When general practitioners don't feel appreciated by their patients: prospective effects on well-being and work-family conflict in a Swiss Longitudinal Study

Background: Impaired well-being and high work-family conflict are critical issues among GPs. This research examined an understudied psychosocial risk factor for these outcomes, namely GPs' perception that they invest more in the relationship with their patients than what they receive in return (i.e. lack of reward in their relationship with patients). Objective: To test the effect of lack of reward as a risk factor for poor well-being and work-family conflict among GPs. Methods: Longitudinal study (12 months time lag). 272 GPs in Switzerland [mean age 54.5 (SD = 8.3), 73% male] volunteered to participate in the study. 270 participants completed the baseline survey and 252 completed the follow-up survey. Of these, six retired between the baseline and the follow-up survey, resulting in a sample size of 246 participants at t2. Outcome measures were burnout, sleep problems, self-perceived health and work-family conflict. Results: Strength and direction of prospective effects were tested using cross-lagged models. Lack of reward was related to an increase in emotional exhaustion (β = 0.15), sleep problems (β = 0.16) and work-family conflict (β = 0.19) and a decrease in self-perceived health (β = −0.17). Effects on depersonalization and personal accomplishment were not significant. Regarding reversed effects of impaired well-being on lack of reward, emotional exhaustion (β = 0.14) and self-perceived health (β = −0.13) predicted future level of lack of reward. Conclusion: Lack of reward by patients is a risk factor in GPs' mental healt

Adding insult to injury:Illegitimate stressors and their association with situational well-being, social self-esteem, and desire for revenge

Implying an offense to self, appraising a stressor as indicating a lack of consideration by others should have effects beyond its stressfulness per se. In Stress-as-Offense-to-Self theory (SOS), such stressors are called “illegitimate stressors.” We assessed situations appraised as stressful in two diary studies (N 1 = 117, N 2 = 137). Outcome variables were feelings of resentment in both studies, plus nervousness, anxiety, and sadness in Study 1 and depressive mood, threat to social self-esteem, and desire for revenge in Study 2. Controlling for stressfulness, perceived illegitimacy predicted affective reactions that are outward-directed (feelings of resentment [Studies 1 and 2], threat to social self-esteem and desire for revenge [Study 2]); it also predicted sadness in Study 1 but not depressive mood in Study 2, nor nervousness (Study 1). Thus, not all hypotheses were confirmed but the pattern was as expected, in that results were consistent regarding outcomes typically associated with the attribution of blame. The independent contribution of perceived illegitimacy aligns well with the underlying Stress-as-Offense-to-Self theory. Practical implications refer to efforts to avoid illegitimate stressors, for instance by perspective-taking, by showing appreciation and support, and by supporting such behaviours through keeping stressors in general at a manageable level

What constitutes vulnerable self-esteem? Comparing the prospective effects of low, unstable, and contingent self-esteem on depressive symptoms

A growing body of longitudinal studies suggests that low self-esteem is a risk factor for depression. However, it is unclear whether other characteristics of self-esteem, besides its level, explain incremental or even greater variance in subsequent depression. We examined the prospective effects of self-esteem level, instability (i.e., the degree of variability in self-esteem across short periods), and contingency (i.e., the degree to which self-esteem fluctuates in response to self-relevant events) on depressive symptoms in 1 overarching model, using data from 2 longitudinal studies. In Study 1, 372 adults were assessed at 2 waves over 6 months, including 40 daily diary assessments at Wave 1. In Study 2, 235 young adults were assessed at 2 waves over 6 weeks, including about 6 daily diary assessments at each wave. Self-esteem contingency was measured by self-report and by a statistical index based on the diary data (capturing event-related fluctuations in self-esteem). In both studies self-esteem level, but not self-esteem contingency, predicted subsequent depressive symptoms. Self-esteem instability predicted subsequent depressive symptoms in Study 2 only, with a smaller effect size than self-esteem level. Also, level, instability, and contingency of self-esteem did not interact in the prediction of depressive symptoms. Moreover, the effect of self-esteem level held when controlling for neuroticism and for all other Big Five personality traits. Thus, the findings provide converging evidence for a vulnerability effect of self-esteem level, tentative evidence for a smaller vulnerability effect of self-esteem instability, and no evidence for a vulnerability effect of self-esteem contingency

