Job stress, job strain, and psychological withdrawal among Dutch university staff: towards a dualprocess model for the effects of occupational stress

This study examined the antecedents of job strain (emotional exhaustion, health complaints) and withdrawal behaviour (e.g. lowered organizational commitment) among a cross-sectional sample of 131 academic staff members of the law department of a large Dutch university. Conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1989) provided the theoretical background for this study. Strains and withdrawal behaviours were expected to be most prominent among those who reported having few resources and/or who reported high job demands. Structural equation modelling revealed that this was indeed the case. As predicted, differential patterns of effects emerged for job demands and job resources. Analysis of the effects of four job-specific stressors revealed that especially the structural aspects of a staff member's teaching task (e.g. the number of students in their classes) contributed strongly to perceived job demands. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.     

Predicting Responses to Volunteering among Adolescents in Israel: The Contribution of Personal and Situational Variables

The study examined positive and negative responses to volunteering (satisfaction with volunteering, perceived contribution to beneficiaries, and burnout) among 102 adolescents in Israel. The conceptual framework for explaining those responses was the ecological approach to the study of human development. In that context, the paper deals with the combined contribution of two ecological systems—the ontogenic system and the microsystem. The ontogenic system included sociodemographic variables (gender and religiosity), as well as empowerment resources. The microsystem included variables related to family context (parental volunteer activity and family support for volunteering), as well as to the context of volunteer activity (perceived rewards, difficulties with volunteering, and professional supervision). Sociodemographic variables and difficulties in relations with the provider organization predicted burnout, whereas rewards and professional supervision predicted satisfaction with volunteering. Empowerment contributed most to explaining volunteers’ perceived contribution to the beneficiaries of services.     

Are there causal relationships between the dimensions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory? A review and two longitudinal tests

Arising from interest concerning the possibility of causal relationships among the three components of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, several process models have been proposed for the development of burnout. The present paper first reviews the evidence in favour of the three most influential of these (Leiter and Maslach's model (1988); Golembiewski, Boudreau, Munzenrider, & Luo's (1996) phase model; and Lee and Ashforth's model (1993)). These three models, and our own model (which integrates of two of them, and includes feedback effects of depersonalization on emotional exhaustion) are then compared with each other using structural equation modelling, drawing on longitudinal data from two Dutch samples (total N=1185). The review revealed that none of the seven previous studies on this issue provided any convincing support for any particular causal order proposed so far. In contrast, our own study showed that high levels of exhaustion were associated with high levels of depersonalization over time across both samples. Further, higher levels of depersonalization led to higher levels of emotional exhaustion and lower levels of personal accomplishment. To our knowledge, the present research is the first to provide reliable longitudinal evidence for the conceptualization of burnout as a developmental process, although the effects are not large enough to be of practical use in the recognition of burnout.     

Testing the demand-control-support model among health-care professionals: A structural equation model

This paper reports a further empirical validation of the Demand-Control-Support Model (DCS model), which was developed by Johnson and colleagues (1988, 1989). Data were collected from a heterogeneous group of health-care professionals (nurses and nurses' aides; n = 249). Three major refinements were made to the validation of the DCS Model. First, all relationships in the model were estimated simultaneously by means of covariance structure modelling (LISREL 8). Second, the control dimension was refined substantially, using a psychometrically more sound assessment of the workers' autonomy. Third, the model was applied to the work of health-care professionals. The data did not confirm the assumption that both job strain and motivation are multiplicative functions of job demands, autonomy and social support. First, the results suggested that high levels of autonomy attenuate the increase of emotional exhaustion due to job demands. These results partially supported Karasek's Job Demand-Control Model (Karasek 1979). Second, high levels of social support proved to attenuate the increase of emotional exhaustion due to autonomy. Finally, the main effect of autonomy on job challenge implied that an increase in autonomy is accompanied by an increase in job challenge (and, consequently, job involvement). In addition, low job demands and a high amount of work-related support seem to reduce feelings of exhaustion and, consequently, health complaints.     

