In the Eye of the Beholder: Challenge and Hindrance Appraisals of Work Characteristics and Their Implications for Employee’s Well-Being
Previous research on the association between job characteristics and employee well-being has returned mixed results. In particular, the possible impact of individual appraisal of these job characteristics has not been well-acknowledged. To address this limitation, we drew on appraisal theory and exa...
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doaj-4684f85bf01f494196ea901ff28c90342021-09-07T04:22:41ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782021-09-011210.3389/fpsyg.2021.708309708309In the Eye of the Beholder: Challenge and Hindrance Appraisals of Work Characteristics and Their Implications for Employee’s Well-BeingPeikai Li0Maria C. W. Peeters1Maria C. W. Peeters2Toon W. Taris3Yejun Zhang4Social, Health and Organisational Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NetherlandsSocial, Health and Organisational Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NetherlandsHuman Performance Management Group, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, NetherlandsSocial, Health and Organisational Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NetherlandsDepartment of Management, Robert C. Vackar College of Business & Entrepreneurship, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, United StatesPrevious research on the association between job characteristics and employee well-being has returned mixed results. In particular, the possible impact of individual appraisal of these job characteristics has not been well-acknowledged. To address this limitation, we drew on appraisal theory and examined: (a) how workers appraise particular job characteristics, and (b) how these appraisals affect the relationships between these job characteristics and well-being (i.e., work engagement and burnout). We tested our hypotheses across two studies. In a cross-occupation sample (Study 1, n = 514), we found that job demands and resources can be appraised as both challenges and hindrances. In addition, challenge appraisals can mitigate the detrimental impact of job demands on engagement and burnout; and hindrance appraisals can strengthen the detrimental effects of job demands on burnout. Further, hindrance appraisals of job resources reduce their beneficial effects on engagement and burnout. Study 2 (n = 316 nurses in a hospital) further showed that challenge appraisals of job demands can reduce their impact on burnout while challenge appraisals of job resources will strengthen their positive effect on employee engagement and burnout. We discuss study implications as well as future research directions.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.708309/fullchallenge appraisalemployee well-beinghindrance appraisaljob demandsjob resources |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Peikai Li Maria C. W. Peeters Maria C. W. Peeters Toon W. Taris Yejun Zhang |
spellingShingle |
Peikai Li Maria C. W. Peeters Maria C. W. Peeters Toon W. Taris Yejun Zhang In the Eye of the Beholder: Challenge and Hindrance Appraisals of Work Characteristics and Their Implications for Employee’s Well-Being Frontiers in Psychology challenge appraisal employee well-being hindrance appraisal job demands job resources |
author_facet |
Peikai Li Maria C. W. Peeters Maria C. W. Peeters Toon W. Taris Yejun Zhang |
author_sort |
Peikai Li |
title |
In the Eye of the Beholder: Challenge and Hindrance Appraisals of Work Characteristics and Their Implications for Employee’s Well-Being |
title_short |
In the Eye of the Beholder: Challenge and Hindrance Appraisals of Work Characteristics and Their Implications for Employee’s Well-Being |
title_full |
In the Eye of the Beholder: Challenge and Hindrance Appraisals of Work Characteristics and Their Implications for Employee’s Well-Being |
title_fullStr |
In the Eye of the Beholder: Challenge and Hindrance Appraisals of Work Characteristics and Their Implications for Employee’s Well-Being |
title_full_unstemmed |
In the Eye of the Beholder: Challenge and Hindrance Appraisals of Work Characteristics and Their Implications for Employee’s Well-Being |
title_sort |
in the eye of the beholder: challenge and hindrance appraisals of work characteristics and their implications for employee’s well-being |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Psychology |
issn |
1664-1078 |
publishDate |
2021-09-01 |
description |
Previous research on the association between job characteristics and employee well-being has returned mixed results. In particular, the possible impact of individual appraisal of these job characteristics has not been well-acknowledged. To address this limitation, we drew on appraisal theory and examined: (a) how workers appraise particular job characteristics, and (b) how these appraisals affect the relationships between these job characteristics and well-being (i.e., work engagement and burnout). We tested our hypotheses across two studies. In a cross-occupation sample (Study 1, n = 514), we found that job demands and resources can be appraised as both challenges and hindrances. In addition, challenge appraisals can mitigate the detrimental impact of job demands on engagement and burnout; and hindrance appraisals can strengthen the detrimental effects of job demands on burnout. Further, hindrance appraisals of job resources reduce their beneficial effects on engagement and burnout. Study 2 (n = 316 nurses in a hospital) further showed that challenge appraisals of job demands can reduce their impact on burnout while challenge appraisals of job resources will strengthen their positive effect on employee engagement and burnout. We discuss study implications as well as future research directions. |
topic |
challenge appraisal employee well-being hindrance appraisal job demands job resources |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.708309/full |
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