Employee Participation in Organizational Change: Investigating the Effects of Proactive vs. Reactive Implementation of Downsizing in Swedish Hospitals

Whereas employee participation is generally conceived to facilitate implementation of organizational change, only limited research has investigated whether it may reduce the negative effects of downsizing. The present study compares two Swedish hospitals that implemented downsizing in different ways. While there were no major differences in stressors between hospitals, proactive implementation was associated with more employee participation. Moreover, employee participation variables were positively associated with employee work attitudes and well-being at both hospitals. These findings provide insights concerning the importance of a long-term strategic implementation of organizational change.Von Mitarbeiterbeteiligung wird gewöhnlich erwartet, dass sie die Implementierung von organisationalem Wandel unterstützt. Dagegen finden sich nur wenige Untersuchungen zur Frage, ob dadurch die negativen Effekte von Downsizing reduziert werden. Die vorliegende Untersuchung vergleicht zwei schwedische Krankenhäuser, in denen Downsizing auf proaktivem bzw. reaktivem Wege implementiert wurde. Zwar finden sich zwischen den Krankenhäusern keine größeren Unterschiede in den Stressoren, aber bei der proaktiven Implementierung waren die Mitarbeiter stärker beteiligt. Mitarbeiterbeteiligung korrelierte positiv mit Arbeitseinstellungen und Wohlbefinden der Mitarbeiter in beiden Krankenhäusern. Die Ergebnisse geben Hinweise auf die Bedeutung der langfristig-strategischen Implementierung von organisationalem Wandel

The negative relationships between employee resilience and ambiguity, complexity, and inter-agency collaboration

Employee resilience (ER) is often needed to face demands inherent in public sector work. Some types of demands, however, may hinder its development, rather than provide the type of challenging adversity from which resilience can develop. Public sector job demands have been a long-standing issue for public workplaces and employees but are also growing in salience as organisations face an increasingly variable, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment. Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources model and the challenge/hindrance stress literature, this multi-level study of Aotearoa New Zealand civil servants (n = 11,533) in 65 public sector organisations shows that ER is negatively affected by demands such as job insecurity, unclear job and organisational goals, and inter-agency collaboration. However, organisational resource constraints are positively associated with ER. This study identifies core PA job and organisational demands that hinder ER and offers practical implications and suggestions for further research. Points for practitioners: Job role ambiguity, job insecurity, unclear organisational goals, and inter-agency collaboration are common job and organisational demands in public sector workplaces. For employees, these demands are stressors that employees do not feel they control, and may therefore hinder employee resilience: the ability to learn, adapt, and leverage networks in the face of challenges. Surprisingly, resource constraints, where employees have to ‘do more with less’, might help employees develop ER. While inter-agency collaboration has potentially many benefits, it appears to have negative spillover effects on employees unaware of it or not involved in it. To encourage ER, agencies should clarify both organisational and job goals, and assure job security, control, competency development, and supervisor support

The Role of Union Support in Coping With Job Insecurity: A Study Among Union Members from Three European Countries

The present study examines the potential moderating role of union support in the relationship between job insecurity and work-related attitudes and well-being of unionised employees. Survey data collected among union members from three European countries (The Netherlands, Italy and Sweden) indicate that job insecurity is associated with reduced levels of job satisfaction, well-being and organisational commitment. Contrary to expectations, union support moderated neither the effect of job insecurity on job satisfaction nor its effect on wellbeing. However, in two countries a moderating effect of union support on relation between the job insecurity and organisational commitment was found. Opsomming Die huidige studie ondersoek die potensiële modererende rol van vakbond ondersteuning in die verhouding tussen werksonsekerheid en werksverwante houdings en welstand van werknemers wat aan 'n, vakbond behoort. Opname data wat ingesamel is tussen vakbond lede van drie Europese lande (Nederland, Italië en Swede) toon dat werksonsekerheid geassosieer word met verlaagde vlakke van werkstevredenheid, welstand en organisasieverbondenheid. Teen verwagting, het vakbond ondersteuning nie die effek van werksonsekerheid op wekstevredenheid of welstand gemodereer nie. Daar is egter in twee lande 'n, moderende effek van vakbond ondersteuning op die verwantskap tussen werksonsekerheid en organisasie gebondenheid gevind

Job Insecurity, Union Support and Intentions to Resign Membership: A Psychological Contract Perspective

This article uses psychological contract theory to explore the consequences of job insecurity among union members. We hypothesize that the perception of job insecurity will correlate with a lower level of perceived union support and a higher intention to resign union membership. We also test whether the relationship between job insecurity and membership turnover is mediated by (a lack of) perceived union support. In Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands, an association is found between job insecurity and a reduction in perceived union support, and between job insecurity and the intention to resign membership; this association is also fully mediated by (a lack of) perceived union support. None of these hypotheses are corroborated in Sweden. We discuss implications of these findings for future research and for unions in Europe

