scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question

Showing papers in "Journal of Occupational Health Psychology in 2001"


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Although women endured greater frequencies of incivility than did men, both genders experienced similarly negative effects on job satisfaction, job withdrawal, and career salience, and indices of psychological and physical health were relatively unaffected.
Abstract: This study extends the literature on interpersonal mistreatment in the workplace by examining the incidence, targets, instigators, and impact of incivility (eg, disrespect, condescension, degradation) Data were collected from 1,180 public-sector employees, 71% of whom reported some experience of workplace incivility in the previous 5 years As many as one third of the most powerful individuals within the organization instigated these uncivil acts Although women endured greater frequencies of incivility than did men, both genders experienced similarly negative effects on job satisfaction, job withdrawal, and career salience Uncivil workplace experiences were also associated with greater psychological distress; however, indices of psychological and physical health were relatively unaffected The authors discuss these findings in the context of organizational and cognitive stress theories

1,589 citations


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: The study showed that leisure time activities and a low-stress work situation contribute independently to an individual's well-being.
Abstract: This study extends previous research on respite from work and addresses the question of how individuals use their leisure time to recover from work. It is hypothesized that time spent on work-related and household activities has a negative effect on well-being, whereas low-effort, social, and physical activities are assumed to have a positive effect. One hundred Dutch teachers completed a diary on leisure time activities and situational well-being for 5 days, and work situation variables were assessed with a questionnaire. Multilevel analyses in which preleisure well-being and work situation variables were entered as control variables supported 4 of the 5 hypotheses. Moreover, a lagged effect of high time pressure on poor situational well-being was found. The study showed that leisure time activities and a low-stress work situation contribute independently to an individual's well-being.

646 citations


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In this paper, a cross-sectional structural equational modeling analysis and a longitudinal regression analysis of 237 food-processing plant employees were conducted to explore the relatively uncharted relationship between job insecurity and safety outcomes.
Abstract: Job insecurity research has focused primarily on attitudinal (e.g., job satisfaction), behavioral (e.g., employee turnover), and health outcomes. Moreover, research in the area of workplace safety has largely focused on ergonomic factors and personnel selection and training as primary antecedents of safety. Two cross-sectional structural equational modeling analyses and 1 longitudinal regression analysis of 237 food-processing plant employees unite these 2 disparate areas of research by exploring the relatively uncharted relationship between job insecurity and safety outcomes. Results indicate that employees who report high perceptions of job insecurity exhibit decreased safety motivation and compliance, which in turn are related to higher levels of workplace injuries and accidents. The specter of losing one's job as a result of corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, or organizational downsizing looms in the foreground for many of today's employees. Fortune 500 companies alone have reduced their total workforce from an aggregate 14.1 million employees to 11.6 million between 1983 and 1993, with approximately 500,000 U.S. employees facing job loss each year as a result of these transitions (Simons, 1998). These are impressive numbers; however, they do not even begin to capture the number of employees who might be concerned about losing their own jobs or the effect job

401 citations


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: This paper explored the relationship between the meaningfulness of work, personality hardiness, and deriving long-term benefits from a stressful event, and found that personalityhardiness was associated with being engaged in meaningful work during the deployment, which was strongly associated with deriving benefits from the deployment months after it was over.
Abstract: This research explored the relationship between the meaningfulness of work, personality hardiness, and deriving long-term benefits from a stressful event. U.S. soldiers participating in a peacekeeping mission to Bosnia completed measures assessing the meaning of their work and personality hardiness midway through a 1-year deployment (mid-deployment) and completed a measure of deriving benefits from the deployment 4-5 months after it was over (postdeployment). Structural equation modeling revealed that personality hardiness was associated with being engaged in meaningful work during the deployment, which was strongly associated with deriving benefits from the deployment months after it was over. Enriching experiences were also associated with deriving benefits from the deployment. Discussion focuses on the linkages between personality processes, meaningful work, and deriving benefits from a stressful experience.

368 citations


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: It was found that work- to-family conflict (but not family-to-work conflict) was positively related to withdrawal intentions and withdrawal behavior were stronger for individuals who were relatively uninvolved in their careers than for those who were highly involved in their career.
Abstract: This study extended prior analyses by J. H. Greenhaus, K. M. Collins, R. Singh, and S. Parasuraman (1997) by examining relationships between 2 directions of work-family conflict (work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict) and withdrawal from public accounting. The sample consisted of 199 members of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (135 men and 64 women) who were married or in a long-term relationship and who had 1 or more children. It was found that work-to-family conflict (but not family-to-work conflict) was positively related to withdrawal intentions. In addition, relationships of work-to-family conflict with withdrawal intentions and withdrawal behavior were stronger for individuals who were relatively uninvolved in their careers than for those who were highly involved in their careers. The implications of the findings for future research are discussed.

