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Weziak-Bialowolska D, Lee MT, Cowden RG, Bialowolski P, Chen Y, VanderWeele TJ, McNeely E. Psychological caring climate at work, mental health, well-being, and work-related outcomes: Evidence from a longitudinal study and health insurance data. Soc Sci Med 2023; 323:115841. [PMID: 36958241 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Revised: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/25/2023]
Abstract
Psychological climate for caring (PCC) is a psychosocial factor associated with individual work outcomes and employee well-being. Evidence on the impacts of various psychological climates at work is based mostly on self-reported health measures and cross-sectional data. We provide longitudinal evidence on the associations of PCC with subsequent diagnosed depression and anxiety, subjective well-being, and self-reported work outcomes. Employees of a US organization with a worker well-being program provided data for the analysis. Longitudinal survey data merged with data from personnel files and health insurance claims records comprising medical information on diagnosis of depression and anxiety were used to regress each outcome on PCC at baseline, adjusting for prior values of all outcomes and other covariates. PCC was found to be associated with lower odds of subsequent diagnosed depression, an increase in overall well-being, mental health, physical health, social connectedness, and financial security, as well as a decrease in distraction at work, an increase in productivity/engagement and possibly in job satisfaction. There was little evidence of associations between PCC and subsequent diagnosed anxiety, character strengths, and work-family conflict. Work policies focused on improving PCC may create a promising pathway to promoting employee health and well-being as well as improving work-related outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorota Weziak-Bialowolska
- Sustainability and Health Initiative (SHINE), Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA; Human Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, 12 Arrow St, Cambridge, 02138, MA, USA; Centre for Evaluation and Analysis of Public Policies, Faculty of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, Ul. Ingardena 3, 30-060, Cracow, Poland.
| | - Matthew T Lee
- Human Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, 12 Arrow St, Cambridge, 02138, MA, USA; Institute for Studies of Religion, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97236, Waco, 76798, TX, USA.
| | - Richard G Cowden
- Human Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, 12 Arrow St, Cambridge, 02138, MA, USA.
| | - Piotr Bialowolski
- Sustainability and Health Initiative (SHINE), Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA; Human Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, 12 Arrow St, Cambridge, 02138, MA, USA; Department of Economics, Kozminski University, Ul. Jagiellońska 57, 03-301, Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Ying Chen
- Human Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, 12 Arrow St, Cambridge, 02138, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Tyler J VanderWeele
- Human Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, 12 Arrow St, Cambridge, 02138, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Eileen McNeely
- Sustainability and Health Initiative (SHINE), Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
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Weziak-Bialowolska D, Bialowolski P. Associations of recognition at work with subsequent health and quality of life among older working adults. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2022; 95:835-847. [PMID: 34661722 DOI: 10.1007/s00420-021-01804-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Recognition for work-an act of conveying non-financial appreciation for an outstanding accomplishment or performance-is the top motivator of employee performance and important contributor to psychologically healthy work. Employee recognition programs are offered by many companies and have been shown to retain top talent, increase job satisfaction, and performance. Yet, evidence on the role of received employee recognition for health and quality of life remains limited. This study examined whether receiving recognition for work was prospectively associated with six indicators of health, quality of life, and loneliness. METHODS Data were retrieved from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), a biennial cross-national panel database of people aged > 50 years. Our sample included 5,048 middle-aged and older working adults. RESULTS The results indicated that employees receiving recognition for work reported higher quality of life ([Formula: see text]=0.065, 95% CI = 0.047, 0.082), had lower risks of hypertension (RR = 0.932; 95% CI = 0.899, 0.966) and high blood cholesterol (RR = 0.922; 95% CI = 0.879, 0.967). These associations were independent of demographics, socioeconomic status, personality, prior history of diseases, depression, lifestyle, and work conditions. The set of sensitivity analyses provided substantial evidence for the robustness of the associations between recognition for work and quality of life as well as hypertension but not necessarily with high blood cholesterol. CONCLUSIONS Promotion of employee recognition might emerge as a valuable business resource and health policy tool helping middle-aged and older adults maintain health and good quality of life. It may also help willing older adults to remain on the labour market until older age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorota Weziak-Bialowolska
- Sustainability and Health Initiative (SHINE), Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. .,Human Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, 129 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
| | - Piotr Bialowolski
- Sustainability and Health Initiative (SHINE), Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.,Human Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, 129 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.,Department of Economics, Kozminski University, Jagiellońska 57, 03-301, Warsaw, Poland
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