Workplace harassment, services utilization, and drinking outcomes.

Given the negative outcomes associated with sexual harassment (SH) and generalized nonsexual workplace harassment (GWH), this study examines the relationship between SH and GWH and help-seeking behavior in a sample of 2,038 university employees. Employees who experienced SH or GWH were more likely to report having sought mental health or health services to deal with workplace issues, compared with those who did not experience SH or GWM, controlling for job stress and prior services use. Women experiencing GWH were more likely to use services than men, but the same was not true for SH. Men experiencing SH who sought services exhibited higher levels of some alcohol outcomes, contrary to expectations. Implications for workplace interventions and for service providers are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Once, twice, or three times as harmful? Ethnic harassment, gender harassment, and generalized workplace harassment.

Despite scholars’ and practitioners’ recognition that different forms of workplace harassment often co-occur in organizations, there is a paucity of theory and research on how these different forms of harassment combine to influence employees’ outcomes. We investigated the ways in which ethnic harassment (EH), gender harassment (GH), and generalized workplace harassment (GWH) combined to predict target individuals’ job-related, psychological, and health outcomes. Competing theories regarding additive, exacerbating, and inuring (i.e., habituating to hardships) combinations were tested. We also examined race and gender differences in employees’ reports of EH, GH, and GWH. The results of two studies revealed that EH, GH, and GWH were each independently associated with targets’ strain outcomes and, collectively, the preponderance of evidence supported the inurement effect, although slight additive effects were observed for psychological and physical health outcomes. Racial group differences in EH emerged, but gender and race differences in GH and GWH did not. Implications are provided for how multiple aversive experiences at work may harm employees’ well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stable predictors of job satisfaction, psychological strain, and employee retention: An evaluation of organizational change within the New Zealand Customs Service.

Recent changes in employment conditions have resulted in the increased exposure of workers to unfavorable job characteristics and to consequential increases in adverse individual and organizational health outcomes. In this article the authors evaluate the steps undertaken by one proactive employer to reduce these adverse outcomes. Three organization-wide surveys (n = 350, 316, and 405) were conducted over a 3-year period within the New Zealand Customs Service to determine the influence of perceived job conditions on individual and organizational health outcomes. Staff retention and employee satisfaction significantly improved over time and these increases were attributable to workplace improvements. Stable predictors of job satisfaction included minor daily stressors, positive work experiences, job control, and perceived supervisor support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patterns of workplace harassment, gender, and use of services: An update.

Using three waves of data from an ongoing study of current and former university employees (N = 1,656), the authors reexamined the roles of sexual (SH) and generalized (GWH) workplace harassment and gender in predicting use of professional services by focusing on patterning (chronic, remission, onset, intermittent, and never harassed). The authors also reexamined whether services moderated relationships between SH and GWH patterns and drinking and mental health outcomes. All patterns of SH, but only chronic GWH, predicted increased odds of services use. Services use did not moderate relationship between SH patterns and outcomes, but was associated with lower alcohol consumption for men with GWH remission or chronicity, reduced escape drinking for those with GWH remission, and reduced hostility for those with intermittent GWH. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Workers' perceptions of how jobs affect health: A social ecological perspective.

A national sample of 2,048 workers was asked to rate the impact of their job on their physical and mental health. Ordered logistic regression analyses based on social ecology theory showed that the workers' responses were significantly correlated with objective and subjective features of their jobs, in addition to personality characteristics. Workers who had higher levels of perceived constraints and neuroticism, worked nights or overtime, or reported serious ongoing stress at work or higher job pressure reported more negative effects. Respondents who had a higher level of extraversion, were self-employed, or worked part time or reported greater decision latitude or use of skills on the job reported more positive effects. These findings suggest that malleable features of the work environment are associated with perceived effects of work on health, even after controlling for personality traits and other sources of reporting bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recovery, Health, and Job Performance: Effects of Weekend Experiences.