Effect size guidelines for cross-lagged effects

Cross-lagged models are by far the most commonly used method to test the prospective effect of one construct on another, yet there are no guidelines for interpreting the size of cross-lagged effects. This research aims to establish empirical benchmarks for cross-lagged effects, focusing on the cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) and the random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM). We drew a quasirepresentative sample of studies published in four subfields of psychology (i.e., developmental, social–personality, clinical, and industrial–organizational). The dataset included 1,028 effect sizes for the CLPM and 302 effect sizes for the RI-CLPM, based on data from 174 samples. For the CLPM, the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of the distribution corresponded to cross-lagged effect sizes of .03, .07, and .12, respectively. For the RI-CLPM, the corresponding values were .02, .05, and .11. Effect sizes did not differ significantly between the CLPM and RI-CLPM. Moreover, effect sizes did not differ significantly across subfields and were not moderated by design characteristics. However, effect sizes were moderated by the concurrent correlation between the constructs and the stability of the predictor. Based on the findings, we propose to use .03 (small effect), .07 (medium effect), and .12 (large effect) as benchmark values when interpreting the size of cross-lagged effects, for both the CLPM and RI-CLPM. In addition to aiding in the interpretation of results, the present findings will help researchers plan studies by providing information needed to conduct power analyses and estimate minimally required sample sizes

Is burnout a depressive condition? A 14-sample meta-analytic and bifactor analytic study

There is no consensus on whether burnout constitutes a depressive condition or an original entity requiring specific medical and legal recognition. In this study, we examined burnout–depression overlap using 14 samples of individuals from various countries and occupational domains (N = 12,417). Meta-analytically pooled disattenuated correlations indicated (a) that exhaustion—burnout’s core—is more closely associated with depressive symptoms than with the other putative dimensions of burnout (detachment and efficacy) and (b) that the exhaustion–depression association is problematically strong from a discriminant validity standpoint (r = .80). The overlap of burnout’s core dimension with depression was further illuminated in 14 exploratory structural equation modeling bifactor analyses. Given their consistency across countries, languages, occupations, measures, and methods, our results offer a solid base of evidence in support of the view that burnout problematically overlaps with depression. We conclude by outlining avenues of research that depart from the use of the burnout construct

Spirals of Spirituality: A Qualitative Study Exploring Dynamic Patterns of Spirituality in Turkish Organizations

This paper explores organizational spirituality, uncovers it as spiralling dynamics of both positive and negative potentialities, and proposes how leaders can shape these dynamics to improve the human conditions at the workplace. Based on case study of five Turkish organizations and drawing on the emerging discourse on spirituality in organizations literature, this study provides a deeper understanding of how dynamic patterns of spirituality operate in organizations. Insights from participant observation, organizational data, and semi-structured interviews yield three key themes of organizational spirituality: reflexivity, connectivity, and responsibility. Each of these themes has been found to be connected to upward spirals (inspiration, engagement, and calling) and downward spirals (incivility, silence, and fatigue). The study provides a detailed and holistic account of the individual and organizational processes through which spirituality is enacted both positively and negatively, exploring its dynamic and dualistic nature, as embodied in the fabric of everyday life and culture

High self-esteem prospectively predicts better work conditions and outcomes

We examined the reciprocal prospective relations between self-esteem and work conditions and outcomes, including justice at work, support at work, work stressors, job satisfaction, job success, and counterproductive work behavior. Data came from two independent longitudinal studies, including five assessments over an 8-month period (N = 663, age 16–62 years) and three assessments over a 2-year period (N = 600, age 22–51 years), respectively. Across both studies, high self-esteem prospectively predicted better work conditions and outcomes, whereas nearly all of the reverse effects (i.e., work conditions and outcomes predicting self-esteem) were nonsignificant. The results held for both male and female participants. If future research supports the causality of the self-esteem effects, interventions aimed at improving self-esteem might be useful in increasing an individual’s well-being and success at work, which consequently might be beneficial for employers