Managers' Perceptions of Their Work Group and Their Own Performance and Well-Being following a Job Transfer

Abstract

In this study, I compare the perceptions of managers who have been transferred, either with a promotion or laterally, and managers who remained in the same job. The participants were 329 management-level employees of two departments in the Canadian federal government. Managers who were laterally transferred had less positive perceptions of the performance and cohesiveness of the new work group they were supervising and reported worse overall health and more health symptoms than managers who had not been transferred. Laterally transferred managers also perceived receiving significantly less recognition and reported worse overall health than managers whose transfer involved a promotion. There were no significant differences between managers who had a promotional transfer and managers who were not transferred. The findings indicate that lateral transfers should be accompanied by support efforts designed to promote better adjustment to the transfer.