Does Affective Organizational Commitment and Experience of Meaning at Work Predict Long-Term Sickness Absence? An Analysis of Register-Based Outcomes Using Pooled Data on 61,302 Observations in Four Occupational Groups

Burnout and Its Consequences among Vascular Surgeons and Trainees: A Danish National Survey

BACKGROUND

Burnout among physicians has widespread negative consequences. Little is known about burnout among European vascular surgeons (VS). A previously published study found that 82% of VS and vascular surgical trainees (VST) in Denmark experience burnout symptoms. The present study aimed to investigate work- and health-related consequences of burnout.

STUDY DESIGN

An electronic survey was distributed to all VS/VST in Denmark in January 2020. Validated assessment tools were used to measure burnout, mental health, and psychosocial work environment aspects.

RESULTS

Of 104 invited VS/VST, 82% (n = 85) completed the survey. VS accounted for 72% (n = 61) of the respondents, and 40% (n = 33) were female. Statistically significant associations were found between higher levels of burnout and a range of work- and health-related outcomes, including a sense of meaning at work, workplace commitment, conflicts between work and private life, work stress, sick leave, and depressive symptoms. VS/VST using pain medication daily or weekly had significantly higher burnout scores than respondents who rarely or never use pain medication. A significant association between burnout and job satisfaction and retention was found, with respondents indicating an intention to stay within the specialty having significantly lower burnout scores than those who considered leaving within 5 years. Among those who indicated leaving the specialty, 35% (n = 13) attributed this to their current working conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

Burnout among VS/VST in Denmark is negatively associated with various work- and health-related outcomes. The work environment seems to play an essential role in these associations, and alterations in workplace organization may remedy this situation.

Part-time work and sickness absence - an organization-level analysis

BACKGROUND

Absenteeism is consistently higher in public than in private organizations, as is the use of part-time employment. The aim of this study is to identify whether there is a relationship between part-time work and sickness absence at the organizational level.

METHODS

The data is a six-year panel for the full population of Norwegian municipalities (N = 422), linking objective register data on both part-time employment and sickness absence. Using OLS regression with fixed effects for municipality and time, we estimate the statistical effects of the municipalities' use of part-time work on sickness absence.

RESULTS

The bivariate correlation between percentage position at the municipal level and percentage sickness absence is positive and significant (Pearson's r = .25, sig LE 0.01). When controlling for fixed effects for municipality and time, as well as municipality economy, municipality size, ratio of female employees in the municipality and characteristics of the general population, the multivariate regression coefficient is still positive but insignificant (coefficient = 1.56, robust standard error = 1.31).

CONCLUSIONS

The main findings are that the organizations' use of part-time work is unrelated to sickness absence indicating that organizations with extensive use of part-time work do not experience higher levels of absenteeism than those having less extensive use of part-time employees.

Pain Control Beliefs Predict Premature Withdrawal From the Labor Market in Workers With Persistent Pain: Prospective Cohort Study With 11-Year Register Follow-up

While a range of work-related psychosocial factors has been associated with various pain disorders and early retirement, less is known about pain cognitions and their influence on premature exit from the labor market. Therefore, as a primary objective, this study investigates associations between pain control beliefs and risk of disability pension among Danish eldercare workers. In 2005, 2257 female eldercare workers with low-back and/or neck/shoulder pain>90 days within the previous 12 months, replied to a survey and were followed for 11 years in a national register of social transfer payments. Using Cox regression, we estimated the risk of disability pension during follow-up from experiencing different levels of "pain control" and "pain influence," controlling for pain intensity and other relevant confounders. In the fully adjusted model for pain control with "high" as reference, hazard ratios of 1.30 (95% CI 1.03-1.64) and 2.09 (95% CI 1.45-3.01) are observed for "moderate" and "low," respectively, while the metric of pain influence shows hazard ratios of 1.43 (95% CI 1.11-1.87) and 2.10 (1.53-2.89), respectively. Pain control beliefs are associated with disability pension among eldercare workers with persistent pain. These results highlight the importance of evaluating not only bodily manifestations of pain, but also individual pain-related cognitions that may influence the experience of pain. PERSPECTIVE: This article addresses the complex experience of pain within an organizational context. We introduce the metrics of "pain control" and "pain influence" among workers with persistent pain, showing that the psychometric properties of these measures are prospectively associated with premature exit from the labor market.

The Predictive Validity of the Danish Psychosocial Work Environment Questionnaire With Regard to Onset of Depressive Disorders and Long-Term Sickness Absence

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the predictive validity of 32 measures of the Danish Psychosocial Work Environment Questionnaire (DPQ) against two criteria variables: onset of depressive disorders and long-term sickness absence (LTSA).

