Showing papers in "Journal of Occupational Health Psychology in 2004"

Customer-Related Social Stressors and Burnout.

Abstract: Although almost all literature on burnout implicitly assumes that burnout is primarily caused by stressful employee-customer interactions, only a few studies have addressed this empirically. A principal-components analysis of a newly developed instrument assessing various forms of customer-related social stressors (CSS) in 3 different service jobs (N = 591) revealed 4 themes of CSS: disproportionate customer expectations, customer verbal aggression, disliked customers, and ambiguous customer expectations. These 4 CSS predict burnout beyond a variety of control variables. Contrary to other predictors of burnout analyzed in previous studies, the amount of variance explained in exhaustion (14%) by the 4 CSS scales is not higher than for personal accomplishment (14%) and is considerably lower than for depersonalization (23%).

Leadership behavior and subordinate well-being.

Abstract: The authors used a longitudinal design to investigate the relation between leadership behavior and the well-being of subordinates. Well-being is conceptualized as people's feelings about themselves and the settings in which they live and work. Staff members (N = 562) of 2 Community Trusts participated 4 times in a 14-month period. Five models were formulated to answer 2 questions: What is the most likely direction of the relation between leadership and well-being, and what is the time frame of this relation? The model with the best fit suggested that leadership behavior and subordinate responses are linked in a feedback loop. Leadership behavior at Time 1 influenced leadership behavior at Time 4. Subordinate well-being at Time 2 synchronously influenced leadership behavior at Time 2. Leadership behavior at Time 4 synchronously influenced subordinate well-being at Time 4.

A longitudinal study of employee adaptation to organizational change: the role of change-related information and change-related self-efficacy.

Abstract: This study examined the role of information, efficacy, and 3 stressors in predicting adjustment to organizational change. Participants were 589 government employees undergoing an 18-month process of regionalization. To examine if the predictor variables had long-term effects on adjustment, the authors assessed psychological well-being, client engagement, and job satisfaction again at a 2-year follow-up. At Time 1, there was evidence to suggest that information was indirectly related to psychological well-being, client engagement, and job satisfaction, via its positive relationship to efficacy. There also was evidence to suggest that efficacy was related to reduced stress appraisals, thereby heightening client engagement. Last, there was consistent support for the stress-buffering role of Time 1 self-efficacy in the prediction of Time 2 job satisfaction.

Expanding the psychosocial work environment: workplace norms and work-family conflict as correlates of stress and health.

Abstract: This study examined the contributions of organizational level norms about work requirements and social relations, and work–family conflict, to job stress and subjective health symptoms, controlling for Karasek’s job demand– control–support model of the psychosocial work environment, in a sample of 1,346 employees from 56 firms in the Norwegian food and beverage industry. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses showed that organizational norms governing work performance and social relations, and work-to-family and family-to-work conflict, explained significant amounts of variance for job stress. The cross-level interaction between work performance norms and work-tofamily conflict was also significantly related to job stress. Work-to-family conflict was significantly related to health symptoms, but family-to-work conflict and organizational norms were not.

Safety and insecurity: exploring the moderating effect of organizational safety climate.

Abstract: This research reconciled disparate findings regarding the relationship between job insecurity and safety by examining organizational safety climate as a potential moderator. It was predicted that a strong organizational safety climate would attenuate the negative effects of job insecurity on self-reported safety outcomes such as safety knowledge, safety compliance, accidents, and injuries. Data collected from 136 manufacturing employees were consistent with these predictions. Results are discussed in light of escalating interest in how organizational factors can affect employee safety. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (2001), 43% of U.S. organizations conducted employee layoffs in 2000 and 2001, with corporate reductions averaging 10%‐13% of the workforce. The resultant pervasive climate of job insecurity has been shown to have multiple negative effects on affected employees. Employees with insecure jobs report lower job satisfaction (Davy, Kinicki, & Scheck, 1991), a greater incidence of physical health conditions (Roskies & Louis-Guerin, 1990), and higher levels of psychological distress (Dekker & Schaufeli, 1995) when compared with employees with secure jobs. In addition, the more dissatisfied employees are with their perceived job security, the less committed they are to the organization (Ashford, Lee, & Bobko, 1989), the more frequently they engage in work withdrawal behaviors such as absenteeism, tardiness, and work task avoidance (Probst, 2002a), and the more likely they are to quit their job (Ashford et al., 1989; Davy et al., 1991).

