Dispositions and work reactions: a multilevel approach

Area of Science:

• Organizational Psychology
• Industrial-Organizational Psychology
• Workplace Behavior

Background:

• Individual differences in stable dispositions are often studied in relation to work attitudes.
• Previous research at a single level of analysis suggests dispositions can lessen the impact of work characteristics on reactions.
• The role of dispositions in explaining variance in work reactions across different levels of analysis requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between stable individual dispositions and state-oriented work reactions.
• To investigate how dispositions influence work reactions when considering multiple levels of analysis.
• To determine if dispositions explain between-group variance in work affect and job satisfaction.

Main Methods:

• Utilized multiple levels of analysis to study employee work reactions.
• Included dispositional measures (neuroticism, extraversion) and work reactions (job satisfaction, positive/negative work affect).
• Analyzed data from employees in a state education system and an urban hospital.

Main Results:

• The inclusion of dispositional measures increased the proportion of between-group variance in positive work affect, negative work affect, and job satisfaction.
• Aggregate perceptions of excessive job demands explained more between-group variance in work reactions after dispositions were accounted for.
• Findings contrast with single-level analyses, suggesting dispositions explain more group-level variance.

Conclusions:

• Stable dispositions play a significant role in explaining between-group variance in work reactions.
• The impact of dispositions on work reactions is more pronounced when considering group-level variance.
• Future research should consider multi-level analyses to fully understand the interplay between dispositions and work characteristics.