Integrating the theory of work adjustment and attachment theory to predict job turnover intentions (original) (raw)

I hate my workplace but I am very attached to it: workplace attachment style

Personnel Review

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether different patterns of workplace attachment exist and to explore the relations between adult attachment styles and the level of workplace attachment. Design/methodology/approach Participants were 351 Italian employees who completed a questionnaire composed of the Workplace Attachment Scale and the Relationship Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using correspondence analysis. Findings The results showed that high scores on workplace attachment correlated significantly with secure attachment style, while low scores correlated with insecure attachment styles. These results shed light on different workplace attachment styles. Research limitations/implications The limitation in this study mostly concern the use of self-reporting instruments to measure the participants’ attachment style, since they may be susceptible to distortions. However, the distribution of attachment styles in this sample is similar to the worldwide distributi...

Individual Differences in Work-Related Well-Being: The Role of Attachment Style

Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 2014

Integrating theories of adult attachment and well-being at the workplace, the present study tested the role of attachment style in predicting work-related well-being in terms of job satisfaction and job involvement, over and above dispositional trait measures (emotional traits and work-related traits). A sample of workers took part in a correlational study that explored the relationships among a) adult attachment, b) emotional traits, c) work-related traits, and d) work-related well-being indices. The results showed that both secure and anxious attachment style explained workers' job involvement, whereas the secure and avoidant attachment styles explained workers' job satisfaction. The current findings thus confirm and expand the literature's emphasis on studying the variables and processes that underlie people's mental health in the work setting, and have implications for assessing and promoting well-being in the workplace.

Attachment and responses to employment dissolution

Human Resource Management Review, 2015

We propose that theory and research on how individuals deal with loss or potential loss of personal relationships can inform our understanding of how employees deal with the loss or potential loss of the employment relationship. In particular, we examine the possibility that attachment theorywhich plays a central role in explaining an individual's affective, cognitive and behavioral response to the loss of central close relationshipsmay explain the psychological mechanisms and behavioral reactions associated with the loss of an employment relationship. A key tenet underlying attachment theory is the idea that people develop internal models of attachment, which determine how individuals handle a variety of life's adversities, including but not confined to relationship loss. This research provides a theoretical perspective suggesting that the psychological and physiological effects of job loss may perhaps be related to the emotional trauma, grief and abandonment associated with the loss of the "employment relationship", rather than the financial and social strains associated with the job loss. Further, our research also suggests that strong psychological ties with the organization are not always associated with positive outcomes for the organization, specifically, in the event of employment dissolution. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Occupational determinants of work attitudes and organizational attachment

Health Manpower Management, 1998

The "work attitudes-turnover" linkage was compared among four medical-sector occupational groups. In a sample of 707 employees, drawn from eight variously-sized medical-sector sites, intended and actual turnover behavior is predicted. Combining a cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis, and using two logistic regression models, the direct effect of work attitudes on intended and actual turnover was assessed. The "work attitudes-turnover" was shown to be occupationally-dependent.

Attachment in the Workplace Questionnaire – First Psychometric Results

2022

The diversity of emotional relationships has resulted in supplementing models of attachment with specific relationship ties that relate to individual domains of interpersonal relationships in human life. We focused on verifying the construct validity of the Attachment in the workplace questionnaire. The sample of our study consisted of 829 participants. The convenient selection was made online. The self-assessment Attachment in the Workplace Questionnaire consisted of 13 questions. Validation of dimensionality through EFA showed three factors: secure attachment to the leader (5 items), anxious attachment to the leader and to colleagues (4 items), and avoidant attachment to colleagues (4 items). The dimensions of the questionnaire showed values of internal consistency above 0.8. The three-factor model showed a good fit to the data. Secure attachment to the leader did not correlate with anxious attachment to colleagues and to the leader. Secure attachment to the leader was moderately significantly related to avoidant attachment to colleagues. Anxious and avoidant attachment dimensions were unrelated. Women scored higher in anxious attachment style and lower in avoidant and secure attachment styles. The results are specific to attachment in a work context where the objects of attachment are the supervisor and colleagues. In further research, we plan to verify the convergent validity of the questionnaire.

Psychological Attachment: Relationships with Job Characteristics, Attitudes, and Preferences for Newcomer Development

Group & Organization Management, 1993

The present study extends the research on organizational commitment by examining (a) the dimensionality of O'Reilly and Chatman's (1986) psychological attachment instrument, (b) the relationships between psychological attachment and correlates of traditional organizational commitment measures, and (c) the relationships between psychological attachment and preferences regarding the early developmental experiences of newly hired, "high-potential" employees. Psychological attachment is demonstrated to be

Attachment styles in organizations: a study performed in a hospital

2012

Recent research has shown that adult attachment theory may be usefully applied to the organizational domain. Our aim in this study was to analyze the influence of attachment styles (secure, avoidant, and anxious) on employees' perceptions, attitudes, and intentions. Participants were nurses, working in a hospital in Italy. Models were tested in which the outcome variables were: turnover intentions, organizational citizenship behaviors, and burnout perceptions (exhaustion and cynicism). The mediational effect of affective organizational commitment was also evaluated. Results showed that attachment security was associated with lower levels of intentions to quit and lower levels of job burnout through the mediation of affective commitment. The secure style was also directly linked to helping behaviors in favor of supervisors and colleagues. Reliable relationships were also found for the avoidant style, which was associated with exhaustion and cynicism. The novelty of findings and usefulness of studying attachment in organizations are discussed.

Personality Factors and Adult Attachment Affecting Job Mobility

International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 2003

Past research has revealed that individuals' job mobility is affected by factors such as job satisfaction, specific career enhancing attributes and job availability. This study examined personality factors predicting voluntary internal and external job mobility. Three types of voluntary job mobility measures were studied: dissatisfaction changes, job improvement changes and job rotations within companies. These mobility measures were related to the Big Five personality factors, sensation seeking and adult attachment. Results showed that demographic variables and sensation seeking contributed to the variance in external job changes. Internal job rotations were not related to any of the demographic and personality variables.

Job stress and attitudes toward change: The mediating effect of psychological attachment

Journal of Psychology in Africa

The present study explored the indirect effect of job stress on attitudes toward change through individuals' psychological attachment (organisational commitment mindsets and job embeddedness). The sample comprised N = 350 employees (black African: 67%; males: 69%; 26-40 years: 67%) who were affected by organisational change in the South African fast-moving consumer goods sector. The participants completed self-report measures on their job stress and psychological attachment (organisational commitment and job embeddedness) experiences and their attitudes towards organisational change. The analysis applied structural equation modeling to test for the mediation effect of psychological attachment on the link between job stress and attitudes toward change. The findings suggest job stress to have a direct negative effect on job embeddedness and a positive, direct effect on attitudes toward change. Low levels of job embeddedness had a direct effect on positive attitudes toward change and mediated the link between job stress and attitudes toward change. The study contributed to organisational change theory by suggesting that experiences of job stress lower employees' job embeddedness and this lowered sense of attachment translates into change-supportive attitudes.