Promoting desirable work attitudes and behaviors among accountants : a field study

Purpose: Accounting work is characterized by high job demands and tight deadlines. With less task variety, accounting work is susceptible to employee disengagement. This paper aims to examine the role of enhanced performance management practices as intervention mechanism to the disengagement among accountants. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 105 accountants participated in an online survey, answering self and social reports. Hypotheses were tested using regression analyses. Findings: Enhanced performance management practices promote engagement among accountants. In turn, engagement promotes job satisfaction and affective commitment among accountants. Research limitations/implications: Further studies are necessary to test the study’s findings. Future research should focus on replicating this study in other settings. Practical implications: Performance planning and implementation are critical to enhancing accountants’ work attitudes and behaviors. Originality/value: The accounting literature has consistently addressed negative accounting work outcomes from the perspective of burnout (a negative approach). This paper addresses the issue from the perspective of engagement (a positive approach).