Associations between stress at work and attitudes towards retirement in hospital physicians

Abstract

There is a need to understand the associations between attitudes towards retirement in specific occupations and various psychosocial and work-related factors. This study identified correlates of retirement thoughts and retirement preference in hospital physicians. The sample comprised 447 (251 male and 196 female) physicians from three hospital districts in Finland. After adjustment for gender, age and salary, minor psychiatric morbidity increased likelihood of retirement thoughts and retirement preference. Retirement thoughts and retirement preference were more common in doctors reporting low job control, poor teamwork and unjust supervision than in doctors perceiving their working conditions more favorably. Work preference was associated with high overwork. The associations of work characteristics with retirement thoughts and retirement preference largely persisted after control for indicators of health and social circumstances. In conclusion, in addition to demographic and financial factors and health, retirement attitudes in hospital physicians seem to be related to organizational and managerial factors that are potentially amendable to intervention. This has implications for retaining hospital physicians who might otherwise retire.     

Relationships between stressful work environments and bullying: Results of a large representative study

Abstract

This paper contributes to the relatively sparse knowledge about relationships between stressful work environments and bullying. Relationships between job stressors and leadership behaviour were analysed as possible predictors of bullying at work on the basis of the work environment hypothesis, which states that stressful and poorly organized work environments may give rise to conditions resulting in bullying. Analyses of a representative sample (n=2539) of the Norwegian workforce showed role conflict, interpersonal conflicts, and tyrannical and laissez-faire leadership behaviour to be strongly related to bullying, and that the strength of associations to a high degree differed for various measures of bullying. Support was found for an interactive relationship between decision authority and role conflict at different levels of laissez-faire leadership. Not only targets and bully/targets but also bystanders assessed their work environment more negatively than did non-involved employees, while perpetrators of bullying did not differ significantly from non-involved employees as regards their perception of the work environment. Hence, bullying is likely to prevail in stressful working environments characterized by high levels of interpersonal friction and destructive leadership styles. In addition, bullying is particularly prevalent in situations where the immediate supervisor avoids intervening in and managing such stressful situations.     

Investigating effort–reward imbalance and work–family conflict in relation to morningness–eveningness and shift work

Abstract

An increasingly older workforce and a growing emphasis on jobs involving interaction with computers have resulted in a need to more carefully examine the relationship between ageing and computer-based work. In this study, a sample of 394 subjects ranging in age from 20-75 years performed a computer task across a 3-day period. Three different types of computer-based jobs (data entry, information retrieval, and accounts balancing) performed at three large US companies were simulated. Age differences in the subjective experience of stress, workload, and bodily discomfort were evaluated. The results indicated that age effects for these measures varied according to task. The older subjects perceived greater workload for the more mentally challenging problem-solving oriented accounts balancing task (Which involved a graphical user interface) than the younger participants, even with increased exposure to the task. However, the older subjects generally experienced less stress than the younger subjects on an information retrieval task that involved a more socially interactive telephone component. A positive relationship between the frustration component of workload and the measure of stress was also found, suggesting an important link between the constructs of stress and workload. Overall, the outcomes of this study provide important insights into design interventions intended to accommodate older as well as younger persons in the workforce.     

The mediating role of work-to-family conflict in the relationship between shiftwork and depression

Abstract

With significant segments of the working population involved in shiftwork, there is the possibility of serious health outcomes. There are two possible pathways to ill health. In the biological pathway the body's circadian rhythms are affected, leading to physiological disturbances and the inability to cope. By contrast, the aim of this study is to elucidate a social pathway by which shiftwork may lead to mental ill health. It examines the mediating influence of work-to-family conflict in the association between shiftwork and depression. Gender differences are also investigated. The sample included 2,931 Canadian respondents with a spouse and at least one child living at home. Close to 28% of respondents were involved in some form of shiftwork. Structural equation modelling supported partial mediation through work-to-family conflict. Further analyses found that mediation was supported in sub-samples of male and female respondents. The results, however, suggest that the experience of shiftwork is quite similar for men and women as no significant differences were found between mediating models. Overall, the findings support the social explanation of the effect of shiftwork on mental health, but they do not rule out other social or biological pathways.     

Bored employees misbehaving: The relationship between boredom and counterproductive work behaviour

In this study, the relationships among boredom proneness, job boredom, and counterproductive work behaviour (CWB) were examined. Boredom proneness consists of several factors, which include external stimulation and internal stimulation. Given the strong relationships between both the external stimulation factor of boredom proneness (BP-ext) and anger as well as the strong relationship between trait anger and CWB, we hypothesized that examining BP-ext would help us to better understand why employees commit CWB. Five types of CWB have previously been described: abuse against others, production deviance, sabotage, withdrawal and theft. To those we added a sixth, horseplay. Using responses received from 211 participants who were recruited by email from throughout North America (112 of them matched with co-workers), we found support for our central premise. Indeed, both BP-ext and job boredom showed significant relationships with various types of CWB. The boredom proneness factor also moderated the relationship between job boredom and some types of CWB, suggesting that a better understanding of boredom is imperative for designing interventions to prevent CWB.     

