Role Overload Research Articles

Work-Life Conflict Among Higher Education Institution Workers' During COVID-19: A Demands-Resources Approach.

Higher Education Institutions' (HEI) workers were highly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which magnified gender differences in terms of management of work and personal life. Most studies published so far have primarily focused on a group of HEI workers' (i.e., teachers and researchers), but not on staff members, despite their crucial role for HEI functioning. Following the Job Demands-Resources theory, we aimed to: (i) characterize work-life conflict (WLC) among men and women workers from an HEI (staff and teachers/researchers) during the COVID-19 pandemic; and (ii) explore the major predictors of WLC for both staff and teachers/researchers. This study includes a sample of 262 workers from one Portuguese HEI (n = 128 staff members; n = 134 teachers/researchers) who answered an online survey. An Independent Samples T-Test showed that the reported current WLC was significantly higher for teachers/researchers compared to staff. Moreover, women teachers/researchers showed higher WLC than men. Additionally, using a Repeated Measures ANOVA, we found that the increase in the reported levels of WLC (before the pandemic and currently) was significantly more prominent among teachers/researchers than in the staff group. Regarding the predictors of WLC for both groups separately, a Multiple Hierarchical Linear Regression showed that role overload, conceptualized as a demand, was a predictor for both staff and teachers/researchers. As for potential resources, work dedication negatively predicted WLC for staff, whereas family-friendly organization perceptions predicted less WLC for teachers/researchers. These results highlight the importance of understanding HEIs holistically, by considering workers' individual characteristics such as gender, but also distinct careers inside the institutions. As most European HEIs are currently making active efforts to promote gender-equal academic workplaces, these findings may help them design tailored and effective measures to address employees' work-life balance issues, not only considering gender, but also the different types of demands associated with each group of workers within HEIs.

Can High Levels of Hindrance Demands Increase the Worker’s Intellectual Response?

Job demands are factors that are associated with a physical and psychological cost when it comes to coping with them, but which can also positively affect the motivational process. Demands such as overload, defined as an excessive workload, have not presented positive results in any of the studies that have related it to employee engagement. The present study aims to delve into the possible positive effect of this demand on the intellectual bonding of employees. It is hypothesized that: (a) Initially, the increase in the perception of work overload will show a negative influence on the intellectual engagement of the employees; but (b) high perceptions of overload will change this effect, producing an increase in the intellectual dimension of engagement. The sample is made up of 706 employees of a Spanish multinational company. The results support this asymmetric curvilinear influence. The level of intellectual engagement is significantly reduced when the role overload increases from the lower values of the scale. However, upon reaching high levels of role overload, the intellectual engagement response begins to grow. These results challenge the conceptualization of overload as only negative and opens the door to consider that the positive response to a demand can also occur at high levels of it.

Role of Parental Caregiving for Children with Complex Life-Threatening Conditions: A Qualitative Descriptive Analysis

<h3>Background</h3> Parents of children with special health care needs (CSHCN) act as primary medical caregivers while also sustaining relationships and multiple roles as employee, student, and parent, and many more. The additional pressure that medical caregiving puts on parents often results in a multidimensional experience of burden, consisting of physical, social, emotional, and psychological. In this study, we avoid the term "burden" due to its historically problematic nature and instead adopt the framework of role theory (consisting of role strain, role conflict, role overload, and role exist). Our aim was to utilize this framework in order to describe the experiences of parents as informal caregivers for CSHCN. <h3>Purpose</h3> The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of parenting a child with complex life-threatening conditions and the perceived health care provider's expectations on informal caregivers, utilizing role theory to depict parental roles. <h3>Methods</h3> The parent study for this analysis was a longitudinal study on parent and provider decision-making for 35 infants with CSHCN approved by the Duke University IRB. Of the 35, 218 interviews from 15 cases of infants with complex chronic conditions (prematurity, bone marrow transplant, or complex cardiac disease) were selected for this secondary analysis. Data collection for each case was derived from qualitative semi-structured interviews occurring at least monthly until one year after enrollment, unless death of the child intervened. Due to the nature of the parent study, questions targeted parental and provider perceptions, as well as experiences caring for the infant. Transcripts were uploaded to and analyzed in NVivo 12, with a codebook defined and thematic generation performed to capture the content of diverse parental roles embedded within informal parental caregiving expectations by the provider team. <h3>Results</h3> Our analysis identified the potential for role strain, conflict, and overload that parents as informal caregivers experience, sometimes leading to role exit. Challenges noted by parents were, in part, shaped by perceived expectations by the health care providers and system, as well as due to perceived lack of support. Caregiving appeared to be generally linked to self-care deficits, however some subjective positive experiences of the caregiving role were also reported. The status of caregiving and its substantial role set (including managing feeding tubes, ventilators, appointments, discussions with providers, et cetera) caused parents to experience significant role strain. Parents also experienced conflict in managing multiple roles (including that of informal caregiver) associated with different statuses, such as employee, student, wife or husband, etc. Role overload was multifactorial, related to insufficient physical, social, emotional, and financial resources of parents. <h3>Discussion</h3> Parents experienced multiple role transitions and exits, such as leaving employment, education, and relationships. While some parents reported positive experiences, including personal growth and the development of coping mechanisms, it is clear that the caregiver status still carries notable risk related to the role theory framework. It is essential for providers to inquire about parents' responsibilities and roles, encourage relationship support, and advocate for parental self-care.

