Emotional labor, workplace violence, and depressive symptoms in female Bank employees: a questionnaire survey using the K-ELS and K-WVS

Prevalence of depressive symptoms in nurses compared to the general population based on Propensity Score Matching: A nationwide cross-sectional study in China

BACKGROUND

Depressive symptoms have a series of negative effects and are considered especially severe among nurses, whereas there is a lack of quantitative studies comparing the risk of depressive symptoms between nurses and the general population.

METHODS

We respectively conducted a nationwide cross-sectional online survey among 17,582 Chinese nurses from July to August 2018, and 101,120 Chinese community residents from January to February 2019. The questionnaire covered social-demographic characteristics and depressive symptoms for both, work-related factors and life-related factors for nurses. Propensity Score Matching was performed to match nurses and residents by gender, age, educational level, marital status, and habitual residence.

RESULTS

Before Propensity Score Matching, the risk of depressive symptoms in nurses was higher than residents (OR, 2.16; 95% CI, 2.07-2.26). After matching, there were 15,256 nurses and residents respectively, and the risk in nurses was higher (OR, 2.14; 95% CI, 2.02-2.27). Logistic regression showed that longer years of service (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.30-1.83), higher night shift frequency (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.35-1.64), perceived shortage of nurses (OR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.84-2.13), suffered verbal violence (OR, 2.43; 95% CI, 2.21-2.66) and physical violence (OR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.64-1.98) were risk factors for depressive symptoms in nurses.

LIMITATIONS

Convenience sampling and online survey were adopted in this cross-sectional study, which may diminish the representativeness of samples.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with the general population, nurses have a higher risk of depressive symptoms in China. Reasonable work allocation, adequate staffing, scientific shift system and violence emergency system should be implemented.

Prevalence and Consequences of Verbal Aggression among Bank Workers: A Survey into an Italian Banking Institution

Robberies and other violent acts by strangers and intruders are common in banks, which can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder in employees. However, the literature indicates that more subtle and less measurable forms of violence, such as psychological violence, can also cause discomfort among employees. The aim of the present work is to investigate the prevalence of verbal aggression and its consequences among 311 Italian bank employees. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 197 employees. The results showed a high prevalence of verbal aggression in the sample. It is important to investigate and find the causes and effects of verbal aggression in order to understand the phenomenon in this workplace. Cases of verbal aggression need to be prevented and responded to appropriately. In addition, it should be noted that the effects of verbal aggression do not only affect the victim, but also the workplace, as productivity decreases, and the feeling of a safe environment is missing.

Relationship between workplace violence and work-related depression/anxiety, separating the types of perpetrators: a cross-sectional study using data from the fourth and fifth Korean Working Conditions Surveys (KWCS)

Background

Work is an inseparable element of a person’s life, and violence in the workplace has various effects on individual workers and companies. While most studies have focused on specific industries, very few studies have investigated the influence of workplace violence by co-workers. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the association between workplace violence and work-related depression/anxiety in various occupations by differentiating the perpetrators of violence as co-workers and clients.

Methods

This study was conducted based on data from the 4th and 5th Korean Working Conditions Surveys (KWCS). The experience of workplace violence was classified in terms of the perpetrator: workplace violence by co-workers and that by clients. Work-related depression and anxiety were assessed using questions about health problems related to depression and anxiety and whether the problems were related to work. Descriptive statistics, χ² tests, and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed using the SPSS 26.0.

Results

After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics (age, education, income, subjective health status) and occupational characteristics (occupation, weekly working hours, type of employment, size of workplace, and shift work), male workers with experience of workplace violence by co-workers were found to be at a higher risk of work-related depression/anxiety (odds ratio [OR], 11.52; 95% confidence interval [CI], 8.65–15.36). The same was confirmed for female workers (OR, 10.89; 95% CI, 7.90–15.02).

Conclusions

Employees who experienced workplace violence from co-workers were found to be more vulnerable to work-related depression/anxiety. Continuous contact between the victim and the perpetrator may occur, and the possibility of a secondary assault can frighten the victim. Appropriate prevention and intervention measures that focus on the perpetrators of violence are needed.

Workplace violence and turnover intentions among nurses: The moderating roles of invulnerability and organisational Support - A cross-sectional study

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To investigate whether internal and external violence are associated with turnover intentions among nurses during demanding periods of work.

