After-hours Work Research Articles

The Effect of Work Connectivity Behavior After-Hours on Employee Psychological Distress: The Role of Leader Workaholism and Work-to-Family Conflict.

BackgroundThe work connectivity behavior after-hours (WCBA) has become increasingly intense among Chinese employees in recent years, especially in the rapidly developed internet industry. This has made the after-hours work connectivity behavior, a popular topic in the organizational psychology field. Based on boundary theory, we explored the mechanism of after-hour work connectivity behavior on employees' psychological distress and identified the work-to-family conflict (WFC) as mediator. Besides, leader characteristics are essential environmental variables and always play as moderators, among which leader workaholism is prevalent in the internet industry. However, the impact of leader workaholism on employees' behavior is still inconsistent and even contradictory. Thus, this study further examines the moderating effect of leader workaholism between the after-hour work connectivity behavior and employees' psychological distress.MethodsWe conducted a multitime, multisource questionnaire survey in Internet companies in China. Before collecting the data, all participants were assured that their responses would be confidential and used only for academic research. At time 1, the team leader rated his or her workaholism, and team members rated WCBA. At time 2 (3 weeks later), team members were asked to complete the questionnaire containing scales of WFC, psychological distress. The two rounds of data collection resulted in 211 matched team leader–team member responses. We performed a path analysis using Mplus 7.4.ResultsBoth the duration and frequency of WCBA can positively predict employees' psychological distress through WFC (the mediating effect = 0.628, 95% CI = [0.593, 0.663]). Specifically, WCBA can increase the level of WFC, which leads to the employees' psychological distress further. Leader workaholism can negatively moderate the relationship between WCBA and WFC, further moderating the mediating effect of WFC.ConclusionsWork-to-family conflict played as a mediator in the relationship between WCBA and employees' psychological distress. These results may be helpful to recognize the negative effect of WCBA and the role of leader workaholism in the relationship.

Social Determinants of Health and After-Hours Electronic Health Record Documentation: A National Survey of US Physicians.

Identifying patients' social determinants of health (SDoH) can improve patient outcomes but may increase clinicians' documentation time. However, there is limited evidence of how many physicians document SDoH and the associated burden. To address this gap, this study examines documentation of SDoH and after-hours electronic health record (EHR) work among a nationally representative sample of US office-based physicians. This was a cross-sectional analysis of the 2018-2019 National Electronic Health Records Survey. A survey design-adjusted bivariate analysis was used to estimate the prevalence of SDoH documentation and compare this activity between physicians' and practices' characteristics. A modified multivariable Poisson model was used to estimate prevalence ratios of SDoH documentation and after-hours work. The study sample included a weighted sample of 303,389 US physicians (31.5%, female; 72.5%, aged ≥50 years; 48.8% primary care specialty). Of those, 84.3% reported documenting patients' SDoH information. Physicians documenting patients' SDoH tend to be younger (<50 years). Prevalence estimates of after-hours EHR documentation were comparable between physicians recording patients' SDoH and those not (33.7% vs. 33.0%) and this difference did not reach statistical significance in adjusted analysis (adjusted prevalence ratio, 0.94, 95% confidence interval, 0.64-1.39). Thus, documenting patients' SDoH appears to be common among US physicians, and this activity is not associated with after-hours EHR documentation. Future studies should examine how patients' SDoH information is used and its association with patient health outcomes.

Switching Gears: A Self-Regulatory Approach and Measure of Nonwork Role Re-Engagement Following After-Hours Work Intrusions.

As employees’ personal lives are increasingly splintered by work demands, the boundary between work and nonwork domains is becoming ever more blurred. Grounded within a self-regulatory approach and the executive control function of inhibitory control, we operationalize and examine nonwork role re-engagement (NWRR)—the extent to which individuals can redirect attentional resources back to nonwork tasks following work-related intrusions. In phases 1 and 2, we develop and refine a psychometrically sound unidimensional measure for NWRR aligned with the self-regulatory processes of self-control and interference control underlying inhibitory control. In phase 3, we confirm the factor structure with a new sample. In phase 4 we validate the measure using the samples from phases 2 and 3 to provide evidence of criterion-related, convergent, and discriminant validity. NWRR was related to important well-being and work-related outcomes above and beyond existing self-regulatory and boundary management constructs. We offer theoretical and practical implications and an agenda to guide future research, as attentional agility becomes increasingly relevant in a home life replete with interruptions from work.

