While much research has been dedicated to determining what may cause workers to engage in counterproductive behavior at work, fairly less attention has been paid to the factors which may influence individuals to refrain from enacting these behaviors. The current study was conducted to determine whether trait empathy may be one such factor and serve as a moderator of the relationship between work stressors and intentions to commit counterproductive work behavior (CWB). Using the theoretical framework of the stressor-emotion model of CWB it was hypothesized more specifically that empathy moderated the mediating effects of negative affect on relationships between stressors and CWB intentions; it was expected that this mediating process would be weaker for those who are more empathetic as compared to those who lower in empathy. 365 Full-time working adults were surveyed using Amazon's Mechanical TURK at two time points to examine this relationship. The moderating effects of the different facets of empathy on the work stressor-CWB relationship were also examined in regard the intention to commit CWB to see if one facet of empathy was more key in the buffering of CWB than the other. Results supported the stressor-emotion model of CWB finding that NA mediated the relationship between the work stressors workload and organizational injustice, and CWB intentions. Results also found that trait empathy significantly attenuated the indirect relationship between the stressors and CWB intentions with trait empathy's affective component found to be particularly influential in this process. Implications of these findings as well as directions for future research are discussed.

Internet use has changed modern workplaces and introduced new options for employee behavior, including organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). While prior research suggests the internet is a unique social environment, and not a simple extension of a traditional in-person workplace, OCB has not been studied in this context. This thesis aimed to identify and document the nature of online OCB and identify how it differs in form and function from traditional in-person OCB. This thesis used a mixed methods approach, with self-report data from 201 participants. Results indicate workers engage in OCB online at a lower rate than in person. Some traditional OCBs do not translate to online settings, but online settings do introduce new possibilities for OCB. Additionally, the nature of the relationships between OCB and other workplace constructs, such as cyberloafing, turnover intentions, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, differ depending on if the OCB occurred in person or online. Directions for future research on online forms of OCB are discussed.

Working from home as part of a virtual team has become the status quo for many workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, modern organizations require teams skilled at complex problem-solving, innovation, and adaptability. Psychological safety enhances these skills, by means of fostering an environment in which team members can fully engage and learn. Given the theoretical possibility that team virtuality may dampen the development of team psychological safety, the present study empirically investigated relationship between these two constructs. A hypothesized model was tested, in which team virtuality has an indirect effect on team psychological safety, via intrateam perceived other-to-self peer support, and self-and-other anonymity. I recruited 213 participants via an online platform for pay. The participants were randomly assigned into 71 teams of three members to perform a 30-minute distributed expertise task. Each team was randomly assigned to one of three virtuality conditions, operationalized as the media richness of the computer technology they were required to use to communicate. Results demonstrated that, as team virtuality decreased (i.e., richer media technology), perceived peer support and team psychological safety increased, as did objective measures of team performance. In contrast, perceived anonymity decreased, but the relationship between anonymity and team psychological safety was not statistically significant. Scholarly and practical implications are discussed.

Due to the many detrimental effects of counterproductive work behavior (CWB), it is important to measure the construct accurately. Despite this, there are some limitations inherent to current CWB measures that are somewhat problematic, including that they contain items that do not apply to all jobs while missing items that are important for other jobs (Bowling & Gruys, 2010). The current study tackles these issues by drawing on the benefits associated with open-ended response situational judgment tests (SJTs), such as them having the potential for more insight from respondents (Finch et al., 2018), to develop an open-ended response CWB SJT. To minimize the drawbacks currently associated with the manual analysis of open-ended response SJTs (e.g., being time-consuming and costly)—which is also a reason why they are rarely used— the study leverages natural language processing and machine learning to measure CWB. Using a two-dimensional conceptualization of CWB, including CWB against the organization (CWB-O) and individuals (CWB-I), the CWB SJT dimensions had a moderate to strong correlation with the popular CWB scale the Workplace Deviance scale (Bennett & Robinson, 2000). Findings further indicate the CWB SJT to be related to variables typically associated with CWB tendencies, such as neuroticism and trait self-control. By using topic modeling, it was also found that topic prevalence was largely consistent through time both for the full CWB SJT and for individual items, implying the test-retest reliability. The CWB SJT along with R code for analyzing the open-ended responses is provided. Implication of the CWB SJT for research and practice are discussed.