Compassion Satisfaction,Compassion Fatigue,and Burnout: A Replication Study with Victim Advocates

Abstract

Past research has investigated the rates of compassion satisfaction (CS), compassion fatigue (CF), and burnout within health-care providers. Findings indicate higher levels of CS and lower levels of CF predict lower rates of burnout. The current study extended prior research by replicating past research findings, but with victim advocates. This study enrolled a national sample of 142 victim advocates. A hierarchal linear regression was run to test the research questions. In level 1, years of experience was not significant and only accounted for 1.1% of the variance in burnout. When adding CS, the model became significant (p?<?.001) and CS accounted for an additional 51.8% of the variance. When CF was added to the final model, it was significant (p?<?.001), and accounted for an additional 19.3% of the variance. When comparing the findings to past studies, our findings were similar; however, our study did find that CS and CF accounted for significantly more variance than past studies with health-care providers. Therefore, CS and CF might be greater predictors of burnout in victim advocates than in health-care providers. Future studies should aim to create interventions to increase CS and decrease CF, to reduce burnout.     

Overloaded and overlooked: Improving resident advisors' self-care

ABSTRACT

Objective: The purpose of this viewpoint is to discuss the lack of research on resident advisor (RA) self-care and how behavioral interventions can be used in housing programs to educate and improve RA self-care. It is essential for live-in housing staff (both professional and paraprofessional) to learn how to develop appropriate strategies that target problem behaviors to improve self-care. An overview of the RA position, the effects of increased demands (i.e., burnout), and the research on self-care behavioral interventions are discussed. Lastly, the call to use behavioral interventions within housing programs to educate RAs on self-care awareness and improve and monitor their health behaviors to prevent burnout and psychological distress is provided.     

Job crafting and well-being among school principals: The role of basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration

This study investigates the associations between school principals’ job crafting and well-being. Drawing on the job demands-resources approach of the job crafting model and self-determination theory, we hypothesized that need satisfaction and need frustration act as likely mechanisms between the positive and negative effects of job crafting behaviors and work-related well-being (work engagement and burnout). Using cross-sectional data collected from a sample of Finnish school principals (n = 518), our structural equation model revealed that crafting structural job resources was positively associated with need satisfaction and negatively with need frustration. Increasing challenge job demands was positively associated with need satisfaction, which, in turn, was associated with higher work-related well-being. In addition, crafting structural job resources was directly positively linked to burnout as well as work engagement. Moreover, we found that decreasing hindrance demands was positively associated with burnout and negatively associated with work engagement via need frustration. No associations were found between crafting social resources, indicators of basic psychological needs, or work-related well-being. These findings provide insights into how principals determine their own basic psychological needs via job crafting, and how this is reflected in their work-related well-being. The study advances job crafting theory and self-determination theory, with important implications for practice and future research.     

Associations between overtime and psychological health in high and low reward jobs

This study focused on the relationship between overtime and psychological health in high and low reward jobs, and in jobs with high and low external pressure to work overtime. Data were collected for 535 full-time employees of the Dutch Postal Service. In general, overtime was associated with negative work-home interference and negative home-work interference. Split-sample logistic regression analyses showed that employees reporting low rewards had elevated risks of burnout, negative work-home interference and slow recovery. In addition, the combination of overtime and low rewards was associated with negative home-work interference. A second analysis was conducted separately for employees who reported overtime in order to study the effects of external pressure to work overtime. In this subgroup, low rewards were associated with elevated risks of health complaints, emotional exhaustion and negative home-work interference. Moreover, employees who reported overtime and a high pressure to work overtime in combination with low rewards had elevated risks of poor recovery, cynicism, and negative work-home interference. The results suggest that even a limited number of hours of involuntary overtime is associated with adverse mental health, but only in low reward situations.