Work-family role blurring and conflict among South African construction professionals

A research model was proposed investigating the relationships between work demand, role blurring, work-to-family conflict, and health and wellbeing consequences, and the model was tested on registered South African construction professionals. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyze the data collected from an online survey. The research results show that work pressure is a salient antecedent to all role blurring activities, i.e. after-hours work contact, pre-occupation with work, and multi-tasking between job tasks and family tasks whilst at home. Work hours directly predict work contact but indirectly affect pre-occupation and multi-tasking via the mediating role of work contact. All role blurring activities are positively associated with construction professionals’ experience of work-to-family conflict, which subsequently leads to depression and sleep problems. The results also show that depression affects the quality of sleep and construction professionals are likely to use alcohol consumption to cope with sleep problems. However, depression was found to be negatively associated with alcohol consumption, which calls for a more fine-grained analysis of the relationship. The study highlights the importance of appropriate work design with manageable workloads and reasonable work hours, and the promotion of boundary tactics for reducing work–family role blurring and conflict experienced by construction professionals.

Psychiatry after-hours: factors impacting workload and workflow.

The study evaluated the workload and workflow of registrars engaged in a psychiatry after-hours roster, quantified their perceptions of this experience and provided recommendations for system redesign. Multiple sources of information, including medical student observers and telephone logs, quantified the tasks performed during shifts. Registrars completed a satisfaction questionnaire. After-hours shifts often started with a lack of attendance of key clinicians at handover. Tasks handed over and completed during shifts varied; there was very little difference between evening, weekends and night shifts except for the higher likelihood of seclusion reviews on weekends. Registrars experienced a significant and complex workload including emergency department and ward reviews, and admissions. Workflow interruptions were frequent; the high number of phone calls and critical incidence warrant further investigation. Registrars were confident in their own ability, but had less confidence in other key clinicians. Many registrars did not discuss after-hours work during supervision. The after-hours experience of psychiatry registrars at a university hospital is arduous and includes a wide range of clinical tasks. This activity is an essential service provision undertaking as well as a training activity. This must be weighed against the impact of after-hours work on registrar well-being.

The effects of after-hours work activities and job-related social activities on recovery and job engagement

Although academic and social interests in the effects of long working hours and after-hours job-related activities on recovery from work have increased, few empirical studies have investigated the effects of after-hours job-related social activities on recovery and job effectiveness. We hypothesized and examined a mediation model that job-related social activities and after-hours work activities could influence next day ego depletion and job engagement through psychological detachment. Data from 377 employees who responded twice a day (morning and evening) for two weeks were collected using a daily diary survey. Multi-level analyses showed that as employees spent more time at both job-related social activities and after-hours work activities, their psychological detachment decreased, resulting in a higher ego depletion and a lower job engagement on the following day. Interestingly, after-hours job-related social activities had a larger effect on ego depletion than after-hours work activities. Finally, the direct effects of after-hours work activities and job-related social activities on ego depletion were also significant. These findings suggest that after-hours work-related activities can affect ego depletion through alternative or multiple paths, as opposed to solely a psychological detachment. The findings of this study could help us contribute to understand the harmful effects of after-hours work activities and job-related social activities on the recovery process. They also have important implications in terms of interventions for recovery.

Evaluation of the Performance and Resource Needs of a Construction Infection Prevention and Control Program