Personality factors predicting changes in shift work tolerance: A longitudinal study among nurses working rotating shifts

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between personality factors (hardiness, morningness, flexibility, and languidity) and longitudinal changes on different measures of shift work tolerance (fatigue, sleepiness, anxiety and depression) over one year among nurses working rotating shifts. A total of 642 female Norwegian nurses working in a rotating three-shift schedule participated in the study. The cohort was established by age-stratified selection among members of the Norwegian Nurses Association in 2008. Questionnaires were administered in 2008/2009 (T1) and in 2009/2010 (T2). The results showed that hardiness was negatively related to fatigue, anxiety and depression at T2 when controlling for the scores on these constructs at T1. Morningness was not related to any indicators of shift work tolerance at T2 when controlling for shift work tolerance at T1. Flexibility was negatively related to anxiety at T2 when controlling for anxiety at T1. Languidity was positively related to sleepiness and fatigue at T2 when controlling for sleepiness and fatigue at T1. The findings indicate that personality factors, especially hardiness, can predict changes related to shift work tolerance over a period of one year.     

An expanded typology of conflict at work: Task,relationship and non-task organizational conflict as social stressors

This study investigated the roles of three types of conflict at work – task, relationship and non-task organizational – in predicting employee strain. These conflict types refer to disputes over issues that are, respectively, work-task specific, driven by emotionally charged interpersonal animosity or rooted in more broad organizationally relevant issues. Findings from a sample of 260 working adults from various organizations in the United States supported the notion that the three types of conflict function as social stressors and are related to a variety of psychological, behavioural and physical strains. They extend previous research based primarily on relationship conflict. Non-task organizational conflict emerged as a key predictor across strain criteria, thus highlighting the importance of including a more complete conceptualization of the conflict construct in social stress research. The results for task conflict are at variance with findings that it can be beneficial, and suggest that its negative relationship with well-being may be due to its co-occurrence with the other forms of conflict. These findings provide support for an expanded typology of conflict.     

IGLOO: An integrated framework for sustainable return to work in workers with common mental disorders

ABSTRACT

Current research on return to work (RTW) for employees with common mental disorders suffers from two limitations. First, research mostly focuses on the influence of resources during the absence period ignoring the resources which may facilitate sustainable RTW, i.e. employees continuing to work and thrive at work post-return. Second, research tends to view the work and non-work domains separately and fails to consider the interaction of resources at the individual, group, leader and organisational levels, once back at work. In the present position paper, we present an integrated framework and a preliminary definition of sustainable RTW. Based on current occupational health psychology theory and existing research on RTW, we develop ten propositions for the resources in and outside work, which may promote sustainable RTW. In addition to the individual, group, leader, and organisational levels, we also argue for the importance of the overarching context, i.e. the societal context and the culture and legislation that may promote sustainable RTW. Our framework raises new questions that need to be addressed to enhance our understanding of how key stakeholders can support employees with common mental health disorders staying and thriving at work.     

The manager's role in employees' successful return to work following back injury

Abstract

This study reports on the short-term effects of an educational programme for immediate supervisors on employees' back pain problems. The course was designed to help supervisors more efficiently deal with employees returning to work after being treated for back pain. Forty-seven supervisors who had personnel either undergoing treatment for back pain problems or were candidates for this treatment were invited to attend a one-day course. This educational package consisted of information about back pain and stressed specific behaviours which supervisors could use to help their employees successfully return to work. The results showed that 78% of the supervisors found the course to be satisfactory enough to recommend it to a colleague without hesitation. Furthermore, independent ratings made by the supervisors and their employees suggested that supervisors complied with the recommended programme. Returning employees, moreover, gave their supervisors significantly higher ratings of support than a control group whose supervisors had not attended the educational programme. It was concluded that an educational programme which alters specific supervisory behaviours may be an effective method of assisting employee return to work after treatment for back pain. Further research is needed to determine the long-term effects of such a programme on absenteeism due to illness.     

基于非均匀性语言标度和DLWA算子的动态绩效模糊群决策研究

基于企业人力资源管理(HRM)系统中职能管理部门年度绩效考核决策评价和选优序列生成过程中的数据的不确定性、随机性和模糊性,通过设计季度绩效多维度模糊评价体系,采用非均匀加性语言评估标度定性的多维度评价,构建动态加性语言判断矩阵模型,利用DLWA算子等语言信息集成算子,集成多个决策者不同时期绩效指标评价数据,并整合不同决策者的偏好度,综合呈现年度部门业绩选优序列,优化提升职能管理部门绩效考核决策的精确性、公平性和可信度。