Personal reputation has been acknowledged to have an important influence on work outcomes. However, substantive research has been relatively scarce to date. The 2-study research plan reported here supports reputation's role as a moderator of the relationships between political behavior and the work outcomes of uncertainty, emotional exhaustion, and job performance ratings (i.e., self- and supervisor report). The 1st investigation contained both a pilot study, which was undertaken to demonstrate the consistency of self- and others' perceptions of reputation, and a test of the substantive relationships. The 2nd study served as a constructive replication of the hypothesized relationships. Supporting prior research, Study 1 demonstrated that self-reports of personal reputation were significantly related to peer report. In each study, political behavior was associated with decreased uncertainty and emotional exhaustion and increased job performance ratings for individuals with a favorable reputation. Conversely, political behavior predicted increased uncertainty and emotional exhaustion and decreased job performance ratings for individuals with an unfavorable reputation. Implications of these results, strengths and limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

The current study examined the interactive relationship of politics perceptions and trait cynicism on two work outcomes: job satisfaction and citizenship behaviors. Trait cynicism is characterized as a personality trait that is stable across settings. Using a diverse sample of 311 full-time employees drawn from a variety of organizations, trait cynicism moderated the relationship between politics perceptions and both outcomes. Specifically, for those possessing higher levels of trait cynicism, politics perceptions were associated with lower job satisfaction scores and less participation in citizenship behaviors. Implications of these findings, strengths and limitations, and avenues for additional research are provided.

Spirituality is increasingly recognized and accepted as part of the total employee and the general work environment. The following study examined spirituality as a moderator between an employee personality trait (cynicism) and discretionary job performance dimensions (citizenship behavior and counterproductive work behavior). This exploration integrates the literature on spirituality, cynicism and performance by probing the relationship between negative personality traits and performance while considering the interactive effects of cynicism and spirituality. Specifically, trait cynicism was predicted to have a direct impact on performance. Results did not support this prediction. However, as expected, there was a significant interaction between cynicism and spirituality such that there were significant differences in the performance of highly spiritual cynics and those low in spirituality. Implications are discussed.

The widespread layoffs of the past 25 years have caused unparalleled levels of distrust and frustration in organizations. Organizational cynicism, which is frequently a manifestation of this pervasive phenomenon, has been shown to affect postlayoff attitudes and behaviors. It is generally assumed that postlayoff cynicism is predictive solely of dysfunctional outcomes. However, there is evidence suggesting that favorable consequences may emerge in some settings. In this exploratory study, the authors examined the postlayoff reactions of managerial employees who survived a corporate downsizing 1 month prior to the onset of the data collection. More specifically, they investigated the interactive effects of organizational cynicism and job insecurity on survivors' inclination to expend work effort. They hypothesized that cynics would report higher levels of work effort when faced with perceived job insecurity than non-cynics. Results provided support for these hypotheses, as work effort increased concurrently with cynicism for those perceiving an insecure work environment. Implication of these results for science and practice, strengths and limitations, and an agenda for future research are provided.

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