Occupational role stress in the Canadian forces: Its association with individual and organizational well-being.

Studies on workplace stress have been conducted in various occupational environments. However, published reports exploring occupational stress in the military are rare. This study examines occupational stress in the Canadian Forces within the framework of social role theory and its relation to employee health, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Ss were 1,068 Regular Forces military members who completed a survey questionnaire. Of interest were the psychological resources (e.g., individual coping skills, workplace leadership, and perceived organizational support) that have the potential to alter the perception of work stress and/or alleviate its association with individual and organizational outcomes. Regression analyses indicated a negative association between occupational role stress and both individual (strain) and organizational (job satisfaction and organizational commitment) well-being. No moderating effects were found for coping strategies, workplace leadership, or perceived organizational support, although these factors had direct relationships with both individual and organizational well-being The results are discussed in terms of the potential of organizational resources and role stress to cascade across organizational levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial safety climate: Development of the PSC-12.

Psychosocial risks in the workplace have the potential for causing psychological and social harm that contributes toward the mental health disability burden. Psychosocial risks are influenced by macrolevel factors such as the psychosocial safety climate within the organization. This paper concerns the development and evaluation of a short instrument to measure psychosocial safety climate (PSC). PSC is conceived as an up-stream resource, and concerns senior management values and attitudes toward care and practices in relation to employee psychosocial well being. In a pilot sample (N = 78) we used an iterative procedure incorporating regression analysis to reduce 26 items down to a parsimonious 12 item, four-factor scale (PSC-12). The PSC-12 was then assessed using confirmatory factor analysis and the scale validated in a second representative sample of Australian workers (N = 398). The PSC-12 showed expected relationships with psychosocial risk factors (e.g., job demands, job resources), worker engagement and health, and work related outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction). We further confirmed the invariance of the factor coefficients and factor covariance across the two multioccupational samples using multigroup analysis. In a third organizational study (N = 16 teams, 106 health care workers) we found that PSC showed group like psychometric properties, and team level PSC was associated with individual level psychological distress and work engagement. PSC showed incremental value beyond a physical safety measure. The results provide initial indications that the PSC-12 can be used across a range of occupations, and within organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working in a majority context: A structural model of heterosexism as minority stress in the workplace.

This study used the minority stress theory to develop models of antecedents and outcomes of heterosexism in the workplace. Heterosexism was assessed via the Workplace Heterosexist Experiences Questionnaire, a new scale assessing direct (e.g., anti-gay jokes) and indirect experiences (e.g., assumptions of heterosexuality). Structural equation modeling with two community samples (N?=?287) of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people indicated that heterosexism was best predicted by perceptions that the employer does not take heterosexism seriously (i.e., organizational climate). Experiencing heterosexism was associated with adverse psychological, health, and job-related outcomes, thus supporting the minority stress theory. In addition, outness was positively related to experiences of direct heterosexism but negatively related to indirect experiences. The minority stress theory is discussed in light of the mental health history of pathologizing homosexuality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Moderating Effect of Negative Affectivity in the Procedural Justice-Job Satisfaction Relation.

We examined the potential moderating effect of negative affectivity in the relation between perceptions of procedural justice and job satisfaction in two studies. In the first study, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 232 individuals working for a Canadian public-sector organization that was being partially privatized. In the second study, we conducted a two-wave panel study of 173 university students participating in a co-operative education work term. In both studies, we found that the relation between procedural justice and job satisfaction was stronger for those who were low in negative affectivity than for those who were high in negative affectivity. These findings support the notion that employee dispositions influence the manner in which organizational factors are perceived. In addition, these findings suggest that fair procedures do not uniformly result in positive organizational outcomes (i.e., job satisfaction). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational rewards and retention of the hard-core unemployed.

Studied the relationship between 4 organizational rewards (pay, job status, promotion, and job security) and the retention of the hard-core unemployed (HCU), using data from 114 firms involved in hiring the HCU. The level of pay and the structure of raises positively affected retention, as did promotional opportunities (the percentage of minority members in supervisory positions). In firms with primarily minority members in the work force, the greater the percentage of minority supervisors the higher the HCU retention, but in primarily White firms the opposite relationship occurred. Job status and job security also were related to retention. Based on the relative effects of program characteristics (e.g., training) and organization characteristics (e.g., pay), recommendations are made for increased emphasis on organizational factors in developing strategies for employing the HCU. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When do procedural fairness and outcome fairness interact to influence employees’ work attitudes and behaviors? The moderating effect of uncertainty.

Prior research has shown that procedural fairness interacts with outcome fairness to influence employees’ work attitudes (e.g., organizational commitment) and behaviors (e.g., job performance, organizational citizenship behavior), such that employees’ tendencies to respond more positively to higher procedural fairness are stronger when outcome fairness is relatively low. In the present studies, we posited that people’s uncertainty about their standing as organizational members would have a moderating influence on this interactive relationship between procedural fairness and outcome fairness, in that the interactive relationship was expected to be more pronounced when uncertainty was high. Using different operationalizations of uncertainty of standing (i.e., length of tenure as a proxy, along with self-reports and coworkers’ reports), we found support for this hypothesis in 4 field studies spanning 3 different countries. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived organizational support: A review of the literature.

