Aspects of Identity Predict Engagement in Work Under Adverse Conditions

The relationship between psychological capital, patient's contempt, and professional identity among general practitioners during COVID-19 in Chongqing, China

General practitioners are crucial in the primary healthcare system as well as for epidemic prevention and control. However, few researchers have examined their professional identity. This study investigated the current status of the professional identity of general practitioners in Chongqing, China and explored the effects of psychological capital and patient's contempt on their professional identity. From December 2021 to January 2022, randomized cluster sampling was used to conduct a cross-sectional online self-assessment questionnaire survey among general practitioners in Chongqing. In total, 2,180 general practitioners working for more than one year were selected. General practitioners' sense of professional identity, mental health, and sense of patients' disrespect were measured using the Professional Identity Scale, Psychological Capital Questionnaire, and Patient's Contempt Questionnaire. Sociodemographic characteristics were also collected. A multiple linear regression model was used to analyze the association between professional identity, psychological capital, and patient's contempt. The average score for professional identity among general practitioners was 53.59 (SD = 6.42). The scores for self-efficacy, hope, resilience, and optimism (subscales of psychological capital) were 26.87 (SD = 5.70), 26.47 (SD = 5.74), 26.97 (SD = 5.55), and 26.86 (SD = 5.59), respectively. The score for perceived contempt was 34.19 (SD = 7.59). An average monthly income greater than CNY 8,000 (β = 1.018, p < 0.001), work tenure of more than 15 years (β = 0.440, p = 0.001), hope (β = 0.249, p < 0.001) and a higher optimism score (β = 0.333, p < 0.001) were positively correlated with professional identity. Having a bachelor's degree and above (β = -0.720, p = 0.014), an administrative role (β = -1.456, p < 0.001), self-efficacy (β = -0.122, p < 0.001), and higher patient's contempt (β = -0.103, p < 0.001) were negatively associated with professional identity. General practitioners in Chongqing demonstrated high professional identity and a strong psychological status during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological capital and patient's contempt were associated with professional identity. To improve general practitioners' professional identity, stakeholders should promote practitioners' mental health and physician-patient relationships in China.

Analysis on professional identity and related factors among Chinese general practitioners: a National Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND

Studies on professional identity and related factors among Chinese general practitioners (GPs) are unavailable. The objective of this study was to investigate the professional identity level of GPs in China and explore factors associated with GPs' perceptions of their professional identity.

METHODS

A multistage stratified random sampling method was used to collect data with a structured self-administered questionnaire from 3236 GPs working in community health service institutions (CHIs) in China between October, 2017 and February, 2018. Professional identity was measured by the 13 items scale. Descriptive statistics were calculated and groups' differences were estimated using nonparametric tests. Multiple linear stepwise regression analysis was used to analyze factors associated with professional identity among GPs.

RESULTS

Based on a total score of 65 on the professional identity scale, the average score for GPs' professional identity was 51.23 (SD = 6.56). Multiple linear stepwise regression analysis showed that GPs who practiced in Central China, with an administrative responsibility, at a moderate or higher income level, who frequently worked overtime, had more occupational development opportunities, with a higher level of job satisfaction and older GPs had higher levels of professional identity.

CONCLUSIONS

Professional identity level among GPs in China is high. Region, administrative responsibility, income level, working overtime, occupational development opportunities, age, and job satisfaction were significant predictors of professional identity.

Perceiving a Calling as a Predictor of Future Work Attitudes: The Moderating Role of Meaningful Work

The goal of the current study was to examine the interactive effect of perceiving a calling and meaningful work on employee attitudes. Specifically, we explored the multiplicative effect of perceiving a calling and meaningful work on work engagement, affective, and normative occupational commitment using a prospective design. Results indicated that meaningful work moderated the relation between perceiving a calling and affective occupational commitment. Specifically, the effects of perceiving a calling on affective occupational commitment were stronger for those who perceived less, but not more, meaning in their work. The interactive effect of perceiving a calling and meaningful work did not predict work engagement or normative occupational commitment. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

The Influence of Professional Identity, Job Satisfaction, and Work Engagement on Turnover Intention among Township Health Inspectors in China