328 citations


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: The model suggests that workplace violence and sexual harassment predict fear of their recurrence in the workplace, which in turn predicts negative mood (anxiety and anger) and perceptions of injustice, which predicts lower affective commitment and enhanced withdrawal intentions.
Abstract: The authors developed and tested a structural model predicting personal and organizational consequences of workplace violence and sexual harassment for health care professionals who work inside their client's home. The model suggests that workplace violence and sexual harassment predict fear of their recurrence in the workplace, which in turn predicts negative mood (anxiety and anger) and perceptions of injustice. In turn, fear, negative mood, and perceived injustice predict lower affective commitment and enhanced withdrawal intentions, poor interpersonal job performance, greater neglect, and cognitive difficulties. The results supported the model and showed that the associations of workplace violence and sexual harassment with organizational and personal outcomes are indirect, mediated by fear and negative mood. Conceptual implications for understanding sexual harassment and workplace violence, and future research directions, are suggested.

316 citations


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: This paper used a participative action research (PAR) intervention that had the goal of reorganizing work to increase the extent to which people had discretion and choice in their work, which significantly improved people's mental health, sickness absence rates, and self-rated performance.
Abstract: This longitudinal, quasi-experiment tested whether a work reorganization intervention can improve stress-related outcomes by increasing people's job control. To this end, the authors used a participative action research (PAR) intervention that had the goal of reorganizing work to increase the extent to which people had discretion and choice in their work. Results indicated that the PAR intervention significantly improved people's mental health, sickness absence rates, and self-rated performance at a 1-year follow-up. Consistent with occupational health psychology theories, increase in job control served as the mechanism, or mediator, by which these improvements occurred. Discussion focuses on the need to understand the mechanisms by which work reorgnization interventions affect change.

311 citations


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Both latent and manifest benefits contributed significantly to the prediction of well-being, with the manifest benefit accounting for the largest proportion and status emerged as the most important contributor.
Abstract: This study investigated the relative contributions of the individual latent and manifest benefits of employment to wellbeing in a sample of 248 unemployed people. Participants completed measures of wellbeing and the latent (time structure, activity, status, collective purpose, and social contact) and manifest benefits of employment (financial strain). Significant associations were found between the latent benefits and wellbeing, and between the manifest benefits and wellbeing. Both latent and manifest benefits contributed significantly to the prediction of wellbeing, with the manifest benefit accounting for the largest proportion. While all latent benefits did contribute significantly, individually status emerged as the most important contributor, followed by time structure and collective purpose. Results are discussed in the context of Jahoda's (1982) Latent Deprivation Model and Fryer's (1986) Agency Restriction Model.

216 citations


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: It is suggested that malleable features of the work environment are associated with perceived effects of work on health, even after controlling for personality traits and other sources of reporting bias.
Abstract: A national sample of 2,048 workers was asked to rate the impact of their job on their physical and mental health. Ordered logistic regression analyses based on social ecology theory showed that the workers' responses were significantly correlated with objective and subjective features of their jobs, in addition to personality characteristics. Workers who had higher levels of perceived constraints and neuroticism, worked nights or overtime, or reported serious ongoing stress at work or higher job pressure reported more negative effects. Respondents who had a higher level of extraversion, were self-employed, or worked part time or reported greater decision latitude or use of skills on the job reported more positive effects. These findings suggest that malleable features of the work environment are associated with perceived effects of work on health, even after controlling for personality traits and other sources of reporting bias. Work and health are intimately connected, yet the complex association between multiple features of employment arrangements and workers' health is not well understood. Given the dramatic labor supply and demand changes in the past decade, better identification of the employment characteristics that underlie the health of workers is of profound practical importance. As outlined by the National Occupational Research Agenda (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health [NIOSH], 1996), the changing nature of jobs (e.g., shift from manufacturing to services) as well as the aging and growing diversity of the workforce suggests that the threats to worker

213 citations


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the moderating impact of positive and negative coping styles on the relationship of acute and chronic job stressors with self-reported health symptoms of 521 military personnel.
Abstract: This study examined the moderating impact of positive and negative coping styles on the relationship of acute and chronic job stressors with self-reported health symptoms of 521 military personnel. The number of acute work-related events was associated with a high frequency of self-reported symptoms. Similarly, role ambiguity, overload, and lack of job stimulation were associated with increased symptoms. Only the negative coping styles (i.e., venting of negative emotions and denial/disengagement) were uniquely associated with symptoms. Only 5 of the 13 proposed Stressor x Coping interactions were significant, and they all involved the negative coping styles. That is, instead of alleviating the negative outcomes of work stressors, these coping styles were associated with high strain, regardless of the amount of stressor, and, in some cases, these coping styles exacerbated the negative effect of the stressor on the strain outcomes.

