Toward An Integrated Model Work Experl Ence: Personnel Psychology 1998,51

PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY
1998,51
TOWARD AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF WORK

EXPERlENCE
PAUL E. TESLUK
Tulane University
RICK R. JACOBS
The Pennsylvania State University
SHL-Landy, Jacobs and Associates, Inc.
Work experience and related concepts such as tenure and seniority

have been and continue to be used extensively in a variety of human
resource functions. However, research on experience has proceeded
without a clear theoretical orientation, adequate consideration of contextual and individual factors, and appropriate attention to measurement and design. These issues are addressed and a model of the work
experience construct is offered. Work experience is described as consisting of qualitative and quantitative components that exist at different
levels of specification and which interact and accrue over time. The
model provides a nomological net for the experience construct linking
it to contextual and individual factors critical for the development of
experience and its translation into immediate outcomes of work-based
knowledge, skills, attitudes, and motivation, and secondary outcomes
such as performance. The model provides a basis for specific research
propositions and human resource applications that consider work experience as a multidimensional, multilevel, and temporally dynamic
construct.
Experience plays a central role in models of work performance and

behavior. Furthermore, work experience and related concepts, tenure
and seniority, are used in a variety of human resource functionsincluding
selection (e.g., Ash & Levine, 1985), promotion (e.g., Olsen & Berger,
1983), career and management development (e.g., Campion, Cheraskin,
& Stevens, 1994; McCauley, Ruderman, Ohlott, & Morrow, 1994),compensation (e.g., Medoff & Abraham, 1980, 198l), training (e.g., Ford,
Quifiones, Sego, & Speer-Sorra, 1992), and layoff and recall decisions
(e.g., Gordon &Johnson, 1982).
We thank David Day, James Farr, David Hofmann, and four anonymousreviewers for
their comments and suggestions on an earlier version of this paper. We also acknowledge
Kimberly Hoffmaster and Heather Steinbach for their assistance in gathering articles for
this study.
Correspondenceand requestsfor reprints should be addressed to Paul Tesluk, Department of Psychology, Tulane University, 3010 Stern Hall, New Orleans, LA, 70118-5698;
phone: 504-862-3325,or e-mail: ptesluk@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu
COPYRIGHT 43 1998 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY, INC
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Despite the importance of work experience, research and practice in

this area has progressed largely in the absence of any guiding theoretical
framework. This may be due, in part, to how the construct itself has been
conceptualized and operationalized. Most studies have measured work
experience in terms of tenure, defined as years in a job (e.g., McDaniel,
Schmidt, & Hunter, 1988a), years in an organization (e.g., McEnrue,
1988), or years in a position (e.g., Borman, Hanson, Oppler, Pulakos, &
White, 1993). Other research has measured experience by the number
of times an individual has completed a certain task or operation (e.g.,
Lance, Hedge, & Alley, 1989; Vance, Coovert, MacCallum, & Hedge,
1989). What these studies share in common is that all have described
and assessed work experience in quantitative terms.
However, this approach does not provide an adequate consideration
of the qualitative aspects of work experience (Hofmann, Jacobs, & Gerras, 1992; Waldman & Avolio, 1993). For instance, Ford et al. (1992)
demonstrated that two individuals with equal job and organizational
tenure, can differ dramatically in the level of challenge and complexity
encountered in their assignments and the tasks. Incorporating into the
description of experience qualitative components such as having opportunities to develop new knowledge and skills through training or working
with a highly supportive mentor requires a perspective that focuses on
the accumulation of different types of experiences across a career. A
more encompassing conceptualization of work experience also considers how experiences are influenced by contextual factors such as performance management and feedback systems, opportunities for skills updating and training, and supervision, as well as individual factors such as
ability. These and other contextual and individual variables can shape
accrued work experiences and influence how experience translates into
work-related knowledge, skills and motivation and important organizational outcomes such as job performance.
Despite calls for more theoretical work providing greater articulation of the nature of work experience (e.g., DuBois & McKee, 1994;
Ford, Sego, Quiiiones, & Speer-Sora, 1991; Hofmann et al., 1992; Lance
et al., 1989), few attempts have been made to bring the quantitative
and qualitative aspects of work experience together into a comprehensive model. However, an important first step was recently provided by
Quifiones, Ford, and Teachout (1995) who offered a conceptual framework for the measurement of work experience based on two general
dimensions. The first dimension is the measurement mode, which describes how experience is assessed. According to their framework, there
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are three measurement modes (amount, time, and type). Amount measures include the number of times a task has been performed or the number of times a person has held different assignments. Time-based measures, such as job or organizational tenure, assess the length of time an
individual has worked at a job or in an organization. Although amount
and time-based measures capture the quantitative aspects of experience,
type measures assess the more elusive and qualitative nature of experience (e.g., task difficulty, job complexity). The second dimension of
the model is the level ofspecificify, which refers to how fine-grained or
specific is the experience measure in question. There are three levels
of specificity in their framework (task, job, and organizational), which
when combined with the three measurement mode, form a 3 x 3 categorization scheme.
In addition to offering a model that brings together different conceptualizations of work experience, Quifiones et al. (1995) applied their
framework to a meta-analysis of the work experience-job performance
relationship. They found that the measurement mode and level of specificity functioned as moderators of the experience-performance relationship, which suggests that different types of measures capture unique
aspects of work-relevant experience. Their analyses demonstrate the
utility of conceptualizingexperience in complex, multidimensionalterms
and they called for further theoretical work that describes the facets of
work experience. Now that a basic framework for conceptyalizing and
measuring work experience has been offered, it is necessary to further
develop the construct by articulating a nomological network linking experience to other relevant variables.
Toward this end of developing a theory of work experience, the goal
of this paper is fourfold. First, we build on the foundation provided by
Quifiones et al. (1995) by using their framework to further develop the
dimensionality of work experience. For instance, we take into account
how qualitative and quantitative facets can be combined to describe the
relative density or the developmental punch offered by certain experiences. Second, we relate work experience to contextual and individual
variables and describe these relationships in a manner that conveys the
inherently dynamic nature of the experience construct over time. Third,
we specify direct outcomes of experience such as increased work knowledge and skills, motivation, values, and attitudes as well as indirect outcomes including performance and participation in developmental activities. Fourth, in the final section, we examine some practical and theoretical implications of applying the proposed model of experience, including
implications for human resources systems and the experience construct
at the work group level of analysis. As a means to encourage further
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theoretical and empirical research, we offer propositions that focus attention on emerging questions regarding work experience.
Defining and Distinguishing Work Experience

