The effects of job characteristics on active effort at work

Title: The effects of job characteristics on active effort at work
Format: Journal Article
Publication Date: February 1998
Published In: Work and Occupations
Description: Building on previous research on worker extra-role effort, the authors focus their analysis on the correlates of one subset of behaviors that they call active effort. The authors argue for an exchange model, with organizations offering intrinsic, social, and material inducements in exchange for active effort by workers. Using data from a telephone survey of 270 employed adults in a large midwestern metropolitan area, the authors test a model that measures a variety of structural variables to see how they affect the level of active effort. The authors find that active effort is related to the extent to which a worker is allowed to participate and to recognition. After controlling for other variables, they found that satisfaction has little independent effect on active effort. Relations to supervisors, seniority, and wages have no net effects on active effort, although they are associated with increased satisfaction. Also, high white-collar employees report significantly higher active effort and satisfaction.
Ivan Allen College Contributors:
Citation: Work and Occupations. 25. Issue 1. 74 - 96. ISSN 0730-8884.
Related Departments:
  • School of Public Policy