Job Resources Research Articles

“We signed up for it”: a qualitative examination of job resources in elite sport support staff members

ABSTRACT Elite sport can be challenging for both athletes and those working closely with them. While some research has focused on the demands experienced by support staff members (SSMs), little attention has been paid to the resources they use to face such demands. Using a qualitative approach, this study investigates the job resources of SSMs in elite sport. Individual semi-structured interviews were carried out with 13 SSMs with various roles. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Six themes were identified: motivation and accomplishments, emotional control, adaptive coping, social support, maintaining life balance, and organisational structures and hierarchy. These themes highlight the variety of resources SSMs use in response to their experienced environmental demands. This study offers the first comprehensive attempt to examine job resources among a broad range of SSMs. Our findings provide insights into the way elite sports organisations may support the functioning and well-being of their employees.

Characterization of task allocation techniques in data centers based on information theory

We present a comprehensive characterization of task allocation techniques in data centers based on information theory, focusing specifically on Shannon Entropy and Statistical Complexity. This study investigates the potential benefits and limitations of using information theory-based integrated into different task allocation techniques. We conduct experiments using a realistic simulation environment. We evaluate the number of tasks allocated over time and the evolution of queue size over time. For this purpose, we used the Google Dataset. This trace represents 29 days’ of information on a cluster of about 12.5k machines. It contains detailed information on job submissions, task execution, resource usage, and scheduling decisions. Our findings demonstrate the potential of information theory-based to identify the task allocation process using different strategies.

PENGARUH JOB DEMANDS DAN JOB RESOURCES TERHADAP EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING (STUDI PADA KARYAWAN TETAP YANG MENJALANI WFH PENUH ATAU KOMBINASI WFH DAN WFO DI JABODETABEK)

Changes in the work environment of employees from Work from Office (WFO) to Work Form Home (WFH) during the covid-19 pandemic created new conditions for employees, this study aim to determine, the effect of job demands and job resources on employee well-being in permanent employees, who underwent full WFH or a combination of WFH and WFO in JABODETABEK. The data collection method used in this study used an online questionnaire with a sample of 103 respondents, data analysis using structural Equation Model (SEM) based on Partial Least Square (PLS). The result of this study indicates the job demands have no effect on employee well-being for employees who carry out full WFH or a combination of WFH and WFO in JABODETABEK.

Exploring Perceptions of Pharmaceutical Vocational High School (VHS) Students toward the Importance of English for Their Future Career

Vocational High Schools (VHS) prepare their students to be ready to work in their fields after graduation. In this globalization era, understanding English will be beneficial and a plus point for the students when looking for a job. Thus, this descriptive qualitative research aimed to explore the perceptions of pharmaceutical VHS students regarding the significance of English for their future careers. The participants, consisting of eight twelfth-grade students who had high English scores and majored in Industrial Pharmacy, were interviewed and the findings revealed that they believed that English proficiency was crucial for their future careers as it helps in accessing international job opportunities and resources, benefiting from professional development and in-house training, and overcoming language barriers in a globalized world. Thus, it is suggested that the English curriculum should be tailored to meet the specific language needs of the pharmaceutical field and future research could explore the expectations of pharmaceutical industry employers regarding the English skills of job applicants.

Cultivating Well-being of Nurses Through Job Crafting: The Moderating Effect of Job and Personal Resources

We look into the way nurses’ job crafting perception (POC) affects their job crafting behaviour (JC) and, as a result, their well-being (WB). Further, the moderating function of personal and job resources (JR) is also scrutinised. We collected primary data from 773 nurses working in 12 private sector and public sector hospitals in Northern Indian states using a standardised questionnaire and deployed structural equation modelling to examine the hypothesised linkages. The empirical findings exposed that POC significantly predicts JC. Second, JC significantly ameliorates nurses’ hedonic and eudaimonic WB. Finally, personal resources (PR) intensify the influence of POC on JC, whereas JR do not. The findings imply that POC cultivates nurses’ JC behaviour, which, in turn, enhances their WB and PR catalyses this driver impact.