The authors reviewed more than 70 studies concerning employees' general belief that their work organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being (perceived organizational support; POS). A meta-analysis indicated that 3 major categories of beneficial treatment received by employees (i.e., fairness, supervisor support, and organizational rewards and favorable job conditions) were associated with POS. POS, in turn, was related to outcomes favorable to employees (e.g., job satisfaction, positive mood) and the organization (e.g., affective commitment, performance, and lessened withdrawal behavior). These relationships depended on processes assumed by organizational support theory: employees' belief that the organization's actions were discretionary, feeling of obligation to aid the organization, fulfillment of socioemotional needs, and performance-reward expectancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adverse health effects of high-effort/low-reward conditions

In addition to the person-environment fit model (J. R. French, R. D. Caplan, & R. V. Harrison, 1982) and the demand-control model (R. A. Karasek & T. Theorell, 1990), a third theoretical concept is proposed to assess adverse health effects of stressful experience at work: the effort-reward imbalance model. The focus of this model is on reciprocity of exchange in occupational life where high-cost/low-gain conditions are considered particularly stressful. Variables measuring low reward in terms of low status control (e.g., lack of promotion prospects, job insecurity) in association with high extrinsic (e.g., work pressure) or intrinsic (personal coping pattern, e.g., high need for control) effort independently predict new cardiovascular events in a prospective study on blue-collar men. Furthermore, these variables partly explain prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, atherogenic lipids) in 2 independent studies. Studying adverse health effects of high-effort/low-reward conditions seems well justified, especially in view of recent developments of the labor market.     

Influence of paid and unpaid work on psychophysiological stress responses of men and women.

Female labor force participation has increased considerably, but women's traditional responsibility for home and family has not changed accordingly. Although women's employment per se does not seem to have negative health consequences, studies in Sweden show that role conflicts and work overload is reflected in women's elevated psychophysiological arousal not only at work but also off work, which may induce psychosomatic symptoms (e.g., cardiovascular and musculoskeletal disorders). In addition, multiple role demands reduce women's possibilities to make a professional career on the same terms as men. Data emphasize the need for a new allocation of work functions between the sexes and the need for organizational changes leading to more influence and control over work to make it possible for both men and women to continue a qualified job with a meaningful family life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sleeping problems and health behaviors as mediators between organizational justice and health.

The aim of this longitudinal cohort study was to investigate whether sleeping problems and health behaviors (smoking, alcohol consumption, and sedentary lifestyle) mediate the association between organizational justice and employee health. Health indicators were minor psychiatric morbidity, as assessed by the General Health Questionnaire (U. Werneke, D. P. Goldberg, 1. Yalcin, & B. T. Ustun, 2000), and poor self-rated health status. The results of logistic regression analysis of data for 416 male and 3,357 female hospital employees working during the 1998-2000 period in 10 Finnish hospitals suggest that sleeping problems are one of the underlying factors causing the adverse health effects of low organizational justice at work. No support for a mediating role of health behaviors between low organizational justice and health problems was obtained. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work pressure, workplace social resources, and work–family conflict: The tale of two sectors.

Although research has extensively examined work–family issues in the private sector, little is known about sector-related differences. Here, we used data from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce and multiple-group structural equation modeling to compare the levels and mechanisms through which work pressure and 3 workplace social resources (i.e., work–family culture, supervisor support, and coworker support) are related to work–family conflict in the public and private sectors. First, work–family culture affected work–family conflict directly in the private sector and indirectly, through reduced work pressure, in the public sector. Moreover, work–family culture had a much stronger impact on supervisor support in the private sector. Second, public sector employees perceived higher levels of supervisor and organizational support while experiencing higher levels of work pressure. The study illustrates the necessity of differentiating between the 2 sectors of employment when studying work–family relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Climate as a moderator of the relationship between leader-member exchange and content specific citizenship: Safety climate as an exemplar.

The present study integrates role theory, social exchange, organizational citizenship, and climate research to suggest that employees will reciprocate implied obligations of leadership-based social exchange (e.g., leader-member exchange [LMX]) by expanding their role and behaving in ways consistent with contextual behavioral expectations (e.g., work group climate). Using safety climate as an exemplar, the authors found that the relationship between LMX and subordinate safety citizenship role definitions was moderated by safety climate. In summary, high-quality LMX relationships resulted in expanded safety citizenship role definitions when there was a positive safety climate and there was no such expansion under less positive safety climates. The authors also found that safety citizenship role definitions were significantly related to safety citizenship behavior. Implications for both social exchange theory and safety research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Values, structure, process, and reactions/adjustments: A comparison of French- and English-Canadian industrial organizations.

Presents the first major attempt since the 1969 Report of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism to explore a broad range of values, attitudes, and reactions/adjustments of French- and English-Canadian working people. Responses from 1,000 working people in a matched sample of 20 industrial organizations in Ontario and Quebec provided comparisons on 4 dimensions: (a) the Theory X-Theory Y value system of organization members; (b) organizational structure (e.g., degree of formalization, centralization, and standardization of procedures); (c) organizational processes (e.g., decision-making and conflict resolution); and (d) reactions/adjustments of organization members (e.g., job satisfaction, attitudes towards work, and alienation). (French summary) (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work gets unfair for the depressed: Cross-lagged relations between organizational justice perceptions and depressive symptoms.