157 citations


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: It was confirmed that inequity affects the central component of burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion) and that this relation is curvilinear.
Abstract: In a composite sample of human service professionals (N = 245), longitudinal relations across 1 year were tested between equity in the professional-recipient relationship and burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment). The 1st research question was whether inequity influenced burnout across time. The 2nd research question was whether longitudinal relations between equity and burnout were curvilinear, as predicted by equity theory. The results confirmed that inequity affects the central component of burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion) and that this relation is curvilinear. Feeling more deprived and feeling more advantaged resulted in higher future emotional exhaustion levels. No indication was found for a longitudinal relation between inequity and depersonalization. A synchronous relation was found suggesting that personal accomplishment influences equity.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Examination of changes in psychosocial work characteristics (job strain model) and health-related behaviors as potential explanations of the job insecurity-health relationship in a longitudinal cohort of white-collar British civil servants found little in adverse changes in these factors.
Abstract: This article describes 2 studies that examined changes in psychosocial work characteristics (job strain model) and health-related behaviors as potential explanations of the job insecurity-health relationship in a longitudinal cohort of white-collar British civil servants. Job insecurity arising from anticipation of change was associated with a modest increase in self-reported morbidity, whereas chronic job insecurity was associated with some adverse physiological changes. Anticipation of change and chronic job insecurity were associated with adverse changes in other psychosocial work characteristics, but few changes were significant and consistent across both exposure groups. Changes in health-related behaviors associated with either exposure were slight. Apart from a minor role for social support at work in both sexes and a modest role for job demands in women, adverse changes in these factors explain little of the job insecurity-health relationship.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: It is concluded that the often-reported effect of inequity on burnout can partly be interpreted in terms of elevated levels of job stress.
Abstract: This research examined burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment) among 2 samples of Dutch teachers as a function of inequity and experienced job stress in 3 different exchange relationships (with students, colleagues, and the school). It was hypothesized that inequity would be linked to burnout through the stress resulting from this inequity. Analysis of a cross-sectional sample (N = 271) revealed that this was indeed the case. Findings were replicated longitudinally using an independent sample of 940 teachers. It is concluded that the often-reported effect of inequity on burnout can partly be interpreted in terms of elevated levels of job stress. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Examination of the relationship between 6 organizational practices and both productivity and injury rates in 86 small manufacturing firms finds the use of performance-based pay was associated with higher injury rates and lower productivity, while training hours were negatively related to the injury rate and positively related to 1 measure of productivity.
Abstract: Managers often implement new organizational practices to improve firm performance while neglecting possible side effects This study examines the relationship between 6 organizational practices and both productivity and injury rates in 86 small manufacturing firms The use of performance-based pay was associated with higher injury rates and lower productivity (on 1 of 2 measures) The opposite pattern held for training: Training hours were negatively related to the injury rate and positively related to 1 measure of productivity Surprisingly, higher hours worked per week was associated with a lower injury rate and also with lower productivity The use of teams was associated with a lower injury rate but was unrelated to productivity The potential interaction between hazard control measures and organizational practices in predicting injury rates is also discussed

