This study examines work orientations as a novel determinant influencing job search behaviors, quit intentions, and workplace effort, thereby integrating this concept into the field of labor economics. Work orientations, the intrinsic beliefs regarding the role of work in one's life, relate to viewing work as a paycheck, a career step, or a calling. Drawing on original, nationally representative Dutch data on work orientations, this paper reveals that those who view their work as a calling rather than a job are more committed to their roles, have lower quit intentions and are less likely to be job searching, and do not endorse 'quiet quitting'—the act of fulfilling only the minimum requirements to maintain employment. Conversely, individuals with career-centered work perspectives are more likely to consider leaving their jobs, engage actively in job searches, and show diminished work effort compared to those with a job orientation. However, this group is still unlikely to approve of quiet quitting in comparison to those who view work primarily as an income source.
A key finding is that work orientations significantly predict quit intentions, job search behaviors, and effort levels—surpassing the predictive power of job satisfaction and perceived work meaningfulness. Specifically, work orientations account for about 40 % of the variation in quit intentions and job search behaviors. These insights suggest that work orientations could be a crucial, yet overlooked, factor in understanding employee behavior, challenging the conventional perspective of workers as simply income-driven and countering the notion of work as an inherent disutility.
We use cookies to provide you with an optimal website experience. This includes cookies that are necessary for the operation of the site as well as cookies that are only used for anonymous statistical purposes, for comfort settings or to display personalized content. You can decide for yourself which categories you want to allow. Please note that based on your settings, you may not be able to use all of the site's functions.
Cookie settings
These necessary cookies are required to activate the core functionality of the website. An opt-out from these technologies is not available.
In order to further improve our offer and our website, we collect anonymous data for statistics and analyses. With the help of these cookies we can, for example, determine the number of visitors and the effect of certain pages on our website and optimize our content.