METHODS

The DPQ was sent to 8958 employed individuals in 14 job groups of which 4340 responded (response rate: 48.4%). Depressive disorders were measured by self-report with a 6-month follow-up. LTSA was measured with a 1-year follow-up in a national register. We analyzed onset of depressive disorders at follow-up using logistic regression models, adjusted for age, sex, and job group, while excluding respondents with depressive disorders at baseline. We analyzed onset of LTSA with Cox regression models, adjusted for age, sex, and job group, while excluding respondents with previous LTSA.

RESULTS

The general pattern of the results followed our hypotheses as high job demands, poorly organized working conditions, poor relations to colleagues and superiors, and negative reactions to the work situation predicted onset of depressive disorders at follow-up and onset of LTSA during follow-up. Analyzing onset of depressive disorders and onset of LTSA, we found risk estimates that deviated from unity in most of the investigated associations. Overall, we found higher risk estimates when analyzing onset of depressive disorders compared with onset of LTSA.

CONCLUSIONS

The analyses provide support for the predictive validity of most DPQ-measures. Results suggest that the DPQ constitutes a useful tool for identifying risk factors for depression and LTSA in the psychosocial work environment.

Is organizational justice climate at the workplace associated with individual-level quality of care and organizational affective commitment? A multi-level, cross-sectional study on dentistry in Sweden

Purpose

The aim of this study is to investigate whether organizational justice climate at the workplace level is associated with individual staff members’ perceptions of care quality and affective commitment to the workplace.

Methods

The study adopts a cross-sectional multi-level design. Data were collected using an electronic survey and a response rate of 75% was obtained. Organizational justice climate and affective commitment to the workplace were measured by items from Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire and quality of care by three self-developed items. Non-managerial staff working at dental clinics with at least five respondents (n = 900 from 68 units) was included in analyses. A set of Level-2 random intercept models were built to predict individual-level organizational affective commitment and perceived quality of care from unit-level organizational justice climate, controlling for potential confounding by group size, gender, age, and occupation.

Results

The results of the empty model showed substantial between-unit variation for both affective commitment (ICC-1 = 0.17) and quality of care (ICC-1 = 0.12). The overall results showed that the shared perception of organizational justice climate at the clinical unit level was significantly associated with perceived quality of care and affective commitment to the organization (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Organizational justice climate at work unit level explained all variation in affective commitment among dental clinics and was associated with both the individual staff members’ affective commitment and perceived quality of care. These findings suggest a potential for that addressing organizational justice climate may be a way to promote quality of care and enhancing affective commitment. However, longitudinal studies are needed to support causality in the examined relationships. Intervention research is also recommended to probe the effectiveness of actions increasing unit-level organizational justice climate and test their impact on quality of care and affective commitment.

The Positive Effect of Resilience on Stress and Business Outcomes in Difficult Work Environments

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether resilience has a protective effect in difficult work environments.

METHODS

A survey of 2063 individuals measured individual resilience, stress, burnout, sleep problems, likelihood of depression, job satisfaction, intent to quit, absences, and productivity. It also measured work characteristics: job demands, job influence, and social support. Multivariate and logistic regression models examined the main effects and interactions of resilience and job characteristics.

RESULTS

High strain work environments (high demand, low influence, and low support) have an unfavorable effect on all outcomes. Resilience has a protective effect on all outcomes. For stress, burnout, and sleep, higher resilience has a more protective effect under low-strain conditions. For depression, absence and productivity, resilience has a more protective effect when job strain is high.

CONCLUSIONS

Workers with high resilience have better outcomes in difficult work environments.

Does Group-Level Commitment Predict Employee Well-Being?: A Prospective Analysis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the links between group-level affective organizational commitment (AOC) and individual-level psychological well-being, self-reported sickness absence, and sleep disturbances.

METHODS

A total of 5085 care workers from 301 workgroups in the Danish eldercare services participated in both waves of the study (T1 [2005] and T2 [2006]). The three outcomes were analyzed using linear multilevel regression analysis, multilevel Poisson regression analysis, and multilevel logistic regression analysis, respectively.

RESULTS

Group-level AOC (T1) significantly predicted individual-level psychological well-being, self-reported sickness absence, and sleep disturbances (T2). The association between group-level AOC (T1) and psychological well-being (T2) was fully mediated by individual-level AOC (T1), and the associations between group-level AOC (T1) and self-reported sickness absence and sleep disturbances (T2) were partially mediated by individual-level AOC (T1).

CONCLUSIONS

Group-level AOC is an important predictor of employee well-being in contemporary health care organizations.