: Artificial intelligence (AI) can function both as a job demand and as a job resource, with crucial implications for employees' well-being and motivation. However, research has not yet investigated how employees appraise AI in these terms and whether their appraisals are malleable. To fill this gap, we conducted an online experiment with 203 German white-collar workers. We randomly assigned the participants to a demand, resource, or control condition. The manipulation consisted of a focused reflection on AI either as a demand or a resource for the participant's current job. Results indicated that our induced focus did not significantly influence the participants' AI appraisal. Across experimental conditions, the participants appraised AI more as a resource than a demand (d = 1.05). These findings allow new insights into the appraisal of AI at work by distinguishing demand and resource appraisals, highlighting the robustness of AI appraisals, and suggesting that employees currently view AI primarily as supportive.

Large language models like ChatGPT dominate the public discourse with their potential to take over human labor. ChatGPT already outperforms human employees in specific cognitive tasks in white-collar jobs, potentially substituting work tasks. However, whether employees perceive ChatGPT as threatening to their employment and how they intend to react to such potential threat remains largely unclear. Drawing from the conservation of resources theory and recent empirical findings on embodied robots, we investigate whether mere exposure to ChatGPT (Study 1) or use of ChatGPT (Study 2) evokes affective automation-related job insecurity and, subsequently, turnover and learning intentions. Further, we investigate the moderating role of core self-evaluations. The results of two online-experiments with German white-collar workers (N1 = 254; N2 = 391) demonstrate that neither mere exposure to ChatGPT nor use of ChatGPT elevate affective automation-related job insecurity, turnover and learning intentions. Findings from an exploratory analysis in Study 2 support that white-collar workers who perceive artificial intelligence to exceed their performance report higher affective automation-related job insecurity after the use of ChatGPT. Overall, the results do not provide empirical evidence of increased affective automation-related job insecurity and turnover and learning intentions, regardless of participants’ level of core self-evaluations. Thus, they do not support the transferability of positive effects from embodied robots on job insecurity to large language models.

BackgroundLarge Language Models (LLMs) are increasingly adopted in organizational practice to support task execution. However, their impact on work design, and ultimately on employee outcomes, remains unclear.ObjectiveDrawing on theoretical frameworks regarding the effects of technologies on work design, we investigate potentially negative effects of LLM use on three work characteristics (decision-making autonomy, information processing, role overload) and on decision-making performance. We examine the mitigating role of voluntary LLM use and the needs for autonomy and cognition as moderating factors.MethodsWe conducted an online-experiment with 505 German workers from various industries, who performed two work tasks and were randomly assigned to one of three groups: no LLM use, instructed LLM use, or voluntary LLM use. Participants rated perceived work characteristics after task completion. Individual need strengths and decision-making performance were assessed.ResultsFindings support that LLM use reduces decision-making autonomy, information processing, and decision-making performance, but also decreases role overload. We found support for the mitigating role of voluntary LLM use and a moderating effect of need for autonomy, amplifying the effects on decision-making autonomy. Results did not support moderating effects for need for cognition.ConclusionsOverall, our experiment provides causal evidence that voluntary LLM use mitigates the negative effects on work characteristics, such as reduced decision-making autonomy and information processing, and losses in decision-making performance while reaping the benefits, such as reduced role overload. Voluntary use seems to be particularly important for workers with a high need for autonomy.

In this “Provocation Article”, we argue that the sole focus of personnel selection research and practice on job performance criteria represents a substantial limitation. While job performance remains a key outcome, employee well-being is also relevant—both as an intrinsic value and as a predictor of important organizational outcomes such as turnover, absenteeism, and citizenship behavior. Given the solid evidence on individual differences and work-related factors that influence employee well-being, and drawing on ethical, legal, and economic arguments, we call for a paradigm shift: Well-being should be treated as an explicit criterion in personnel selection. We outline five practical pathways for integrating well-being into selection systems, including the use of well-being-related traits (which should be carefully matched to job-specific demands), person–environment fit approaches, simulation-based tools, communicating well-being priorities to applicants, and using selection insights to inform onboarding and support. We also discuss four key challenges, such as the risk of discriminatory practices, balancing multiple criteria, and faking. Finally, we sketch a research agenda to guide future work on well-being-focused selection. Overall, we advocate for multi-criteria selection systems that promote not only organizational performance but also human flourishing.