This study extended research on respites by examining the extent to which experiences during the weekend contribute to health and job performance after the weekend. Longitudinal data including 3 measurement occasions from 87 emergency service workers indicated that nonwork hassles, absence of positive work reflection, and low social activity during the weekend predicted burnout and poor general well-being after the weekend. Weekend experiences also predicted different aspects of job performance after the weekend. The results reveal practical implications for individual and organizational optimization of recovery processes. Suggestions for future research on specific recovery processes and their effects on individual health and performance are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in newcomer job satisfaction over time: Examining the pattern of honeymoons and hangovers.

In this study, the authors contribute insight into the temporal nature of work attitudes, examining how job satisfaction changes across the 1st year of employment for a sample of organizational newcomers. The authors examined factors related to job change (i.e., voluntary turnover, prior job satisfaction) and newcomer experiences (i.e., fulfillment of commitments, extent of socialization) that may strengthen or weaken the job satisfaction pattern. Results of a study of 132 newcomers with data collected at 4 unique time periods show a complex curvilinear pattern of job satisfaction, such that satisfaction reached a peak following organizational entry and decreased thereafter. However, examination of moderating factors revealed that individuals who reported less satisfaction with their prior job and those having more positive experiences on the new job, such as greater fulfilled commitments and a higher degree of socialization, were most likely to experience this pattern. Findings from this study offer important implications for theory and research on changes in newcomer attitudes over time as well as practical insight on key factors that shape the pattern of job attitudes as individuals enter and experience a new workplace. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Health and turnover of working mothers after childbirth via the work–family interface: An analysis across time.

This study examined organizational levers that impact work–family experiences, participant health, and subsequent turnover. Using a sample of 179 women returning to full-time work 4 months after childbirth, we examined the associations of 3 job resources (job security, skill discretion, and schedule control) with work-to-family enrichment and the associations of 2 job demands (psychological requirements and nonstandard work schedules) with work-to-family conflict. Further, we considered subsequent impact of work-to-family conflict and enrichment on women's health (physical and mental health) 8 months after women returned to work and the impact of health on voluntary turnover 12 months after women returned to work. Having a nonstandard work schedule was directly and positively related to conflict, whereas schedule control buffered the effect of psychological requirements on conflict. Skill discretion and job security, both job resources, directly and positively related to enrichment. Work-to-family conflict was negatively related to both physical and mental health, but work-to-family enrichment positively predicted only physical health. Physical health and mental health both negatively influenced turnover. We discuss implications and opportunities for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Role of Acceptance and Job Control in Mental Health, Job Satisfaction, and Work Performance.

Acceptance, the willingness to experience thoughts, feelings, and physiological sensations without having to control them or let them determine one's actions, is a major individual determinant of mental health and behavioral effectiveness in a more recent theory of psychopathology. This 2-wave panel study examined the ability of acceptance also to explain mental health, job satisfaction, and performance in the work domain. The authors hypothesized that acceptance would predict these 3 outcomes 1 year later in a sample of customer service center workers in the United Kingdom (N = 412). Results indicated that acceptance predicted mental health and an objective measure of performance over and above job control, negative affectivity, and locus of control. These beneficial effects of having more job control were enhanced when people had higher levels of acceptance. The authors discuss the theoretical and practical relevance of this individual characteristic to occupational health and performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teaching self-care to caregivers: Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on the mental health of therapists in training.

Preparation for the role of therapist can occur on both professional and personal levels. Research has found that therapists are at risk for occupationally related psychological problems. It follows that self-care may be a useful complement to the professional training of future therapists. The present study examined the effects of one approach to self-care, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), for therapists in training. Using a prospective, cohort-controlled design, the study found participants in the MBSR program reported significant declines in stress, negative affect, rumination, state and trait anxiety, and significant increases in positive affect and self-compassion. Further, MBSR participation was associated with increases in mindfulness, and this enhancement was related to several of the beneficial effects of MBSR participation. Discussion highlights the potential for future research addressing the mental health needs of therapists and therapist trainees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Change in job conditions and change in psychological distress within couples: a study of crossover effects

In a random sample of 242 full-time employed men and women in dual-earner couples (N = 484), this study estimated the relations between (a) his experiences on the job over time and her distress over time and (b) her experiences on the job over time and his distress over time. In addition, we explored whether the crossover effects were due primarily to experiences with particular job conditions, and whether there were gender differences in the magnitude of these associations. The participants were interviewed 3 times over a 2-year period. After taking into account the relationship between each partner's own job conditions over time and her or his own psychological distress, there were significant associations between both the time-varying and the stable components of each partner's job conditions on the other partner's distress. The findings are discussed within the context of the need to expand the models used to study the job stress-illness relation to include longitudinal and within-couple crossover effects.     