Background: The University Health Network (UHN) is a multisite, academic health sciences center in Toronto, Canada, with 1,300 inpatient beds and ∼126,000 emergency department visits annually. Clinical services include a transplant program, cancer center, dialysis units, and rehabilitation sites. Currently, ∼0.83 km2 (&gt;9 million ft2) of UHN real estate, ∼200 construction, renovation and maintenance projects are underway. The UHN Construction Infection Control Program (CICP) was created in 2012 and has expanded to include 3.5 FTEs to meet the needs of infection prevention oversight during these activities. We describe the performance indicators for the UHN CICP between May 2016 and December 2018 that have informed productivity and resource needs. Methods: Since 2016, construction infection preventionists (CIPs) have prospectively collected data on the frequency of activities reflecting CIP productivity and core job functions: number of meetings (attended and missed), site inspections, responses to breaches in control measures, education hours delivered, urgent requests, and after-hours work. Annual activity rates (frequency of activity divided by CIP months) were analyzed for trends, accounting for additions in CICP personnel over time. Results: Human resources and activities performed in the CICP from 2016 to 2018 are outlined in Table 1. As CICP human resources increased, the number of initiatives supported by the CICP team rose. Activity rates for attended meetings, inspections and hours of education provided increased with higher CIP resources, suggesting an improvement in individual productivity of each CIP (Fig. 1). Concurrently, the rate of missed meetings declined and after-hour requests and breach responses remained stable. Conclusions: An appropriately staffed CICP for the volume and risk level of organization-wide construction, renovation, and maintenance activities is crucial to infection prevention. We developed performance indicators based upon key functions of CIPs to evaluate the productivity of our team and ensure we had adequate human resources to maintain patient safety through our evolving needs.Funding: NoneDisclosures: Susy Hota reports contract research for Finch Therapeutics.

Mobile and Online Health Information: Exploring Digital Media Use among Austrian Parents.

In today’s digitalized world, most parents are Internet-savvy and use online sources for child health information, mainly due to the 24/7 availability of advice. However, parents are often not specifically trained to identify reliable, evidence-based sources of information. In this cross-sectional online survey among a purposive, non-probabilistic sample of Austrian parents (n = 90, 81.1% females), we assessed aspects of health app use and family policy benefits-related and scenario-based Internet seeking behavior. We found that the surveyed parents showed a high health app use. The participants indicated that they prefer online information seeking to any other option in a scenario describing that their child would be sick at after-work hours, with social media channels being the least preferred source of online information. Mothers and younger parents were more likely to retrieve online information on family policy benefits. With the smartphone in everybody’s pocket, parents seemed to rely on mobile and online content when searching for child health information. Pediatricians are best suited to decide what treatment fits the child or their current medical condition, but nowadays they face increasing numbers of pre-informed parents seeking health information online. Provision of targeted parental education and guidance through the online information jungle could effectively empower parents and smooth personal and digital contacts in the delicate doctor–parent–child triangle.

A Retrospective Analysis of Provider-to-Patient Secure Messages: How Much Are They Increasing, Who Is Doing the Work, and Is the Work Happening After Hours?

BackgroundPatient portal registration and the use of secure messaging are increasing. However, little is known about how the work of responding to and initiating patient messages is distributed among care team members and how these messages may affect work after hours.ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine the growth of secure messages and determine how the work of provider responses to patient-initiated secure messages and provider-initiated secure messages is distributed across care teams and across work and after-work hours.MethodsWe collected secure messages sent from providers from January 1, 2013, to March 15, 2018, at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, both in response to patient secure messages and provider-initiated secure messages. We examined counts of messages over time, how the work of responding to messages and initiating messages was distributed among health care workers, messages sent per provider, messages per unique patient, and when the work was completed (proportion of messages sent after standard work hours).ResultsPortal registration for patients having clinic visits increased from 33% to 62%, and increasingly more patients and providers were engaged in messaging. Provider message responses to individual patients increased significantly in both primary care and specialty practices. Message responses per specialty physician provider increased from 15 responses per provider per year to 53 responses per provider per year from 2013 to 2018, resulting in a 253% increase. Primary care physician message responses increased from 153 per provider per year to 322 from 2013 to 2018, resulting in a 110% increase. Physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and registered nurses, all contributed to the substantial increases in the number of messages sent.ConclusionsProvider-sent secure messages at a large health care institution have increased substantially since implementation of secure messaging between patients and providers. The effort of responding to and initiating messages to patients was distributed across multiple provider categories. The percentage of message responses occurring after hours showed little substantial change over time compared with the overall increase in message volume.

