The effect of change in supervisor support and job control on change in vigor: Differential relationships for immigrant and native employees in Israel

• Date: 01 March 2017
• Author: Vivian Schachler,Matthias Ziegler,Sharon Toker,Annekatrin Hoppe
• Published date: 01 March 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/job.2151

The effect of change in supervisor support and job

control on change in vigor: Differential relationships

for immigrant and native employees in Israel

ANNEKATRIN HOPPE

1

*, SHARON TOKER

2

, VIVIAN SCHACHLER

1

AND

MATTHIAS ZIEGLER

1

1

Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany

2

Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

Summary Building on the premises of the conservation of resources theory, the aim of this study was to investigate

long-term effects of job resources on vigor among native and immigrant employees in Israel. More specifi-

cally, we investigated the effects of baseline and change in job control and supervisor support on change in

vigor levels, as well as the degree to which these effects differ among educated native and immigrant em-

ployees in Israel. We surveyed 235 white-collar Eastern European and Russian immigrants and 235 white-

collar native Israelis matched on occupational and demographic characteristics at two points of measurement

with a 30-month time lag. Latent change score modeling revealed that among both immigrants and natives,

change in job control was related to change in vigor. Multiple group analyses further revealed that among im-

migrant employees only, baseline levels of supervisor support were associated with change in vigor. In con-

clusion, these findings suggest that the utilization of resources as a means of acquiring new resources may be

influenced by immigrant background. Managerial implications are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley

& Sons, Ltd.

Keywords: immigrant employees; job resources; social support; job control; vigor; well-being

Vigor is a positive affective state that denotes a combination of positive energy balance and pleasantness. Following

Shirom’s (2011) conceptualization, vigor consists of three components, namely, physical strength, cognitive liveli-

ness, and emotional energy that interact with one another. Vigor leads to numerous desired outcomes for employees

such as physical and mental health (e.g. Armon, Melamed, & Shirom, 2012) and performance (Reis, Arndt,

Lischetzke, & Hoppe, 2016) over and above physiological and affective factors. It also benefits the organization

by increasing employee creativity (e.g. Carmeli, McKay, & Kaufman, 2014). As a work-related resource, vigor is

distinct from other positive states such as positive affect or mood and explains more variance in work-related out-

comes such as performance (Reis et al., 2016). Given the positive effects of vigor on both employees and organiza-

tions, understanding its antecedents is crucial for developing interventions that promote vigor in the workplace.

Several work-related resources have been associated in past studies with vigor, such that baseline levels of resources

relate to or predict higher levels of vigor. These resources include, among others, job characteristics, interact ions

with others, transformational leadership style, teamwork, and organizational reward practices (for a review, see

Shirom, 2010).

As work life is subject to ongoing transformations, with changes that affect individual employees as well as the

organization as a whole, changes in job resources may lead to changes in vigor. This dynamic view is rooted in the

conservation of resources theory (COR, Hobfoll, 1989) and specifically in the notion of gain and loss spirals. Gain

*Correspondence to: Annekatrin Hoppe, Department of Psychology, Humboldt University of Berlin, Rudower Chaussee 18, 12489 Berlin,

Germany. E-mail: annekatrin.hoppe@hu-berlin.de

Annekatrin Hoppe, Sharon Toker, and Vivian Schachler contributed equally to this work.

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Received 25 October 2014

Revised 18 August 2016, Accepted 19 August 2016

Journal of Organizational Behavior, J. Organiz. Behav. 38, 391–414 (2017)

Published online 10 October 2016 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/job.2151

Research Article

spirals occur when an increase in the level of a specific resource (e.g. instrumental support at work) leads to an

increase in positive work-related outcomes (e.g. higher levels of vigor or higher performance rates). Similarly, loss

spirals occur when a decrease in specific resources leads to a decrease in positive outcomes (e.g. lower levels of

vigor). We argue that in order to better explore such gain and loss spirals as well as the relationships between job

resources and vigor, one has to understand how changes in and not merely baseline levels of job resources lead

to increases or decreases in vigor levels. Accordingly, in this study, we aim to fill this gap in the literature and focus

on the static and dynamic effects of two core job resources, namely, the effects of both baseline and changes in

supervisor support and job control, on the development of vigor. Both of these resources have been identified as

key resources in the organizational literature that builds on COR theory (see Halbesleben, Neveu, Paustian-

