Job-related stress, social support, and burnout among classroom teachers.

In this study we examined the effects of job-related stressful events and social support on burnout among teachers. We conducted a mail survey of a random sample of public school teachers in Iowa. Consistent with findings in previous research, teacher characteristics such as age, sex, and grade level taught were predictive of burnout. We also found that the number of stressful events experienced and social support were predictive of teacher burnout. Some evidence of the stress-moderating role of social support was also found. Teachers who reported that they had supportive supervisors and indicated that they received positive feedback concerning their skills and abilities from others were less vulnerable to burnout. We discuss the implications of these findings for programs aimed at preventing teacher burnout. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early predictors of job burnout and engagement.

A longitudinal study predicted changes in burnout or engagement a year later by identifying 2 types of early indicators at the initial assessment. Organizational employees (N = 466) completed measures of burnout and 6 areas of worklife at 2 times with a 1-year interval. Those people who showed an inconsistent pattern at Time 1 were more likely to change over the year than were those who did not. Among this group, those who also displayed a workplace incongruity in the area of fairness moved to burnout at Time 2, while those without this incongruity moved toward engagement. The implications of these 2 predictive indicators are discussed in terms of the enhanced ability to customize interventions for targeted groups within the workplace. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Teachers’ stressors and strains: A longitudinal study of their relationships": Correction.

Reports an error in "Teachers’ stressors and strains: A longitudinal study of their relationships" by Arie Shirom, Amalya Oliver and Esther Stein (International Journal of Stress Management, 2009[Nov], Vol 16[4], 312-332). In the article, the two co-authors’ affiliations were incorrectly listed. The co-authors’ correct affiliations are as follows: Amalya Oliver, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Esther Stein, Beit Berl Educational College. They appear correctly in this record. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-21667-004.) The authors tested the hypothesized unidirectional or bidirectional effects of 5 types of teachers’ work-related stressors on each of the 4 types of psychological strain: somatic complaints, burnout, and intrinsic and extrinsic job dissatisfaction. The authors used structural regression analyses to analyze the responses of a representative sample of 404 high school teachers who had completed both our T1 (beginning of school year) and T2 (end of school year) questionnaires. The authors found support for the expected unidirectional effects of the T1 work-related stressors on the respondents’ T2 somatic complaints (with baseline somatic complaints controlled for), and also for the expected unidirectional effects of T1 intrinsic and extrinsic job dissatisfaction on the T2 values of the five types of stressors (with baseline stressors controlled for). Only partial support was found for the expected bidirectional relationships between the stressors and teachers’ burnout. The authors suggest that the directionality across time of the relationships between stressors and strains may depend on the intrinsic properties of the strain under consideration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of teacher self-efficacy and relations with strain factors, perceived collective teacher efficacy, and teacher burnout.

In this study, the authors developed and factor analyzed the Norwegian Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale. They also examined relations among teacher self-efficacy, perceived collective teacher efficacy, external control (teachers' general beliefs about limitations to what can be achieved through education), strain factors, and teacher burnout. Participants were 244 elementary and middle school teachers. The analysis supported the conceptualization of teacher self-efficacy as a multidimensional construct. They found strong support for 6 separate but correlated dimensions of teacher self-efficacy, which were included in the following subscales: Instruction, Adapting Education to Individual Students' Needs, Motivating Students, Keeping Discipline, Cooperating With Colleagues and Parents, and Coping With Changes and Challenges. They also found support for a strong 2nd-order self-efficacy factor underlying the 6 dimensions. Teacher self-efficacy was conceptually distinguished from perceived collective teacher efficacy and external control. Teacher self-efficacy was strongly related to collective teacher efficacy and teacher burnout. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Safety at work: A meta-analytic investigation of the link between job demands, job resources, burnout, engagement, and safety outcomes.