The imposter phenomenon is a psychological experience characterized by feelings of self-doubt and personal incompetence that persist despite evidence of achievement and success. Employees with these imposter-like thoughts feel as if they ended up in notable roles and positions not because of merit, but from oversight or luck. Research and popular press articles have portrayed the imposter phenomenon as a negative experience, bringing costs to the individual's well-being and work life. Yet, recent research has revealed that perhaps a favorable trajectory to the imposter experience might exist. To address this question, participants were identified and interviewed using a two-phase, sequential explanatory mixed-methods design. Participants were individuals who reported relatively high imposter-like feelings but did not exhibit the negative outcomes typically associated with this experience. Among these individuals, the imposter phenomenon was largely seen as an opportunity for personal growth and professional development, one that challenged and motivated them toward continuous self-improvement. These results provide new insight into how some individuals appraise and subsequently experience their imposter-like feelings. Several propositions were developed from this research, many of which highlight the role of cognitive appraisal as an important construct for better understanding how the imposter phenomenon can be experienced. Implications for future research are discussed.

This research investigates whether constructive criticism enhances creative performance within the relationship context of leaders and followers. Previous research on leadership and creativity defines creative products as novel and useful, but overlooks antecedents to creative action—the immediate precondition of creative products. Creative action, or creative performance, includes (1) identifying a problem, (2) searching for information, (3) generating solutions, and (4) evaluating the best solution. Previous research informs that three psychological mechanisms are responsible for creative actions: (1) sense-making, (2) motivation, and (3) knowledge processes. Constructive criticism is posited to act simultaneously on each of these processes to encourage creative performance across the creativity process. This relationship is hypothesized to be moderated by leader-member exchange. Furthermore, follower feedback-seeking behavior and learning goal orientation are also hypothesized to moderate the constructive criticism and creativity relationship. A series of moderated multiple regression analyses were conducted on survey data from 201 employees and 83 leader-follower dyads. Results indicate that constructive criticism has a null relationship with creativity, and may be detrimental to the in-role performance of followers. However, more nuanced analyses show that these relationships are to some degree moderated by leader-member exchange, the follower's learning goal orientation, and the follower's frequency of feedback seeking behavior.

Ensuring effectiveness of training programs has been a dominant theme in the training industry, and is constantly evolving with the steady incorporation of emerging technology. This field study offers an investigation into the intersection between the applied and research world, and examines the practicality of recommended best practices for implementing synthetic learning environments (SLEs) in the military. Specifically, cognitive load has been identified as a significant factor in influencing the effectiveness of training programs. Research on this topic has focused on utilizing the affordances of SLEs to decrease cognitive load imposed by the material and system in order to allow for more cognitive resources to be allocated towards schema construction and automation. Therefore, this study was derived from a need to ensure that the introduction of SLEs into training programs did not hinder learning or training transfer by comparing the performance outcome measures from two SLEs, Virtual BattleSpace 3 (VBS3) and the Military OpenSimulator Enterprise Strategy (MOSES). Based on concepts of cognitive load, it was possible that any group differences could be explained by the varying levels of cognitive load imposed by either system. Furthermore, the specific system could influence the strength of the effect of cognitive load on performance measures. A conditional process analysis model was constructed from the theorized relationships, and the bootstrap method was used to analyze the model. Research findings indicated no support, and discussions delved into possible explanations for results of the study, limitations, and recommendations for future research. While the analyses were nonsignificant, this was the first study investigating the difference between the VBS3 and MOSES platform, and indicated no difference in impacting performance. Additionally, because MOSES is a free, open source platform, this study could support industries that are looking for cost-effective methods to expand training programs in the direction of SLEs.

