Tag Archives: job complexity

Human Resources Management: For Some, The Grass is Always Greener

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Topic: Turnover, Human Resources
Publication: Journal of Vocational Behavior (online pre-publication)
Article: Is the past prologue for some more than others? The hobo syndrome and job complexity.
Authors: Becton, J. B., Carr, J. C., Judge, T. A.
Reviewed by: Larry Martinez


The fact is that employees are more mobile today than in decades past.  The former ideal of finding one company and staying there for one’s entire career has been replace by the reality of increased job movement for today’s workers.  But are some workers more likely to get the itch to leave than others?  And more importantly, is there anything that organizations can do to make these wayward workers want to stay?  The results of a study by Becton and colleagues (in press) directly inform these questions.

Based on a sample of 393 employees, these authors found that in general, those employees who had a history of changing jobs frequently (as assessed using biodata) were more likely to turnover in subsequent jobs.  However, this relationship was affected (moderated) by the complexity of the job (as measured by O*Net ratings).  This means that, theoretically, some people are more likely to want to leave their organizations (as evidenced by previous job mobility) and this pattern was even stronger for those in increasingly complex jobs. 

This could be because complex jobs take a longer amount of time to get used to and are fraught with more early onset frustrations as one learns the ropes, making it more likely for these more fickle employees to look for something else. 

These results discount the idea that job hopping is more likely for younger generations, but is instead a dispositional characteristic.  They do, however, lend credit to the idea that using past employment information might be informative with regards to future hiring decisions.  That is, you may be wary of hiring someone who has a history of job hopping.  And according to these results, this may be especially the case in complex jobs.  In addition, organizations may need to adopt specific strategies for retaining employees who have a history of changing jobs that differs from those who do not have this job mobility pattern. 

Becton, J. B., Carr, J. C., & Judge, T. A. (in press). Is the past prologue for some more than others? The hobo syndrome and job complexity. Journal of Vocational Behavior.

human resource management,organizational industrial psychology, organizational management

Oldies — but Goodies — in Complex Jobs

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Topic: Performance, Goals
Publication: Journal of Vocational Behavior (JUNE 2010)
Article: Focus on opportunities as a mediator of the relationships between age, job complexity and work performance
Authors: H. Zacher, S. Heusner, M. Schmitz, M.M., Zwierzanska, and M. Frese
Reviewed By: Benjamin Granger

Despite there being many compelling arguments for why age should be related to work performance (e.g., younger employees are less experienced, older employees have less drive), there is little evidence that such a relationship exists (except that older employees tend to engage in more organizational citizenship behaviors!).  According to Zacher and colleagues (2010), these null findings may be due to several competing factors which lead older employees to outperform younger employees and vice versa. In their recent study, Zacher et al. explored an individual difference known as focus on opportunities which refers to employees’ perceptions of the availability of future work-related options and opportunities.  The authors found that older employees tend to have a weaker focus on opportunities than younger employees, possibly because older employees receive less career support and are more focused on retirement than future work-related opportunities.

As Zacher et al. hypothesized, focus on opportunities is related to overall work performance (as rated by study participants’ coworkers) and helps explain why younger workers might outperform their older colleagues.

Thus, it appears that older employees have bleaker outlooks on their work-related futures and their work performance may suffer as a result. However, Zacher et al. found that employees working in complex jobs tend to have a stronger focus on opportunities than employees working in less complex jobs.  Job complexity seems to be particularly important for older employees since it helps them maintain a strong focus on opportunities.

Zacher et al. conclude their article by arguing that while job complexity is important for employees at all ages, it is particularly vital for older employees.  Presenting older employees with challenges at work (e.g., formal mentoring roles) can help them maintain their focus on work-related opportunities and keep their work performance high.

Zacher, H., Heusner, S., Schmitz, M., Zwierzanska, M.M., & Frese, M. (2010). Focus on opportunities as a mediator of the relationships between age, job complexity and work performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 76, 374-386.