Work Disengagement Research Articles

Burnout and sleep quality in sports managers

Sports managers have great responsibilities aimed at coordinating and directing the organization through the employed staff who will be given precise tasks, regardless of their hierarchical position. Perfectionism or unfulfilled expectations can influence employees’ subjective state, making them more or less vulnerable and prone to burnout. In the present study sleep quality and burnout dimensions (exhaustion and work disengagement) were addressed, in successful sports managers (n = 20), and, also, in the case of future managers (n = 23). The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory and The ATHENS Insomnia Scale were used. For data analysis and processing independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney (U) test were performed. The results emphasized that female successful managers reported significantly poorer sleep quality and higher daytime sleepiness compared to male successful sports managers. Gender-related differences in terms of burnout dimensions were, also, discussed.

UNDERSTANDING THE NEXUS BETWEEN ABUSIVE SUPERVISION, KNOWLEDGE HIDING BEHAVIOR, WORK DISENGAGEMENT, AND PERCEIVED ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT IN TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Supervisors' dispositions have not received enough attention as potential antecedents to employees' knowledge - hiding behaviors. Based on this, the current study investigates the impact of abusive supervision on knowledge-hiding behaviors, considering the mediating role of work disengagement in this relationship, as well as investigating the moderating role of perceived organizational support in the study model. Data was obtained from frontline service employees of five-star hotels in Sharm El-Sheikh and tourism companies in Cairo, Egypt, by a questionnaire that surveyed 298 employees. The collected data was scrutinized using the Smart PLS-structural equation modeling technique. The PLS-SEM statistics proved the highly positive and significant effect of abusive supervision on knowledge-hiding behavior and employees’ work disengagement, supported the mediating effect of work disengagement, and the moderating effect of perceived organizationa l support. The study highlights some practical implications for hotels, such as implementing integrated knowledge offering a digital library, continuous management and administrative skills training, and behavioral training to facilitate the gaining of knowledge and enhance staff skills, self-confidence, loyalty, and job security. It also strongly suggests adopting a strategy to monitor abusive supervisors through open communication channels, regularly conducting exit interviews to reduce turnover, and enhancing engagement, thereby preventing abusive practices.

Turning Into Disengaged Public Servants: Examining the Effects of Discrimination on Work Engagement

AbstractDiscrimination disempowers public servants, curtailing their vigor, dedication, and absorption at work. It breaches the psychological contract between public servants and public sector entities, provoking work disengagement. To the best of the author’s knowledge, there is limited agreement about how work discrimination disengages public servants. A mediation analysis was conducted to examine the effects of discrimination on disengagement through work meaningfulness and job satisfaction. Discrimination did not directly alter work engagement. It disengaged public servants by disrupting meaningfulness and satisfaction. Alongside preventing discrimination, public managers should enhance the work climate, restoring meaningfulness and satisfaction to keep public servants engaged.

Stress as a mediator between abusive supervision and clinical nurses' work outcomes.

This study aimed to test whether stress could mediate the association between abusive supervision and nurses' work engagement, absenteeism, and turnover intention. Abusive supervision has been attributed to suboptimal work performance and reduced productivity among employees in different sectors. While existing nursing literature links abusive supervision to a wide range of work-related outcomes in the nursing workforce, little is known regarding the mechanism underlying this relationship. Data for this descriptive study were collected from 770 direct-care nurses from seven acute care hospitals in the Philippines, utilizing five standardized scales. Abusive supervision had direct positive effects on absenteeism (β=.189, p<.001) and intent to leave (β=.138, p<.001) and a direct negative effect on job engagement (β=-.131, p<.001). The relationships between abusive supervision and absenteeism (β=.175, p<.001), intent to leave (β=.131, p<.001), and work engagement (β=-.122, p<.001) were partially mediated by stress. Stress mediated the relationship between abusive supervision and nurses' work outcomes, including turnover intention, absenteeism, and work disengagement. The evident connection between abusive supervision, stress, and work-related outcomes underscores the importance of focusing on enhancing managerial supervisory styles as a potential organizational strategy to enhance staff retention and well-being.

