Journal of Vocational Behavior最新文献

Drawing on approach–inhibition theory and proactivity research, this study examines the potential dark side of peer proactive personality for employee innovative behavior by exploring the mechanism through which peer proactive personality hinders employee innovative behavior and the underlying boundary condition. To test the hypotheses, we conducted a three-wave field study using a nested dataset (i.e., 861 employees and their 122 leaders) in China and an experimental vignette study with a U.S. sample. The results supported our hypotheses that peer proactive personality has a negative effect on employee innovative behavior via reduced employee sense of power, depending on the level of team cooperative climate. This study shifts research attention from the focal employees' proactive personality to peer proactive personality and advances the proactive personality literature by highlighting the potential dark side of peer proactive personality.

As artificial intelligence (AI) use expands within organizations, its influence is increasingly permeating careers and vocational domains. However, there is a notable lack of structured insights regarding AI's role in shaping individual career paths across career stages. To address this gap, we undertook a systematic literature review of 104 empirical articles, aiming to synthesize the scholarship on AI in the context of careers. Drawing upon career stage theory, we examine the implications of AI on careers, identify key barriers and enablers of AI use in this area, and reveal how the utilization of AI impacts individuals' career competencies. In doing so, we illustrate how AI actively shapes individuals' career trajectories and we dissect these effects both within and across various career stages to situate AI within the broader context of careers research. Adopting a sustainable career lens, we conclude by outlining a future research agenda that advocates for the design and adoption of AI systems that promote sustainable and equitable careers.

Occupational exoskeletons are wearable devices that can augment a human worker's physical abilities. They are designed to protect the worker from physical stress and strain due to physically demanding tasks. They are also designed to increase a worker's ability to perform these tasks with less effort or to accommodate tasks with greater physical loads. There is a labor shortage for many physically demanding jobs in manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and healthcare. Occupational exoskeletons may enable more women and older workers to qualify for these jobs. Literature reviews on occupational exoskeletons and workplace diversity and inclusion were conducted to explore how this technology can facilitate diversity and inclusion goals. Future research directions are discussed for exoskeleton design and how they might affect work identities and perceptions of organizational inclusion for women and older workers who pursue vocations in physically demanding work.

A key component of team performance is participation among group members. One widespread organizational function that provides a stage for participation is the workplace meeting. With the shift to remote work, roughly half of all meetings are conducted virtually. One encouraging opportunity that can elevate meeting participation in this context is the use of written chat. Chat offers a second avenue of participation during a meeting, where attendees can synchronously contribute to the conversation through writing. This study explores factors influencing participation in virtual meetings, drawing on individual differences (status characteristics theory), psychological safety perceptions, and group communication. Results reveal gender and job level nuances: women engage more in chat, while men verbally contribute more frequently. Further, we found men highest in job level verbally contributed the most in virtual meetings, whereas women highest in job level use the chat the most frequently. Regarding type of chats sent, women use emoji reactions more often than men, and men send more attachments than women. Additionally, results revealed psychological safety moderated the relationship between job level and overall chat participation, such that employees low in job level with high perceptions of psychological safety sent more chats than their counterparts. This study provides insights into communication patterns and the impact of psychological safety on participation in technology-mediated spaces.

The relationship between an employee and their immediate supervisor has an established impact on subordinate work-family conflict (WFC). Likewise, the leader-member exchange (LMX) relationship is a resource to address WFC both proactively and on an episodic basis. This study draws from LMX literature as a foundation to test a resource and socio-cognitively-based process model. The model purports that subordinates address WFC on a daily basis through the autonomy their LMX relationship provides; and, in turn, the LMX relationship evolves and strengthens. Using an experience sampling methodology over the course of ten business days, 130 individuals provided 1124 observations. Extending prior work linking LMX to WFC cross-sectionally, our model supported that LMX at the start of the study was linked with cumulative daily WFC through daily autonomy. Testing latent change in LMX, the model also supported that cumulative daily autonomy related to changes in LMX through cumulative daily WFC and perceptions of daily support. Our theoretically-driven model underlines the critical role of supervisors in addressing WFC and responds to calls in work-family and LMX literatures by capturing the dynamic nature of the constructs and processes involved in accommodating WFC. Moreover, our results highlight how LMX relationships stand to benefit both the supervisor and subordinate. Findings support the application of LMX literature and advance literature by documenting the complex and dynamic process involved in addressing WFC and changes in LMX quality. Practical implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.