In this article, we develop and meta-analytically test the relationship between job demands and resources and burnout, engagement, and safety outcomes in the workplace. In a meta-analysis of 203 independent samples (N = 186,440), we found support for a health impairment process and for a motivational process as mechanisms through which job demands and resources relate to safety outcomes. In particular, we found that job demands such as risks and hazards and complexity impair employees' health and positively relate to burnout. Likewise, we found support for job resources such as knowledge, autonomy, and a supportive environment motivating employees and positively relating to engagement. Job demands were found to hinder an employee with a negative relationship to engagement, whereas job resources were found to negatively relate to burnout. Finally, we found that burnout was negatively related to working safely but that engagement motivated employees and was positively related to working safely. Across industries, risks and hazards was the most consistent job demand and a supportive environment was the most consistent job resource in terms of explaining variance in burnout, engagement, and safety outcomes. The type of job demand that explained the most variance differed by industry, whereas a supportive environment remained consistent in explaining the most variance in all industries. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teachers’ stressors and strains: A longitudinal study of their relationships.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 17(1) of International Journal of Stress Management (see record 2010-02418-002). In the article, “Teachers’ Stressors and Strains: A Longitudinal Study of Their Relationships” by Arie Shirom, Amalya Oliver, and Esther Stein (International Journal of Stress Management, 2009, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 312-332), the two co-authors’ affiliations were incorrectly listed. The co-authors’ correct affiliations are as follows: Amalya Oliver, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Esther Stein, Beit Berl Educational College.] The authors tested the hypothesized unidirectional or bidirectional effects of 5 types of teachers’ work-related stressors on each of the 4 types of psychological strain: somatic complaints, burnout, and intrinsic and extrinsic job dissatisfaction. The authors used structural regression analyses to analyze the responses of a representative sample of 404 high school teachers who had completed both our T1 (beginning of school year) and T2 (end of school year) questionnaires. The authors found support for the expected unidirectional effects of the T1 work-related stressors on the respondents’ T2 somatic complaints (with baseline somatic complaints controlled for), and also for the expected unidirectional effects of T1 intrinsic and extrinsic job dissatisfaction on the T2 values of the five types of stressors (with baseline stressors controlled for). Only partial support was found for the expected bidirectional relationships between the stressors and teachers’ burnout. The authors suggest that the directionality across time of the relationships between stressors and strains may depend on the intrinsic properties of the strain under consideration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Time Management Behavior as a Moderator for the Job Demand-Control Interaction.

The interaction effects of time management, work demands, and autonomy on burnout were investigated in a survey study of 123 elementary teachers. A 3-way interaction between time management, work demands, and autonomy was hypothesized: The combination of high work demands and low autonomy was predicted to lead to burnout for teachers low in time management and not, or to a lesser extent, for those high in time management. This hypothesis is confirmed for emotional exhaustion, the most predictive dimension of teacher burnout, and partly confirmed for the personal accomplishment dimension. Generalizability to other contactual occupations is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Critical incidents and chronic stressors at work: Their impact on forensic doctors.

Workers in medium- or high-risk professions are often confronted with critical incidents at the workplace. The impact of these acute stressors may be serious and enduring. Many workers also experience chronic job stressors, such as work overload or role conflicts. This study examined the frequently neglected relationship of acute and chronic stressors with self-reported health symptoms, such as posttraumatic responses, fatigue, and burnout. This association was investigated in a sample of forensic doctors in the Netherlands (N = 84). It was found that the more traumatic events the respondents experienced, the more problems they reported in coping with the traumatic events. Chronic job stressors were associated with posttraumatic responses (intrusions and avoidances) and with burnout and fatigue. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Crossover of workplace aggression experiences in dual-earner couples.