Extending the job demands-resources theory beyond the work domain: narratives of Chinese senior executives

PurposeExtensive research has demonstrated the influence of job resources on mitigating the impact of high job demands on individual well-being. Still, little is known about how individuals use job resources to cope. This study advances job demands-resources (JD-R) theory by investigating the process of job resource utilization from a coping perspective.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on in-depth interviews with 32 Chinese senior executives using a Critical Incident Technique (CIT) for data collection and thematic analysis for data analysis.FindingsData analysis reveals a 2x2 matrix model of resource utilization, highlighting the relevance of internal and external job resources in coping and resource creation.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that work stress intervention should look beyond the organizational domain and assist senior executives in exploring and developing external resources for coping. Additionally, organizations should equip senior executives with sufficient support to create new job resources that effectively manage complicated job demands.Originality/valueThe results of this study extend the understanding of job resources by distinguishing internal and external job resources. It also provides a dynamic view of resource utilization, emphasizing the role of job crafting in creating adaptable job resources to meet job demands.

Enhancing employees' remote work experience: Exploring the role of organizational job resources

The improvement of well-being and working conditions for remote employees has long been a topic of discussion in management literature. The COVID-19 lockdowns have brought this topic back to the forefront, with remote work becoming not just an option but a necessity in some cases. Therefore, understanding the organizational and individual-level variables that contribute to enhanced remote work experience for workers is critical today. However, academic research on the topic remains incomplete. The present study contributes to this topic by building a comprehensive research model, including relevant organizational variables connected to individual-level experiences of stress in remote work contexts. An examination of 471 observations of remote workers was conducted to test a moderated mediation model, which showed the significant role of participative leadership, goal clarity, and job resource adequacy in enhancing remote work self-efficacy as stress-coping mechanisms.

How job resources can shape perspectives that lead to better performance: a remote worker field study

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the complexity of how demands and stress are mitigated to enhance employee performance in remote working arrangements.Design/methodology/approachA time-lagged snowball sample of 223 full-time remote working adults in the United States participated in an online survey. Data were analyzed using R 4.0.2 and structural equation modeling.FindingsResults suggest remote job resources involving organizational trust and work flexibility increase performance via serial mediation when considering information communication technology (ICT) demands and work–life interference (WLI). The findings provide insights into counterbalancing the negative aspects of specific demands and stress in remote work arrangements.Practical implicationsThis study provides insights for managers to understand how basic job resources may shape perspectives on demands and WLI to impact performance. Specific to remote working arrangements, establishing trust with the employees and promoting accountability with their work flexibility can play an important part in people and their performance.Originality/valueThis study contributes theoretically to the literature by evidencing how components of the E-Work Life (EWL) scale can be used with greater versatility beyond the original composite measurement because of the job-demand resource (JD-R) framework and conservation of resources theory (COR). This study answers several calls by research to investigate how ICT demands and WLI play a complex role in work performance.

Computational-Intelligence-Based Scheduling with Edge Computing in Cyber-Physical Production Systems.

Real-time performance and reliability are two critical indicators in cyber-physical production systems (CPPS). To meet strict requirements in terms of these indicators, it is necessary to solve complex job-shop scheduling problems (JSPs) and reserve considerable redundant resources for unexpected jobs before production. However, traditional job-shop methods are difficult to apply under dynamic conditions due to the uncertain time cost of transmission and computation. Edge computing offers an efficient solution to this issue. By deploying edge servers around the equipment, smart factories can achieve localized decisions based on computational intelligence (CI) methods offloaded from the cloud. Most works on edge computing have studied task offloading and dispatching scheduling based on CI. However, few of the existing methods can be used for behavior-level control due to the corresponding requirements for ultralow latency (10 ms) and ultrahigh reliability (99.9999% in wireless transmission), especially when unexpected computing jobs arise. Therefore, this paper proposes a dynamic resource prediction scheduling (DRPS) method based on CI to achieve real-time localized behavior-level control. The proposed DRPS method primarily focuses on the schedulability of unexpected computing jobs, and its core ideas are (1) to predict job arrival times based on a backpropagation neural network and (2) to perform real-time migration in the form of human-computer interaction based on the results of resource analysis. An experimental comparison with existing schemes shows that our DRPS method improves the acceptance ratio by 25.9% compared to the earliest deadline first scheme.

