How Sensory Processing Sensitivity Shapes Employee Reactions to Core Job Characteristics

Abstract

Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is a personality trait characterized by a high sensitivity to sensory stimuli (Aron & Aron, 1997). On the basis of environmental sensitivity theory (Pluess & Boniwell, 2015) as well as the job characteristics model (Hackman & Oldham, 1976), we investigated the moderating impact of SPS (HSP Scale; Aron & Aron, 1997; Konrad & Herzberg, 2019) on the relationship between job characteristics (Work Design Questionnaire; Morgeson & Humphrey, 2006; Stegmann et al., 2010) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB Scale; Podsakoff et al., 1990). The results of our two-wave survey study with 199 employees from a broad range of industries and students indicate that SPS strengthens the relationship between feedback as well as task significance and OCB, but SPS weakens the relationship between autonomy (work methods) as well as task variety and OCB.