Journal article
The Ebb and Flow of Job Engagement: Engagement Variability and Emotional Stability as Interactive Predictors of Job Performance
Journal of applied psychology, Vol.109(2), pp.257-282
02/01/2024
DOI: 10.1037/apl0001129
PMID: 37796558
Abstract
Scholars have long recognized that employees often ebb and flow in how engaged they are in their jobs—what we term “engagement variability.” Yet, to date, we have little insight into how an employee’s engagement variability—that is, the degree of inconsistency in their engagement—affects job performance. Drawing on and extending habit theory, we hypothesize that, controlling for average engagement, engagement variability is negatively related to job performance. We further hypothesize that emotional stability moderates this relationship: Although engagement variability hinders performance when an employee is higher in emotional stability, this effect weakens when an employee is lower in emotional stability. Finally, we hypothesize that flow mediates the interactive effect of engagement variability and emotional stability on performance. We test our hypotheses across three studies: a multisource, ten-wave field study of 160 cadets across three Army and Air Force divisions of the Reserve Officer Training Corps, an experiment with 600 full-time employees, and a multisource, two-week experience sampling study with 152 full-time employees and their supervisors. We find consistent support for engagement variability’s negative relationship with performance and the moderating role of emotional stability, but mixed support for the mediating role of flow. We conclude by discussing the implications of our work.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The Ebb and Flow of Job Engagement: Engagement Variability and Emotional Stability as Interactive Predictors of Job Performance
- Creators
- Basima A. Tewfik - Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyDaniel Kim - University of FloridaShefali V. Patil - The University of Texas at Austin
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of applied psychology, Vol.109(2), pp.257-282
- DOI
- 10.1037/apl0001129
- PMID
- 37796558
- NLM abbreviation
- J Appl Psychol
- ISSN
- 0021-9010
- eISSN
- 1939-1854
- Publisher
- AMER PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 02/01/2024
- Academic Unit
- Management and Entrepreneurship
- Record Identifier
- 9985123247502771
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