The shortened workweek: A field experiment.

Examined the effects of the 4-day, 40-hr workweek by comparing 2 experimental groups (n?=?97, n?=?111) and a comparison group (n?=?94) of operating employees in a medium-sized manufacturing company. Comparisons were made on dimensions of self-actualization, autonomy, personal worth, social affiliation, job security, pay and overall job satisfaction, anxiety-stress, absenteeism, and performance over a 13- and a 25-mo period. Analysis of 13-mo data indicated that Ss in the 4-day, 40-hr groups were (a) more satisfied with autonomy, personal worth, job security, and pay; (b) experienced less anxiety-stress; and (c) performed better with regard to productivity than did the comparison group. However, these improvements were not found with the 25-mo data. It is suggested that uncontrolled variables may account for the differences in the short- and long-term effects of the shortened workweek. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational wellness programs: A meta-analysis.

Organizational wellness programs are on or off-site services sponsored by organizations which attempt to promote good health or to identify and correct potential health related problems (Wolfe, Parker, & Napier, 1994). The authors conducted a meta-analysis on studies that examined the effects of participation in an organizational wellness program (fitness or comprehensive) on absenteeism and job satisfaction. The results revealed that participation in an organizational wellness program was associated with decreased absenteeism and increased job satisfaction. The type of wellness program (fitness only or comprehensive) and the methodological rigor of the primary studies were examined as moderators; however, no moderating effects were found. These results provide some empirical support for the effectiveness of organizational wellness programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors relating to varying reactions to the 4-day workweek.

Surveyed the reactions of 474 employees of an accounting division of a large multinational corporation to a 4-day, 38-hr workweek. 90% of the employees had been on the 4-day schedule from 6 mo to 1 yr, and nearly 70% were enthusiastic about the schedule. However, more specific questions, especially questions about work, produced negative responses. Fatigue and slowing down at the end of the day were reported, and servicing of customer needs and meeting with co-workers were more difficult. Supervisors perceived that work quality and output in their units were adversely affected by the 4-day workweek, although company productivity records showed no change. Significant age, sex, and salary differences were found in reactions to the 4-day schedule. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting absenteeism from prior absenteeism and work attitudes.

Recent reviews of the absenteeism literature indicate that absenteeism as a phenomenon is still neither well understood nor accurately predicted. The present study incorporated many of the suggestions for improving absenteeism research that were made in the reviews. More specifically, a longitudinal design was used to assess the accuracy with which the 1977 absenteeism (i.e., total days absent, absence frequency, and supervisory absenteeism rating) of 112 research scientists could be predicted from their previous absenteeism (1974–1976). In addition, the relationships between 1977 absenteeism and 3 work attitudes (job satisfaction, job involvement, and supervisory satisfaction) were assessed. Findings show that past absenteeism was a better predictor of 1977 absenteeism than were the 3 work attitudes. Data relevant to the psychometric equivalence and stability of the absenteeism measures are also reported. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of computer interface design on human postural dynamics

The main objective of this study was to examine the effects of human-computer interface design on postural dynamics, i.e., changes in working postures and postural discomfort exhibited by operators of the computer-based remote bar coding (RBC) system. In addition, the effects of different work/rest schedules on postural dynamics were evaluated. Twelve subjects participated in the laboratory experiment, which consisted of twelve scenarios utilizing two cognitive task requirement factors, i.e., (1) information presentation mode, defined through the letter image preview on the computer screen (none or one preview image); and (2) the information processing mode, defined through the specific keying method (key all characters or key 5 digits only). The third experimental factor was the work/rest schedule (50 min work/10 min break, 2 h of work/15 min break, or flexible schedule). The results showed that requirements of human-computer interface design significantly affected the operators' postural dynamics. It was concluded that not only the physical, organizational, or psychosocial work environment characteristics, but also the cognitive task characteristics are important for assessment of postural effects in the VDT work. The relationship between interface design, mental workload and postural dynamics should be carefully considered in future studies aimed at optimizing the human-computer data entry tasks.     

Work attitudes, motivation, and performance.