Every experience in life, everything with which we have come in contact
in life, is a chisel which has been cutting away at our life statue, molding,
modifying, shaping it. We are part of all we have met. Everything we have
seen, heard, felt, or thought has had its hand in molding us, shaping us.
Orison Swett Marden
As captured in this quote, our past and current life experiences are
continuously affecting the development and shape of our knowledge,
skills, attitudes, ambitions, beliefs, and behaviors. But because experience involves a continuous flow of events across different aspects of
our lives, any systematic development of the construct must start with
a specific area of interest (Quiiiones et al., 1995). Our focus is on a
more delineated domain of life events, that of work experience, the subset of life events that are most directly and immediately relevant to work
attitudes, motivation, and performance and other issues of interest to
organizational researchers.
Within the industrial-organizationalpsychology literature, work experience has been used almost interchangeably with tenure and seniority
(Hofmann et al., 1992). They are closely related in that each contains
a time element that refers to an individuals length of service in a position or organization. With respect to seniority, drawing from its use
in industrial relations, Title VIII concepts, and national labor policy, the
Supreme Court in CaliforniaBrewersAssociationv. Byznt (1980) defined
a seniority system as a policy that grants employees increasing employment rights and benefits with longer service in the organization (Gordon
& Johnson, 1982). Seniority then contains two dimensions: one that is
based on length of time in various organizational units or roles (e.g., organization, department, job) and a second that defines the negotiated
entitlements and decisions (e.g., benefits, promotions, and recall decisions) that are determined on the basis of length of service. This first dimension, tenure, can be described as time in various organizational units
or roles (e.g., managerial tenure, job tenure, occupational tenure). Experience, likewise, contains a time-based aspect in that it connotes acquisition over time of job-related knowledge, skills, and abilities (Lance et
a]., 1989). In fact, researchers have often tended toview experience and
tenure as synonymous (e.g., McDaniel et al., 1988a; Schmidt, Hunter, &
Outerbridge, 1986; Schmidt, Hunter, Outerbridge, & Goff, 1988).
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325
Despite their similarities, there are notable and important differences between tenure and work experience. One deficiency of tenure
is that the amount of time spent in a job (or organization, etc.) does
not have the same implications for all people. Some people may improve their performance over time, others may get worse, and others
may change less systematically (Hofmann et al., 1992; Hofmann, Jacobs,
& Baratta, 1993). Time-based measures of experience cannot account
for these interindividual differences in intraindividual change. In part,
this is because conceptualizingwork experience as tenure ignores important events that accrue over a career such as opportunities to perform
tasks or duties (Ford et al., 1992) as well the nature or quality of specific
experiences (DuBois & McKee, 1994; Quifiones et al., 1995). When
viewed from this perspective, the construct of experience is clearly not
equivalent to tenure.
What work experience is-if it is not simply a function of time-remains an open question. As Campbell (1990) has stated, we have no
theory of experience. Perhaps, more as a matter of convenience than
anything else, time-based measures of experience (i.e., tenure) have
been used without extensive attempts to more fully operationalize the
richness of the experience construct. Experience should reflect the challenges and interactions that accrue above and beyond what is acquired
through simple continued practice (DuBois & McKee, 1994). Other researchers have made similar observations and have suggested that work
experience may be conceptualized as consisting of qualitative and quantitative components that capture the events experienced by an individual
that relate to work-related outcomes such as performance (e.g., DuBois
& McKee, 1994; Ford, Sego, Quifiones et al., 1991; Hofmann et al., 1992;
Quiiiones et al., 1995; Waldman & Avolio, 1993). Quantitative and qualitative components not only combine in an additive fashion to form experience, but may also interact. For instance, repeated exposure to certain
work situations that comes with greater tenure is likely to provide gains
in the qualitative aspects of experience such as receiving challenging assignments. A theory of work experience needs to consider each of these
components as three basic aspects of the experience construct. Next,
these components are described in detail and related to individual and
contextual factors that contribute to work experience and that influence
the extent to which experience contributes to the knowledge and skill development, motivation, values, and attitudes, and ultimately, outcomes
such as performance.
A Model of Work Experience
Amodel summarizing the key facets of experience, factors that influ-
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ence the development of experience, and direct and indirect outcomes is

presented in Figure 1. This model is used as a framework for discussing
work experience outcomes. It is also serves as a springboard for developing a set of propositions to encourage research on work experience as
a multidimensional, multilevel, and temporarily dynamic construct and
to explore some implications of the role of experience in models of work
performance and in human resource practice.
Our depiction of the core work experience construct is based on the
Quiiiones et al. (1995) conceptualization of work experience measures in
terms of measurement mode (amount, time, type) and level of specificity
(task, job, organization). However, following their calls for additional
theoretical development of the work experience construct, our model
extends the dimensionality of experience by proposing additional facets
to the measurement mode and level of specification and by describing
work experience in terms of three major components. In addition, our
model relates the core components of work experience to individual and
contextual factors and immediate and secondary outcomes (see Linkages 1-5 in Figure l), thereby providing the start of a nomological net.
Core Components of Work Experience

The quantitative component is the first of the three components of
work experience. It includes two of the three measurement modes described by Quifiones et al. (1995). Yhe first are time-based measures
of experience which reflect the traditional reliance on length of time
working on a task or in a job or organization and are operationalized
in various measures of tenure (e.g., McDaniel et al., 1988a; Medoff &
Abraham, 1980,1981; Schmidt et al., 1986,1988). The second measurement mode contained in the quantitative component are amount measures. More recent studies have supplemented tenure with measures of
the number of times that a task or duty has been performed (e.g., Ford,
Sego, & Teachout, 1991; Lance et al., 1989; Vance et al., 1989). The
advantage of this type of measure is that it reflects important qualities
that impact work experience, such as opportunity to perform and practice (Ford et al., 1992). However, like time-based measures, amount
measures such as the number of times a task has been practiced or the
number of jobs an individual has held, categorize experience strictly in
quantitative terms. They provide little information regarding the nature
of those experiences and thus permit only a partial assessment of the
construct.
In contrast to the quantitative aspects, the qualitative component of
work experience has received relatively little attention in the literature.
Quiiiones et al. (1995) described measures that distinguish experiences
I
Performance
Knowledge & Skills
Figure 1. Model of Work Experience.
SwiallSocietal L e v e l (e.g., cohon effec~s)

IndustryIOccupationaI Level (e g., industry growth, lcchnological changes)
Organizational Level(e.g.. human resource staffing policies. training practices)
Immediate Work Environmenl Level (e.a., supervision. job characteristics)
Career Development
Work Motivation
learn: self-efficacy; feedback seeking tendencies
Contextual Factors
10
Individual Difference Factors
e.g.. ability/aptilude; motivation
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qualitatively as type measures. They may be best represented by the specific nature of work situations that contribute to the richness of the experience construct, such as the variety and breadth of tasks and responsibilities performed in a job, the types of challenges encountered in an
assignment, or the complexity of a task. Following a life-span approach
where development is considered to occur over the entire life-course and
stem from a variety of sources (Baltes, Reese, & Nesselroade, 1977), the
qualitative components may be gleaned from on-the-job occurrences,
the larger organizational context, and other relevant life events.
The qualitative component of work experience can be described
according to multiple dimensions. For instance, DuBois and McKee
(1994) examined the types of terrain and contexts experienced by Marines in training, their opportunities for supervising,training, or instructing others, and how these experiences related to task performance. In
a very different setting, McCauley et al. (1994) investigated the contribution of qualitative aspects of managerial work experience on learning
by investigating the amount of challenge provided in different work situations. As these examples show, the specific modes that make up the
qualitative component and those that are most relevant will differ from
one domain to another. They are also context specific because certain
modes are more appropriate for relating work experience to particular
variables of interest. For example, level of challenge may be more predictive of persistence while having a wide variety of experiences may be
more directly related to creativity and innovation. For purposes of illustration, variety, challenge, and complexity are listed as examples. However, in different work contexts and for certain purposes, other modes
are more relevant.
Although relatively little research has explored the importance of different types of work experiences, work in the area of management development is a notable exception (e.g., Bray & Howard, 1983; McCall,
Lombardo, & Morrison, 1988; McCauley, 1986; McCauley et al., 1994;
Morrison & Brantner, 1992). The basic supposition of this literature is
that, instead of formal training, on-the-job work experiences are the primary source of individual career development and learning (Morrison &
Hock, 1986). It has focused on explicating the types of work experiences
managers encounter that provide the opportunities and motivation for
on-the-job learning and career development. For instance, research has
identified how work transitions (e.g., taking on a new assignment), taskrelated job demands (e.g., implementing changes), job demands from
obstacles (e.g., lack of adequate resources) are three important types
of work experiences that provide the challenge that motivates development and promotes learning (McCall et al., 1988; McCauley et al., 1994;
McCauley, Cavanaugh, & Noe, 1996).
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The final component of experience considered in the model involves

