Employee Well-Being Profiles: A Person-Centered Approach to Understanding Multiple Dimensions of Psychosocial Well-Being

Employee well-being research is receiving growing attention as organizations are increasingly turning to well-being improvement to promote employee health and reduce health-related expenditures. Traditional organizational and occupational health studies often examine relationships between employee well-being and its antecedents and outcomes from a variable-centered perspective. The current study adopted a holistic and person-centered approach to well-being assessment, and (1) identified clusters of employees who shared common configurations with regard to multiple dimensions of psychosocial well-being (i.e., purpose, social, financial, and community). A profile-based perspective is a more intuitive way for employers/managers to understand employee well-being. The current study also (2) examined physical, work-related, and demographic predictors of profile membership, (3) investigated how profile membership distinguished employees on physical well-being and work-related productivity outcomes, and (4) determined the stability and transition patterns of well-being profiles over time. Study hypotheses and research questions were tested using latent mixture modeling, specifically Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) and Latent Transition Analysis (LTA). A large U.S. population-based dataset containing a representative employee sample was first used to conduct exploratory LPAs and determine the best-fitting profile solution. Two additional two-wave longitudinal employee samples were used to cross-validate the final profile solution, and test the hypotheses regarding profile antecedents, outcomes, and stability. Six distinct psychosocial well-being profiles emerged – discontented, contented, highly contented, financial-dominant, financially insecure, and lack of community well-being. Physical, work-related, and demographic factors were significant predictors of profile membership. Well-being profiles also distinguished employees on physical well-being and job performance. LTAs revealed that well-being profiles were largely stable over time, and some of the profile predictors and outcomes explained the transition probabilities. Results of the current study provide meaningful information and feedback for employer-sponsored well-being improvement programs. A profile-based understanding of employee well-being allows employers/managers to tailor intervention programs based on the needs of specific employee groups, as well as encourage (prevent) movement toward profiles associated with positive (negative) outcomes. Additional implications and directions for future research are discussed

Longitudinal Predictors of Self-Reliance for Coping with Mental Health Problems in the Military

Military personnel encounter occupational hazards that make them vulnerable to developing mental health symptoms; however, many soldiers who experience a problem do not seek treatment. A major barrier to treatment is self-reliance, a preference to manage problems oneself rather than seek help from a professional. In the present study, we sought a more comprehensive understanding of factors that contribute to self-reliance. Active-duty soldiers (N = 485) were surveyed at two time points. The sample was 93% male, 67% Caucasian, and most were aged 20-24 (49%). The survey included: factors that affect treatment-seeking, deployment experiences, and mental health symptoms. Results indicated that stigmatizing beliefs about those who seek treatment and negative beliefs about treatment at Time 1 were related to higher preferences for self-reliance at Time 2, while positive beliefs about treatment at Time 1 were related to lower self-reliance. Combat exposure, mental health symptoms, social support for treatment-seeking, and stigma from others were not significant predictors. These results demonstrate that self-reliance may not be unique to combat soldiers and may not diminish as symptoms become severe. Instead one’s views of treatment and others who seek treatment may be more impactful, and should be the target of interventions to encourage treatment-seeking

What happens when employees are furloughed? A resource loss perspective

Furloughs refer to placing employees on a temporary leave with no pay for the period of the leave. The current study draws from conservation of resources (COR) theory to examine how furloughs affect employees’ experiences of burnout, work–family conflict, and life satisfaction. Results gathered from 212 individuals show that being furloughed during the 2013 U.S. federal government shutdown was associated with perceived personal resource loss, which was related to decreased life satisfaction and increased work–family conflict and physical, cognitive, and emotional burnout 5 weeks after the shutdown ended. The relationships between furlough status and all outcomes were fully mediated by perceived resource loss. Our findings show that furloughs can and do negatively affect employees and that these effects last long after the furlough has ended

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

The Effects of Income Adequacy on Job Search Behaviors: A Test of Moderated Mediation

The purpose of the current study was to examine the consequences of perceived income adequacy within the nursing population. In order to allow for more effective development of practical interventions, the present study also assessed the underlying mechanisms through which income adequacy affected job search behaviors. Using a sample of 208 nurses in the Northwestern United States, we found that individuals who perceived their income as inadequate for their current wants and current needs were more likely to engage in job search behaviors. The results showed that physical and mental health symptoms explained the pathways between income adequacy and job search behaviors. Specifically, perceptions of income inadequacy led to unhealthy symptoms (e.g., trouble sleeping, depression), which in turn led to more job search behaviors. However, full mediation occurred only when participants had one or more financial dependents. The significant moderated mediation suggested that individuals with financial dependents were more likely to be affected by income inadequacy and subsequent health problems. These results shed light on how nurses appraise stress relevant to their financial situations and provide valuable information for health care organizations to prevent employees’ job search process or actual departure

The Dark Side of Helping: Does Returning the Favor from Coworkers Hurt Employee Work Engagement?

This study investigated the potential dark side of helping behavior at work -- operationalized as provision of social support to coworkers. Drawing from the emotional contagion literature and Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, we proposed and tested a moderated mediational model to examine the mechanisms by which social support received from one\u27s coworkers contribute to the support recipient\u27s work engagement. Employing data from a 12-week-long weekly diary among 142 acute care nurses, we did not find support for the proposed negative relationship between providing social support to coworkers and support providers\u27 work engagement, nor for the overall mediational effect of the relationship between received coworker support and work engagement through support provision. However, we found that some work contextual factors (i.e., stable social support climates from coworkers and supervisors) moderated the weekly processes through which nurses\u27 repaying social support received from coworkers predicts their subsequent work engagement. Specifically, providing support to coworkers had stronger beneficial effects on providers\u27 engagement when coworker/supervisor support climates were relatively low; support received from coworkers had stronger indirect beneficial effects on nurses\u27 engagement when coworker/supervisor support climates were relatively low. Our study findings highlight the complexity of the relationship between social support dynamics and work engagement, and that emotional contagion and COR theory may be insufficient, on their own, to explain social support dynamics between coworkers. We also discuss implications of the findings for managerial practices related to support dynamics at work

Mothers in the making?: exploring liminality in cyber/space

This paper makes a case for cyberspace and geographical space coexisting simultaneously as an interconnected dyadic cyber/space combining the virtually real and the actually real. Based on empirical evidence from a study examining the role of the internet in the life of new mothers, we investigate the simultaneity of online/onsite experiences through an exploration of cyberspace as a performative liminal space, one where the women `tried out’ different versions of motherhood. We suggest that liminality, as a concept that can denote both a space and time of `betweenness’, is a useful tool in the virtual geographers `conceptual handbag’ as it enables a more lively understanding of cyberspace. But although cyberspace can result in the production of new selves, these selves have residual attachments to embodied experiences and practices. This suggests that new theorising about cyber/space must combine a consideration of liminality with everyday corporeality