Near-Optimal Stochastic Bin-Packing in Large Service Systems with Time-Varying Item Sizes

In modern computing systems, jobs' resource requirements often vary over time. Accounting for this temporal variability during job scheduling is essential for meeting performance goals. However, theoretical understanding on how to schedule jobs with time-varying resource requirements is limited. Motivated by this gap, we propose a new setting of the stochastic bin-packing problem in service systems that allows for time-varying job resource requirements, also referred to as 'item sizes' in traditional bin-packing terms. In this setting, a job or 'item' must be dispatched to a server or 'bin' upon arrival. Its resource requirement may vary over time while in service, following a Markovian assumption. Once the job's service is complete, it departs from the system. Our goal is to minimize the expected number of active servers, or 'non-empty bins', in steady state. Under our problem formulation, we develop a job dispatch policy, named Join-Reqesting-Server (JRS). Broadly, JRS lets each server independently evaluate its current job configuration and decide whether to accept additional jobs, balancing the competing objectives of maximizing throughput and minimizing the risk of resource capacity overruns. The JRS dispatcher then utilizes these individual evaluations to decide which server to dispatch each arriving job to. The theoretical performance guarantee of JRS is in the asymptotic regime where the job arrival rate scales large linearly with respect to a scaling factor r. We show that JRS achieves an additive optimality gap of O(√r) in the objective value, where the optimal objective value is Θ(r). When specialized to constant job resource requirements, our result improves upon the state-of-the-art o(r) optimality gap. Our technical approach highlights a novel policy conversion framework that reduces the policy design problem into a single-server problem.

Organizational, intra‐ and interpersonal factors contributing to person‐centred care in long‐term care facilities for people with dementia

AbstractBackgroundPerson‐centred care (PCC) is seen as the golden standard for dementia care. PCC is characterized by care and support that are in line with the needs, preferences and capacities of people with dementia. Previous research showed that PCC has beneficial effects on the quality of life of people with dementia and improve healthcare professional’s working conditions. Within long‐term care PCC seems to hinge on different factors on integrated levels of care provisioning. The current study aims to provide healthcare organizations and policy makers with more insight into the modifiable factors that contribute to PCC for people with dementia living in long‐term care facilities. To this end, we aim to identify whether and which intrapersonal factors (care professional’s attitude towards dementia, attitude towards technology use, and working experience), interpersonal factors (learning potential of the workplace, vision of care, transformational leadership, emotional job demands and resources), and organizational factors (learning climate of the organization, small‐scale setting and amount of residents per care professional) contribute to higher levels of PCC.MethodData were derived from the fifth assessment of the Living Arrangements for people with Dementia (LAD)‐study, which had a cross‐sectional design. The study was performed amongst 58 long‐term care facilities providing clustered care for people with dementia under the Chronic Care Act (WLZ) in the Netherlands. Care professionals completed an adapted version of the ‘Person‐centred care questionnaire’ (PCCq) to assess the level of PCC in the participating facilities. We performed multilevel analyses, controlling for clustering effects.ResultIn total 606 care professionals participated. On the intrapersonal level, care professional’s attitude towards dementia and working experience contributed significantly to PCC. Interpersonal factors that contributed significantly to PCC were possibilities of learning during day‐to‐day work, transformational leadership, and job resources. Organizational factors were not found to significantly contribute to PCC in the model.ConclusionSeveral intra‐ and interpersonal factors, rather than organizational factors, contribute to person‐centred care.

