The Smaller the Power Distance, the More Genuine the Emotion: Relationships between Power Distance, Emotional Labor, and Emotional Exhaustion among Chinese Teachers

Using Grandey’s model of emotional labor, this study attempted to reveal the effects of cultural and social factors on teachers’ emotions. Specifically, taking a sample of 3312 Chinese teachers, we examined the effects of power distance (PD) and emotional labor on emotional exhaustion, focusing on the mediating role of emotional labor with different interactive partners. The results showed that Chinese teachers used surface acting (SA) the most with parents, and the least with students; they used the expression of naturally felt emotions (ENFE) the most with students, and the least with colleagues and leaders. They also used deep acting more when working with students and parents. In addition, PD negatively influenced ENFE and positively influenced SA with the three interactive partners. Only SA mediated the relationship between PD and exhaustion. These results improve our understanding of teachers’ emotions in terms of power and suggest that we should consider personal psychological factors (i.e., emotional labor), social factors (i.e., interactive partners), and national culture (i.e., PD) to promote teachers’ well-being.

The role of BIS/BAS in effective coping with psychological contract breach

Psychological contract (PC) breach perceptions are formed when employees detect discrepancies between obligated and delivered inducements. PCB stresses and strains employees to varying degrees and has detrimental consequences for employees and the organisation. Employees activate various coping strategies to respond to the stress elicited by PCB, and effective coping helps enhance employees' well-being. In this study, we propose and test a moderated mediation model, where approach and avoidance coping strategies mediate the relationship between PCB and stress, and employees' goal-based personality (i.e., behavioural inhibition system-BIS and behavioural activation system-BAS) moderates the relationship between PCB and coping strategies. We further examine the effectiveness of the subdimensions of coping, as well as how BIS/BAS influences the choice of these subdimensions in a sample of Western employees. Our results suggest approach coping effectively reduces stress elicited by PCB, whereas avoidance coping increases stress. Moreover, employees with higher BAS are more likely to engage in approach coping, whereas those with higher BIS use avoidance coping. We advance the research on coping with PCB by showing a more nuanced understanding of the subdimensions of coping as well as exploring diverse personality models in moderating the choice of coping strategies.

Is Familism a Motivator or Stressor? Relationships Between Confucian Familism, Emotional Labor, Work-Family Conflict, and Emotional Exhaustion Among Chinese Teachers

To reveal the cultural effect in the job demands-resources model, this study examined how Confucian familism, emotional labor, and work-family conflict (WFC) explain the variance in teachers’ emotional exhaustion, with a focus on the mediating roles of emotional labor and WFC. With a sample of 3,312 teachers in China, the results of this study revealed that surface acting and expression of naturally felt emotion (ENFE) and WFC mediated the relationship between familism and emotional exhaustion. Moreover, familism positively predicted deep acting, ENFE, WFC, and emotional exhaustion, while negatively predicted surface acting. These findings suggest that Confucian familism may play the dual role of motivator and stressor for Chinese teachers’ emotional labor and well-being. This study contributes to the job demands-resources theory by revealing the important role of cultural traditions and provides valuable information for interventions to sustain teacher well-being.

The identification of needs and development of best practice guidance for the psychological support of frontline healthcare workers during and after COVID-19: A protocol for the FLoWS project

Recent estimates suggest that up to 34% of frontline workers in healthcare (FLWs) at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic response are reporting elevated symptoms of psychological distress due to resource constraints, ineffective treatments, and concerns about self-contamination. However, little systematic research has been carried out to assess the mental health needs of FLWs in Europe, or the extent of psychological suffering in FLWs within different European countries of varying outbreak severity. Accordingly, this project will employ a mixed-methods approach over three work packages to develop best-practice guidelines for alleviating psychological distress in FLWs during the different phases of the pandemic. Work package 1 will identify the point and long-term prevalence of psychological distress symptoms in a sample of Irish and Italian FLWs, and the predictors of these symptoms. Work package 2 will perform a qualitative needs assessment on a sample of Irish and Italian FLWs to identify sources of stress and resilience, barriers to psychological care, and optimal strategies for alleviating psychological distress in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Work package 3 will synthesise the findings from the preceding work packages to draft best practice guidelines, which will be co-created by a multidisciplinary panel of experts using the Delphi method. The guidelines will provide clinicians with a framework for alleviating psychological distress in FLWs, with particular relevance to the COVID-19 pandemic, but may also have relevance for future pandemics and other public health emergencies.

