The job demands-resources model and the international work context – a systematic review

Psychological impacts of the COVID-19 on health care providers

BACKGROUND

Psychological distress, functional impairment, reduced quality of life, and subjective well-being were the most common negative psychological effects during the COVID-19 outbreak. The present study was to investigate the impact of job stress, hospital resources, and fear of infection on job burnout of medical staff in Iran during the Covid-19 pandemic.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 223 hospital staff from several public and private hospitals in Tehran and Mazandaran provinces, selected through convenience sampling. The questionnaire included the validated "Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)", "job stress scale (Parker and DeCotiis, 1983)", and the questions about "hospital resources", and "fear of infection" developed by the researcher wereused to collect data. Data were analyzed by correlation and regression methods using SPSS software.

RESULTS

The results revealed that there was a significant difference in the scores on the burnout scale, in the dimension of emotional exhaustion, but the differences were not significant in the dimensions of depersonalization and self-accomplishment. Also, job stress and fear of infection significantly correlated with job burnout in the dimensions of emotional exhaustion and personal-accomplishment. However, the correlation between the adequacy of hospital resources and job burnout in these two dimensions was not significant. None of the three variables of the study showed a significant correlation with the dimension of depersonalization.

CONCLUSION

It is essential to consider the package of psychological interventions which, primarily includes finding the sources of stress to resolve them through stress management programs, based on education and training in stress coping and management strategies.

Digital Job Demands and Resources: Digitization in the Context of the Job Demands-Resources Model

This study comprehensively investigates the effects of digitization in the workplace, with a specific focus on white-collar employees, using the job demands-resources (JD-R) model as a theoretical framework. By examining the intricate interplay between digital job demands and digital job resources, the research offers valuable insights to help organizations navigate the complexities caused by technological advancements. Utilizing a qualitative triangulation approach, the research combines a systematic literature review with a thematic analysis of 15 interdisciplinary expert interviews. Thereby, the study establishes a robust theoretical foundation for exploring stress, motivation, and the organizational consequences arising from integrating technology in the workplace. The JD-R model is extended to incorporate digital job demands and resources, enabling a thorough examination of both the positive and negative aspects of digitization within organizations. Moreover, the study highlights the necessity for the consistent adaptation of the JD-R model across diverse job contexts in the ever-evolving digital landscape. It advocates for organizations to effectively leverage digital resources and proactively manage job demands, aiming to transform digitization into a valuable job asset while preventing the onset of overwhelming burdens. In conclusion, the research encourages organizations to embrace the vast potential of digitization while prioritizing digital health in the workplace.

Positive psychology in the working environment. Job demands-resources theory, work engagement and burnout: A systematic literature review

The purpose of the present systematic review is to examine the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model in order to pinpoint how applicable and relevant is the present theoretical framework in the 21st Century workplace environment. Initially, there will be an examination of the key concepts of the theory, followed by a brief investigation of the empirical validity and importance of the theory in the workplace environment. Then, there will be an empirical investigation of various studies of both cross-sectional and longitudinal nature in the form of a methodology, offering substantial empirical evidence that attests to the validity and effectiveness of the JD-R model in predicting work engagement and burnout-two independent and contrasting states of employee wellbeing, covering the entire spectrum from employee wellness to employee ill-health. We hope this review contributes to the advancement of the JD-R model, aiding researchers and practitioners to obtain a better understanding of the current state of the JD-R model, whilst also offering avenues for future development of the theory, ultimately resulting in a better prediction of employee wellbeing.