Bridging Allied Health Professional Roles to Improve Patient Outcomes in Rural and Remote Australia: A Descriptive Qualitative Study.

PurposeAustralia’s rural and remote populations experience inequality of access to healthcare, with demand exceeding capacity for delivery of health services, often due to a maldistribution of the health workforce. A strategy which may overcome barriers to accessing adequate healthcare includes implementation of interdisciplinary collaborative teams, identified as a successful method of healthcare delivery. This study thus aimed to explore interdisciplinary allied health collaborative practice in a rural community.MethodsRole theory, as a philosophical perspective, was used to explore role perceptions and the potential for interdisciplinary collaboration between pharmacists and allied health professionals including dieticians/public health nutritionists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists, by conducting 29 interviews in a rural community. All interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and categorised into emerging themes.ResultsFive constructs of role theory were used to describe the data: role identity, role overload, role sufficiency, role conflict, and role ambiguity. Participants identified as rural generalists and health promoters, who work within innovative and adaptive healthcare settings. Role overload was reported as considerable due to high demand for services and a lack of resources in rural and remote regions, resulting in poor role sufficiency. Overall, there was a low level of role conflict, and participants were highly in favor of interprofessional collaboration; however, uncertainty of the pharmacist’s role (role ambiguity) was a major barrier identified. Health professionals with more years in practice provided few examples of how they would utilise a pharmacist in their practice, although these gave valuable insight into the potential integration of a pharmacist into an interdisciplinary health team, with allied health professionals.ConclusionThis study has applied role theory providing a greater understanding of the enablers and barriers of pharmacists working within interdisciplinary allied health teams and highlighting opportunities to bridge interprofessional roles to improve patient outcomes, especially in rural and remote communities.

How Role Overload Affects Physical and Psychological Health of Low-ranking Government Employees at Different Ages: The Mediating Role of Burnout

BackgroundThe public now imposes higher demands on the government than in the past, which has created the role overload faced by low-ranking government employees in China. This research investigates the relationship between role overload and health among low-ranking government employees and explores the mediating effects of burnout. MethodsIt draws on a survey of 2064 low-ranking government employees by probability proportionate to size sampling in China's Shandong Province. Structural equation modeling (SEM) methods are used to analyze the data. ResultsBoth role overload and burnout were found to have negative effects on low-ranking government employees' health; however, the associations varied among the three age groups (less than 36, between 36 and 45, and over 45). Those over 45 reported the highest level of both physical and psychological health, while the youngest age group (less than 36) reported the lowest level of health. Role overload has a direct influence on health among government employees over 45 but not among those below 45. Burnout's mediating effects between role overload and health are significant among all age groups, but most significant among the youngest civil servants below 36. ConclusionsThe findings evidenced that both role overload and burnout affect low-ranking government employees' self-reported physical and psychological health. In addition, the effect of age differences in coping with role stressors and burnout should be considered.

