Locus of control as moderator: an explanation for additive versus interactive findings in the demand-discretion model of work stress?

Role-related stress and perceptions of the keyworker role among professionals supporting adults with intellectual disabilities

Purpose

Individuals with intellectual disabilities who are users of day and residential services will often be assigned at least one “keyworker”, a staff member who is expressly responsive to their needs and responsible for co-ordinating services with them. Keyworkers are often given their role because it is a norm in their organisation. However, given the emotionally intensive workload involved in co-ordinating care for a single individual, little attention is given to the potential stress burden of being a keyworker. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional survey study was conducted of professionals’ perceptions of the keyworker role and of levels of workplace well-being. The authors first examine differences between keyworkers and their colleagues along measures of role perception and well-being. The authors then present a new measure of keyworkers’ duties and boundaries (Key-DAB) capturing perceptions of the keyworker role by keyworkers and other staff. The measure was administered to a sample of staff (n=69) from an Irish provider of services for adults with intellectual disabilities. Alongside the new scale, the authors administered established measures of workplace well-being and locus of control (LoC) to examine construct validity and assess if perception of keyworking could be related to stress.

Findings

Some differences were detected between keyworkers and non-keyworkers: keyworkers had more internally oriented LoC and experienced lower work pressure than non-keyworking colleagues. The Key-DAB measure possessed favourable psychometric properties, including high internal reliability. External validity was also shown as keyworkers’ scale scores were related to LoC and to role demands. Results suggested: that keyworkers who are clear about what is expected of the keyworker are more satisfied with their role and perceive keyworking as beneficial to them; that role ambiguity and role conflict can undo these potential benefits and render the keyworker’s role a potentially hazardous one.

Originality/value

The authors recommend that employers provide clear guidelines and explicit training to keyworkers and suggest that the measures may be effective tools for ongoing assessment of keyworkers’ role clarity.

Time perspective, control, and affect mediate the relation between regulatory mode and procrastination

This study examines the roles of time perspective, affect, and locus of control in mediating the relationship between regulatory mode and procrastination. Participants filled out the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule Scale, Multidimensional Locus of Control Inventory, Locomotion and Assessment Scale, and Lay's General Procrastination scale. Results showed that procrastination was negatively related to locomotion orientation but positively associated with assessment orientation. The relations between regulatory mode and procrastination were mediated by negative affective state, internal sense of control, and negative past and future time perspectives. These findings suggest not only a behavioral link between regulatory mode and procrastination but also affective and cognitive differences in locomotion and assessment orientations that may account for such linkage. The present results also provide empirical support for the theory of locomotion-temporality interface (Kruglanski, Pierro, & Higgins, 2016).

Healthcare managers' leadership profiles in relation to perceptions of work stressors and stress

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between leadership profiles and differences in managers' own levels of work stress symptoms and perceptions of work stressors causing stress. Design/methodology/approach Cross-sectional data were used. Healthcare managers ( n = 188) rated three dimensions of their leadership behavior and levels of work stressors and stress. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed to identify leadership profiles based on leadership behaviors. Differences in stress-related outcomes between profiles were assessed using one-way analysis of variance. Findings Four distinct clusters of leadership profiles were found. They discriminated in perception of work stressors and stress: the profile distinguished by the lowest mean in all behavior dimensions, exhibited a pattern with significantly more negative ratings compared to the other profiles. Practical implications This paper proposes that leadership profile is an individual factor involved in the stress process, including work stressors and stress, which may inform targeted health promoting interventions for healthcare managers. Originality/value This is the first study to investigate the relationship between leadership profiles and work stressors and stress in healthcare managers.

Occupational coping self-efficacy explains distress and well-being in nurses beyond psychosocial job characteristics

AIM

The main purpose of the present study was to extend the Job Demand Control Support (JDCS) model analyzing the direct and interactive role of occupational coping self-efficacy (OCSE) beliefs.

BACKGROUND

OCSE refers to an individual's beliefs about their ability to cope with occupational stressors. The interplay between occupational stressors, job resources, and self-efficacy beliefs is poorly investigated. The present research attempts to address this gap.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey.