: Recent research challenges a purely positive view of high job autonomy by demonstrating its association with job demands. Based on the Vitamin model and empirical evidence for nonlinear relationships of autonomy with work outcomes, we investigate the nature of the relationship of work methods and work scheduling autonomy with work intensification. Using spline models in two studies (N1 = 501 British; N2 = 569 German employees), we found nonlinear relationships: An initial negative relationship with work intensification for low to medium job autonomy levels disappeared at high levels. In Study 1, we even found a shift into a positive relationship for work methods autonomy. Overall, our findings suggest a complex role of job autonomy at work.

Smart technologies, artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation (STARA) can revolutionize the labor market by substituting human labor. STARA Awareness has been introduced to capture employees' appraisal of the impact of STARA on their employment without a thorough validation and overarching theoretical framework. Therefore, we contributed a content validation of STARA Awareness and examined the internal structure of the suggested measurement instrument, the differentiation from cognitive and affective job insecurity (JI), potential antecedents, and its 1-year trend. We conducted two cross-sectional (N1 = 215, N2 = 224) and one longitudinal study (N3 = 233) with German employees from various branches. We adapted the questionnaire and redefined the construct as affective automation-related job insecurity (AAJI) based on content criticism. Our results indicate that AAJI is weakly positively related to cognitive and affective JI but empirically different. We identified the substitution potential of occupation, the use of STARA as positive predictors, and core self-evaluations as a negative predictor of AAJI. Latent growth curve models reveal no linear change of AAJI over 1 year but different trajectories as a function of the use of STARA. Thus, AAJI represents a digitalization-specific form of job insecurity with its distinct nomological net and high temporal stability.

Job crafting involves employees proactively changing their jobs to better suit their preferences. Recent integrative frameworks organize the multifaceted construct with superordinate factors, emphasizing the distinction between behavioral (actions to change job characteristics) and cognitive crafting (reframing one's view on the job). However, most existing job crafting literature focuses on behavioral crafting, leaving the dynamics between behavioral and cognitive crafting and their comparability regarding antecedents and outcomes unclear. This study provides a systematic juxtaposition of behavioral and cognitive crafting forms over time, examining their stability, reciprocal influences, and their unique relations with decision-making autonomy as an antecedent and person-job fit as an outcome. It also distinguishes between approach (enlarging one's roles) and avoidance (reducing one's roles) strategies within each form. Using structural equation modeling within a longitudinal design across three measurement points (N = 284 German employees, time lag of four weeks each), our study revealed remarkably high levels of stability in all job crafting forms. Unexpectedly, we found no support for reciprocal relationships between the crafting forms over time nor longitudinal relations with decision-making autonomy and person-job fit. In an additional latent profile analysis, we identified four distinct job crafting profiles with significant variations in used job crafting forms and their associations with person-job fit, providing further insights into the construct's interplay. Our findings seem to question the generalizability of common theoretical assumptions in the field and emphasize the importance of investigating more differentiated mechanisms of individual job crafting forms in the future.

Technological advances have introduced new methods for assessing psychological constructs, moving beyond traditional paper-pencil tests. Game-related assessments (GRAs) offer several advantages for research and practice, though questions about their construct validity persist. This meta-analysis investigated the relationship between indicators derived from computer-based games and traditional cognitive ability measures, examining whether measurement scope (single vs. multiple indicators) or measurement medium of cognitive ability (computer-based vs. paper-pencil) influences this relationship. We identified 52 eligible samples stemming from 44 papers, including data from over 6100 adult participants. The results from three-stage mixed-effects meta-analyses showed an overall observed correlation of r = 0.30 (p < 0.001; corrected r = 0.45) between GRA indicators and traditional cognitive ability measures with substantial heterogeneity in effect sizes. Stronger relationships were found when cognitive ability was measured by multiple indicators, but no differences emerged based on the measurement medium of cognitive ability. Furthermore, GRAs intended to assess cognitive ability did not show stronger relationships with traditional measures of cognitive ability than GRAs not specifically used to measure cognitive ability. Overall, our findings suggest that GRAs are related to traditional cognitive ability measures. However, the overall effect size raises questions about whether GRAs and traditional measures capture the same aspects of cognitive ability or if GRAs also measure other constructs beyond cognitive ability.

