Return to work among employees with mental health problems: Development and validation of a self-efficacy questionnaire

Abstract

Because of the costs to both the organization and the individual, it is important that employees who are sick-listed with mental health problems are facilitated in their return to work (RTW). In order to provide adequate interventions, it is necessary to obtain a better understanding of the RTW process of people with mental health problems. Work-related self-efficacy (SE) might play a key role within this process. This paper describes the development and validation of the return-to-work self-efficacy’ scale (RTW-SE) for employees with mental health problems. Three Dutch samples of sick-listed employees were used to validate the 11-item instrument (N=2214). Based on the factor structure and reliability results, RTW-SE was conceptualized as a unitary construct. The associations with general SE, locus of control, coping, physical workload and mental health problems support the construct validity of this scale. Most importantly, RTW-SE proved to be a robust predictor of actual return to work within three months. The encouraging preliminary psychometric properties of the scale make it a potentially valuable tool in research and in clinical practice and occupational health care settings, both before and after employees have returned to work.     

The drivers of work engagement: A meta-analytic review of longitudinal evidence

ABSTRACT

Work engagement is currently one of the most popular outcomes in occupational health psychology. According to the motivational process within the job demands-resources (JD-R) framework, job resources stimulate work engagement, which in turn fosters job performance. While the general positive impact of job resources on work engagement is well established, it remains unclear how different types of job resources differentially predict work engagement over time. In our meta-analytic review, we identified 55 longitudinal studies that investigate the impact of various job resources on work engagement. To uncover the drivers of work engagement, we examined the differential impact of job resources on work engagement at group level, leader level, and organisational level via meta-analytic structural equation modelling. The findings suggest that job resources at each of the three levels predict work engagement over time. However, organisational-level resources (reflecting how the work is organised, designed and managed) contribute much more strongly to work engagement than group-level, and leader-level resources. All three levels of job resources and work engagement are highly stable. We advocate for interventions at any of the three levels. However, interventions at the organisational-level are most promising for enhancing work engagement and we thus strongly recommend strengthening those job resources.     

Workplace resources to improve both employee well-being and performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Organisations are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of employees in gaining and maintaining competitive advantage. The happy worker–productive worker thesis suggests that workers who experience high levels of well-being also perform well and vice versa; however, organisations need to know how to ensure such happy and productive workers. The present review and meta-analysis identifies workplace resources at the individual, the group, the leader, and the organisational levels that are related to both employee well-being and organisational performance. We examine which types of resources are most important in predicting both employee well-being and performance. We identified 84 quantitative studies published in print and online from 2003 to November 2015. Resources at either of the four levels were related to both employee well-being and performance. We found no significant differences in employee well-being and organisational performance between the four levels of workplace resources, suggesting that interventions may focus on any of these levels. Cross-sectional studies showed stronger relationships with well-being and performance than longitudinal studies. Studies using objective performance ratings provided weaker relationships between resources and performance than self-rated and leader/third-party-rated studies.     

Work and mental disorders in a German national representative sample

Abstract

Most previous studies concerning the associations between work and mental ill-health have used dimensional self-report questionnaires for mental health problems (e.g., depressive symptoms). This study contributes to occupational health research by providing standardized clinical diagnoses based on DSM-IV criteria. A total of 2329 employees (age 18–65 years) took part in a structured, computer-assisted clinical interview (DIA-X/M-CIDI). Further, they specified whether their job was characterized by physical workload, overtime, or stress, and evaluated whether they feel impaired by each job characteristic. Results show that substance abuse/dependence (including nicotine dependence) was the highest prevalent mental disorder in German employees (12 month prevalence: 14.4%; only alcohol and illicit substance abuse/dependence: 4.9%) followed by anxiety (12.0%) somatoform (9.7%), and affective (9.3%) disorders. Sequential logistic regression analyses showed significant associations between the presence of stress at work and affective and somatoform disorders. Furthermore, feeling impaired by stress at work was strongly associated with anxiety, affective, somatoform disorders, and substance abuse/dependence. Beside work, personal characteristics, primarily gender, were associated with mental disorders in employees. However, except for affective disorders, gender did not modify the association between job characteristics and mental disorders. Taken together, results corroborate the necessity of considering mental disorders at work. Further studies to define the relation between work and mental disorders in employees are strongly recommended and should include objective analyses of job characteristics.     