Distributive Injustice and Work Disengagement in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry: Mediating Roles of the Workplace Negative Gossip and Organizational Cynicism

This study aims to explore how work disengagement (WD) is affected by employees’ perceptions of distributive injustice (DI). It also investigates the mediating roles of workplace negative gossip (WNG) and organizational cynicism (OC). Responses were received from the full-time employees of category (A) travel agencies and five-star hotels operating in Egypt. WarpPLS 7.0 was used to run a PLS-SEM analysis on the 656 valid responses. The results revealed that there is a positive relationship between employees’ perception of distributive injustice and work disengagement level; in addition, there is a positive relationship between perception of distributive injustice and workplace negative gossip and organizational cynicism. Results also reported positive relationships between workplace negative gossip, organizational cynicism, and work disengagement. Furthermore, findings showed that workplace negative gossip and organizational cynicism mediate the relationship between distributive injustice and work disengagement. Some groundbreaking investigations were conducted as part of the research. Research on how DI affects WNG, OC, and WD is still lacking. In terms of contextual significance, an empirical investigation of the relationship between these factors in hotels and travel companies is unavailable. By empirically examining these connections in the context of Egyptian hotels and travel agencies, the current study has filled a gap in the literature on tourism and hospitality, human resources management, and organizational behavior.

Exploring role transitions and conflicts on work disengagement under varying settings: the moderating role of individual resilience

Purpose COVID-19 disrupted the usual way of working for many people across the globe, making full-time work from home and hybrid models two popular work arrangements. Despite the proliferation and high acceptance of the hybrid model, very little research has focused on the same. This study aims to compare the impact of transitions caused by remote work on work disengagement under two settings: remote work and hybrid model. Design/methodology/approach The data is collected from three corporate hubs in India: Hyderabad, Gurgaon and Bangalore. This study’s respondents represent two working models: full-time work from home and a hybrid model. Responses were collected using Google forms-based questionnaire, which resulted in the following usable responses: 356 (hybrid) and 398 (work from home). Findings The findings reveal that the structural model for the hybrid sector explained 11% of the variance in work disengagement, while the same for work from home model accounted for 20% of the variance in work disengagement. The authors also tested for the moderation of individual resilience between work-home and home-to-work conflicts and home-to-work transitions and work-to-home conflict under full-time work-from and hybrid models. Based on 356 respondents from hybrid category and 398 from work from home, the study found that employees experience less work-to-home and home-to-work conflicts in the hybrid model and employees experience more work-to-home and home-to-work conflicts in the full-time work from home model. Originality/value The study is also the first to examine the moderating role of individual resilience as a tool to bounce back and handle conflicts. As the full-time work from home model leads to more work-to-home and home-to-work conflicts, individuals have more scope to exhibit resilience, and thus, the moderating relationship is stronger in the full-time work from home model. The paper offers theoretical and managerial implications.

Recovery for Resilience: The Mediating Role of Work–Life Balance on the Quality of Life of Women Employees

Employees often have to cope with unprecedented challenges in their working and living conditions—caused by organizational and socioeconomic changes and/or crises—by showing resourcefulness and adaptability. Especially working women who bear a heavier burden strive harder to achieve balance between their work and family lives, and build resilience to maintain their quality of life. It is, therefore, important to develop a better understanding of the mechanisms women employ to strengthen their resilience by combining different roles without compromising their quality of life. This survey research examines which coping strategies and after-work experiences contribute to women’s quality of life by improving their sense of work–life balance (WLB). Data collected from 654 women employees in Greece confirmed the positive effect of WLB on quality of life. Furthermore, being able to choose among after-work experiences, learning or doing challenging things, work disengagement, and problem solving positively influence WLB. In contrast, continuing work at home, relaxation, and avoidance coping negatively affect WLB. It appears that taking time to relax and avoidance coping come into conflict with women’s socially acceptable behavior at home. The importance of social relationships is also highlighted by the positive influence that support seeking, as a coping mechanism, has on women’s quality of life.