METHOD

Questionnaire data from 1479 nurses (65% response) were analyzed. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test the direct and moderating role of OCSE in conjunction with job demands (i.e., time pressure), and two job resources: job control (i.e., decision latitude and skill discretion) and social support (i.e., supervisor support and coworker support) in predicting psychological distress and well-being.

RESULTS

Our findings indicated that high demands, low job control, and low social support additively predicted the distress/well-being outcomes (job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, psychological distress, and somatic complaints). Beyond the main effects, no significant interactive effects of demands, control, and support were found. OCSE accounted for an additional 1-4% of the variance in the outcomes, after controlling for the JDCS variables. In addition, the results indicate that OCSE buffers the association between low job control and the distress dimensions emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and psychological distress. Low control was detrimental only for nurses with low OCSE.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest expanding the JDCS model incorporating individual characteristics such as OCSE beliefs, for predicting psychological distress and well-being. Limitations of the study and practical implications are discussed.

Prevalence of low back pain among nurses: predisposing factors and role of work place violence

Background:

Ergonomic factors predispose nurses to low back pain (LBP). Few studies have clarified the role of workplace violence in LBP occurrence.

Objectives:

The present study was designed to investigate acute and chronic LBP in Iranian nurses and its association with exposure to physical violence as well as its personal and ergonomic risk factors.

Materials and Methods:

In this analytic cross sectional study, the rate of acute and chronic LBP and contributing factors were investigated among 1246 nurses using a validated questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed by chi square, student t-test, and logistic regression, to determine the association between independent variables and LBP.

Results:

In total, 1246 nurses, consisting of 576 (46.23%) males and 670 (53.77%) females, were included. The mean age and the mean years of employment were 31.23 ± 5.33 and 16.18 ± 7.05, respectively. Both acute low back pain (ALBP) and chronic low back pain (CLBP) were associated with physical violence experience. Moreover, acute and chronic LBP were predicted by positive past history of LBP as well as two ergonomic factors, frequent bending and frequent carrying of patients.

Conclusions:

Besides a history of low back pain and ergonomic factors, physical violence may be considered a contributing factor for acute low back injuries. Special attention to all personal, occupational, and psychological risk factors is recommended.

Psychosocial safety climate moderates the job demand-resource interaction in predicting workgroup distress

Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) arises from workplace policies, practices, and procedures for the protection of worker psychological health and safety that are largely driven by management. Many work stress theories are based on the fundamental interaction hypothesis - that a high level of job demands (D) will lead to psychological distress and that this relationship will be offset when there are high job resources (R). However we proposed that this interaction really depends on the organizational context; in particular high levels of psychosocial safety climate will enable the safe utilization of resources to reduce demands. The study sample consisted of police constables from 23 police units (stations) with longitudinal survey responses at two time points separated by 14 months (Time 1, N=319, Time 2, N=139). We used hierarchical linear modeling to assess the effect of the proposed three-way interaction term (PSC×D×R) on change in workgroup distress variance over time. Specifically we confirmed the interaction between emotional demands and emotional resources (assessed at the individual level), in the context of unit psychosocial safety climate (aggregated individual data). As predicted, high emotional resources moderated the positive relationship between emotional demands and change in workgroup distress but only when there were high levels of unit psychosocial safety climate. Results were confirmed using a split-sample analysis. Results support psychosocial safety climate as a property of the organization and a target for higher order controls for reducing work stress. The 'right' climate enables resources to do their job.

Effects of acceptance-based coping on task performance and subjective stress

This paper examines the interactive effects of acceptance-based coping and job control on task performance, subjective stress, and perceived control. Forty-eight undergraduate and graduate students first participated in brief educational programs based on either acceptance or control coping strategies. They then participated in a 30-min high workload task under either high or low job control conditions. The results demonstrated a significant interactive effect of acceptance-based coping and job control on perceived control and task performance. No such effect was found for subjective stress. We conclude that to improve employees' perceived control and job performance, there should be an increase not only in job control through work redesign, but also in psychological acceptance.