the interaction between qualitative and quantitative components. It can
be described in terms of various types of acquired work experiences that
depend on a particular dimension of time. Thus, the interaction component represents particular combinations of the quantitative and qualitative components. One mode, which we call density, is intended to
capture the intensity of experiences and is similar to what Quiiiones et
al. (1995) refer to as the developmental punch provided by an event.
For instance, if an individual in a 1-year assignment repeatedly faces a
number of challenging situations while another individual in a similar
assignment for the same duration is presented with relatively few challenging opportunities, the experience described in the first scenario may
be characterized as displaying greater density than the experience in
the second scenario.
A notable characteristic of high-density experiences is that they are
likely to have dramatic effects on subsequent work experiences and outcomes such as learning, motivation, or performance in ways that can dramatically change an individuals career trajectory. As a case in point, the
series of abuse, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, and rape cases
currently emerging in the military will undoubtedly seriously affect the
careers of all the parties directly involved. Even for those not directly
involved (e.g., instructors who were performing their duties in full accordance with military code), the way these experiences have affected
their motivation and the changes these events are likely to bring about
in terms of military policies and expectations/perceptionsof new recruits
will alter the types of work experiences those individuals accrue over the
remainder of their careers.
The other mode of the interaction component is the timing of an experience. It refers to when a work event occurs relative to a longer sequence of successive experiences such as those that characterize a career. For instance, feedback is important for management development
(London & Beatty, 1993),yet it is most beneficial if it is properly timed.
Feedback immediately following a challenging assignment or dealing
with a difficult set of job demands can serve as effective opportunities
for managers to draw valuable lessons from experience (McCall et al.,
1988).
Similarly, experiences may influence individuals differently depending on when they occur during a career. Katz (1980) has built a model
supported by empirical research (Katz, 1978a, 1978b;Kozlowski & Hults,
1986) which proposes that at various career stages, people react differently to features in their work environment. Specifically, new employees who are focused on establishing role identity and developing social
and interpersonal relationships are particularly attentive to interactions
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with co-workers and supervisors in order to understand role demands

and expectations. Later on, attention focuses from social concerns to
task concerns. At this stage, employees are concerned about their ability to influence and contribute in their work roles. Specific features of
the job, for instance, the level of challenge and autonomy involved, become more important in influencing employee reactions. This suggests
that experiences can be ordered or sequenced in ways that maximize motivational and performance outcomes. Similarly, the concept of learning
hierarchies (Horne, 1983) suggests that work roles and events should be
arranged in logical progression so that mastery of new knowledge and
skills at one level facilitates development at the next. Thus, a set of roles
that are the sequenced in a way that work experiences build on each
other is more likely to facilitate learning than a more haphazard career
pattern (Morrison & Hock, 1986).
Although differentiating work experience components is important
for developing a better understanding of the construct, it is also necessary to consider experience components in terms of levels of specification (Quiiiones et al., 1995). Failure to appropriately select and match
the level of specification of work experience to specific criteria by using the most convenient measure of experience (e.g., using organizational tenure to predict job performance) limits predictive power and
has served to slow the constructs development.
In addition to the task, job, and organizational levels of specification
described by Quiiiones et al. (1995), we propose additional levels. For instance, a persons experience at the work group level of specificity can be
assessed in terms of the number of different work groups and the type of
teams (e.g., cross-functional problem-solving teams) in which they have
participated. Providing greater specification of work experience by including exposure to group and team events and situations can further
our understanding of relationships with critical variables. For example,
experience working in teams has been related to knowledge of critical
teamwork functions (Rentsch, Heffner, & Duffy, 1994). It is less likely
that a similar relationship would be found if work experience were conceptualized at a different level of specification (e.g., organization, job,
task). Thus, adding levels of specification to work experience enhances
its conceptualization, improves operationalization, and establishes more
direct and clear relationships with factors that contribute to the development of work experience and its outcomes.
Levels of analysis issues are important for linking experience to its
antecedents, particularly contextual factors (Waldman & Avolio, 1993).
In the followingsection, we incorporate a levels perspective in describing
relationships between aspects of the larger social and work environment
and work experience.
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Contextual Influences on Work Experience (Linkage 1)

Contextual features of the work environment, ranging from more
macro (e.g., societal demographic trends) to more micro (e.g., job characteristics), have been included in current theories of performance (e.g.,
Waldman & Avolio, 1993). As depicted in Figure 1, contextual factors
that operate at different levels of analysis are considered to have direct
influences on the quantitative, qualitative, and interaction components
of work experience.
At a macro level, a number of demographic, economic, and business
trends have resulted, both directly and indirectly, in a situation where
workers are changing jobs, organizations, and careers with greater frequency (Hall & Associates, 1996; Hall & Mirvis, 1995). Members of the
baby boom generation who are now advancing to mid-career status tend
to be less focused on advancement and more concerned with career development than workers from other cohorts (Hall & Richter, 1990). As
a result, these workers tend to change jobs, organizations, and careers
more frequently (London & Stumpf, 1985). Competitive business conditions have contributed to this trend through restructuring and downsizing. These and other macro factors are serving to shorten the length
of time individualsspend in a particular job, organization, or career. Although current macro socio-economictrends may be related to declining
tenure, other aspects of work experience may be enhanced. Shorter career cycles mean that individualswill tend to work in a greater number of
different jobs and organizations over the life course, thereby serving to
help increase the amount of certain work experiences that are obtained.
These changes also have implications for the types of work experiences
as organizations promote decentralization, the use of teams, and continuous change in work unit design which often translate into more challenging, complex, and varied work experiences (Hall & Mirvis, 1995).
At an organizational level, the use of career management and staffing
practices such as job rotation (i.e., lateral transfers between job assignments within an organization; Campion et al., 1994) affect the length of
time spent in a job or performing a task as well as the number of jobs held
or the number of tasks performed. Job rotation approaches that require
performing new and varied tasks can enrich the qualitative aspects of
experience as well by providing challenges and complexities that stretch
capabilities. As another career management strategy, career paths can
be designed and job assignments can be sequenced to maximize the timing of experiences.
More immediate features of the work situation, such as supervision,
work group climate, and work characteristics, may also effect the development of work experience. For instance, subordinates are provided
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better mentoring and career guidance when supervisors view them in

more positive ways (Noe, 1988). Similarly, individuals have been found
to perform more complex tasks following training when they work in a
supportive work group environment (Ford et al., 1992). Supervisor and
peer/co-worker support has been linked to employee technical updating
and development activity (Kozlowski & Farr, 1988; Kozlowski & H u h ,
1987; Maurer & Tarulli, 1994; Noe & Wilk, 1993).
Non-work experiences can also influence work-related knowledge,
skills, and abilities and motivation and need to be considered in a discussion of experience from a developmental perspective (Waldman & Avolio, 1993). From interviews with senior executives, McCall et al. (1988)
found that many reported that personal traumas (e.g., illnesses and injuries, divorces, family problems, accidents) enabled them to learn how
to cope with events that are beyond ones control, recognize their personal limits, and more effectively manage interpersonal relationships.
Even early experiences such as education and relationships with parents
shape learning patterns and strategies and form values and capabilities
that affect later work experiences (Morrison & Brantner, 1992).
Individual Influences on Work Experience (Linkage 2)

A number of individual difference factors appear critical in predicting the work experiences people are provided and pursue. For instance,
those with higher ability are more likely to be provided opportunities for
promotions and thus are more likely to acquire more supervisory and
managerial experience than those with lower levels of ability (Borman
et al., 1993). Other personal characteristics, such as likeability and motivation, may also have a role in determining the length of time individuals
accrue in various tasks, roles, positions, or assignments.
Individual difference factors may also influence the qualitative nature of an individuals experiences accrued over time. Individuals actively influence the nature of their experiences by selecting the content
and contexts in which they perform (Morrison & Hock, 1986). Selfefficacy and motivation to learn have been found to influence the likelihood that individuals will pursue opportunities to update their skills
through training (e.g., Hill, Smith, & Mann, 1987; Noe & Wilk, 1993).
Similarly, individuals with higher self-efficacy have been found to perform a greater variety of and more complex tasks following training
(Ford et al., 1992).
In certain situations, contextual and individual factors can operate
together in a complex set of interactions to influence experience. Ford
et al. (1992) found that supervisors tended to provide their more capable new subordinates with assignments that contained greater breadth
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(number of different tasks), complexity, and difficulty. Individual differences in ability are, in part, responsible for this type of assignment
pattern, but so too are supervisorsjudgments of the subordinates skills,
likeability, and advancement potential.
Contextual and Individual Difference Factors FacilitatingExperience

