Generativity at work: A meta-analysis

By F. Doerwald, H. Zacher, S. Scheibe, Nico W. Van Yperen. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 2019

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A Generativity entails both the motive and the behavior to support and guide younger people and to benefit “ future generations. ” Given its relevance for work and career outcomes, research on generativity in the work context has accumulated over the last three decades. To synthesize this work, we developed a conceptual model based on generativity, lifespan, resource, and motivation theories and conducted a meta-analysis ( k = 48, N = 15,356). The results show that the gen- erativity motive is positively related to person-related (e.g., age, tenure, agency and communion, work centrality) and context-related antecedents (e.g., challenging job demands, job autonomy). Moreover, the generativity motive is positively associated with motivational (i.e., work motivation, occupational self-efficacy), well-being (e.g., positive affect, job satisfaction, self-esteem), and career-related outcomes (e.g., mentoring relationship quality, career satisfaction). The fewer studies on generative behavior largely show a similar pattern. Overall, the findings (1) improve understanding of the nomological network of both the generativity motive and generative behavior at work, (2) point to the importance of generativity for favorable work outcomes, and (3) highlight that future research is needed to better understand the mechanisms and boundary conditions of effects of generativity at work. positively associated with generativity. In addition, generativity was positively related to motivational (e.g., work motivation), well-being (e.g., job satisfaction), and career-related outcomes (e.g., mentoring relationships quality, career satisfaction). Taken together, our findings (1) improve our understanding of the nomological network of both the generativity motive and generative behavior at work, (2) point to the importance of generativity for favorable work outcomes, and (3) highlight that future research is needed to better understand the mechanisms and boundary conditions of generativity at work.

Subfields: Demography, Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/338e43d0716077fe1518b4d3fb4e73968ca454e8