Evaluating Need Crafting: Scale Validation and Workplace Implications

Basic psychological need crafting assumes that need-based experiences are enhanced through intentional behavior and thought changes. Despite its known benefits outside of the work context, need crafting instruments designed for this context, and the implications of need crafting for employee functioning, remain underexplored. Thus, this study set out to adapt and validate the need crafting scale (NCS) among employees (n = 229). Results supported the construct, discriminant validity, and criterion validity of the NCS. The research also revealed that, through need crafting, employees reported enhanced experiences related to their needs, which led to higher work effort and engagement and a reduced desire to leave their jobs. Additionally, the different types of need crafting had differential direct effects on employee functioning, supporting a more nuanced understanding of the construct. As the first of its kind, the study underpins the relevance and generalizability of the NCS and need crafting in the workplace.

Nurses' perceptions of quality of work life in private hospitals in Enugu, Nigeria: A qualitative study

Despite being essential for retaining nurses, not much is known about nurses' quality of work life (QWL) in private hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria. We explored nurses' perceptions of QWL, factors influencing it, how it affects motivation, and strategies for its improvement. The study was conducted in seven private hospitals in Enugu, Nigeria. The design was qualitative, using focus group discussion (n = 7) with registered nurses (n = 66) purposively selected using maximum variation sampling and the inclusion criteria. Data were analyzed using verbatim transcription and thematic analysis. The nurses understood QWL from work-family life, work design, work context and work world perspectives. Opportunities for skill acquisition, resource availability, helpfulness from colleagues, and a hygienic work environment improved the QWL and motivation of nurses. Work-family life factors including caring obligations, night shifts, long hours, burnout, and inappropriate leave policies; work design factors including declining autonomy, inadequate staffing, and a high workload; work context factors consisting of a lack of participatory decision-making, blaming nurses for gaps, restrictive training policy, limited training opportunity, and insecurity; and work world factors related to poor remuneration, poor community view of nursing and ease of job termination undermined QWL and demotivated nurses. Strategies identified by the nurses to improve QWL included improving staffing, vacation, care coordination, supportive supervision, teamwork, promotion, participatory decision-making, training opportunities, timely hand-over of shifts, job recognition, and compensation. The quality of nursing work life in private hospitals in Enugu needs improvement. Quality improvement programs addressing the barriers to nurses' QWL are warranted.

Workplace Factors, Burnout Signs, and Clinical Mental Health Symptoms among Mental Health Workers in Lombardy and Quebec during the First Wave of COVID-19

Several research contributions have depicted the impact of the pandemic environment on healthcare and social care personnel. Even though the high prevalence of burnout depression and anxiety in healthcare settings before COVID-19 has been well documented in the research, the recent increase in psychological distress and mental health issues in healthcare and mental health workers should be attributed to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the present study is to develop, evaluate, and compare a model of COVID-19 workplace stressors between two different territories, the Italian region of Lombardy and the Canadian province of Quebec. Within this model, burnout is depicted as the strongest determinant of mental health symptoms for mental health workers. In turn, the main workplace determinants of burnout are the perception of a lack of support from the organization and the fear of contracting COVID-19 at work. Findings also provide insights for designing interventions to promote and protect mental health workers in the context of the pandemic. In conclusion, it is necessary to monitor burnout and carefully analyze elements of organizational culture, in addition to offering clinical and psychological care for those in need.

Motivational school climate and teachers' achievement goal orientations: A hierarchical approach

BACKGROUND

Teachers' achievement goal orientations are known to affect teachers' beliefs and behaviour. In contrast, we know relatively little on how school climate is associated with teachers' achievement goals, even though theoretical ideas can be derived from self-determination theory and empirical research on the impact of goal structures. The few studies that exist on the issue are limited as analyses were only conducted at the individual level and subsequent findings can, thus, not be interpreted as climate effects.

AIM

We aimed to overcome this shortcoming by analysing associations between teachers' perception of school motivational climate and their achievement goal orientations at individual and at school level. We postulated that at school level a school's learning goal structure, autonomy-supportive leadership, positive feedback culture, and a collaborative climate would be associated with teachers' learning goal orientation, whereas a school's performance goal structure was supposed to align with teachers' performance (approach and avoidance) goal orientation.

