This study examines the determining factor of nurses' occupational stress in public hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Despite the increasing number of occupational stress studies in the healthcare industry, occupational stress studies are still at an early stage of development in Saudi Arabia, and further research is recommended. The objectives of this research are: (1) to identify the occupational stress levels among nurses in public-sector hospitals in Saudi Arabia; (2) to examine the influence of job demands on the anxiety and turnover intention of nurses working in public-sector hospitals in Saudi Arabia; (3) to investigate the influence of job resources on the turnover intention and happiness of nurses working in public-sector hospitals in Saudi Arabia; (4) to determine the mediating effects of emotional exhaustion on the relationship between job demands and anxiety and turnover intention on nurses working in public-sector hospitals in Saudi Arabia; and (5) to ascertain the mediating effects of work engagement on the relationship between job resources and the turnover intention and happiness of nurses working in public-sector hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted as a two-stage empirical study employing sequential exploratory mixed-methods approach starting with interviews with 15 nurses, analysing the data then revising the questionnaire and distributing to a sample of nurses at five hospitals. The study used thematic analysis to analyse the qualitative data and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and AMOS to analyse the 512 questionnaires. The conceptual model was validated through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), which includes two kinds of models: the measurement model or confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and the structural model which is conducted to approve the hypotheses and the performance of the suggested conceptual framework. The study findings indicated that the level of nurses' stress is very high and has negative outcomes if the job demands (stressors) exceed the nurses' abilities. Emotional demands, work-family conflict and workload are the main job demands identified. Procedural fairness and perceived organizational support are identified as the main job resources. This study also examines the mediation role of emotional exhaustion and work engagement. More specifically, its shows that emotional exhaustion mediates the relationship between emotional demands, work-family conflict, workload and anxiety, whereas emotional exhaustion only mediates the relation between work-family conflict and turnover intention. Conversely, work engagement mediates the relation between procedural fairness and turnover intention and happiness. Contributions of the study, research and practical implications, and future research directions are also discussed.

<p>This research examines the relationships between the satisfaction of psychological needs (belongingness and distinctiveness) on affective and cognitive attitudes (job satisfaction and commitment) with an emphasis on identifying key differential and moderating effects. This study hypothesizes the direct effects of need satisfaction and moderating effects of the source (individual & group) and domain (work & non-work) of need satisfaction. Hypotheses were tested with a cross-sectional survey of alumni from a regional college in the mid-Atlantic United States. Results indicated that satisfying the needs for belongingness and distinctiveness whether through source (individual vs. group) or by domain (work vs. non-work) have a positive impact on job attitudes. However, the results for the moderating and differential effects along with post-hoc analyses provides additional insights. Overall, this study found that the satisfaction of psychological needs have important direct effects on affective and cognitive job attitudes. Results indicated that the source of need satisfaction (individual and group) and the domain in which a need is satisfied do moderate the relationship between psychological need satisfaction and specific cognitive and affective job attitudes. In many circumstances, the moderating effect was not as expected. Additionally, the context of virtuality had a significant impact on only a few relationships. Post-hoc analyses showed that the relationship among the variables in this study are more complex than hypothesized and should be evaluated more fully. </p>

Första linjens chefer balanserar kraven mellan överordnade och medarbetare. Speciellt problematiskt kan det bli i offentlig verksamhet där politik styr och negativa resultaträkningar präglar sjukvården. För att klara av höga krav och begränsade resurser är olika typer av stöd en viktig faktor för chefernas hållbarhet. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur första linjens chefer upplever stöd, vilket stöd som saknas och vilken betydelse stöd har i yrkesrollen. Undersökningen bygger på kvalitativa semistrukturerade enskilda intervjuer med nio enhetschefer från två regioner. En tematisk analys gjordes för att identifiera väsentligt stöd, vilket stöd som anses vara otillräckligt och vilket stöd som är tillgodosett och betydelsen det har i yrkesrollen. Resultatet visade att stödet, framför allt från medarbetarna, ger den viktiga kraften att orka. Resultatet mynnade i slutsatsen att det finns ett behov av stöd för ledarskapsutveckling, ett behov av avlastning, en delaktighet i beslutsprocessen, regelbunden feedback och tydliga ramar och mandat.

