Although many scholars believe that intrinsic motivation fuels creativity, research has returned equivocal results. Drawing on motivated information processing theory, we propose that the relationship between intrinsic motivation and creativity is enhanced by other-focused psychological processes. Perspective taking, as generated by prosocial motivation, encourages employees to develop ideas that are useful as well as novel. In three studies, using both field and lab data, we found that prosocial motivation strengthened the association between intrinsic motivation kind independent creativity ratings. In our second and third studies, perspective taking mediated this moderating effect. We discuss theoretical implications for creativity and motivation.

The purpose of this paper is to present organisational cultural determinants that can influence total quality management (TQM) in clinical laboratories.

A survey of 887 employees in a German government agency assessed the antecedents and consequences of idiosyncratic arrangements individual workers negotiated with their supervisors. Work arrangements promoting the individualization of employment conditions, such as part-time work and telecommuting, were positively related to the negotiation of idiosyncratic deals ("i-deals"). Worker personal initiative also had a positive effect on i-deal negotiation. Two types of i-deals were studied: flexibility in hours of work and developmental opportunities. Flexibility i-deals were negatively related and developmental i-deals positively related to work-family conflict and working unpaid overtime. Developmental i-deals were also positively related to increased performance expectations and affective organizational commitment, while flexibility i-deals were unrelated to either.

Leader consideration has long been suggested to be conducive to quality of working life experienced by employees. The present study links this classic leadership dimension with more recent research on idiosyncratic deals, referring to personalized conditions workers negotiate in their employment relationships. A two-wave survey study (N=159/142) among German hospital physicians suggests that authorizing idiosyncratic deals is a manifestation of employee-oriented leader behavior. Consideration had consistent positive effects on idiosyncratic deals regarding both professional development and working time flexibility. These two types had differential effects on two indicators of the quality of working life. Development related positively to work engagement, flexibility related negatively to work-family conflict. Cross-lagged correlations supported the proposed direction of influence between consideration and idiosyncratic deals in a subsample of repeating responders (n=91). The relation between development and engagement appeared to be reciprocal. Longitudinal results for the association between flexibility and work-family conflict were inconclusive.

We tested the job demands--job control model of stress with a group of 136 registered nurses. Significant interactions between subjective and objective measures of work load and a measure of perceived control predicting physiological and attitudinal outcomes indicated support for the model. In addition, objectively assessed job demands were significantly associated with blood pressure and cortisol levels. The model also predicted elevations in physiological responses after individuals left work, suggesting that potentially health-impairing reactions to jobs that have high demands and low controllability might carry over to home settings and thus pose a high risk of long-term health impairment. The results have implications for the role of personal control in occupational stress generally and for nurse-management practices specifically.

This article presents a longitudinal examination of antecedents and outcomes of work-to-family conflict. A total of 106 employees participating in an experience-sampling study were asked to respond to daily surveys both at work and at home, and their spouses were interviewed daily via telephone for a period of 2 weeks. Intraindividual analyses revealed that employees' perceptions of workload predicted work-to-family conflict over time, even when controlling for the number of hours spent at work. Workload also influenced affect at work, which in turn influenced affect at home. Finally, perhaps the most interesting finding in this study was that employees' behaviors in the family domain (reported by spouses) were predicted by the employees' perceptions of work-to-family conflict and their positive affect at home.

Attachment research has traditionally focused on individual differences in global patterns of attachment to important others. The current research instead focuses primarily on within-person variability in attachments across relational partners. It was predicted that within-person variability would be substantial, even among primary attachment figures of mother, father, romantic partner, and best friend. The prediction was supported in three studies. Furthermore, in line with self-determination theory, multilevel modeling and regression analyses showed that, at the relationship level, individuals' experience of fulfillment of the basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness positively predicted overall attachment security, model of self, and model of other. Relations of both attachment and need satisfaction to well-being were also explored.

The exponential rise in healthcare costs in developed nations has sharpened the need for greater "value" in healthcare. Porter's (2010) seminal work is one of the most cited definitions and equation for value-based care. The pursuit of greater value in our healthcare system is of paramount importance, yet translating value-based healthcare (VBHC) into a framework that can be effectively utilized in the Canadian system remains a challenge. To address this challenge, we propose that VBHC can be adapted to fit the Canadian healthcare system through (1) visionary leadership for and conceptualization of VBHC at the federal government level and (2) thoughtful application of VBHC at the provincial government level. Our applied value in healthcare framework serves as a platform from which VBHC initiatives, programs and outcome measures can be systematically organized and executed within provincial healthcare systems. This methodical approach could support both provincial ministries and their health systems in pursuit of VBHC and provide the basis for explicit measurement of VBHC success, thereby helping to address the pressing issue of sustainability of the Canadian healthcare system while optimizing patient-centred outcomes of care.

