Earning a High Salary and Having a Secure Job May Make You More Optimistic
Research after the reunification of East and West Germany reveals what types of work experiences may boost employees’ optimism, and how optimism may change their work experiences
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Optimism is widely considered by the society as a desirable attribute. Many of us believe that having an optimistic attitude will open doors to new opportunities, make us work hard, and attract good things in life. We also like to be around and work with positive people rather than those who are negative and who complain all the time. In general, we believe that optimists, given their positive attitudes and diligent work, can achieve more in life. An intriguing question then arises: how can we enhance our optimism? This question has been tackled in a study entitled “Reciprocal Relationships between Dispositional Optimism and Work Experiences: A Five-Wave Longitudinal Investigation” by Prof. Li Wendong, Assistant Professor of the Department of Management at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School.
“We predict that work experiences related to getting ahead and getting along may boost dispositional optimism,” says Prof. Li whose study was conducted in collaboration with researchers from the University of Potsdam, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and National University of Singapore.
In the study, the researchers examined the relationship between dispositional optimism and work experiences, including income, job insecurity, and support from co-workers and supervisors. Dispositional optimism refers to those who expect more good things than bad things will happen in their future. The results show that earning a high salary and having a secure job strengthened dispositional optimism over six years.
Optimism is a Self-Reinforcing Cycle
Existing literature says there are two elements at play when analysing dispositional optimism: selection and socialisation. The former refers to people’s individual characteristics that lead their life choices. The latter refers to how one’s life experiences affect the development of optimism.
According to Prof. Li, the study is the first attempt to integrate the two contrasting perspectives in the field of dispositional optimism. It reveals how both effects can coexist and even reinforce each other over time, as well as how this self-reinforcing cycle affects work experiences. In other words, optimists may select work experiences that fit their levels of optimism, and such work experiences in turn may enhance their optimistic traits later on.
“We often assume that optimists are likely to be more successful in terms of career development. However, we do not know exactly what specific aspects these optimists excelled in or how much their optimism contributed to their success,” says Prof. Li.
Prof. Li further explains that previous research tell us we expect optimistic employees to reap the benefits of obtaining greater levels of career goals of getting ahead for three reasons.
“First, optimistic employees tend to craft work environments that allow them to set higher career goals and persevere more over time even in stressful situations.
“Second, optimists are increasingly able to disengage from intractable and unobtainable goals, because disengagement from such goals liberates them to conserve resources and pursue more important and obtainable goals.
“Third, optimistic employees are able to attract more organisational sponsorship over time,” says Prof. Li, citing previous research studies.
The Study and Results
The researchers in this study collected data during five different time-periods from 1990 to 1995 through a large research project conducted in East Germany after the reunification of East and West Germany. The maximum sample was 541 participants.
To present a holistic view of the relationship between dispositional optimism and work experience, the researchers tested five hypotheses in the study.
The first hypothesis predicts that dispositional optimism can lead to increases in income and decreases in job security over time. The second hypothesis predicts that dispositional optimism can increase support from co-workers and supervisors over time. Hypothesis 3 predicts that employee income can increase dispositional optimism while job insecurity can decrease dispositional optimism over time. Hypothesis 4 predicts both employee supervisors’ and co-workers’ support can increase one’s dispositional optimism over time. The last hypothesis looks into the reciprocal relationships between dispositional optimism with work conditions and predicts changed work conditions can strengthen dispositional optimism later on.
As for the results, the researchers found income increased dispositional optimism, but the influence of dispositional optimism on change of income was not significant.
“Our study shows that dispositional optimism exerted significant effects on changes of job insecurity, but not on change of income or social support at work. Thus, the present investigation serves as a cautionary note to previous research assuming that dispositional optimism is beneficial,” Prof. Li says.
In addition, dispositional optimism decreased job insecurity over time and the lowered job insecurity then increased one’s dispositional optimism level. But the lagged effects of social support at work seemed to have little influence on the change of dispositional optimism.
Reciprocal Effect between Optimism and Work Variables
Among the results, Prof. Li is most excited about the reciprocal relationships between optimism and work variables such as job security.
“We found that the relationship between an employee’s dispositional optimism and work variables travels both ways: Being optimistic will likely affect your work experience, and the changed work experience will in turn change your optimism level later on,” says Prof. Li.
In other words, we can become more optimistic over time – given the right environment. This evidence is important in a way that it has implication on how we interact with our work life.
“Employees should be mindful of the fundamental influences of their work experiences on altering their personality traits,” says Prof. Li.
“What you do defines who you are. If you are interested in maintaining or enhancing your optimism, you need to strategically create or seek out work environments that provide you with more opportunities of getting ahead,” he says.
About the Researcher
Prof. Li Wendong is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Management at CUHK Business School. He obtained his PhD degree from National University of Singapore. Prior to joining CUHK, he worked at Kansas State University for three years. His research interests focus on leadership, work design, well-being, and mindfulness. His research has been published in leading management journals including Journal of Applied Psychology, and Personnel Psychology. He has won the Hogan Award for Personality and Work Performance, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, the International HRM Scholarly Achievement Award and Best Student Convention Paper Award from the Academy of Management. His research has also been covered in media outlets, such as the US Today, the Washington Post, and the South China Morning Post.