The identification of needs and development of best practice guidance for the psychological support of frontline healthcare workers during and after COVID-19: A protocol for the FLoWS project

Recent estimates suggest that up to 34% of frontline workers in healthcare (FLWs) at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic response are reporting elevated symptoms of psychological distress due to resource constraints, ineffective treatments, and concerns about self-contamination. However, little systematic research has been carried out to assess the mental health needs of FLWs in Europe, or the extent of psychological suffering in FLWs within different European countries of varying outbreak severity. Accordingly, this project will employ a mixed-methods approach over three work packages to develop best-practice guidelines for alleviating psychological distress in FLWs during the different phases of the pandemic. Work package 1 will identify the point and long-term prevalence of psychological distress symptoms in a sample of Irish and Italian FLWs, and the predictors of these symptoms. Work package 2 will perform a qualitative needs assessment on a sample of Irish and Italian FLWs to identify sources of stress and resilience, barriers to psychological care, and optimal strategies for alleviating psychological distress in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Work package 3 will synthesise the findings from the preceding work packages to draft best practice guidelines, which will be co-created by a multidisciplinary panel of experts using the Delphi method. The guidelines will provide clinicians with a framework for alleviating psychological distress in FLWs, with particular relevance to the COVID-19 pandemic, but may also have relevance for future pandemics and other public health emergencies.

Working Nursing Students Willing to Seek Psychological Services

Work-related psychological stress may result in reduced coping abilities. Working nursing students can develop work-related psychological stress. This study's purpose was to describe first-year working rural nursing students with work-related psychological stress and their perception of stigma to psychological services and perceived willingness and openness to seek such services. Results showed over 55% of students reported work-related stress and a willingness to seek psychological services. Students in a licensed practical nursing program showed less stigma to seeking psychological services (F (2, 23) = 10.09, p = 0.001) as compared to higher degree seeking students in associate and bachelor nursing programs. Stigma appeared not to be a factor in rural nursing students seeking psychological services. In conclusion, working nursing students are willing to seek psychological services regardless of stigma.

Can an Internal Locus of Control and Social Support Reduce Work-Related Levels of Stress and Strain?: A Comparative Study Between Spanish Owners and Managers

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this article is to assess the role played by both individual and contextual factors in reducing the manager's levels of stress and strain within the workplace setting. This article also highlights the manager's locus of control (LOC) as an internal factor and emphasizes the social support variable as a contextual factor.

METHODS

We use a sample of 332 respondents belonging to Spanish manufacturing and services firms and a structural equation modeling technique (partial least squares path modeling).

RESULTS

The results reveal that there are significant differences between managers and owners about stress-strain relationship.

CONCLUSIONS

The study provides support for the literature on stress management, which emphasizes the importance of a LOC and social support in influencing stress and strain between managers and owners.

The Role of Perceived Employability, Core Self-Evaluations, and Job Resources on Health and Turnover Intentions

According to Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study investigated the explanatory role of perceived employability, over and above core self-evaluations (CSE) and job resources, in relation to different aspects of health (physical and mental) and turnover intentions. Based on data obtained from a sample of 274 Romanian blue-collar employees (59.5% men), hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that perceived employability adds a significant variance compared to variance due to CSE and job resources with respect to aspects of health and turnover. The results highlight the role of perceived employability in health - on an individual level, and in decisions to leave the organization - on an organizational level. The findings are of value because they inform organizations how to design human resources strategies in order to retain a healthy workforce.

Work-Related Depression in Primary Care Teams in Brazil

OBJECTIVES

To identify work-related factors associated with depressive symptoms and probable major depression in primary care teams.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study among primary care teams (community health workers, nursing assistants, nurses, and physicians) in the city of São Paulo, Brazil (2011-2012; n = 2940), to assess depressive symptoms and probable major depression and their associations with job strain and other work-related conditions.

RESULTS

Community health workers presented higher prevalence of probable major depression (18%) than other primary care workers. Higher odds ratios for depressive symptoms or probable major depression were associated with longer duration of employment in primary care; having a passive, active, or high-strain job; lack of supervisor feedback regarding performance; and low social support from colleagues and supervisors.

CONCLUSIONS

Observed levels of job-related depression can endanger the sustainability of primary care programs. Public Health implications. Strategies are needed to deliver care to primary care workers with depression, facilitating diagnosis and access to treatment, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Preventive interventions can include training managers to provide feedback and creating strategies to increase job autonomy and social support at work.

Do Job Demands of Chinese Manufacturing Employees Predict Positive or Negative Outcomes? A Test of Competing Hypotheses

Karasek's job demands-control (JDC) model posits that job control can buffer against the harmful effects of demands experienced by employees. A large volume of JDC research has obtained support for the main effects of demands and control, but not the interactive effects. Recent research on the challenge-hindrance stressors framework, however, found that work stressors may not always be deleterious, suggesting alternative hypotheses about the effects of demands and control. The present study therefore examined competing hypotheses concerning the effects of job demands on occupational health outcomes. Using a sample of 316 employees in a Chinese manufacturing company, we found that, consistent with the challenge-hindrance framework, production demands were challenge stressors associated with favourable outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction and psychological well-being). In addition, results showed that the interactive role of job control depended on the nature of outcome variables. Future recommendations and implications of findings are discussed.