COVID-19 pandemic and mental health of educators in higher education institution: a systematic literature review

Emergency transformation of the education system due to the COVID-19 increased mental and emotional disorders risks of educators in higher education institutions. Thus, this study aims to examine how COVID-19 impacts the mental well-being of educators, and also explore the contributing factors to these issues. A systematic review was conducted, involving the identification of scientific articles related to mental health, lecturers, professors, and COVID-19. The research was performed on two reputable publication databases, SCOPUS and Web of Science. Following pre-established inclusion and exclusion criteria, this study utilized PRISMA to select and analyze the research articles. Through this process, a total of 59 articles have been identified from the electronic databases, out of which seven articles were selected for evaluation. The findings indicate that a significant number of educators encountered various mental health challenges in the midst of the pandemic, including burnout, anxiety, depression, and stress. Numerous factors, such as an imbalance between job demand and job resources, a lack of support, personal factors, and other emergency remote teaching-related factors, all contribute to the issues. This study offers valuable insights that can be utilized to develop optimal practices for educators to address and manage their mental health and well-being in the future.

Préserver la santé psychologique au travail : quel lien avec le capital psychologique chez des policiers belges durant la pandémie de COVID-19 ?

Cette étude vise à décrire l’état de santé psychologique au travail (SPT) de policiers belges pendant la pandémie de COVID-19 et à identifier d’éventuels facteurs protecteurs. Pour ce faire, nous avons pris en compte les deux dimensions de la SPT : le bien-être psychologique au travail et la détresse psychologique au travail. Nous avons également étudié leurs liens avec plusieurs inducteurs, à savoir le capital psychologique (CaPsy), le climat de travail, les demandes et les ressources au travail. Les données ont été collectées au moyen d’un questionnaire comportant des échelles de mesure de chaque variable étudiée. Les résultats montrent que les policiers interrogés présentent majoritairement une bonne SPT malgré la pandémie. Ces résultats peuvent être reliés à la présence de facteurs protecteurs de la SPT des policiers, en particulier le CaPsy, qui est l’inducteur le plus corrélé avec les deux dimensions de la SPT et qui les prédit le mieux. Les résultats sont discutés selon le contexte de pandémie et permettent de proposer des pistes d’intervention pour la préservation d’une bonne SPT en agissant notamment sur les ressources individuelles et collectives des travailleurs.

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND WORK ENGAGEMENT: MEDIATING ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT

Introduction: Work engagement has gained significant attention over the past two decades, particularly within the evolving business environment of the 21st century. This research aims to examine the impact of transformational leadership on work engagement, with psychological empowerment as the mediating factor. Methods: This research is a quantitative study using primary data obtained through a questionnaire survey of employees in one of the Indonesian private companies active in the field of distribution of biotechnology research laboratory equipment. The measurement is done using the Likert Scale and data analysis is done with the help of the PLS-SEM tool. Results: The research findings indicate that transformational leadership positively influences work engagement, with psychological empowerment mediating the relationship between transformational leadership and work engagement. These findings suggest that leaders who adopt transformational leadership styles can enhance work engagement through psychological empowerment. Conclusion and suggestion: This research provides valuable insights for organizations that want to enhance the work engagement of their employees, especially in situations of organizational restructuring. In addition, the study also emphasizes the importance of job resources in helping to create a working environment that supports high work engagement.

Insights from defining nurses' career success: An integrative review.

To review the literature and identify factors that make sense of and influence nurses' career success. We sought to provide insights into achieving nurses' career success. An integrative review conducted in May 2022 using Whittemore and Knafl's methodology of integrative review. The databases searched were PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and CINAHL. Search criteria included the keywords "nurs*" and "career success" in the title and abstract. The quality of the reviewed papers was assessed using the JBI Critical Appraisal Tool for cross-sectional studies and qualitative research. We extracted five types of information from quantitative studies: the definition of career success, factors of career success instruments, reliability or validity of career success instruments, and factors influencing nursing career success. Furthermore, we extracted two types of information from qualitative studies: themes that imply career success and factors that influence nurses' career success. Primary data were categorized into two perspectives: (1) what nurses' career success means and (2) what influences nurses' career success. Categorized data were unified into similar contents. Themes were developed from unified subgroups. Fourteen studies were included in the analysis. Seven themes were integrated into the factors that make sense of nurses' career success: satisfaction, positive attitude towards work, quality work in nursing, continuation of career and professional development, positive interaction at work, person-organization fit, and enrichment of an individual's life. Three themes were integrated into the factors influencing nursing career success: personal resources, positive behavior toward nursing work and research, and job resources and environment. Patients or members of the public were not involved in this review.