Health inspectors are part of the public health workforce in China, and its shortage has been identified as an urgent priority that should be addressed. Turnover is one of the main contributors to the shortage problem. This research assessed the influence of professional identity, job satisfaction and work engagement on turnover intention of township health inspectors and explored the intermediary effect of job satisfaction and work engagement between professional identity and turnover intention among township health inspectors in China. Data were collected from 2426 township health inspectors in Sichuan Province, China. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the hypothesized relationship among the variables. Results showed that a total of 11.3% of participants had a high turnover intention and 34.0% of participants had a medium turnover intention. Job satisfaction had a direct negative effect on turnover intention (β = −0.38, p < 0.001), work engagement had a direct negative effect on turnover intention (β = −0.13, p < 0.001), and professional identity had an indirect negative effect on turnover intention through the mediating effect of job satisfaction and work engagement. Our results strongly confirmed that professional identity, job satisfaction and work engagement were strong predicators of turnover intention. According to the results, desirable work environment, quality facilities, fair compensation and adequate advancement opportunities should be emphasized to improve job satisfaction. The turnover intention of health inspectors could be reduced through improving professional identity, enhancing job satisfaction and work engagement.

From creative process engagement to performance: bidirectional support

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of creative process engagement on employees’ in-role performance, and does so by considering the support that employees received from and given to their supervisors.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data from 540 questionnaires collected in China, this paper conducts a hierarchical regression analysis to test the proposed model.

Findings

Creative process engagement positively affects employees’ in-role performance. However, the moderating effect of receiving support on the above relationship is not significant. Instead, it is the interaction of receiving support from and giving it to supervisors that moderates the relationship between creative process engagement and in-role performance.

Research limitations/implications

The study has some contributions to the conservation of resource (COR) theory. The authors find that acquiring new resources such as receiving support from supervisors is not always effective. The acquisition process of resources should be considered with the investment process of resources. According to the COR theory, people invest resources to gain resources and protect themselves from losing resources or to recover from resource loss (Halbesleben et al., 2014). The findings of the study show that employees investing resources is not just for gaining resources. Sometimes, they invest resources such as giving support to supervisors to remain a relatively balanced relationship.

Practical implications

Companies can encourage employees to place more attention on creative process engagement to improve in-role performance. In addition, when offering support to employees, managers should consider whether the employees are able to give it back in response to the received support, and distribute their support to employees accordingly.

Originality/value

This paper explored employee’s engagement at creative process in a more novel way and clarified the relative effect of creative process engagement on in-role performance. Also, this paper was the first to pay attention to the bidirectional nature of supervisor support.

Untangling the Predictive Nomological Validity of Employee Engagement

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive nomological validity of employee engagement using a set of three job attitudes commonly linked to employee engagement. Prior research concerned with the nomological network of employee engagement has predominantly considered bivariate relationships, thus missing the opportunity to fully understand the intricate and interrelated relationship between employee engagement and job attitudes. Scale- and subscale-level correlations were obtained from a previously published set of survey responses ( n = 1,580) to partition employee engagement variance components associated with every possible combination of the three job attitude predictor set (2 k − 1 = 7). Results suggested that across both overall measures, job satisfaction contributed the most unique variance to employee engagement, followed by job involvement and organizational commitment. Findings indicated that when applying employee engagement in both research and practice, care should be taken in scale selection across models—especially those involving like constructs. This study provides evidence of the importance for considering a construct’s nomological network within the broader management and human resource–related literature. This research not only advances the theoretical understanding and research of employee engagement but also assists practitioners in deploying precise, well-crafted measures of engagement in the field.

Self-Engagement, Stressors, and Health: A Longitudinal Study

The authors examined whether engagement in a performance domain could buffer or exacerbate the consequences of different stressors. Soldiers completed measures of engagement in work, work demands (days training, work hours, and subjective work overload), and symptoms at two time periods. Engagement in work interacted with days training and work hours at Time 1 to predict health symptoms at Time 2 (after controlling Time 1 outcomes). Soldiers highly engaged in their jobs were less likely to report negative consequences under high levels of training/work hours in comparison to soldiers disengaged from their jobs. However, engagement in work interacted with work overload in the opposite manner, with high levels of engagement potentiating the relationship between overload and reports of health symptoms. Engagement in a domain appears to buffer individuals from stressors that do not undermine performance but may exacerbate the impact of stressors that compromise performing well in the domain.