Signs of struggle (SOS): The development and validation of a behavioural mental health checklist for the workplace

ABSTRACT

For managers to successfully support employee access to mental health resources, they must first be able to recognise if and when an employee may need help. To manage employees effectively, managers must be able to recognise changes in employees’ work behaviour that may indicate when an employee is struggling at work. In study 1, we develop and establish the structure of the 20-item Signs of Struggle (SOS) checklist as comprising five factors that describe the warning signs of health impairment at work (i.e. distress, withdrawal, reduced attendance, degradations in performance, extreme behaviours). In study 2, we show that manager-rated signs of struggle correlated substantially (r?=?.72) with participant-reported strain. The SOS tool provides managers a way to recognise when employees may be struggling and could benefit from workplace resources. We recommend that for maximal benefit, managers also receive training on how to use the SOS, and also on how to approach and assist employees who are displaying warning signs.     

Job satisfaction and mental health of temporary agency workers in Europe: a systematic review and research agenda

ABSTRACT

The current systematic literature review aimed to analyse the associations between temporary agency work (TAW), job satisfaction, and mental health in Europe, as well as to outline a future research agenda. Twenty-eight scientific articles were identified by searching different data bases (i.e. PSYNDEX, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science) for the time span from January 2000 to December 2016. Our review reveals first that TAW is not consistently negatively related to job satisfaction. However, job insecurity and working conditions are important mediators in the relation of TAW and lowered job satisfaction. Second, TAW is not consistently related to all investigated types of mental health impairments. However, when focusing on specific outcomes and comparing temporary agency workers to permanent employees, we still find consistent evidence regarding higher levels of depression and fatigue among temporary agency workers. Inconsistent associations between TAW, job satisfaction and mental health can partly be attributed to unfavourable methodological aspects of the included primary studies. To address these aspects, future research should consider applying a standard measurement of TAW, including a minimum of meaningful confounding variables, improving the operationalisation of outcome variables and the study design.     

Leadership behaviour and leader self-reported well-being: A review,integration and meta-analytic examination

ABSTRACT

While the link between leadership and follower well-being is well established, less is known about the relation between leaders’ leadership behaviour and their own well-being. Particularly, a systematic integration of existing studies is missing. Based on an integrated framework summarising major theories on the leader well-being–leadership link, we quantitatively synthesised findings on the relations between different leadership behaviours and leader well-being indicators. The meta-analytical results (95 effect sizes; N?=?12,617) confirmed significant relationships of constructive and destructive leadership with leader well-being in the expected directions. Relative weight analyses on the constructive leadership behaviours showed that change-oriented and relational-oriented leadership (e.g. transformational, participative) accounted for more variance in leader well-being than task-oriented leadership (e.g. transactional). Regarding destructive leadership, active destructive leadership (e.g. abusive supervision) showed stronger negative associations with leader well-being than passive leadership (e.g. laissez-faire). Based on our integrated framework, we proposed and found support for divergent patterns of associations for different forms of well-being (positive vs. negative, short-term vs. long-term, job-related vs. general). Our study demonstrates a considerable linkage between leader well-being and leadership, supporting the adoption of leadership development programmes and organisational health interventions for leaders given their impact on employees, teams and organisations.     