Outcomes (Linkage 3)
The discussion regarding the role of contextual and individual difference variables in Linkages 1 and 2 has considered how these variables
directly contribute to work experience. However, contextual and individual difference variables also influence what is extracted from work
experiences. Learning does not often automatically follow from experience; it requires reflection and a desire to learn from what has occurred
as well as an environment that provides opportunities for reflection and
learning (Seibert, 1996). One method individuals can use to learn from
work experiences is by engaging in proactive feedback-seeking behavior-an important strategy for obtaining performance-related information (Ashford & Cummings, 1985). Those with a strong learning goal orientation, compared to those with a performance goal orientation, may
be more likely to seek evaluative information on their experiences because they see feedback as information about how to develop task and
skill mastery (Dweck, 1986). Relatedly, those with higher self-esteem
are able to learn more from job experiences (Brett, 1984). In addition,
those who are more intelligent should learn more from their experiences
than those who are less intelligent. However, there is some evidence that
higher levels of cognitive ability do not necessarily provide for more effective use of experience, at least when experience is measured in terms
of tenure (Fiedler, 1994; Schmidt et al., 1988).
Contextual factors, particularly those in the organizational and immediate work environment, also can facilitatehinder the extent to which
knowledge, skills, abilities, motivation, values, and work attitudes result from work experience. One example is the use of career development strategies such as action learning programs that include the use of
coaches, mentors, and peers along with 360-degree feedback systems to
maximize learning from work assignments and projects (Mirvis gL Hall,
1996). In the training literature, there is evidence that a transfer of training climate and continuous learning culture influence the extent to which
training experiences translate into knowledge and behavioral outcomes
back on the job (Tracy, Tannenbaum, & Kavanugh, 1995). Likewise,
a supportive work group and supervisor may also help individuals gain
more from training and other work-related experiences by making them
feel more comfortable using new knowledge and skills.
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Immediate Outcomes of Work Experience (Linkage 4)

Work experience is relied upon in making selection, promotion, and
compensation decisions because it leads to the development of knowledge and skills, motivation, and attitudes and values that factor into
performance and other organization-valued outcomes. In this section,
we address three primary and direct outcomes of work experience: (a)
knowledge and skill development, (b) motivation, and (c) work-related
values and attitudes.
Work experience is critical in learning and developing the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for effective performance (Morrison
& Brantner, 1992). With respect to the quantitative component of experience, the number of times a task has been performed (i.e., amount)
can enhance proficiency by honing skills through practice (Lance et
al., 1989). Also representing the quantitative aspect of experience, the
length of time spent in a job (i.e., job tenure) has been found to have a
strong influence on performance through the development of job knowledge and skills. Schmidt et al. (1986) investigated the impact of job
tenure and cognitive ability on job knowledge, work sample proficiency,
and supervisor performance ratings. They found that time spent in
the job affected performance ratings indirectly through enhancing job
knowledge and improving work sample performance.
With respect to the more qualitative components, studies on managerial development have found that certain types of experiences, such as
assignments that require change implementation or involve a high level
of responsibility are related to learning the skills, knowledge, and insights that are critical for effective executive performance (McCauley et
al., 1994). These events, situations, and job features provide managers
opportunities to learn the critical lessons of experience, for instance,
how to effectively manage agendas and handle relationships (McCall et
al., 1988). Thus, two managers who have held similar positions for similar periods of time (i.e., job tenure), may have very different knowledge
and skill sets and demonstrate different levels of performance because
they have encountered different events and situations as part of their
managerial roles.
Aspects of the immediate job and the larger work environment experienced by an individual over time can influence work motivation in a
number ofways (Waldman & Avolio, 1993). According to an expectancy
framework (Vroom, 1964),factors such as repeatedly receiving feedback
with clearly specified goals and the means to achieve them or having rewards that are closely linked to performance will strengthen future performance -+ outcome expectancy beliefs and support motivation. Similarly, challenging job situations promote motivation by encouraging in-
TESLUK AND JACOBS
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dividuals to try to reach a desired level of job competency or achieve a

valued reward outcome (McCauley et al., 1994). Consistently receiving
challenging assignments may provide the type of an accrued context that
can have motivational benefits witnessed across a career. This may help
account for why plateaued managers (i.e., those with a low probability of
receiving future job assignments with increased responsibility) are found
to have had fewer challenging assignments as part of their career histories than nonplateaued managers (Greenhaus, Parasuraman, & Wormley, 1990; Slocum, Cron, Hansen, & Rawlings, 1985; Veiga, 1981).
In addition to knowledge, skills, and motivation, there is also evidence that work experiences can shape attitudes, values, and even personality characteristics. Morrison and Hock (1986) and Mortimer and
Lorence (1979) have summarized a number of studies that have demonstrated these effects. For instance, Kohn and Schoolers (1982) longitudinal research suggests that worhng in a highly bureaucratic work environment can create feelings of distrust and can lead to increased authoritarian conservatism. Working in jobs that are substantively complex
and involve solving tough problems has been associated with increased
internal locus of control and self-directedness (Brousseau, 1984) as well
as intellectual flexibility(Kohn & Schooler, 1978). Experiences that provide a high level of autonomy can create an increase in intrinsic values
(Mortimer & Lorence, 1979) and enhance emotional well-being (Kohn
& Schooler, 1982). A recent study by Wageman (1995) found that as
individuals gained experience working in interdependent work groups,
they became less concerned with maintaining personal autonomy in their
work and grew to like working in an more interdependent manner.
Pe$ormance and Other Secondary Outcomes of Work Experience

(Linkage 5)
This section extends the linkages developed in the previous section
to secondary or less immediate outcomes that follow from the effects
of work experience on knowledge, skills, motivation, attitudes, and values. The focus is on performance, but work experiences are also related
to participation in developmental activities and organizational attachments.
A number of path analytic studies and meta-analyses have found
significant and positive relationships between quantitative measures of
work experience and performance. Schmidt et al. (1986) and Borman
et a]. (1993) both found job tenure to be related to job performance
though increased job knowledge and competencies. Similarly, Vance et
al. (1989), found that length of time spent as an engine mechanic predicted performance on three different sets of tasks. In a meta-analysis
336
of various predictors of job performance for over 32,000 individuals