Examining Medical Staff Well-Being through the Application and Extension of the Job Demands-Resources Model: A Cross-Sectional Study.

For medical staff, job satisfaction is essential for advancement on an individual and organizational level. This study looked into the relationships between challenging job demands, job resources, personal resources, and well-being. Additionally, it examined the potential mediating effects of emotional exhaustion and work motivation within the framework of the job demands-resources (JD-R) model. Results from a cross-sectional study of 267 medical employees at a second-grade comprehensive hospital in Jiangsu, China's mainland, indicated that challenging job demands and job satisfaction were positively correlated and mediated via (decreasing) emotional exhaustion. The relationship between job resources and job satisfaction was found to be mediated via (decreasing) emotional exhaustion and (increasing) work motivation. The investigation also demonstrated that the two regulatory focuses serve different purposes. It was discovered that promotion focus had a favorable effect on work motivation but a negative effect on emotional exhaustion. Conversely, preventive focus only positively predicted emotional exhaustion. Thus, the JD-R model offers a valuable structure for clarifying the job satisfaction of health personnel. The implications for enhancing individual and job outcomes are discussed.

Buffering Job Demands and Burnout During a Crisis: The Interplay Between Personal and Job Resources

The mental wellness of hospitality workers has been alarming since the onset of the pandemic. Underpinned by the Job Demand???Resource (JD???R) model and Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this research examines the interactive effect of personal and job resources on burnout with job complexity exacerbated by the pandemic. Specifically, the research examines the relationships between job complexity, employee burnout, and organizational commitment. The research also scrutinizes the moderating effect of proactive personality on the job complexity???burnout nexus; and three-way interactions between job complexity, proactive personality, and two types of workplace support, namely organizational and supervisor support. A valid sample of 610 employees working in five-star and four-star hotels in Macao was analyzed with PLS-SEM and PROCESS. The results reveal that job complexity triggers employee burnout, which adversely influences organizational commitment. Surprisingly, a proactive personality does not mitigate the positive job complexity???burnout nexus. Instead, it aggravates the detrimental effect of job complexity. Fortunately, such detrimental impacts can be alleviated by organizational and supervisor support. The findings also offer practical insights for hotel practitioners to safeguard their employees’ well-being during an uncertain era.

“Always Look at the Clock”: Psychosocial Working Conditions in Outpatient Care—A Qualitative Study

Background: In view of demographic change, there is a growing need for qualified nursing professionals. More and more people in need of care prefer to be cared for at home. A shortage of skilled workers and constantly changing and increasing professional requirements are some of the consequences. The aim of this study is to generate further insights into work-related psychosocial stress factors and the resources of outpatient caregivers in their subjective perceptions to derive approaches for possible health-promoting interventions for practice and research that promote healthier and more sustainable work. In addition, coping strategies and needs should be inquired about in order to determine support offers. Methods: Using a semi-structured interview guide, thirty outpatient nursing professionals in Germany were interviewed in 2022. The subject of this interview was the psychosocial working conditions and resources in outpatient care. The collected data were evaluated by means of the Kuckartz qualitative content analysis. Results: This qualitative study identified work-related job demands and resources in outpatient care. The way nurses are treated in the companies they work for and the appreciation of patients were explored as important resources. Physical demands, the time factor, and dealing with personal fates are primarily mentioned as stress factors. The learning effect plays an important role in dealing with these. Conclusion: This study contributes to a better understanding of current job strain and resources as well as job satisfaction in outpatient care. In any case, it became clear that the nursing staff love their profession, which they see more as a vocation. Future quantitative studies are necessary to build on these findings. First ideas of implications for health promotion measures in research and practice have already been derived.