Boundary communication: how smartphone use after hours is associated with work-life conflict and organizational identification

ABSTRACT This study investigates how boundary communication mediates the effects of smartphone use for work after hours on work-life conflict and organizational identification. It draws upon boundary theory, work-family border theory, and a structurational view of organizational identification. The research site was a large Scandinavian company operating in the telecommunications industry, with 367 employees responding to a survey at two time periods. In contrast to many studies, the use of information and communication technologies (here, smartphones) for after-hours work was not associated with work-life conflict, but was positively associated with organizational identification. However, communication about family demands with one’s supervisor mediated the relationship between smartphone use and work-life conflict, whereas communication about work demands with family did not. Similarly, the association between smartphone use and organizational identification was positively mediated by communication with one’s supervisor about family demands on work, but not through communication with family about work demands on family.

Temporary migrants and public space: a case study of Dongguan, China

ABSTRACT The development of the labour-intensive manufacturing sector in Dongguan, China, stimulated significant inflows of temporary migrants. However, their temporary status limits migrants’ mobility and restrains their access to public resources available in the city. The community square in proximity to factories provides space for temporary migrant workers and their families to congregate, socialise and exercise during after-work hours. Grounded in theoretical discussions of the precarity of temporary migration and the intersection of migrants and urban space, this study uses participant observations and semi-structured interviews to examine the following questions: (1) What are the spatial and temporal patterns of temporary migrants’ use of the community square? (2) How do temporary migrants’ use of the community square indicate social inclusion or exclusion from the destination society? (3) How do temporary migrants experience precarity in spatial and temporal dimensions? The research findings suggest that the temporary status of migrants and fast-paced work schedules of manufacturing factories limit migrants’ options for after-work leisure activities both spatially and temporally. The research has broad implications for the integration of temporary migrants in Chinese cities and the development of public space to enhance social belonging among underserved migrant populations.

PROBLEMS OF LEGAL REGULATION OF AFTER-HOURS ACTIVITIES IN THE LAW OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION ON EDUCATION

The article raises the question of legal regulation of after-hours activities in Russian schools. It is defined that in the Federal Law “On Education”, the Federal State Educational Standards and a number of other normative acts, after-hours activities along with lesson activities are considered as a direction of the main educational program. A feature of after-hours activities is learners’ voluntary participation on the basis of individual choice. This principle is revised in the letters of the Ministry of Education and Science (Enlightenment) of the Russian Federation, which states learners’ mandatory participation in after-hours activities. The logic of these letters is understandable as after-hours activities with children affect the overall results of their education and upbringing at school. At the same time, it is shown by the example of an excursion that not every form of after-hours work is methodologically adapted to the contingent of inclusive educational institutions. The authors conclude that the current requirements of the Ministry of Enlightenment of the Russian Federation for organizing after-hours activities should be, firstly, enshrined in regulatory legal acts and, secondly, methodologically adapted to the conditions of ordinary, correctional and inclusive schools.

Promoting Quality Face-to-Face Communication during Ophthalmology Encounters in the Electronic Health Record Era.

To evaluate informatics-enabled quality improvement (QI) strategies for promoting time spent on face-to-face communication between ophthalmologists and patients. This prospective study involved deploying QI strategies during implementation of an enterprise-wide vendor electronic health record (EHR) in an outpatient academic ophthalmology department. Strategies included developing single sign-on capabilities, activating mobile- and tablet-based applications, EHR personalization training, creating novel workflows for team-based orders, and promoting problem-based charting to reduce documentation burden. Timing data were collected during 648 outpatient encounters. Outcomes included total time spent by the attending ophthalmologist on the patient, time spent on documentation, time spent on examination, and time spent talking with the patient. Metrics related to documentation efficiency, use of personalization features, use of team-based orders, and note length were also measured from the EHR efficiency portal and compared with averages for ophthalmologists nationwide using the same EHR. Time spent on exclusive face-to-face communication with patients initially decreased with EHR implementation (2.9 to 2.3 minutes, p = 0.005) but returned to the paper baseline by 6 months (2.8 minutes, p = 0.99). Observed participants outperformed national averages of ophthalmologists using the same vendor system on documentation time per appointment, number of customized note templates, number of customized order lists, utilization of team-based orders, note length, and time spent after-hours on EHR use. Informatics-enabled QI interventions can promote patient-centeredness and face-to-face communication in high-volume outpatient ophthalmology encounters. By employing an array of interventions, time spent exclusively talking with the patient returned to levels equivalent to paper charts by 6 months after EHR implementation. This was achieved without requiring EHR redesign, use of scribes, or excessive after-hours work. Documentation efficiency can be achieved using interventions promoting personalization and team-based workflows. Given their efficacy in preserving face-to-face physician-patient interactions, these strategies may help alleviate risk of physician burnout.

