Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development

Umbrella Summaries logo placed in front of group of people meeting around a table at work

What is an Umbrella Summary?

An Umbrella Summary highlights findings from the workforce literature to address pertinent child welfare workforce challenges. These summaries provide a synopsis of the published meta-analyses of a specific workforce topic. The research is summarized in a straightforward question-and-answer format. Each summary highlights the implications of the research for child welfare professionals.

Learn more about the Umbrella Summaries: Umbrella Summary FAQ

Learn more about the workforce research described in the summaries: QIC-WD Workforce Research Catalog

Topics

Organizational Commitment
Posted on November 28, 2023

What is organizational commitment and how is it conceptualized and measured? Read this umbrella summary to learn more about this important job attitude.

Job Satisfaction
Posted on November 28, 2023

Having satisfied employees is associated with many positive outcomes in the workplace. Read this umbrella summary to learn more about job satisfaction and the individual and organizational factors that are related to it.

Turnover
Posted on September 29, 2023

Turnover in the workplace can come with many negative consequences. Read this umbrella summary to learn more about what turnover is, why it’s important, and what factors are associated with greater turnover in the workplace.

Meaningful Work
Posted on August 21, 2023

What does it mean for work to be meaningful and what can organizations do to help facilitate it? Read this umbrella summary to learn more.

Job Crafting
Posted on August 21, 2023

In what ways do employees adapt their work tasks and environment? Read this umbrella summary to learn more about job crafting and its outcomes.

Job Design
Posted on August 21, 2023

What is job design and what outcomes are associated with it? Read this umbrella summary to learn more about the task, knowledge, social, and work context characteristics that should be thought about when designing a job.

Personality Tests
Posted on August 14, 2023

How are personality tests used by organizations and what traits do they typically measure? Read this umbrella summary to learn more about both the strengths and challenges associated with personality testing in the workplace.

Career Interests
Posted on April 26, 2023

What are career interests and how does the fit between one’s interests and job tasks relate to work behaviors and attitudes? Read this umbrella summary to learn about how career interests are categorized and measured and what research has to say.

Training Transfer
Posted on November 30, 2022

What factors help learners apply what they learned in training to their jobs? Read this umbrella summary to learn more about the individual differences, work environment characteristics, and training design practices that are related to training transfer.

Counterproductive Work Behavior
Posted on November 2, 2022

What does research say about harmful employee behaviors? This umbrella summary describes the available evidence about counterproductive work behaviors.

Organizational Citizenship Behavior
Posted on November 2, 2022

What does it mean to be a good organizational citizen? Read this summary to learn more about the outcomes and antecedents of organizational citizenship behaviors.

Work-Family Conflict
Posted on September 28, 2022

What happens when employees face conflicting pressures from work and family? Read this umbrella summary to learn more about work-family conflict and how it relates to employee outcomes.

Work-Family Enrichment
Posted on September 28, 2022

How can experiences at work and with family positively impact each other? Read this umbrella summary to learn more about work-family enrichment.

Employee Fit
Posted on August 24, 2022

Fit: What is person-environment fit? How does it relate to recruiting outcomes and employee attitudes and behaviors? Read this summary to learn more.

Role Stress
Posted on July 27, 2022

Employees may face unclear or conflicting expectations regarding their roles in the workplace. Read this umbrella summary to learn more about role ambiguity and role conflict, two types of role stress.

Transformational Leadership
Posted on July 13, 2022

What does it mean to be a transformational leader, and what does it look like? Read this umbrella summary to find out more.

Leader-Member Exchange
Posted on July 5, 2022

What is leader-member exchange and how does it relate to follower performance and job satisfaction? Read this umbrella summary to learn more.

Learning Styles
Posted on July 5, 2022

People often have a preferred way to learn, but does it matter? Read this umbrella summary to find out the evidence around learning styles.

Political Skill
Posted on March 30, 2022

Political skill is a unique form of interpersonal effectiveness in the workplace. Read this umbrella summary to learn more about its potential role in employee success.

Trainee Reactions
Posted on February 9, 2022

What do your smile sheets tell you? Read this umbrella summary to learn about the available evidence around trainee reactions.

Compensation
Posted on January 26, 2022

Just how important are pay and benefits? Read this Umbrella Summary to learn more about employee compensation.

Diversity and Inclusion Climates
Posted on January 12, 2022

It’s important for employees to feel that everyone is treated fairly and valued, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, age, or other social identities. This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about diversity and inclusion climates.

