Psychosocial Training: A Case of Self-Efficacy Improvement in an Italian School

The changes that the regulatory institutions have imposed on the Italian school system over the last decades may actually result in contradictory effects at the individual and organizational levels: resistance or indifference on the one hand and training or coping strategies on the other. The paper focuses on the impact of such changes on teachers, as professional workers within public schools and individual participants of change. The paper refers to psychosocial training as a coping strategy, analysing how school teachers deal with work-related stress, and what impact a training intervention might have on some individual dimensions. Subsequently, in the longitudinal study presented, we analysed whether the training intervention conducted was effective in terms of learning and change. The case under consideration is a primary school located in the South of Italy, and the participants in the training and research were 92 female teachers. In order to investigate the effectiveness of the designed and applied training programme, we measured how some important psychological dimensions have changed over time: self-efficacy, job satisfaction and interpersonal strain. According to a sociological learning approach, the results suggest the effectiveness of training programmes as enablers of change and solutions to some change paradoxes; when they respond to the identified needs, they are based on practical activities that require a collective participation, they focus on social relationships and processes and the knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. In the school context, the psychosocial training might represent a solution, if not a prevention strategy, for change management

Engaging Public Servants: Public Service Motivation, Work Engagement and Work-Related Stress

Considering the ongoing international debate on the role of public administrations in economic systems, public service motivation (PSM) has significantly and increasingly attracted the attention of practitioners and scholars in the past two decades. Following the research streams that have investigated topics of organizational behavior in the public context, this study examines the influence of PSM on the feeling of job satisfaction for public employees. The novelty of the study lies in linking some features of the work context considered to be more prevalent in public organizations with specific job characteristics, seen as determinant antecedents of job satisfaction. Based on two complementary studies conducted in an Italian public administration, this paper shows how PSM influences job satisfaction, job engagement, and life satisfaction. Additionally, the findings display how job engagement affects both job and life satisfaction in these particular contexts. Furthermore, the paper sheds new light on how to deal with such problems and at the same time opens new avenues for investigation

Promote Well-Being and Innovation in Sustainable Organizations: The Role of Job Crafting as Mediator

Job satisfaction and affective commitment are key factors for individual and organizational well-being. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of job crafting, a behavior capable of generating positive results and innovation in the workplace. Using the JD-R model as the theoretical framework, the present study investigated the relationship between resources and demands, derived from both the work and family domains, and job satisfaction and affective commitment, hypothesizing the mediating role of job crafting. The sample consisted of 413 employees. Results showed that job crafting fully mediated the relationship between work-family conflict and job Satisfaction and partially mediated the relationship between supervisor support and job satisfaction. These results confirm the importance of social support, a good balance between work and family and job crafting in generating job satisfaction and influencing positive outcomes at individual, work and organizational levels

The role of job satisfaction, work engagement, self-efficacy and agentic capacities on nurses' turnover intention and patient satisfaction

Background: Nurses' voluntary turnover is a worrying global phenomenon which affects service quality. Retaining nursing staff within a hospital is important to eliminate the negative influence of voluntary turnover on the quality of care and organisation costs. Objectives: This research helps explain nurses' voluntary turnover by analysing the role of self-efficacy, agentic capacities, job satisfaction, and work engagement on hospital turnover intention, and to study the relationships between these variables and patient satisfaction. Setting and participants: This study gathered data from 194 nurses and 181 patients from 22 inpatient wards at two hospitals in southern Italy. Results: Correlation analysis revealed that job satisfaction, work engagement, self-efficacy and agentic capacities were positively interrelated and negatively correlated with turnover intention. Path analysis showed that selfefficacy, some agentic capacities (anticipation and self-regulation), job satisfaction, and work engagement had direct or indirect effects on nurses' turnover intention, and that job satisfaction exerted a stronger effect on turnover intention. Also, patient satisfaction was positively correlated with nurses' job satisfaction, work engagement, self-efficacy, self-regulation and anticipation and negatively correlated with nurses' turnover intention. Conclusion: Results highlighted the importance of implementing actions (for example through feedforward methodology and the goal setting technique) to improve self-efficacy, self-regulation skill, work engagement and job satisfaction in order to reduce nurses' turnover intention and increase patient satisfaction with nursing care

Il ruolo delle Percezioni di Contesto sul Job Burnout nelle organizzazioni sanitarie [The role of Perceptions of Context (PoC) on Job Burnout in health services organizations]