Testing the Job Demands–Job Resources Model for Police Officer Job Burnout in a Sample of Indian Police Officers

Using the job demands–resources model, the association of job demands (dangerousness, role underload, role overload, role ambiguity, and role conflict) and job resources (instrumental communication, formalization, input into decision-making, views on training, and job autonomy) with the burnout dimensions of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced sense of accomplishment was studied among of 827 police officers in the State of Haryana in India. Multivariate regression indicated that dangerousness, underload, ambiguity, and conflict were associated with higher emotional exhaustion, while input, training, and job autonomy were negatively related. Underload, ambiguity, and conflict were related to higher depersonalization, while overload, instrumental communication, training, and autonomy were related to lower levels. Ambiguity was linked with a reduced sense of accomplishment, while dangerousness, instrumental communication, and training had negative associations. Overall, the results support the job demands–resources model; however, curiously, overload was linked to lower depersonalization and dangerousness was linked to an enhanced sense of accomplishment. The implications for Indian police administrators are lower the significant job demands and raise the significant job resources to reduce job burnout among officers. What is not clear is if the results of the current and past studies apply to officers across the world or vary by nation/culture. The implication for police scholars is the need to conduct research among officers in a wide array of nations to help answer the question of which job demands and resources are universal in their association with the burnout dimensions and which ones are contextual, varying across nations.

The Influence of COVID-19 on Women’s Perceptions of Work-Family Conflict in Singapore

The COVID-19 pandemic has facilitated a shift in working arrangements. Work from home may blur work and family boundaries, with potential deleterious influence on Work-Family conflict levels. This is especially so for women, who have traditionally been associated with a greater share of homecare and family duties. Using a sample of 754 married, working mothers in Singapore, this study seeks to examine the conflicting roles of women in Singapore during COVID-19 and their consequences on Work-Family conflict. Results show that the negative impacts of COVID-19 increased Work-Family conflict levels. Additionally, factors such as work occupational commitment, work role overload, parental demands, and family support are found to be key predictors for Work-Family conflict during COVID-19. Implications are then discussed, and the findings can inform companies and governmental institutions on strategies to reduce Work-Family conflict levels.

Bridging the gap: An interview study on frontline employee responses to restaurant technology

Digital technology that complements the personal interactions between customers and frontline employees (FLEs) has the potential to enhance service delivery in full-service restaurants. However, the usage of digital technology and the interrelated change of role requirements pose additional demands on FLEs. This qualitative study is based on twenty-six semi-structured interviews with FLEs, restaurant managers, and technology providers to achieve a holistic view of the impact digital technology has on FLEs, their well-being and job performance. Data analysis software MAXQDA was utilized to analyze the transcribed interviews through open, axial, and selective coding techniques. The findings indicate that FLEs predominantly agree with restaurant managers’ and providers’ certainty that technology makes them more productive. However, unreliable or unintuitive systems as well as technology-induced role overload can evoke technostress and thus impair FLEs’ well-being and job performance. Accordingly, restaurant managers need to effectively manage technology-induced job demands to fully leverage the enhancing potential of digital technology.

Testing the Job Demands-Resources Model with Organizational Trust among Prison Staff

Trust is an essential component of effective organizations and may be especially important in corrections because of the unique challenges this work environment presents. In corrections, trust in both supervisors and the administration is critical to ensuring the safety and security of staff, inmates, and the community. Previous research has revealed important implications of organizational trust, but less is known about the workplace factors that shape organizational trust. Scholars have divided these workplace factors into job demands and job resources. Using data from 322 correctional staff (both custodial and non-custodial staff) working at a large prison in the Southern United States, this study tested the job demands-resources model on two types of organizational trust – supervisor trust and administration trust. Specifically, we examined three job demands – role ambiguity, fear of being victimized at work, and role overload – and three job resources – job variety, quality training, and autonomy. Ordinary Least Squares regression results showed that workplace variables predicted both types of organizational trust and were generally stronger predictors than were personal attributes. Moreover, job resources played a greater role than job demands in shaping both supervisor and administration trust.

