psychiatric/addictions treatment was initially a key outcome discriminator, but it did not hold up on cross-validation. Subjects were more satisfied with individualized client services (e.g., counseling sessions) than with group activities (e.g., Job Club). As opposed to seizures, emotional/attitudinal difficulties with this rehabilitation population appeared to be the primary reason for job loss. A work adjustment or job station program can be critical for these individuals and others with neurological impairments. The importance of counselor follow-up after the initial job placement is also underscored. This program, with about half of its clients entering unsubsidized jobs, basically replicated the results of other community-oriented epilepsy rehabilitation programs.

Sister chromatid exchange in response to variations in occupational lead exposure

Sister chromatid exchange (SCE) rates in 10 long-term lead-exposed men increased significantly with increasing zinc protoporphyrin concentration in blood. SCE rates were also related to blood lead levels, but this correlation was not statistically significant. These results were obtained before the summer vacation. Six men were examined again shortly after the vacation; both SCE rates and lead-exposure parameters had decreased significantly. An increase was seen in one worker; however, this result could be related to a serious disease for which he was undergoing treatment. Continued examinations showed a tendency of increasing SCE rates and exposure parameters, but the follow-up was too incomplete to allow a statistical analysis. Further studies of 18 newly employed workers failed to show any increase in SCE during the first 4 months of employment despite some increases in both zinc protoporphyrin and lead levels in the blood. The results obtained suggest that a genotoxic effect due to inorganic lead may occur in long-term lead-exposed workers.

Environmental epidemiologic investigation of the styrene-butadiene rubber industry. Mortality patterns with discussion of the hematopoietic and lymphatic malignancies.

A retrospective cohort mortality study and an industrial hygiene assessment were undertaken in two styrene-butadiene rubber producing facilities in eastern Texas. Occupational history records were available from 1943 at plant A and from 1950 at plant B to the study cut-off date of 31 March 1976. With a two-sided test statistic, no statistically significant excesses in total or cause-specific mortality were observed for the overall worker population of either plant. However, the plant A study group demonstrated a nonsignificant statistical excess [standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of 203] for the cause-specific category of leukemia and aleukemia. Additional analyses were performed on a subgroup consisting of all white males with at least six months of employment at plant A between the beginning of 1943 and the end of 1945, a time which coincided with process and operational changes. An SMR of 278, also not statistically significant, was demonstrated for the leukemia and aleukemia cause-specific category. Due to the relative modest study population sizes, the power of this study to detect statistically significant excesses in leukemias or other malignancies of the hematopoietic and lymphatic tissues is not very large unless one is interested in substantial excesses, such as those that would correspond to a fourfold increase in risk.

Blood lead level and lead exposure of industrial workers in suburban Tokyo

Blood lead concentrations were determined at intervals between 1975 and 1980 from two groups of industrial workers, a group of highway repairmen, and workers from a lead-using electrical manufacturing plant in suburban Tokyo. The average blood lead content of the highway repairmen ranged from 9.6 ± 3.2 to 11.5 ± 4.7 μg/100 mol. The blood lead content of every factory worker employed as such for over 5 years was at least twice that of the highway repair crew members. Among the factory workers, variations in blood lead levels were greater between the workers in any given sampling period than those of an individual worker over the 5-year study period. The high, steady blood levels in the factory workers were attained within 6 months of employment.

Mortality and Cancer Rates among Workers in the Swedish PVC Processing Industry

Personnel lists from four PVC-processing industries were collected on production of employees with at least three months of employment at the beginning of 1945 and the last day of employment December 31, 1974. Of 2073 persons, 103 could not be followed up, because they had moved abroad. The remaining persons comprise the cohort of 1970 individuals who were analyzed and compared with the national population with respect to mortality from various diseases and cancer morbidity. The death risk from myocardial infarction is elevated in the cohort. This elevation is most clearly apparent in the subcohort which had at least two years of exposure time and where the analysis was directed at circumstances chronologically close to the time of exposure. The myocardial infarction risk related to vinyl chloride exposure is discussed in relation to earlier studies on the vascular effects of vinyl chloride. An indication of an elevated risk of morbidity and mortality from tumors in the digestive organs is also present. However, this is not statistically confirmed. A few future follow-ups of the present study are necessary in order to clarify any possible elevated risk of tumors in the PVC-processing industry.

Mortality and cancer rates among workers in the Swedish PVC processing industry.

Personnel lists from four PVC-processing industries were collected on production of employees with at least three months of employment at the beginning of 1945 and the last day of employment December 31, 1974. Of 2073 persons, 103 could not be followed up, because they had moved abroad. The remaining persons comprise the cohort of 1970 individuals who were analyzed and compared with the national population with respect to mortality from various diseases and cancer morbidity. The death risk from myocardial infarction is elevated in the cohort. This elevation is most clearly apparent in the subcohort which had at least two years of exposure time and where the analysis was directed at circumstances chronologically close to the time of exposure. The myocardial infarction risk related to vinyl chloride exposure is discussed in relation to earlier studies on the vascular effects of vinyl chloride. An indication of an elevated risk of morbidity and mortality from tumors in the digestive organs is also present. However, this is not statistically confirmed. A few future follow-ups of the present study are necessary in order to clarify any possible elevated risk of tumors in the PVC-processing industry.

Occupational Role Development: The Changing Determinants of Outcomes for the Individual

This research examined the development of an occupational role from one month before the role incumbent's graduation from training to five months into the first job. Kahn et al.'s (1964) theory of ""expectation-generated role stress" provided a conceptual framework for the development of a causal model of role development. A national sample of 181 physicians' assistants (PAs) and their supervising physicians reported by questionnaire on actual and expected PA task performance and participation in decision making at three points during the period of interest. Task data were used to derive three measures of objective role ambiguity and conflict. In addition, PAs provided data on perceived role ambiguity and conflict and attitudes about work, A path analytic technique was applied to the model to examine changes over time. Results suggest that, during the first months of employment, the role occupant passes through different stages of development, during which the determinants of outcomes change. This notion of changing causal structure was supported by the identification of four casual patterns of outcomes, the changing strength of prediction models, and the changing effects of discrepancies between pre-job expectation and on-the-job reality. Role-development stages are discussed in terms of rational and emotional processes, and implications for theory, research, and practice are proposed.

Mobility among young workers in a multi-ethnic community

Abstract The job experiences of a group of young people of English and Pakistani origin who had left school four years earlier at the age of 16 were investigated using interviews and retrospective data from careers-office files. Job-changing had been frequent during the first 18 months of employment, with changes being largely of a non-promotional kind. Those who had experienced regular non-promotional job-change tended to have had low attainment in basic educational skills and inadequately developed vocational attitudes and personalities when leaving school. Yet in the majority of cases early mobility had led to stability by the end of the fourth post-school year. It is suggested that early job-changing may serve a positive function for the individuals concerned Implications for careers guidance in school are discussed.

Mobility among young workers in a multi-ethnic community

Abstract The job experiences of a group of young people of English and Pakistani origin who had left school four years earlier at the age of 16 were investigated using interviews and retrospective data from careers-office files. Job-changing had been frequent during the first 18 months of employment, with changes being largely of a non-promotional kind. Those who had experienced regular non-promotional job-change tended to have had low attainment in basic educational skills and inadequately developed vocational attitudes and personalities when leaving school. Yet in the majority of cases early mobility had led to stability by the end of the fourth post-school year. It is suggested that early job-changing may serve a positive function for the individuals concerned Implications for careers guidance in school are discussed.