We examine how supervisor-triggered newcomer affect may link supervisor behaviors with newcomer adjustment and performance. Using emotion as feedback system theory and the approach-avoidance framework, we investigate the influence of newcomers' accumulated supervisor-directed affect on their outcomes. We develop scales to measure the proposed construct, supervisor-triggered newcomer affect, using multicompany samples and test the hypothesized model using longitudinal, multisource data from an Indian information technology company. Results indicate that supervisor-triggered newcomer affect plays an important role in the process of newcomer adjustment. This study contributes to research on newcomer adjustment and the longer-term role of target-specific affect in the context of supervisor-subordinate relationships.

Although a growing number of leadership writers argue leader humility is important to organizational effectiveness, little is known about the construct, why some leaders behave more humbly than others, what these behaviors lead to, or what factors moderate the effectiveness of these behaviors. Drawing from 55 in-depth interviews with leaders from a wide variety of contexts, we develop a model of the behaviors, outcomes, and contingencies of humble leadership. We uncover that leader humility involves leaders modeling to followers how to grow and produces positive organizational outcomes by leading followers to believe that their own developmental journeys and feelings of uncertainty are legitimate in the workplace. We discuss how the emergent humility in leadership model informs a broad range of leadership issues, including organizational development and change, the evolution of leader-follower relationships, new pathways for engaging followers, and integrating top-down and bottom-up organizing.

AbstractDoes job control act as a stress-buffer when employees’ type and level of work self-determination is taken into account? It was anticipated that job control would only be stress-buffering for employees high in self-determined and low in non-self-determined work motivation. In contrast, job control would be stress-exacerbating for employees who were low in self-determined and high in non-self-determined work motivation. Employees of a health insurance organization (N = 123) completed a survey on perceptions of role overload, job control, work self-determination, and a range of strain and engagement indicators. Results revealed that, when individuals high in self-determination perceived high job control, they experienced greater engagement (in the form of dedication to their work). In addition, when individuals high in non-self-determination perceived high job demands, they experienced more health complaints. A significant 3-way interaction demonstrated that, for individuals low in non-self-determination, high job control had the anticipated stress-buffering effect on engagement (in the form of absorption in their work). In addition, low job control was stress-exacerbating. However, contrary to expectations, for those high in non-self-determination, high job control was just as useful as low job control as a stress-buffer. The practical applications of these findings to the organizational context are discussed.]]>

The objective of this experimental study is to capture the dynamic temporal processes that occur in changing work settings and to test how work control and individuals' motivational predispositions interact to predict reactions to these changes. To this aim, we examine the moderating effects of global self-determined and non-self-determined motivation, at different levels of work control, on participants' adaptation and stress reactivity to changes in workload during four trials of an inbox activity. Workload was increased or decreased at Trial 3, and adaptation to this change was examined via fluctuations in anxiety, coping, motivation, and performance. In support of the hypotheses, results revealed that, for non-self-determined individuals, low work control was stress-buffering and high work control was stress-exacerbating when predicting anxiety and intrinsic motivation. In contrast, for self-determined individuals, high work control facilitated the adaptive use of planning coping in response to a change in workload. Overall, this pattern of results demonstrates that, while high work control was anxiety-provoking and demotivating for non-self-determined individuals, self-determined individuals used high work control to implement an adaptive antecedent-focused emotion regulation strategy (i.e., planning coping) to meet situational demands. Other interactive effects of global motivation emerged on anxiety, active coping, and task performance. These results and their practical implications are discussed.

Goal-setting is a widely used and accepted strategy for promoting physical activity. Locke and Latham's goal-setting theory is the primary theoretical framework for setting goals in psychology and plays a prominent role in physical activity promotion. Recently, however, there have been calls to reconsider current goal-setting practice in this field. Therefore, we aimed to critically review and update the application of goal-setting theory in physical activity promotion, by examining core developments in this theory since 1990. Current practice relies on setting specific 'performance' goals as a means of increasing physical activity (e.g., 10,000 steps; national physical activity guidelines). This approach was initially consistent with key tenets of goal-setting theory. However, since 1990 this theory has evolved to differentiate between performance and learning goals. Both goal types are context-dependent and it is now recognised that, in some cases, performance goals can even be detrimental to the achievement of desired outcomes. Consequently, current practice may be theoretically appropriate for physically active individuals but a different approach (e.g., learning goals) may be preferable for inactive individuals who are new to physical activity (i.e., most of the population). We conclude by discussing implications for policy, research, and practice in goal-setting for physical activity promotion.