Discusses motivational variables both as determinants of performance by the individual in an organization, and as ingredients of work attitudes, such as job satisfaction. Motivation studies have included motivational traits (relatively enduring predispositions), motivating environments, expectancies, and equity theory. Research on job satisfaction and job involvement reveals few consistent relationships to job performance, but they do predict absenteeism and turnover. A few studies of motivational traits suggest possible utility in predicting role performance in managerial or sales positions. Motivating environments seem to have significant relations to job satisfaction and effectiveness. After reviewing several categories of programs aimed at improving motivation, the author expresses a cautiously optimistic view about the success of these programs in improving worker attitudes and/or worker performance. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving Employees’ Work-Life Balance in the Construction Industry: Project Alliance Case Study

Work-life conflict has a damaging effect on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, productivity turnover, and absenteeism. On an individual level, work-life conflict is associated with employee burnout, mental health issues, substance abuse, and diminished family functioning. Thus, work-life balance is an important issue to the construction industry, in terms of both organizational effectiveness and occupational health. Long and inflexible work hours are the most consistent predictor of work-life conflict among construction employees, particularly those working on-site or in a project office. There is considerable resistance to the adoption of new ways of scheduling work within the industry. This paper describes the post hoc evaluation of a compressed work week (reducing the length of the working week, but increasing the length of the working day) in a case study project alliance in Queensland, Australia. Quantitative and qualitative data are presented to demonstrate the beneficial impact of the initiative on employees’ work-life balance. The evaluation provides prima facie evidence that alternative work schedules can improve construction employees’ work-life balance, creating benefits for construction employees and organizations. The paper concludes that project alliances provide an ideal environment in which work-life balance initiatives can help to create high-performance work systems in the construction sector.     

Employees may love flextime, but what does it do to the organization's productivity?

57–63 computer programmers (CPs) and 16–20 data entry operators (DEOs) in a government agency with flextime were compared with 59–69 CPs and 33–42 DEOs in a government agency without flextime. Direct measures of productivity were collected for each group over a 2-yr period and analyzed. CPs shared a limited physical resource (the computer), while DEOs did not. Findings support the hypothesis that flextime has a positive effect on productivity when there are limited physical resources being shared by a work group. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stress prevention in bus drivers: Evaluation of 13 natural experiments.

The research aim was to select, compare, and analyze interventions and preventive actions from international bus companies to decrease bus drivers' occupational stress and sickness absenteeism. Through networking, international surveys, and literature study, 13 "natural experiments" were identified with an acceptable research design rating. Interventions were both work and person directed. Principles of worker participation were often followed. The variety in intervention programs, outcome measures, case evaluations, and methodological flaws makes it difficult to present a general picture of program effectiveness. However, analyses on more objective and more subjective outcomes do point at positive effects. This study suggests that stress prevention that combines adequate interventions and proper implementation may be beneficial to both the employee and the company. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of work to nonwork.

Explored the relationship between work and nonwork experiences in a survey of 139 employees from an electronics firm and a broadcasting company. Respondents were asked to describe both work and nonwork according to dimensions employed in the Job Diagnostic Survey. Measures of physical and psychological stress developed by M. Patchen (1970) and measures of nonwork and job satisfaction based on the Faces scale were also obtained. Absenteeism data were derived from company records. A positive relationship was found between work and nonwork summary scores, supporting a spillover model of the work–nonwork relationship. Results indicate that the nonwork score was more highly related to stress and absenteeism than was the work score. However, the work score was more highly related to job satisfaction, and the nonwork score more highly related to nonwork satisfaction. The influence of nonwork factors on job-related responses is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Criterion measures for youth-work training programs: The development of relevant performance dimensions.

An empirical approach to criterion development was applied to outcome measures for work-training programs serving disadvantaged adolescents (mean age 17.9 yrs). Performance criteria at program completion ( n = 32) and 40 measures obtained 6 mo following training were factor analyzed to define their relevance within a dimensional structure. Four program completion (proximal) factors were readily interpretable (e.g., training program adjustment, work motivation, social-personal adjustment), as were 5 postprogram (distal) dimensions (e.g., job success and satisfaction, job search motivation). Relevance of the proximal criteria was also determined from their predictive relationships with the distal measures. Uses of the multidimensional aspects of a criterion domain as a basis for setting priorities in selecting criterion variables are discussed. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of reinforcement schedules in the reduction of stereotypy with supported routines

The rates and durations of stereotypic behaviors in four adolescents with severe mental retardation were measured during two daily vocational training sessions and during contiguous periods of leisure in their special education classrooms. Vocational training was conducted in two different tasks, alternating across days. The task requirements for each participant were matched to each participant's learning and performance characteristics. The participants were exposed to a fixed ratio schedule of tokens exchangeable for food items on one task and to a variable interval schedule for the same consequences on the second task. The schedules were chosen as an initial test of a matching-law based prediction by Myerson and Hale (1984): Variable interval reinforcement for adaptive behavior will produce less allocation of responding to maladaptive behavior than will a ratio-based intervention. When work performances stabilized, the schedules of token delivery were reversed across the tasks and performances again stabilized. Results are reported for periods when work performances met stability criteria. Stereotypy occurred more during leisure than during vocational training under either schedule. The major differences in stereotypy between leisure and vocational training were differences in episode length rather than rate of onset. Onset of stereotypy in vocational training, however, occurred at higher rates under the interval schedule than under the ratio schedule in both tasks. The results are discussed in terms of Myerson and Hale's prediction and implications for further research and application.     

