Previous research found that organizational commitment is positively related to employee well-being. However, in the current age of contingent work, transitions, and `protean careers', the advisability of commitment is questionable. Therefore, we analyzed the role of organizational commitment in one paradigmatic area of contingent work arrangements: temporary agency work. In contrast to standard workers, temporary agency workers have to deal with two organizations: the temporary agency and client organization. Results revealed an ambivalent role of organizational commitment for temporary workers. Cross-sectional commitment towards the client organization had positive effects on workers' well-being, whereas commitment towards the agency had no effects. However, longitudinal analyses revealed that commitment to the client was detrimental to workers' well-being when they experienced reassignment to another client. In sum, we found beneficial and dysfunctional effects of organizational commitment on well-being, which suggest the reconsideration of the role of organizational commitment for individuals in unstable work arrangements.

Previous research on the relationship between self-monitoring and job performance has neglected the role of tenure even though both theory and preliminary evidences suggest that job incumbents' tenure should be a strong moderator. The current study investigates the role of organizational tenure on the relationship between self-monitoring and job performance (number of new contracts sold) in a sample of sales insurance agents. Consistent with expectations, tenure moderates the relationship between self-monitoring and job performance, i.e., self-monitoring is positively correlated with job performance for job incumbents with less tenure but not for those with more tenure. We propose that the relationship between self-monitoring and job performance depends on the job incumbents' ability and opportunity to control the cues available to those who interact with and/or appraise the performance of the job incumbent.

Purpose Temporary agency work (TAW) has increased enormously in recent decades. Most temporary agency workers are pushed involuntarily into this work arrangement and prefer permanent work arrangements. Therefore, the motive to find a permanent job through TAW is predominant for the majority of temporary agency workers. However, little is known about what helps in obtaining a permanent job in a client organization. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of social skills by simultaneously considering the human capital aspects and motivational background of the individuals for transition success. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a questionnaire study of 151 temporary agency workers with two measurement points. The questionnaires were first administered at the very beginning of their work as a temp and again five months later. Findings The findings show that the social skills of temporary agency workers in contrast to various aspects of human capital and motives for temping had a significant impact on becoming a permanent worker in a client organization. Research limitations/implications The generalizability of the finding that social skills help temporary agency workers to find a permanent job in a client organization may be restricted due to the particularities of the work setting in the clerical sector. The incidences as well as the determinants of transition success may depend on the industry sector because of the respective assignment characteristics as well as the clients’ reasons of using temporary agency workers. Future research should investigate more thoroughly the role of assignment characteristics for the experiences of the workers. Practical implications Social skills seem to play a crucial role for transition success in TAW. Qualification measures should therefore include the training of interpersonal behavior. It would be desirable when the involved organizations would assume responsibility in this respect. Furthermore, policy makers should provide adequate training formats since they promote TAW as a stepping stone opportunity for unemployed people. Originality/value This paper suggests that career mobility in the context of flexible work arrangements may be driven by more informal processes of social integration into the existing permanent team. While TAW is seen as a temporary solution in Germany, this study focuses on the individual determinants of transition success of temporary agency workers that is still rare in studies on the topic.

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In diesem Beitrag wird der Einfluß von Expertentum auf das Ausmaß eskalierenden Commitments bei Entscheidungen untersucht. Mitarbeitern aus einem Kreditinstitut und aus Rettungsdienstorganisationen wurde die Aufgabe vorgegeben, in zwei fiktiven Szenarien aus den beiden Arbeitsbereichen über die Vergabe weiterer Geldmittel nach einem finanziellen Rück-schlag zu entscheiden. Die Höhe der Investition war Maß für das Commitment. Je die Hälfte der Befragten jeder Berufsgruppe wurden mit einem der beiden Fälle konfrontiert, woraus sich Gruppen von "Experten" und "Laien" ergaben, je nachdem, ob sie mit der berufsfremden oder berufsnahen Entscheidungssituation konfrontiert wurden. Es ergaben sich Hinweise, dass Experten weniger investieren und demnach weniger Commitment entwickeln als Laien.The present study examines the role of expertise for the escalation of commitment. Subjects were 56 apprentices of the financial services sector and 46 subjects working as first-aid persons. Subjects were confronted with scenarios stemming from both areas of work and they had to decide about the allocation of further financial resources after a failing investment. Commitment was measured through the amount of additional investments. The independent variable "expertise" was manipulated by the combination of sample and job-context: Those, who had to decide about further investments in the condition with the scenario stemming from their own area of work, were considered to be experts whereas those who were confronted with the scenario of the unfamiliar work-setting were rated as novices. Results show that escalating commitment was significantly higher for novices than for experts.