Advancing case manager motivation in child welfare: Job control's curvilinear relationship and instrumental feedback's moderating influence

Mark S. Preston

Children and Youth Services Review, 2013, vol. 35, issue 12, 2003-2012

Abstract: To date, no published empirical studies in the field of child welfare (or social work) have investigated the curvilinear relationship between job characteristics and any aspect of employee functioning. The present study addressed this research gap by testing job control's direct and interactive curvilinear effects on motivation using a sample of 419 county-based public sector child welfare case managers. Consistent with Cavanaugh, Boswell, Roehling, and Boudreau's (2000) challenge–hindrance framework, study findings revealed a significant curvilinear job control×linear instrumental feedback interaction. No support, however, was found for a direct curvilinear effect for job control. Empirical results advance the child welfare literature by being the first to demonstrate how job characteristics impact the motivation of child welfare case managers in a curvilinear manner. Study data also clarify prior nonsignificant tests of Warr's (1987) vitamin model and extend seminal findings from Karasek's (1979) job demands–control model. Finally, instrumental feedback's capacity to integrate three well-established but previously unrelated models of occupational health is discussed.

Keywords: Child welfare; Work motivation; Job control; Instrumental feedback; Vitamin model; Demands–control model; Challenge–hindrance framework (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:35:y:2013:i:12:p:2003-2012

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.09.018

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