SAMPLE

A total of 532 teachers from 40 different schools filled out questionnaires on their achievement goal orientations and aspects of their work context.

METHODS

We used hierarchical linear modelling to analyse effects at individual and at school level.

RESULTS

Teachers' learning goal orientations and their performance avoidance goal orientations varied significantly across schools. Positive perceptions of schools' feedback culture at school level corresponded positively with learning goal orientations, and collaborative climate was negatively associated with performance (approach and avoidance) goal orientations.

CONCLUSIONS

The results underline the importance of schools' motivational climate for teacher motivation and provide a starting point for developing strategies of workplace development.

Successful management of automatic dysfunctional thoughts in the context of negative emotions

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Cognitive and affective overloads trigger automatic dysfunctional thoughts and undermine their voluntary management [ADTs; Beck, A. T. (1976). Cognitive therapy and the emotional disorders. New York: Meridian; Wegner, D. M. (1994). Ironic processes of mental control. Psychology Review, 101(1), 34-52]. Taking into account intense negative emotions as triggers for the ADTs, we explored whether context (i.e., social context) and emotional experience (i.e., emotional intensity) predict the successful management of ADTs. We also examine the moderating role of difficulties in emotional regulation strategies.

METHOD

Thirty-eight participants wrote in a personal online diary of at least 10 times in 40 weeks. We analyzed the conditions for managing ADTs by means of multilevel in stages models.

RESULTS

Emotional intensity negatively predicted successful management of ADTs. Attempts to control ADTs and work context positively predicted successful management of ADTs. The negative relation between the emotional intensity and the management of ADTs was stronger as individuals were less aware of their own emotions, and was weaker as they had less clear representations of their own emotions. Superior access to emotion regulation strategies explained a stronger relationship between the work context and the successful management of ADTs.

CONCLUSIONS

We discuss theoretical and practical implications of the results.

Difference between Leisure and Work Contexts: The Roles of Perceived Enjoyment and Perceived Usefulness in Predicting Mobile Video Calling Use Acceptance

There is a rapidly growing body of literature on mobile video calling, which is a promising communication technology; however, little research has focused on user acceptance of mobile video calling, especially in different use contexts. This study explored factors (especially perceived enjoyment) influencing the intention of users to employ video calling in different contexts (a work and a leisure context) by applying the technology acceptance model (TAM) combined with the theory of planned behavior. The revised research model differentiated external factors (subjective norms and personal innovativeness) from internal factors (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived enjoyment, and intention to use mobile video calling). In addition, the current study investigated predictors of perceived enjoyment across these two contexts. With the use of a structured questionnaire, participants were divided in two groups and completed self-report measures related to one context; a total of 386 student respondents’ responses were analyzed. The results indicated that users’ intentions were directly predicted by their perceived enjoyment of video calling (β ≥ 0.35) and the call’s perceived usefulness (β ≥ 0.27) and PEU (β = 0.13, only for the leisure context), which jointly explained at least 55.6% of the variance in use intention. In addition to the effects of these predictors on mobile video calling use acceptance, an assessment of the moderating effects of different contexts indicated that perceived enjoyment played a more important role in influencing intention for the leisure context, while perceived usefulness appeared to be more important for the work context. This study’s findings are important in that they provide strong support for the necessity of distinguishing among different types of contexts when predicting users’ intentions to use video calling. Furthermore, the results showed that perceived enjoyment was most significantly influenced by perceived usefulness (β ≥ 0.61), followed by PEU (β ≥ 0.13). In summary, the roles of core TAM variables (especially perceived enjoyment and perceived usefulness) and of external factors (subjective norms and personal innovativeness) differed between the leisure and work contexts. The implications of these findings are discussed.

The Basic Psychological Needs at Work Scale: Measurement Invariance between Canada and France

The purpose of this study is to develop and validate the Basic Psychological Needs at Work Scale (BPNWS) in French, but items are also provided in English in the article. The BPNWS is a work-related self-report instrument designed to measure the degree to which the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, as identified by Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), are satisfied at work. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the first study examines the structure of the BPNWS in a group of 271 workers. The second study tests the measurement invariance of the scale in a group of 851 teachers from two different cultures, Canada and France. Results support the three-factor structure and show adequate internal consistency, as well as nomological validity across samples.