Obsessive Passion as an Explanation for Burnout: An Alternative Theoretical Perspective Applied to Humanitarian Work

Burnout is an occupationally based syndrome that develops as a result of prolonged and cumulative stress. The experience of burnout has been documented in detail in a variety of human service professions. The purpose of this article is two-fold: to provide an alternative theoretical perspective on the development of burnout, which suggests it is not stressors per se that are responsible for burnout development; and, to use this alternative perspective as an explanation for burnout in the context of another human service profession — humanitarian work. Using the passion for activities notion conceptualised by Vallerand and colleagues (2003), it is explained how a lack of self-determination and autonomy leads to the development of an obsessive passion for an activity. Obsessive passion is linked to a variety of adverse cognitive and affective outcomes. This is then applied to the domain of humanitarian work, and it is suggested individuals with an obsessive passion are more likely to suffer adverse outcomes and consequently develop burnout when working in humanitarian crises. Some suggestions for future theoretical and empirical investigations regarding the relationship between obsessive passion and burnout are provided.

A Comparison of Three Job Engagement Measures: Examining their Factorial and Criterion-Related Validity

BACKGROUND

Engagement is an emerging job attitude that purports to measure employees' psychological presence at and involvement in their work. This research compares three academic approaches to engagement, and makes recommendations regarding the most appropriate conceptualisation and measurement of the construct in future research. The current research also investigates whether any of these three approaches to engagement contribute unique variance to the prediction of turnover intentions above and beyond the predictive capacity of alternative constructs.

METHODS

An online survey was taken by 382 employees and managers from a mid-sized financial institution.

RESULTS

Results failed to support either a multi- or unidimensional factor structure for the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) engagement measure. For the Shirom-Melamed Vigor Measure (SMVM), a multi-dimensional structure was identified as a good fit, while a unidimensional structure fit poorly. The uni-factorial structure of Britt's engagement measure was confirmed. The Schaufeli measure of engagement was a strong predictor of work outcomes; however, when controlling for job satisfaction and affective commitment, that measure lost its ability to predict intentions to leave. Two components of the Shirom vigor measure held their predictive validity.

CONCLUSIONS

Collectively, these findings suggest that the Shirom vigor measure may provide better insight into whether and how much a person is 'into' his or her job. The Schaufeli measure was a good predictor of important work outcomes, but when job satisfaction and affective commitment were controlled, it lost its predictive validity. We were not able to confirm the three-factor structure of the Schaufeli measure. Two components of the Shirom vigor measure predicted turnover intentions after controlling for job satisfaction and affective commitment, suggesting less overlap with those constructs than the Schaufeli measure of engagement. This research adds important information on the nature of engagement and is expected to contribute toward a better understanding of the construct itself, as well as its measurement.

Beyond Engagement:Toward a Framework and Operational Definition for Employee Work Passion

The purpose of this article is to respond to the lack of consistency in the academic and practitioner literature regarding the construct of employee engagement and to offer a platform for the research and use of a refined construct called employee work passion. This article analyzes the differences between the concepts of engagement of the two groups of writers and proposes a new definition and framework based on social cognitive theory. Three recommendations are made for human resource development researchers and practitioners who seek to improve both the data and the strategies used in constructing engagement or work passion surveys. Engagement or passion surveys should (a) specifically and convincingly assess the affective components of the appraisal process, (b) differentiate descriptive cognitions and intentions, and (c) separate and corroborate intentions from behaviors.

Self-engagement as a predictor of performance and emotional reactions to performance outcomes

Three studies examined the relationship between engagement in different types of tasks, performance on those tasks, and reactions to performance outcomes. The three studies included voting in the 2004 presidential election, test performance in an undergraduate course, and completion of personal projects during the course of the semester. Engagement in voting predicted voting in the presidential election and magnified positive feelings of voting for the winning candidate. Test engagement predicted performance on the test, and magnified positive feelings of not showing a discrepancy between expected and actual test performance. Engagement in personal projects interacted with task complexity to predict project completion, with engagement being related to goal completion for tasks high in complexity. Project engagement also magnified the positive effects of a high probability of completing the project. The results provide support for task engagement as a predictor of performance and as a facilitator of positive feelings following success.