The organizational justice literature has consistently documented substantial correlations between organizational justice and employee depression. Existing theoretical literature suggests this relationship occurs because perceptions of organizational (in)justice lead to subsequent psychological health problems. Building on recent research on the affective nature of justice perceptions, in the present research we broaden this perspective by arguing there are also theoretical arguments for a reverse effect whereby psychological health problems influence perceptions of organizational justice. To contrast both theoretical perspectives, we test longitudinal lagged effects between organizational justice perceptions (i.e., distributive justice, interactional justice, interpersonal justice, informational justice, and procedural justice) and employee depressive symptoms using structural equation modeling. Analyses of 3 samples from different military contexts (N? = 625, N? = 134, N? = 550) revealed evidence of depressive symptoms leading to subsequent organizational justice perceptions. In contrast, the opposite effects of organizational justice perceptions on depressive symptoms were not significant for any of the justice dimensions. The findings have broad implications for theoretical perspectives on psychological health and organizational justice perceptions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Effects of Sexual Harassment on Turnover in the Military: Time-Dependent Modeling.

Sexual harassment has consistently negative consequences for working women, including changes in job attitudes (e.g., lower satisfaction) and behaviors (e.g., increased work withdrawal). Cross-sectional evidence suggests that harassment influences turnover intentions. However, few studies have used actual turnover; rather, they rely on proxies. With a sample of 11,521 military servicewomen with turnover data spanning approximately 4 years, the authors used the appropriate method for longitudinal turnover data--Cox's regression--to investigate the impact of harassment on actual turnover. Experiences of harassment led to increased turnover, even after controlling for job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and marital status. Among officers, harassment also affected turnover over and above rank. Given turnover's relevance to organizational bottom lines, these findings have important implications not only for individual women but also for organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antecedents and consequences of sexual harassment in organizations: A test of an integrated model.

Sexual harassment of women in organizational settings has recently become a topic of interest to researchers and the general public alike. Although numerous studies document its frequency, the development of conceptual models identifying antecedents and consequences of harassment has proceeded at a slower pace. In this article, an empirical test of a recently proposed conceptual model is described. According to the model, organizational climate for sexual harassment and job gender context are critical antecedents of sexual harassment; harassment, in turn, influences work-related variables (e.g., job satisfaction); psychological states (e.g., anxiety and depression); and physical health. On the basis of a sample of women employed at a large, regulated utility company, the model's predictions were generally supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Still participating after all these years: A study of life task participation in later life.

The authors examined in 618 older Americans the extent to which individual levels of life satisfaction were connected to participation in the shared tasks of late adulthood (e.g., community service and social life participation). Participation in these shared tasks was an important predictor of life satisfaction, controlling for health, self-reported vitality, social support, individual differences in congeniality, organizational affiliation, and prior levels of satisfaction. Social life participation was particularly important for retirees in predicting life satisfaction, more so than for study participants who were still able to derive enjoyment from work activity. This difference between retired and nonretired subjects was especially pronounced for men and illustrates how the important domains of activity shift with sociocultural expectations and opportunities of a given life phase. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Well-being and organizational attitudes in alternative employment: The role of contract and job preferences.

This study focuses upon the heterogeneity in the contemporary workforce in relation to well-being and organizational attitudes. This heterogeneity may concern (a) the specific type of contract (permanent full-time vs. alternative arrangements; e.g., permanent part-time, fixed-term, and on-call work), (b) job and contract preferences, or (c) specific combinations of contract type and preferences. The authors argue that working in alternative employment, but also being in a nonpreferred contract or job may imply stress and, hence, strain (i.e., poor well-being). This may lead to withdrawal from the organization (i.e., poor organizational attitudes). A combination of the stressors may strengthen these effects. Analyses of questionnaire data from Sweden collected in 2004 (N = 716) reveal that preferences, particularly preferences for the job and partly also for the contract, were associated with the outcomes. Contract heterogeneity was not informative for well-being, while it was for differences in reported organizational attitudes. Type of employment contract interacted with job and contract preferences: for permanent full-time workers, job preferences displayed stronger associations with well-being and attitudes than for workers in alternative employment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Burnout and work engagement: A thorough investigation of the independency of both constructs.

This study among 528 South African employees working in the construction industry examined the dimensionality of burnout and work engagement, using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. On the basis of the literature, we predicted that cynicism and dedication are opposite ends of one underlying attitude dimension (called “identification”), and that exhaustion and vigor are opposite ends of one “energy” dimension. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that while the attitude constructs represent opposite ends of one continuum, the energy constructs do not—although they are highly correlated. These findings are also supported by the pattern of relationships between burnout and work engagement on the one hand, and predictors (i.e., work pressure, autonomy) and outcomes (i.e., organizational commitment, mental health) on the other hand. Implications for the measurement and conceptualization of burnout and work engagement are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)