We explored the transformative impact of ChatGPT on applicants' responses and performance in situational judgement tests (SJTs), as well as the role played by faking-prevention mechanisms, in two complementary studies. Study 1 examined how the availability of ChatGPT influenced response content and performance of real applicants (N = 107,805), who completed an SJT for admission before vs. after the release of the technology. We found only small differences in content (e.g., slightly less “authentic” words used) and performance (slight score improvements when controlling for response length, no differences otherwise). In Study 2, we used an experimental approach with (N = 138) Prolific participants completing a mock SJT, while being instructed to use ChatGPT when responding (vs. use online resources or no resources). We found only slightly higher SJT scores for the ChatGPT users, but no difference in response content. Additionally, GPTZero (i.e., a popular AI detection tool) struggled to detect ChatGPT content, and generated many false positives, in both studies. This research advances our understanding of how the release and popularization of ChatGPT can influence applicant behaviors. Given the “arms race” nature of applicant selection, they also highlight the importance of designing assessments to prevent or limit faking. Yet, the ever-evolving nature of AI calls for continuous research on the topic.

Research on automation and the future of work is a major focus for both academics and practitioners due to technological changes disrupting the labor market and educational pathways. Although recent articles have published projections about the types of tasks and jobs most likely to be automated in the coming years, little attention has been devoted to how different types of vocational interests are susceptible to automation, as well as resulting changes to the match between people's interests and their jobs. In the present article, we provide an integrative review of vocational interests and automation projections within and across jobs. By standardizing and mapping projections to Holland's RIASEC interest model, we found that Investigative (scientific) and Conventional (detail-oriented) interests, including STEM interests, are most susceptible to automation, whereas Social (people-oriented) and Realistic (hands-on) interests are least susceptible. For Artistic and Enterprising interests, some creative work, decision-making, and leadership skills may be affected by automation across a range of jobs. We build on these projections to propose a future research agenda integrating interests, technology, and careers. Specifically, we identify five areas for future research, including using intentional work design to enhance interests, the role of interests in career decisions related to project-based work, changes in people's interests following automation, increased use of basic interests, and the systematic impacts of automation on different groups of people. Overall, this review highlights how vocational interests will remain an important topic with high relevance for career guidance, education, and organizations as the future of work evolves.

In this commentary, we argue that studying vulnerable workers can challenge the established norms of organizational research, which mostly focuses on non-vulnerable employees. We highlight the significant differences in the experiences of vulnerable workers, which profoundly impact their professional lives, and often defy current organizational theories and research findings. Additionally, we explore how traditional beliefs in recruitment and selection, career development, organizational support, and identity management research may not apply well to vulnerable workers due to their unique challenges. We strongly advocate for a shift in the fundamental assumptions and paradigms of organizational scholarship to better accommodate and accurately represent the perspectives of this often-overlooked workforce.

In the literature on the antecedents and mediators of employee well-being, there is little or no acknowledgement of sudden changes in the social and environmental context in which perceptions of well-being are formed. Contextual influences are rarely so impactful and unexpected as those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. To continue operating within lockdown restrictions, many organizations, apart from those unable or unwilling to initiate such changes, abruptly adopted a work from home (WFH) or hybrid working pattern. These circumstances raise novel questions about the influence of impactful, unanticipated contextual factors on employee well-being outcomes. To address these questions in the context of a shift to WFH, we tested a model adapted from aspects of Event Systems Theory (EST) and the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT). Central to our theoretical adaptation was a unique perspective on PWT “decent work” perceptions based on principles of empowerment. In a study of 337 employees during the lockdown period, we applied a Bayesian multilevel model to investigate the contrast between in-lockdown perceptions relative to current pre-lockdown perceptions. Results suggested the contextual shift to WFH related negatively to relative perceptions of well-being, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Empowerment significantly mediated all well-being outcomes. Organizational support, neuroticism, and home readiness related directly to empowerment and indirectly to well-being outcomes via empowerment. We discuss how sudden contextual changes interacted with relationships observed in our model, and how our findings progress a context-responsive adaptation of EST and PWT in the new world of WFH.

This study draws on contributions from Social Cognitive Career Theory and Conservation of Resources theory to investigate how configurations of career barriers associated with gender and ethnicity influence the development of perceived employability. Our study with graduates surveyed before and two years after completing their degrees, shows that groups of graduates perceiving higher career barriers experience a significant decline in perceived employability during the early stage of their careers. In contrast, those perceiving fewer career hurdles report a more stable employability trajectory and have higher perceived employability two years after graduating. Our study contributes to the literature by showing that perceived employability does not necessarily increase with labor market experience but can instead remain stable or even decline depending on perceived career hindrances.