CUHK Business School research reveals why some people switch jobs frequently

ACCORDING to the data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth, it is possible that some people have worked in more than 10 jobs in a lifetime. In the study highlight posted by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (LBS), “on average, from age 18 to age 48, American men held 11.8 jobs and women held 11.5 jobs.”

What is interesting is also the fact that the younger generation are more likely to change jobs than their older counterparts, as the report reveals that “men held 5.7 jobs from age 18 to age 24, compared with 2.4 jobs from age 40 to age 48”.

While some of us are happy to stay in our jobs for life, others with our jobs and stay on while others feel the opposite? Is it the environment or it is us?

Research by Wendong Li, assistant professor of the Department of Management at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School has shed lights on the interplay of genetic (i.e., the person) and work environ relationship we have with our job.

Role of genetic influences

“Traditionally, people believe that it is primarily the work environment, such as managers and orga characteristics, such as the tasks we perform and the amount of autonomy we have at work” says Prof. Li.

“But accumulating research on person-environment fit has revealed the indispensable role of - uals’ job characteristics,” he says.

Prof. Li has been participating in extensive research in the genetic - lier, his study has revealed how the dopamine transporter gene DAT1 The City University of Hong Kong is one of the world's best universities, home to cutting- edge research and a top- caliber academic staff contributes to the emergence of leadership in a person.

“People are not randomly assigned to work environments; instead, they select themselves, and/or are selected into compatible work environments to garner the optimal level of person-envi

We can all relate to the fact that when looking for a job, apart from considering the salary and perks, we would also consider whether the job nature suits our personality.

“This is a form of manifestation that genetic factors shape our work attitudes and behaviors,” he says.

However, it doesn’t mean the environment plays no part at all. is indispensable, environmental factors still play a role in affecting work characteristics.

His another study examined how a dopamine genetic marker, DRD4 7 Repeat allele, interacted with early life environmental factors (i.e., family socioeconomic status and neighborhood poverty) in adulthood. The gene is closely related to human motivation, reward, and self-regulation, which in turn may affect educational achievement and job changes.

- ily socioeconomic status was associated with higher educational achievement, resulting in higher frequency of voluntary job changes and lower frequency of involuntary job changes; such relationships were stronger ( i. e., more positive or negative) for individuals with more DRD4 7R alleles.

“The results also told us the importance of providing a supportive environment to children and adolescents, which will have a immediate education outcomes but also on their long-term careers later in life.”

Stability of genetic and environmental influences

Normally, we would think our genetic makeup doesn’t change that much over time, therefore genetic also supposed to be relatively stable.

However, in his recent research entitled “Are Genetic and Environmental Influences on Job Satisfaction Stable Over Time? A Three- Wave Longitudinal Twin Study”, the results show otherwise.

“Previous research has por satisfaction as relatively stable. However, there have been no longitudinal examinations of whether that is true, especially during early adulthood. In our recent study, we investigated whether genetic constant over time, especially in early adulthood,” says Prof. Li.

The study and findings

The study collected data from the Minnesota Twin and Family Study of 712 same-sex twin pairs (i.e., 1,424 individuals in total), including 463 identical and 249 fraternal twin pairs, with their educational attainment and career development assessed at approximately 21, 25, and 30 years of age.

The researchers looked into three individual differences: general mental ability (or general intelligence), positive affectivity and negative affectivity in mediating - tion through early adulthood.

General mental ability refers to individual’s general cognitive abilities to learn, reason and solve problems. It has been regarded as a valid predictive for various achievement measures in psychology. Research has shown general mental ability facilitates job training effectiveness, overall job performance, and occupational achievement.

“People with high levels of general mental ability tend to learn quickly and easily obtain job knowledge and will outperform those with low general mental ability.”

Positive affectivity and negative affectivity are general tendencies to experience positive and negative affective states across time and situations. People with high positive energetic; they are likely to experience positive emotions, and may select or create positive situations at work, which in turn boosts their job satisfaction.

People with high negative affectivity, on the other hand, tend to dwell on their shortcomings and personal failures, thus