This study investigates whether workplace aggression experienced by one or both members of a couple accounts for increases in the psychological distress of the victim's partner. Viewing the work-family interface and stress-strain processes as dyadic, and open to interindividual and interdomain contagion, analyses were conducted on matched data from a large-scale population health survey containing information on both working adults from 2,904 couples. Multilevel analysis of bidirectional crossover, while controlling for common stressors, supports the proposition of a crossover of stress resulting from workplace aggression. This finding highlights the complexities of work-family dynamics and of the deep penetration of workplace aggression into the lives of dual-earner partners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships of occupational hazards with burnout: An assessment of measures and models.

A survey of aircraft maintenance technicians with the Canadian Forces (N?=?157) found support for a model of burnout and occupational risk assessment. The model depicted employees' assessment of occupational risk as a function of the prevalence and lethalness of workplace hazards, as well as of the amount of control employees experience over their interactions with these hazards. A confirmatory factor analysis, in which LISREL analysis was used, supported an integrated model of risk perception and burnout. In this model, the employee's sense of control in managing occupational hazards was pivotal in both the experience of exhaustion and being at risk at work. Safety training contributed to perceived control and technicians' sense of effectiveness at work. The extension of the burnout construct beyond the human service domain was considered by using the Maslach Burnout Inventory—General Survey (C. Maslach, S. E. Jackson, & A. P. Leiter, 1996). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A multilevel exploration of the influence of teacher efficacy and burnout on response to student problem behavior and school-based service use.

There is an increasing concern about teacher factors, such as burnout or low efficacy, which have been hypothesized to influence student outcomes like achievement or discipline problems. The current study examined how burnout and efficacy relate to student disciplinary actions (e.g., referrals to the principal and suspensions) and referrals for school-based support services (e.g., student support and special education), while adjusting for school-, teacher-, and student-level variables. Data were collected during the fall and spring of a single school year from 491 teachers regarding 9,795 students at 31 elementary schools. Contrary to expectations, having low teacher efficacy in the fall was associated with a reduction in student referrals to the student support team. Also unexpectedly, teachers with high burnout in the fall were less likely to have students who received an out-of-school suspension by the spring. These findings enhance our understanding of the teacher factors that influence student outcomes and may inform the development of screenings and teacher-targeted interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparing two burnout interventions: Perceived job control mediates decreases in burnout.

This quasi-experimental study compared the effects of two rehabilitation interventions on burnout and perceived job conditions during a 1-year intervention among female white-collar workers. The participatory intervention (n = 20), involving rehabilitation activities that focused on the individual as well as on individual-organizational levels, assessed exhaustion, cynicism and perceived job control during a 1-year period. Increased job control served as a mechanism through which exhaustion and cynicism decreased in this intervention. The traditional intervention (n = 32), involving rehabilitation activities focusing mainly on the individual level, resulted in a reduction in time pressures during one year. Furthermore, both interventions improved perceived workplace climate. Compared to the traditional approach, the participatory intervention was a more effective strategy for treating burnout. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Renal stone analysis: is there any clinical value?

OBJECTIVE: To provide national-level data concerning the percentage of pharmacies selling tobacco products, examine relationships between selling practices and pharmacy characteristic variables, and explore perceptions of conflicts between tobacco-selling activity and professional and personal values and the potential effects of such conflicts. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: Data were collected from a geographically stratified systematic random sample of 899 pharmacies. Multiple mailings were sent to the attention of the pharmacy manager. A random sample of nonrespondents was also contacted by telephone, urging participation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Whether the pharmacy currently sold cigarettes and/or smokeless tobacco products, and if so, whether these practices differed from what respondents' personal or professional values tell them to do. Scales designed to measure job satisfaction, job-induced tension, and propensity to leave were also included. RESULTS: Slightly more than half (50.5%) of the pharmacies sold cigarettes and 35.4% sold smokeless tobacco products. Independents were less likely than chain pharmacies to sell tobacco products. For those respondents working in pharmacies where tobacco products were sold, 47.6% responded that this practice differs from what their personal values tell them to do and 63.9% replied that this practice differs from what their professional values tell them to do. Even when controlling for pharmacy type, respondents working in pharmacies that sold tobacco products had significantly lower levels of global job satisfaction, higher levels of job-induced tension, and a higher propensity to leave than did respondents working in pharmacies that did not. CONCLUSION: Decision makers in pharmacies where tobacco products are still sold should take a serious look at the justification for the continued availability of tobacco products in an environment that has a goal of promoting health.     