in entry-level positions, Hunter and Hunter (1984) reported a mean
tenure-performance correlation of .18 (correcting for criterion measurement error). Across a sample of over 16,000 individuals, McDaniel et
al. (1988a) found the estimated population correlation to be .32 (correcting for range restriction and criterion unreliability), whereas in a more
recent meta-analysis of the work experience-job performance relationship (which included the McDaniel et al. study), Quifiones et al. (1995)
reported an overall correlation of 2 7 (correcting for sampling error and
criterion unreliability).
The amount of work experience accrued, the other measurement
mode of the quantitative component of work experience, has also been
related to performance. For instance, studies of U.S. Air Force mechanics have found that across different engine repair tasks the number of
times an individual has performed the task in the past predict task proficiency (Ford, Sego, & Teachout, 1991; Lance et al., 1989). In their metaanalysis, Quifiones et al. (1995) reported a corrected correlation of .43
between amount measures of experience and performance. Taken as a
whole, the results of these studies make clear that there is a consistent
and positive relationship between the quantitative component of work
experience and performance.
Several studies have demonstrated that the relationship between
quantitative measures of experience such as tenure and performance initially takes a simple linear pattern, but after a certain point it plateaus
(Avolio, Waldman, & McDaniel, 1990; Jacobs, Hofmann, & Kriska,
1990; McDaniel et al., 1988a; Schmidt et al., 1986). Consistent with the
earlier discussion that experience impacts performance through learning, this pattern suggests that for most jobs there is an initial knowledge
and skill development period that fosters performance which takes place
over the first several years on the job. After that, the benefits of spending
more time on the job diminish. An important area for research is determining to what extent the point of diminishing returns from the accrual
of additional experience is a function of the type of job, the complexity
of the work, or the extent of change in occupational job requirements.
In occupations such as engineering, where rapidly changing technologies mean that knowledge and skill sets continuously need to be updated
(Kaufman, 1995), this point may occur much earlier than for other occupations.
In contrast to the quantitative component of work experience, research investigating the relationship between the qualitative component
and performance is virtually nonexistent. QuiAones et al. (1995) were
able to find a few studies where type or qualitative measures of experience were used to predict performance. However, rather than measur-
TESLUK AND JACOBS
337
ing the nature of the work experience in terms of what the experience
entailed, in these studies the qualitative aspects were assessed through
more indirect means. For example, Laxmar and Olson (1978) compared
the performance levels of instructors in a Navy training class to that of
recent course graduates assuming that instructors have more qualitative
and quantitative experience.
A more direct approach to capturing the qualitative aspects of work
experience and relating them to performance outcomes was conducted
by DuBois and McKee (1994). They developed an assessment of experience quality based on the extent and depth of Marines prior training and
experience in different types of terrain settings, roles and duties, training
classes, and supervisory functions. This composite measure of experience quality was found to predict performance on hands-on proficiency
and work sample tests. Most interesting, however, was that the quality
of experience measure was a better predictor of performance on the inconsistent tasks of a proficiency test (e.g., tactical decision making) than
a measure of experience quantity, which better predicted performance
on the consistent tasks (e.g., determining location and direction). It suggests that the quantitative and qualitative components of work experience may be differentially related to certain performance dimensions,
which was also evidenced in findings from the Quifiones et al. (1995)
meta-analysis. We take up this point in more detail in the next section
on directions for future research.
Recommendationsfor Future Directions for Research

and Practice on Work Experience
The vital role work experience plays in human resource functions
and areas of study within industrial-organizationalpsychology make it
an important topic for future research. One objective of this paper was
to develop a model of work experience by integrating existing theoretical
and empirical research. Yet there are a number of issues that remain to
be addressed. In this section some directions for future research are presented that are organized around the following core themes: (a) nature
of the core work experience components, (b) contextual and individual
influences on the development of work experience, (c) immediate and
secondary outcomes of work experience and implications for human resource practices, and (d) measurement and research design considerations.
TheoreticalDevelopment of the Core Work Experience Components

Future research might begin by developing a better understanding
338
of work experience by considering it as being: (a) multidimensional,

(b) dynamic and multidirectional, and (c) multilevel. Each of these
directions for development of work experience are addressed in turn.
Conceptualizing experience in terms of quantitative and qualitative
components and the ways in which they interact and operate at different
levels of specification helps to expand the narrow approach of equating
experience with tenure. An important place for future research to start
is to consider the value of conceptualizing work experience as consisting
of qualitative, quantitative, and interaction components.
Proposition 1: Relationships between work experience and immediate and
secondary outcomes will be enhanced by treating work experience as consisting of three components. These components are conceptually distinct
but have the potential to impact one another and create a complex system of interrelationships. The components are quantitative such as measures of length of time in a position, qualitative such as type of assignment
or complexity of previous work, and interactive which requires an understanding of experience along dimensions of the density and timing of the
expe r ienee.
Adding qualitative and interactive components to the quantitative

measures that are traditionally used to assess experience will improve
understanding of performance and other criteria of interest. This assertion could be tested in several ways. For instance, research might
attempt to explain performance, promotion rates, learning, interest in
seeking developmental opportunities or other important outcome criteria for managers using measures of each of the three experience components and placing them into a three-step hierarchical regression. Quantitative experience measures entered into the first step of this equation
could include length of time as a manager, in current position, or in the
organization, and are likely to explain a significant amount of variance
in an outcome such as performance (McEnrue, 1988). Relevant types of
qualitative work experiences could be assessed along dimensions such
experience in handling job transitions which involved new responsibilities and assignments that required a high level of responsibility. Potential methods of assessing these types of qualitative experiences are
considered in a later section; however, an instrument such as the Developmental Challenge Profile (DCP; McCauley et al., 1994) could be
used to measure the level of responsibility and complexity involved in
recent job experiences. These measures entered as the second step of
the equation should provide incremental prediction beyond the quantitative indicators of work experience. Measures of timing and density
as different modes of the interaction component of experience would
provide further incremental prediction when entered as the third step of
the regression equation. In terms of timing, Katzs (1980) work suggests
TESLUK AND JACOBS
339
that managers who were provided extensive feedback, mentoring, and

support from bosses and co-workers during the early-career stage will
respond more favorably than those managers who received those same
experiences but at a later career stage.
Another mode of the interaction component that could be considered is the relative intensity of certain work experiences. A defining
characteristic of a high density experience is that it is likely t o result
in dramatic changes in outcomes such as knowledge, skill, motivation,
and/or performance that may dramatically affect an individual's career
trajectory and future work experiences. This introduces another important feature of work experience; it changes over time and those changes
are not necessarily linear and even across experience components.' For
example, managers who experience dramatic transitions such as having to turn around a poor performing unit find that the challenges and
demands provide significant gains in learning and career development
(McCauley et al., 1994,1996). Learning new responsibilities, advancing
in one's career, and successfully meeting these demands can help build
confidence and efficacy that encourages a manger to seek out additional
challenging developmental experiences (Maurer & Tarulli, 1994; Noe &
Wilk, 1993). In contrast, managers who do not experience these types of
dramatic transitions might be more likely to have their careers plateau.
Proposition 2: The three components of work experience are temporally
dynamic. Quantitative and qualitative components can accrue gradually
over long periods of time, but they are also subject to potentially sudden
and dramatic changes due to individual factors, contextual factors, or a
combination of the two. In addition, gains in one experience component
do not necessarily mean gains in the others.
A useful place to start would be through conducting retrospective

accounts via event and work histories from personnel files, interviews,
or surveys of highly successful (and unsuccessful) managers to analyze
and identify high density experiences that lead to dramatic upward (or
downward) experience, learning, and performance spirals. These retrospective reports can lead to the development of hypotheses of the types
of contextual and individual factors that initiate high density work experiences.
Work experience has been examined almost exclusively at the individual level of analysis. However, with the increasing emphasis on
the use of groups and teams, experience at the work group or team
level of analysis will become increasingly important in predicting outcomes such as team performance (Quifiones et al., 1995). For instance,
there appears to be a curvilinear relationship between group tenure (i.e.,
the length of time members work together) and group performance.
340
PERSONNELPSYCHOLOGY
Initially, as group members spend more time working together, coordination and communication improve, which facilitates group performance (Watson, Michaelson, & Sharp, 1991). However, at some point,
inter- and intra-group communication may begin to decrease and the
group may become less open to change and innovation, which for certain
groups (e.g., R&D teams; top management teams) causes performance
to decline (Fredrickson & Iaquinto, 1989; Katz, 1982).
Team or work group experience is a quality specific to the team or
group rather than the individual because it reflects the length of time
individuals have worked together as an intact team (i.e., team tenure),
not the average length of time members have worked in their jobs or
for the organization. It is also not the same as experience working on
a team accrued by an individual, although this type of experience at
the individual level may be related to the development of individual
teamwork skills that may be important for effective team performance
(Rentsch et al., 1994). From a qualitative standpoint, team or work
group experience can refer to the nature of specific occurrences shared
by team or group members (e.g., training together as an intact team).
As an aggregate rather than individual-level phenomenon, team or work
group experience should be more closely related to teadgroupvariables
than work experience assessed at the individual level. For example,
Katzs (1982) finding of an inverted-U relationship between team tenure
and performance in R&D teams remained when controlling for tenure
at the individual level. Declines in team performance were not a result of
longer-tenured teams being staffed by researchers whose technical skills
were becoming obsolete. Rather, team performance suffered because
of the development of team processes that interfered with creativity that
resulted from teams functioning as intact units for long periods of time.
Findings such as this help to establish the construct validity of experience
as a multilevel phenomenon.
Proposition 3: Experience is multilevel in nature and can be simultaneously conceptualized as a unique property of individuals and work groups.
Experience demonstrates a similar pattern of relationships at the individual and groupheam levels of analysis.
Theoretical advances in this area will require greater attention to describing how team/group experience is defined and conceptualized, how
it is observed and measured, and articulating relationships it shares with
variables at different operational levels. For instance, multilevel phenomena display similar patterns of relationships across levels of analysis
(Klein, Dansereau, & Hall, 1994; Rousseau, 1985). If one of the primary
mechanisms by which individual work experience translates into performance is through knowledge and skill development (Borman et al., 1993;
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341
Schmidt et al., 1986), a similar process might be identified at the team