Implications of work and community demands and resources for work-to-family conflict and facilitation.

Abstract: Based on a differential salience approach, this article examines the combined effects of work and community demands and resources on work-to-family conflict and facilitation. The study uses information from 2,507 employed respondents from the 1995 National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States. The findings indicate that work demands are relatively strongly related to work-to-family conflict, whereas work resources are relatively more important in relation to work-to-family facilitation. Social incoherence and friend demands are positively related to work-to-family conflict, whereas sense of community and support from friends have positive effects on facilitation. Community resources also show weak amplifying effects on some of the positive relationships between work resources and work-to-family facilitation. The findings provide modest support for the hypotheses.

Working in a context of hostility toward women: implications for employees' well-being.

Abstract: This study examined how working in an organizational context perceived as hostile toward women affects employees’ well-being, even in the absence of personal hostility experiences. Participants were 289 public-sector employees who denied any personal history of being targeted with general or gender-based hostility at work. They completed measures of personal demographics, occupational and physical well-being, and perceptions of the organizational context for women. Results showed that 2 contextual indices of hostility toward women related to declines in well-being for male and female employees. The gender ratio of the workgroup moderated this relationship, with employees in male-skewed units reporting the most negative effects. These findings suggest that all employees in the workplace can suffer from working in a context of perceived misogyny. Over the past few decades, there has been increasing recognition of the seriousness of different forms of misogyny and hostility toward women in the workplace. Sexual harassment, in particular, has received considerable attention. Most of this work has focused on specific incidents of sexual harassment and other forms of hostility and the consequences of being the target of such behavior. However, theory and data are beginning to suggest that the negative consequences of this mistreatment extend beyond individual targets to include bystanders, workgroups, and whole organizations. The present study takes these possibilities a step further, examining through a gendered lens how working in a misogynistic context can detract from employees’ well-being, or general quality of life (Kahn & Juster, 2002). In particular, we examine three aspects of employees’ general well-being: occupational satisfaction, organizational withdrawal, and physical health satisfaction. We describe below how and why these well-being domains might be related to working in a hostile climate for women. Of note, we focus on less extreme, more common forms of hostility toward women in the workplace. Much of the sexual harassment discourse focuses on quid pro quo behavior, or sexual conduct in which submission to or rejection of the harassment is used as a basis of employment decisions. In contrast, we examine how gender-based incivility and the gender harassment of women affect employees. Thus, we focus more on hostile environment harassment, which is far more prevalent than quid pro quo behavior (Koss et al., 1994). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (1980) guidelines defined hostile environment harassment as workplace behavior that interferes with an employee’s performance on the job and creates an intimidating, offensive, or hostile working environment. Although somewhat different, both quid pro quo and hostile environment harassment have been linked with negative wellbeing consequences for targets of, or people who personally experienced, the mistreatment.

Job Strain, Job Insecurity, and Health: Rethinking the Relationship

Abstract: Job strain (high demands and low control) is a widely used measure of work stress. The authors introduce a new way of looking at work stress by combining job strain with job insecurity, a combination increasingly prevalent in contemporary economies, using data from a cross-sectional survey (N = 1,188) of mid-aged Australian managers and professionals. Those reporting both strain and insecurity showed markedly higher odds for mental and physical health problems (depression: odds ratio [OR] 13.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] 5.67-34.01; anxiety: OR 12.88, CI 5.12-32.39; physical health problems: OR 3.97, CI 1.72-9.16; and poor self-rated health: OR 7.12, CI 2.81-18.01). Job strain and insecurity showed synergistic associations with health, and employees experiencing both could be at heightened health risk.