Contribution of Personality, Job Strain, and Occupational Self-Efficacy to Job Satisfaction in Different Occupational Contexts

Using a large sample of employed adults ( N = 1,714) living in Switzerland, this study investigates the relationship between the five-factor model of personality dimensions and job satisfaction, considering the role of job strain as defined by Karasek’s job demand–control model and occupational self-efficacy. These relationships were assessed both within the overall sample of employed and specific occupational groups. The analyses on the overall sample show an effect of neuroticism and extraversion on job satisfaction. Furthermore, job strain and occupational self-efficacy are related to job satisfaction. The effect of neuroticism is partly mediated by job strain and occupational self-efficacy, while extraversion and conscientiousness have an indirect effect through occupational self-efficacy. When we consider the occupational groups, the results highlight differences between the groups showing variability in the relationship between personality, job strain and occupational self-efficacy, and their effects on job satisfaction.

Influence of Individual Characteristics on Work Engagement and Job Stress in a Sample of National and Foreign Workers in Switzerland

In most Western postindustrial societies today, the population is aging, businesses are faced with global integration, and important migration flows are taking place. Increasingly work organizations are hiring crossnational and multicultural workteams. In this situation it is important to understand the influence of certain individual and cultural characteristics on the process of professional integration. The present study explores the links between personality traits, demographic characteristics (age, sex, education, income, and nationality), work engagement, and job stress. The sample consisted of 618 persons, including 394 Swiss workers (200 women, 194 men) and 224 foreigners living and working in Switzerland (117 women, 107 men). Each participant completed the NEO-FFI, the UWES, and the GWSS questionnaires. Our results show an interaction between age and nationality with respect to work engagement and general job stress. The levels of work engagement and job stress appear to increase with age among national workers, whereas they decrease among foreign workers. In addition, work engagement was negatively associated with Neuroticism and positively associated with the other four personality dimensions. Finally, job stress was positively associated with Neuroticism and Conscientiousness, and negatively associated with Extraversion. However, the strength of these relationships appeared to vary according to the worker’s nationality, age, sex, education, and income.

Psychosocial stress factors and intention to leave job: differences between foreign-born and Finnish-born general practitioners

AIMS

Physicians' high dropout rate is a significant problem in primary care in many countries. One solution to this issue is to recruit internationally mobile physicians. This study explores the role of psychosocial factors in explaining intention to leave among GPs including potential differences between foreign-born and Finnish GPs.

METHODS

A cross-sectional questionnaire was sent to randomly-selected Finnish physicians (n = 7000) and all foreign-born physicians (n = 1297) living in Finland in the year 2010. The questionnaire was returned by 4333 physicians, of whom 832 were GPs. Of those 176 were foreign-born GPs.

RESULTS

Intention to leave was more common among foreign-born GPs (59%) than among Finnish GPs (52%). High job demands were associated with higher intention to leave from primary care both in foreign-born (OR 1.90) and Finnish GPs (OR 2.20). This association remained among foreign-born GPs after adjusted the model for the country of origin or the reason for migration (OR 1.80, 1.82). Lack of job control, patient-related stress, and stresses related to teamwork were associated with higher intention to leave only among Finnish GPs (ORs 0.45, 1.75 and 1.99).

CONCLUSIONS

There may be cultural differences in the psychosocial factors that enhance or prevent job involvement among physicians. Thus, novel thinking is needed in organizational development of GP work in order to better understand foreign-born physicians' specific needs in a target country. This study also suggests that lightening workload could help to attract more GPs, both foreign-born and Finnish, to primary care.

Sense of coherence and job characteristics in predicting burnout in a South African sample

Orientation: Research that considers the effects of individual characteristics and job characteristics jointly in burnout is necessary, especially when one considers the possibility of curvilinear relationships between job characteristics and burnout.Research purpose: This study examines the contribution of sense of coherence (SOC) and job characteristics to predicting burnout by considering direct and moderating effects.Motivation for this study: Understanding the relationships of individual and job characteristics with burnout is necessary for preventing burnout. It also informs the design of interventions.Research design, approach and method: The participants were 632 working adults (57% female) in South Africa. The measures included the Job Content Questionnaire, the Sense of Coherence Questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The authors analysed the data using hierarchical multiple regression with the enter method.Main findings: Job characteristics and SOC show the expected direct effects on burnout. SOC has a direct negative effect on burnout. Job demands and supervisor social support show nonlinear relationships with burnout. SOC moderates the effect of demands on burnout and has a protective function so that the demands-burnout relationship differs for those with high and low SOC.Practical/managerial implications: The types of effects, the shape of the stressor-strain relationship and the different contributions of individual and job characteristics have implications for designing interventions.Contribution/value add: SOC functions differently when combined with demands, control and support. These different effects suggest that it is not merely the presence or absence of a job characteristic that is important for well-being outcomes but how people respond to its presence or absence.