Are social conflicts at work associated with depressive symptomatology? Results from the population-based LIFE-Adult-Study

The influence of different conflict management styles on depressive symptoms in employees: the mediating role of emotional exhaustion

Although some studies have found that conflict management styles impact employees' levels of depression, the expressions of employees' depressive symptoms under various conflict management styles and the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In this study, a total of 1,312 employees were gathered through an online survey to examine their current depressive status. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, the mediating role of emotional exhaustion in the association between conflict management style and employee depression was further explored. The findings revealed that the prevalence of moderate to severe depression among the workers was 13.9%. Employees with different conflict management styles displayed distinct depression scores. The high coordination style group exhibited a significantly lower depression score compared to the high concession style group. Emotional exhaustion played a mediating role in the impact of both the coordination style and the concession style on employees' depression. It can be seen that the mental health needs of the workplace are imminent. The intervention measures to improve the mental health of employees in the working environment should take into account the cultivation of the coordination style of employee conflict management, reduce their emotional exhaustion, and stay away from depression through the acquisition of constructive and positive coping styles.

Prevalence of compassion fatigue among post-graduate trainees in Pakistan: A cross-sectional study

Objective

To determine the prevalence of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction and burnout and identify the socio-demographic and work-related factors associated with compassion fatigue among FCPS Part-II trainees in Pakistan.

Method

A cross-sectional study of FCPS-II trainees was conducted using stratified sampling at multiple centers over six months. Data was collected through an online, self-administered survey, which consisted of the 30-item ProQOL-V and a socio-demographic and work-related characteristics questionnaire. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. Data was analysed using SPSS 26 for descriptive stats, one-sample t-test, Pearson correlation, and multivariate linear regression at a 95% significance level.

Results

Out of 460, only 392 trainees completely filled the online survey (completion rate: 90.74%). The study found that 78.80% of postgraduate trainees experienced moderate levels of compassion fatigue (CF) (Mean = 27.6, SD = 6.3), with moderate burnout (BO) (75.50%, Mean = 26.6, SD = 5.9), while moderately high Compassion satisfaction (CS) (90.60%, Mean = 33.3, SD = 5.5). Compared to normative data, compassion fatigue levels were significantly elevated among post-graduate trainees (p < 0.001). Significant correlations were observed between CF and BO (r =0.59), CF and CS (r = -0.20), and BO and CS (r = -0.63). Factors associated with higher CF included family dependents (p = 0.029), longer working hours (p < 0.001), and inadequate sleep (p < 0.001). Trainees in "Poor" work environments reported higher CF levels than those in "Excellent" environments (p < 0.001). Additionally, engaging in self-care activities such as exercise, prayer, and socialising were associated with lower CF levels (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

The study revealed that many postgraduate trainees experience moderate compassion fatigue and burnout, with a strong positive correlation between CF and BO. Compassion satisfaction inversely related to both CF and BO, highlighting the need to boost CS. Factors like longer work hours, poor sleep, family dependents and unfavorable work conditions were linked to higher Compassion Fatigue. Conversely, engaging in self-care practices like prayer, meditation, exercise, and socialising is associated with decreased compassion fatigue levels. These results stress the importance of tailored interventions to enhance trainees' well-being and ultimately improve patient care quality.

Adaptation and validation of the financial stress scale in social conflict contexts: a study conducted with small and medium-sized Peruvian entrepreneurs

Introduction

Social conflicts have repercussions on the mental health of the economically active population.

Objective

To adapt and validate the Financial Stress Scale in the context of social conflicts (ESECPS).

Method

An instrumental study involving 2,242 owners of small and medium enterprises (50.9% women), aged between 18 and 74 years old, selected through a non-probabilistic purposive sampling. The participants were recruited across three regions of Peru during periods of protests and strikes against the incumbent Peruvian government. The instrument for adaptation was the financial stress scale EFEmp-Cov19, created in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact.

Results

All items proved to be clear, relevant, and representative (V > 0.70). Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) revealed the existence of one underlying factor across the 11 items (KMO = 0.962, Bartlett = 5434.3; df = 55; p < 0.001). However, for Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), items 4 and 11 were removed, resulting in support for a unidimensional model with 9 items (χ2 = 262.73, df = 23, p < 0.001; RMR = 0.022; TLI = 0.972; CFI = 0.980; and RMSEA = 0.072). Regarding reliability, a very high value was found (ω = 0.92).

Conclusion

The ESECPS demonstrates adequate psychometric properties, making it a suitable measure to assess financial stress among Peruvian entrepreneurs facing economic instability and financial threats in the context of social conflicts.

Reciprocal longitudinal associations of supportive workplace relationships with depressive symptoms and self-rated health: A study of Korean women

BACKGROUND

Supportive relationships in the workplace are important determinants of an individual's psychological health, buffering work stress. This study aimed to estimate the bidirectional association of workplace relationships with depressive symptoms and self-rated health in female workers.

METHODS

Based on the nationally representative biannual survey data from 2014 (T1) to 2020 (T4) (N = 2556), we used a random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) to estimate autoregressive and cross-lagged bidirectional associations between workplace relationships and health variables.

RESULTS

Regarding satisfactory workplace relationships and depressive symptoms, a negative correlation was observed at the between-person level. At the within-person level, the cross-lagged path showed that an increase in satisfaction with workplace relationships was related to a subsequent decrease in depressive (T1 to T2: β = -0.039; B = -0.253, P = 0.017). Further, an increase in depressive symptoms was related to subsequent relationship deterioration in the workplace (T1 to T2: β = -0.049, B = -0.007, P = 0.003). Regarding workplace relationships and self-rated health, a positive correlation was observed at the between-person level. At the within-person level, there as was no significant within-person level association between WPR and self-rated health. and the effect sizes were small.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests a bidirectional association between workplace relationships and depressive symptoms. Therefore, it is important to implement intervention programs that promote workplace interpersonal relationships and workers' mental health.

