Pregnancy,work and women's well-being: A review

Abstract

Pregnancy is potentially a stressful period for working women for ergonomic, psychological and organizational reasons, yet the well-being of women is seldom the focus of research on working during pregnancy. This paper reviews the literature on women's experience of being pregnant at work. It concludes that, while working conditions are usually not well suited to pregnant women, the majority of women encounter only minor difficulties and regard working in a positive way. However, for a minority of women working during pregnancy adversely affects their well-being. These are likely to be women working during pregnancy adversely affects their well-being. These are likely to be women who are most at risk from work-related stress at other times. The literature suggests that working during pregnancy has still to be accepted and accommodated by employers and colleagues.     

Children and well-being: A comparison of employed and non-employed women

While employment improves health, having children at home does not. Indeed, the most likely work-family conflict for women is having children at home. In this study the effect of children on well-being was predicted to differ for employed and non-employed women. In addition, only amongst the employed women was locus of control hypothcsized to moderate this relationship. In a sample of women with partners (n = 116), using multiple-regression analysis, the results indicated that the number of children living at home, rather than the presence of young children, was associated with increased happiness in women. Employment was not predictive of women's well-being. However, it moderated the effect of number of children on their levels of happiness. In addition, non-employed women showed a U-shaped relationship between number of children and psychological distress. Finally, contrary to prediction, locus of control did not moderate the relationship between number of children and women's well-being. The findings are discussed in terms of the role expansion hypothesis.     

Managing the Maternal Body: A Comprehensive Review and Transdisciplinary Analysis

This paper comprehensively reviews transdisciplinary and critical perspectives on the employed maternal (pregnant and post‐birth) body in the context of management studies. It highlights the disparities between equal opportunities policies and everyday management practices in relation to pregnancy and new motherhood. In so doing, the review examines the contradictions between equal opportunities policies aimed at protecting pregnant and newly maternal employees and the discouraging treatment that such women receive in practice at work. In analysing the disparity between policy and practice, the review identifies gaps within the field of research on the employed maternal body. It then shows how perceptions about the pregnant and newly maternal body are based more on myth than on evidence. In keeping with policies encouraging family friendly working practices and aimed at enhancing parental health, the paper argues that research on the maternal body is integral to management studies.     

Effects of vacation from work on health and well-being: Lots of fun,quickly gone

Abstract

Although vacation from work provides a valuable opportunity for recovery, few studies have met the requirements for assessing its effects. These include taking measurements well ahead of the vacation, during the vacation and at several points in time afterwards. Our study on vacation (after-) effects focused on two related questions: (1) Do health and well-being of working individuals improve during a vacation? and (2) How long does a vacation effect last after resumption of work? In a longitudinal study covering seven weeks, 96 Dutch workers reported their health and well-being levels two weeks before a winter sports vacation, during vacation and one week, two weeks and four weeks after vacation on seven indicators. Participants' health and well-being improved during vacation on five indicators: health status, mood, tension, energy level and satisfaction. However, during the first week of work resumption, health and well-being had generally returned to pre-vacation levels. In conclusion, a winter sports vacation is associated with improvements in self-reported health and well-being among working individuals. However, these effects fade out rapidly after work resumption. We propose a framework for future vacation research and suggest investigating the role of vacation type, duration and means to prolong vacation relief.     

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.     

The role of stress and social support in Sick Building Syndrome

Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) involves seemingly healthy individuals experiencing long-lasting symptoms of physical distress in their work settings and is estimated to exist in 20 to 30% of all work settings in the USA. We examined differences in stress, social support and both physical and psychological symptoms reported by hospital personnel working in known SBS sites in Halifax, Nova Scotia (n = 297) with control employees working in relatively SBS-free settings (n = 228). We found that employees reporting that their health had been affected by the building in which they worked and those complaining of poor air quality were more likely to be found in SBS locations. In addition, those people with higher levels of organizational support and marginally higher levels of union support were also more likely to be found in SBS locations. Further analyses revealed that employees with higher role overload and greater family support, but lower levels of organizational support were more likely to report that their own health had been adversely affected by their place of work. Perceptions of poor air quality were predicted by higher levels of role conflict, role overload, and organizational stress and lower levels of organizational support. These results suggest that SBS may not be solely dependent on environmental factors.     

