New types of employment, new ways to be uncivil? A thematic analysis of temporary agency workers’ exposure to workplace incivility

The aim of the study was to explore what types of incivility temporary agency workers might experience or witness. A total of 162 temporary agency workers (97 women and 65 men) from three unions and three temporary work agencies completed an online questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of a one-item question, with an open-ended response format, regarding what types of incivility temporary agency workers might experience or witness in the workplace. The participants were employed in the sectors of healthcare, education, transportation, IT, retail and whitecollar service work. Overall, thematic analysis resulted in the identification of six themes: 1) exclusion from the collegiality, 2) with-holding information and resources, 3) acting condescendingly and using insulting remarks, 4) questioning competence and making higher demands, 5) threatening job security and using abusive terms of employment, and 6) showing more severe negative workplace behaviors. The results show that there are types of uncivil behaviors that are not fully captured by the most frequent used measures of today. Exclusion from the collegiality and not being respected for their competence, and condescending behavior were uncivil behaviors typically associated with temporary agency work. The study has implications for the future development of methods for studying incivility and negative workplace behaviors among temporary agency workers

Models of Workplace Incivility: The Relationships to Instigated Incivility and Negative Outcomes

The aim of the study was to investigate workplace incivility as a social process, examining its components and relationships to both instigated incivility and negative outcomes in the form of well-being, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and sleeping problems. The different components of incivility that were examined were experienced and witnessed incivility from coworkers as well as supervisors. In addition, the organizational factors, social support, control, and job demands, were included in the models. A total of 2871 (2058 women and 813 men) employees who were connected to the Swedish Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union completed an online questionnaire. Overall, the results from structural equation modelling indicate that whereas instigated incivility to a large extent was explained by witnessing coworker incivility, negative outcomes were to a high degree explained by experienced supervisor incivility via mediation through perceived low social support, low control, and high job demands. Unexpectedly, the relationships between incivility (experienced coworker and supervisor incivility, as well as witnessed supervisor incivility) and instigated incivility were moderated by perceived high control and high social support. The results highlight the importance of including different components of workplace incivility and organizational factors in future studies of the area

Expert- och deltagarperspektiv på stress hos scenartister

The phenomenon of stress is often illustrated by means of the demand-control-support model, a model that has inspired many research efforts in the area of psychosocial work environment. According to the model, work that is characterised by high demands, low decision latitude and low social support affects aversively health and well-being. Work control and social support may on the other hand act as buffers and protect against stress effects. However, there is no agreement on how this process works. The purpose of the present study was to contribute to the developing knowledge of the stress phenomenon by combining two perspectives (the expert- and the participatory one) in a study of stage artists, an occupation differing from those investigated previously. One of the perspectives, the expert one, has its roots in the "main stream" tradition in work psychology and social medicine focusing on statistical testing of the demand-control-support model. The other perspective, the participation one, stems from the psychosocial tradition started in Sweden by Bertil Gardell and his colleagues, focusing on the active role of employees in the research process. The combination of the perspectives was expected to provide knowledge, which is more contextualized and valid. The methods involved "research circles" and a survey distributed to 395 stage artists (actors, singers, dancers, choristers and musicians). "Research circles" served as a means of communication between researchers and artists shaping the survey's form and providing the interpretative frame for the results. In the statistical analysis of the survey data the main-, mediator and moderator effects of control and social support were tested. The results show that work demands, control and social support act through main effect on psychological well-being and health for stage artists. Using a path analysis, no mediator effect of social support and control was found. The hiearchial multiple regression analysis revealed no moderator effects. Creation of meaning involved in the personal identity formation was disclosed in the discussion as being of central importance in the understanding of the artistic work. The study highlights the importance of examining specific groups in working life in order to obtain a contextualized knowledge of stress. The results also show a need to use different epistemological and methodological approaches