Numerose ricerche hanno indagato il fenomeno Job Burnout e i suoi predittori, sottolineando il ruolo dei fattori situazionali e organizzativi. Il costrutto di Percezioni di Contesto (PoC) è stato ancora poco studiato nei contesti sociosanitari. Obiettivi: Il principale contributo dello studio è quello di ampliare la conoscenza delle determinanti del Job Burnout focalizzandosi sulle dimensioni di contesto e di integrare lo studio di questo fenomeno con un costrutto che enfatizza la dimensione relazionale, l’Interpersonal Strain. Metodi: Un campione di 105 operatori di una struttura sanitaria italiana ha compilato un questionario self-report che comprende le seguenti scale: Percezioni di Contesto - Percezioni della componente sociale (dei colleghi, del lavoro in équipe, del capo diretto, della direzione, della collaborazione di pazienti e familiari, della collaborazione tra reparti) e Percezioni del compito (del carico di lavoro e della pressione temporale); MBI-GS (Esaurimento e Cinismo); ISW Scale (Interpersonal Strain). Risultati: I risultati confermano l’associazione tra le PoC e il Job Burnout e mostrano il ruolo trasversale esercitato dalla Percezione della pressione temporale su tutte e tre le dimensioni del Job Burnout. Un risultato interessante è dato dal ruolo giocato dalle Percezioni relative alla componente sociale, in particolare dalla Percezione della direzione nel predire l’Esaurimento e il Cinismo, e dalla Percezione del lavoro in équipe nel predire l’Interpersonal Strain. Sono emerse differenze significative tra le PoC e il reparto di appartenenza. Conclusioni: Alla luce dei risultati ottenuti è possibile ipotizzare azioni di prevenzione e di intervento mirate.The role of Perceptions of Context on Job Burnout in health services organizations: an exploratory study>>. Background: Several empirical studies have investigated Job Burnout and its predictors, underlining the role of situational and organizational factors. The Perceptions of Context construct (PoC) has yet to be studied in healthcare contexts. Objectives: The main contribution of the study is to broaden the knowledge of the Job Burnout determinants focusing on the dimensions of the context and to integrate research in this field with a construct that emphasizes the relational dimension, the Interpersonal Strain. Methods: 105 health workers of an Italian organization have completed a self-report questionnaire including the following scales: Perceptions of Context - Perceptions of the social component (colleagues, teamwork, supervisor, management, collaboration of patients and family members, collaboration between wards) and Perceptions of the task (workload and time pressure); MBI-GS (Exhaustion and Cynicism); ISW Scale (Interpersonal Strain). Results: The results confirm the association between the PoC and Job Burnout and show the transversal role played by Perception of Time Pressure on all three dimensions of Job Burnout. An interesting result is the role played by the perceptions of the social component, in particular the role of Supervisor Perceptions in predicting Exhaustion and Cynicism, and the role of Teamwork Perceptions in predicting Interpersonal Strain. Significant differences between the PoCs and the membership ward emerged. Conclusions: Based on our results, it is possible to plan focused prevention and intervention actions

La formazione per il cambiamento

Da sempre la scuola è luogo di tras-form-azione, che va al di là della formazione degli stessi allievi poiché la scuola stessa trasformandosi induce cambiamenti anche negli stessi docenti. Appare evidente che, parallelamente alla “formazione continua”, il processo di tras-formazione continua investe prepotentemente il luogo principe in cui ad essa si dà azione: la scuola. Anche la scuola, al pari di ogni altra organizzazione, è un’entità complessa il cui efficace ed efficiente funzionamento dipende dalla qualità delle relazioni tra vari elementi (individui, gruppi, strutture, tecnologie, informazioni) interdipendenti, in modo ripetuto nel tempo (Franco, De Simone, 2011). Ne consegue che la qualità del risultato dipenderà dalle modalità di funzionamento del sistema complessivo che subisce e crea cambiamenti (Sangiorgi, 2007). Analisi teoriche ed esperienze concrete dimostrano che esistono fattori critici di insuccesso con valore universale che possono ostacolare l’accettazione, la collaborazione e lo sforzo comune per l’esito positivo di un cambiamento organizzativo. Tra questi la letteratura in tema di change management individua nel concetto di stress uno dei fattori fondamentali ostacolante i programmi di cambiamento e sviluppo. Lo stress è la reazione avversa ad eccessive pressioni tali per cui l’individuo non si sente in grado di corrispondere alle richieste o aspettative in lui riposte. A tutto ciò va poi aggiunto il fatto che gli insegnanti sono inseriti in una complessa rete di relazioni e richieste di ruolo davvero difficile da gestire e che spesso travalicano il ruolo di insegnante (che diviene una commistione tra docente-padre/madre-mediatore-educatore). Poiché esso non può essere eliminato diventa essenziale comprenderne i meccanismi, le dinamiche e i modi in cui può essere gestito e moderato (Kreitner, Kinicki, 2004) intervenendo sulle competenze e professionalità delle persone, aumentandole o potenziandole attraverso specifici corsi e percorsi di sviluppo e cambiamento (Favretto, 1994). Tuttavia, a seconda della portata ed estensione del suo contenuto, il cambiamento provoca resistenze che tendono ad assumere una maggiore significatività laddove si intraprendono iniziative di più ampia portata e che possono essere superate ricorrendo a strategie e strumenti diversi (De Vita, Mercurio, Testa, 2007). Per il buon esito sono quindi cruciali il contenuto e la modalità di erogazione della formazione

Occupational stress, job satisfaction and physical health in teachers = Le stress au travail, la satisfaction au travail et la santé physique chez les enseignants