Urban greenspace helps ameliorate people's negative sentiments during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Beijing

The COVID-19 pandemic has had negative effects on people's mental health worldwide, especially for those who live in large cities. Studies have reported that urban greenspace may help lessen these adverse effects, but more research that explicitly considers urban landscape pattern is needed to understand the underlying processes. Thus, this study was designed to examine whether the resident sentiments in Beijing, China changed before and during the pandemic, and to investigate what urban landscape attributes - particularly greenspace - might contribute to the sentiment changes. We conducted sentiment analysis based on 25,357 geo-tagged microblogs posted by residents in 51 neighborhoods. We then compared the resident sentiments in 2019 (before the COVID-19) with those in 2020 (during the COVID-19) using independent sample t-tests, and examined the relationship between resident sentiments and urban greenspace during the COVID-19 pandemic phases using stepwise regression. We found that residents' sentiments deteriorated significantly from 2019 to 2020 in general, and that urban sentiments during the pandemic peak times showed an urban-suburban trend that was determined either by building density or available greenspace. Although our analysis included several other environmental and socioeconomic factors, none of them showed up as a significant factor. Our study suggests the effects of urban greenspace and building density on residents' sentiments increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and that not all green spaces are equal. Increasing greenspace, especially within and near neighborhoods, seems critically important to helping urban residents to cope with public health emergencies such as global pandemics.

Satisfaction with activity-support and physical home-workspace characteristics in relation to mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

Previous research indicates that employees' mental health might be influenced by their satisfaction with physical office characteristics, such as noise, daylight, and ventilation. However, similar research on mental health in relation to working from home (WFH) is limited. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the relationships between satisfaction with physical home workspace characteristics and support of work activities and mental health while WFH during the COVID-19 pandemic. Relationships were analysed using a path analysis approach, based on a sample of 1219 office workers, who had to work fully from home. The internal relationships between the ten considered mental health variables were also studied. Results showed that satisfaction with daylight, artificial light, greenery, and views outside were directly related to one of the mental health variables and indirectly to several others. Surprisingly, satisfaction with temperature, noise, ventilation, and air quality did not seem to play a role at the home workplace. In addition, unlike at the office, personal characteristics did not relate to workspace satisfaction nor perceived support of activities at home. Furthermore, all mental health variables were related to at least one other mental health variable. Workplace managers could use these insights to formulate recommendations for employees on how to design their home-workspace.

The Relationship between Workplace Conflicts and Subsequent Physician-Certified Sick Leave: A Prospective Population Study

The impact of workplace conflicts on sick leave is largely unknown. We studied the associations between conflicts and physician-certified sick leave in a randomly drawn general working population sample. Eligible respondents were interviewed in 2009, 2013, and 2016 and were registered with an employee relationship ≥50 working days in the national sick-leave register the year following the survey interviews (n = 22,088 observations/13,731 respondents). We used mixed-effects logistic regression models (adjusted for sex, age, education level, occupation and sick leave days) to assess the associations of self-reported conflicts with superiors or colleagues and subsequent physician-certified sick leave of 1–16 days (i.e., low-level sick leave (LLSL)) and more than 16 days (i.e., high-level sick leave (HLSL)). Conflicts with superiors were associated with LLSL (OR = 1.73 95% CI 1.15–2.62) and HLSL (OR = 1.84 95% CI 1.15–2.94). The corresponding ORs for conflicts involving colleagues were weaker and largely non-significant. The population risks of LLSL and HLSL attributable to conflicts with superiors were 1.95% (95% CI 0.55–3.41) and 3.98% (95% CI 2.08–5.91), respectively. Conflicts with superiors appear to be an important risk factor for sick leave among employees. Organizations are well-advised to develop policies and competencies to prevent and manage conflicts at work.

Compassion Fatigue in Laboratory Animal Personnel during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Compassion Fatigue (CF) is commonly observed in professions associated with human and animal care. The COVID-19 pandemic compelled laboratory animal research institutions to implement new work practices in order to maintain essential animal care operations. These modifications ranged from shift changes to last-resort measures, such as culling animal colonies, to accommodate reduced staffing. Such changes could cause personnel to experience increased stress, isolation, and helplessness-all of which can increase CF risk. In the current study, 200 persons involved with animal research completed an online survey to gauge whether CF among laboratory animal personnel had increased during the pandemic. The survey examined professional quality of life, self-assessed levels of CF, institutional changes, perceived changes in animal welfare, and institutional measures intended to alleviate CF. A total of 86% of participants had experienced CF at some point in their career, with 41% experiencing a CF event (new or worsening symptoms of CF) during the pandemic. In addition, 90% of participants who reported a CF event also reported subsequent effects on their personal or professional lives. Health, employment, and animal-related stress that arose due to the pandemic were all found to influence CF scores significantly. Although 96% of respondents were considered essential workers, 67% did not feel as valued for their work as other essential personnel. Furthermore, 88% of personnel responsible for the euthanasia of healthy animals who experienced a CF event reported that CF also affected their personal life, professional life, or both, and 78% responded that interventions from internal CF programs or leadership did not help to alleviate symptoms of CF. The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant institutional changes will likely have lasting effects on persons and organizations. By determining and subsequently mitigating sources of CF, we can better assist the laboratory animal community during future crises.