Abstract. In recent years, researchers in work and organizational psychology have increasingly become interested in short-term processes and everyday experiences of working individuals. Diaries provide the necessary means to examine these processes. Although diary studies have become more popular in recent years, researchers not familiar with this method still find it difficult to get access to the required knowledge. In this paper, we provide an introduction to this method of data collection. Using two diary study examples, we discuss methodological issues researchers face when planning a diary study, examine recent methodological developments, and give practical recommendations. Topics covered include different types of diary studies, the research questions to be examined, compliance and the issue of missing data, sample size, and issues of analyses.

No abstract

As a proactive behavior, job crafting refers to changes in the task (cognitive, and behavioral) and social boundaries at work. This article focuses on antecedents of job crafting and the development and validation of a job crafting scale. In Study 1 (N = 466), an exploratory factor analysis with one half of the sample (n = 233) and a confirmatory factor analysis with the other half (n = 233) supported a three-dimensional structure of job crafting (task crafting, relational crafting and cognitive crafting), and convergent as well as discriminant validity of job crafting, in relation to personal initiative and organizational citizenship behavior. In Study 2 (N = 118, two points of measurement), we crossvalidated the measure and demonstrated that job crafting was related to, yet distinct from, taking charge. We found that an increase in job crafting at Time 2 was predicted by need for positive self-image (Time 1), as well as by work experience (Time 1). Need for human connection (Time 1) was related to job crafting at Time 2 when self-efficacy was high. Moreover, there was evidence that job crafting as self-oriented behavior related positively to person-job fit. Implications for future research are discussed.

Summary The present diary study examines how employees thrive at work in response to resources (i.e., positive meaning, relational resources, and knowledge). Thriving is conceptualized as the joint experience of vitality and learning. A total of 121 employees working in the social services sector responded to three daily surveys (in the morning, at lunchtime, and at the end of the work day) for a period of five work days. Intra‐individual analyses (hierarchical linear modeling) revealed that on days when employees experience positive meaning at work in the morning, they feel more vital at the end of the work day and have a higher sense of learning. Work behaviors such as task focus and exploration mediated the relation between positive meaning and both components of thriving. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The role of leadership is especially important for employees' personal growth at work. In the present two-wave study (time lag 3 months), we investigated the relationship between teachers' perceptions of the transformational leadership style of their school principal and their thriving. Specifically, we examined the role of individuals' energy resources (i.e., emotional exhaustion) in the relationships between perceived transformational leadership and thriving, as well as two aspects of work performance (task mastery and proactivity). Findings from 200 teachers revealed no direct relationship between perceived transformational leadership and teachers' thriving. However, as expected, teachers' emotional exhaustion moderated the relationship between perceived transformational leadership and thriving; teachers' perceptions of the transformational leadership style was associated with a decrease in thriving when they reported moderate levels of emotional exhaustion. When teachers were very low in emotional exhaustion, perceived transformational leadership was associated with an increase in thriving. Moderated mediation analyses revealed significant indirect effects for proactivity for lower and higher levels of emotional exhaustion. We discuss the implications of the findings for theories of personal growth.