Doživljaj nesigurnosti posla i članstvo u sindikatu: slučaj privremenih radnika

The present study investigates the relationship between felt job insecurity and union membership accounting for potential differences between temporary and permanent workers. Consistent with the idea that felt job insecurity leads workers to seek social protection from the unions, and with earlier studies, we hypothesize a positive relationship between felt job insecurity and union membership (Hypothesis 1). Furthermore, we argue that this relationship may be stronger among temporary compared with permanent workers (Hypothesis 2): insecure temporary workers are in a situation of \u27double vulnerability\u27, hence they have strong motives for unionization. Hypotheses are tested in a cross- -sectional sample of 560 Flemish (Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) workers. Our results were as follows: the relationship between felt job insecurity and union membership was not significant. The interaction term between contract type and felt job insecurity was significantly related to union membership: the relationship between felt job insecurity and union membership was positive among temporary workers, but not among permanent workers. This pattern of results may inspire unions to target future recruitment strategies on temporary workers. A route for future research could be to test our hypotheses also longitudinally.Ova studija istražuje odnos između doživljaja nesigurnosti posla i članstva u sindikatu, objašnjavajući potencijalne razlike između privremeno zaposlenih radnika i onih u stalnom radnom odnosu. U skladu s tezom da doživljaj nesigurnosti posla navodi radnike da socijalnu zaštitu zatraže od sindikata, a i u skladu s ranijim istraživanjima, postavlja se hipoteza pozitivne povezanosti između doživljaja nesigurnosti posla i članstva u sindikatu (Hipoteza 1). Nadalje, tvrdi se da ova povezanost može biti jača kod privremenih u usporedbi sa stalnim radnicima (Hipoteza 2): nesigurni privremeni radnici nalaze se u položaju "dvostruke ranjivosti", stoga imaju snažne motive za sindikalno organiziranje. Hipoteze su testirane na uzorku poprečnoga presjeka, koji se sastojao od 560 flamanskih radnika (nizozemsko govorno područje u Belgiji). Rezultati su ovakvi: povezanost doživljaja nesigurnosti posla i članstva u sindikatu nije bila značajna. Interakcija između vrste ugovora i doživljaja nesigurnosti posla bila je značajno povezana s članstvom u sindikatu: povezanost doživljaja nesigurnosti posla i članstva u sindikatu bila je pozitivna kod privremenih radnika, ali ne i kod stalnih radnika. Ovakav rezultat može potaknuti sindikate da se ubuduće usmjere prema strategijama privlačenja privremenih radnika. U sljedećim istraživanjima hipoteze bi se mogle testirati i longitudinalno

The Swedish Version of the Ritvo Autism and Asperger Diagnostic Scale: Revised (RAADS-R). A Validation Study of a Rating Scale for Adults

There is a paucity of diagnostic instruments for adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study evaluates the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Ritvo Autism and Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised (RAADS-R), an 80-item self-rating scale designed to assist clinicians diagnosing ASD in adults. It was administered to 75 adults with ASD and 197 comparison cases. Also, a subset completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Three out of four subscales had high internal consistency. Sensitivity was 91% and specificity was 93%. The ASD subjects had significantly higher mean scores on all subscales. ASD females had higher scores than ASD males on the sensory motor subscale, a dimension not included in the AQ. RAADS-R showed promising test re-test reliability

Kan socialt stöd och coping mildra effekterna av stress på ohälsa?

Arbetsrelaterad stress och ohälsa har blivit fokus för mycket av forskningen på senare år. Givet de negativa konsekvenser som dessa har för individer och organisationer, undersöker denna studie huruvida socialt stöd och problemfokuserade copingstrategier kan motverka negativa reaktioner på arbetsrelaterade stressorer. Detta studeras i en grupp lärare där data insamlats vid två tidpunkter, vilket möjliggör en studie av effekter på ohälsa över tid

Personalens arbetsattityder och hälsa vid privatisering - en jämförelse mellan två svenska akutsjukhus

Privatiseringar motiveras ofta med höjd effektivitet och kvalitet, men resultatet av en privatisering beror sannolikt på hur personalen reagerar på förändringen. Trots detta är det ännu oklart vilka konsekvenser privatiseringar får för personalen. Här undersöks hur privatiseringen av ett akutsjukhus kan påverka personalens arbetsattityder och självrapporterade ohälsa både på sjukhusnivå och uppdelat på tre hierarkiska nivåer: läkare, sjuksköterskor och undersköterskor

Utbrändhet i vården: Betydelsen av krav och resurser på tre sjukhus med olika driftsformer

Hälso- och sjukvården har de senaste decennierna förändrats dramatisktmed bland annat bolagiseringar och privatiseringar. Samtidigt visarstatistik på stora ohälsotal inom vårdsektorn. Studien syftar därför tillatt bidra till förståelsen av uppkomsten och utbredningen av utbrändheti sjukvården. Detta görs dels genom att beakta faktorer i den psykosocialaarbetsmiljön, dels genom att jämföra tre akutsjukhus i Stockholmsregionensom har olika typer av driftsform: traditionell förvaltningsdriven,bolagiserad och privat vinstdriven