Job demands and work–family conflict in preschool teachers: The buffering effects of job resources and off-job recovery experiences

Drawing on the job demands-resources model and effort-recovery model, this two-wave study among preschool teachers explored whether job demands (i.e., workload and surface acting) increase work–family conflict over time. The authors further predicted that job resources (i.e., supervisor support and the perceived meaning of work) as well as recovery experiences during after-work hours (i.e., psychological detachment and relaxation) act as buffers and mitigate the detrimental effects of job demands on work–family conflict. This study was conducted among 337 preschool teachers in Chinese societies over the period of 1 year. In line with these hypotheses, results indicated that job demands (i.e., workload and surface acting) significantly increase work–family conflict over time and, more importantly, job resources and recovery experiences during after-work hours protect against increased work–family conflict over time despite high job demands. These findings contribute to work–family research and show how the detrimental impacts of job demands on the family domain can be prevented through enhancing job resources and fostering well-functioning recovery experiences during after-work hours.

Time Requirements of Paper-Based Clinical Workflows and After-Hours Documentation in a Multispecialty Academic Ophthalmology Practice

To assess time requirements for patient encounters and estimate after-hours demands of paper-based clinical workflows in ophthalmology. Time-and-motion study with a structured survey. This study was conducted in a single academic ophthalmology department. A convenience sample consisted of 7 attending ophthalmologists from 6 subspecialties observed during 414 patient encounters for the time-motion analysis and 12 attending ophthalmologists for the survey. Outcome measurements consisted of total time spent by attending ophthalmologists per patient and time spent on documentation, examination, and talking with patients. The survey assessed time requirements of documentation-related activities performed outside of scheduled clinic hours. Among the 7 attending ophthalmologists observed (6 men and 1 woman), mean ± SD age 43.9 ±7.1 years, during encounters with 414 patients (57.8 ± 24.6 years of age), total time spent per patient was 8.1 ± 4.8minutes, with 2.8 ± 1.4minutes (38%) for documentation, 1.2 ± 0.9minutes (17%) for examination, and 3.3 ± 3.1minutes (37%) for talking with patients. New patient evaluations required significantly more time than routine follow-up visits and postoperative visits. Higher clinical volumes were associated with less time per patient. Survey results indicated that paper-based documentation was associated with minimal after-hours work on weeknights and weekends. Paper-based documentation takes up a substantial portion of the total time spent for patient care in outpatient ophthalmology clinics but is associated with minimal after-hours work. Understanding paper-based clinical workflows may help inform targeted strategies for improving electronic health record use in ophthalmology.

After-Hours Work Connectivity: Technological Antecedents and Implications

Background: Knowledge workers have become “technologically-tethered,” increasingly using mobile and communication technologies to engage in work during nonwork or “after-hours” personal time. Literature review: Research has identified several individual- and organizational-level predictors of this after-hours technology-enabled work behavior and its primarily negative consequences. However, little is known regarding the behavior's potential benefits or the ways in which it is affected by technology characteristics. Research questions: 1. How do technology characteristics affect after-hours work connectivity? 2. How does after-hours technology use affect work–life balance? Methodology: We test our hypotheses with a survey-based research design involving 312 knowledge workers, and analyze our data with covariance-based structural equation modeling. Results: After-hours work connectivity increases when the technology affords lower levels of immediacy and greater levels of concurrency, rehearsability, and reprocessability. A post-hoc analysis reveals that workers who might be expected to have low levels of after-hours work connectivity—such as those who have children at home or whose employers have a high segmentation norm—have higher levels of after-hours connectivity than their counterparts when the technology has high concurrency. We also find support for a curvilinear (inverted-U shaped) relationship between after-hours technology use and work–life balance. Conclusion: Individuals are amenable to interweaving technology-enabled work with nonwork tasks when the technology facilitates asynchronous and user-controlled interactions. Furthermore, this interweaving has a positive impact on work–life balance, up to a point. We discuss the implications of these findings for research and practice.