Introduction: Changes within the teaching profession have been blamed for the high levels of stress reported by teachers. In recent decades, Italian schools have been characterised by continuous change, as a result of profound transitions that have affected political, social and economic development. Objective: This paper investigated the relationship between occupational stress, job satisfaction and physical health in Italian teachers. Specifically, our aim is to study the role of job satisfaction as a possible mediation role between work stressors and its effects on teachers' physical health (physical symptoms). In addition, we were interested in studying the direct effects of work stressors on the hypothetical outcomes (physical symptoms). Method: Data were collected via a questionnaire from a sample of 565 teachers working in different upper secondary schools in Italy. The booklet filled by the teachers consisted of 32 items that measure perceived occupational difficulties, job satisfaction and physical symptoms. Results: The results showed that workload, perception of work environment, teachers' perceptions of senior management and attitude towards change are specific perceived occupational difficulties of the Italian teachers involved in our research. In particular, workload and attitude towards change have significant direct effects on physical symptoms, and indirect effects on physical symptoms through job satisfaction. Also, job satisfaction decreases physical symptoms. Conclusion: The results suggest important implications for stress prevention in teachers. In fact, the level of stress and its consequences can be reduced and prevented through an accurate identification of its sources, with a positive effect on individual and organisational health

Il ruolo delle capacità agentiche nelle intenzioni di turnover del personale infermieristico

Il turnover volontario nella professione infermieristica è un problema rilevante nelle strutture ospedaliere e necessita di adeguati approfondimenti. Questo studio contribuisce a spiegare le ragioni legate alle intenzioni di turnover del personale infermieristico e fornisce spunti di riflessione per migliorare la pratica lavorativa. Hanno partecipato allo studio 161 infermieri e 13 coordinatori infermieristici che lavorano nei reparti di degenza di due aziende ospedaliere italiane. Ad essi è stato somministrato un questionario self-report allo scopo di analizzare la relazione tra le capacità agentiche (autoregolazione, anticipazione, apprendimento vicario e autoriflessione) e le intenzioni di turnover dal reparto e dall’azienda. I dati hanno mostrato un’associazione negativa tra l’autoregolazione e il desiderio di lasciare il reparto e l’ospedale ed un’associazione positiva tra l’autoriflessione e l’intenzione di turnover dal reparto. I risultati hanno inoltre evidenziato che l’anzianità organizzativa ha un effetto negativo sul desiderio di lasciare il reparto e l’ospedale, mentre l’anzianità professionale ha un effetto positivo solo sull’intenzione di turnover dall’ospedale. Infine, è emerso che i coordinatori infermieristici percepiscono di avere maggiori capacità di regolare le proprie emozioni e i propri comportamenti, di prefigurarsi gli eventi futuri e di apprendere dalla propria esperienza rispetto agli infermieri. I risultati dello studio suggeriscono azioni e interventi che, tenendo conto dell’anzianità organizzativa e professionale, siano volti a sviluppare la capacità di autoregolazione del personale infermieristico per ridurre le intenzioni di turnover e migliorare il servizio offerto.OBJECTIVES: Voluntary turnover in the nursing profession is one of the main concerns in hospitals and it requests comprehensive research. This study contributes to explain the reasons related to turnover intention of nurses and provides causes for reflection to improve the working practice. METHODS: 161 nurses and 13 nursing coordinators, working in the wards of two Italian hospitals, participated in the study. A self-report questionnaire was administered to them in order to analyze the relationship between agentic capacities (self-regulation, anticipation, vicarious learning, self-reflection) and the intentions to leave the ward and the hospital. RESULTS: The data show a negative association between self-regulation and the desire to leave the ward and the hospital, and a positive association between self-reflection and the intention to leave the ward. The results also show that organizational seniority has a negative effect on intentions to leave the ward and the hospital, while professional seniority has a positive effect only on the intention to leave the hospital. Finally, the nursing coordinators perceive to have a greater ability to manage their own emotional states and behavior, to prefigure future events and to learn from their own experience than nurses. CONCLUSIONS: The study's results suggest actions and interventions to develop self-regulation of the nursing staff to reduce turnover intentions and improve the quality of the service offered taking into account seniority and professional organization

Engaging public servants: public service motivation, work engagement and work-related stress

Considering the ongoing international debate on the role of public administrations in economic systems, public service motivation (PSM) has significantly and increasingly attracted the attention of practitioners and scholars in the past two decades. Following the research streams that have investigated topics of organizational behavior in the public context, this study examines the influence of PSM on the feeling of job satisfaction for public employees. The novelty of the study lies in linking some features of the work context considered to be more prevalent in public organizations with specific job characteristics, seen as determinant antecedents of job satisfaction. Based on two complementary studies conducted in an Italian public administration, this paper shows how PSM influences job satisfaction, job engagement, and life satisfaction. Additionally, the findings display how job engagement affects both job and life satisfaction in these particular contexts. Furthermore, the paper sheds new light on how to deal with such problems and at the same time opens new avenues for investigation