or work group level of analysis. Research on team performance (e.g.,
Cannon-Bowers, Salas, & Converse, 1993; Rouse, Cannon-Bowers, &
Salas, 1992), demonstrates that team experiences can improve performance through the development of shared knowledge structures (i.e.,
shared mental models; Klimoski & Mohammed, 1994) and transactive
memory systems (Liang, Moreland, & Argote, 1995). Certain types of
team experiences are likely to be particularly effective in the development of these group-level knowledge and skill systems. For instance,
training team members as an intact group and cross-training team members can enhance the development of a common mental model by increasing members familiarity with teammates responsibilities and tasks
(Cannon-Bowers et al., 1993).
In summary, a useful place to start is to demonstrate the utility of the
three components of work experience, examine interrelationships and
patterns of change in experience components over time, and differentiate the construct at the individual and group levels of analysis. These
developments will greatly facilitate construct development and the ability to link work experience to important outcomes.
Individual and Contextual Influences

In the work experience model presented here, individual difference
factors and contextual variables directly contribute to the development
of work experiences as well as facilitate what is gained from experience.
The importance of considering employee characteristics and the organizational context becomes more clear when considering the changes organizations have recently experienced with increased competition, downsizing, restructuringheengineering, and technological change and the
implications they have for employees work experiences and careers.
For example, features of the organizational context including the nature
and pace of technological and structural change, human resource practices (e.g., training, staffing assignments), social environment (e.g., continuous learning culture), and immediate work aspects (e.g., supervisor
support) are all important in influencing participation in developmental
experiences for updating technical knowledge and skills (Kozlowski &
Farr, 1988). Individual characteristics are likely to become even more
important since responsibility for attaining critical work experiences is
increasingly being shifted to employees (Hall & Associates, 1996).
Describing the role of individual and organizational factors in relation to experience in these terms raises a number of specific and pressing research questions. For instance, because not everyone gains equally
from their work experiences (Seibert, 1996), an important direction for
342
integrating the role of individual difference variables is to examine individual characteristics that help extract the benefits from work experiences. Although experiencing obstacles such as dealing with adverse
business conditions or a difficult boss have been suggested as an important source of managerial learning and development (McCall et al.,
1988; Valerio, 1990), recent studies have failed to find such a relationship (McCauley et al., 1994, 1996). Variables such as self-efficacy, selfesteem, locus of control, and coping abilities may help explain why some
gain more from difficult experiences than others (McCauley et al., 1994;
Morrison & Brantner, 1992). Similarly, initial failure experiences can
serve as opportunities for learning for those with characteristics such as
a learning goal orientation (Hofmann et al., 1993). Learning goal orientated individuals are less likely to make negative attributions regarding
their ability, feel negative affect, or encounter performance disruptions
following failure experiences (Dweck, 1986). As a result, because they
are more likely to frame failure experiences as chances to learn, following a failure experience learning goal oriented individuals should be
more likely to reflect upon and analyze the past event and identify a
more effective strategy for the next time the situation arises (Anderson
& Jennings, 1980).
Proposition 4: Individual difference variables that reflect a positive attitude toward learning, a strong self-concept, and sense of personal control (e.g., learning goal orientation, self-efficacy, self-esteem, problem focused coping strategies) moderate the extent to which work experiences
that present obstacles and initial failures translate into motivation development and knowledge and skill acquisition.
Given that learning comes primarily from on-the-job experiences and

that greater responsibility for obtaining these experiences is shifting to
individuals (Hall & Mirvis, 1995), employees need to be provided the
information and support necessary to allow them to get into experiences
that stretch their capabilities and enhance motivation. Less formal practices include providing access to special work assignments. Working on
project teams as part of continuous improvement processes can be provided for the purpose of developing teamwork, leadership, and change
management skills. More formal experience-building strategies may include staffing practices where assignments are ordered in such ways to
build knowledge and skill sets. Morrison and Hock (1986) have described what such a sequencing of assignments might look like for providing career developmental experiences for commanding naval officers.
Learning critical work roles (e.g., technical expert, tactician) is accomplished by working in the types of jobs (e.g., weapons instructor, head of
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343
operations) that develop those knowledge and skills required for assuming the work roles required of a commanding officer. This structured
sequencing of work roles fosters development based on cumulative work
experiences.
Proposition 5: Human resource practices (e.g., staffing, work assignments,
training) that develop employee work experience through brokering assignments and learning hierarchies will provide employees more fully developed work experiences.
Career practices such as these need to ensure that new experiences

closely match those previously acquired experiences; otherwise, prior experiences will not facilitate subsequent learning and performance (Gordon, Cofer, & McCullough, 1986; Gordon & Fitzgibbons, 1982). There
may also be limits to the utility of continuouslygaining more varied, complex, and challenging work experiences. Greater breadth may sacrifice
depth in the development of expertise and these trade-offs need to be
considered in light of the work context and employee career objectives.
The experience itself is not as important as the opportunity to reflect on what was learned from the experience (Seibert, 1996). Unfortunately, many work experiences, particularly on-the-job experiences, are
not framed as instances for learning (Hall & Mirvis, 1995). Organizations can facilitate learning from experience through critical incident
learning, advance skill certification exercises, personal journaling, and
360-degree feedback processes (Hall & Mirvis, 1995; Robinson & Wick,
1992). Support from others is another context factor that may help translate work experience into learning by lessening stress that interferes with
learning and increasing self-confidence in ones ability to manage challenging experiences (McCauley et al., 1994). Support can stem from
acceptance and approval of ones performance by supervisors, opportunities to vent frustrations and relieve stress with colleagues, and a sense
of collegiality with co-workers (Morrison & Brantner, 1992; Morrison,
White, & Van Velsor, 1987).
Proposition 6: Use of organizational practices and sources that enable reflection of recent work experiences (e.g., 360-degree feedback systems)
and provide support and relieve stress will strengthen motivational development and the acquisition of work knowledge and skills.
As preceding discussion highlights, individual and situational factors

need to be considered together in how they interact to produce experience. A promising area for research involves integrating a careers perspective and the temporally dynamic features of work experience to consider the relative contributions of individual and contextual factors to
344
the development of experience over time. Morrison and Hock (1986)

argue that, initially, the job context, through the set of tasks and assignments that characterize a career pattern, dominates learning of work
knowledge and skills and the development of personal characteristics.
However, over time, individuals exert increasingly greater influence over
their own work roles and job context to the point where acquired experience becomes more a product of individual than contextual factors. As
an example, Landy and Vasey (1991) reported that compared to more
junior officers, senior officers demonstrated greater discretion in determining the types of on-duty activities they performed.
Proposition 7: Initially, context factors exert a stronger influence over
accrued work experiences than individual factors. As a function of time
and the associated exposure to contextual factors of the work, individual
factors provide greater influence over the characteristics of accrued work
experiences.
This is not to say that context becomes less important on the development of work experience. However, individuals help enact their environments by opting into and out of occupations, organizations, jobs, and
assignments over the course of their careers (cf., Schein, 1971). Thus,
over time, the influences of individual characteristics such as learning
style, motivation, and personality become more evident.
Outcomes of Work Experience
A third contribution of this paper has been to describe the primary