Trainee welfare: a New Zealand perspective.

To explore key sources of stress experienced during training by psychiatry registrars and identify which coping strategies they found helpful or unhelpful. We used three data sources: a) 'stress' vignettes written by Stage 3 trainees; b) minutes of regular registrar meetings; c) focus groups. We analysed these using abbreviated grounded theory, generating themes. The main sources of stress during training were disempowerment, adverse events, difficult supervision and cultural perspectives. Other themes included difficulties in after-hours work, and organisational issues. Stressors may differ in impact according to training stage. Peer support and a good supervisory relationship reduced stress. Conversely, a poor supervisory relationship compounded stress. Trainees were motivated to address modifiable problems. A variety of stressors influence training at all stages. Trainees, the College and employers each have a role in promoting trainee welfare. Interlinking cultural dimensions are not currently addressed in the training curriculum and require attention. A good supervisory relationship can buffer many stressors for trainees.

The impact of great leadership

The mentorship I’ve enjoyed from some UIHC Ob-Gyn faculty has influenced not only my decision to enter this field, but also shaped the way I will practice in the future and given me reason to teach and mentor others. Finding faculty who really pushed me to be not just a better student but a more engaged health care provider, teacher, citizen and leader has cemented my career trajectory. I hope it will lead to richer experiences for the others that I work with along the way. Beyond what I have experienced in other departments, Ob-Gyn faculty at UIHC are doing the after-hours work of inspiring the next generation of women’s health providers. The value of this is incalculable, indescribable, and irreplaceable.

How was work today? Interpersonal work experiences, work-related conversations during after-work hours, and daily affect

ABSTRACTTalking about work during leisure time is an important part of employees’ daily life and represents a behavioural pathway connecting work and home. However, past research has not paid much attention to this phenomenon of sharing work experiences during after-work hours, its possible antecedents and consequences. In the present study, we examine how interpersonal work experiences (i.e. social conflicts and perceived prosocial impact) are associated with work-related conversations during after-work hours, and how work-related conversations, in turn, are associated with affect at bedtime and in the next morning. A daily diary study with three measurement occasions per day over five consecutive workdays (N = 144 employees) showed that negative work-related conversations during after-work hours were directly related to negative affect at bedtime and indirectly related to negative affect in the next morning. Positive work-related conversations were directly related to positive affect in the next morning. Moreover, perceived prosocial impact and positive work-related conversations during after work hours were negatively related to negative affect at bedtime. Our results suggest that employees actively shape their work-home boundaries by talking about work during after-work hours which show both beneficial and harmful associations with subsequent affective states.

Illegitimate tasks reach into afterwork hours: A multilevel study.

This study examines illegitimate tasks as a specific type of job stressors. Illegitimate tasks comprise unreasonable and unnecessary tasks and refer to inappropriate task assignments that go beyond an employee's role requirements. Building on the stressor-detachment model, we hypothesized that illegitimate tasks experienced during the day predict high negative affect and low self-esteem at the end of the workday, which in turn should predict poor psychological detachment from work during evening hours, resulting in sustained high levels of negative affect and low self-esteem at bedtime. Over the course of 1 workweek, 137 employees completed daily surveys at the end of the workday and at bedtime (total of 567 days). Multilevel path modeling revealed a distinct pattern of findings at the day and the person level. At the day level, unnecessary tasks predicted high negative affect and low self-esteem at the end of the workday, with low self-esteem predicting poor psychological detachment from work during afterwork hours. Poor psychological detachment predicted a further increase in negative affect and a decrease in self-esteem over evening hours. At the between-person level, unreasonable tasks were related to high negative affect and low self-esteem at the end of the workday, with negative affect being related to poor psychological detachment from work. Overall, the findings demonstrate that illegitimate tasks are associated with unfavorable states at the end of the workday and are indirectly related to poor psychological detachment from work, undermining recovery from the stressful events experienced at work. (PsycINFO Database Record