JOB RELATED ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS IN A TEMPORARY STAFFING AGENCY: A ...

108 Pages·2006·0.97 MB·English

JOB RELATED ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS IN A TEMPORARY
STAFFING AGENCY: A COMPARISON OF PERMANENT
AND CONTINGENT EMPLOYEES

by
Winifred Elaine Bourne
B.A., The University of West Florida, 2002

A thesis submitted to the Department of Psychology
College of Arts and Sciences
The University of West Florida
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
2006
The thesis of Winifred Elaine Bourne is approved:

Claudia J. Stanny, Committee Member Date

Sherry K. Schneider, Committee Chair Date

Accepted for the Department:

Ronald W. Belter, Chair Date

Accepted for the College:

Jane S. Halonen, Dean Date

Accepted for the University:

Richard S. Podemski, Dean of Graduate Studies Date
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This page is a tribute to all persons who have offered invaluable support toward
the completion of my thesis. First, I would like to thank Dr. Sherry Schneider, the chair of
my thesis committee. Dr. Schneider, my advisor and mentor, has been very instrumental
in my life as a graduate student. This bond started in my final year as an undergraduate
student when she took me under her wing. Dr. Schneider, I sincerely thank you for being
a wonderful mentor! I greatly appreciate the time you have spent teaching me to be a
good researcher, as well as honing my writing skills. Words are inadequate for expressing
my deep gratitude to you.
A thesis of this size and complexity required the cooperation of many other
persons. I would also like to acknowledge my thanks to them; and so, I must also thank
Dr. Claudia Stanny, my undergraduate adviser. I am honored that you have continued this
journey with me. Your sage wisdom and words of encouragement have helped to keep me
focused over the past four years. I thank you most sincerely for your inspiration.
My special thanks is also extended to Denise, Vice President of the temporary
staffing agency examined in my thesis. I greatly appreciate your invaluable support
throughout the project. I also express my gratitude to the participants who completed the
survey. A hearty “thank you!” goes out to Charina Narciso for helping me to format my
thesis. Your expertise is greatly appreciated! I would also like to thank Winette George
for being a good friend, and to acknowledge the assistance of Diana Robinson, Faye
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Colley and Rick Hicks in the Psychology Department. I thank you all for the support in
assisting me in the preparation of my thesis.
I am deeply appreciative of the valuable contribution and support of Marva,
Percil, Maxine and Robert Simmons. I thank you all for providing me with a family away
from home. To my Aunt Radiance and family and friends in Canada as well as my family
and friends in the USA, thanks so much for your support. I cannot forget the important
role that my friend Brittany Bjorklund and her family played during my first semester of
graduate school. Thanks so much! I would like to thank my buddy Joe Hartz for being my
first UWF friend and for the role you played, and continue to play, in my life as a student.
My sincere thanks to all of you!
I must also thank my fiancé Henson Burke, and my family in Barbados. Henson,
thanks so much for your love and support, especially over the past four years. Thanks for
listening, caring, and making me laugh and relax. You are a great guy! My parents Henry
and Viola Bourne were instrumental in helping me to achieve a 17-year dream. Daddy,
thanks so much for your love and support, and for helping me to keep things in
perspective. You are the greatest dad ever! Mama, thanks for your love, support and
caring manner and for keeping me abreast of the local happenings. To my brothers and
sisters, Orlando, Trevor, Henrietta and Arlene, please accept my sincere thanks for your
support. To my other family members, friends and well-wishers, I thank you very much
for your kind thoughts; I am indeed very grateful for your support.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..............................................................................................iii
LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................viii
LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................................ix
ABSTRACT......................................................................................................................x
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................1
A. The Contingent Worker..........................................................1
B. Current Study..........................................................................4
C. Perceived Organizational Support..........................................5
D. Social Identity Theory.............................................................7
E. Organizational Commitment.................................................10
F. Organizational Citizenship Behavior....................................12
G. Job Satisfaction.....................................................................15
H. Job Insecurity........................................................................17
I. Hypotheses............................................................................19