Predicting longitudinal changes in caregiver physical and mental health: A stress process model.

Alzheimer's family caregivers (N?=?122) reported on physical and mental health, as well as stress process variables, at baseline and at a 1-year follow-up. Hierarchical regression analyses of stress process models revealed that increases in primary stressors (e.g., patient self-care and behavioral problems) did not directly affect changes in the mental and physical health outcome variables. However, analyses of models of direct, mediated, and moderated effects revealed that psychosocial resource variables (appraisals, coping responses, and social support) were related to caregiver outcomes over time through several mechanisms. In particular, benign appraisals of stressors, the use of approach coping, and greater levels of social support were associated with more positive caregiver health outcomes over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Workplace emotions: The role of supervision and leadership.

In this experience sampling study, the authors examined the role of organizational leaders in employees' emotional experiences. Data were collected from health care workers 4 times a day for 2 weeks. Results indicate supervisors were associated with employee emotions in 3 ways: (a) Employees experienced fewer positive emotions when interacting with their supervisors as compared with interactions with coworkers and customers; (b) employees with supervisors high on transformational leadership experienced more positive emotions throughout the workday, including interactions with coworkers and customers; and (c) employees who regulated their emotions experienced decreased job satisfaction and increased stress, but those with supervisors high on transformational leadership were less likely to experience decreased job satisfaction. The results also suggest that the effects of emotional regulation on stress are long lasting (up to 2 hr) and not easily reduced by leadership behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Positively biased appraisals in everyday life: When do they benefit mental health and when do they harm it?

To promote optimal mental health, is it best to evaluate negative experiences accurately or in a positively biased manner? In an attempt to reconcile inconsistent prior research addressing this question, we predicted that the tendency to form positively biased appraisals of negative experiences may reduce the motive to address those experiences and thereby lead to poorer mental health in the context of negative experiences that are controllable and severe but lead to better mental health in the context of controllable negative experiences that are less severe by promoting positive feelings without invoking serious consequences from unaddressed problems. In 2 longitudinal studies, individuals in new marriages were interviewed separately about their ongoing stressful experiences, and their own appraisals of those experiences were compared with those of the interviewers. Across studies, spouses' tendencies to form positively biased appraisals of their stressful experiences predicted fewer depressive symptoms over the subsequent 4 years among individuals judged to be facing relatively mild experiences but more depressive symptoms among individuals judged to be facing relatively severe experiences. Furthermore, in Study 2, these effects were mediated by changes in those experiences, such that the interaction between the tendency to form positively biased appraisals of stressful experiences and the objectively rated severity of initial levels of those experiences directly predicted changes in those experiences, which in turn accounted for changes in depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that cognitive biases are not inherently positive or negative; their implications for mental health depend on the context in which they occur. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Whatever does not kill us: Cumulative lifetime adversity, vulnerability, and resilience.

Exposure to adverse life events typically predicts subsequent negative effects on mental health and well-being, such that more adversity predicts worse outcomes. However, adverse experiences may also foster subsequent resilience, with resulting advantages for mental health and well-being. In a multiyear longitudinal study of a national sample, people with a history of some lifetime adversity reported better mental health and well-being outcomes than not only people with a high history of adversity but also than people with no history of adversity. Specifically, U-shaped quadratic relationships indicated that a history of some but nonzero lifetime adversity predicted relatively lower global distress, lower self-rated functional impairment, fewer posttraumatic stress symptoms, and higher life satisfaction over time. Furthermore, people with some prior lifetime adversity were the least affected by recent adverse events. These results suggest that, in moderation, whatever does not kill us may indeed make us stronger. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Effect of a Participatory Organizational Intervention on Work Environment, Job Stress, and Subjective Health Complaints.

