Yours or mine? – The role of flexible working arrangements for psychological ownership

Description

Background: Psychological ownership (PO) refers to feelings of ownership towards a certain target. Previous research shows that PO towards the organization or the job is an important predictor for organizational outcomes (e.g., commitment) and more likely to develop under conditions where individuals have personal control. The present study extends these findings in important ways. First, it concentrates on employees’ PO towards their "work output" (the results of their work performance). Second, it investigates whether flexible working arrangements (FWA) contribute to the development of PO beyond overall job control (i.e., autonomy). And third, it examines whether in the context of FWA PO depends on the specific type of work output. Method: A sample of 154 employees filled in an online questionnaire. They responded to items about PO towards their work output in general, flexplace (as an indicator of FWA), job autonomy, and organizational commitment. Additionally, they indicated their PO with regard to the following types of work output: an idea, acquired knowledge, and a written report. Results and Discussion: Autonomy and flexplace both related to higher PO towards the own work output, which in turn related to higher commitment. PO in the context of FWA was highest for ideas and lowest for the written report. Thus, employers who seek to increase employees’ PO towards their own work output might consider implementing FWA. Employees who work in FWA seem to be more likely to develop high PO towards their work outputs, if those outputs are ideas (and, to a lesser extent, knowledge) rather than “material” products.

Period	14 Sept 2017
Event title	10. Tagung der Fachgruppe Arbeits-, Organisations- und Wirtschaftspsychologie der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie
Event type	Conference
Location	GermanyShow on map