A Study of New Labor Market Entrants' Job Satisfaction Trajectories During a Series of Consecutive Job Changes

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Zhou, Ying; Zou, Min; Wu, Chia-Huei; Parker, Sharon K.; Griffin, Mark
• 署名单位: University of Surrey; University of Reading; University of London; King's College London; China Medical University Taiwan; China Medical University Hospital - Taiwan; Curtin University; Curtin University; University of Surrey
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0021-9010
• DOI: 10.1037/apl0001121
• 发表日期: 2024
• 页码: 293-306
• 关键词: job change; job satisfaction; set point theory; AGENCY; adaptation

摘要

Previous research on the psychological effect of job change has revealed a honeymoon-hangover pattern during the turnover process. However, there is a dearth of evidence on how individuals react and adapt to multiple job changes over their working lives. This study distinguishes adaptation to a single job change in the short term from adaptation to the process of job change in the long term. Drawing on two large-scale, long-running panel data sets from Britain and Australia, it examined how job satisfaction trajectory evolved as individuals made a series of consecutive job changes since they first entered the labor market. Our fixed effect analyses show that in both countries, individuals experienced a stronger honeymoon effect with each successive job change, before gradually reverting to their baseline job satisfaction. In short, the amplitude of the honeymoon-hangover effect increased across multiple job changes. By distinguishing adaptation to change from change in adaptation, this study generates original insights into the role of job mobility in facilitating career development and extends set point theory from understanding the impact of single life events to recurring life events.