Workplace Events Research Articles

Downsizing and alcohol use: A cross-lagged longitudinal examination of the spillover hypothesis

An area of concern for investigators and practitioners is the possible linkage between stressful workplace events and alcohol use and abuse; however, work in this area, specifically testing a “spillover hypothesis,” offers inconclusive evidence of a relationship between many work-based stressors and alcohol use. Using a three-wave panel sample (N=455) from a large US industrial firm that has undergone numerous downsizing events in the last decade, four alternative causal hypotheses using fully cross-lagged three-wave mediational latent factor models were compared via structural equation modelling. Separate models were analysed for layoff experience and job security perceptions; a motivational factor, escape reasons for drinking, was included in each model. We found large autoregressive effects for problem alcohol use in the stability models. One reason for weak support for spillover models may be that problem alcohol use is more stable over time than previously theorized. All alternative causal models fit the data well; however, the only model comparisons showing significant improvement over the stability models were those including reverse paths. Reverse causal models should be explicitly considered when examining the link between alcohol problems and the workplace. We suggest that, for some workers, problematic alcohol use may be antecedent to, rather than a consequence of, stressful workplace experiences.

Employee entitlements during pregnancy and maternal psychological well‐being

Antenatal psychological well-being is multifactorially determined, including by social circumstances. Evidence suggests that workplace conditions are salient determinants of mental health, but it is not known whether employment conditions influence antenatal psychological well-being. To investigate the relationship between employment conditions and antenatal psychological well-being in Australian women. A sociodemographically diverse consecutive cohort of employed nulliparous women was recruited in late pregnancy. Data were collected by a structured interview assessing sociodemographic characteristics, employment arrangements, experience of pregnancy-related discrimination, and access to maternity leave entitlements. Participants completed two standardised psychometric measures of maternal mood: the Edinburgh Depression Scale (EDS) and the Profile of Mood States (PoMS). Comparisons of self-reported mood were made between women by experience of workplace adversity, using a composite measure of workplace events. Of 205 eligible women, 165 agreed to participate. Of these, 114 of 165 (69%) reported at least one form of workplace adversity during pregnancy. More women without private health insurance (78%) reported workplace adversity than those who were privately insured (57%) (chi2(1)=6.95, P=0.008). Women experiencing workplace adversity had significantly worse psychological well-being as indicated by the EDS score (7.7+/-5.1) than those who were experiencing no workplace adversity (5.5+/-3.4), mean difference (95% CI)=-2.2 (-3.7 to -0.8), P=0.003. Similar results were reported for the PoMS. Workplace adversity during pregnancy is associated with poorer maternal psychological well-being. Workplace conditions and entitlements are salient factors for consideration in assessments of antenatal psychosocial well-being.

Job satisfaction as mediator: An assessment of job satisfaction's position within the nomological network

Job satisfaction's position within the nomological network and the mechanism outlined by theories of social exchange suggest that job satisfaction functions as a mediator of the relationship between various antecedent variables and volitional workplace behaviours. We extend social exchange theory to include perceptions of the total job situation and develop a model that positions job satisfaction as a mediator of the relationships between various internal and external antecedent variables, and three volitional workplace behaviours: citizenship behaviours, counterproductive workplace behaviours, and job withdrawal. The fit of a fully mediated model is good and all four classes of antecedents (dispositions, workplace events, job characteristics, job opportunities) contributed uniquely to the prediction of satisfaction. Job satisfaction is also shown to mediate most antecedent‐consequence relationships, although two important exceptions are evident. A direct link from pro‐social disposition to OCBs, and a direct link and one from anti‐social disposition to counterproductivity, suggest that job satisfaction does not fully moderate the relationships between dispositions and contextual behaviours.

Investigation of the relationships among workplace stressors, ways of coping, and the mental health of Chinese head nurses

Limited information exists about which workplace events are stressful for nurses in charge of a hospital patient-care unit (head nurse) in China and how these nurses cope with these events. Therefore, the purposes of this descriptive study were to examine workplace stressors, ways of coping, and the levels of mental health of Chinese head nurses, as well as to identify the relationships among the workplace stressors, ways of coping, and mental health of Chinese head nurses. To address these purposes, four self-report questionnaires were administered to a convenience sample of 92 head nurses from two teaching hospitals located in one city in central China. The findings suggested that workload, death/dying, and conflict with physicians were the most predominant sources of workplace stress, while the most frequent coping strategies used were positive reappraisal, planful problem solving, and self-control. The mental health scores were found to be lower than prior research has suggested for some nurses in Asia. A number of significant correlations were found among demographic characteristics, workplace stressors, ways of coping, and mental health.