Importance of active listening in treating workers with musculoskeletal disorders

Female assembly workers reporting constant neck and shoulder pain, despite ergonomically acceptable working conditions, were interviewed. As a starting point in the interviews, the patients were asked to describe their general situation at work. Their reports were fed back and discussed with company management in a wider group meeting and resulted in an improvement in their attitudes to those workers. A climate of confidence and well-being was created, which the women experienced as genuine. The workers' report of pains improved dramatically and absence due to musculoskeletal disorders was reduced by more than 90% during the following year.     

Exploring death anxiety among elderly people: a literature review and empirical investigation

Given the growing number of elderly persons in society and concerns about their health and well-being, the aim was to review the available literature on their death anxiety, and to explore features of this experience among a small sample of older men and women in care facilities. In both the review and empirical parts of this study, components and correlates of death anxiety were investigated. The review revealed limited research focus on death anxiety among the elderly, particularly among those in institutions, but suggested both components and correlates for inclusion in our empirical study. Results showed that, among our elderly participants in an assisted living facility (N = 49; age range: 60-96 years), there were higher levels of fear for others and of the dying process than for fear of the unknown. Notably, among the correlates identified, fear for significant others was associated with poor physical health; fear of the dying process was related to low self-esteem, little purpose in life, and poor mental well-being. Gender differences in death anxiety were found: women showed greater fear for the death of loved ones and for the consequences of their own death on these loved ones, than did men. These patterns are discussed in the light of concerns about the welfare of elderly persons; scientific implications are also considered.     

Work, pregnancy, and distress

Increasing numbers of pregnant women are working throughout much, if not all, of their pregnancies. In this secondary analysis of existing longitudinal data on family health, pregnant women were grouped according to employment status: 126 homemakers, 70 employed part-time, and 135 employed full-time. There were no significant differences between the groups in measures of distress, including depression, trait and state anxiety, and perception of negative life events. Homemakers were significantly younger, less educated, and had lower family incomes than either group of employed women. There was also a non-significant trend towards higher distress scores among homemakers. Overall, among these women, it was the similarities which were more striking than the differences, which supports recent research findings about distress among pregnant women.     

The role of stress and social support in Sick Building Syndrome

Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) involves seemingly healthy individuals experiencing long-lasting symptoms of physical distress in their work settings and is estimated to exist in 20 to 30% of all work settings in the USA. We examined differences in stress, social support and both physical and psychological symptoms reported by hospital personnel working in known SBS sites in Halifax, Nova Scotia (n = 297) with control employees working in relatively SBS-free settings (n = 228). We found that employees reporting that their health had been affected by the building in which they worked and those complaining of poor air quality were more likely to be found in SBS locations. In addition, those people with higher levels of organizational support and marginally higher levels of union support were also more likely to be found in SBS locations. Further analyses revealed that employees with higher role overload and greater family support, but lower levels of organizational support were more likely to report that their own health had been adversely affected by their place of work. Perceptions of poor air quality were predicted by higher levels of role conflict, role overload, and organizational stress and lower levels of organizational support. These results suggest that SBS may not be solely dependent on environmental factors.     

Identities under scrutiny: How women leaders navigate feeling misidentified at work

The identities of women leaders can fall under intense scrutiny; they are often confronted with other's perceptions of them—perceptions that may not be wholly accurate. Through in-depth qualitative interviews of senior women leaders working in male-dominated industries, we explore how they experience and respond to feeling misidentified (internal identity asymmetry; Meister, Jehn, & Thatcher, 2014) throughout their careers. Employing grounded theory methods, we uncover how women are likely to experience asymmetry, and discover it becomes most salient during personal and professional identity transitions. We build theory with respect to how women leaders navigate feeling misidentified, and find with time and power the experience becomes less salient. Our study draws together and contributes to both the identity and leadership literatures by exploring an important identity challenge facing women leaders in industries that are striving for a greater gender-balance in senior positions.     

Does shared and differentiated transformational leadership predict followers' working conditions and well-being?

