Battery Discharge from Monday to Friday: Background Social Stress at Work is Associated with more Rapid Accumulation of Fatigue

Purpose: This field study investigated the effects of background social stress at work on the weekly course of evening fatigue. Methods: Male employees of a Swiss organisation reported their fatigue after work and at 9 pm in the evening over three weeks. A total of 482 evening fatigue measurements from 34 male participants were subjected to multilevel analysis. Results: Sleep quality in the previous night and fatigue after work predicted evening fatigue. Evening fatigue was not associated with the time spent on daily housework or child care. There was a linear increase in evening fatigue across weekdays and a main effect of workplace social stressors on evening fatigue. Sleep quality during the previous night mediated the link between background social stressors and evening fatigue. Moreover, an interaction between workplace social stressors and working days indicated that fatigue accumulated faster during the working week in those reporting a high level of social stress at work. Conclusion: Social stress at work seems to accelerate the loss of resources over consecutive workdays. The analysis of workplace social stressors and other potential moderators of resource dynamics contributes to our understanding of work-related stress, including the role of background stressors and the temporal dynamics of resource loss

The workday of hospital surgeons: what they do, what makes them satisfied, and the role of core tasks and administrative tasks; a diary study.

BACKGROUND Many surgeons report passion for their work, but not all tasks are likely to be satisfying. Little is known about how hospital surgeons spend their days, how they like specific tasks, and the role of core tasks (i.e. surgery-related tasks) versus tasks that may keep them from core tasks (e.g., administrative work). This study aimed at a more detailed picture of hospital surgeons' daily work - how much time they spend with different tasks, how they like them, and associations with satisfaction. METHODS Hospital surgeons (N = 105) responded to a general survey, and 81 of these provided up to five daily questionnaires concerning daily activities and their attractiveness, as well as their job satisfaction. The data were analyzed using t-tests, analysis of variance, as well as analysis of covariance and repeated measures analysis of variance for comparing means across tasks. RESULTS Among 14 tasks, surgery-related tasks took 21.2%, patient-related tasks 21.7% of the surgeons' time; 10.4% entailed meetings and communicating about patients, and 18.6% documentation and administration. The remaining time was spent with teaching, research, leadership and management, and not task-related activities (e.g. walking between rooms). Surgery was rated as most (4.25; SD = .66), administration as least attractive (2.63; SD = .78). A higher percentage of administration predicted lower perceived legitimacy; perceived legitimacy of administrative work predicted job satisfaction (r = .47). Residents were least satisfied; there were few gender differences. CONCLUSIONS Surgeons seem to thrive on their core tasks, most notably surgery. By contrast, administrative duties are likely perceived as keeping them from their core medical tasks. Increasing the percentage of medical tasks proper, notably surgery, and reducing administrative duties may contribute to hospital surgeons' job satisfaction

How are social stressors at work related to well-being and health? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Social relationships are crucial for well-being and health, and considerable research has established social stressors as a risk for well-being and health. However, researchers have used many different constructs, and it is unclear if these are actually different or reflect a single overarching construct. Distinct patterns of associations with health/well-being would indicate separate constructs, similar patterns would indicate a common core construct, and remaining differences could be attributed to situational characteristics such as frequency or intensity. The current meta-analysis therefore investigated to what extent different social stressors show distinct (versus similar) patterns of associations with well-being and health. Methods: We meta-analysed 557 studies and investigated correlations between social stressors and outcomes in terms of health and well-being (e.g. burnout), attitudes (e.g. job satisfaction), and behaviour (e.g. counterproductive work behaviour). Moderator analyses were performed to determine if there were differences in associations depending on the nature of the stressor, the outcome, or both. To be included, studies had to be published in peer-reviewed journals in English or German; participants had to be employed at least 50% of a full-time equivalent (FTE). Results: The overall relation between social stressors and health/well-being was of medium size (r = -.30, p < .001). Type of social stressor and outcome category acted as moderators, with moderating effects being larger for outcomes than for stressors. The strongest effects emerged for job satisfaction, burnout, commitment, and counterproductive work behaviour. Type of stressor yielded a significant moderation, but differences in effect sizes for different stressors were rather small overall. Rather small effects were obtained for physical violence and sexual mistreatment, which is likely due to a restricted range because of rare occurrence and/or underreporting of such intense stressors. Conclusions: We propose integrating diverse social stressor constructs under the term "relational devaluation" and considering situational factors such as intensity or frequency to account for the remaining variance. Practical implications underscore the importance for supervisors to recognize relational devaluation in its many different forms and to avoid or minimize it as far as possible in order to prevent negative health-related outcomes for employees