R&D员工领导创新期望、内部动机与创新行为研究

在现代组织行为研究领域推动员工创造、创新的组织行为研究是一个热点问题。本文通过对我国跨地区企业研发员工的问卷调查研究对领导创新期望、员工内部工作动机及其创新行为间的关系进行了实证探讨。研究发现,在我国背景下,直属领导对下属员工的创新期望、员工之间横向交换对研发员工创新的行为都具有正向预测作用,其中员工内在工作动机在领导创新期望、员工横向交换对员工创新行为的作用路径关系中起到中介效应。本研究的调查结论不仅有助于加深我们对组织内员工创新行为推动和作用机制的深入了解,同时也会对我国企业,特别是高新技术企业推动员工创新的管理实践提供借鉴。     

The impact of leader emotion display frequency on follower performance: Leader surface acting and mean emotion display as boundary conditions

Theory and evidence suggest leader emotion has an important influence on follower performance. However, we lack a theoretical framework to understand when the frequency of leader emotional displays may or may not explain significant variance in follower performance. To advance knowledge in this emerging line of research, we integrate Emotion As Social Information (EASI) theory with attribution theory to explore boundary conditions of the relationships of the frequencies of positive and negative leader emotional displays with follower performance. Results based on leaders and followers in three organizations show that leader surface acting acted as a boundary condition, neutralizing the effects of the frequencies of positive and negative leader emotional displays toward an individual follower on that follower's performance. In addition, higher frequency of negative emotional displays shown by the leader to all group members acted as a boundary condition, neutralizing the effect of the frequency of negative leader emotional displays toward an individual follower on that follower's performance. This work advances our understanding of the way the frequency of leader emotional displays may influence follower performance, introduces new types of contingency factors to the leader emotion area, and helps extend emotional labor theory to the leadership context.     

The relationship between organisational change and being a perpetrator of workplace bullying: A three-wave longitudinal study

ABSTRACT

While research has unravelled the association between organisational change and being a target of workplace bullying, scholars have still to shed light on the perpetrator perspective of this association. In the current study, we further the literature by investigating the relationship between exposure to organisational change and being a perpetrator of workplace bullying. We introduced perceptions of psychological contract breach as a mechanism that accounts for the process in which exposure to organisational change leads employees to direct bullying behaviours to other members of the organisation. Using three-wave longitudinal data from 1994 employees we estimated a between-subjects mediation model controlling for autoregressive effects. Results confirmed our hypothesis that exposure to organisational change at Time 1 was positively related to being a perpetrator of workplace bullying at Time 3 through perceptions of psychological contract breach at Time 2. These findings suggest that organisations should invest in factors that lower employees’ likelihood to perceive psychological contract breach in the aftermath of organisational change because these perceptions may indeed result in the enactment of workplace bullying towards other members of the organisation.     

Work motivation,organisational identification,and well-being in call centre work

Abstract

Previous work has not considered the interplay of motivational forces linked to the task with those linked to the social identity of employees. The aim of the present study is to combine these approaches. Two studies with call centre agents (N=211, N=161) were conducted in which the relationships of objective working conditions (e.g., inbound vs. outbound work), subjective measures of motivating potential of work, and organisational identification were analysed. Job satisfaction, turnover intentions, organisational citizenship behavior (OCB), health complaints, and burnout were assessed as indicators of the agents’ work motivation and well-being. In both studies it was found that objective working conditions substantially correlated with subjective measures of work motivation. Moreover, employees experiencing a high motivating potential at work reported more OCB, higher job satisfaction, and less turnover intentions. As hypothesized, organisational identification was a further independent predictor of job satisfaction, turnover intentions, OCB, and well-being. Highly organisationally identified employees report higher work motivation and more well-being. Additionally, interactions between the motivating potential and organisational identification were found. However, all the results indicate that interventions seeking to enhance work motivation and well-being in call centres should improve both the motivating potential of the job and organisational identification. These two factors combined in an additive way across both studies.     

Daily perceptions of relationship quality with leaders: implications for follower well-being

ABSTRACT

We examined how a key relationship at work, an employee’s relationship with their leader, affects employee daily well-being. In a study of 129 employees across a variety of industries, we examined how follower perceptions of their daily leader–member exchange (LMX) quality across a workweek influenced their well-being (n?=?468 observations). Results provided general support for our hypotheses. Specifically, we found that on days when employees perceived a higher quality LMX relationship with their leader, they were more likely to report a sense of belongingness, which was then positively associated with daily reports of vigor and negatively associated with emotional exhaustion. Lagged analyses showed that perceptions of LMX quality were also negatively associated with reports of emotional exhaustion the following workday suggesting that these effects may persist over time. Finally, we found that day-to-day variation in reports of LMX quality attenuated the beneficial effects of LMX on relatedness and vigor supporting our hypothesis that uncertainty related to resource availability may contribute to a threat mindset focused on resource conservation rather than engagement. Implications and future research on leadership and employee well-being are discussed.     