Work-Related Trauma Effects in Child Protection Social Workers

Child welfare workers are exposed to a variety of workplace events that could overwhelm them. This study examined whether negative workplace events were associated with workplace trauma effects amongst child welfare workers, and considered whether job support or job satisfaction moderated the influence of events on effects. Vicarious events were more highly associated with trauma effects (r = 0.54, p < 0.000) than were direct events (r = 0.28, p < 0.000), and neither job support nor job satisfaction moderated the relationship. Workplace trauma events accounted for substantial variability in workplace trauma effects (R2 = 0.344) in the final regression model tested. The discussion addresses opportunities for increasing worker safety, methods for supporting workers in managing negative effects and implications for future research.

Workplace Interactions that Facilitate or Impede Reflective Practice

This article highlights a study undertaken in the workplace that observed the features of a National Health Service (NHS) general manager's job that determined ‘reflective space’ at work. The study was initiated following the suggestion that the workplace might conspire to limit reflective practice amongst NHS general managers who would ordinarily espouse the value of such an approach. Assessing this inference would, arguably, illuminate the relative productivity of meetings and workplace events and assist in future application amongst NHS employees. The study did not attempt to question whether NHS general managers were armed with the competencies of reflection but whether they were able to apply it having developed the skills and what might constrain them. In doing so there would then be opportunities to challenge convention through the application of a reflective tool. The study involved the classification of work events where reflection was notably high or low. An analysis of data indicated five major characteristics of the reflective practitioner's workplace that can inhibit or facilitate reflective practice. This has enabled the development of a reflective tool to assist NHS general managers. The tool might therefore be added to the personal management development ‘toolkit’ that each general manager might wish to access.

Longitudinal study of negative workplace events among employed rheumatoid arthritis patients and healthy controls

Most studies of employment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have focused on job loss. Less is known about workplace events in patients who continued to work. The goal of this longitudinal study was to compare the incidence of negative workplace events between employed patients with RA and healthy controls. Participants completed the work domains of the Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Interview Life Events Scale and the Inventory of Small Life Events Scale measuring major and minor workplace events. Events were compared between groups according to psychosocial, clinical, and job characteristics. A total of 122 patients with RA and 122 healthy controls were enrolled with similar demographic and occupational characteristics. There were no differences in percentages of patients and controls who had at least 1 major (35% versus 31%) or 1 minor (48% versus 55%) negative event. For patients with RA, negative events were associated with having more pain, more fatigue, more social stress, and less job autonomy (P < or = 0.05). For controls, in addition to social stress, negative events were associated with job characteristics, functional status, and social support (P < or = 0.05). A comparable number of patients with RA and controls had negative workplace events. In addition to the well-known contributions of job autonomy and pain, social stress and fatigue also were found to be important variables related to negative events in patients with RA. These potentially modifiable variables have not been fully evaluated with respect to long-term employment in these patients.

Judging Up the Corporate Ladder: Understanding the Social Conduct of Workers

The purpose of this research was to examine the social conduct of workers toward managers following a negative work event involving their managers. Three studies were conducted to examine the relationships among attributions, judgments of responsibility, anger and sympathy, and antisocial and prosocial behaviors. In Study 1, we manipulated ability and effort attributions with scenarios in order to examine the cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes of hypothetical workplace events. In Studies 2 and 3, we replicated these results using a retrospective, critical-incidents methodology and further explored the mediational relationships between cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses. Findings from the 3 studies supported hypotheses derived from Weiner's (1995) theory of social conduct.

Adaptation-Level Theory, Opponent Process Theory, and Dispositions: An Integrated Approach to the Stability of Job Satisfaction.