Transformational leadership has been widely researched and is associated with followers' performance, attitudes, and subjective well-being at the individual level. Less research has focused on transformational leadership as a group phenomenon. In a survey study (425 followers and 56 leaders), we examined how group-level and differentiated transformational leadership shape followers' perceptions of their working conditions and individual subjective well-being. There was stronger evidence that differentiated transformational leadership's relationships with indicators of well-being was mediated by perceptions of working conditions, in that 10 out of 20 tests for mediation using differentiated transformational leadership were significant, compared to just three out of 20 for group-level transformational leadership. The results suggest that transformational leadership needs to be studied as a group phenomenon considering how group-level perceptions may impact on followers' well-being and that leaders need to realize that there is an “I” in groups and addition to a “we” in groups.     

The Glass Cliff: Evidence that Women are Over-Represented in Precarious Leadership Positions

There has been much research and conjecture concerning the barriers women face in trying to climb the corporate ladder, with evidence suggesting that they typically confront a ‘glass ceiling’ while men are more likely to benefit from a ‘glass escalator’. But what happens when women do achieve leadership roles? And what sorts of positions are they given? This paper argues that while women are now achieving more high profile positions, they are more likely than men to find themselves on a ‘glass cliff’, such that their positions are risky or precarious. This hypothesis was investigated in an archival study examining the performance of FTSE 100 companies before and after the appointment of a male or female board member. The study revealed that during a period of overall stock‐market decline those companies who appointed women to their boards were more likely to have experienced consistently bad performance in the preceding five months than those who appointed men. These results expose an additional, largely invisible, hurdle that women need to overcome in the workplace. Implications for the evaluation of women leaders are discussed and directions for future research are outlined.     

Importance of active listening in treating workers with musculoskeletal disorders

Abstract

Female assembly workers reporting constant neck and shoulder pain, despite ergonomically acceptable working conditions, were interviewed. As a starting point in the interviews, the patients were asked to describe their general situation at work. Their reports were fed back and discussed with company management in a wider group meeting and resulted in an improvement in their attitudes to those workers. A climate of confidence and well-being was created, which the women experienced as genuine. The workers' report of pains improved dramatically and absence due to musculoskeletal disorders was reduced by more than 90% during the following year.     

The contribution of supervisor behaviour to employee psychological well-being

Many employees affirm that supervisors affect employee well-being, and research has demonstrated associations between supervisor behaviour and employee psychological well-being. However, what hasn't been clear is the extent to which the association with supervisor behaviour compares with that of other variables known to affect well-being. This exploratory study addresses that issue. Our hypothesis was that supervisor behaviour can contribute to the prediction of psychiatric disturbance beyond the contribution of other influential variables. We created a new, questionnaire-based instrument to measure supervisor behaviour. We tested our hypothesis using stepwise regression with a convenience sample of 167 men and women working in a variety of organizations, occupations, and industries in the USA. Results supported our hypothesis: supervisor behaviour made a statistically significant contribution to the prediction of psychiatric disturbance beyond a step-one variate comprised of age, health practices, support from other people at work, support from home, stressful life events, and stressful work events. This provides additional evidence that supervisor behaviour can affect employee well-being and suggests that those seeking to create healthier workplaces should not neglect supervision. We believe that there is now ample justification for those concerned with psychosocial working conditions to consider supervisor behaviour as a potentially influential variable.

Furthermore, we believe that we have presented a new instrument for assessing supervisor behaviour that has the potential to be of value in future studies.     

The contribution of supervisor behaviour to employee psychological well-being

Many employees affirm that supervisors affect employee well-being, and research has demonstrated associations between supervisor behaviour and employee psychological well-being. However, what hasn't been clear is the extent to which the association with supervisor behaviour compares with that of other variables known to affect well-being. This exploratory study addresses that issue. Our hypothesis was that supervisor behaviour can contribute to the prediction of psychiatric disturbance beyond the contribution of other influential variables. We created a new, questionnaire-based instrument to measure supervisor behaviour. We tested our hypothesis using stepwise regression with a convenience sample of 167 men and women working in a variety of organizations, occupations, and industries in the USA. Results supported our hypothesis: supervisor behaviour made a statistically significant contribution to the prediction of psychiatric disturbance beyond a step-one variate comprised of age, health practices, support from other people at work, support from home, stressful life events, and stressful work events. This provides additional evidence that supervisor behaviour can affect employee well-being and suggests that those seeking to create healthier workplaces should not neglect supervision. We believe that there is now ample justification for those concerned with psychosocial working conditions to consider supervisor behaviour as a potentially influential variable.