Presenteeism and health over time among Chinese employees: The moderating role of self-efficacy

The aim of this study was two-fold: first, to examine both the immediate and the lasting effects of presenteeism on health; second, to explore the moderating effect of self-efficacy on the presenteeism-health relationship in a Chinese context. We employed a two-wave study design in which presenteeism, health (i.e. physical health, mental health and exhaustion), and self-efficacy were assessed at Time 1; health was measured again at Time 2 three months later. We surveyed a diverse sample of 345 full-time Chinese employees working in Taiwan and mainland China. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that presenteeism over the previous six months was negatively related to employees' physical health, mental health and exhaustion at Time 1. However, we found no association between presenteeism and health at Time 2, after controlling for the baseline level of health, indicating that presenteeism may not have a lasting effect. Self-efficacy was found to moderate the relationships between presenteeism and all three aspects of health at Time 2, suggesting that for some individuals presenteeism may not on balance be a bad thing. The study sheds light on the association between presenteeism and health. The findings on self-efficacy also extend the literature to incorporate individual characteristics in the presenteeism context.     

Job demands,job control,and mental health in an 11-year follow-up study: Normal and reversed relationships

Abstract

Despite numerous studies of the demand-control model, there is a need for more longitudinal studies to test not only the normal, but also the reversed and reciprocal relationships between work characteristics and mental health. There is also a need for more studies of the multiplicative interaction between demands and control with respect to mental health, which is different from the simple additive effect of the two variables. This is a longitudinal study with an exceptionally long period of follow-up (11 years), with the focus on normal as well as reciprocal and reversed causality between work characteristics and mental health, as measured by reliable instruments close to the original definitions of Karasek. The study was based on a sample of 439 Norwegian employees of different occupations who had stayed in the same profession during the follow-up period. The results were in agreement with the hypothesis that low job control, and in particular low control in combination with high demands (“high strain jobs”), has a negative effect on mental health. There was a significant multiplicative interaction between demands and control, indicating a “buffering” effect of job control. Job demands alone were not significantly associated with mental health. The reversed relationship hypothesis was supported for job demands, but not for job control.     

The relationship of organizational and social coping resources to employee coping behaviour: A longitudinal analysis

Abstract

Research on the determinants of coping behaviour has focused primarily on stressor-specific influences and on personal attributes and skills that serve as coping resources. However, coping resources can also include aspects of the organizational and social environment. This study investigates the role of supportive work relationships and of participation and influence in decision-making in determining the coping behaviour of employees in a manufacturing plant. Since the relationships between worksite coping resources and employee coping behaviours may be causally reciprocal, longitudinal models were analysed to sort out causal priorities. Results showed that organizational and social coping resources did influence subsequent coping behaviour. Perceiving oneself to have influence over decision-making at work predicted increases in active, problem-solving coping attempts and decreases in resignation in response to worksite stressors. Also, employees who perceived their co-workers and supervisors to be supportive were more likely to increase their mobilization of that support when faced with worksite stress. In addition, the use of certain employee coping behaviours influenced subsequent levels of participation in decision-making, as well as the quality of relationships with co-workers and supervisors.     

Enhancing organisational commitment through task significance: the moderating role of openness to experience

Researchers have extensively explored the factors influencing employees’ organisational commitment. However, few studies make an explicit distinction between different commitment types when exploring its determinants, and the scholarly attention to individual differences is also limited. In this paper, we confirm that developing managerial interventions to enhance task significance can be useful to promote organisational commitment, but this relationship is contingent on the commitment type and the employees’ openness to experience. We focus on two forms of organisational commitment: affective and continuance commitment. Our study shows that task significance is a better predictor of affective commitment than continuance commitment. We also find that increasing task significance is particularly good to promote more continuance commitment among employees with low levels of openness to experience. Based on data gathered from a sample of 403 employees working in Spanish firms, we find support for these ideas and develop practical implications.     

