Negative Work Events Research Articles

Should I leave this industry? The role of stress and negative emotions in response to an industry negative work event

The effects of subjective stress and negative emotions on work have been theorized and widely researched, but the literature has mostly focused on organization-specific contexts. The purpose of the current paper was to understand the impact of subjective stress and negative emotions associated with COVID-19 on employee attitudes and behaviors toward the hospitality industry. In Study 1, qualitative interviews showed that the COVID-19 pandemic is (1) perceived as a negative event affecting the industry, rather than only affecting a particular job or company, and (2) distressful, provoking negative emotions. In Study 2, a quantitative study examined subjective stress and negative emotions associated with COVID-19, as well as industry turnover intentions and industry negative word-of-mouth as responses to the stress and negative emotions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The current research underscores the importance of studying work events that impact an industry and attitudes and behaviors toward the industry.

Exploring the non-equilibrium fluctuation relation for quantum mechanical tunneling of electrons across a modulating barrier

We experimentally explore the phenomenon of electron tunneling across a modulated tunneling barrier which is created between an STM tip and an Au film deposited on a vibrating piezo surface. Measurements of the time series of the quantum mechanical tunneling current across the modulating barrier show large fluctuations. Analysis of the average work done in establishing tunneling current in finite time interval shows a distribution of both positive and negative work events. The negative work events suggest tunneling against the bias voltage direction. We show that these distributions obey the Gallavotti Cohen Non-equilibrium Fluctuation Relations (GC-NEFR) valid for systems driven through a dissipating environment. Typically, while the GC-NEFR has been shown for non -equilibrium classical systems we show its validity for the quantum mechanical tunneling process too. The GC-NEFR analysis also gives us a way to measure the dissipation present in this quantum tunneling system. We propose the modulated barrier behaves like a lossy scattering medium for the tunneling electrons resulting in a tendency to randomize of the tunneling process.

Conscientiousness and deterioration in employment status in multiple sclerosis over 3 years

Background: Physical and cognitive symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) correlate with unemployment cross-sectionally. Prospective studies, rarely published, have not accounted for personality traits such as Conscientiousness. Methods: In a 3-year study of 70 people with MS (PwMS) and 25 healthy controls (HCs), we evaluated employment status using online interviews capturing hours worked, negative work events, employee relations, and accommodations. Deteriorating employment status (DES) was defined as reduced employment (full-time to part-time or negative work events). In PwMS, we explored workplace accommodations, disclosure of disease status, and physical/psychological predictors of DES (e.g. Conscientiousness). Results: At follow-up, DES was 0% in HCs and 25.7% in MS, and 62.7% of work-stable PwMS used at least one work accommodation, most frequently, flexible hours. At baseline, DES-PwMS had lower education (p = 0.009), lower Conscientiousness (p < 0.001), more fatigue (p = 0.033), and performed worse on Symbol Digit Modalities Test (p = 0.013), Brief Visuospatial Memory Test—Revised (p = 0.041), and Nine-Hole Peg Test (p = 0.046) relative to work-stable. The model predicting DES was significant (χ2(7) = 30.936, p < 0.001) and baseline Conscientiousness accounted for more variance in DES (p = 0.004) than other factors. Higher Conscientiousness PwMS were more likely to disclose their condition at work (p = 0.038). Conclusion: Accommodations for low Conscientiousness, flexible hours, and physical/cognitive rehabilitation may prevent DES.

Association between Work-Related Rumination, Work Environment and Employee Well-Being: A Meta-Analytic Study of Main and Moderator Effects

Rumination has been proposed to play a significant role as a potential mechanism impairing the recovery process after work. This study examined two main effects: the association between a negative work environment and work-related rumination, and the association between work-related rumination and lack of employee well-being. Moreover, moderator effects of age, seniority and gender were examined. For this purpose, a meta-analysis was conducted. The results of a primary analysis indicated a significant association between rumination and both negative work events and lack of well-being. Meta-regression analysis revealed that the main effects are not moderated by the variables considered. Our findings emphasize the importance of reducing ruminative thinking at both individual and organizational levels.

“How old do you feel today at work?” Work-related drivers of subjective age in the workplace

ABSTRACT Most Western societies face the challenge of steadily ageing workforces. In recent decades, research on ageing has intensively focused on the subjective age concept to understand the challenges and risks of increasingly ageing workforces. Nevertheless, the subjective age construct is subject to several conceptual uncertainties, namely, regarding its stability and potential work-specific drivers of subjective age. We address these limitations by a) investigating the stability of subjective age in a worker sample, and b) identifying work-specific drivers (e.g., negative work events, positive work events, work stress) of subjective age perceptions. Building on social identity and lifespan theories, we test our conceptual assumptions with an online sample of 168 U.S. employees, applying growth curve modelling in a daily diary study over one workweek. Results indicate that subjective age is a mutable construct and varies between- and within-person in the course of a workweek. We identify positive work events and work stress as between-person drivers and negative work events as a within-person driver of subjective age. We discuss theoretical implications of these findings as well as consequences for practitioners.