Psychosocial Safety Climate Moderates the Effect of Demands of Hospital Accreditation on Healthcare Professionals: A Longitudinal Study

Hospital accreditation has been studied comprehensively, yet few studies have observed its impacts on the burnout and work engagement levels of frontline healthcare professionals (HCPs). With a sample of 121 HCPs working in the United Arab Emirates' public hospitals, this study used a two-wave, cross-lagged panel design to examine the direct effects of job demands and job resources during hospital accreditations on burnout and work engagement and the moderating roles of psychosocial safety climate (PSC) on burnout and work engagement 3 months after accreditation. The data were analyzed using moderated structural equation modeling. As expected, we found that job demands (i.e., accreditation demands) had a direct effect on burnout, while job resources (i.e., social support) predicted work engagement. PSC moderated both relationships; however, it was not able to directly predict burnout or work engagement. Findings from this study show a positive relationship between accreditation demands and HCPs' health. Future research needs to examine the link between PSC and job demands-resources concepts before and after hospital accreditation more closely by using multiple time points to assess the causality relationships between predictor and outcome variables.

Expatriate's engagement and burnout: the role of purpose-oriented leadership and cultural intelligence

Purpose

This study analyzes the impact of purpose-oriented leadership and leader cultural intelligence on engagement and burnout among expatriates undertaking long-term corporate assignments, grounded on social psychology frameworks on interpersonal bias.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was conducted with corporate expatriates from 21 different nationalities, who work for large multinational companies and were on assignment in 23 distinct countries – including Brazil, China, Japan and the UK Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling was used to evaluate the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

Results indicate that leader cultural intelligence is associated with lower burnout and higher engagement among expatriates, and that purpose-oriented leadership is associated with higher expatriate engagement but not with lower burnout.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the field by highlighting specific leader attributes that can foster successful expatriation: cultural intelligence and purpose-oriented leadership. The study adds to knowledge on leader–follower relationships amid national and cultural diversity by pointing to actionable leader qualities that can foster expatriate engagement and prevent his/her burnout.

Psychological distress among Iranian health-care providers exposed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Novel corona virus, named COVID-19, has spread rapidly to other countries like Italy, Iran and South Korea and affected all people, especially health-care providers. Therefore, due to the rapid spread of the disease in Iran, the aim of the present study was to explore psychological distress experienced by Iranian health-care providers in the first few weeks of the corona virus outbreak.

METHODS

The present qualitative study was conducted on 18 Iranian health-care providers exposed to COVID - 19 using a content analysis method. Purposeful sampling was used to select the participants and continued until data saturation was reached. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and then the qualitative data were analyzed through direct content analysis.

RESULTS

By analyzing 236 primary codes, two main categories were extracted from the experiences of health-care providers during corona virus outbreak. The first category included Occupational demands with three sub-categories: nature of illness, Organizational demands and social demands. The second category was Supportive resources included personal support and social support.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study found that there were some barriers and challenges to medical personnel exposed to COVID-19 that caused psychological distress. Some of these problems related to the nature of illness, others related to social and organizational demands and some of supportive resources buffer the relationship between occupational demands and psychological distress.

Ill-being or well-being? Energising international business travellers

Purpose

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore well-being experiences of international business travellers (IBTs) and contribute to our understanding of personal and job characteristics as antecedents of ill- or well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors’ insights are based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with 32 IBTs assigned to various destinations ranging from single-country travel to global operation. Participants in this study represent a range of traveller personas (regarding demographics, type of work, travel patterns). Thematic analysis is used to reveal new insights.

Findings

The authors’ analysis revealed trip-load (i.e. workload, control, organisational support) and intensity of travel (i.e. frequency, duration and quality) as job characteristics that sit on an energy stimulation continuum, driving work-related outcomes such as stress and burnout or health and well-being. Energy draining and boosting processes are moderated by cognitive flexibility and behavioural characteristics.

Practical implications

Findings represent a framework for managing IBT well-being via adjustments in job and travel characteristics, plus guidance for training and development to help IBTs self-manage.

Originality/value

The insights within this paper contribute to the conversation around how to enhance well-being for IBTs and frequent flyers. The study intends to offer direction as to which specific job, psychological and behavioural characteristics to focus on, introducing a novel framework for understanding and avoiding serious consequences associated with international mobility such as increased stress, burnout and ill-health.