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Gender may alter the type of work stress that is most strongly associated with major depression: psychological demands for men and physical demands for women.
Abstract: Data from the Canadian National Population Health Survey (1994-1995) were used to evaluate the associations between work stress and major depression (N = 7,344). Major depression was evaluated using the World Health Organization's Composite International Diagnostic Interview- Short Form. Work stress was measured by a 12-item scale in 6 dimensions. Significant associations between work stress and major depression were found. Gender may alter the type of work stress that is most strongly associated with major depression: psychological demands for men and physical demands for women. Some forms of work stress were more strongly associated with major depression in smokers than in nonsmokers.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Results suggest only a small relationship between the response rate of a survey and the reported effect size between variables, which is not significant for any individual sample.
Abstract: This study investigated the relationship between response rate and effect size in self-report survey research. The correlation between response rate and effect size was calculated for 4 variable combinations, and the results were combined using meta-analytic procedures. The correlation of response rate and effect size was not significant for any individual sample. The average correlation between response rate and effect size was -.15, with a nonsignificant corrected variance across studies of .02. These results suggest only a small relationship between the response rate of a survey and the reported effect size between variables.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In this paper, the influence of work social support on self-monitored heart rate, blood pressure, and salivary cortisol recorded on 3 work days and 2 leisure days from 61 nurses and 32 accountants (40 men, 53 women).
Abstract: This study assessed the influence of work social support on self-monitored heart rate, blood pressure, and salivary cortisol recorded on 3 work days and 2 leisure days from 61 nurses and 32 accountants (40 men, 53 women). Heart rate and blood pressure were higher during the day at work than in the evening or on leisure days. Cortisol was higher on leisure than work days and was lower in the evening than in the day. Low social support at work was associated with elevated heart rate during the daytime and evening of work days, an effect that persisted after controlling for psychological distress, age, sex, smoking, and physical activity. Work social support was not related to cortisol on work days, but on leisure days cortisol was elevated among individuals reporting high social support. There were few differences between men and women, and no important occupational effects.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Results showed that female firefighters experienced more injuries than male firefighters and several Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory scales (Conversion Hysteria, Psychopathic Deviate, and Social Introversion) were positively related to injury frequency.
Abstract: This study examined demographic, personality, and economic incentive correlates of workplace injuries suffered by 171 firefighters over a 12-year period. Results showed that female firefighters experienced more injuries than male firefighters. Several Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scales (Conversion Hysteria, Psychopathic Deviate, and Social Introversion) were positively related to injury frequency. Regression analyses revealed that age, tenure, gender, marital status, type of injury, and wage variables were significant when predicting the duration of injuries as well as an interaction between marital status and gender. Two MMPI scales (Psychopathic Deviate and Schizophrenia) were also significantly related to injury duration. Indemnity cost estimates were calculated. The results underscore the importance of distinguishing the duration of injury from the occurrence of injury. Language: en