Age and Context Effects in Daily Emotion Regulation and Well-Being at Work

AbstractWith aging, emotion regulation competence is thought to improve, which benefits occupational well-being. Past research on aging and emotion regulation at work has mainly focused on one-time measurements of habitual strategy use. Yet, emotion regulation is a response to changing situational requirements. Using an event-based daily diary approach, we examined whether age moderates the extent to which three characteristics of negative work events (intensity, controllability, and interpersonal nature) predict the adoption of four emotion-regulation strategies (positive reappraisal, distraction, emotion acceptance, and expressive suppression) and subsequent well-being outcomes (job satisfaction and fatigue). Employees (N = 199) aged between 18 and 62 years and of diverse occupational backgrounds reported 1,321 daily negative work events and their emotion-regulatory responses. Results suggest that the emotion-regulation strategies that employees spontaneously use are a function of the intensity and interpersonal nature of events (less so of controllability) and that event characteristics have indirect effects on daily well-being through acceptance and suppression. Younger and older workers responded overall similarly to variations in event characteristics. However, we found age differences in the relationship between event intensity and strategy use. Contrary to predictions of stronger tailoring of strategies to context with age, older workers were more stable in strategy use at higher levels of event intensity, increasing less in suppression and decreasing less in acceptance. Indirect effects of event intensity on well-being point at the adaptive nature of these age-related shifts in strategy use. Findings shed light on adaptive emotion-regulation in daily work life and the role of employee age.

The Interplay of Low Identification, Psychological Detachment, and Cynicism for Predicting Counterproductive Work Behaviour

Prior research suggests that psychological detachment buffers the detrimental effects of negative work events and stressors on employees’ subsequent performance and well‐being. This, however, assumes that employees are motivated to reengage in their work following detachment, which may not always be true. Our paper examines the potential dark side of psychological detachment by exploring its moderating effects on the relationship of low organisational identification with counterproductive work behaviour (CWB) via cynicism toward work. Based on self‐discrepancy theory, we argue that detachment strengthens the link from low identification to cynicism because it reinforces the psychological distance of lowly identified employees with the organisation and provides them with additional resources to more deeply reflect on their mismatch with their organisation, thus generating stronger feelings of doubt and distrust that characterise cynicism. We also hypothesise that detachment strengthens the relation from cynicism to CWB, because detachment reinforces personal separation from work in cynical employees and because cynical employees may leverage their replenished resources to fuel deviant acts. Multi‐wave data collected from two field samples support our hypotheses. We discuss the implications of our study and propose future research directions.

Positive and negative work events attributed to the spine 2 years after lumbar surgery among patients working preoperatively.

Return to work after lumbar surgery is not synonymous with effective job performance, and it is likely that patients who undergo spine surgery experience both positive and negative events attributable to their spine after returning to work. The authors' objectives were to measure work events attributable to the spine during the 2 years after lumbar surgery and to assess associated demographic and clinical characteristics. Employed patients scheduled for lumbar surgery were interviewed preoperatively and reported work characteristics, including amount of improvement in job performance that they expected from surgery. Clinical variables, such as comorbidities and surgical complexity, were collected using standard scales. Two years postoperatively patients completed the 22-item work domain of the Psychiatric Epidemiological Research Interview Life Events Scale (PERI) asking about major positive and negative events attributable to the spine that occurred since surgery. Event rates were assessed with logistic regression. Patients also reported the amount of improvement obtained in job performance, which was compared to the amount of improvement expected in bivariate analyses. Two hundred seven working patients (mean age 53 years, 62% men) were interviewed preoperatively. At 2 years after surgery, 86% were working and 12% reported negative events attributable to the spine (e.g., reduced workload, retirement). In multivariable analysis, high school education or less (OR 4.6, CI 1.7-12.3, p = 0.003), another spine surgery (OR 3.4, CI 1.2-10.1, p = 0.03), and new/worse comorbidity (OR 3.3, CI 1.2-8.8, p = 0.02) remained associated. Seven percent reported positive events attributable to the spine; not having postoperative complications was associated (OR 24, CI 4-156, p = 0.001). Of 162 patients queried preoperatively about expectations, 120 expected improvement in work; postoperatively, 82% reported some improvement (42% reported less improvement than expected and 40% as much as or more improvement than expected), 18% reported no improvement. No improvement was associated with less education (OR 1.5, CI 1.0-2.1, p = 0.04), older age (OR 1.1, CI 1.0-1.1, p = 0.005), more complex surgery (OR 1.1, CI 1.0-1.1, p = 0.07), and another spine surgery (OR 6.1, CI 1.9-19.8, p = 0.003). In descriptive analyses for another sample of preoperatively work-disabled patients, most had physically demanding jobs and only 33% returned to work postoperatively. Most preoperatively working patients were working postoperatively, reported spine-related improvement in job performance, and reported the occurrence of both positive and negative work events attributable to the spine. This study proposes novel work outcomes (i.e., positive and negative work events) and potential methods to measure them.