To improve occupational health, a participatory organizational intervention study was carried out in a sorting terminal in the Norwegian Postal Service. A questionnaire was administered 3 times to an intervention group and to a control group. During the intervention period, targeted improvement activities were selected and carried out. The intervention had a long-term effect on job autonomy and a positive but limited effect on job stress and subjective health complaints. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in combat-related stressors and their association with postdeployment mental health in a nationally representative sample of U.S. OEF/OIF veterans.

Though the broader literature suggests that women may be more vulnerable to the effects of trauma exposure, most available studies on combat trauma have relied on samples in which women's combat exposure is limited and analyses that do not directly address gender differences in associations between combat exposure and postdeployment mental health. Female service members' increased exposure to combat in Afghanistan and Iraq provides a unique opportunity to evaluate gender differences in different dimensions of combat-related stress and associated consequence for postdeployment mental health. The current study addressed these research questions in a representative sample of female and male U.S. veterans who had returned from deployment to Afghanistan or Iraq within the previous year. As expected, women reported slightly less exposure than men to most combat-related stressors, but higher exposure to other stressors (i.e., prior life stress, deployment sexual harassment). No gender differences were observed in reports of perceived threat in the war zone. Though it was hypothesized that combat-related stressors would demonstrate stronger negative associations with postdeployment mental health for women, only one of 16 stressor × gender interactions achieved statistical significance and an evaluation of the clinical significance of these interactions revealed that effects were trivial. Results suggest that female Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom service members may be as resilient to combat-related stress as men. Future research is needed to evaluate gender differences in the longer-term effects of combat exposure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stress and rewards in women's multiple roles: The case of women in the middle.

Examined stress and rewards experienced by 95 women who were simultaneously occupying the roles of caregiver, mother, and wife. The study examined role-specific stress and rewards as predictors of well-being (physical health, positive affect, negative affect, and role overload) and examined the effects of an accumulation of role stress and role rewards across these 3 roles. Role rewards contributed unique variance to well-being, even after role stress had been considered. An accumulation of role stress across roles was related to poorer well-being, whereas an accumulation of role rewards was related to better well-being. Findings indicate that caregivers' experiences in multiple roles could both detract from and enhance their mental and physical health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of war exposure on air force personnel's mental health, job burnout and other organizational related outcomes.

Longitudinal data from a stratified representative sample of U.S. Air Force personnel (N = 1009) deployed to the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations were analyzed in this study. Using structural equation models, we examined the effects of war exposure on traumatic experiences, Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) symptoms, resource loss, and on subsequent functioning, perceived health, and on job and organizationally relevant outcomes. The job and organizational outcomes included job burnout, job involvement, job strain, job satisfaction, work-family conflict, organizational commitment, deployment readiness, and intention to reenlist. We found that deployment to the theater of the war increased risk of exposure to trauma, which in turn, predicted elevated PTS symptoms and resource loss. PTS symptoms predicted later loss of resources and deterioration in perceived health and functioning. In turn, resource loss predicted negative job and organizational outcomes. Exposure to trauma fully mediated the effects of deployment to the theater of war on PTS symptoms and resource loss and had additional significant indirect effects on several job and organizational relevant outcomes. For returning veterans, deployment to the theater of war, exposure to trauma, PTS symptoms, and resource loss represents a “cascading” chain of events that over time results in a decline of health and functioning as well as in adverse job and organizationally relevant outcomes that may affect organizational effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Similarity of prior trauma exposure as a determinant of chronic stress responding to an airline disaster.

The cumulative effects of trauma were examined in 108 workers at the site of a major air disaster at 4 time points over a year following the crash. The influence of trauma history on chronic distress and physiological arousal associated with the crash were examined. Stress levels were expected to differ on the basis of the similarity of prior trauma exposure to work at the crash site. Prior traumatic exposure that was "dissimilar" to this type of work was associated with greater vulnerability to crash-related stress, that is, more distress and crash-related intrusions during the year following the crash. Accumulation of a variety of different traumatic experiences appeared to sensitize workers to the new stressor and to perpetuate chronic stress. Understanding the role of trauma history is important for improving intervention efforts aimed at alleviating stress following a trauma. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)