Effects of a job crafting intervention program on work engagement among Japanese employees: a pretest-posttest study

Abstract Background Job crafting, an employee-initiated job design/redesign, has become important for employees’ well-being such as work engagement. This study examined the effectiveness of a newly developed job crafting intervention program on work engagement (as primary outcome), as well as job crafting and psychological distress (as secondary outcomes), using a pretest-posttest study design among Japanese employees. Methods Participants were managers of a private company and a private psychiatric hospital in Japan. The job crafting intervention program consisted of two 120-min sessions with a two-week interval between them. Outcomes were assessed at baseline (Time 1), post-intervention (Time 2), and a one-month follow-up (Time 3). The mixed growth model analyses were conducted using time (Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3) as an indicator of intervention effect. Effect sizes were calculated using Cohen’s d. Results The program showed a significant positive effect on work engagement (t = 2.20, p = 0.03) in the mixed growth model analyses, but with only small effect sizes (Cohen’s d = 0.33 at Time 2 and 0.26 at Time 3). The program also significantly improved job crafting (t = 2.36, p = 0.02: Cohen’s d = 0.36 at Time 2 and 0.47 at Time 3) and reduced psychological distress (t = −2.06, p = 0.04: Cohen’s d = −0.15 at Time 2 and −0.31 at Time 3). Conclusions The study indicated that the newly developed job crafting intervention program was effective in increasing work engagement, as well as in improving job crafting and decreasing psychological distress, among Japanese managers. Trial registration UMIN Clinical Trials Registry UMIN000024062 . Retrospectively registered 15 September 2016

番組多重テレビ方式の放送教育への応用 : シミュレーションによる検討と放送大学への提言

For educational broadcasting purposes, it is desirable that as many programs as possible be transmitted. The research investigated whether the still picture TV system developed by NHK could provide such a service. Experiments were conducted using simulation video recordings taken from conventional programs broadcast by the University of the Air, Japan. There are two ways of selecting the still picture frames. One way is by fixed limited time intervals. In the case of a picture showing an average level of movement, too short a time is irritating to the viewer. In the case of a picture depicting little movement, a long interval, even one of 10 seconds, is preferable. An acceptable duration for all pictures is of 2 to 4 seconds. Another way which gives viewers the more notural feeling, is by picking out pictures at not periodic but desirable instances. The problem is that pictures from different programs may coincide on the same frame. When 48 programs are transmitted simultaneously, overlapping is likely to be 20% of any one program. It is considered that the reasonable number of simultaneous broadcasts, in this second way, be in the region of between 10 and 20. Our results indicate the potential that exists to expand the number of programs broadcast, in the future. This is a concept which may be of use in the development also of the "multimedia system"

Effects of web-based stress and depression literacy intervention on improving symptoms and knowledge of depression among workers:A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: The present randomized controlled trial aimed to examine whether a newly developed psychoeducational information website on stress and depression was effective in improving depressive symptoms at one- and four-month follow-ups among workers in Japan. METHODS: Participants were recruited from registered members of a web survey site in Japan. Participants who fulfilled the eligibility criteria were randomly allocated to intervention or control groups. Immediately after the baseline survey, the intervention group was invited to access a psychoeducational website named the "UTSMed" within 4 months after the baseline survey. Depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory II; BDI-II) were assessed as a primary outcome, at baseline, and one- and four-month follow-ups for both intervention and control groups. The analyses were conducted separately by the three subgroups (high-risk, moderate-risk, and low-risk). RESULTS: A total of 1236 workers completed the baseline survey. Participants were randomly allocated to an intervention or control group (N=618 for each), with the subgroups of high-risk (7-8%), moderate-risk (47%) and low-risk (45-46%) in each group. A significant intervention effect on improving depressive symptoms (t=-2.35, P =0.02, d=-0.57) was observed at 1-month follow-up only in the high-risk subgroup. LIMITATIONS: The present study did not use a stratified permuted-block randomization. CONCLUSIONS: A web-based psychoeducation approach may not be effective enough in improving depressive symptoms in a general population of workers, while it may be effective for workers who had recently sought help for mental health

Validation of the Japanese version of the job crafting scale

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to validate the Japanese version of the job crafting scale (JCS-J). JCS measures four independent job crafting dimensions, namely increasing structural job resources, decreasing hindering job demands, increasing social job resources, and increasing challenging job demands. METHODS: The translated and back-translated JCS-J questionnaires were administered online to 972 employees of a Japanese manufacturing company. The data were then divided into independent explorative and confirmative samples. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to evaluate the factorial validity of JCS-J. The relationship with potential consequences of job crafting (e.g., job demands, job resources, and psychological well-being) was investigated to evaluate construct validity. Internal consistency was examined to evaluate the reliability of the four JCSs. RESULTS: An exploratory factor analysis extracted a five-factor solution. Decreasing hindering job demands was further split into two separate dimensions supporting a five- rather than four-factor structure. A series of confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the modified five-factor model that allows covariance between items fits the data best. Construct validity was generally supported by the expected correlations of each job crafting dimension with each corresponding job resource (+), job demand (+), and psychological well-being (+). Cronbach's α coefficient was sufficient for each of the four dimensions of job crafting (α ranged between 0.76 and 0.90). CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed that JCS-J is an adequate measure of job crafting that can be used in the Japanese context