Age-related differences in levels and dynamics of workplace affect.

Affective experiences at work are a key contributing factor to long-term job-related well-being and effectiveness, yet may systematically change as workers get older. Given the central role of affect in work settings, it is important to obtain a thorough understanding of older workers' strengths and vulnerabilities in affective functioning. This paper's goal was to comprehensively study age differences in mean levels and dynamics of affect (affect stability, occurrence of positive and negative daily work events, and affective reactivity) and to link these with perceptions of global occupational well-being and effectiveness. In three diary studies, employees of different occupational and cultural backgrounds (Hong Kong Chinese managerial employees, German hospital employees, German office workers) reported daily affective work events and affect across multiple workdays. Higher age was associated with more positive and less negative affect (Study 1), more frequent positive daily work events (Study 2 and 3), and lower variability of negative affect (Study 1 and 2). Age was unrelated to frequency of negative work events and positive event reactivity (all studies). There were mixed age differences in negative event reactivity (lower reactivity in Study 1 and on subtypes of affect in Study 2, but higher worry in Study 3). Several of the indicators of affective experience emerged as mediators of positive age differences in work engagement and self-rated task performance. Overall, with one exception, results point at maintenance or improvement of workers' affective functioning with age. Through improved affective functioning, older workers likely contribute to organizational effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The power of affect: A three‐wave panel study on reciprocal relationships between work events and affect at work

In this study, we investigate lagged reciprocal relationships between positive and negative interpersonal and task‐related work events and employees’ positive and negative affect at work. We conducted a three‐wave panel study with time lags of 3 months and collected data from 1,039 young employees (at Time 1). Path modelling showed that positive affect at work predicted an increase in positive interpersonal and task‐related work events, and negative affect at work predicted an increase in negative interpersonal and task‐related work events. Work events did not consistently predict increases in affect at work. Our results suggest that employees’ affect is not only a consequence of work events but may also shape the work events that employees experience over time.Practitioner points Employees’ affect predicts an increase in positive and negative work events over time. Positive affect is associated with an increase in positive events whereas negative affect is associated with an increase in negative events. Organizations should be aware of the important role employees’ affect may play for the work events they experience. Organizations should foster employees’ positive affect and help employees downregulate negative affect.

AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN EMOTION REGULATION STRATEGIES AT WORK: DIFFERENTIAL TRIGGERS, DIFFERENTIAL CONSEQUENCES?

Emerging evidence suggests that older workers, on average, enjoy higher affective well-being than young workers, which has been attributed to higher emotion-regulation competence. Models of emotion regulation emphasize that contextual factors (e.g. emotion intensity) modulate the implementation and adaptiveness of emotion-regulation strategies. We examined age differences in contextual triggers and affective consequences of four common emotion-regulation strategies at work (reappraisal, distraction, suppression, emotion acceptance). In a diary study across 3 weeks, 192 employees reported daily negative work events and their regulatory responses. Per event, we assessed interpersonal nature, intensity, and controllability. Results suggest that older workers respond differently to highly intense events, using less suppression and more acceptance than young workers. Older workers also reported using distraction less often than young workers, irrespective of context. Relationships with affect point at the adaptive nature of such shifts in strategy use. Through better emotional functioning, older workers likely contribute to organizational effectiveness.

Dynamic, not stable: Daily variations in subjective age bias and age group identification predict daily well-being in older workers.