Workplace Incivility
Posted on December 15, 2021

What conditions make it more likely that employees will treat each other with disrespect? Read this umbrella summary to learn more about workplace incivility.

Behavior Modeling Training
Posted on November 24, 2021

What strategies make behavior modeling training most effective? Read this umbrella summary to learn more.

Signaling in Training
Posted on November 10, 2021

Learning outcomes improve when learners receive cues about where to best focus their attention. Read this umbrella summary to learn more about the use of signaling in training.

Self-Explanation in Training
Posted on October 27, 2021

Self-explanations are a simple way to boost learning outcomes. Read this umbrella summary to learn how to implement them in training.

Time Management
Posted on October 6, 2021

What are the potential outcomes of effective time management? Can time management skills be improved? Read this umbrella summary to learn more.

Leadership Training
Posted on September 15, 2021

Leadership Training: What is the impact of leadership training? What should be done to make it maximally effective? Read this umbrella summary to learn more.

Conversational Style in Training
Posted on September 1, 2021

When creating training content, which is better for learners—an informal style or a formal style? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about personalization and conversational style in training.

Workplace Ostracism
Posted on August 18, 2021

What are the potential consequences of employees being ignored or left out at work? Read this Umbrella Summary to learn the available evidence about workplace ostracism.

Workload
Posted on August 3, 2021

How can workload be measured and managed? Read this umbrella summary to learn more.

Organizational Constraints
Posted on July 21, 2021

What kinds of work conditions interfere with employees’ ability to do their jobs? Read this Umbrella Summary to learn how to identify organizational constraints.

Cultural Intelligence
Posted on July 7, 2021

What does it take to be effective in intercultural interactions? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about cultural intelligence.

Abusive Supervision
Posted on June 23, 2021

What supervisory behaviors are considered abusive, and how do they relate to employees’ job attitudes and behaviors? Read this Umbrella Summary to learn more.

Generations in the Workplace
Posted on June 9, 2021

Are there generational differences in the workplace? Read this Umbrella Summary to learn more.

Video Feedback
Posted on May 19, 2021

Want to boost interpersonal skills? Read this Umbrella Summary to learn about the value of video feedback in training.

After-Action Reviews
Posted on May 5, 2021

How can learners get more out of a training experience? Read this Umbrella Summary to learn about the value of after-action reviews.

Seductive Details in Training
Posted on April 21, 2021

Is it always helpful to make training more interesting? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about seductive details in training.

Pedagogical Agents
Posted on April 6, 2021

What are pedagogical agents and how can they improve training? Read this Umbrella Summary to learn more.

Training Tests
Posted on March 24, 2021

Training tests have the power to do more than just assess learning. Read this Umbrella Summary to learn more.

Organizational Cynicism
Posted on March 10, 2021

When employees feel that their employer lacks integrity, it can breed organizational cynicism. Read this Umbrella Summary to learn more about what that means and how it is connected to other employee attitudes.

Coaching
Posted on March 3, 2021

What is coaching and how effective is it? Read this Umbrella Summary to learn more.

Gratitude
Posted on February 24, 2021

Is gratitude the best attitude? Read this Umbrella Summary to learn more.

Pre-Training Interventions
Posted on February 17, 2021

What’s the most useful way to prepare people for training? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about pre-training interventions.

Sleep
Posted on February 10, 2021

What is the connection between sleep and workforce outcomes? Read this Umbrella Summary to learn more.

Public Service Motivation
Posted on February 3, 2021

Do some people feel a calling to serve the public? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about public service motivation.

Union Commitment and Participation
Posted on January 27, 2021

Union Commitment and Participation: How does employees’ involvement in a union relate to their job attitudes? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about union participation and commitment.

Emotional Intelligence Training
Posted on January 20, 2021

Can people learn how to better recognize, understand, and manage emotions? This umbrella summary describes the available evidence about emotional intelligence training.

Emotional Labor
Posted on January 13, 2021

What does the research say about having to fake your feelings at work? This umbrella summary describes the available evidence about emotional labor.

Workaholism
Posted on January 6, 2021

What does it mean to be a workaholic? Read this Umbrella Summary to learn more.

Reference Checks
Posted on December 23, 2020

When considering a job candidate, does it help to talk with former employers? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about reference checks.

