Personal Control at Work: Its Conceptualization and Measurement

摘要

Numerous psychological researchers have proposed personal control over a variety of factors as an important variable in understanding human behavior, but the construct has been largely neglected by organizational psychologists. This paper discusses the construct personal control over work-related factors and the development of a means for measuring control over work-related factors. Two dimensions of control were found, one measuring the degree of control desired at work and the other measuring the degree of control possessed at work. These dimensions were observed to be very different from the locus of control construct. Analysis of the data indicate that the difference between control desired and control possessed may be an important mediating factor in job satisfaction. The use of control in redesigning jobs was discussed. (Author)