Expatriate management in hostile environments from a multi-stakeholder perspective – a systematic review

Purpose

The successful management of business expatriates and their families in hostile environments (HE) is a current concern for academics and human resources (HR) practitioners alike. Terrorism and other forms of violent crime have become salient topics on the public agenda, and international organizations are increasingly affected. Hence, scholarly interest in the HR implications for organizations sending staff to HEs has recently grown, and a nascent research area has emerged. This paper is the first systematic review synthesizing emerging literature in the field of expatriate management in HEs and its theoretical foundations, applying a multi-stakeholder perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

Following accepted review procedures, systematic searches were conducted across three major databases. Manual search in target journals provided additional scrutiny.

Findings

After analysing 28 articles, four main stakeholders were identified as follows: environments, expatriates, assigning organizations and the expatriates' social networks. Findings reveal the ways of how all stakeholders can affect expatiation success or be affected so that the success of the assignment is jeopardised.

Originality/value

Our paper illustrates how these diverse articles can be linked within a comprehensive multi-stakeholder framework and provides avenues for future research. We also shift attention to neglected theoretical perspectives that might further improve the understanding of expatriates in HEs while offering actionable guidance for managerial and organizational practices.

How host-country nationals manage the demands of hosting expatriates

Purpose

Using job demands-resources (JD-R) theory as a conceptual apparatus, the purpose of this paper is to report an empirical exploration of the experiences of host-country national (HCN) employees when their organization hosts an expatriate assignment.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 Vietnamese HCNs who had vast experience hosting multiple self-initiated expatriates with organizational development objectives.

Findings

The study reveals previously hidden costs associated with locals’ support for expatriates, including a range of extra-role demands and more complex and stressful interpersonal interactions. These demands exceeded the current intercultural capabilities of many respondents, and while offset to some extent by their positive pre-arrival attitudes and culture-specific knowledge, led to sometimes counterproductive coping responses such as withdrawal behaviors.

Research limitations/implications

The study extends the JD-R framework by explicating which demands and resources are pertinent to HCNs, and how these activate particular coping strategies. The cultural context of Vietnam, as both a setting for the workplace interactions and imbued in the values and assumptions of respondents, limits the study’s transferability.

Practical implications

The findings provide guideposts for organizations in ways to offset HCNs’ hindrance demands (e.g. matching demands to current capabilities) and to encourage the use of productive coping strategies via, for instance, anticipating and mitigating potential challenges.

Originality/value

The study’s insights go some way toward articulating more fully the richness and complexity of HCNs’ experiences, and a more rounded perspective of the costs and benefits inherent in international work assignments.

International academic mobility and innovation: a literature review

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a literature review in order to understand the relationship that exists between international academic mobility (IAM) and innovation and its impact on the countries of origin, country of destination and the countries of origin and destination simultaneously of academics.

Design/methodology/approach

After analysing 36 articles selected from 15 top journals by way of a systematic review of the literature, the authors located 20 variables, including five related to innovation with a positive, negative or null impact on the countries.

Findings

The five innovation proxies identified were: highly qualified human capital”, “attractive research and working conditions”, “patent filing”, “publications” and “research networks”, all related to Science, Technology and Innovation. The results highlight the evidence that the different dimensions of innovation have a differentiated impact on the countries of origin and destination and in both at the same time.

Practical implications

Knowing the types of innovation that IAM generates enables governments to invest in scientific, technological, economic and social development to choose the best measures for attracting and retaining academics. For the industry, technological catch-up and highly skilled labour means enhancing competitiveness and capacity building, growth in Research and Development (R&D), the creation of new products, patent filing, increased investments and the expansion of internationalisation.

Originality/value

This paper shows that the association between IAM and innovation is differentiated for the countries. Both countries involved in the association receive a positive impact in the publications and research networks. The main impact to countries of origin is the increase of highly qualified human capital. On the other hand, the benefits for the countries of destination concern patent filing, working conditions and an attractive research environment.

How do you fear? Examining expatriates’ perception of danger and its consequences

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the differing perceptions of fear of expatriates operating in terror-exposed Nairobi and the high-crime environment of Johannesburg and its impact on stress and well-being. It illustrates how expatriates cope with the challenges associated with these two regions.

