Committing to Work at the Expense of Other Life Pursuits: The Consequence of Individuals’ Relative Centrality of Work Across Job Types and Nations Differing in Performance Orientation
File version
Author(s)
Huang, X
Bond, MH
Xu, EH
Griffith University Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
Size
File type(s)
Location
License
Abstract
Relative centrality of work (RCW) is defined as the psychological importance given by individuals regarding work relative to the importance they attach to other major domains of living. Prior evidence has been inconclusive in terms of how RCW might influence the life satisfaction (LS) of individuals. Hence, in this study, we hypothesize that this relationship is regulated by an individual’s current job features (job complexity [JC]) and national culture concerning work (performance orientation [PO]) independently and jointly. On the basis of representative samples of 23,622 employees from 33 nations, we find that the RCW–LS relationship is negative when JC is low. By contrast, high JC eliminates but does not reverse this negative trend. This two-way interaction only exists when employees simultaneously live in a nation whose culture stresses performance improvements and achievement of rewards from work, that is, nations with high PO. Although an individual’s national–cultural context does not moderate the RCW–LS linkage, it functions by making work relative to other life domains (RCW) and job characteristics (high JC) highly important in deriving satisfaction from one’s life.
Journal Title
Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume
50
Issue
7
Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
Publisher link
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement
Item Access Status
Note
Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject
Applied and developmental psychology
Psychology
Cognitive and computational psychology
Persistent link to this record
Citation
Lu, Q; Huang, X; Bond, MH; Xu, EH, Committing to Work at the Expense of Other Life Pursuits: The Consequence of Individuals’ Relative Centrality of Work Across Job Types and Nations Differing in Performance Orientation, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 2019, 50 (7), pp. 848-869