Drowning in silence: a scale development and validation of quiet quitting and quiet firing

PurposeThis study aims to develop and validate two scales: quiet quitting (QQ), measuring individual-level work disengagement, low organisational commitment and not going above and beyond in work, and quiet firing (QF), measuring employee perceptions of the degree to which their managers devalue them and when organisations intentionally create a situation to make them quit.Design/methodology/approachThe scale development process involved item generation through literature search, review and interviews with working executives. The scales were then tested online by 264 participants from India.FindingsIn the quantitative analysis, the QQ and QF scales have good psychometric properties when tested with factor analysis, reliability analysis and Cronbach’s alpha. Furthermore, the convergent, discriminant and predictive validity of outcome constructs also showed significance.Originality/valueThis study found that the QQ and QF scales are highly reliable and exhibit good psychometric properties. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to empirically develop and test the QQ and QF constructs and offer implications for organisations and managers.

High levels of burnout among health professionals treating COVID-19 patients in two Nile basin countries with limited resources

Burnout syndrome is a real cause for concern in African health facilities. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) burnout is considered a great public health problem and especially during pandemics as several physical and emotional stressors on this population can lead to increased burnout. This study aimed to investigate the frequency and associated factors of occupational burnout among HCPs working at COVID-19 isolation facilities in Egypt and Sudan. This is important to summarize lessons learned and inform relevant interventions for future pandemic responses. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among frontline HCPs from May 2021 to July 2021. An online, anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Occupational burnout was estimated using the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory. A total of 362 HCPs participated in the study and were equally recruited from Egypt (181) and Sudan (181) with a mean age of (31.84 ± 8.32) years. More than half of HCPs were females (60%) and physicians (58.3%). Most HCPs included in the study had high levels of work disengagement (75.4%) and emotional exhaustion (98.6%). Burnout syndrome was present in 75% of the HCPs with 77% among Egyptian HCPs and 71% among Sudanese HCPs. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine predictors of burnout, working hours per week were the parameters associated with burnout syndrome among Egyptian HCPs; while for Sudanese HCPs, these were age and number of days off. The study revealed a high level of burnout syndrome among HCPs working at COVID-19 isolation facilities in both Egypt and Sudan. Appropriate actions should be taken to preserve the mental health status of HCPs through the establishment of effective and efficient coping strategies.

Impact of nurses’ burnout on safety culture

Literature indicates that burnout emphasizes its implication in the development of safety issues governing healthcare providers with physical and mental exhaustion associated with it. This study advocated determining burnout and its possible effect on key performance indicators on patient safety outcomes and in the eventual recommendation of preventive actions in policies governing nursing practice. Specifically, it ventured to determine the relationship between nurses’ burnout and their compliance with safety outcomes. A quantitative correlational study was designed to determine 274 purposive samples of registered nurses from participating government and non-government hospitals in Tarlac and Pampanga, Philippines towards their burnout and its relationship on key performance indicators on patient safety outcomes. Data were collected through two standardized self-administered questionnaires, Oldenburg Inventory Scale and the Key Performance Indicators on Patient Safety Outcomes Questionnaire, between February and May 2020. The study revealed that nurses, with a mean age of 27.86 (SD+4.81) years, experienced burnout due to work disengagement (18.10+2.812) and exhaustion (19.81+2.910). Safety guidelines on patient outcomes related to blood management (3.74+0.538) and fall prevention (3.15+0.468) received the highest mean scores with pressure ulcer management (2.82+0.597), the lowest. The study found several significant correlations between nurses’ disengagement, exhaustion, and total burnout with their overall safety culture (r=0.321, p=0.000; r=-0.225, p=0.003). All identified relationships showed a negative correlation suggesting that higher burnout scores are significantly related to lower safety culture scores. Nurses' ability to provide standard-based measures in upholding safety as a priority can be compromised at a considerable level. Recognizing the role of nurses' well-being in healthcare, policymakers should not only emphasize the need for evidence-based, quality, and safe interventions but also investigate the nurses' work conditions and contributory factors for burnout.