BACKGROUND

Workplace violence can negatively impact upon mental and physical health and turnover intentions. Research focusing on how dimensions of workplace violence, internal versus external, influence turnover intentions and the factors that mitigate these effect is lacking.

METHODS

An online cross-sectional survey of multi-item measures was used to collect data from 462 Iranian nurses. We employed path modelling and analysed the data using SPSS and PROCESS macro. A STROBE checklist was used to report findings.

RESULTS

Both dimensions, internal and external, of violence were positively associated with turnover intentions. Moreover, perceived invulnerability and organisational support moderates this association. When individuals perceived invulnerability and perceived organisational support are high, internal violence is no longer indirectly related to turnover intentions via job satisfaction. In a similar vein, when perceived invulnerability and perceived organisational support are low, external violence is not related to intentions to quit. When perceived invulnerability and perceived organisational support are high, however, external violence is indirectly and negatively related to intentions to quit.

CONCLUSIONS

Nurses who regard themselves as invulnerable might be motivated to quit when they experience workplace violence. However, they are motivated to stay on the job when they both perceive themselves as invulnerable and the organisation as supporting.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Organisations should reconsider their policies and approach towards workplace violence especially during periods of intensive work.

What Are the Experiences of Emotional Labor and Workplace Violence that Are More Harmful to Health in Korean Workforce?

(1) Background: This study aims to investigate the impact of emotional labor and workplace violence on sleep disturbance, depression, and health status in workers. (2) Methods: Data from 34,742 participants of the 2011–2014 Korean Working Conditions Survey were included in this study. We compared the incidence of sleep disturbance, depression, and health status according to emotional labor and workplace violence and used logistic regression to analyze factors that affect health status. (3) Results: Emotional laborers were more likely to experience sleep disturbance, depression and anxiety, and muscle pain. Workers who have experienced workplace violence were more likely to experience depression and anxiety, abdominal pain, and sleep disturbance. (4) Conclusion: Emotional labor and workplace violence have a grave impact on physical and mental health, with particularly greater effects on mental health. In addition, workplace violence has a greater health impact than emotional labor. The findings of this study suggest the need to implement programs that stabilize and heal workers who have experienced emotional labor and to enforce regulations and policies to protect workers from verbal and physical abuse.

Does Emotional Labor Increase the Risk of Suicidal Ideation among Firefighters?

PURPOSE

To investigate whether emotional labor is associated with suicidal ideation in Korean firefighters.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data were obtained from the Firefighter Research: Enhancement of Safety & Health (FRESH) Study, which was designed to investigate the effects of job characteristics on mental and physical health among Korean firefighters. A total of 18101 firefighters were chosen from a nationwide sample. The Korean Emotional Labor Scale (K-ELS) was used to evaluate exposure to emotional labor, which consisted of five sub-factors: emotional demand and regulation, overload and conflict in customer service, emotional disharmony and hurt, organizational surveillance and monitoring, and lack of a supportive and protective system in the organization.

RESULTS

Firefighters who were in the risk group were more likely to experience suicidal ideation than those in the normal group for each of the five sub-scales of emotional labor. The estimated mean values for suicidal ideation in the risk group were significantly higher than those in the normal group: 1.667 (95% CI: 1.344-2.069) for emotional demand and regulation, 1.590 (95% CI: 1.243-2.033) for overload and conflict in customer service, 2.409 (95% CI: 1.954-2.969) for emotional disharmony and hurt, 2.214 (95% CI: 1.832-2.676) for organizational surveillance and monitoring, and 1.665 (95% CI: 1.387-1.999) for lack of a supportive and protective system in the organization.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that experience and exposure to chronic and excessive emotional labor might play a crucial role in the development of suicidal ideation among firefighters.

The impact of emotional labor on the health in the workplace: a narrative review of literature from 2013-2018

There is a paradigm-shift in the workplace from a production mentality to a service-oriented mentality. As a result, there is a greater need on employees to expend emotional labor in dealing with the challenges of meeting the demands of a service-oriented economy. This present study discussed the impact that expending emotional labor has on the health of employees in the workplace. Literature was retrieved from MEDLINE/PubMed, Excerpta Medica/EMBASE, Scopus and Thomson Reuters' Web of Science databases. Studies were selected if they were published between 2013 and 2018, written in English and had the terms “emotional labor” or “emotional labour” in their titles. An overview of the different effects of emotional labor on the health of employees in different sectors of the economy revealed effects ranging from burnout and fatigue to dysmenorrhea, disruptions in sleep patterns and suicidal tendencies. The effects of emotional labor on the health of members of the population who belong to the working class can be attributed to reciprocal determinism where environmental influences in the form of clients, supervisors, or organizational culture put employees in a position where they had to develop the habit of engaging emotional labor to cope with environmental stresses.

