Job Resources Boost Work Engagement, Particularly When Job Demands Are High

This study of 805 Finnish teachers working in elementary, secondary, and vocational schools tested 2 interaction hypotheses. On the basis of the job demands–resources model, the authors predicted that job resources act as buffers and diminish the negative relationship between pupil misbehavior and work engagement. In addition, using conservation of resources theory, the authors hypothesized that job resources particularly influence work engagement when teach

How to assess severe burnout?: Cutoff points for the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) based on three European samples

OBJECTIVE: Despite decades of burnout research, clinical validated cut-off scores that discriminate between those who suffer from burnout and those who don't are still lacking. To establish such cut-off scores, the current study uses a newly developed questionnaire, the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) that consists of four subscales (exhaustion, mental distancing, and emotional and cognitive impairment). Separate cut-offs were computed for those at risk for burnout and those suffering from severe burnout for the original BAT-23 as well as for the shortened BAT-12. METHODS: Relative operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were carried out using representative samples of healthy employees from The Netherlands (N=1370), Belgium (Flanders; N=1403) and Finland (N=1350). In addition, samples of employees who received a burnout diagnosis were used (N=335, 158 and 50, respectively). RESULTS: The diagnostic accuracy of the BAT (area under the curve) ranges from good to excellent with the exception of mental distancing, which is fair. The country-specific cut-off values as well as their specificity and sensitivity are comparable to those of the pooled sample. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to country-specific cut-offs, general cut-offs can be used tentatively in other similar countries, pending future replication studies. Caution is warranted for using cut-offs for mental distance as the sensitivity and specificity of this subscale is relatively poor. It is concluded that the BAT can be used in organizational surveys for identifying employees at risk for burnout and, in clinical treatment settings, for identifying those with severe burnout, keeping in mind the tentativeness of the present cut-offs

Physical activity attenuates the influence of FTO variants on obesity risk: A meta-analysis of 218,166 adults and 19,268 children

Background: The FTO gene harbors the strongest known susceptibility locus for obesity. While many individual studies have suggested that physical activity (PA) may attenuate the effect of FTO on obesity risk, other studies have not been able to confirm this interaction. To confirm or refute unambiguously whether PA attenuates the association of FTO with obesity risk, we meta-analyzed data from 45 studies of adults (n = 218,166) and nine studies of children and adolescents (n = 19,268). Methods and Findings: All studies identified to have data on the FTO rs9939609 variant (or any proxy [r2>0.8]) and PA were invited to participate, regardless of ethnicity or age of the participants. PA was standardized by categorizing it into a dichotomous variable (physically inactive versus active) in each study. Overall, 25% of adults and 13% of children were categorized as inactive. Interaction analyses were performed within each study by including the FTO×PA interaction term in an additive model, adjusting for age and sex. Subsequently, random effects meta-analysis was used to pool the interaction terms. In adults, the minor (A-) allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity by 1.23-fold/allele (95% CI 1.20-1.26), but PA attenuated this effect (pinteraction= 0.001). More specifically, the minor allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity less in the physically active group (odds ratio = 1.22/allele, 95% CI 1.19-1.25) than in the inactive group (odds ratio = 1.30/allele, 95% CI 1.24-1.36). No such interaction was found in children and adolescents. Concl

How dentists cope with their job demands and stay engaged : the moderating role of job resources

This study focuses on job demands, job resources, and work engagement among 1,919 Finnish dentists employed in the public sector. Based on the Job Demands - Resources model, it was first predicted that the inverse relationship between job demands (e.g. workload, physical environment) and work engagement would be weaker when dentists had many resources (e.g. variability in the required professional skills, peer contacts). Second, using the Conservation of Resources theory it was hypothesized that job resources are most beneficial in maintaining work engagement under conditions of high job demands. The data were based on a postal questionnaire with a response rate of 71%. The dentists were split into two random groups in order to cross-validate the results. A set of hierarchical regression analyses resulted in 17 out of 40 significant interactions (40%). Four out of 20 possible interaction effects could be cross-validated showing, for example, that variability in professional skills mitigated the negative effect of qualitative workload on work engagement and, in addition, boosted work engagement when the qualitative workload was high. The main conclusion is that job resources are useful in coping with the high demands in dentistry and help dentists to stay engaged

East is east and west is west and never the twain shall meet: Work engagement and workaholism across Eastern and Western cultures

This article compares the mean levels of work engagement and workaholism across two cultures (East Asia and Western Europe) by using a latent variable approach. Data were collected in Western Europe in the Netherlands (N = 10,162), Spain (N = 3,481), and Finland (N = 3,472) and in East Asia in China (N = 2,977) and in Japan (N =2,520). It was assumed that, based on cultural differences, in individualistic and Christian Europe work is associated with self-enhancement and personal development, whereas in collectivistic and Confucian Asia work is associated with enhancement of the group and self-sacrifice. Following this lead it was hypothesized and found that in Western European employees are more engaged at work than East Asian employees. Support for the second hypothesis that East Asian employees are more work addicted than Western European employees was less convincing since this was only the case for China and not for Japan. Variations in levels of workaholism and work engagement between the countries are discussed in the light of socio-economic differences and cultural differences in work value

East is east and west is west and never the twain shall meet: Work engagement and workaholism across Eastern and Western cultures

This article compares the mean levels of work engagement and workaholism across two cultures (East Asia and Western Europe) by using a latent variable approach. Data were collected in Western Europe in the Netherlands (N = 10,162), Spain (N = 3,481), and Finland (N = 3,472) and in East Asia in China (N = 2,977) and in Japan (N =2,520). It was assumed that, based on cultural differences, in individualistic and Christian Europe work is associated with self-enhancement and personal development, whereas in collectivistic and Confucian Asia work is associated with enhancement of the group and self-sacrifice. Following this lead it was hypothesized and found that in Western European employees are more engaged at work than East Asian employees. Support for the second hypothesis that East Asian employees are more work addicted than Western European employees was less convincing since this was only the case for China and not for Japan. Variations in levels of workaholism and work engagement between the countries are discussed in the light of socio-economic differences and cultural differences in work value