Relationship between bases of power and job stresses: role of mentoring

Mentoring as an Investment: A Quantitative Review of Mentoring and Well-Being for the Protégé

Although mentoring often confers valuable benefits to the protégé, mentoring may also entail costs (e.g., time, effort, ego threat), resulting in added stressors and strain. Drawing on the job demands-resources model, the present quantitative review examines how mentoring influences protégé stressors and strains. We reviewed 90 published and unpublished studies with at least one mentoring variable and one stressor or strain measure to identify commonly studied relationships to analyze (e.g., mentoring functions received and role conflict). Due largely to heterogeneity in the operationalization of mentoring, only 18 samples representing six effects could be aggregated. Results indicate that mentoring may have both positive and negative relationships with stressors and strains. This is consistent with the job demands-resources theory, which suggests that job demands induce strain, but these job demands may be mitigated by resources that may be available via characteristics of the mentoring relationship.

The Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Occupational Stress of Female Nurses: A Controlled Clinical Trial

OBJECTIVES

This work sought to determine the effectiveness of an aerobic exercise program on the occupational stress of nurses.

METHODS

Prevention-type controlled clinical trial carried out with the participation of 60 nurses working in hospitals affiliated to Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Randomly, the nurses were assigned to the experimental group or to the control group. The intervention consisted in an aerobic exercise program lasting three months with three weekly sessions one hour each. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) questionnaire measured occupational stress with 35 questions, each with five Likert-type response options, which can have a maximum score of 175 points; higher scores meant lower levels of occupational stress. The HSE was evaluated during three moments: upon registering, after finishing the exercise program (week 8), and two months after terminating the intervention (week 16).

RESULTS

The level of occupational stress was the same in the experimental and control groups during registration (86.2 vs. 86.3). Upon finishing the aerobic exercise program (week 8), the experimental group showed a higher score than the control group (119.7 vs. 86.2, p<0.01), with this score diminishing after two months of having ended the intervention (91.4 vs. 85.8, p=0.061).

CONCLUSIONS

The aerobic exercise program was associated to decreased work stress of nurses in the experimental group compared to the control group at eight weeks, but this difference did not persist when the experimental group did not continue with the program.