1. A Theory of Perceived Impact at Work: How Making a Difference Makes a Difference Adam M. Grant Doctoral Student, Organizational Psychology University of Michigan

2. Acknowledgements of Impact Rick Price Jane Dutton Fiona Lee Brian Little Ryan Quinn Gretchen Spreitzer Kathie Sutcliffe Amy Wrzesniewski Org Psych and M&O PhD students Amy Bass Beth Campbell Keenan Cottone Christy Flanagan Claire Kemerling David Lapedis Karen Lee Emily McMorris Ginelle Nagel Jordan Powell QLIF

3. Overview Part I: Perceived Impact Theory Part II: Empirical Findings and Dilemmas

4. Satisfaction-Performance “Holy Grail” (Landy, 1989) Judge et al. (2001): 7 models My perspective: – What are the tractable enablers that align the two? – How to promote both satisfaction and performance?

5. From the literature… – Purpose – Competence – Feeling Valued – Positive Mood

6. Performance Satisfaction Purpose Competence Feeling Valued Pos. Mood ?

7. Antecedents? We know much about how these motivating psychological states (MPS) contribute to performance and satisfaction… But far less about their antecedents – Especially little about their common antecedents

8. “To make others happier and better is the highest ambition, the most elevating hope, which can inspire a human being.” -John Lubbock Human capacity for impact motivation – Evolutionary perspective – Socialization perspective Perceived Impact Theory

9. All work makes a difference in others’ lives “Obviously I don't stay for the money, loyalty to the company or because the job is easy. I stay because of the warm feeling I get helping these people grow.” -Caregiver “A lot of times, we’re able to do makeovers on people that can transform their lives. I mean, I’ve seen people who, by changing their hair, could change their whole outlook on life, their whole attitude. Our job is to make people look good and feel better about themselves, and I think that’s a great profession to have.” -Hairdresser

10. Impact perceptions influence… Relationships with tasks – Purpose, Competence Relationships with other people – Feeling valued Mood

11. Past research Job Characteristics Model – Task significance unrelated to performance and sporadically related to satisfaction Hackman & Oldham, 1976; Fried & Ferris, 1987; Dodd & Ganster, 1996 Enter Perceived Impact Theory (Grant, 2004)

12. Passive recipients of static, objective jobs “In job” Agentic crafters of dynamic work “At work” Impact contributes only to experienced meaning Impact promotes a system of motivating psychological states Unclear what dimension of impact measured Multidimensional conception of impact Perceived Impact Task Significance

13. The Perceived Impact Construct Five facets of perceived impact: – Magnitude……………….How significant? – Frequency………………..How often? – Scope……………………How many people? – Tangibility………………How concrete? – Personal importance Do the beneficiaries of beneficiaries…………matter to you?

14. The PI Model Performance Satisfaction Purpose Competence Feeling Valued Pos. Mood Magnitude Frequency Scope Visibility Beneficiaries P I PI Facets

15. Part II: Empirical Findings Research questions – Do employees’ impact perceptions matter? – If so, how and why?

16. Brief summary of field findings Impact perceptions predict longitudinally… – MPS and satisfaction for firefighters – MPS, satisfaction, and performance for student telemarketers – Subjective job worth and affective organizational commitment for professional caregivers and home managers

17. Lab Experiment 2 x 2 between-subjects design (n=122) We’ve learned that undergrads are good at editing each other’s job application cover letters We want to better understand this process You have 35 minutes to edit two cover letters that a student, “Eric Sorensen,” has written

18. Tangibility Manipulation Low – Experimenter hands the participant a Career Center Information sheet that “Eric” has filled out High – “Eric” is waiting outside the room, and hands the sheet to the experimenter Participant sees Eric, the beneficiary of the task

19. Magnitude Manipulation Low – “Eric” has written on the form that he is looking for extra spending money High – “Eric” has written on the form that he desperately needs a job to pay for school

20. Synopsis Manipulated participants’ perceptions of the impact that this editing task has on “Eric” and those close to him Will task enjoyment and/or effort change as a function of manipulations? After the task, measured MPS as mediators

21. Results 2x2 ANOVAs – Tangibility  Purpose Competence Value Positive Mood Task Enjoyment – Tangibility-Magnitude Interaction  Time spent # words replaced, controlling for time spent

22. Interaction effect of Tangibility/Magnitude (F= 4.51, p <.04) on time spent

23. Mediational Analyses Tangibility  Enjoyment – Mediated by Purpose, Competence, Positive Mood Tangibility-Magnitude interaction  Effort – No significant mediators

24. Thus… Tangibility  motivating psychological states  enjoyment Tangibility-Magnitude interaction  time invested and productivity

25. Preliminary Conclusions Causal impact of impact perceptions on enjoyment and effort – PI Tangibility leads to enjoyment through the MPS – Beyond main effects: both PI Magnitude and Tangibility may be necessary to promote task effort (and hence performance)

26. Study 2 Field experiment online – Measure importance of beneficiaries Lesson plan teacher has written for students: Importance of brushing teeth Ask participants to give feedback Measure enjoyment, effort, MPS

27. Magnitude Manipulation Low – Students already brush their teeth; teacher is required to give the lesson. High – Students are in low-income areas of Harlem and aren’t aware of the importance of brushing teeth. Teacher cares deeply.

28. Tangibility Manipulations Low: no additional information High: two candidates – Pictures of students – Specific info on how the students will benefit Thoughts?

29. Study 3 and beyond… 2 x 2 of multiple tangibility manipulations to demonstrate identical effects? Focus on other PI facets?

30. “Thank you for your ideas and feedback!”

31. Limitations and Future Directions Impact is not a panacea Different facets, different contexts/outcomes Moderating Variables Types of Impact Negative Impact Positive Illusions and Destructive Delusions Impact Awareness Interventions