Comprehensive Health Promotion Interventions at the Workplace: Experiences With Health Circles in Germany.

Abstract: Health circles, the central element of a comprehensive health promotion approach that has been developed in Germany in recent years, emphasize organizational and psychosocial factors while actively involving employees in the process. Through an extensive review the authors identified 11 studies, presenting the results of 81 health circles. The scientific quality of the data is limited: only 3 studies used (nonrandomized) control groups, whereas the remaining studies are based on retrospective before-and-after comparison. Nonetheless, the available data suggest that health circles are an effective tool for the improvement of physical and psychosocial working conditions and have a favorable effect on workers' health, well-being, and sickness absence. More rigorous studies are needed to confirm these results.

Overt anger in response to victimization: attributional style and organizational norms as moderators.

Abstract: Prior theory and research suggests a positive relation between perceived victimization and overt anger The authors proposed and tested a theoretical extension of this link by investigating possible moderating effects of individual and contextual variables A sample of 158 employees of a municipality was used to test hypotheses that the relationship between perceived victimization and overt anger is moderated by hostile attributional style and perceptions of organizational norms The results showed that the relation between perceptions of direct victimization and overt anger was stronger when the employee had a more rather than less hostile attributional style and when the employee perceived the organizational norms as more rather than less oppositional Language: en

Gendered work conditions, health, and work outcomes.

Abstract: This cross-sectional study of nonfaculty university employees examined associations among gendered work conditions (e.g., sexism and discrimination), job demands, and employee job satisfaction and health. Organizational responsiveness and social support were examined as effect modifiers. Comparisons were made by gender and by the male-female ratio in each job category. The relationship of gendered conditions of work to outcomes differed on the basis of respondents' sex and the job sex ratio. Although the same predictors were hypothesized for job satisfaction, physical health, and psychological distress, there were some differing results. The strongest correlate of job satisfaction was social support; perceived sexism in the workplace also contributed for both men and women. Organizational factors associated with psychological distress differed between female- and male-dominated jobs.

Repeated downsizing contact: the effects of similar and dissimilar layoff experiences on work and well-being outcomes.

Abstract: In this longitudinal study, the authors compared 1,244 white- and blue-collar workers who reported 0, 1, or 2 contacts with layoffs; all were employees of a large manufacturing company that had engaged in several mass waves of downsizing. Consistent with a stress-vulnerability model, workers with a greater number of exposures to both direct and indirect downsizing reported significantly lower levels of job security and higher levels of role ambiguity, intent to quit, depression, and health problems. Findings did not support the idea that workers became more resilient as they encountered more layoff events. The authors found only partial evidence that the similarity or dissimilarity of the type of repeated downsizing exposure played a role in how workers reported changes in these outcome variables.

The effects of individual differences and charismatic leadership on workplace aggression.

Abstract: This study examined the effects of individual differences variables (trait anger, self-control, negative affectivity, attitudes toward revenge, and attributional style) and charismatic leadership on incidents of workplace aggression in a sample of 213 employees from a wide range of organizations. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that the individual differences variables accounted for 27% of the variance in workplace aggression and that charismatic leadership accounted for an additional 3% after controlling for individual differences. In addition, psychological empowerment partially mediated the relationship between charismatic leadership and workplace aggression.

Explaining Potential Antecedents of Workplace Social Support: Reciprocity or Attractiveness?

Abstract: Effects of social support are an important topic in occupational stress theories and research, yet little is known about support's potential antecedents. Based on reciprocity theory, the authors hypothesized that the social support received is related to the extent the employee performs organizational citizenship behaviors directed at individuals and to one's social competence; based on the notion of personal attraction, the authors hypothesized that employees' physical attractiveness and sense of humor would be associated with the amount of social support received. In a survey of 123 high school employees and separate ratings of their attractiveness, reciprocity variables were related but attraction variables were not related to social support availability. Further research should examine reciprocity in predicting social support.

The influence of prior commitment on the reactions of layoff survivors to organizational downsizing.

