Employee alienation: relationships with careerism and career satisfaction

an article by Dan S. Chiaburu and Ismael Diaz, (Texas A&M University, College Station, USA) and Ans De Vos (Antwerp Management School, Belgium) published in Journal of Managerial Psychology Volume 28 Issue 1 (2013)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which employees' perceptions of alienation (personal and social) are related to positive (career satisfaction) and negative (careerist orientation) career-related outcomes and to examine the mediating role of career satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper used a cross-sectional design, with questionnaires administered to 165 employees working in organizations in the USA to test the relationship between alienation and careerism through career satisfaction.

Findings
Alienation was found to be a positive predictor of employee careerism, and a negative predictor of their career satisfaction. The data were consistent with a model positioning career satisfaction as a mediator of the alienation to careerism relationship.

Research limitations/implications
Future research should examine the relationship between alienation and career outcomes in other organizations and job families, to enhance generalizability. Data should be also collected longitudinally, to extend the current cross-sectional design.

Practical implications
Understanding the empirical link between alienation and career outcomes can provide useful information to reduce negative career outcomes.

Originality/value
The findings point toward a positive relationship between employee alienation and their careerism. In doing so, the paper adds to a body of work where careerism was connected with structural rather than individual predictors.

---

Good morning, good day: A diary study on positive emotions, hope, and work engagement

Else Ouweneel, Wilmar B Schaufeli and Corine I van Wijhe (Utrecht University, The Netherlands) and Pascale M Le Blanc (Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands) published in Human Relations Volume 65 Number 9 (September 2012)

Abstract

The objective of this diary study was to look at the potential positive within-person relationships between positive emotions, work-related hope, and the three dimensions of work engagement on a daily level (i.e. vigour, dedication, and absorption).

Following Broaden-and-Build theory and Affective Events Theory, it was expected that the experience of positive emotions would cause hope, which in turn would lead to a state of vigour, dedication, and absorption.

The study was conducted among 59 employees of a Dutch university, who filled in a diary questionnaire for five consecutive working days, twice a day.

As expected, the experience of positive emotions had an indirect effect on the level of vigour, dedication, and absorption through hope across days. So, it seems that an individual and daily perspective on work engagement is particularly worthwhile and provides valuable insights to enhance employee engagement in practice.

---