Underdahl, & Westman, 2014 for a review), in part due to their fundamental role in the job demand–control–support

model (Johnson & Hall, 1988), and both have been associated in the past with vigor (Cheng, Mauno, & Lee, 2014;

Mauno, Kinnunen, & Ruokolainen, 2007; Shraga & Shirom, 2009). By examining changes in these resources (in

addition to baseline and endpoint levels), we expand this literature to better capture the dynamic nature of resources

and contribute to our understanding of COR’s gain and loss spirals.

Another gap in the vigor literature relates to the population studied and specifically to the fact that vigor has not

been studied, to date, among immigrant workers. This is surprising in light of the increasingly diverse workforces in

Western countries and the active role immigrant employees play in numerous workplaces (UN, 2013). Still, the

industrial-organizational literature lacks a resource-oriented perspective targeting job resources that can potentially

help immigrants to improve their work-related well-being. Most studies assessed the negative consequences of

immigration on well-being, including higher levels of stress (Berry, 2006), depressive symptoms (Lindert, von

Ehrenstein, Priebe, Mielck, & Brahler, 2009), and poorer general health (Nielsen & Krasnik, 2010). Studies that

assessed resources such as social support and job control among immigrant employees are rare (for an exception,

see Grzywacz, Quandt, & Arcury, 2008; Hoppe, 2011; Hoppe, Heaney, & Fujishiro, 2010). Indeed, immigration

is considered a critical life event (Berry, 1997) that triggers the loss of important resources, such as social networks

and support systems in the home country (Schwarzer, Hahn, & Schröder, 1994). Nevertheless, we argue that it is

important to focus on resource enhancement and not only on resource loss among immigrant employees and under-

stand whether the mechanisms of resource enhancement differ between natives and immigrants.

In the present study, we aim to fill this gap in the literature and shed light on the role immigrant status plays in the

effect of job-related resources on vigor. We build on COR theory and study the differences between immigrant and

native employees in the effects of baseline and change in supervisor support and job control on change in vigor. In

doing so, we also follow the call made by Halbesleben and colleagues “to examine whether the meaning and value

of resources differ across cultures”(Halbesleben et al., 2014; p. 9), as a means of providing tailored interventions for

ethnically diverse work groups and teams.

Last, but not least, a third gap in the literature relates to the specific immigrant populations studied thus far. Im-

migration data points to an ever-growing global trend in immigration of educated employees that pursue white-collar

jobs in their new country (Tsai, 2012). Yet, the few studies that have assessed favorable psychosocial working con-

ditions among immigrants have primarily focused on blue-collar immigrant employees. These have included mainly

immigrants from low-income countries who, after migration, worked in blue-collar jobs in higher income countries

such as Germany or the USA (Grzywacz et al., 2008; Hoppe, 2011; Hoppe et al., 2010). While the work experience

of blue-collar immigrant employees is of importance, it does not necessarily represent the experience of white-collar

immigrant employees in Western countries. White-collar immigrant employees often hold a lower job status in the

destination country. Yet, they do not necessarily experience a loss of occupational resources to the extent of blue-

collar immigrant employees who experience more substantial changes in job status (e.g. from white-collar to

blue-collar jobs), extended work hours, or the need to perform physical work. However, they face challenges due

to cultural differences such as language and different negotiation styles (e.g. Cox, 1993). Moreover, when assessing

the potential impact of favorable job resources on white-collar immigrant employees, the availability of work-related

resources such as job control and work-related social support may differ between blue-collar and white-collar immi-

grant employees. By comparing immigrant and native employees holding similar white-collar jobs that match their

392 A. HOPPE ET AL.

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Organiz. Behav. 38, 391–414 (2017)

DOI: 10.1002/job