We aimed to provide causal evidence on the contradictory effects of projection-based intelligent assistance systems (IASs) for nine motivational work characteristics (MWCs). IASs are increasingly implemented in assembly to counteract rising cognitive workload due to individualized manufacturing processes. However, how IASs enhance or restrict MWCs is largely unknown. We conducted two studies with experimental vignette methodology. In Study 1 (N1 = 169 German employees), we manipulated an assembly workplace (with IAS vs. without IAS) and tested whether findings indicating only positive effects of IASs in the support of a simple assembly process can be transferred to more complex assembly processes. In Study 2 (N2 = 176 German employees), we manipulated again the assembly workplace (with IAS vs. without IAS) and in addition the dynamic of product changes (task rotation after 1 h vs. no task rotation). Analyzing the data with SPSS 27, we found increased feedback from job and information processing and decreased work scheduling, decision-making, and work methods autonomy when working with IAS. In Study 2, we did not find the main or interaction effects of task rotation on MWCs. Our experimental evidence suggests that working with IASs represents a double-edged sword regarding MWCs and that the effect of task rotation is limited. Hence, our results provide vital theoretical implications for a much-needed work design theory that delineates how new technologies shape work design and practical implications for modern assembly.

Job autonomy is traditionally seen as a core job characteristic with positive effects on work outcomes. However, in today's world of work, excessive levels of job autonomy have also been suggested to lead to demands with negative downstream effects. We investigated paradoxical effects of high levels of two autonomy facets with regard to work engagement. In an experimental vignette study (N = 228 German employees), we manipulated two autonomy facets in a 2x2 between-subject design (high vs. low work methods autonomy vs. work scheduling autonomy). We found evidence for paradoxical effects for one facet: High levels of work scheduling autonomy directly stimulated work engagement but led to higher levels of work intensification therefore also (indirectly) hindering work engagement. To our knowledge, our findings are the first to provide evidence of the simultaneous paradoxical effects of work scheduling autonomy and an explanation for detrimental effects on work engagement via the intensification of work.

Goal orientations represent a key approach for explaining employee motivation and performance. While a trichotomous framework (learning, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goal orientations) dominates the work literature, goals regarding the work process, for example, minimal work expenditure, fall outside the scope. This is reflected in a lack of theoretical differentiation and validated instruments for assessing work avoidance goals in the work context. However, a minimization of effort among employees can pose a risk to the goals of many organizations. Therefore, we extend goal orientation theory at work by building on educational research and introducing the dimension of work avoidance goal orientation to the work context. In three studies of German employees (N1 = 115, N2 = 224, N3 = 121), including cross-sectional and cross-lagged data, we developed a reliable and construct-valid scale to assess work-avoidance goal orientation at the workplace. Furthermore, we reveal contradicting implications from an organizational (prediction of absenteeism/withdrawal behaviors) and an individual perspective (protecting influences in the form of reduced demands), thereby offering starting points for future research and organizational practices that seek to better differentiate in the lower performance and motivation ranges of employees.

COVID-19 working restrictions resulted in a location shift of white-collar workers into their home office (HO). Little is known about how the proportion of HO affects sitting and physical activity (PA) behaviour during working hours, and potential correlates are not well understood. A cross-sectional sample of currently working adults in HO (n = 575) completed questionnaires regarding HO proportion before and during the pandemic, work-related sitting and PA, and socioecological factors regarding HO sitting time. The reported HO proportion increased by 46.7 ± 40.6% during COVID-19 working restrictions. Workday sitting proportion correlates positively with HO proportion. The regression model identified gender, education level, working hours, working environment to stand during work, and transport and leisure PA as correlates of the workday sitting proportion in HO. This study provides findings that high HO proportions are related to higher work-related sitting times and adds insights into possible correlates of sitting time in HO.Practitioner summary: Working in the home office (HO) is a common characteristic of flexible work in white-collar workers. This study found that the workday sitting proportion correlates positively with HO proportion and identified correlates of the workday sitting in HO. Practitioners should consider the potential impacts of HO on work-related sedentary behaviour in future workplace health promotion.