Different emotional and behavioral reactions to customer mistreatment among hotel employees: A multilevel moderated mediation model

The present research examines employees' different emotional and behavioral reactions to customer mistreatment, as well as the individual-level and group-level moderators for this effect in the hospitality setting. Data are collected at two points in time from 405 hotel employees working under 73 hotel supervisors in southern China. Results of path analysis in Multilevel Structure Equation Modeling (MSEM) reveal that employees who feel angry after receiving customer mistreatment engage in more sabotage against customers, whereas employees who feel frustrated after being mistreated by customers are more likely to disengage from their work. Additionally, the indirect effect of customer mistreatment on employee sabotage against customers via anger was positive when employees make lower level of internal attribution or work under supervisors who created lower supervisory support climate; the indirect effect of customer mistreatment on employee's work disengagement via frustration was positive when employees make lower level of internal attribution.

Job Disengagement Among Physical Education Teachers: Insights From a Cross-sectional Web-Based Survey With Path Modeling Analysis.

Physical education teachers often experience stress and job disengagement. This study's aims were as follows: (1) to adapt in the Arabic language and test the reliability and the validity of the work-family conflict (WFC) and family-work conflict (FWC) scales, (2) to develop and assess the psychometric properties of work disengagement among physical education teachers, and (3) to evaluate an explanatory model by presenting the mediating role of perceived stress as a major influencing factor in work disengagement and job satisfaction. A total of 303 primary and secondary school physical education teachers, comprising 165 (54.5%) men and 138 (45.5%) women participated voluntarily in our study. The measuring instruments are the Work Disengagement Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, the WFC scale, the FWC scale, and the 9-item Teacher of Physical Education Job Satisfaction Inventory. The Arabic language versions of the WFC and FWC scales had reasonably adequate psychometric properties, which were justified by confirmatory factor analyses and by the measurement of reliability, convergent, and discriminant validity through the measurement model using SmartPLS software. Similarly, the structural model established with SmartPLS confirmed strong links of the concepts of FWC, WFC, the job satisfaction questionnaire, and perceived stress with work disengagement among teachers of physical education. There is a growing interest in helping teachers cope with the daily pressures of work and family. A positive organizational context is a context with clear values regarding work priorities, which constitutes the basis of a feeling of shared responsibility and professional support. Good conditions can act as protective factors reducing work stress and positively influencing personal well-being, work attitudes, work commitment, and professional efficiency. Additional research on teachers is needed to examine the relationship between perceived work stress and the role of families, along with the extent to which this association can have a significant impact on teachers' commitment to work.

Escalation of relationship conflict into work disengagement: uncovering mediation mechanisms

PurposeGuided by the job demands-resources model, this study aims to investigate the underlying mediation mechanisms through which vertical relationship conflict between employees and their supervisors and horizontal relationship conflict between employees and their colleagues escalate into work disengagement. It proposes exhaustion and workplace social isolation as the mediators and explores the relative importance of vertical and horizontal relationship conflicts in influencing work disengagement through the distinct impacts of the mediators.Design/methodology/approachData collected from a three-wave study of 181 online-questionnaire respondents are used to test the research model using partial least squares structural equation modeling.FindingsVertical relationship conflict has an indirect effect on work disengagement via exhaustion, whereas horizontal relationship conflict has an indirect effect on work disengagement via workplace social isolation. Compared with horizontal relationship conflict, vertical relationship conflict exerts a stronger effect on work disengagement.Originality/valueThis study addresses a void in the literature on relationship conflict by investigating work disengagement from the perspective of both vertical and horizontal relationship conflict as well as from the perspective of both strain- and resource-centric mediators (i.e. exhaustion and workplace social isolation, respectively), providing a comparatively detailed analysis.

Not My Job, I Do Not Want to Do It: The Effect of Illegitimate Tasks on Work Disengagement.