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: It was concluded that exposur toe occupation has a greater negative impact on changes in blood pressur (BP) and jo satisfactiob n ove thosr tim performinee amon complegg jobsx I.
Abstract: The hypothesis of this study was that noise exposure level and job complexity interact to affect changes in blood pressure (BP) levels and job satisfaction over 2-4 years of follow-up. Results showed that among workers exposed to high noise, those with complex jobs showed increases in BP that were more than double shown by those with simple jobs. Under low noise exposure, there was a small increase in BP for workers with complex jobs but about a 3-fold increase in workers with simple jobs. The prevalence of elevated BP showed a similar trend. Job satisfaction increased among workers with complex jobs but was much less in those exposed to high noise. It was concluded that exposure to occupational noise has a greater negative impact on changes in BP and job satisfaction over time among those performing complex jobs. In contrast, job complexity had a clear beneficial effect for workers exposed to low noise.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Having any kind of personal contact with layoffs is found to be associated with less job security, more symptoms of poor health, depression, and eating changes as compared with having no layoff contact.
Abstract: This study examined health and well-being among workers who have experienced varying types of contact with layoffs in an organization undergoing downsizing. Using survey data from a large organization employing both white- and blue-collar workers (N = 2,279), the authors argued that there are important differences among surviving workers as a function of their layoff experiences. Having any kind of personal contact with layoffs is found to be associated with less job security, more symptoms of poor health, depression, and eating changes as compared with having no layoff contact. Being laid off and rehired is associated with more work-related injuries and illnesses and missed work days due to such events than is receiving a "warn" notice, indirect contact (i.e., friends or coworkers laid off), or no contact with layoffs. Job security partially mediates the relationship between type of layoff contact experiences and health.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Investigation of relationships of empowerment and span of control with 2 safety measures of a large chemical company in 3 U.S. states found only empowerment predicted unique variance in safety criteria.
Abstract: Relationships of empowerment and span of control with 2 safety measures (unsafe behaviors and accidents) were investigated among 24 workgroups comprising 531 employees of a large chemical company in 3 U.S. states. The company recently implemented a reengineering process. Data were from an anonymous survey (unsafe behaviors), company records (accidents, span of control), and trained expert raters (empowerment). Span of control (positively) and level of empowerment (negatively) correlated with both measures of poor safety performance, but only empowerment predicted unique variance in safety criteria. Together, these structural measures predicted one third of the variance in safety measures. Structural variables such as span of control and team empowerment have been largely overlooked in past safety research but can be important.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: A logistic regression analysis indicated that the interaction between P x C x PC and the body mass index was independently associated with borderline hypertension.
Abstract: This study examined the effects of psychosocial work characteristics on cardiovascular rewind at night. Ambulatory 24-hr recordings of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) of 75 borderline hypertensive and 74 normotensive men were related to diary ratings of perceived control (PC) and to scores of psychological demand (P), control (C), and social support (S) at work determined by an occupational classification system. Multiplicative interaction terms for job strain (P x C), isostrain (P x C x S), and Job Strain x Perceived Control (P x C x PC) were calculated. The P x C x PC interaction predicted diastolic BP at night but not at work. A delayed latency to attain the lowest systolic BP during the night was found for jobs with high job strain and isostrain. Low perceived control and social support were associated with higher HR at work and at night. A logistic regression analysis indicated that the interaction between P x C x PC and the body mass index was independently associated with borderline hypertension.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Predictors of changes in general health and time with back pain and neck pain were mainly work-related variables, such as job interference with family, job influence, work psychological demands, and hours worked.
Abstract: This article aimed to examine changes in general health and time with back pain and neck pain and to identify predictors of any such changes. Hospital workers were studied longitudinally with surveys in 1995, 1996, and 1997 (N = 712). Back and neck pain were reported only at the 2nd and 3rd surveys. There was a significant decline in general health and significant increases in time with neck pain and back pain. Predictors of changes in these outcomes were mainly work-related variables (initial or change values), such as job interference with family, job influence, work psychological demands, and hours worked.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In this article, an exploratory study examining the perceived functions and psychological and organizational effects of pets in the workplace was conducted, finding that participants perceived that bringing their pets to work positively affect employee health and the organization.
Abstract: This article reports the findings of an exploratory study examining the perceived functions and psychological and organizational effects of pets in the workplace. Participants were 193 employees from 31 companies allowing pets in the workplace who completed anonymous questionnaires. Results indicated that participants perceived pets in the workplace to reduce stress and to positively affect employee health and the organization. Participants who brought their pets to work perceived greater benefits than participants who did not bring their pets to work and participants who did not own pets.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Integrating both team and informational training may be the most effective for improving help seeking and EAP utilization.
Abstract: Employees fail to seek help for alcohol or drug (AOD) abuse because of unhealthy work climates, stigma, and distrust in Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). To address such problems, the authors randomly assigned groups of municipal employees (N = 260) to 2 types of training: a 4-hr informational review of EAPs and policy and an 8-hr training that embedded messages about AOD reduction in the context of team building and stress management. Pre- and posttraining and 6-month follow-up surveys assessed change. Group privacy regulation, EAP trust, help seeking, and peer encouragement increased for team training. Stigma of substance users decreased for information training. EAP/policy knowledge increased for both groups. A control group showed little change. Help seeking and peer encouragement also predicted EAP utilization. Integrating both team and informational training may be the most effective for improving help seeking and EAP utilization.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Results revealed that Time 1 interactional justice was negatively related to filing a claim, whereas Time 1 distributive justice was positively related to perceptions of employer disability-related practices measured a year after the date of injury report.
Abstract: This article explored the relationship among injured workers' perceptions of workplace justice (i.e., distributive, interactional, and procedural), perceptions of employers' disability-related policies, and the decision to file a workers' compensation claim. Using a 2-wave sample of 1,077 workers with repetitive motion injuries, the authors tested a structural equation model. Results revealed that Time 1 interactional justice was negatively related to filing a claim, whereas Time 1 distributive justice was positively related to perceptions of employer disability-related practices measured a year after the date of injury report. At Time 2, the claim decision was unrelated to perceptions of justice, yet perceptions of disability-related practices were significantly related to all 3 types of justice.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Results indicate that the higher the proportion of drug testers in the worksite's industry, the more likely it would be to adopt drug testing.
Abstract: This study explored the adoption of preemployment drug testing by 360 organizations. Survival models were developed that included internal organizational and labor market factors hypothesized to affect the likelihood of adoption of drug testing. Also considered was another set of variables that included social and political variables based on institutional theory. An event history analysis using Cox regressions indicated that both internal organizational and environmental variables predicted adoption of drug testing. Results indicate that the higher the proportion of drug testers in the worksite's industry, the more likely it would be to adopt drug testing. Also, the extent to which an organization uses an internal labor market, voluntary turnover rate, and the extent to which management perceives drugs to be a problem were related to likelihood of adoption of drug testing.