Psychological Distress and Anxiety among Housewives: The Mediational Role of Perceived Stress, Loneliness, and Housewife Burnout

Housewives are experiencing chronic stress when dealing with multiple roles (cooking, shopping, tidying the house) in their daily life. Although earlier studies have documented a significant link between role overload and stress-psychological well-being in the workplace, few studies have been conducted among housewives despite their high anxiety and burnout reports. The diathesis-stress model and transactional model of stress indicate that there may be somecontributory factors related to mental health. Within these frameworks, this research aimed to examine housewives' psychological distress and anxiety by focusing on three contributory factors namely housewife burnout, perceived stress, and loneliness. The present study was a novel contribution to the literature investigating the mediating roles of those three contributory factors between psychological distress and anxiety among housewives. Participants were 500 volunteer housewives between the ages of 20 and 70 from Turkey. In addition to Demographic Information Form, The Perceived Stress Scales (PSS-10), The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), The UCLA Loneliness Scale—Version 3 (UCLA LS3), The Housewives Burnout Questionnaire (CUBAC), and The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were used. Results showed that there were four paths between psychological distress and anxiety in the model, explaining 31.19% of the total variance in anxiety in housewives. The relationship between psychological distress and anxiety was mediated by perceived distress, loneliness, and housewife burnout. Specifically, the higher psychological distress and higher anxiety relationship were associated with higher perceived distress, higher loneliness, and higher housewife burnout. The findings provide beneficial insight for clinicians to prioritize the abandonment of the cope with loneliness, perceived stress, and burnout while working with housewives having psychological distress and anxiety.

Sleep and Negative Affect Across Toddlerhood in the Context of Stress.

Negative affect is associated with both high stress and poor sleep, but questions remain about the direction of these associations across time and interactions between stress and sleep, especially in early childhood. The present study examined sleep deficits, family stress, and observed negative affect in a sample of toddlers at 30, 36, and 42months (N = 504). Negative affect was observed during a parent-child free play task. Sleep was measured via actigraphy. Stress was measured using a cumulative risk index of socioeconomic status, single parent status, household chaos, role overload, parenting hassles, social support, and stressful events. Findings showed few associations between sleep and negative affect, except for toddlers experiencing high levels of family stress. Toddlers experiencing both high stress and poor sleep demonstrated the highest levels of negative affect in the lab at 30months. Adequate sleep may serve as a protective factor for children in high-stress families.

Role Stress, Supervisor Support and Burnout in Local Government Internal Auditors

This study aims to empirically examine the relationship between role stress and supervisor support with burnout on local government internal auditors. Sampling was carried out by purposive sampling method with criteria in the form of local government internal auditors who had at least one year of audit experience. The results of an online survey on the auditors of the Regency/City Government Inspectorate in Southern Sumatera Province were obtained as many as 155 respondents who participated as samples of this study. The results of data analysis using SEM-PLS show that role conflict is not associated with emotional exhaustion and reduced personal accomplishment, but is positively associated with depersonalization. Role ambiguity is positively associated with emotional exhaustion and reduced personal accomplishments, but role ambiguity is negatively associated with depersonalization. Role overload is positively associated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization but negatively associated with reduced personal accomplishment. Supervisor support is negatively associated with all burnout dimensions.

Occupational stress in healthcare workers at a university hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Occupational stress can be caused by a heavy workload, insecurity, or poor relationships with coworkers or supervisors. Previous research has showed a significant prevalence of stress in healthcare personnel. This study's aim was to identify health-care professionals at risk of occupational stress and determine the factors that may cause it. A cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare workers at a university hospital, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A questionnaire solicited information on participants' demographic data including the Workplace Stress Scale, questions on their relationships with colleagues, lack of equipment, job insecurity at the workplace, changing shift patterns, job satisfaction, availability of time to rest and relax, social and family problems, responsibilities, social support, rational/cognitive coping, doctor-patient relationship, and role overload. SPSS was used for data analysis; initial analysis included descriptive statistics, and t-test chi-square test. Multiple linear regression analysis used to identify factors associated with workplace stress. About 78% of the participants were 25-35 years old, 54% were males, and 60% were physicians. Working a shift reduced the job stress index by a statistically significant amount. However, longer working hours, higher education, and having many children contributed to higher job stress; in terms of severity, a good educational level and having many children marginally increased the risk whereas having shifts decreased the job stress. In terms of the absence of organizational support, it was discovered that having many children, a high educational level, and long working hours per day boosted it, although working a shift had a negative correlation. There is a need for continued administrative assistance and appropriate training programs to deal with potentially stressful situations at health facilities.