As a prevalent source of work stress, illegitimate tasks (IT) offend employees’ professional identity and threaten individual self-view, then create many negative organizational outcomes. However, current studies have paid inadequate attention to the impact of IT on work disengagement (WD) and its influencing path, failing to comprehensively identify the negative effects of illegitimate tasks. Based on stress-as-offense-to-self (SOS) theory and ego depletion (ED) theory, the influencing path of illegitimate tasks on WD is explored, and coworker emotional support (CES) and leisure crafting (LC) are introduced to explore the intervention conditions on the impact of illegitimate tasks. By analyzing data from a survey of 260 employees, this study reveals the following findings: illegitimate tasks have a significantly positive impact on work disengagement; ED fully transmits the positive impact of illegitimate tasks on work disengagement; CES and LC not only attenuate the effect of illegitimate tasks on ego depletion, but also negatively moderate the indirect effect of illegitimate tasks on work disengagement through ego depletion.

Financial Insecurity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Spillover Effects on Burnout-Disengagement Relationships and Performance of Employees Who Moonlight.

The novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has magnified the issue of financial insecurity. However, its effect on individual-organizational relations and, consequently, on organizational performance remains understudied. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the spillover effect of financial insecurity on the burnout–disengagement relationship during the pandemic. The authors investigate in particular whether the spillover effect influences the performance of moonlighting employees and also explore the mediating effect of disengagement on the relationship between financial insecurity and burnout interaction effect and the performance (i.e., mediated-moderation). This study collected responses from 162 public and private sector employees who are engaged in moonlighting activities in Malaysia. The results from the partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) revealed greater levels of financial insecurity and burnout associated with greater levels of work disengagement. The analysis of the interaction-moderation effect showed that when financial insecurity rises, the burnout effect on work disengagement increases among moonlighters. Using the PROCESS macro model, the results displayed burnout as a predictor of extra-role performance via a moderated (financial insecurity) mediation (work disengagement) relationship. Going forward, this study not only opens new avenues for research into the financial consequences of COVID-19 but also calls on managers to take proactive steps to mitigate the negative effect of the pandemic on the performance of moonlighting employees to keep them in the profession.

Work disengagement: A review of the literature

Engagement with work has been one of the most influential management ideas of recent decades. A prevalent assumption is that engagement is inherently beneficial and disengagement is a problem to be addressed. Yet theory and research on disengagement show it may not have the assumed negative impact on organizations, and at times may be beneficial for employees. This research seeks to unpack the underlying assumptions of work disengagement through collating and reviewing studies of the phenomenon. The paper makes three contributions. First, it provides a clear argument for why disengagement is a concept worth studying in its own right, as a functional coping response. Second, it offers a typology of the antecedents that applies to current theoretical frameworks. Third, it suggests differentiating between engaged, not engaged, and disengaged to address various levels of dedication to work domains and provide a basis for more evidence-based HR interventions.

Encouraging Employee Engagement With Cybersecurity: How to Tackle Cyber Fatigue

Cybersecurity fatigue is a form of work disengagement specific to cybersecurity. It manifests as a weariness or aversion to cybersecurity-related workplace behaviors or advice and occurs as a result of prior overexposure to cybersecurity-related work demands or training. While some previous theoretical conceptualizations of cybersecurity fatigue are available, this article is the first to capture all dimensions of the phenomenon in a four-component model. The model holds that cybersecurity fatigue can result from overexposure to workplace cybersecurity advice (e.g., training) or cybersecurity actions (e.g., forced password updates). Similarly, we argue that there can be two types of cybersecurity fatigue: attitudinal (e.g., a belief that cybersecurity is not important) and cognitive (e.g., habituated bad behaviors). We present a multidisciplinary review, which draws on research from management, psychology, and information systems. Practitioners can use the four-component model to identify the type of cybersecurity fatigue that may be occurring in employees and adapt workplace processes accordingly to improve behavior. In addition, we present three illustrative case studies, adapted from employee experiences, to demonstrate the application of the four-component model to an organizational context. The review presents a framework for coordinating the existing approaches to cybersecurity fatigue in the current literature.