Thesis advisor: Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes / The productive aging paradigm emphasizes the importance of continued engagement in productive roles for maintaining health and vitality in later life. The word "engagement" is frequently used within this literature to refer to physical engagement with a role--or one's involvement in the categorical sense. However, psychological engagement--or one's subjective experience of a role as positive, meaningful, invigorating, and inspiring--is less frequently discussed. While there is a well-developed body of knowledge on the antecedents and consequences of psychological engagement with paid work, little is known about the role of age or age-related factors in these relationships. This dissertation begins to fill this gap in the knowledge base by drawing upon important insights from the business management and industrial/organizational psychology literature to understand factors that may contribute to and/or detract from older adults' ability to psychologically engage in work roles and whether these relationships vary for older adults (age 50 or older, n = 543) compared to midlife (age 35 to 49, n = 653) or younger adults (under age 35, n = 664). Results of multi-level regression analyses suggest that personal resources (i.e., core self-evaluations) and job resources (i.e., task variety, autonomy, friendship, task identity, task significance, supervisor support, job security, inclusion in decision-making, opportunities for learning and development, and team culture of flexibility) were main predictors of engagement for older adults as well as midlife and younger adults. Interestingly, the strength and nature of several of the job resource-engagement relationships were dependent upon job demands and/or core self-evaluations for older adults; however, in general, this was not the case for younger or midlife adults. Age differences remained even after controlling for several factors that could account for age-based differences in predictors of engagement (e.g., tenure). These findings provide a fuller understanding of the conditions that promote or impede psychological engagement with work in later life and will help policymakers and practitioners to better recognize and advocate for work contexts that maximize well-being for older adults. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

Ambivalence is the experience of both positive and negative evaluations regarding an object such as a person or an event. Although interest in leadership ambivalence has been growing among researchers, there is still little understanding of what distinguishes it from poor leadership. The goal of this dissertation was to contribute to the leadership ambivalence literature by examining ambivalence in the leader-member exchange (LMX) relationship through the lens of occupational stress. Specifically, I used the job demands-resources model as a theoretical foundation and presented leadership ambivalence as a unique job demand that is associated with emotional exhaustion as a symptom of strain after controlling for LMX quality. I also examined the mediating role of rumination and the moderating role of various personal resources. While leadership ambivalence was not a significant direct predictor of emotional exhaustion, the results supported rumination as a mediator of a significant indirect relationship between the two variables. Optimism, tolerance for ambiguity, and neuroticism were not significant moderators of the effect of leadership ambivalence. However, internal locus of control moderated the relationship between leadership ambivalence and rumination such that the relationship was stronger for those with low internality. In further supplementary analysis, the results were validated using an alternative measure of leadership ambivalence.