Active Employee Communication Roles in Organizations: A Framework for Understanding and Discussing Communication Role Expectations

ABSTRACT Several scholars have pointed out the importance of employees’ strategic communication behaviors for organizational performance and employee wellbeing. Employees contribute to organizations by acting as brand ambassadors, boundary spanners and crisis communicators. Employees play such roles on top of assigned job tasks, which can lead to role overload, role conflicts and job stress. The analysis of employees’ communication role enactment is hampered by the lack of a framework describing the complete range of active communication roles that employees are expected to play in the workplace. This article introduces the Active Employee Communication Roles (AECR) Framework (AECR), develops the conceptualization of eight communication roles, and discusses implications for strategic communication. The first four roles – the embodier, promotor, defender, and relationship builder role – describe ambassador roles. In addition, employees play the roles of scout, sensemaker, innovator, and critic to contribute to organizational development. The AECR framework provides a new lens which aids our understanding of the relationship between communication, and employee performance and wellbeing, and provides employees and employers a tool to analyze and calibrate mutual expectations regarding communication behaviors. The framework can also help employees to more strategically allocate resources when executing the various communication roles. This may help to alleviate employee role stress, and create healthier workplaces.

SOCIAL WORKERS' EXPERIENCES OF WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTHS AT CHILD AND YOUTH CARE CENTRES IN DURBAN

Social workers employed in Child and Youth Care Centres (CYCCs) play a critical role in offering therapeutic services for children and youths in need of care. This article explores social workers' experiences working in seven different CYCCs in Durban. It is based on qualitative research using an exploratory, descriptive research design with a sample of eleven social workers. Social workers in CYCCs faced challenges including role overload and overlap, lack of adequate resources, safety and security concerns and limited support, which caused strain and compromised social workers' core role in CYCCs. The article offers practical solutions and recommendations for addressing these challenges.

Interrupting the crossover effect of leader's role overload on employee's negative affect: the moderating role of self-concordance goal

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to examine the crossover effect of leader's role overload on employee's negative affect. More importantly, the stuy will identify the buffering role of self-concordance goal on the relationship between leader's role overload and employee's negative affect.Design/methodology/approachThe study builds the crossover impact of leader's role overload on employee's negative affect as well as the moderating effect of self-concordance goal. By a two-wave and paired data from 51 leaders and 225 employees, the study examines the hypothesis using cross-level analysis.FindingsResults show that leader's role overload tends to reduce negative affect for employees who pursue high-level self-concordance goal and increase negative affect for employees who pursue low-level self-concordance goal.Practical implicationsIt is important for employees to get rid of negative affect in the workplace. The study informs managers the benefits of pursuing self-concordance goals in helping employees alleviate the negative effect of leader's role overload.Originality/valueFindings of the present study can enrich the literature of the crossover process from leader to employee and offer management strategy for enterprises about how to buffer the damaging effect of leader's role overload on employees.

Perceived role overload and physical symptom experience among caregivers of older adults: The moderating effect of social support

We investigated the association between perceived role overload and physical symptom experience, and the potential moderating effect of social support among caregivers of older adults. We analyzed data of 1,471 caregivers obtained from the 2017 National Study of Caregiving. In the survey, participants were assessed for physical symptoms (pain, limited leg strength, and low energy), symptom-related activity limitations, perceived role overload, and informal/formal support sources. We performed multiple logistic regression analyses with interaction terms. Caregivers who perceived higher role overload were more likely to experience the physical symptoms and frequent limited activities due to the symptoms. The associations of perceived role overload with pain and low energy, respectively, were attenuated among caregivers with high informal support. The moderating effect of formal support appeared to be the opposite in relation to pain. Caregivers who perceived high burden may benefit from their informal support to prevent detrimental effects of caregiving on physical health.

