Diversity in the Meaning of Work: The Puzzling Power of Callings

Diversity in the Meaning of Work: The Puzzling Power of Callings Jen Tosti Amy Wrzesniewski May Meaning Meeting May 2008

Roadmap • Some context and background • Study of work orientation in work teams • Aim is to examine how diversity in members’ work orientation relates to group process • We’ve encountered a data issue that we’re currently puzzling through • How to best frame and test our question? May Meaning Meeting

The Meaning of Work • Often characterized as an issue for the individual (Dekas, Rosso, & Wrzesniewski, in prep) • But meaning, and its impact, is also social (Cardador, 2008; Pratt & Ashforth, 2003; Wrzesniewski, Dutton & Debebe, 2003) May Meaning Meeting

Research Question • How does diversity in work orientation relate to functioning and attachment in interdependent groups? OR ????? May Meaning Meeting

Value Diversity in Groups • Distinction between deep-level diversity (e.g., values attitudes, education, function) and surface-level diversity (e.g., age, sex, race) • Member similarity in deep-level characteristics is generally beneficial for group functioning and attachment: • Increases satisfaction, commitment, group cohesiveness, information sharing and task performance (Jehn et al., 1999; Harrison, Price & Bell, 1998; Harrison, Price, Gavin & Florey, 2002; Polzer, Milton & Swann, 2002; Bunderson & Sutcliffe, 2002) • Decreases task and relational conflict (Jehn, Chadwick & Thatcher, 1997; Jehn, Northcraft & Neale, 1999) • Deep-level diversity is more harmful than surface-level diversity(Pelled, 1999) • Effects of deep-level diversity increase over time(Harrison et al., 1998, 2002) May Meaning Meeting

What We Add • Is member value similarity a positive thing for groups? • For certain values and non-routine tasks, member similarity might not be a good thing (Jehn et al., 1999; Mohammed & Angell, 2004) • Might the content of the similar values affect group functioning and attachment? • Important to explore work-relevant values on which group members may be similar or different and for which we would expect positive or negative relationship to functioning May Meaning Meeting

Work Orientation • Calling • Focus on fulfillment from work itself • May mean that members work together to focus on the work; team’s agenda and personal agenda aligned • Calling diversity is likely to be negatively related to group functioning and attachment • Career • Focus on personal career advancement • May mean that members are pulling in their own direction, not necessarily for the group • Career diversity is likely to be positively related to group functioning and attachment • Role of Time • As a deep-level value, the effects of work orientation should increase over time (cross-sectional; Harrison, Price & Bell, 1998) May Meaning Meeting

Method • Survey study of work teams • N = 227 teams, range in size from 3 to 18, mean size of 4.6 members • Drawn from a wide variety of industries and organizations • Mean group member age = 33.6 years • Mean group tenure = 37.8 months • Mean minimum group tenure (time spent in team with current group members) = 14.0 months • Met criteria for interdependent groups(Hackman, 1998) May Meaning Meeting

Measures Independent Variables • Work Orientation (Wrzesniewski et al., 1997) Dependent Variables • Group Functioning • Group Process (Taylor & Bowers, 1972) • Group Attachment • Team Identification (Bhattacharya, 2001) • Team Commitment (Mowday, Steers & Porter, 1979) • Faith and Confidence in Management (Cook & Wall, 1980) • Satisfaction with Work Elements (Andrews & Withey, 1976) • People (co-workers, supervisor, team members) • Work itself (skills, variety) • Pay and benefits (company, chance for promotion, job security) May Meaning Meeting

Data Analysis • Aggregated measures to group level • Constructs are defined at group level • Meet criteria for within-group agreement: • Significant F values in one-way ANOVA(Kenny & Judd, 1986) • r(wg) values greater than .75 (James, Demaree & Wolf, 1982) • IVs: Within-group standard deviations as diversity measures (Bedeian & Mossholder, 2000) • DVs: Within-group means • Controls: Surface-level diversity – age (SD) and sex (Blau’s heterogeneity index) (Blau, 1977) • All analyses are at the group level using stepwise linear regression May Meaning Meeting

