Abstract
PurposeWorkplace social capital (WSC) may be beneficial for employees’ health and well-being; however, most studies have analyzed WSC on the individual and not the workplace level. We test whether higher compared to lower levels of vertical WSC (WSC between employees and superiors) and horizontal WSC (WSC between employees), measured at the workplace level, is prospectively associated with higher levels of employees’ well-being.MethodsUsing data from an intervention study, we analyzed associations between workplace aggregated vertical and horizontal WSC at baseline with job satisfaction, exhaustion and sleep disturbances at 24-months follow-up. The sample included 606 municipal pre-school employees (71 workplaces). We adjusted for individual and workplace characteristics, baseline scores of outcomes, intervention status, and the interaction of exposure with intervention status. We used the Genmod procedure in SAS with a repeated statement to account for correlation of individuals within workplaces. We repeated analyses using individual-level WSC measurements.ResultsHigher levels of vertical and horizontal WSC at baseline predicted a higher level of job satisfaction (0.20, p = 0.01 and 0.24, p = 0.01, respectively) and a lower level of exhaustion (− 0.33, p = 0.04 and − 0.43, p = 0.04) at follow-up in the most adjusted model. Analyses with individual-level measures yielded similar results and further showed an association of a higher level of horizontal WSC with a lower level of sleep disturbances.ConclusionsHigher levels of vertical and horizontal WSC were prospectively associated with better well-being of employees in municipal pre-schools. Workplaces may thus consider focusing on improving WSC as a means for ensuring or improving employees’ well-being.
Highlights
MethodsSocial capital has been conceptualized as resources in social relations among individuals in social units (Berkman and Kawachi 2000)
A higher level of vertical and horizontal workplace social capital (WSC) was associated with a lower risk of loss to follow-up
In the supplementary analyses, we repeated the analyses shown in Table 2 while using individual-level measures of vertical and horizontal WSC instead of workplace aggregated scores
Summary
MethodsSocial capital has been conceptualized as resources in social relations among individuals in social units (Berkman and Kawachi 2000). The concept of workplace social capital (WSC) refers to actual and potential resources in cooperative relations between employees at the workplace, e.g., in work teams, and in relations between employees and their superiors (Meng et al 2018; Oksanen et al 2010). A high level of WSC is characterized for example by a workplace climate of social support, mutual trust, and constructive cooperative relations between employees and between employees and their superiors (Meng et al 2018). An increasing number of studies have reported that higher levels of WSC are associated with higher levels of health and well-being in employees (Kawachi et al 2013). Exceptions are research reports from the Finnish Public Sector study (Oksanen et al 2010, 2011) and recent studies of WSC as a predictor of long-term sickness absence (Hansen et al 2018; Rugulies et al 2016; Torok et al 2018), job satisfaction and work engagement (Stromgren et al 2016), and mental distress (Tsuboya et al 2015)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