A workplace that emphasizes personal learning and task mastery fosters employee development and performance. However, it is yet unclear which specific factors support such a learning goal-oriented workplace. Based on research in the educational domain, we investigated the reciprocal effects of dispositional learning goal orientation, supervisor's appraisal behavior, and a learning goal-oriented workplace. In a study with a repeated measurement design (N = 144 employees), we did not find support for an effect of supervisor's appraisal behavior (operationalized by the perceived use of self-reference norms and constructive handling of errors by employees) on workplace learning goal orientation over time. However, we found that a dispositional learning goal orientation of employees supports a learning goal-oriented work environment. Furthermore, workplace learning goal orientation had a cross-lagged effect on dispositional learning goal orientation and supervisor's appraisal behavior. By comparing our results from work to findings from the educational context, our results convey important theoretical implications about the construct of workplace goal orientation and suggest practical applications to foster a learning goal-oriented workplace in terms of personnel development and performance management.

Intelligent assistance systems (IAS) are designed to counteract rising cognitive demands caused by increasingly individualized manufacturing processes in assembly. How IAS affect work characteristics which are crucial for promoting work motivation of employees is yet unclear. Based on the cyber-physical systems transformation framework, the model of routine-biased technological change, and a comprehensive model of work design, we expected in- and decreases in motivational work characteristics (MWC) when working with IAS. Furthermore, we posited a buffering effect of the option of voluntary use on decreasing knowledge characteristics. Applying an online case study with experimental vignette methodology (EVM) allowed us to identify effects of the IAS on MWC before it is widely implemented. 203 German and British blue-collar workers evaluated an assembly workplace according to three experimental conditions (work without IAS, work with IAS, work with voluntary use of IAS). We identified enhanced feedback from the job and information processing in work with IAS in contrast to a traditional assembly workplace but found no restrictions (or elevations) in terms of other task (i.e., autonomy) or knowledge characteristics (i.e., job complexity, problem solving, specialization, skill variety). Thus, our results indicate that the IAS improves some motivational work characteristics of the assembly workplace, although it misses the primary goal of cognitive relief. Our study highlights the need for work design theories that specify the effect of IAS on motivational work characteristics and the potential benefit of IAS in assembly of the future.

Abstract. Although job crafting finds widespread application as a leading approach to bottom-up work design, the foundation of the construct is rather shaky: two different theoretical perspectives exist within the research field that have largely been treated separately. An empirical examination of their congruency is missing so far, threatening construct validity, the informative value of the emerging literature, and comparability of effects in practice. In two studies, we investigated the comparability and possible integrative approaches for the two perspectives, including different versions of existing measurement instruments. Our results, based on two large samples of employees stemming from diverse backgrounds and countries ( N1 = 295, N2 = 557), indicate distinct differences in terms of the internal structure of existing job crafting measures and with regard to theoretically anticipated relationships between subdimensions. A first empirical attempt to integrate both perspectives provided promising results for overarching approach/avoidance as well as targets of crafting factors. In general, our results provide cause for concern that the two perspectives should not be regarded as one uniform construct, nor should they be used interchangeably in theory or practice.

Führung und Führungskräften kommt heutzutage eine zentrale Rolle in Organisationen zu. Dabei erhofft man sich, dass Führungskräfte den aktuellen Herausforderungen in Organisationen, wie den stetigen Veränderungen, technischen Entwicklungen oder der zunehmenden Globalisierung, effektiv gegenübertreten. Von zentraler Bedeutung ist dabei der tagtägliche Einfluss von Führungskräften auf ihre Mitarbeitenden mit dem Ziel, diese im Sinne der Organisationsziele zu steuern. Dies stellt auf Seiten der Führungskräfte vielfältige Anforderungen, die neben fachlichem und methodischem Know-how auch personale und soziale Kompetenzen (zum Beispiel Zeitmanagement, Kommunikation) erfordern (Felfe, 2009).

Die Beziehung zwischen Unternehmen und Arbeitenden hat sich in den letzten Jahren stark verändert. Um neuen Herausforderungen in der Arbeitswelt gewachsen zu sein, gilt der Erwerb von neuen Kompetenzen als entscheidender Wettbewerbsvorteil sowohl für Mitarbeitende als auch für Unternehmen. Die nötige Anpassung an konstante Veränderungen im Arbeitsleben und die Zunahme von wissensbasierten Arbeitsplätzen machen es nötig, dass Mitarbeitende ihr Wissen, ihre Fertigkeiten und Fähigkeiten stetig weiterentwickeln (Molloy und Noe 2010).