This work examines the hypothesis that older workers' responses to negative events at work depend, in part, on daily fluctuations of subjective age bias (SAB; how old people feel compared to their actual age) and age group identification (age GI). We tested whether SAB and age GI fluctuate over time, whether they influence attributions of negative daily work events as age-related, and thereby predict older workers' daily affect and cognitive engagement in their work. A diary study with 169 older workers (aged 50-70 years) demonstrates that there are substantial daily variations in SAB and GI. Daily fluctuations of SAB and age GI respectively predicted attributions of negative personal (e.g., forgetfulness) and social (e.g., social exclusion) work events to age. Age attributions, in turn, negatively predicted affect and daily cognitive engagement over and above event occurrence. In other words, when confronted with negative daily work events, the short-term dissociation from one's chronological age and age group (i.e., feeling younger and identifying less with other older adults) seems to benefit older workers' well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record

Experimental demonstration that a free-falling aerosol particle obeys a fluctuation theorem.

We investigate the fluctuating motion of an aerosol particle falling in air. Using a Millikan-like setup, we tracked a 1-μm sphere falling at its terminal velocity. We observe occurrences of particles undergoing upward displacements against the force of gravity, so that negative work is done briefly. These negative-work events have a probability that is shown to obey the work fluctuation theorem. This experimental confirmation of the theorem's applicability to aerosols leads us to develop and demonstrate an application: an in situ measurement of an aerosol particle's mass.

"Let it be and keep on going! Acceptance and daily occupational well-being in relation to negative work events": Correction to Kuba and Scheibe (2017).

Reports an error in "Let It Be and Keep on Going! Acceptance and Daily Occupational Well-Being in Relation to Negative Work Events" by Katharina Kuba and Susanne Scheibe (Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Advanced Online Publication, Feb 25, 2016, np). In the article, there were errors in the Participants subsection in the Method section. The last three sentences should read "Job tenure ranged from less than 1 year to 32 years, with an average of 8.83 years (SD 7.80). Participants interacted with clients on average 5.44 hr a day (SD 2.41). The mean working time was 7.36 hr per day (SD 1.91)." (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2016-09702-001.) Negative work events can diminish daily occupational well-being, yet the degree to which they do so depends on the way in which people deal with their emotions. The aim of the current study was to examine the role of acceptance in the link between daily negative work events and occupational well-being. We hypothesized that acceptance would be associated with better daily occupational well-being, operationalized as low end-of-day negative emotions and fatigue, and high work engagement. Furthermore, we predicted that acceptance would buffer the adverse impact of negative work events on daily well-being. A microlongitudinal study across 10 work days was carried out with 92 employees of the health care sector, yielding a total of 832 daily observations. As expected, acceptance was associated with lower end-of-day negative emotions and fatigue (though there was no association with work engagement) across the 10-day period. Furthermore, acceptance moderated the effect of negative event occurrence on daily well-being: Highly accepting employees experienced less increase in negative emotions and less reduction in work engagement (though comparable end-of-day fatigue) on days with negative work events, relative to days without negative work events, than did less accepting employees. These findings highlight affective, resource-saving, and motivational benefits of acceptance for daily occupational well-being and demonstrate that acceptance is associated with enhanced resilience to daily negative work events. (PsycINFO Database Record

Let it be and keep on going! Acceptance and daily occupational well-being in relation to negative work events.

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 22(1) of Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (see record 2016-25216-001). In the article, there were errors in the Participants subsection in the Method section. The last three sentences should read "Job tenure ranged from less than 1 year to 32 years, with an average of 8.83 years (SD 7.80). Participants interacted with clients on average 5.44 hr a day (SD 2.41). The mean working time was 7.36 hr per day (SD 1.91)."] Negative work events can diminish daily occupational well-being, yet the degree to which they do so depends on the way in which people deal with their emotions. The aim of the current study was to examine the role of acceptance in the link between daily negative work events and occupational well-being. We hypothesized that acceptance would be associated with better daily occupational well-being, operationalized as low end-of-day negative emotions and fatigue, and high work engagement. Furthermore, we predicted that acceptance would buffer the adverse impact of negative work events on daily well-being. A microlongitudinal study across 10 work days was carried out with 92 employees of the health care sector, yielding a total of 832 daily observations. As expected, acceptance was associated with lower end-of-day negative emotions and fatigue (though there was no association with work engagement) across the 10-day period. Furthermore, acceptance moderated the effect of negative event occurrence on daily well-being: Highly accepting employees experienced less increase in negative emotions and less reduction in work engagement (though comparable end-of-day fatigue) on days with negative work events, relative to days without negative work events, than did less accepting employees. These findings highlight affective, resource-saving, and motivational benefits of acceptance for daily occupational well-being and demonstrate that acceptance is associated with enhanced resilience to daily negative work events. (PsycINFO Database Record

The buffering role of sportsmanship on the effects of daily negative events

ABSTRACTAffective events theory (AET) argues that everyday negative events are likely to lower both daily work engagement and momentary positive affect. These problems can then persist on subsequent days. However, AET also argues that individual strategies can diminish the ill effects of negative events. We explicitly focused on good sportsmanship or abstaining from unnecessary complaints and criticism as a possible moderator of the effects of daily negative work events on daily work engagement and positive affect. We tested this possibility with a 3-day diary study among 112 employees. As expected, we found that daily negative events lowered daily engagement and momentary positive affect for two consecutive days. However, this effect only held on days that people exhibited low sportsmanship. For days that people exhibited high sportsmanship, there were no significant effects. Creating a resource rich work environment that enhances individuals’ sportsmanship behaviour can help to minimize the unfavourable impact of daily negative events.