and secondary outcomes of work experience. A number of promising
avenues for research exist that can build on this multidimensional framework. One is by relating work experience components to recent developments in theories of work performance (e.g., Borman & Motowidlo,
1993; Campbell, 1990). For instance, Motowidlo and Van Scotter (1994;
Van Scotter & Motowidlo, 1996) found that tenure better predicts task
performance than contextual performance. Presumably this is because
performance on standard task activities is influenced by job knowledge
and skill development that improves with the practice that comes from
greater tenure. DuBois and McKee (1994) reported similar findings.
Experience quantity, measured as a composite of task frequency, recency of task performance, amount of training, and amount of feedback,
was more strongly related to performance of Marines on consistent tasks
in a land navigation proficiency test ( e g , determining location and direction) than on inconsistent tasks (e.g., tactical decision making). In
contrast, experience quality, assessed using a composite measure of the
TESLUK AND JACOBS
345
types of environments, duties, training classes, supervisory opportunities, and activities involved in training, was a better predictor of performance on the inconsistent tasks involved in the proficiency test than
experience quantity. It appears that more quantitative aspects of work
experience, as assessed by amount and time measures, are more predictive of performance on standard work activities that involve consistent
application of knowledge and skills. For nonroutine tasks or in unstructured work contexts, exposure to unique and diverse situations may be
more important.
Proposition 8: Quantitative component measures of work experience are
more strongly related to performance on consistent tasks while qualitative
component measures are more strongly related to performance on more
inconsistent tasks.
Other features of the work environment and additional dimensions

from other performance models will need to be considered to more fully
understand the complexities between different experience components
and aspects of performance. Fiedler (1994) has summarized a number
of studies which have consistently found measures of tenure to be better
predictors of performance under stressful or difficult working conditions
than in low-stress situations. However, this relationship is found only
when tasks are relatively structured and procedures and goals are welldefined. In these situations, automatic responses to high stress events
or situations are more likely to be correct and effective than in novel or
unique circumstances. Through repetition and practice comes the skill
development and refinement that allows for automatic processing, which
may be particularly critical for performance under urgent or stressful
circumstances when the learned response is likely to be correct.
For jobs that involve higher levels of complexity or where nonroutine
decision making composes a larger portion of the performance domain,
information on the qualitative aspects of experience may be necessary
for accurate prediction. There is evidence that the tenure -, knowledge
4 performance relationship that has been identified when examining
jobs that are relatively low in complexity (Schmidt et al., 1986), is weaker
for more complexjobs (Borman et a]., 1993; McDaniel et al., 1988a). For
supervisory and other jobs that involve higher levels of complexity and
less standardization, simply increasing the amount of time spent in the
job may not provide enough opportunities for detailed and higher level
job knowledge and skill development. The content of work experience
needs to be considered and this necessitates attention to the qualitative
aspects of work experience. Proposition 1 (that all three experience
components contribute to explaining performance) can be elaborated
upon by stating that when moving from more simple to complex jobs,
346
the relative contribution of the qualitative and interactive components

in explaining important outcome criteria will increase.
Proposition 9: At lower levels of job complexity, experience measures that
simply include a quantitative component will forecast criteria such as job
performance. As job complexity increases, the predictive power of such
measures will decrease and will need to be supplemented by experience
measures that include qualitative and interaction components of the experience model.
Perhaps the greatest advances to our understanding of work experience and relationships with immediate outcomes such as work knowledge and then secondary outcomes such as performance will come from
a more temporal approach. A substantial amount of research in the area
of life-span psychology has demonstrated that fluid abilities/mechanics
(e.g., memory, motor coordination) decline over the life-course while
pragmatic abilities are maintained and can even increase into old age
(see Salthouse, 1991, 1995, for reviews). Thus, development consists
of multiple dimensions that undergo simultaneous growth in certain areas and decline in others (Baltes, 1987). Work experience may play a
critical role in this process by maintaining performance as individuals
age by providing practical job-relevant knowledge and skills (i.e., pragmatic abilities) that compensate for age-related declines in memory,
fine-motor coordination, and other fluid abilities (Salthouse & Maurer, 1996). Salthouses finding that older typists compensate for declines
in finger movement speed by development through experience of more
extensive forward-processing of letter and word sequences that enable
them to perform as efficiently as younger typists demonstrates this relationship quite well. It is consistent with work in the area of practical
intelligence (e.g., Sternberg, Wagner, Williams, & Horvath, 1995) that
has shown that experience serves to provide a set of complex multiconditional rules that apply to specific work situations, but that are difficult
to convey. There is even evidence to suggest that these pragmatic and
practical work-related knowledge and skills developed through experience are more important for performance in certain jobs than general
cognitive ability (Ceci & Liker, 1986, 1988; Scribner, 1984, 1986).
Recognizing that different performance-related factors (e.g., general
cognitive ability, motivation, task-relevant skills) have distinct growth
trajectories and that certain factors are more malleable by experience
than others has numerous implications for performance over a career.
It suggests that experience can facilitate development of work knowledge and slulls that may compensate for age-related declines in basic
cognitive abilities. However, the extent to which these experiences are
acquired is a function of individual and contextual factors (see Farr,
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347
Tesluk, & Klein, 1998; Salthouse & Maurer, 1996). For instance, outcome needs (e.g., growth needs) and expectations for success (e.g., selfefficacy) are two variables that are relevant to gaining experiences such
as participating in updating or employee development activities (Salthouse & Maurer, 1996). With respect to contextual factors, training activities, staffing practices, and work design can be integrated to provide
more complex work experiences which have been suggested as a means
to off-set age-related declines in certain abilities (Avolio, Waldman, &
McDaniel, 1990; Waldman & Avolio, 1993). Opportunities for participation in certain work experiences (e.g., skills training) are also affected
by age-related norms that can vary by work group and organization (Salthouse & Maurer, 1996; Waldman & Avolio, 1993).
Proposition 10: As a function of individual and contextual factors, on-thejob work experiences accrued over time contribute to the development
of pragmatic intelligence (i.e., procedural work-related knowledge and
context-bound problem-solving abilities) that compensate for age-related
declines in fluid abilities (e.g., information processing, fine-motor coordination).
Measurement and Research Design Issues

One important direction for research is to apply the framework provided by Quifiones et al. (1995) and elaborated upon here to methods
of operationalizing work experience in terms of its qualitative, quantitative, and interaction components at different levels of specification. Following a construct development logic where prediction is enhanced by
achieving congruence between predictors and criteria (Binning & Barrett, 1989), measures of work experience should be collected at the level
of specification that best links experience to the level of the outcome of
interest, whether it be the task, job, team, organization, or occupation.
For example, Lance and colleagues (1989), found that task experience
better predicted performance on the task than tenure. Ford, Sego, &
Teachout (1991), who examined relationships between cognitive ability,
job tenure, and amount of task experience in predicting task proficiency
for 43 tasks across four U.S. Air Force jobs, reported similar findings.
Although all three predictors were significantly correlated with task proficiency, task experience accounted for far greater variance in task proficiency than did job tenure (or cognitive ability). Even after entering
cognitive ability and job tenure, frequency of task experience remained
significant. Future work relating different measures of work experience
and performance needs to take into account the following proposition:
Proposition 11: When validating experience measures, care must be taken
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to match the level of specification of both work experience and the criterion. Stronger work experience-outcome relationships will be observed
when the work experience measure and the outcome criterion are assessed
at the same level of specification than when they are assessed at different
levels of specification.
A test of this proposition, for example, might involve relating work

