The construct validity of an alternative measure of burnout: investigating the English translation of the Oldenburg burnout inventory

While the most commonly employed burnout measure has been the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), researchers have been troubled by some of the psychometric limitations of that scale (e.g. wording of the scale items) as well as the limited conceptualization of burnout upon which it is based. As a result, Demerouti et al. have developed an alternative measure of burnout, the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI). The purpose of this paper is to develop evidence for the validity and reliability of an English-language translation of the OLBI. As such, this study is among the first validation studies of the OLBI, and the first to assess the characteristics of the OLBI an English-speaking sample. Using data from 2599 employees across two samples from the United States (a generalized sample of working adults and a sample of fire department employees), our preliminary multi-trait, multi-method (MTMM) and confirmatory factor analyses suggested that the OLBI may be a viable alternative to the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS). It demonstrates acceptable reliability (test-retest reliability and internal consistency) as well as factorial, convergent, and discriminant validity. We discuss the implications of this study for the measurement and conceptualization of burnout and suggest a variety of research directions that stem from our findings. Our findings suggest that the OLBI offers researchers an alternative measure of burnout that offers balanced wording, that can also be used to measure the opposite phenomenon (engagement), and provides an expanded conceptualization of the exhaustion component of burnout

"Productive and counterproductive job crafting: A daily diary study": Correction to Demerouti, Bakker, and Halbesleben (vol 20, p 457, 2015)

Reports an error in "Productive and counterproductive job crafting: A daily diary study" by Evangelia Demerouti, Arnold B. Bakker and Jonathon R. B. Halbesleben (Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Advanced Online Publication, Mar 23, 2015, np). There was an error in the results. In the Results section, under the subheading Testing Hypotheses, the parenthetical text referring to “lower bound and upper bound” for reducing demands to work engagement through workload in the second paragraph and for reducing demands on task performance through day-level workload and work engagement in the sixth paragraph respectively should have read as follows: (lower bound = -.040 to upper bound = -.002) (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2015-12645-001.) The present study aims to uncover the way daily job crafting influences daily job performance (i.e., task performance, altruism, and counterproductive work behavior). Job crafting was conceptualized as “seeking resources,” “seeking challenges,” and “reducing demands” and viewed as strategies individuals use to optimize their job characteristics. We hypothesized that daily job crafting relates to daily job demands and resources (work pressure and autonomy), which consequently relate to daily work engagement and exhaustion and ultimately to job performance. A sample of 95 employees filled in a quantitative diary for 5 consecutive working days (n occasions = 475). We predicted and found that daily seeking resources was positively associated with daily task performance because daily autonomy and work engagement increased. In contrast, daily reducing demands was detrimental for daily task performance and altruism, because employees lower their daily workload and consequently their engagement and exhaustion, respectively. Only daily seeking challenges was positively (rather than negatively) associated with daily counterproductive behavior. We conclude that employee job crafting can have both beneficial and detrimental effects on job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved

Productive and counterproductive job crafting : a daily diary study

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 20(4) of Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (see record 2015-44183-001). There was an error in the results. In the Results section, under the subheading Testing Hypotheses, the parenthetical text referring to "lower bound and upper bound" for reducing demands to work engagement through workload in the second paragraph and for reducing demands on task performance through day-level workload and work engagement in the sixth paragraph respectively should have read as follows: (lower bound = -.040 to upper bound = -.002)] The present study aims to uncover the way daily job crafting influences daily job performance (i.e., task performance, altruism, and counterproductive work behavior). Job crafting was conceptualized as "seeking resources," "seeking challenges," and "reducing demands" and viewed as strategies individuals use to optimize their job characteristics. We hypothesized that daily job crafting relates to daily job demands and resources (work pressure and autonomy), which consequently relate to daily work engagement and exhaustion and ultimately to job performance. A sample of 95 employees filled in a quantitative diary for 5 consecutive working days (n occasions = 475). We predicted and found that daily seeking resources was positively associated with daily task performance because daily autonomy and work engagement increased. In contrast, daily reducing demands was detrimental for daily task performance and altruism, because employees lower their daily workload and consequently their engagement and exhaustion, respectively. Only daily seeking challenges was positively (rather than negatively) associated with daily counterproductive behavior. We conclude that employee job crafting can have both beneficial and detrimental effects on job performance. (PsycINFO Database Recor

Introduction: Expanding the boundaries of psychological resource theories

Abstract This article introduces JOOP’s special section on expanding the boundaries of resource theories in Occupational and Organizational Psychology. After an introduction of the most relevant resource theories and their current application in Occupational and Organizational Psychology – Key resource theories, Conservation of Resources Theory, Resource Theory of Social exchange, and Selective Optimization with Compensation Theory – the opportunities and challenges for future research are outlined, as well as the innovative trends emerging from the contributions in this special section

Coping proactively with economic stress: career adaptability in the face of job insecurity, job loss, unemployment, and underemployment

Economic stressors such as job insecurity, job loss, unemployment, and underemployment cause severe difficulties for the workers affected, their families, organizations, and societies overall. Consequently, most past research has taken a thoroughly negative perspective on economic stress, addressing its diverse negative consequences and the ways that people try to cope with them. And even when following the advice provided by the scientific literature, people affected by economic stress will usually end up being off worse than they were before the onset of the stressor. The current chapter pays credit to this perspective yet also tries to counterbalance it with an alternative one. While acknowledging the vast amount of literature outlining the negative consequences of economic stress on peoples’ well-being and careers, some literature also points at opportunities for a more positive perspective. More specifically, we argue that affected people can use a wide repertoire of behaviors for handling their current situation. Of particular promise in this regard is the concept of career adaptability, generally defined as the ability to change to fit into new career-related circumstances. Indeed, studies show that under certain conditions, career adaptability can facilitate people's search for not just any job but for a qualitatively better job, thus breaking through the spiral of losses usually associated with economic stress. For the purpose of this argument, we link career adaptability to the concept of proactive coping, analyzing how and under which conditions career adaptability may present a contextualized form of proactive coping. We then address known personal and situational antecedents of career adaptability and show how career adaptability may be fostered and trained among different types of job seekers. We end this chapter with a discussion of open questions as well as directions for future research