Initial Results • Controlling for: group size, mean age, mean occupational tenure (years), mean team tenure (months), age diversity (SD) and sex diversity (Blau’s index): †p < .10 * p < .05 ** p < .01 *** p < .001 Group Functioning Work Satisfaction Organizational Attachment Team Attachment May Meaning Meeting

Summary of Initial Results • Career diversity does positively affect group attachment (satisfaction with work and group members), even controlling for surface-level diversity (age and sex) • However, the mean levels of calling swamp diversity effects • It’s the average, not the variance, that matters • Time in team (median and minimum) x diversity has no effect on outcomes • Deep-level diversity does not intensify effects over time; surface-level diversity does not weaken effects May Meaning Meeting

Questions for You • Is this just a main effects story? • What to do next? • Run analyses at the individual level? • HLM (individuals nested within groups) • Try different models? • Try different diversity measures? • Blau’s index (categorize people as Job, Career or Calling) • Consider intrapersonal vs. team profile of work orientation (Bunderson & Sutcliffe, 2002) • What does this make you wonder about? May Meaning Meeting

Our Intended Contributions • To add evidence to groups literature that value diversity may be good or bad for group functioning and attachment • What matters is the content of the value in question • To test effects of work orientation at the group level • Further contributes to an understanding of relational aspects of work orientation and meaning of work May Meaning Meeting

THANK YOU!!! May Meaning Meeting

Group Process • 8 Items (Taylor & Bowers, 1972), 1-5 scale • Thinking about your work team, to what extent: • does your work group plan together and coordinate its efforts? • does your work group make good decisions and solve problems well? • do people in your work group know what their jobs are and know how to do them well? • does your work group really want to meet its objectives successfully? • do you have confidence and trust in the people in your work group? • is there conflict in your work group? May Meaning Meeting

Team Identification • 6 Items (adapted from Bhattacharya, 2001), 1-5 scale • When someone criticizes my team, it feels like a personal insult. • I am very interested in what others think about my team. • When I talk about my team, I usually say 'we' rather than 'they'. • My team’s successes are my successes. • When someone praises my team, it feels like a personal compliment. • If a story in the media criticized my team, I would feel embarrassed. May Meaning Meeting

Team Commitment • 16 items (Porter & Smith, 1970), 1-5 scale • I am willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond that normally expected in order to help this team be successful. • I feel very little loyalty to this team. • I would accept almost any type of job assignment in order to keep working with this team. • I am proud to tell others that I am part of this team. • I could just as well be working with a different team as long as the type of work were similar. • It would take very little change in my present circumstances to cause me to leave this team. • I really care about the fate of this team. May Meaning Meeting

Work Satisfaction • 11 items (Andrews & Withey, 1976), 1-7 scale, factor analyzed to form 3 subscales: • Thinking about your job, how do you feel about: • Work satisfaction with people • The people you work with, that is, your co-workers? • Your immediate supervisor? • You team members? • Work satisfaction with the work itself • The work that you do on the job, that is, the work itself? • The chance to use your skills? • The variety of different things you do at work? • Work satisfaction with pay and benefits • The company, business, or organization? • The pay? • Your chances for being promoted? • Your job security? • The benefits provided to you? May Meaning Meeting

Faith & Trust in Management • 6 Items (Cook & Wall, 1980), 1-5 scale • Management at my firm is sincere in its attempt to meet the team’s point of view. • I feel quite confident that the management will always try to treat my team fairly. • Our management would be quite prepared to gain advantage by deceiving the workers. • Our firm has a poor future unless it can attract better managers. • Management can be trusted to make sensible decisions for the firm’s future. • Management at work seems to do a good job. May Meaning Meeting

Diversity in the Meaning of Work: The Puzzling Power of Callings