Abstract: Nurses (N = 179; Study 1) and managers (N = 154; Study 2) participated in 2 panel studies examining the relationship among prior commitment (affective and continuance commitment and perceived organizational support), coping strategies, and survivors' attitudes and perceptions during and following downsizing. In Study 1, perceived organizational support was significantly positively related to control-oriented coping, job satisfaction, and intention to remain and negatively related to perceived job insecurity and burnout 2 years later. In Study 2, coping mediated the relationship between the prior commitment variables and job alienation, health symptoms, and burnout following the downsizing. Control-oriented coping was associated with elevated levels of health symptoms and burnout following the downsizing, suggesting that control-oriented coping may have positive effects in the short term but potentially harmful effects in the long term.

The relationships among part-time work, work-family interference, and well-being.

Abstract: The authors investigated the effect of part-time work on work-family interference and well-being among 160 part-time and 29 full-time employed mothers (with a partner) working at 2 insurance companies in the Netherlands. The authors controlled for working part time as a strategy for reducing work-family imbalance and found that part-time work was associated with a lower level of work-to-family interference. Also, high levels of work-family interference were associated with diminished well-being. Work-to-family interference played a mediating role in the relationship between part-time work and well-being. Results indicate that part-time jobs can enhance the work-family balance not only for those explicitly choosing part-time employment as a means to reduce work-family imbalance but also for other employees.

The impact of sense of coherence and negative affectivity on the work stressor--strain relationship.

Abstract: This study investigated different ways in which work stressors, sense of coherence (SOC), and negative affectivity (NA) might influence strain. Three models covering direct, moderating, and mediating effects between the variables were tested for hyperresponsitivity, causality, perception, selection, and stressor-creation mechanisms. The sample consisted of 205 hospital employees (nurses, physicians, and medical technicians). Work stressors, SOC, NA, and strain were measured and analyzed in structural equation models and with analyses of variance. Besides direct effects on strain, significant perception, selection, and stressor-creation mechanisms of SOC could be identified. After controlling for SOC and NA, work stressors remain substantial predictors of strain.

Supervisor referrals to work-family programs.

Abstract: Supervisors play an important role in determining whether employees use work-family programs. Yet little research has examined the factors that relate to supervisor perceptions of and behaviors surrounding work-family programs. This study builds on past research, the theory of reasoned action, and expectancy theory to explore factors that contribute to supervisors' decisions to refer subordinates to work-family programs. Usable surveys assessing perceptions of work-family programs were completed and returned by 1972 managers in a large government agency. Results revealed that program awareness and instrumentality perceptions both contributed uniquely to predicting the frequency of supervisors' referrals to work-family programs. Supportive attitudes also predicted referrals, but only through their shared relationship with instrumentality perceptions.

Burnout Patterns in Rehabilitation: Short-Term Changes in Job Conditions, Personal Resources, and Health.

Abstract: This longitudinal study reports the patterning of the burnout symptoms and the changes in employees' job conditions, personal resources, and psychological health 4 months after a rehabilitation intervention. The data were gathered by means of questionnaires before and after a rehabilitation period. Four patterns were identified: not burned out (n = 55), exhausted and cynical (n = 36), burned out (n = 26), and low professional efficacy (n = 18). These patterns differed in terms of job resources, personal resources, and depression. There were both positive and negative changes detected in participants' psychological health and job resources at the follow-up. The study shows the importance of identifying different burnout patterns in order to focus rehabilitation activities more effectively.

Aggression and violence against home care workers.

Abstract: This article describes the development of the Violence and Aggression in Health Care Questionnaire (VAQ) and the application of the measure in the field of home care. In a 1st sample of 361 German home care workers, the scales of the VAQ reached internal consistencies from .72 to .93. A confirmatory factor analysis gave evidence to the hypothesized factor structure. Significant correlation with indicators of psychophysical strain and health resulted in a 2nd sample of 180 home care workers. In multiple regression analysis based on a 3rd sample of 180 home care workers, verbal aggression by patients was a significant predictor of negative psychological outcomes. The relationship is completely mediated by negative emotional reactions after aggressive incidents. Language: en

Ergonomic Office Design and Aging: A Quasi-Experimental Field Study of Employee Reactions to an Ergonomics Intervention Program.