Todays workers are living in a rapidly changing environment and adaptability has become one of the most valued competences. Because of economical competition, demands imposed on workers are getting more and more elevated. The opposition between constraints of efficiency, search for performance, workload and private life, combined with a loss in work meaning and in social support, contribute to expose workers to job stress and burnout. Besides dealing with high workload and exigencies of adaptability, workers are expected to create their own career opportunities and development. More specifically, in order to stay competitive, organizations need workers that are active and creative at work, workers that are ready to invest not only their time, but also their mind into their work. In other words, they need workers to be engaged in their work. Given this apparent opposition between increased risk for job stress and burnout on the one hand, and increased need of engaged workers on the other, it is necessary to investigate which conditions are prevalent in the development of those phenomena. In this thesis, we present a theoretical overview of burnout and engagement concepts (chapter1 and chapter2, respectively). We then expose how they are integrated into the theoretical framework of the Job Demands-Resources (JDR) model, and what criticism it can be addressed (chapter3). Chapter4 is dedicated to our research objectives, which are declined in five empirical studies. In study1(chapter5) and study2 (chapter6), we aim at validating the Positive and Negative Occupational States Inventory (PNOSI), a tool that was designed to measure positive and negative workers reactions to their working environment. Results indicate that the tool is composed of two factors, one measuring negative occupational state and the other measuring positive occupational state. This structure was replicated on a variety of samples. Negative occupational state can be conceived as an intermediate state occurring before burnout, while positive occupational state seems to be similar to work engagement. Both are different from commitment and workaholism. The impact of item wording, and interactions between items on the one hand and gender and age on the other were also investigated. In study3 (chapter7), we aim at validating the JDR model on three-wave longitudinal data that we collected among workers of a Belgian public administration. In addition, this study aims at validating the JDR model using predictors derived from stigma and social identity literature. Results indicate that perceived prejudice predicts higher burnout, whereas group identification predicts higher engagement. This was found above the effects of job demands and job resources, respectively. An interaction effect was also observed: among those who identify strongly to their occupational group, engagement was lower when workers also perceived high prejudice towards this group. Study4 and study5 also aim at validating the model using new types of predictors. Study4 (chapter8) more specifically focuses on the health-impairment process of the JDR model. It investigates whether person-related factors (namely workaholism) predict burnout in addition to job demands. Study4 also longitudinally testes whether job strain can indeed be considered as an intermediate state occurring in response to high job demands before burnout develops. We found that job strain acts as an intermediate, shorter term reaction to high job demands, before the occurrence of burnout. Results were mitigated as to the role of workaholism. It was hypothesized that this variable would initiate another kind of process, dealing with person-related issues. In study5 (chapter9), we focus more specifically on the energetic process, and investigate whether workers work-related personal demands (namely, the expectations they develop with regards to their own performance) predict engagement above the effects of job and personal resources. Results indicate that work-related personal demands predict high future engagement, above the impact of job and personal resources. However, no reciprocal impact of engagement was observed. We end this thesis with a discussion of our results and a general conclusion.

En utgångspunkt för arbetslivet bör vara att skapa en arbetsmiljö som ger individer förutsättningar att ingå, kvarstå och utvecklas i arbetet. Arbetsmiljön är betydande för både individers hälsa och verksamheters utveckling samt förutsättningar för tillväxt. Arbetsplatsen betonas därmed vara en betydande arena för förebyggande insatser. Det är arbetsgivaren som har huvudsakligt ansvar för arbetsmiljön. Ingen arbetstagare ska riskera att skadas eller drabbas av ohälsa i arbetet. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur psykosocial arbetsmiljö och stress upplevs hos arbetstagare inom restaurangbranschen. För att besvara syftet användes en kvalitativ metod och fem semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes. Intervjupersonerna för studien var serviceanställda inom restaurangbranschen. Analys av datamaterial utfördes med en manifest kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Det resultat som framkom visar att arbetstagarna främst har negativa upplevelser av sin psykosociala arbetsmiljö och stress, dock framkommer några variationer gällande nivå av problematik. Deras arbete beskrivs innebära ständig stress och omfattar ett flertal arbetsmiljöbrister. Obalans råder mellan höga krav i arbetet och bristande resurser som påverkar arbetstagarnas hälsa negativt både psykiskt och fysiskt. Arbetstagarna betonar faktorer som överbelastande arbete, bristande återhämtning och ledarskap som påfrestande vilka resulterar i arbetsmiljöproblem. / A starting point for working life should be to create a work environment that gives individuals the ability to enter, remain and progress in work. The work is significant both for individual health and development activities as well as opportunities for growth. Workplace therefore constitutes to be an important setting for preventive interventions. It is the employer who has the principal responsibility for the work. No employee should risk being injured or suffer ill health at work. The purpose of the study was to investigate the psychosocial work environment and stress experienced by workers in the restaurant industry. To answer the purpose a qualitative approach been used and five semi-structured interviews were conducted. Those interviewed for the study were service employees in the restaurant industry. Analysis of the data was performed with a manifest content analysis. The results obtained show that works mostly have negative experiences of their psychosocial work environment and stress, however, is any variations regarding the level of problems. Their work is described involve constant stress and includes a number of work deficiencies. There is an imbalance between the demands of work and lack of resources that affect the health negatively both mentally and physically. Workers emphasize factors of stressful work, a lack of recovery and leadership resulting in health and safety problems.