The present study examined archetype theory (Marcus & Fritzsche, 2015) that suggests that the intersection of multiple group memberships will create a unique cognitive representation, as it is relates to sex, age, and weight. Following a pilot study to equate photos on attractiveness, perceived competence, professionalism, and intelligence, 183 participants reviewed a fictitious LinkedIn profile in which all information was held constant across participants except the photo. Using a 2 (sex) x 2 (age) x 2 (weight) design (manipulated through the photos), participants rated the job applicant on adjectives associated with proposed sex, age, and weight archetypes and on perceptions of job suitability. Results showed that the most young, overweight female received the highest ratings on negative adjectives (i.e., lazy, uncontrolled, self-indulgent) and was rated lower than most conditions on job suitability. Overweight conditions received lower ratings on job suitability than their average-weight counterpart. Weight also impacted the old, female, such that the old, overweight female received lower ratings than her average-weight counterpart on job suitability. In order to help individuals who face disadvantages and unfair treatment in the workplace, the negative effects multiple-group membership has on certain groups must first be acknowledged.

Although a large body of research has attempted to answer the question, "Is a happy worker a more productive worker?" by examining the relationship between job attitudes and behaviors, results are often inconsistent. Drawing upon Fishbein and Ajzen's (1974) compatibility principle as well as theory on job attitude change and dynamic performance, the current study sought to answer this question by examining the attitudes-performance relationship at the within-persons level of analysis. Specifically, an Attitude-Engagement Model that specifies a broad conceptualization of job attitudes and behavioral engagement should exhibit the strongest relationship between job attitudes and job behaviors (Harrison, Newman, & Roth, 2006; Newman, Joseph, & Hulin, 2010) within-persons. Although relationships between these two domains have been theorized and examined within a between-subjects framework, no attempts have been made to examine these broad factors at the within-subjects level. Using experience sampling methodology (ESM), job attitudes and job behavior data were collected from 52 hairdressers, cosmetologists, and barbers across 1,438 observations. Using intensive longitudinal methods (Bolger & Laurenceau, 2013), evidence for large within-persons variability in both job attitudes and behavioral engagement was found. Evidence for the Attitude-Engagement model at the within-persons level of analysis was also provided, even after introducing a one "moment" and one "day" time lag. Furthermore, in order to provide evidence for the construct validity of the A-Factor and the E-Factor within-persons, evidence for the within-persons reliability of the assessment of change was established employing a generalizability framework. The findings have both research and practical implications for the study of attitudes and behaviors in the workplace and suggest several interesting avenues for future research.

As the use of social networking sites (SNSs) in hiring increases, human resources professionals have become concerned with the increased probability of discriminatory hiring decisions. At the same time, there is increasing evidence that discrimination towards overweight and obese applicants has risen in the past decade. The present study addressed these concerns by examining the impact of an applicant's weight in a SNS profile picture on the decision to hire the applicant for a sales position. The impact of the applicant's gender, body mass index, and stereotype-consistent behaviors on hiring intentions were examined. In addition, the type of sales position (face to face or over the phone) were also examined. Results indicated that only overweight, and not obese, candidates experienced discrimination. Moreover, whereas the types of behaviors disclosed on social media profiles impact hiring intentions, there were no interaction effects between applicant weight and the types of behaviors disclosed. Analyses suggested that stereotype-consistent behaviors associated with conscientiousness (i.e., laziness, discipline) were a stronger predictor of hiring intentions than behavior that was less work-related (i.e., unhealthy behaviors). In addition, results suggested that weight discrimination did not occur more for the in person position than the phone position. Overall, the present study suggests that disclosing behaviors on social media that reflect negative traits (i.e., lazy, undisciplined, unhealthy) may impact hiring intentions, regardless of the applicant's weight. Moreover, while applicants who are overweight are less likely to be hired than their average weight counterparts, this discrimination does not occur more often when the applicant engages in stereotype-consistent behavior.