Occupational Commitment
Posted on December 9, 2020

Occupational commitment: What does the research say about people’s commitment to a particular line of work? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about occupational commitment.

Organizational Justice
Posted on November 25, 2020

Organizational Justice: What can agencies do to improve perceptions of fairness? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about organizational justice.

Thriving
Posted on November 11, 2020

What does it mean for employees to thrive at work? Read this Umbrella Summary to learn more.

Assessment Centers
Posted on October 28, 2020

Looking for a way to incorporate more advanced job simulations into the hiring or training process? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about assessment centers.

Coworker Influence
Posted on October 14, 2020

What role do coworkers play in an employee’s work experience? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about coworker influence.

Telework
Posted on September 23, 2020

What should agencies know in order to better manage employees working remotely? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about telework.

Employee Engagement
Posted on September 12, 2020

What can be done to help employees become invested in their work? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about employee engagement.

Psychological Contract Breach
Posted on September 10, 2020

Why is it important for employers to understand their employees’ expectations? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about psychological contract breach.

Organizational Socialization
Posted on September 2, 2020

What approach is best for onboarding new employees? Read this Umbrella Summary to learn more.

Informal Learning Behaviors
Posted on July 29, 2020

What is the value of employees taking initiative to learn on the job? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about informal learning behaviors.

Workplace Supports for LGBT Employees
Posted on July 22, 2020

What can agencies do to better support LGBT employees? Read the Umbrella Summary to learn more.

Presenteeism
Posted on July 15, 2020

Some people go to work, no matter what, even if they are sick. This is known as presenteeism. Read this Umbrella Summary to learn more.

Grit
Posted on July 8, 2020

What is the value of perseverance and long-term goal commitment? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about grit.

Diversity Training
Posted on July 1, 2020

What is the impact of efforts to reduce prejudice and discrimination? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about diversity training.

Mindfulness
Posted on June 24, 2020

What is the value of being able to live in the present moment? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about mindfulness in the workplace.

Employment Interviews
Posted on June 17, 2020

What makes a hiring interview most effective? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about employment interviews.

Job Involvement
Posted on June 10, 2020

What happens when a job is central to a person’s identity? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about job involvement.

Psychological Capital
Posted on June 2, 2020

Why is it important for employees to have hope, optimism, and confidence at work? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about psychological capital.

Psychological Safety
Posted on May 27, 2020

Why is it important for employees to feel safe to take interpersonal risks at work? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about psychological safety.

Perceived Organizational Support
Posted on May 20, 2020

Why is it important for employers to convey commitment to their employees? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about perceived organizational support.

Perceptions of Organizational Politics
Posted on May 13, 2020

How do employees react to self-serving behavior in the workplace? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about perceptions of organizational politics.

Humor
Posted on May 6, 2020

Is laughter the best medicine? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about humor in the workplace.

Job Knowledge Tests
Posted on April 29, 2020

When is it a good idea to assess candidates’ understanding of critical job facts or concepts? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about job knowledge tests.

Job Embeddedness
Posted on April 22, 2020

Why is it important for employees to have social connections on and off the job? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about job embeddedness.

Emotional Intelligence Tests
Posted on April 8, 2020

How can candidates’ ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions be examined at hire? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about emotional intelligence tests.

Integrity Tests
Posted on April 1, 2020

How do candidates’ attitudes about honesty and misconduct factor in to future job behavior? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about integrity tests.

Cognitive Ability Tests
Posted on March 25, 2020

How can candidates’ ability to learn and solve problems be examined at hire? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about cognitive ability tests.

Biodata Measures
Posted on March 18, 2020

How can candidates’ background information be used to help with hiring decisions? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about biodata measures.

Work Sample Tests
Posted on March 11, 2020

When is it a good idea to have job candidates demonstrate their job skills as part of the hiring process? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about work sample tests.

Training and Experience Evaluations
Posted on March 4, 2020

What is the value of candidates’ previous education, training, and experience, and what is the best way to assess them during the hiring process? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about training and experience evaluations.

Situational Judgment Tests
Posted on February 26, 2020

What is a situational judgment test and how can it help with employee selection? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about situational judgment tests.

Realistic Job Previews
Posted on February 19, 2020

What is a realistic job preview and how can it be most effective? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about realistic job previews.

Recruitment
Posted on February 12, 2020

What does research say about getting people to apply for and accept a job? This Umbrella Summary describes the available evidence about employee recruitment.