Geographic range size has long fascinated ecologists and evolutionary biologists, yet our understanding of the factors that cause variation in range size among species and across space remains limited. Not only does geographic range size inform decisions about the conservation and management of rare and nonindigenous species due to its relationship with extinction risk, rarity, and invasiveness, but it also provides insights into fundamental processes such as dispersal and adaptation. There are several features unique to plants (e.g., polyploidy, mating system, sessile habit) that may lead to distinct mechanisms explaining variation in range size. Here, we highlight key studies testing intrinsic and extrinsic hypotheses about geographic range size under contrasting scenarios where species' ranges are static or change over time. We then present results from a meta-analysis of the relative importance of commonly hypothesized determinants of range size in plants. We show that our ability to infer the relative importance of these determinants is limited, particularly for dispersal ability, mating system, ploidy, and environmental heterogeneity. We highlight avenues for future research that merges approaches from macroecology and evolutionary ecology to better understand how adaptation and dispersal interact to facilitate niche evolution and range expansion.

The term future work self refers to an individual's representation of himself or herself in the future that reflects his or her hopes and aspirations in relation to work. The clearer and more accessible this representation, the more salient the future work self. An initial study with 2 samples (N = 397; N = 103) showed that future work self salience was distinct from established career concepts and positively related to individuals' proactive career behavior. A follow-up longitudinal analysis, Study 2 (N = 53), demonstrated that future work self salience had a lagged effect on proactive career behavior. In Study 3 (N = 233), we considered the role of elaboration, a further attribute of a future work self, and showed that elaboration motivated proactive career behavior only when future work self salience was also high. Together the studies suggest the power of future work selves as a motivational resource for proactive career behavior.

AbstractThe study examined the Pygmalion process for creativity among 140 R&D employees. Results generally supported the Pygmalion model. Supervisors holding higher expectations for employee creativity were perceived by employees as behaving more supportively of creativity. The effects of these behaviors on employee creative self-efficacy were mediated by employee view of creativity expectations. Creative self-efficacy mediated the effects of supervisor expectations, supervisor behaviors, and employee view, on creative performance. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.]]>

Self-determination theory posits that the degree to which a prosocial act is volitional or autonomous predicts its effect on well-being and that psychological need satisfaction mediates this relation. Four studies tested the impact of autonomous and controlled motivation for helping others on well-being and explored effects on other outcomes of helping for both helpers and recipients. Study 1 used a diary method to assess daily relations between prosocial behaviors and helper well-being and tested mediating effects of basic psychological need satisfaction. Study 2 examined the effect of choice on motivation and consequences of autonomous versus controlled helping using an experimental design. Study 3 examined the consequences of autonomous versus controlled helping for both helpers and recipients in a dyadic task. Finally, Study 4 manipulated motivation to predict helper and recipient outcomes. Findings support the idea that autonomous motivation for helping yields benefits for both helper and recipient through greater need satisfaction. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Self-determination Theory focuses on the motivation of human behaviors and the conditions within organizations that promote optimal motivation. This review discusses the philosophical basis of SDT, which uses organismic and dialectical assumptions. It also summarizes research on work motivation in organizations that has been guided by SDT. The research confirms the SDT perspective which suggests that organizational factors that support satisfaction of employees’ basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness will promote intrinsic motivation and the internalization of extrinsic motivation, which will in turn promote effective performance and psychological health in organizations.

Future work self (FWS), a future-oriented concept, refers to representation of the self in the future that reflects individual’s hopes and aspirations in relation to work. FWS is the application of possible self in the field of work, and provides us with a new perspective for understanding the motivation of proactive career behaviors. Distinct from occupational possible self, FWS has two critical attributes, i.e., future work self salience (FWSS) and future work self elaboration (FWSE). At present, empirical studies have suggested that self-esteem, proactive personality and career exploration can predict FWS, while FWS can influence proactive career behaviors, job search outcomes, creativity and job performance. Future research should focus on FWS elasticity and accessibility, the predicting effect of cognition, the mediating effect of emotions, the moderating effect of leadership styles and intervention effect.