Lagged effects of active coping within the demand-control model: a three-wave panel study among Japanese employees

BACKGROUND

There have been few empirical studies to explain the individual differences in and the underlying mechanism behind the Job Demand-Control (DC) Model.

PURPOSE

This study examined the lagged effects of active coping on stress responses (i.e., psychological distress and physical complaints) in the context of the DC Model using three-wave panel survey data with intervals of one month.

METHOD

Participants were 193 employees working in a construction machinery company in Japan. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine whether or not the effectiveness of active coping would be facilitated by job control as a coping resource.

RESULTS

The advantage of job control in combination with active coping became obvious after one month, which implies that job control has a delayed effect on coping effectiveness. However, the advantage disappeared after two months. These results suggest that the advantage of job control for active coping is limited in time.

CONCLUSION

Conceptualization of job control as a coping resource seems to be useful in explaining how the DC Model influences employees' health, where time plays an important role.

Social determinants of mental health: the missing dimensions of mental health nursing?

In this paper we explore how aspects of the social world may be linked to mental health and psychiatric morbidity and propose that conditions should be created which allow individuals and communities greater opportunities for self-care and self-management. Specifically the focus is on social connections, disability and homelessness and work stress. There is a clear policy direction pursued by many national governments and international organizations such as the World Bank to build healthy communities. The environment as it relates to health and well-being can be thought of in terms of physical and social dimensions. We will argue that self-care and self-management at both the individual and the community level, in partnership with economic and health policies, are necessary to effectively address social determinants. It will also be suggested that although many in the profession will make the usual refrain that this has little relevance to mental health nurses, the opposite may be the case as mental health nurses have an important, albeit ill-defined, role to play in tackling social determinants.

Does Distraction Facilitate Problem-focused Coping with Job Stress? A 1 year Longitudinal Study

This study examined the sole and combined effects of problem-focused coping and distraction on employee well-being (i.e., stress responses and job performance) using two-wave panel survey data with a 1-year time lag. Participants were 488 male employees, who worked for a construction machinery company in western Japan. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine whether distraction moderates the relationship of problem-focused coping with well-being. More use of problem-focused coping was negatively related to subsequent stress responses among those high in distraction. The combination of high problem-focused coping and high distraction was positively related to subsequent job performance, although it was limited only to the high job stress situation. Results suggest that the combination of high problem-focused coping and high distraction may lead to lower stress responses and better performance (but only in high job stress situations for performance) than the combination of high problem-focused coping and low distraction, at least for male blue-collar workers.

Political skill: an antidote in the role overload-strain relationship

Political skill is characterized by social perceptiveness and the ability to adjust one's behavior to different and changing situational needs to influence others. The authors argue that politically skilled individuals enjoy a sense of personal security that allows them to perceive interpersonal control over the process and outcomes of interpersonal interactions within organizations. The authors examine the buffering effects of political skill on the perceived role overload-strain relationship, with strain operationalized as job tension, job (dis)satisfaction, and general anxiety. Results support the hypothesized moderating effects of political skill such that greater political skill reduces the negative effects of role overload on all types of strain. The contributions and limitations of the study are discussed, as are directions for future research.

Time Management Behavior as a Moderator for the Job Demand-Control Interaction

The interaction effects of time management, work demands, and autonomy on burnout were investigated in a survey study of 123 elementary teachers. A 3-way interaction between time management, work demands, and autonomy was hypothesized: The combination of high work demands and low autonomy was predicted to lead to burnout for teachers low in time management and not, or to a lesser extent, for those high in time management. This hypothesis is confirmed for emotional exhaustion, the most predictive dimension of teacher burnout, and partly confirmed for the personal accomplishment dimension. Generalizability to other contactual occupations is discussed.

Work factors as predictors of intense or disabling low back pain; a prospective study of nurses' aides

AIMS

To identify the work factors that predict intense low back pain (LBP) and LBP related sick leaves in nurses' aides.

METHODS

The sample comprised 4266 randomly selected Norwegian nurses' aides, not bothered or only a little bothered by LBP during the previous three months, and not on sick leave when completing a mailed questionnaire in 1999. Of these, 3808 (89.3%) completed a second questionnaire 3 months later and 3651 (85.6%) completed a third questionnaire 15 months later. Intensity of low back symptoms and certified sick leaves attributed to LBP during the observation period were assessed by self reports at the follow ups.

