Personal Goal Facilitation through Work: Implications for Employee Satisfaction and Well‐Being

Abstract

Que le travail facilite la réalisation des objectifs personnels dépend de la perception de l’impact du travail sur l’atteinte de ces objectifs personnels. En accord avec la littérature sur l’autorégulation et le modèle cybernétique du stress organisationnel proposé par Edwards (1992), la facilitation de l’accès à ses objectifs personnels par le travail fut supposée en relation positive avec les attitudes relatives à l’emploi et le bien‐être de l’employé. En outre, on a prédit un rapport plus étroit entre la facilitation de l’accès à ses objectifs personnels par le travail et les performances du salarié quand les buts personnels étaient fortement valorisés. Ces hypothèses ont été mises à l’épreuve à travers un questionnaire rempli par 1036 employés du secteur de la santé. D’après l’analyse de régression, la facilitation de l’accès à ses objectifs personnels par le travail expliquait une part importante de la variance du bien‐être et des attitudes relatives à l’emploi, même après avoir contrôlé les caractéristiques des postes en référence au modèle de Karasek concernant les relations agents stressants—tension au travail (1979; Karasek & Theorell, 1990). L’importance des objectifs n’avait qu’une influence des plus limitées. On en conclut que la facilitation de l’accès à ses objectifs personnels par le travail offre une voie prometteuse pour explorer les attitudes liées à l’emploi et le bien‐être, en complément des modèles plus traditionnels des caractéristiques de l’emploi. Personal goal facilitation through work refers to perceptions of the extent to which one's job facilitates the attainment of one's personal goals. In line with the self‐regulation literature and Edwards’ (1992) cybernetic model of organisational stress, personal goal facilitation through work was predicted to show positive associations with job attitudes and employee well‐being. Moreover, stronger relationships between personal goal facilitation through work and employee outcomes were predicted for highly valued personal goals. These predictions were investigated in a questionnaire study of 1,036 health care employees. In regression analyses, personal goal facilitation through work accounted for substantial variance in job attitudes and well‐being, even after controlling for job characteristics from Karasek's (1979; Karasek & Theorell, 1990) model of occupational stressor–strain relations. There was only very limited evidence of moderating effects of goal importance. It is concluded that personal goal facilitation through work offers a promising source of insight into job attitudes and well‐being, complementing more traditional job characteristics models.

Well-being in the workplace through interaction between individual characteristics and organizational context

“…The fourth category— appreciation of the value of work —shows that structural factors are linked to employee satisfaction towards the content of their job, towards their salaries, and towards social and cognitive stimulation. In this category we find a relation between job satisfaction and well-being as described by many authors (Harris et al, 2003; Ter Doest et al, 2006). Overall, we can see that well-being is perceived not only as an interaction between individuals and the organization, but is strongly related to the quality of the relationship between individuals.…”

“…An initial approach, which has permitted the analysis of the relationship between well-being in the workplace and subjectivity, was the study of job satisfaction (Harris, Daniels, & Briner, 2003; Judge, Heller, & Klinger, 2008; Ter Doest, Maes, Gebhardt, & Koelewijn, 2006). According to Harter, Schmidt, and Keyes (2003), two lines of research characterize this approach.…”

A self‐determination theory approach to health and well‐being in the workplace: Results from the sixth European working conditions survey in Spain

“…Along these lines, Fischer and Sousa-Poza (2009) confirm that improvements in job satisfaction over time prevent employees from suffering further health deterioration. With regard to the relationship between job satisfaction and PWB, we identified a significant relationship between them, as described by many authors (Doest, Maes, Gebhardt, & Koelewijn, 2006;Slemp & Vella-Brodrick, 2014). Moreover, both well-being outcomes were interrelated in the present study so that more PWB was associated with fewer health problems.…”

Exploring goal‐setting as a tool for leadership development

“…Although goal-setting theory does not highlight demographic differences as important contributors, a review of the related literature suggests that such differences might warrant further investigation (Cullen et al, 2004;Doest, Maes, Gebhardt, & Koelewijn, 2006). Accordingly, the researchers added individual demographics and behaviors in the third regression model and then considered them alone in model 4.…”