Abstract: A naturally occurring quasi-experimental longitudinal field study of 87 municipal employees using pretest and posttest measures investigated the effects of an office workstation ergonomics intervention program on employees' perceptions of their workstation characteristics, levels of persistent pain, eyestrain, and workstation satisfaction. The study examined whether reactions differed between younger and older employees. Results revealed that workstation improvements were associated with enhanced perceptions of the workstation's ergonomic qualities, less upper back pain, and greater workstation satisfaction. Among those experiencing an improvement, the perceptions of workstation ergonomic qualities increased more for younger than older employees, supporting the "impressionable years" framework in the psychological literature on aging. Implications for human resources managers are discussed.

Job Strain or Healthy Work: A Question of Task Design.

Abstract: Objectively evaluated task requirements were used to classify jobs causing high strain, low strain, and jobs conducive to personal development. Effects of these job characteristics on psychophysiological outcomes were tested in 241 employees by using 24-hr ambulatory assessment of blood pressure (BP), heart rate, and mood. Self-reports about job characteristics showed that employees working in jobs conducive to personal development perceived the highest job demands and decision latitude. They also showed a healthy cardiovascular behavior with increased diastolic BP at work and its strong unwinding at night. Although self-reports about job characteristics did not differ between low- and high-strain jobs, employees exposed to high-strain jobs had higher systolic and diastolic BP during work and more often a disturbed relaxation ability. In the last two decades two theoretical models for measuring stress at work, the job demand– control model (Karasek, 1979; Karasek & Theorell, 1990) and the effort–reward imbalance model (Siegrist, 1996), have become generally accepted. Both job strain and effort–reward imbalance have been related to determinants of coronary heart diseases. Thus, studies that evaluated occupational stress in relation to cardiovascular changes indicate that sympathetic nervous activity may be increased during occupational stress (e.g., Belkic, Emdad, & Theorell, 1998; Pickering, Schnall, Schwartz, & Pieper, 1991; Rau, 1996; Schnall, Schwartz, Landsbergis, Warren, & Pickering, 1998; Theorell et al., 1991). Occupational stress was defined here as high job strain, which is caused by a combination of high demands at work with low decision latitude or control. Based on both the job demand– control model and the effort–reward imbalance model, considerable evidence linking hypertension, acute myocardial infarction, newly reported coronary heart disease, and other diseases to the exposure to job strain (e.g., Pickering, 1993; Schnall et al., 1990; Schnall et al., 1998; Theorell, Ahlberg-Hulten, Jodko, Sigala, & Torre, 1993; van Egeren, 1992) and to jobs with high effort–reward imbalance (Bosma, Peter, Siegrist, & Marmot, 1998;

Child health: a legitimate business concern.

Abstract: This article reviews evidence substantiating the relationship between child health and business outcomes and evaluates literature regarding organizational interventions that benefit child health and reduce associated costs. The review focuses on 4 family-friendly initiatives, including prenatal programs, lactation programs, sick child care, and flexible working arrangements, and considers 4 business outcomes, specifically health care costs, face time, productive time, and employer attractiveness. Limitations of previous research are discussed, and preventive and reactive models of the relationship between child health and business outcomes are developed as guides for future research.

Intimate partner abuse perpetrated by employees.

Abstract: This exploratory study examined partner abuse perpetration in the context of employment. Qualitative and quantitative data from 29 men convicted of partner abuse were gathered through focus groups and a brief survey. Men attributed absences, reduced productivity, and errors to their perpetration of abuse and described harassing their victims using employers' phones, vehicles, e-mails and by enlisting coworkers. Findings also suggest that zero-tolerance policies may be ineffective and that employers may benefit from partner abuse training. For example, participants reported that their employers offered them alcohol-abuse services instead of batterer intervention, despite the fact that substance abuse was not a factor in all of the cases. These findings need to be tested through a larger scale, empirical investigation.