Daily Negative Work Events and Employees' Physiological and Psychological Reactions.

Scholars have accumulated an abundant amount of knowledge on the association between work stressors and employees' health and well-being. However, notions of the complex interplay of physiological and psychological components of stress reactions are still in their infancy. Building on the Allostatic Load (AL) model, the present study considers short-term within-person effects of negative work events (NWEs) on indicators of both physiological (i.e., salivary cortisol) and psychological distress responses (i.e., negative affect and emotional exhaustion). Multilevel findings from an experience sampling study with 83 healthcare professionals suggest that reported NWEs predict employees' psychological but not endocrine stress responses. Results contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of employees' daily response patterns to occupational stressors.

You Spin Me Right Round: A Within-Person Examination of Affect Spin and Voluntary Work Behavior

The current study extends prior research on emotional dynamics within the workplace by examining workplace correlates of within-person affect spin—a form of variability in affect states. Drawing from affective events theory, the current study tests both concurrent and lagged associations between work events, daily affect spin, mood, and daily voluntary workplace behaviors in a 2-week daily diary study of 114 working adults. Multilevel analyses demonstrated that levels of daily affect spin were higher on days in which employees experienced mixed work events (i.e., both positive and negative work events on the same day) compared to days with only positive work events or no work events. Results revealed that daily affect spin was indirectly related to daily organizational citizenship behavior through lower pleasant mood. Lagged analyses suggest the effects of daily spin on mood and voluntary work behaviors may not carry over to the next day. Our findings build upon prior between-person research on affect spin by providing evidence that affect spin can be meaningfully assessed at the within-person level of analysis. Moreover, this article extends prior research and theory by showing that affect spin is an important correlate of workplace events, mood, and voluntary work behavior at the within-person level.

Benchmarks of meaningful impairment on the MSFC and BICAMS

Background: Cognitive and motor abilities in multiple sclerosis (MS) are typically quantified using reliable, consensus standard tests validated in the MS population. While these performance measures are associated with vocational disability in parametric analyses, translation of raw scores into anchors reflecting clinically relevant, functional impairment requires further research. Objective: To examine performance-based motor and cognitive outcomes among definitive anchors that designate varying degrees of functional impairment, thereby establishing benchmarks for score interpretation. Methods: We evaluated MS patients and healthy controls, all undergoing a brief test battery. Outcomes were derived from the MS Functional Composite (MSFC) and the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for MS (BICAMS). Functional impairment anchors were (1) disability benefits, (2) employed with negative work events, and (3) employed without problems. Results: All measures yielded statistically significant differences across all levels of work status, after accounting for the effects of age and education. Benchmark values distinguished the functional impairment groups. When evaluated in combination, the Timed 25-Foot Walk and the Symbol Digit Modalities Test were the most robust predictors of functional decline. Conclusion: We have established benchmark scores for popular motor and cognitive tests that are associated with specific degrees of impairment in work status.

Latent profile analysis of regression-based norms demonstrates relationship of compounding MS symptom burden and negative work events

Objective: We endeavored to clarify how distinct co-occurring symptoms relate to the presence of negative work events in employed multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was utilized to elucidate common disability patterns by isolating patient subpopulations. Method: Samples of 272 employed MS patients and 209 healthy controls (HC) were administered neuroperformance tests of ambulation, hand dexterity, processing speed, and memory. Regression-based norms were created from the HC sample. LPA identified latent profiles using the regression-based z-scores. Finally, multinomial logistic regression tested for negative work event differences among the latent profiles. Results: Four profiles were identified via LPA: a common profile (55%) characterized by slightly below average performance in all domains, a broadly low-performing profile (18%), a poor motor abilities profile with average cognition (17%), and a generally high-functioning profile (9%). Multinomial regression analysis revealed that the uniformly low-performing profile demonstrated a higher likelihood of reported negative work events. Conclusions: Employed MS patients with co-occurring motor, memory and processing speed impairments were most likely to report a negative work event, classifying them as uniquely at risk for job loss.