Research suggests that the stability of job satisfaction is partially the result of dispositions (J. J. Connolly & C. Viswesvaran, 2000; C. Dormann & D. Zapf, 2001; T. A. Judge & J. E. Bono, 2001a; T. A. Judge, D. Heller, & M. K. Mount, 2002). Opponent process theory (R. L. Solomon & J. D. Corbit, 1973, 1974) and adaptation-level theory (H. Helson, 1948) are alternative explanations of this stability that explain how environmental effects on job satisfaction dissipate across time. On the basis of an integration of these explanations, the authors propose that dispositions (a) influence employees' equilibrium or adaptation level of job satisfaction, (b) influence employees' sensitivity to workplace events, and (c) influence the speed at which job satisfaction returns to equilibrium after one is exposed to a workplace event. Research and applied implications are discussed.

How do perioperative nurses cope with stress?

In recent years there has been broad discussion on the nature of stressors experienced by members of “high risk” occupations and professions, for instance nursing and emergency workers, whose role is to support others through traumatic scenarios (Lam et al, 1999:23). Perioperative nursing is a major specialization in nursing practice in which there is an increased risk of exposure to traumatic events (Schwann, 1998:645). Moreover, the cumulative nature of critical events, if left undealt with that will potentiate attrition among nurses in the perioperative environment (Michael and Jenkins, 2001:39). This triangulated study using self-administered questionaires focused on how theatre nurses coped with contextual stressors in the work milieu. A purposive sample of 46 registered and enrolled nurses who worked at a major Brisbane hospital were asked to describe a recent stressful workplace event, and rate it using Horowitz’s (1993) Impact of Event Scale (IES). Results indicated that nurses with the least general theatre experience, demonstrated the highest negative impacts. 25% of females demonstrated avoidance tendencies when stressed, while 83% of males used problem-solving strategies. Reactions following trauma among the nurses were predominantly negative, and included feelings of frustration and self-doubt. These findings support the eminent need for hospital organizations to take a more person-centered approach when dealing with workplace stress.

Adverse work outcomes and events attributed to asthma.

Asthma is a chronic condition that has been linked to lower employment rates, job effectiveness, productivity and increased absenteeism. The objectives of this study were to assess the impact of asthma on work function, workplace events, and career. One hundred ninety-six patients in an urban practice completed standardized major and minor life events scales and rated whether adverse work events were caused by asthma. Thirty-eight percent of the patients had either changed jobs, work hours, or work duties, and 65% had taken days off because of asthma. In multivariate analyses, less education, not wanting to work, more comorbidity, prior use of oral corticosteroids, and current use of oral beta agonists and methylxanthines (P < or = 0.05 for all comparisons) were associated with these outcomes. Also, currently working patients were more likely to be using inhaled corticosteroids (P = 0.018). Thirty-nine percent believed asthma had adversely affected their career by causing them to: not pursue a desired career; not get promoted due to absenteeism; change to a worse job; and be perceived as incapable of more responsible assignments. Seven percent had a negative work event in the preceding year that they attributed to asthma, including job loss and unfavorable interactions with co-workers. Patients attribute daily and long-term adverse work outcomes to asthma. Asthma severity and demographic and occupational characteristics were associated with adverse occurrences.

Toward an Integrative Theory of Counterproductive Workplace Behavior: A Causal Reasoning Perspective

Over the past decade, there has been an increase in attention to counterproductive workplace behaviors including violence, stealing, dishonesty, volitional absenteeism, drug and alcohol abuse, and aggression, many of which have been addressed in this special issue. Accompanying the attention to these specific types of behaviors has been a proliferation of theories developed to explain, understand, and manage counterproductive behavior. While these theories have addressed many apparently divergent types of behaviors, many similarities exist between and among these various perspectives. In this article, we integrate these various perspectives into a causal reasoning framework, proposing that individuals’ attributions about the causal dimensions of workplace events are a primary factor motivating both the emotions and behaviors that result in counterproductive workplace behaviors.

More than Clockwork: Women's Time Management in Their Combined Workloads

Women's labor force participation requires not only their compliance with workplace schedules but also the coordination of these with household needs. The routinization of paid work hours, scarcity of discretionary time, and conflict in the time requirements of women's combined workload contribute to the difficulty of accommodating these demands. Women respond to these constraints by implementing timing strategies which include: their conformity to and priorization of paid work hours; manipulation of time use, especially in household schedules; routinization of daily tasks; and synchronization of household and workplace events, as well as preparation for contingency needs. Women's responsibility for the household in time is thus perpetuated not only by gendered differences in time use but also in its allocation. The intentional and creative “time management” performed by women enables them to accommodate the constraints of a combined workload.