Satisfactions and stresses in the sorting of mail

Abstract

The effects of two types of letter-sorting technology on job stress and satisfaction were compared. Manual sorting, which uses the traditional method of assigning letters to classified pigeon-holes, was judged to provide elements of discretion, autonomy, and social interaction which are largely absent in coding-desk work, in which a keyboard is used to enter postcodes. Between and within-subject methodology was used in the analysis of data from those engaged in sorting (n = 160). In addition, these groups were compared with supervisors (n = 36) and engineers (n = 26) also working in the sorting area.

The key findings were: (a) higher levels of satisfaction were found amongst manual sorters and those spending 50–75% of their time in code-sorting; (b) stress is closely related to satisfaction in the code-sort group but not in the manual group; (c) in manual groups and in supervisors stress was manifested in fatigue, but in the code-sort group stress took the form of anxiety. The results are discussed in terms of the impact of the type of work on fatigue, as well as on job stress and satisfaction.     

The health of health care organizations

Abstract

This paper explores the nature and development of health care organizations in terms of a model of organizational healthiness. The model places particular emphasis on the psychosocial subsystems which describe the subjective organization. These represent the perceived internal functioning of the organization in terms of task completion, problem solving and staff development. The implications of such a model for the well-being of health care staff and for the evaluation of service delivery are discussed.     

A process evaluation of individual and organizational occupational stress and health interventions

There is reason to believe that many health and stress interventions fail due to inattention to the effects of intervention implementation processes, but evaluations of these processes are found only rarely in the literature. The objective of the present study was to explore the issue of obstacles to implementation that may occur when stress and health interventions are introduced in work organizations. The study was conducted as a process evaluation of seven different individual and organizational interventions. Interviews were conducted in 22 post offices, 12 organizational units (such as care homes and local administrative units) of a Norwegian municipality, and in 10 shops in a shopping mall. The interviews took place before and after the interventions. The following key process factors were identified: (1) the ability to learn from failure and to motivate participants; (2) multi-level participation and negotiation, and differences in organizational perception; (3) insight into tacit and informal organizational behaviour; (4) clarification of roles and responsibilities, especially the role of middle management; and (5) competing projects and reorganization. For improved studies of interventions in the future we recommend that qualitative and quantitative methods be combined, that researchers build more on natural interventions that occur naturally within the organization, and that a pilot study be undertaken in order to investigate the cultural maturity of the organization.     

Psychophysiological stress reactions, trapezius muscle activity, and neck and shoulder pain among female cashiers before and after introduction of job rotation

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the introduction of a job rotation model on supermarket cashiers, with respect to psychophysiological stress reactions, muscle activity of the trapezius muscle (which covers the upper back, the neck and the shoulder), and musculoskeletal symptoms in the neck and shoulders. Thirty-one female cashiers were investigated before and after job rotation was introduced. Before the reorganization the participants were only performing cash register work at the checkout counters. After the reorganization they shifted between cash register work and work in different departments in the supermarket. At follow-up the participants, all right-handed, had a significantly lower diastolic blood pressure, and surface electromyography (EMG) showed a significantly decreased muscle activity in the trapezius muscle on the left side. Musculoskeletal symptoms of the neck and shoulders were only partly changed, and there was no change in prevalence of musculoskeletal pain, which was around 70%. From questionnaires, but not from self-ratings during work, it was found that the introduction of job rotation had been experienced as positive in several regards, although the perceptions of stress and hurry were the same at follow-up.     

Psychological and physiological stress responses during repetitive work at an assembly line

The association between psychological and physiological stress responses was examined in 20 male workers at an assembly line. Each worker was studied during a 2 h period on two consecutive days in their normal job and, in order to obtain physiological baseline values, during a corresponding paid 2 h period off the job on the third day. Self-reports of work demands, mood, etc., measurements of catecholamine and cortisol excretion and of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate were obtained at the end of each of the three 2 h periods. Work induced a significant elevation in almost all psychological and physiological measurements. Levels were consistently lower in workers reporting a 'good' workday compared to those reporting a 'normal' or a 'bad' day. Correlations between self-reports and physiological values showed that catecholamine and cortisol responses, respectively, tended to be associated selectively with different psychological conditions, catecholamine values being associated with feelings of time pressure and pressure by demands, cortisol values with irritation, tenseness and tiredness. The results show that perceived stress at an assembly line is consistently reflected in cardiovascular and neuroendocrine functions of the workers.     

Coping with daily work problems. Contributions of problem content,appraisals, and person factors

Abstract

This paper presents the result of an analysis of coping with daily work-related problems reported by a community sample of working adults. The methodology used differs from that employed elsewhere not only in its intensive longitudinal approach but also in its technique for measing coping Coping with work and non-work problems was compared. It is argued that the results provide strong support for the transactional model of stress, appraisal and coping, but also point up the importance of nonspecific (and unmeasured) person factors in predicting coping.     

Family structure and adolescent alcohol use problems: Extending popular explanations to American Indians

Competing explanations of the relationship between family structure and alcohol use problems are examined using a sample of American Indian adolescents from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Living in a single-parent family is found to be a marker for the unequal distribution of stress exposure and parental alcohol use, but the effects of other family structures like non-parent families and the presence of under 21-year-old extended family or non-family members emerge or remain as risk or protective factors for alcohol use problems after a consideration of SES, family processes, peer socialization, and social stress. In particular, a non-parent family structure that has not been considered in prior research emerged as a protective family structure for American Indian adolescent alcohol use problems.     

浙江省大学生心理压力总体状况与来源的调查研究

运用自编的"大学生心理压力问卷"对浙江省四所大学的学生心理压力总体状况及来源进行了调查研究。结果表明:大学生的总体压力感处于一般水平,压力的主要来源是自我发展与择业压力因素和学习压力因素。男大学生在学习、社交、生活及总体压力感上高于女大学生;二三年级大学生在生活方面感受到的压力高于其它年级大学生;理科大学生在学习、社交、自我发展与择业及总体压力感上高于文科大学生;农村大学生在学习、社交、生活、自我发展与择业压力方面高于城镇大学生。     

一维六方准晶中正方形孔边双裂纹的反平面问题

本文通过引入合适的保角映射函数,充分利用复变函数方法和解析函数理论,研究一维六方准晶中正方形孔边两不对称裂纹的反平面问题。在孔周及裂纹面为自由表面的假设下,结合数值保角映射函数和复变函数中的Cauchy积分公式,得到声子场和相位子场耦合作用下复势函数的近似解,并且给出裂纹尖端应力强度因子和能量释放率的显示表达式。数值算例讨论裂纹长度和正方形边长对场强度因子的影响规律。     

Workplace bullying,perceived job stressors,and psychological distress: Gender and race differences in the stress process

A large body of empirical research documents the adverse mental health consequences of workplace bullying. However, less is known about gender and race differences in the processes that link workplace bullying and poor mental health. In the current study, we use structural equation modeling of survey data from the 2010 Health and Retirement Study (N = 2292) and draw on stress process theory to examine coworker support as a buffering mechanism against workplace bullying, and gender and race differences in the relationships between bullying and psychological distress. The results of the analysis indicate that coworker support serves as a protective buffer against workplace bullying, although the buffering effect is relatively small. We also find that the effects of workplace bullying more heavily impact women and persons of color. Specifically, women and African American individuals in our sample were less protected from the buffering mechanism of co-worker social support.