CHAPTER II. METHOD...................................................................................20
A. Participants............................................................................20
B. Materials...............................................................................22
1. Perceived Organizational Support (POS).....................22
2. Organizational Commitment (OC)...............................22
3. Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)................23
4. Organizational Identity (OID).......................................23
5. Job Satisfaction.............................................................23
6. Job Insecurity................................................................24
7. Reasons for Temporary Work.......................................24
8. Preference for Temporary Work...................................24
C. Design...................................................................................25
D. Procedure..............................................................................25
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CHAPTER III. RESULTS...................................................................................27
A. Contingent and Permanent Employees.................................27
B. Demographic Characteristics................................................27
1. Gender...........................................................................28
2. Ethnicity........................................................................28
3. Education......................................................................28
4. Preference for Temporary Work...................................28
5. Perceived Organizational Support (POS).....................29
6. Organizational Identity (OID).......................................29
7. Organizational Commitment (OC) ..............................29
8. Job Satisfaction ............................................................29
9. Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)................29
10. Job Insecurity ...............................................................30
C. Internal Consistency Reliability............................................30
1. Perceived Organizational Support (POS).....................30
2. Organizational Identity (OID).......................................30
3. Organizational Commitment (OC)...............................30
4. Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)................31
5. Job Satisfaction.............................................................32
D. H1: Contingent Workers versus Permanent Employees.......32
E. Mediation Hypothesis Testing..............................................32
1. An Overview of Mediation...........................................32
2. H2: Perceived Organizational Support as a
Mediator........................................................................34
3. H3(a): Organizational Commitment (OC) ...................35
4. H3(b) Job Satisfaction...................................................36
5. H3(c) Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)......37
6. H3(d) Job Insecurity ....................................................38
F. Exploratory Mediational Analyses.......................................39
1. Organizational Commitment ........................................40
2. Job Satisfaction.............................................................41
3. Organizational Citizenship Behavior............................42
4. Job Insecurity................................................................45
G. Exploratory Analyses Related to Job Characteristics...........46
1. Importance to the Individual and Job Ratings..............46
2. Influence on Job Satisfaction........................................48

CHAPTER IV. H. DISCUSSION........................................................................52
1. Practical Implications....................................................55
2. Limitations....................................................................57
3. Directions for Future Research.....................................60
4. Conclusion....................................................................62

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REFERENCES...............................................................................................................64

APPENDIXES................................................................................................................72
A. Questionnaires.......................................................................73
B. Informed Consent Form........................................................84
C. Demographic Information.....................................................86
D. Principal Component Factor Loadings.................................88
E. Analysis of Variance for Work Status..................................94
F. IRB Approval Letter.............................................................96

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LIST OF TABLES

Table Page
1. Demographics of the Survey Sample.....................................................................21

2. Job Tenure and Number of Job Placements...........................................................22

3. Summary of Regression Analysis Predicting Organizational Identity .................35

4. Summary of Regression Analysis Predicting Organizational Commitment..........36

5. Summary of Regression Analysis Predicting Job Satisfaction..............................37

6. Summary of Regression Analysis Predicting Organizational Citizenship
Behavior.................................................................................................................38

7. Summary of Regression Analysis Predicting Job Insecurity.................................39

8. Summary of Exploratory Regression Analysis Predicting Organizational
Commitment...........................................................................................................41

9. Summary of Exploratory Regression Analysis Predicting Job Satisfaction..........42

10. Summary of Exploratory Regression Analysis Predicting Organizational
Citizenship Behavior With Perceived Organizational Support and
Organizational Identity as Mediators.....................................................................43

11. Summary of Exploratory Regression Analysis Predicting Organizational
Citizenship Behavior With Perceived Organizational Support as a Mediator.......45

12. Summary of Exploratory Regression Analysis Predicting Organizational
Citizenship Behavior With Organizational Identity as a Mediator........................46

13. Summary of Exploratory Regression Analysis Predicting Job Insecurity.............47

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page
1. Conceptual model of the relationship between work status, perceived
organizational support (POS), organizational identity (OID), organizational
commitment (OC), job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior
(OCB) and job insecurity.......................................................................................5

2. Summary of major survey measures by work status............................................34
3. Revised conceptual model....................................................................................40
4. Survey respondents’ mean ratings of personal importance of job
characteristics (where 1 is unimportant and 5 is very important).........................48

5. Survey respondents’ mean ratings of job characteristics in their current jobs
(where 1 is poor and 5 is excellent)......................................................................49

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ABSTRACT

JOB RELATED ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS IN A TEMPORARY
STAFFING AGENCY: A COMPARISON OF PERMANENT
AND CONTINGENT EMPLOYEES

Winifred Elaine Bourne

This study tested a conceptual model based on Social Identity Theory (Tajfel &
Turner, 1986). The relationship between employee work status (contingent or permanent)
and perceived organizational support (POS) was examined as an antecedent to employee
organizational identity (OID), organizational commitment (OC), organizational
citizenship behavior (OCB), Job Satisfaction and Job Insecurity. A sample of 139
employees in a temporary staffing agency in the Southeastern United States participated
in an Internet-based survey. As expected, work status was positively related to POS, OID,
OC, OCB and job satisfaction, but was negatively related to job security. A new
conceptual model was partially supported. POS partially mediated the relationship
between work status and OID. POS and OID partially mediated the relationship between
work status and OC, and work status and job satisfaction. POS and OID did not mediate
the relationship between work status and OCB or job insecurity. A revised model was
proposed.
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