Emotional labor and job types of male firefighters in Daegu Metropolitan City

Background

Research on the emotional labor of firefighters is actively being carried out, but studies that analyze emotional labor separately by job types, working departments, and other conditions of firefighters are insufficient. The purpose of this study is to investigate the difference in emotional labor level between departments and other conditions of firefighters.

Methods

A total of 287 Korean firefighters were included for analysis. The demands of emotional labor and emotional damage were measured using the Korean Emotional Labor Scale. To analyze the conditions and factors affecting the emotional labor level of the firefighters, logistic regression analysis was performed using the emotional labor high risk group as a dependent variable.

Results

The average score of overall emotional labor level of the firefighters was 47.2 ± 17.3, and the prevalence of high risk firefighters with emotional labor was 27.1%. It was found that the emergency medical service and administration departments showed a higher prevalence of high risk emotional labor firefighters than did other departments. The result of multiple logistic regression analysis for the high risk emotional labor firefighters showed that the adjusted odds ratio of emergency medical service department compared to the reference group (the rescue department) was 2.89 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02-8.24).

Conclusions

Among the firefighters, the emergency medical service department is a high risk factor for emotional labor. Therefore, education and prevention training on emotional labor should be more thorough before work shifts.

Workplace Violence in Chinese Hospitals: The Effects of Healthcare Disturbance on the Psychological Well-Being of Chinese Healthcare Workers

Healthcare disturbance is a form of workplace violence against healthcare workers perpetrated by patients, their relatives, and gangs hired by them. It is a prevalent phenomenon in China, where evidence suggests that it impacts on the job satisfaction of healthcare workers. This study aims to examine the relationship between healthcare disturbance, surface acting as a response to emotional labour, and depressive symptoms in Chinese healthcare workers. The study adopted a cross-sectional design and used an online survey methodology. Data were collected from 418 doctors and nurses from one hospital in China. The results showed that frequency of healthcare disturbance was positively related to surface acting and depressive symptoms, respectively; surface acting was also positively related to depression, while deep acting showed no effect on symptoms of depression. Furthermore, surface acting in response to emotional labour mediated the relationship between healthcare disturbance and depressive symptoms. The results highlight the importance of preventing healthcare disturbance and of training healthcare staff in strategies for managing emotional demands in reducing depressive symptoms in Chinese healthcare staff.

Effects of work-related factors on self-reported smoking among female workers in call centers: a cross-sectional study

Objectives

This study conducted to investigate work-related factors in relation to smoking among women working in call centers in Gwangju, South Korea.

Methods

From 56 call centers (7320 employees), we selected 10 and conducted a survey using a structured questionnaire by randomly selecting 10% of workers from each center. A total of 387 subjects participated in this survey We analyzed for 375 respondents, after excluding men and those with missing responses. We analyzed the relationships of work-related factors such as emotional labor, workplace violence, employment type, annual salary, working hours, employment period with smoking, using multiple logistic regression analysis. Emotional labor and workplace violence were measured using the Korean Emotional Labor Scale (K-ELS) and Korean Workplace Violence Scale (K-WVS).

Results

The prevalence of current smoking among call center female workers was 13.6%. Univariate analysis showed that “Emotional disharmony and hurt”, “Experience of psychological and sexual violence from supervisors and co-workers” among items of K-ELS and K-WVS, working hours, annual salary correlated with smoking. After adjusting for emotional labor, workplace violence, employment type, annual salary, working hours, employment period, and age, only working hours show a significant association with smoking. Women who worked 40–49 h had 3.50 times (95% CI = 1.04–11.80) and worked more than 50 h had 8.68 times (95% CI = 1.89–39.78) greater odds of smoking as compared with women who worked less than 40 h.

Conclusions

Smoking was associated with working hours among female workers in call center. However, emotional labor and workplace violence did not show significant relationships with smoking.