Personality and organizational health: the role of conscientiousness

Organizational health research identifies processes through which the work environment and individual differences combine to influence both individual and organizational outcomes. This study investigated the contribution of conscientiousness to organizational health. Research in the areas of occupational stress, work performance, and organizational climate was used to develop a framework for integrating different elements of organizational health. Within this framework, the work environment was assessed by perceptions of workload and role clarity ; individual well-being was assessed by psychological distress and job satisfaction ; and behaviour important for organizational success was assessed by contextual performance. Conscientiousness was investigated within the framework using self-reports from a sample of 104 Australian employees. Conscientiousness directly influenced contextual performance but did not influence well-being or perceptions of the work environment. Conscientiousness also reduced the impact of role clarity on both psychological distress and job satisfaction. The role of conscientiousness in a comprehensive model of organizational health is discussed.     

Work, employment and mental health in Europe

In May 2004 the World Health Organization (WHO European Region) called a consultation meeting of its Collaborating Centres in Occupational Health to discuss mental health in the workplace. The meeting took place in Copenhagen. This paper presents an interpretation of the discussion that took place and the thinking that developed as a result. It was argued that increased interest and research and improved practice in the area of occupational mental health are required to promote good mental health in the European population. A framework of risk management and prevention based on sound evidence and good understanding could provide the basis for the translation of existing research knowledge into effective practice.     

Work-self balance: A longitudinal study on the effects of job demands and resources on personal functioning in Japanese working parents

Abstract

In work-family research the effects on the individual, or the “self”, in terms of personal interests independent of the work and family domains, have been largely neglected. This longitudinal study on 471 Japanese employees with young children investigated how job demands and job resources may have an impact on well-being by facilitating or hindering personal functioning. It was hypothesized that workload would have an unfavourable impact on work-to-self conflict, while supervisor support would have a favourable impact on work-to-self facilitation. In addition, we hypothesized that work–self conflict would diminish well-being (psychological distress and happiness), while work–self facilitation would enhance well-being over time. Structural equation modelling analyses using a full panel design showed that work overload was positively related to work–self conflict over time, whereas supervisor support was positively related to work–self facilitation. Furthermore, work–self conflict predicted psychological distress and happiness at T2, one year later, after controlling for T1 levels. These findings suggest that the demands and resources encountered at work can spill over to the home domain and have an impact on personal functioning and context-free well-being. Further research is needed to determine the importance of work-self constructs in relation to work-family constructs.     

Engaging leader – Engaged employees? A cross-lagged study on employee engagement

The goal of this study is to provide a cross-lagged examination of the relationships between engaging leadership, job resources and employee work engagement. We propose a mediation model and we postulate that engaging leadership can increase perceptions of three specific job resources (i.e. autonomy, support from colleagues and opportunities for learning and development) which theoretically correspond to the three facets of engaging leadership (i.e., inspiring, connecting and strengthening, respectively). Subsequently, in keeping with the extant body of Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) research, we link job resources to employee work engagement. Our hypotheses were tested on data collected at two time-points – T1 (N = 759) and T2 (N = 273) –from employees working for a hotel chain in the Netherlands. In line with our expectations, engaging leadership showed a significant cross-lagged relationship with autonomy and support from colleagues, but did not predict learning opportunities and work engagement across time. While we formulated specific hypotheses, we also tested reversed causation relationships. We found no direct effect from engaging leadership on employee work engagement, however, the reversed effect was significant; employee perceptions of engaging leadership were shaped by their own engagement experiences. Importantly, engaged employees at T1 reported more job resources at T2. By providing a cross-lagged examination of our model, we showed that engaging leaders as well as employees’ positive affective state of being engaged, are essential to shaping a resourceful work context. A comprehensive view on the triggers and outcomes of work engagement and engaging leadership is needed, as the traditional unidirectional cause-effect rationale fails to explain how these concepts relate to one another and to employee experiences of job resources.