Design/methodology/approach

Following an interpretative and inductive research approach, qualitative content analyses were conducted using evidence from in-depth interviews with 12 expatriates in senior management or officer positions within a large global organisation, with respondents based in South Africa and Kenya.

Findings

Data suggest that expatriates in the more terrorism-exposed context perceive fear less strongly than expatriates in environments categorised by high degrees of conventional crime. Fear seems to relate to physical well-being via restricted freedom of movement, but there is little evidence that fear affects mental well-being. The study finds that respondents in terror-exposed Nairobi tend to engage more in avoidance-oriented coping strategies, whereas their counterparts in the high-crime environment of Johannesburg predominantly rely on problem-focused coping.

Practical implications

The qualitative design allows practitioners to better understand expatriates’ perceptions of fear, its consequences for stress, and well-being and potential coping strategies expatriates employ. It discusses a set of practical recommendations focussing on the deployment of expatriates assigned to dangerous locations.

Originality/value

This study develops a distinction between terror and conventional crime and contributes with practical insights for assignments into dangerous work environments. The geographic lens of the study provides an in-depth look at expatriation challenges in an arguably neglected regional context.

Organizational practices for the expatriates’ adjustment: a systematic review

Purpose

The globalization of work has contributed to a great increment in cross-cultural interactions, contributing to a new impetus in the expatriates’ topic. The costs associated with the failed international missions are high, and the identification of effective adjustment strategies is of extreme importance, both for organizations and for individuals. The purpose of this paper is to identify the kind of practices that are developed by organizations and their impact on the adjustment of expatriates.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve the proposed objective, a systematic review of literature (from the late 1980s to the present day) will be carried out.

Findings

Based on five articles on the topic, the results show that there are few studies that assess the impact of the types of adjustment to organizational practices, with the cross-cultural training and language training being the most common. These practices have shown a positive effect on performance and adjustment of expatriates.

Originality/value

The authors feel the lack of studies that have adequate indicators to measure the integration and effectiveness of the adjustment of expatriates.

Burnout and Engagement as Mediators in the Relationship between Work Characteristics and Turnover Intentions across Two Ibero-American Nations

This study examines the mediating effects of burnout and engagement on the relationships between work characteristics (work overload and social support) and turnover intentions in the nursing community of two Ibero-American countries within the job demands-resources model. The sample consists of 316 registered nurses employed in Uruguay and 502 employed in Spain. We used multiple structural equation modelling analyses. The proposed model fit the data for both nursing samples. Burnout was found to fully mediate the relationship between work overload and turnover intention, whereas work engagement partially mediates the relationship between social support and turnover intention. The results contribute to our understanding of the potential applicability of two leading empirical models and of the dynamic relationship between work characteristics and turnover intentions through work engagement and burnout. Researchers should continue to focus on gaining a broader understanding of the effects of work characteristics in healthcare facilities and the associated organizational outcomes. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The professional lives of expatriate academics

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide clarity around the notion of the expatriate academic (EA), a construct that is increasingly essential to theories of expatriate management and higher education management. A review of the literature on academic mobility showed that terms such as “international academic” and “foreign faculty” provide highly variable definitions and results, while those papers that self-consciously used the term “EA” were more likely to provide consistency across definition and findings. This allowed for analysis of the characteristics of this unique group.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study appropriates a meta-narrative approach to literature review, analysing 23 papers about EAs to develop a more comprehensive conceptualisation of this term and to identify key-related themes.

Findings

– By reviewing 23 papers identifying with the term, a carefully constructed definition of the EA is provided, distinguishing EAs from other types of internationally mobile academic and demonstrating characteristics that EAs display in their professional lives. Recommendations are made to researchers, universities and EAs themselves for how these findings may affect the EA employment cycle. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Originality/value

– This is the first paper to aggregate the results of literature on EAs, putting forward a clear definition and description to aid future research and clarify the research stream.