experience and performance for an airplane mechanic. A 2 x 2 design could be used where experience and performance are measured
at the task (experience measured by length of time spent working on
repairing jet engines and performance measured by proficiency in engine repair) and job (experience measured by length of time spent in
the job of airplane mechanic and performance measured by supervisors rating of overall job performance) levels of specification. The
experience-performance correlations for the cells that are matched on
the level of specification should be significantly higher than for the nonmatched cells. This pattern should hold true in relating work experience
to other outcomes besides performance. For instance, organizational
tenure should be more highly correlated with organizational commitment than job tenure (Quifiones et al., 1995). This is because job tenure
reflects the amount of time spent in the current job title rather than
the length of time spent within the same familiar organizational context,
which is better captured by organizational tenure.
Methods to assess the qualitative aspects of experience need direct
attention. One place to start is with traditional training and experience
(T&E) rating methods. T&E methods are used to predict job performance through systematic, judgment-based evaluation of the written information provided by applicants on questionnaires, resumes, applications, or other documents (Levine & Flory, 1975). They extract jobrelated information such as past work accomplishments, performance
on specific tasks in previous jobs, prior training, and educational history.
Although a number of different T&E evaluation methods exist (see Ash,
Johnson, Levine, & McDaniel, 1989), the behavioral consistency method
has been found to display the highest validities (McDaniel, Schmidt, &
Hunter, 1988b). Based on the assumption that past behavior is the best
predictor of future behavior, this method requires applicants to list and
describe their past achievements which are formally scored according
to dimensions derived from subject matter experts. A limitation of this
and other similar T&E methods is that they focus on the outcome of an
experience and do not fully capture the nature of the experience itself
(e.g., level of challenge of an assignment). Another limiting factor is that
these techniques place a premium on written communication skills and
may not be appropriate for all jobs.
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A measure such as the Developmental Challenge Profile (DCP; McCauley et al., 1994) offers a potential advancement. The DCP is intended to capture the on-the-job situations and events that are associated
with learning and managerial development. Examples of the types of
important experiences include job transitions, assignments that impose
challenges, situations that require assuming a high level of responsibility,
and instances that require overcoming obstacles. This type of measure
is targeted at what the experience entailed, rather than simply the length
of the experience or outcomehesult of the experience. In addition, because responses are made according to multi-point rating scale, reliance
on communication abilities is reduced.
Innovative research designs and strategies are needed in order to
capture patterns of interindividual and intraindividual change over time
that define experience. In order to do this, researchers need to move beyond cross-sectionalstudies and utilize longitudinal designs to categorize
and follow the progression of experiences over time. There are a number
of ways this might be accomplished (see Waldman & Avolio, 1993). For
instance, using archival data sets from personnel files with information
on individualswork histories and work contexts, researchers might conduct retrospective or postdictive studies. Data might also be collected
retrospectively through interviews or surveys to obtain information regarding work experiences (e.g., McCall et al., 1988). These methodologies may at least serve as a means to develop initial hypotheses and may
encourage organizations to work more closely with researchers in collecting future data for use in more sophisticated designs (Waldman &
Avolio, 1993).
Factors critical in the development and patterns of experience may
be missed with the use of only either a cross-sectional or a longitudinal design (see Waldrnan & Avolio, 1993, for an excellent discussion of
these methodologies). Cohort effects, which reflect individuals within
the same generation sharing common social or societal experiences, are
an example of one macro-level contextual factor that may affect experience in ways that cannot be captured either one of these types of designs
individually. For instance, the AT&T studies (Bray & Howard, 1983)
identified important motivational, interest, and work value differences
between managers from different generational cohorts that affected the
types of career decisions they made and influenced their respective patterns of experience. If examined cross-sectionally, these differences due
to cohort membership might be mistakenly attributed as being due to
aging. However, even in a longitudinal design, if only a single cohort
of managers was considered, these differences due to generational effects that reflect larger societal trends, would be overlooked as well.
As Waldman and Avolio (1993) have suggested, cross-sequential designs
350
(e.g., see Baltes & Schaie, 1976) that incorporate features of longitudinal and cross-sectional approaches by adding new groups of individuals
over time which allows for the comparison of patterns of change across
individuals of different cohorts help overcome these limitations. Other
types of factors that may systematically affect the types of experiences
individuals acquire and that could be explored with this type of design
would be changes in human resource practices (e.g., a new two-tier wage
system) that may apply to new hires, but not to more senior employees.
Conclusion
As one of the most commonly used variables in personnel and human

resources, work experience is well deserving of study. Yet it has received
virtually no theoretical attention. Experience is much more than simply
the length of time spent in a job, organization, or occupation, which captures only a small sliver of the construct domain. Without integrating
the qualitative with the quantitative dimensions, the complexity of work
experience remains unexplored and its benefits remain untapped. The
recent work of Quifiones and his colleagues (Quiiiones et al., 1995) has
made a significant contribution by providing a framework for conceptualizing experience and highlighting the need to attend to how it is defined
and operationalized. This model builds on their initial framework in a
number of important ways. It adds to the dimensionality of experience
by discussing how qualitative and quantitative components interact over
time and how different levels of specification are important. It also takes
the first step toward developing a nomological network that links work
experience to individual and contextual variables as well as immediate
and secondary outcomes. In doing so, experience is described in multidimensional, temporarily dynamic, and in multilevel terms. Finally, after identifying a number of important theoretical issues for future study,
some implications that this new conceptualization of experience has for
human resource practice and directions for developing new methodologies and measures for experience assessment were discussed. It is our
hope that this effort will serve to stimulate additional theoretical and
empirical research on work experience.
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PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

TOWARD AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF WORK

Work experience and related concepts such as tenure and seniority

Experience plays a central role in models of work performance and

Despite the importance of work experience, research and practice in

TESLUK AND JACOBS

Defining and Distinguishing Work Experience

ence the development of experience, and direct and indirect outcomes is

Core Components of Work Experience

Knowledge & Skills

Figure 1. Model of Work Experience.

SwiallSocietal L e v e l (e.g., cohon effec~s)

learn: self-efficacy; feedback seeking tendencies

Individual Difference Factors

e.g.. ability/aptilude; motivation

TESLUK AND JACOBS

The final component of experience considered in the model involves

with co-workers and supervisors in order to understand role demands

TESLUK AND JACOBS

Contextual Influences on Work Experience (Linkage 1)

better mentoring and career guidance when supervisors view them in

Individual Influences on Work Experience (Linkage 2)

TESLUK AND JACOBS

Contextual and Individual Difference Factors FacilitatingExperience

Immediate Outcomes of Work Experience (Linkage 4)

TESLUK AND JACOBS

dividuals to try to reach a desired level of job competency or achieve a

Pe$ormance and Other Secondary Outcomes of Work Experience

of various predictors of job performance for over 32,000 individuals

TESLUK AND JACOBS

Recommendationsfor Future Directions for Research

TheoreticalDevelopment of the Core Work Experience Components

of work experience by considering it as being: (a) multidimensional,

Adding qualitative and interactive components to the quantitative

TESLUK AND JACOBS

that managers who were provided extensive feedback, mentoring, and

A useful place to start would be through conducting retrospective

TESLUK AND JACOBS

Schmidt et al., 1986), a similar process might be identified at the team

Individual and Contextual Influences

Given that learning comes primarily from on-the-job experiences and

TESLUK AND JACOBS

Career practices such as these need to ensure that new experiences

As preceding discussion highlights, individual and situational factors

the development of experience over time. Morrison and Hock (1986)

A third contribution of this paper has been to describe the primary

TESLUK AND JACOBS

Other features of the work environment and additional dimensions

the relative contribution of the qualitative and interactive components

TESLUK AND JACOBS

Measurement and Research Design Issues

A test of this proposition, for example, might involve relating work

TESLUK AND JACOBS

As one of the most commonly used variables in personnel and human

TESLUK AND JACOBS

older worker. In Schaie KW, Schooler C (Eds.), Impact of workon olderindividmls

TESLUK AND JACOBS

TESLUK AND JACOBS

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