Call for Papers SGM "Antecedents of work design" Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Call for papers
EAWOP Small Group Meeting

“Antecedents of work design”
June 3-4 2019
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Organizers: Maria Tims, Anja Van den Broeck, and Daniela Andrei

Abstract submission deadline: March 15, 2019

Conference theme
Work design is central to many of the research topics in the Work and Organizational Psychology field. As indicated by Parker, Morgeson, and Johns (2017), work design is a key antecedent of many crucial dependent variables, such as productivity, employee well-being, creativity, and job performance, with considerable evidence pointing towards the beneficial effects of high quality work design for organizations and society overall (De Lange, Taris, Kompier, Houtman, & Bongers, 2003; Humphrey, Nahrgang, & Morgeson, 2007). Despite this body of evidence, poorly designed jobs remain surprisingly prevalent in advanced and developing economies (Dollard et al, 2012; Eurofound, 2015). This situation raises questions as of why these poor-quality work designs still persist, but the prevailing, rather passive, emphasis of existing research on work design as an input variable makes it ill-equipped to provide adequate answers.
Therefore, it is of utmost importance to better understand why poor-quality work is perpetuated and how this situation can be changed. In other words, we need to focus on the antecedents of work design, ranging from global (e.g., technology, globalization), national (e.g., institutional regimes, legislation), organizational (e.g., HR-systems, organizational structure), and individual (e.g., age, gender, proactivity) forces that shape work design, as outlined by Parker, Van Den Broeck, and Holman (2017). Moreover, we need to improve our understanding of both top down (e.g., supervisor, HR; Parker, Andrei, & Van den Broeck, in press) and bottom up (e.g., job crafting; Tims, Bakker, & Derks, 2013; Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001) processes that ultimately shape work design.

Therefore, this SGM meeting aims to advance our understanding of the factors that shape work design and stimulate more scientific research into this neglected area. We aim to attract empirical and conceptual research addressing the antecedents of work design, and revolving on topics such as (but not limited to):
- Research addressing the contextual factors that might facilitate or inhibit behaviors and decision-making of work designers
- Research on how individual, team, and organizational factors can shape the quality of work design perceived by employees
- Research on contextual factors and proactive work behaviors that change work design
- Research on antecedents and work design outcomes of job crafting behaviors
- Research on how the social context supports individual attempts to changing work design
- Research on work design choices that are perceived, and enacted upon, by local ‘job designers’
- Research on innovative measures of work design behaviors
- Research on how work design behaviors can be trained and improved

Meeting format
The format of this small group meeting (20-25 participants) is designed to foster in-depth discussions, constructive feedback, and research collaborations. Each paper will be presented to the entire group of participants, however, we will not focus on traditional 15 minute paper presentations but aim to have more time to engage in discussions about how to study the antecedents of work design. This means we will have short presentations grouped together based on their theme followed by in-depth discussions, moderated by a prominent researcher who is asked to act as a discussant. Prof. Sharon Parker will open the Small Group Meeting with a keynote. Attendance at the workshop is free. Tea, coffee, and lunches are provided. Participants need to provide for their own travel and accommodation costs.

Submission of abstracts
Scholars are invited to submit an abstract based on work that is in progress or emerging ideas. Abstracts should have a description of the study goals and relevance, method, results, and discussion (around 300 words). Abstracts should be submitted to m.tims@vu.nl no later than March 15, 2019. Interested scholars are also invited to contact the organizers in advance to discuss potential ideas. We aim for 20-25 participants, which can easily be split up in smaller groups for discussions.

References
De Lange, A.H., Taris, T.W., Kompier, M.A., Houtman, I.L., & Bongers, P.M. (2003). “The very best of the millennium”: Longitudinal research and the demand-control-(support) model. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 8, 282-305.
Dollard, M., Bailey, T., McLinton, S., Richards, P., McTernan, W., Taylor, A., & Bond, S. (2012). The Australian Workplace Barometer: Report on psychosocial safety climate and worker health in Australia. Retrieved from https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/system/files/documents/1702/the-australian-workplace-barometer-report.pdf
European Foundation for Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND) (2012). Retrieved from https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/.
Humphrey, S.E., Nahrgang, J.D., & Morgeson, F.P. (2007). Integrating motivational, social, and contextual work design features: A metaanalytic summary and theoretical extension of the work design literature. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 1332–1356.
Parker, S., Andrei, D., & Van den Broeck, A. (in press) Poor Work Design Begets Poor Work Design: Capacity and Willingness as Antecedents of Individual Work Design Behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology.
Parker, S.K., Morgeson, F.P., & Johns, G. (2015). One hundred years of work design research: Looking back and looking forward. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102, 403-420.
Parker, S. K., Van Den Broeck, A., & Holman, D. (2017). Work design influences: A synthesis of multilevel factors that affect the design of jobs. Academy of Management Annals, 11, 267–308.
Tims, M., Bakker, A.B., & Derks, D. (2013). The impact of job crafting on job demands, job resources, and well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 18, 230-240.
Wrzesniewski, A. & Dutton, J. (2001). Crafting a job: Revisioning employees as active crafters of their work. Academy of Management Review, 26, 179-201.