Furthermore, we believe that we have presented a new instrument for assessing supervisor behaviour that has the potential to be of value in future studies.     

Leadership behavior and employee well-being: An integrated review and a future research agenda

Leadership behavior has a significant impact on employee behavior, performance and well-being. Extant theory and research on leadership behavior, however, has predominantly focused on employee performance, treating employee well-being (typically measured as job satisfaction) as a secondary outcome variable related to performance, rather than as an important outcome in and of itself. This qualitative state of the science review examines the process by which leadership behavior (i.e., change, relational, task, passive) affects employee well-being. We identify five mediator groupings (social-cognitive, motivational, affective, relational, identification), extend the criterion space for conceptualizing employee well-being (i.e., psychological: hedonic, eudaimonic, negative; and physical), examine the limited evidence for differential processes that underlie the leader behavior-employee well-being relationship and discuss theoretical and methodological problems inherent to the literature. We conclude by proposing a theoretical framework to guide a future research agenda on how, why and when leadership behavior impacts employee well-being.     

Stress and Leadership Tendencies of Respondents from Iran: Exploring Similarities and Differences Based on Age and Gender

The leadership tendencies of people are likely to be influenced by their cultural contexts. For example, it is expected that people from high-context cultures are likely to be more focused on relationships. To explore the behavioral tendencies of working adults in the cities of Tehran and Kerman, this pilot study focused on comparing the leadership and stress perceptions of 228 Iranian respondents based on their age and gender. These respondents have a significantly higher score on relationship orientation. On the other side, the younger respondents from Iran had a significantly higher score on the stress overload perception. Practical suggestions for expatriates and implications for future studies are presented.     

Work-to-family conflict and its relationship with satisfaction and well-being: a one-year longitudinal study on gender differences

The present study produced new knowledge about gender differences with respect to work-to-family conflict and its longitudinal relations with indicators of satisfaction and well-being. The study examined the longitudinal relations between work-to-family conflict and self-reported satisfaction and well-being in the domains of work (job satisfaction), family (marital satisfaction, parental distress) as well as overall (psychological and physical) symptoms. Data were obtained from a random sample of Finnish men (n=208) and women (n=218) who were employed and had either a partner or/and children. A survey was conducted at two points in time, in 1999 (Time 1), and one year later, in 2000 (Time 2). The results revealed that, among women, work-to-family conflict perceived at Time 1 significantly predicted job dissatisfaction, parental distress as well as psychological symptoms at Time 2. However, among men, a low level of satisfaction or well-being at Time 1 (marital dissatisfaction, parental distress, psychological and physical symptoms) functioned as a precursor of work-to-family conflict perceived at Time 2. In addition, the experience of work-to-family conflict turned out to be relatively stable for both genders over the time period of one year. It is likely that work-to-family conflict will continue to affect employees, and should be a central focus for organizations.     

The development and validation of a job crafting measure for use with blue-collar workers

Abstract

Job crafting describes a set of proactive behaviours in which employees may engage to shape their work in order to minimize hindering job demands and maximize resources and challenging demands. Such behaviours may be particularly important among blue-collar workers whose jobs are characterized by poor working conditions and low well-being. We present the development and adaptation of a job crafting measure that may be used among blue-collar workers, based on an existing scale by Tims, Bakker, and Derks (2012) that was not specifically developed for blue-collar workers. We test the validity and reliability of the measure in a longitudinal study based on multiple source information from mail delivery workers in Denmark (N=362 at Time 1; N=408 at Time 2). Results indicate the presence of five job crafting dimensions: increasing challenging demands, decreasing social job demands, increasing social job resources, increasing quantitative demands and decreasing hindering job demands. These can be reliably measured with 15 items. The measure shows acceptable discriminant and criterion validity, and test-retest reliability. The findings extend the application of the original questionnaire. They also add to knowledge of the job crafting behaviours in which blue-collar workers engage and link them to well-being outcomes.