Burnout, inter-role conflicts, and job performance among bankers who have children during social isolation

Social isolation is a globally accepted policy of governments worldwide to halt the rapid spread of coronavirus in the community. As a result, all banks must be closed, and bank officers must work from home through the Internet instead of at their offices. Hence, stressors and conflicts wreak havoc on bank officers’ mental health and work productivity. This study focused on determining the influence of burnout and inter-role conflicts on the working performance of bankers who have got children. An online structured questionnaire was utilized to survey 326 bankers throughout the nation. The PLS-SEM and Smart PLS were adopted to analyze and test hypotheses. The findings corroborated the harmful effects of burnout and inter-role conflicts on the job performance of bankers who have got children. Three variables were determined to positively affect burnout, such as occupational stress, parenting stress, and inter-role conflicts, whereas the role ambiguity and role overload sparked the inter-role conflicts of bankers. This study recommended four practical suggestions for both bankers and banks’ policymakers, including: achieving work-family balance is a challenging task; the need to implement more robust organizational support policies to remove the burden and job-stressors; the administrative workload should be reduced and cut off; and bankers individually should get familiar with saying “No” to the unimportant and taking care of themselves during pandemic isolation.

Exploring American Parents' Lived Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Ramifications for Well-Being.

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to document the direct impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on parents and families in the United States.MethodsParents’ experiences during the pandemic were examined using an online survey (N = 564) collected during May and June 2020.ResultsParents reported experiencing a high frequency of COVID-19-related events (e.g., job loss and health concerns) and impact on their lives. Parents’ experiences with COVID-19, as well as self-reported perceived increase in home labor, experiences with assisting children with remote schooling, and work-life conflict were all significantly associated with higher levels of parental role overload. COVID-19-related events and impact, as well as parental role overload, significantly predicted parents’ anxiety and depression, even after controlling for demographic factors.ConclusionsThe findings suggest the importance of providing support for parents and families through direct services and public policy changes.

A pilot feasibility study of Exercising Together\xa9 during radiation therapy for prostate cancer: a dyadic approach for patients and spouses

IntroductionProstate cancer can negatively impact the health of patients and their spouse, particularly early on in the cancer trajectory.PurposeTo determine the feasibility and acceptability of dyadic exercises during radiation therapy and preliminary efficacy on physical, mental, and relational outcomes for men and their spouses. Exercising Together©, originally designed as a 6-month dyadic resistance training program for couples post-treatment, was adapted for the radiation setting.MethodsWe conducted a single-group pilot feasibility study of Exercising Together© in men scheduled for radiation therapy for prostate cancer and their spouse. Couples attended supervised exercise sessions thrice weekly throughout radiation treatment and were followed up 8 weeks later. Primary outcomes were feasibility and acceptability with secondary outcomes of changes in physical (physical functioning (short physical performance battery (sPPB)), gait speed (m/s), functional capacity (400-m walk (min), physical activity (min/week)), mental (depressive symptoms (CES-D), and anxiety (SCL-90 ANX)), and relationship (Dyadic Coping, Role Overload, and Physical Intimacy Behavior Scales) health outcomes for each partner. Participants completed an evaluation post-intervention.ResultsTen couples enrolled and 8 completed the intervention, attending 83% of scheduled sessions. Couple satisfaction with the intervention was high (patients: mean difference (MD) = 9.4 ± 1.9 and spouses: MD = 10.0 ± 0.0, on a 1–10 scale). At post-intervention, gait speed (MD = 0.1; 95%CI: 0.1, 0.2; p = 0.003; d = 0.94) and functional capacity (MD = −0.6; 95%CI: −0.9, 0.3; p = 0.002; d = −0.42) improved in patients and sPPB in spouses (MD = 1.3; 95%CI: 0.3, 2.2; p = 0.02; d = 0.71). Total physical activity increased non-significantly for patients and significantly for spouses at post-intervention and decreased at follow-up (MD = 179.6; 95%CI: 55.4, 303.7; p = 0.01; d = 1.35 and MD = −139.9; 95%CI: −266.5, 13.3; p = 0.03; d=1.06). Among patients, anxiety and active engagement significantly improved post-intervention (MD = −2.3; 95%CI: −3.8, 0.7; p = 0.01; d = −0.43 and MD = 2.5; 95%CI: 0.7, 4.3; p = 0.01; d = 0.98, respectively). There were modest effects on other physical, mental, and relationship health domains in patients and spouses.ConclusionA modified version of Exercising Together© is a feasible and acceptable program during radiation therapy for prostate cancer and shows preliminary evidence for improvements on physical, mental, and relational health in both patient and spouse. A larger, fully powered randomized controlled trial is warranted and could help shift the landscape toward dyadically targeted interventions.Trial registrationThis study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov on February 18th, 2018 (NCT03418025).