Working in the sky: a diary study on work engagement among flight attendants.
This study aims to gain insight in the motivational process of the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model by examining whether daily fluctuations in colleague support (i.e., a typical job resource) predict day-levels of job performance through self-efficacy and work engagement. Forty-four flight attendants filled in a questionnaire and a diary booklet before and after consecutive flights to three intercontinental destinations. Results of multilevel analyses revealed that colleague support had unique positive effects on self-efficacy and work engagement. Self-efficacy did not mediate the relationship between support and engagement, but work engagement mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and (in-role and extra-role) performance. In addition, colleague support had an indirect effect on in-role performance through work engagement. These findings shed light on the motivational process as outlined in the JD-R model, and suggest that colleague support is an important job resource for flight attendants helping them reach their work-related goals.
Institute of Psychology, Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Woudestein, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. xanthopoulou@fsw.eur.nl
Despoina
D
Xanthopoulou
Arnold B
AB
Bakker
Ellen
E
Heuven
Evangelia
E
Demerouti
Wilmar B
WB
Schaufeli
D000328:Adult; D000401:Aircraft; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004650:Employee Performance Appraisal; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D007587:Job Description; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010379:Peer Group; D012380:Role; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014956:Writing