No abstract

Several meta-analyses combine an extensive amount of research concerned with predicting training success. General mental ability is regarded as the best predictor with specific abilities or tests explaining little additional variance. However, only few studies measured all predictors within one sample. Thus, intercorrelations were often estimated based on other studies. Moreover, new methods for correcting range restriction are now available. The present meta-analyses used samples derived from a German company in which applicants for different apprenticeships were tested with an intelligence structure test, specific ability tests as well as a structured and an unstructured interview. Therefore, intercorrelations between different assessment tools did not have to be estimated from other data. Results in the final examination, taking place at least 2 years after the original assessment, served as criterion variable. The dominant role of general mental ability was confirmed. However, specific abilities were identified that can be used as valuable additions. Job complexity moderated some of the relationships. Structured interviews were found to have good incremental validity over and above general mental ability. Unstructured interviews, on the other hand, performed poorly. Practical implications are discussed.

Organizational researchers are increasingly interested in investigating the influence of narcissism on the workplace. Drawing on self-determination theory and recent research that distinguishes two dimensions of narcissism and their different underlying motivational dynamics, we hypothesised that employee empowerment, and in turn voice, are differentially influenced by the two narcissism facets admiration and rivalry. In particular, we expected that employees' narcissistic admiration is positively related to voice via empowerment, whereas rivalry is negatively related to voice via empowerment. Moreover, we investigated leaders' implicit followership theories (IFTs) as moderator of the relationships between narcissistic rivalry and narcissistic admiration with empowerment. We argue that a leader's positive IFTs buffer the negative effect of narcissistic rivalry and foster the positive effect of narcissistic admiration on empowerment, and in turn voice (i.e., first-stage moderated mediations). We found support for most of our predictions in a multi-wave field study using data from 268 leader-employee dyads. Theoretical and practical implications are explored.

Researchers have yet to precisely test the Socioanalytic proposition that social skill moderates the personality identitypersonality reputation relationship. Further, although research has found personality to have both explicit and implicit aspects, scholars have not examined these differences with respect to the Socioanalytic perspective on personality. The present study investigates how explicit and implicit achievement orientation identities relate to one's reputation for that trait in the workplace and to career success, as measured by occupational status. We propose that explicit and implicit achievement orientation, political skill, and their interplay positively relate to reputation of achievement orientation at work, which, in turn, is positively related to occupational status. We found that 1) both explicit and implicit achievement orientation were positively associated with its reputation, as rated by coworkers, 2) reputation mediated both relations between implicit/explicit achievement orientation and occupational status, and 3) heightened political skill strengthened the relationship between explicit achievement orientation and its reputation, as well as its indirect effect on occupational status via reputation (first stage moderated-mediation). Our research provides a potential explanation for why observer ratings of personality are more strongly associated with outcomes than self-ratings: Observers perceive both implicit and explicit personality behaviours.

To deal with stress and exhaustion at work, personal resources need to be replenished during breaks. The aim of this laboratory study (n = 122 students) was to test the restorative potential of sensory-enriched break environments (SEBEs) in a between-subjects with repeated measures design, focusing on the type of the environment (natural outdoor vs. built indoor environment) and sensory input (no sensory input vs. audiovisual input vs. audiovisual and olfactory input). Analyses showed that SEBEs simulating either a natural or a lounge environment were perceived as more pleasant and restorative (fascination/being away) than a standard break room, which in turn facilitated the recovery of personal resources (mood, fatigue, arousal). Moreover, adding a congruent scent to an audiovisual simulation indirectly facilitated the recovery of personal resources via greater scent pleasantness and higher fascination and being away. The current study shows opportunities for sensory enrichment to foster restoration in break environments. Practitioner Summery: This project reveals the impact of the recovery process of simulated environments on personal resources. Analyses confirmed that sensory-enriched environments were perceived as more restorative than less enriched environments, which in turn facilitated the recovery of personal resources. The results highlight the relevance of holistic sensory impressions to fostering recovery.