RESULTS

After adjustments for LBP during the three months prior to baseline, baseline health complaints, demographic and familial factors, and a series of physical, psychological, and social work factors, logistic regression analyses revealed the following associations: intense low back symptoms were predicted by frequent positioning of patients in bed, perceived lack of support from immediate superior, and perceived lack of pleasant and relaxing culture in the work unit. LBP related sick leaves were predicted by frequent handling of heavy objects, medium level of work demands, perceived lack of supportive and encouraging culture in the work unit, working night shifts, and working in a nursing home. Long term LBP related sick leaves were associated with changes of work or work tasks during the observation period that resulted in a perceived reduction of support and encouragement at work.

CONCLUSIONS

Not only frequent mechanical exposures, but also organisational, psychological, and social work factors, such as night shift work, perceived lack of support from superior, and perceived lack of a pleasant and relaxing or supporting and encouraging culture in the work unit, are associated with an increased risk of intense low back symptoms and LBP related sick leaves in nurses' aides.

"The very best of the millennium": longitudinal research and the demand-control-(support) model

This study addressed the methodological quality of longitudinal research examining R. Karasek and T. Theorell's (1990) demand-control-(support) model and reviewed the results of the best of this research. Five criteria for evaluating methodological quality were used: type of design, length of time lags, quality of measures, method of analysis, and nonresponse analysis. These criteria were applied to 45 longitudinal studies, of which 19 (42%) obtained acceptable scores on all criteria. These high-quality studies provided only modest support for the hypothesis that especially the combination of high demands and low control results in high job strain. However, good evidence was found for lagged causal effects of work characteristics, especially for self-reported health or well-being outcomes.

The role of acceptance and job control in mental health, job satisfaction, and work performance

Acceptance, the willingness to experience thoughts, feelings, and physiological sensations without having to control them or let them determine one's actions, is a major individual determinant of mental health and behavioral effectiveness in a more recent theory of psychopathology. This 2-wave panel study examined the ability of acceptance also to explain mental health, job satisfaction, and performance in the work domain. The authors hypothesized that acceptance would predict these 3 outcomes 1 year later in a sample of customer service center workers in the United Kingdom (N = 412). Results indicated that acceptance predicted mental health and an objective measure of performance over and above job control, negative affectivity, and locus of control. These beneficial effects of having more job control were enhanced when people had higher levels of acceptance. The authors discuss the theoretical and practical relevance of this individual characteristic to occupational health and performance.

Work factors as predictors of sickness absence: a three month prospective study of nurses' aides

AIMS

To identify the work factors that predict sickness absence in nurses' aides.

METHODS

The sample comprised 5563 Norwegian nurses' aides, not on leave because of illness or pregnancy when they completed a mailed questionnaire in 1999. Of these, 4931 (88.6%) completed a second questionnaire three months later. The outcome measure was the three month incidence proportion of certified sickness absence (>3 days), as assessed by self reports at follow up.

RESULTS

Perceived lack of encouraging and supportive culture in the work unit (odds ratio (OR) 1.73; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.28 to 2.34), working in psychiatric and paediatric wards, having injured the neck in an accident, and health complaints were associated with higher risk of sickness absence, after adjustments for a series of physical, psychological, and organisational work factors, personal engagement in the work unit, demographic characteristics, and daily consumption of cigarettes. Having untraditional jobs (for nurses' aides) (OR 0.53; 95% CI 0.36 to 0.77), and engaging in aerobics or gym were associated with a lower risk of sickness absence.

CONCLUSIONS

The study suggests that the three month effects of work factors on rates of certified sickness absence are modest in nurses' aides. The most important work factor, in terms of predicting sickness absence, seems to be perceived lack of encouraging and supportive culture in the work unit.

