Empirical study – Page 4 – Work, Stress, and Health

Does Sense of Coherence Buffer the Relationship Between Emotional Labor and Burnout in Corrections Officers?

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

This study explores how the stressful environment of working in a prison, particularly in regard to the need to manage emotions (emotional labor), and personal resources (in the form of personal sense of coherence) affect occupational burnout. Using data from a sample of 169 correctional staff members who participated in an ongoing study of health and well-being among staff at state correctional facilities, we examine whether work-based emotional labor is related to the emotional exhaustion component of burnout, and whether personal sense of coherence (SOC) has a protective effect by buffering the impact of emotional labor on burnout-exhaustion.

Worker Well-Being and Employer Leadership During COVID-19

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The purpose of the current research was to examine the relationship between health climate, safety climate and well-being before and during the pandemic and the relationship with a TWH leadership training. We developed a COVID-19 Employee Impact Survey to send to an existing cohort of small business employees in May and September 2020. A decline in mean well-being score was observed between baseline and the COVID I survey (May 2020) while health and safety climates did not exhibit the same changes. As businesses continue to adapt to the operational changes that are brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever for organizations to focus on the safety and health of their employees.

The Role of Gender and Precarity in Mental Health and Presenteeism in Academia

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

This study examined the influence of gender and precarity on mental health and presenteeism in academia prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of 333 academics (73% women) working in Canadian universities were recruited for an online survey. Items to assess mental health included the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6; Kessler et al., 2002), a single-item measure of burnout (Physician Worklife Survey; Williams et al., 1999), and a single-item measure of self-perceived general mental health. Items to assess presenteeism included the Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6; Koopman et al., 2002) and a single item asking how often participants had worked despite feeling they should not have (Aronsson & Gustafsson, 2005). We hypothesize that being a woman or experiencing higher levels of precarity will predict poorer mental health and higher presenteeism. The results of this study can be used to understand whether an academic culture that encourages people to take time off for their mental health and that reduces the level of precarity in employment contracts would yield healthier and more productive academics.

E-Mail as a Source of Stress and Burnout Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Work-Family Conflict

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

Despite some findings that e-mail use can lead to symptoms of burnout and the experience of work-family conflict, no studies have addressed the relationship between e-mail as a source of stress and both burnout symptoms and work-family conflict. Additionally, no previous research has tested the mediation effect of work-family conflict in the relationship between e-mail as a source of stress and burnout symptoms. We conducted a cross-sectional study, in which 389 employees from a multinational company responded to an online survey. Our results provide evidence to consider that e-mail as a source of stress is likely to cause a conflict between an individual?s work and family domains, which by its turn, will lead to the experience of burnout symptoms.

Does psychological capital moderate the effect of adverse childhood experiences on subjective well-being and job burnout? A moderated mediation model

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

This study investigates the role of psychological capital as a buffer of the effect of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) on subjective well-being and job burnout. We used a sample of 359 workers from a public organization in Puerto Rico to test the effect of ACE on job burnout through subjective wellbeing and to examine the moderating role of psychological capital in this indirect effect. Results showed that ACE have a negative effect on job burnout through subjective well-being. The conditional process analysis showed a significant moderated mediation in which the effect of ACE on burnout via subjective well-being is not significant at higher levels of psychological capital. This study provides empirical evidence for the potential of psychological capital interventions to mitigate the effect of ACE on subjective and work-related well-being.

Impact of Surface Acting Emotional Labor on Depression in Healthcare Workers: The Role of Emotional Exhaustion as a Mediator

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

In this study conducted in a mixed population of non-clinical and clinical healthcare staff, we examined the association of depression with preventable work environment factors using a novel mediation analysis approach. We found that emotional labor (SaEL), emotional exhaustion, job strain, and work family interference were positively associated with depression while perceived organizational support for safety and work role functioning were negatively associated. The association between emotional labor and depression was strongly mediated through emotional exhaustion. These findings suggest that interventions regarding SaEL are needed for HCWs in order to reduce emotional exhaustion and consequently decrease the risk of depression. Further longitudinal studies are needed to verify these associations.

Nutrition and Exercise Barriers and Facilitators in the Workplace and their Effects on Daily Health Behaviors, Performance, and Well-Being

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

This study used a daily diary approach to survey employees in a variety of organizations for a total of 5 days on their barriers and facilitators to nutrition and exercise behaviors, as well as several health choice and work-related outcomes. It found that the number of barriers and facilitators reported on a given day were related to the specific health behaviors of diet and exercise, and that some types of barriers/facilitators did also relate work performance, well-being, and stress. This has implications for how organizations can promote healthy eating and exercise choices for employees that wish to make these choices by removing the barriers in their work environment and create factors that facilitate them.

Emotional exhaustion in healthcare workers: The importance of organizational leadership and safety

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

In this study conducted in a mixed population of non-clinical and clinical healthcare staff, we examined the association of emotional exhaustion-a dimension of burnout-with understudied work environment exposures including organizational-level policies and practices as well as job-level hazardous work conditions, using a novel mediation analysis approach proposed by Valerie and VanderWeele. We found that job safety, emotional labor, psychological demands, physical demands, job strain, assault and negative acts (bullying) were positively associated with emotional exhaustion while organizational support for safety was negatively associated. Job hazards served as both mediator and moderator in the association between organizational support for safety and emotional exhaustion. These findings suggest that policies for organizational commitment to employee safety should be efficiently applied to ensure reduction of job hazards in order to improve burnout. Future longitudinal studies are needed to further examine this association.

Work in the Time of the Pandemic: Changes in the Quality of Working Life and Their Socio-Demographic and Work-Based Determinants

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

Based on a heterogeneous sample of employees in Switzerland, the current study primarily aims to understand how the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic reflect in important aspects of the working life, such as income, workload, or working conditions. Subsequently, we seek to inspect whether the type of experienced changes in the quality of the working life are linked to employees? socio-demographic situation and social support available at their workplace, thereby unraveling potential risk and protective factors.