Categorizing and understanding medication errors in hospital pharmacy in relation to human factors

BackgroundMedication errors (MEs) in hospital settings are attributed to various factors including the human factors. Human factors researches are aiming to implement the knowledge regarding human nature and their interaction with surrounding equipment and environment to design efficient and safe systems. Human Factors Frameworks (HFF) developed awareness regarding main system's components that influence healthcare system and patients' safety. An in-depth evaluation of human factors contributing to medication errors in the hospital pharmacy is crucial to prevent such errors. ObjectiveThis study, therefore, aims to identify and categorize the human factors of MEs in hospital pharmacy using the Human Factors Framework (HFF). MethodA qualitative study conducted in King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Data collection was carried out in two stages; the first stage was the semi-structured interview with the pharmacist or technician involved in the medication error. Then, occupational burnout and personal fatigue scores of participants were assessed. Data analysis was done using thematic analysis. ResultsA total of 19 interviews were done with pharmacists and technicians. Themes were categorized using HFF into five categories; individual, organization and management, task, work, and team factors. Examples of these themes are poor staff competency, insufficient staff support, Lack of standardization, workload, and prescriber behaviour respectively. Scores of fatigue, work disengagement, and emotional exhaustion are correlating with medium fatigue, high work disengagement, and high emotional exhaustion, respectively. ConclusionsThe study provided a unique insight into the contributing factors to MEs in the hospital pharmacy. Emotional stress, lack of motivation, high workload, poor communication, and missed patient information on the information system, are examples of the human factors contributing to medication errors. Our study found that among those factors, organizational factors had a major contribution to medication safety and staff wellbeing.

Psychological contract violation and turnover intention: the role of job dissatisfaction and work disengagement

PurposeThis paper investigates the role of psychological contract violation (PCV) as the antecedent of employee turnover intention. It also explores the role of job dissatisfaction and work disengagement as the sequential underlying mechanism of a positive effect of PCV on employee turnover intention.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on social exchange theory (SET), the authors postulate that PCV triggers negative reciprocity behaviour in employees, which leads to job dissatisfaction and work disengagement, which in turn develop into turnover intentions. The authors tested the research model on time-lagged data from 200 managers working in the banking sector of Pakistan.FindingsThe findings confirmed the hypothesis that employees experiencing PCV raise their turnover intentions because of a feeling of organisational betrayal which makes them dissatisfied and detached from their work.Originality/valueThis research advances the body of knowledge in the area of psychological contracts by identifying the mechanisms through which PCVs translate into employee turnover intentions.

I'll Be a Caregiver-Employee: Aging of the Workforce and Family-to-Work Conflicts.

BackgroundThe double role of caregiver-employee (CE) defines those workers who simultaneously serve as an informal, unpaid care provider for sick, disabled, or elderly relatives, and it is a situation that is on the increase in most western countries. Providing informal caregiving can lead to detrimental effects on emotional well-being and several physical and psychological diseases (e.g., caregiver-burden). CEs can suffer double discomfort (at work and at home), but, first of all, they can be exposed to a high level of home-to-work conflict (HWI). In this study, we analyzed the CE phenomenon in a typical Italian public company, where the mean age of workers is particularly high.MethodsAn online questionnaire related to the perception of HWI, well-being, and discomfort at work (depression, emotional exhaustion, job engagement) in relation to the family load (none, parents with <12 children to care for, caregiver to other adults, or children and older adults to care for/old/children to care for employees) was answered by 1704 administrative workers.ResultsMore than 20% of our sample was included in the elder caregiver condition or in the double role or “sandwiched” condition with older adults and children to care for. The family load changed significantly between the different age groups: for workers aged between 55 and 64 years, the percentage was nearly 27%. CEs had higher levels of HWI and of personal and job discomfort and lower levels of engagement, when compared with non-CEs. Having “only” older adults to care for (the typical CE condition) was associated with having the most negative results.ConclusionThis study confirms and underlines the increasing number of CEs in western organizations and their higher levels of HWI, work disengagement, emotional exhaustion, and depression. As the general population and workforce experience increased “graying,” and many more workers become CEs out of necessity, stable caregiver-friendly workplace policies (CFWPs) should be developed.