A meta-analytic examination of work and general locus of control.

The current meta-analysis examined the hypothesized consequences of work and general locus of control. As expected, work locus of control generally yielded stronger relationships with work-related criteria (e.g., job satisfaction, affective commitment, and burnout) than general locus of control. We also found some evidence that general locus of control yielded relatively stronger relationships with general criteria (e.g., life satisfaction, affective commitment, and burnout). Regression analysis found several unique effects for both work and general locus of control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A study of the relationship between need satisfaction and absenteeism among managerial personnel.

Examined the relationship between need satisfaction and absenteeism for a sample of 40 managers in a state organization. The data indicate a positive relationship between dissatisfaction and absenteeism. The larger the need deficiencies, as measured by L. W. Porter's (see record 1963-05789-001) questionnaire format, the greater the rate of absenteeism. The relationship between dissatisfaction and absenteeism held when controlling for the effects of hierarchical level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Costs of simultaneous coping with emotional dissonance and self-control demands at work: Results from two German samples.

In the present study, we examine interactive effects of emotional dissonance (ED) and self-control demands (SCDs; impulse control, resisting distractions, and overcoming inner resistances) on emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, depressive symptoms, and absenteeism. We derived the prediction of interactive effects from the well-founded theoretical argument that both sources of work stress draw on and compete for a common limited regulatory resource. On the basis of 2 German samples (1 cross-sectional and 1 longitudinal sample; NTOTAL = 367), 7 of the 8 interactions tested were found to explain significant proportions of variance in all 4 outcomes considered over and beyond that accounted for by demographic characteristics, outcome stability (longitudinal sample), and main effects. Consistent with our hypotheses, the positive relations of 1 of both stressors (ED or SCDs) to psychological strain and absenteeism were amplified as a function of the other stressor. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of two orientation approaches in hard-core unemployed turnover and absenteeism.

Compared the turnover and absenteeism rates of 49 male negro hard-core unemployed hires in 2 treatment conditions and with those of 49 normal hires. The university-sponsored, quasi-therapeutic orientation proved to be less effective than the company-sponsored orientation which, although intended to be a passive, information-giving approach, proved to have a dynamic free-discussion, personal-counseling, and intervention-with-supervision character. Overall, hard-core hires were not differentiated from normal hires in terms of turnover but were characterized by significantly higher absenteeism. It is concluded that extended company-orientation programs can be superior to supportive programs led by outside professionals, and that hard-core hires provided with such orientation can be as stable employees as those hired who meet normal hiring criteria. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A field test of some attitudinal and behavioral consequences of flexitime.

Examined the effects of flexitime by comparing an experimental group of 173 and a comparison group of 66 nonexempt employees in a large multinational corporation. Comparisons were made on the dimensions of employee flexibility, workgroup relations, superior–subordinate relations, quality of supervision, job satisfaction, absenteeism, and productivity. Results show that employee flexibility, workgroup relations, and superior–subordinate relations improved whereas absenteeism declined. There was no change in quality of supervision, job satisfaction, or productivity. It is suggested that flexitime intervention requires careful management during implementation for positive gains in productivity and job satisfaction. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reinforcing effects of stimulants in humans: Sensitivity of progressive-ratio schedules.

Drug self-administration methodologies have been developed for use in humans to model naturalistic stimulant drug-taking behaviors. These methodologies use a number of schedules of reinforcement, including progressive-ratio schedules. As the name implies, in a progressive-ratio schedule, the response requirement for each subsequent delivery of drug increases, and the primary outcome variable is often the break point (i.e., the last ratio completed to receive a drug delivery). These schedules have been used in a number of human laboratory studies evaluating the reinforcing effects of stimulants. The results of these studies have demonstrated that progressive-ratio schedules are sensitive to manipulation of a pharmacological variable, dose, and to nonpharmacological variables contributing to stimulant drug effects. In addition, findings with progressive-ratio schedules are largely concordant with clinical findings, suggesting that drug self-administration under these schedules has predictive validity in terms of drug abuse and dependence. Future research is necessary, however, to understand better how pharmacological factors like route of administration, onset of effects, and pretreatment influence the reinforcing effects of stimulants under progressive-ratio schedules. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood and absence.

While viewing absence as a mechanism of mood control, I explored the impact of mood at work on absenteeism, taking into account situational influences. Among a sample of 210 salespeople, I found that positive mood at work was significantly and negatively associated with absenteeism. Adjustment to the work situation as indexed by tenure also was influential for absence behavior. In addition, the personality traits, positive affectivity, and negative affectivity had significant effects on the extent to which workers experienced positive moods and negative moods, respectively. The implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)