Background
Job changes have been subject of research in industrial and organizational psychology for decades, however, person-related antecedents of job hopping behavior in the context of positive psychology have been largely unexplored.
Aims
Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine whether the person-related constructs life satisfaction and subjective well-being (flourishing) correlate with job hopping tendency and whether they can predict this tendency. Furthermore, the study aimed at answering the question about differences in life satisfaction and subjective well-being (flourishing) between individuals with low and individuals with high job-hopping tendency.
Method
For this purpose, 294 individuals in permanent employment were surveyed in a non-experimental cross-sectional study. Standardized online questionnaires were used to operate life satisfaction and subjective well-being (flourishing); a theory-based multi-item scale was developed to measure job hopping tendency. The data analysis was based on bivariate correlation analysis, multiple linear regression and t-tests.
Results
The results showed that life satisfaction (r = -.48) and subjective well-being (r = -.41) were highly significant and negatively related to job hopping tendency. Individuals with high job hopping tendency also showed lower levels of life satisfaction (d = 0.83) and subjective well-being (d = 0.82) than individuals with low job hopping tendency. Life satisfaction was identified as a highly significant negative predictor for job hopping tendency.
Conclusion
The findings of this study extend the knowledge that is indispensable for organizations and individuals about the influence of life satisfaction and subjective well-being (flourishing) on job hopping tendency. The study reveals that these constructs must be considered in addition to working conditions to further understand and identify job hopping tendency. Findings of this research are discussed, and followed by a proposition for further research. Implications for practice are highlighted with a focus on mental strength (Braun et al., 2017) and the PERMA model (Seligman, 2011) within the framework of positive psychology.