Physical leisure-time activities and long-term sick leave: a 15-month prospective study of nurses' aides

The objective of the study was to determine the relationship between physical leisure-time activities and the occurrence of long-term sick leaves in nurses' aides. Of 5563 Norwegian nurses' aides who were not on sick leave when they completed a questionnaire in 1999, 4744 (85.3%) completed a second questionnaire 15 months later. Brisk walks (odds ratio [OR], 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.63 to 0.98), aerobics or gymnastics (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.49 to 1.02), and other physical leisure activities (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.66 to 1.00) for 20 minutes or more at least once a week predicted fewer long-term sick leaves (> 14 days), after adjustments for baseline health complaints, demographic and familial characteristics, former and current smoking, and work factors. In conclusion, regular physical leisure-time activity may be associated with a reduced risk of long-term sickness absence in nurses' aides.

Locus of control and perceptions of environmental risk factor: Inhabitants of slums facing domestic garbage

The status that the locus of control plays as a moderator variable in relation to exposure to environmental stressors, has been widely discussed in the recent scientific literature. Nevertheless, little research has been done in developing countries to establish the predictive qualities of this variable regarding the proactive attitudes or avoidance behaviours that certain populations could adopt in relation to the management of specific stress factors. In the research reported here we have tried to identify some variables which distinguish the propensity to identify the presence of domestic garbage as a nuisance or as a health risk factor, among inhabitants of certain ghettos in the Dominican Republic. The methodological considerations relating to the construction, validation and use of questionnaires among potentially illiterate populations are discussed.

Role of control and support in occupational stress: an integrated model

Drawing from the Demand-Control Model and the conceptual framework of the stress process developed by researchers at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, this paper presents and tests an "integrated model" of occupational stress. The results indicate that control and social support are strongly correlated with negative job feelings. The effect of control on health was found to depend on the type of control and organizational level at which control is exercised. Specifically, the effect of participation on health outcomes was found to differ at the job and organizational levels, and participation without influence was associated with increased negative job feelings. The effect of social support was found to depend on the type of support and from whom the support was provided. Results also indicate that it is important to test for moderating, mediating, and direct effects of control on health, and underscore the complementary nature of qualitative and quantitative data in furthering knowledge and understanding.

Antecedents of state goals in age-group swimmers: an interactionist perspective

A theoretical tenet of 'goal perspective' theory that has received little research attention has been the nature of the relationship between the person and the environment with respect to predicting task and ego involvement in sport. This study therefore integrated both dispositional and situational criteria in order to examine their relative ability to predict 'state' goals of task and ego involvement in a sample of age-group swimmers (n = 214). The Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) and several single-item assessments of goal orientation represented the dispositional measures, and these were completed away from the race environment. The situational antecedents of task and ego involvement were assessed by the 11-item Race Context Questionnaire (RCQ), which was administered to the swimmers within 1 h of their main event at their county championships. The RCQ also assessed the extent to which the performer had set task and ego goals for the upcoming race (i.e. 'state' goals). Factor analysis of the RCQ revealed four factors which cumulatively accounted for 65.3% of the variance: social/personal perceptions of ability; perceived state goal preference of significant others; race outcome value; and perceived readiness. Moderated hierarchical regression analyses revealed separate main effects as well as significant interactions between the dispositional and situational predictors of the different goal types. Specifically, social perceptions and race-specific criteria were the major predictors of ego involvement, whereas the level of task orientation combined with the above situational factors seemed to exert greater influence in determining the intensity of task involvement in age-group swimmers. These findings alert researchers to the importance of applying an interactionist perspective to the examination of 'state' goals.

The impact of unemployment on the psychological well-being of British Asians

This paper presents the results of a study of unemployment among British Asians living in the north of England. The sample comprises 139 employed and unemployed men. Using standardized psychological questionnaires with a semi-structured interview schedule, the psychological consequences of unemployment are examined in relation to other psychosocial variables. The results showed that the unemployed group had lower levels of psychological well-being, self-esteem, and employment commitment with high external beliefs, than the employed group. Length of unemployment was a significant determinant of psychological well-being and respondents with a longer period of unemployment had a lower level of psychological well-being than those who had been unemployed for a shorter period. The findings are examined in the context of existing empirical evidence, and the need to examine the psychological impact of unemployment among other British Asian groups is emphasized.