The mediating effect of personality on mental workload and perceived professional benefits of nurses in East China

BackgroundNursing work is a work with high-stress load, and nurses with different personality may have different subjective feelings about their workload. Therefore, it is particularly necessary to comprehend the perceived professional benefits of nurses engaged in nursing work under high-pressure background, especially during the epidemic period. This study explored the relationship between mental workload, personality, and perceived professional benefits of nurses, and offer advices for the intervention of nurses with different personality to improve their perceived professional benefits.Materials and methodsIn this study, we used a cross-sectional study with a convenient sampling. 473 in-service nurses in Class A tertiary hospitals of Zhejiang Province were recruited by using the NASA Mission Load Index scale of nurses, the brief version of China’s Big Five Personality Questionnaire, and the Nurses’ perceived professional benefits questionnaire from July 2020 to March 2021. Sample size is 54.91%, and the response rate is 100%. Cronbach’s alpha method was used to evaluate the reliability of the instruments. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to describe the socio-demographic data of the subject, and scores for research variables. The Mann-Whitney U-test, and Kruskal-Wallis H rank-sum test were used to compare the scores of perceived professional benefits with different demographic characteristics. Correlation analysis results were presented as the Spearman correlation coefficient. The plug-in v2.16.3 provided by SPSS software was used for linear regression analysis, and the deviation-corrected percentile Bootstrap method was used to examine the mediating role of personality (neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness and extroversion).ResultsAge, length of service in nursing, and record of formal schooling can affect nurses’ perceived professional benefits. Mental workload, and perceived professional benefits were all above the median value. The mental workload was negatively correlated with perceived professional benefits (r= -0.129, P < 0.01), positively correlated with neuroticism (r = 0.242, P < 0.01), negatively correlated with agreeableness, openness, extroversion (r=-0.229~-0.221, P < 0.01), and negatively correlated with conscientiousness, but the differences were not significant. Nurses’ perceived professional benefits were negatively correlated neuroticism (r=-0.109, P < 0.05), but positively associated with conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness, and extroversion (r = 0.098 ~ 0.326, P < 0.05). The mental workload can directly affect the perceived professional benefits in the direct effects, and can also affect the it through the mediating effect of agreeableness, extroversion, neuroticism, and openness.ConclusionsAge, length of service in nursing, and record of formal schooling could affect nurses’ perceived professional benefits, and personality played a partial mediating role in the influence of mental workload on the perceived professional benefits. The results of this study can provide strategies for nurses’ human resource management. According to different demographic factors, and personality, various measures should be taken to guide nurses to evaluate the mental workload correctly, reduce their emotional pressure, increase job resources, and improve their perceived professional benefits.

The mediating role of psychological capital on the relationship between authentic leadership and nurses’ caring behavior: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundCaring behavior among nurses would have an impact on patient outcomes. External organizational job resources and personal internal psychological resources are correlated to nurses’ caring behavior. Authentic leadership and psychological capital were shown to be correlated with nurses’ caring behavior in previous studies. However, the relationships among the three are nevertheless unclear. This study aimed to examine if psychological capital could act as a mediator between nursing managers’ authentic leadership and nurses’ caring behavior.MethodsIn December 2021, a total of 3,662 nurses were recruited from 37 hospitals in Anhui Province, China. They filled out online surveys, including general demographic information, the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire, the Psychological Capital Questionnaire, and the Caring Behavior Inventory. Structural Equation Modeling and the bootstrapping procedure were used to examine the mediating role of psychological capital.ResultsThe scores of authentic leadership, psychological capital, and caring behavior of 3,495 nurses were 52.04 ± 13.24, 96.89 ± 17.78, and 104.28 ± 17.01, respectively. Psychological capital significantly mediated the relationship between authentic leadership and nurses’ caring behavior (β = 0.378, p < 0.001, 95% confidence interval: 0.350 ~ 0.402), which made up 78.75% of the total impact (0.480).ConclusionThe findings of this study suggested that nursing managers should develop an authentic leadership style, which can effectively improve nurses’ caring behaviors toward patients in clinical practice. Meanwhile, nursing leaders should strengthen nurses’ psychological evaluation and training, and promote nurses’ caring behavior in clinical settings.