En centralisering av den svenska sjukvården har medfört att enhetschefer fått högre krav på sig under senaste decenniet. Undersökningen fokuserar på hur enhetschefer inom psykiatrin upplever sin position mellan medarbetare och överordnad ledning, samt dimensioner av positionen. Studien genomfördes med semistrukturerade intervjuer, 10 enhetschefer från psykiatrin deltog. Enhetscheferna återfanns inom samma region i Mellansverige. IPA-metoden följdes genom hela förfarandet. Resultatet presenterades genom tre huvudteman som speglade enhetschefernas upplevelser av positionen. I diskussionen lyftes det viktigaste från respektive huvudtema. Det ledde fram till slutsatser som visade att erfarenhet kunde vara avgörande för hur enhetschefer hanterade sitt uppdrag. Informationsflödet var högt och tenderade att orsaka stress hos flera av deltagarna. Relationen till verksamhetschefer var viktig för att enhetschefer skulle må bra samt framställdes som resursstärkande. Det finns många organisatoriska krav som enhetschefer har att leva upp till, resurser kan vara avgörande för hur kraven hanteras.

Chefer i den offentliga sektorn upplever ökade svårigheter med denpsykosociala arbetsmiljön, vilket bland annat förväntas leda till allt störrehälsoproblem och rekryteringssvårigheter för denna grupp. Studien hade sinteoretiska bas i job demands-resources-modellen och syftade till attundersöka sambandet mellan organisatoriska strukturella faktorer,psykosocial arbetsmiljö och organisatorisk effektivitet. Frågeställningarnaformulerades till att undersöka sambandet mellan antal medarbetare per chefoch de organisatoriska effektivitetsmåtten Organizational Capacity toPerform, Comparative Service Performance och brukarnöjdhet, samt omdetta samband medieras av arbetskraven illegitima arbetsuppgifter,logikkonflikter, överbelastning och medarbetarproblem. En enkätstudiegenomfördes med självskattade data från offentligt anställda chefer på olikanivåer från verksamheter inom skola, vård och omsorg samt teknisk service.Tre multipla medieringsanalyser utfördes. Två av tre totala modeller blevsignifikanta och innehöll signifikanta indirekta effekter. Resultatet indikeradeatt det kan finnas svaga samband mellan kontrollspann och två av treundersökta mått på organisatorisk effektivitet, vilka medieras av vissaarbetskrav. Studiens bidrag var att förlänga JD-R-modellen medkontrollspann som en organisatorisk strukturell faktor och belysa att dettamöjligtvis kan påverka organisatorisk effektivitet negativt. De svagasambanden gör att resultatet bör tolkas med försiktighet. Studiensbegränsningar samt rekommendationer för framtida forskning diskuterades.

Approximately 1,6 percent of Swedish employees work under a consultancy firm, which is a fast-growing market. The responsibility of consultant’s work environment is in accordance with Swedish legislation on systematic work environment (SAM) divided between consultant- and client company. This study investigated how 1) consultants experience that their consultant- and client company employers, respectively, work with work environment health; 2) both consultant- and client company employers, respectively, experience their work with implementing work environment/health practices based on SAM. Data collection consisted of 12 in-depth interviews with 8 consultants, 3 consultant managers, and 1 workplace manager. Based on thematic analysis of interviews with consultants three themes were identified: Communication and relation with managers; Justice and inclusion; Managers’ involvement in workplace health. Based on thematic analysis of interviews with managers four themes were identified: Working with SAM; Work environment goals, Relation between consultant- and workplace managers, Relation with consultants. Findings showed the importance of supportive and present leadership, workplace justice and inclusion for consultants’ wellbeing. This responsibility of consultant’s daily work environment was mainly taken by workplace managers. Conclusions are that clear communication and division of responsibility between consultant- and workplace managers regarding consultants’ work environment/health is vital for well-functioning SAM.