Effects of customer entitlement on service workers' physical and psychological well-being: A study of waitstaff employees.

This exploratory study examines the nature of customer entitlement and its impact on front-line service employees. In an open-ended qualitative inquiry, 56 individuals with waitstaff experience described the types of behaviors entitled customers engage in and the kinds of service-related “perks” these individuals feel deserving of. Participants explained how they responded to entitled customers, how and when managers became involved, and how their dealings with these patrons influenced their subjective physical and psychological well-being. We found that the behaviors of entitled customers negatively impacted waitstaff employees. Participants reported physiological arousal, negative affect, burnout, and feelings of dehumanization as a result of dealing with these patrons. While respondents drew on a variety of strategies to manage their encounters with entitled customers, they indicated workplace support was often informal and described feeling abandoned by management in dealing with this workplace stressor. Approaching customer entitlement as a form of microaggression, we offer recommendations for practice and suggest new directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of a respite from work on burnout: Vacation relief and fade-out.

In a quasi-experiment designed to examine the relief from job stress and burnout afforded by a vacation respite, 76 clerks completed measures of job stress and burnout twice before a vacation, once during vacation, and twice after vacation. There was a decline in burnout during the vacation and a return to prevacation levels by the time of the second postvacation measure. Comparing the two prevacation measures indicated no anticipation effects. However the return to work showed gradual fade-out, as burnout returned part way toward its prevacation level by 3 days after the vacation and all the way by 3 weeks after the vacation. Women and those satisfied with their vacations experienced greater relief; however, both subsamples also experienced the quickest fade-out. The respite effect and its complete fade-out were detected among all subgroups analyzed. Burnout, relief, interpersonal stress crossover, and burnout climate at work are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Break copy" duplication: a model for chromosome fragment formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Scores on burnout among 631 Canadian and 1,180 Dutch teachers were compared with various demographic variables (sex and age) and factors related to work (experience in teaching, type of school, and number of hours employed). Burnout was assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory of three dimensions, Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment. Analysis indicated that, over-all, Canadian teachers reported higher scores on Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization than their Dutch peers. Differences in the number of hours employed were also significant: full-time Canadian teachers scored higher on Depersonalization than their Dutch colleagues. Across countries, sex and type of school appeared significantly related to burnout. Male teachers rated higher on Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization than the women. Especially with regard to the attitudinal components of burnout, i.e., Depersonalization and Personal Accomplishment, secondary school teachers reported higher scores than elementary school teachers. Age was not significantly related to measures.     

On the meaning of Maslach's three dimensions of burnout.

The dimensionality of C. Maslach's (1982) 3 aspects of job burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment) was examined among a sample of supervisors and managers in the human services. A series of confirmatory factor analyses supported the 3-factor model, with the first 2 aspects highly correlated. The 3 aspects were found to be differentially related to other variables reflecting aspects of strain, stress coping, and self-efficacy in predictable and meaningful ways. Implications for better understanding the burnout process are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

From inequity to burnout: The role of job stress.

This research examined burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment) among 2 samples of Dutch teachers as a function of inequity and experienced job stress in 3 different exchange relationships (with students, colleagues, and the school). It was hypothesized that inequity would he linked to burnout through the stress resulting from this inequity. Analysis of a cross-sectional sample (N?=?271) revealed that this was indeed the case. Findings were replicated longitudinally using an independent sample of 940 teachers. It is concluded that the often-reported effect of inequity on burnout can partly be interpreted in terms of elevated levels of job stress. Implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)