Sleep, Work Stress and Headache in Printing Business: An Actigraphy Study

Purpose: Technological change, economic pressure and the need for concentration increase work stress in the printing busi-ness. It is well known that stress in the workplace is associated with impaired cognitive functioning, such as headaches and concentration problems. Accordingly, daily recovery—especially restful and healthy sleep—is essential for human functioning. This study tested whether the quality of the previous night’s sleep predicts headaches and concentration problems independent of current-day time pressure, work interruptions and concentration requirements. Methods: Twenty-seven out of 28 printing plant employees contributed daily data over five consecutive workdays. Self-reported data on working conditions and cognitive functions and actigraphy-based indicators of sleep quality were subjected to multi-level analysis. Results: Multilevel regression analysis of 125 days confirmed that longer sleep-onset latency, more fragmented sleep and lower sleep efficiency were antecedents of headache intensity the following day. Headaches were also predicted by the current work interruptions. Concentration problems were predicted by the previous night’s sleep latency and the current day’s concentration requirements. Conclusion: Poor recovery in the sense of low sleep quality may impair cognitive function beyond the effects of the current-day’s work stress. Work redesign and person-oriented training should be used to promote sleep and cognitive function in printers

Thirst at work implies more than just inadequate facilities for breaks

Early signs of dehydration, such as headaches, are not unusual in the working population. Even slight deficiencies of water intake may have negative effects on both health and performance. However, little is known about work-related fluid intake. We expect the daily experience of interruptions to distract from perceived thirst, resulting in reduced daily fluid intake. This effect may be more pronounced when the workload is generally less predictable due to the assignment of tasks that are beyond the definition of the worker's professional role (unreasonable tasks). Data were gathered from 29 female service employees across five workdays. Multilevel analyses revealed daily work interruptions to be negatively associated with fluid intake, especially when there were frequent unreasonable task-assignments. Results suggest that interruptions at work might reduce daily fluid intake. However, adequate allocation of tasks by managers can protect employees against insufficient drinking

The More, the Better?! Multiple vs. Single Jobholders’ Job Satisfaction as a Matter of Lacked Information

In recent decades, the working world has changed dramatically and rising demands on flexibility make the coordination of personal and professional life more difficult. Therefore, it is important that the incumbents are in possession of all necessary information concerning their job. This might be a key issue to remain satisfied. Simultaneously, atypical forms of employment have substantially increased in the labor market; one such form is holding more than one job. While the motives might differ from needing an additional income to broadening job opportunities, practicing several jobs requires coordination and thus, being informed. Building on research regarding organizational constraints and role ambiguity, we hypothesize that the paucity of information is negatively related to (dimensions of) job satisfaction. This effect should be stronger for multiple as compared to single jobbers; specifically when considering the job satisfaction with the social climate, given that being informed by others is an important factor in the coordination of several jobs. Data taken from the BiBB/BAuA-Employment-Survey provide a sample of 17,782 German employees (54% women), including 1,084 multiple jobbers (59% women). Job satisfaction was measured as employees global satisfaction and their satisfaction with facets dimensions: the social climate, structural working conditions, personal growth opportunities, and material incentives they receive for their work. Paucity of information was measured by the frequency of lacked information. Our study indicated that paucity of information was negatively related to both, global and all facets dimensions of job satisfaction. Multiple regression analyses further revealed interaction effects of paucity of information and form of employment. Specifically, the negative correlation of paucity of information with global as well as satisfaction with the social climate was stronger for employees’ holding more than one job. These results were independent of age, gender, organizational tenure, working hours, socioeconomic occupational status, as well as important working conditions (workload and autonomy). Incumbents with less paucity of necessary job-related information are more satisfied, especially when they hold multiple jobs. Supervisors and colleagues are advised to provide all necessary information and to ensure that employees retain it

Emotion work and musculoskeletal pain in supermarket cashiers: a test of a sleep-mediation model

Repetitive movement and a lack of postural change are known risk factors for musculoskeletal pain in cashiers. This study tests emotional dissonance – the demand to keep being polite to impolite customers – as an additional risk factor. Furthermore, sleep problems are expected to mediate the link between emotion work and musculoskeletal pain. Data contains 103 female supermarket cashiers from three supermarkets of a large retailer responded to a questionnaire (participation rate 60.6%). An open question asked for the most negative job facets in daily work. Standardized questionnaire were used to assess emotional dissonance, sleep problems and musculoskeletal pain. Responses to the open question showed experience of unkind customers as the most prevalent negative experience at work reported by 47.6% of cashiers, followed by prolonged sitting (8.7%). Emotional dissonance was a significant predictor of neck and back pain when BMI, age, part-time work, and change of hand function during their shift (work rotation) were controlled (β = .30, p < .01). Moreover, sleep problems were confirmed as a mediator with respect to neck and back pain (B = .21, SE = .10, CI = 02–.22). No mediation was found in prediction of pain in arms and shoulders or hips, legs, and feet. Emotional dissonance in work of cashiers appeared as a unique risk factor of neck and back pain. Work design should pay more attention to the social demands of cashier work