Cross-cultural comparison of mental health between Japanese and Dutch workers: Relationships with mental health shame, self-compassion, work engagement and motivation

The primary purpose of this descriptive study was to compare the levels of, and relationships among mental health problems, mental health shame, self-compassion, work engagement, and work motivation between workers in Japan (collectivistic and success-driven culture) and the Netherlands (individualistic and quality-oriented culture). A cross-sectional design, where convenience samples of 165 Japanese and 160 Dutch workers completed self-report measures about mental health problems, shame, self-compassion, engagement and motivation, was used. Welch t-tests, correlation and regression analyses were conducted to compare i) the levels of these variables, ii) relationships among these variables, and iii) predictors of mental health problems, between the two groups. Dutch workers had higher levels of mental health problems, work engagement and intrinsic motivation, and lower levels of shame and amotivation than Japanese workers. Mental health problems were associated with shame in both samples. Mental health problems were negatively predicted by self-compassion in Japanese, and by work engagement in Dutch employees. The novelty of this study relates to exploring differences in work mental health between those two culturally contrasting countries. Our findings highlight potential cultural differences such as survey responding (Japanese acquiescent responding vs Dutch self-enhancement) and cultural emphases (Japanese shame vs Dutch quality of life). Job crafting, mindfulness and enhancing ikigai (meaningfulness in life) may be helpful to protect mental health in these workers, relating to self-compassion and work engagement. Findings from this study would be particularly useful to employers, managers, and staff in human resources who work with cross-cultural workforce.N/

Drammatic breaks:Break recovery experiences as mediators between job demands and affect in the afternoon and evening

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Private life telepressure and workplace cognitive failure among hospital nurses : the moderating role of mobile phone presence

Aim: To examine whether the presence of a mobile phone has a moderating role in the relationship between nurses' private life telepressure and workplace cognitive failure. Design: Cross-sectional quantitative study using self-report questionnaires. Methods: Data were collected between December 2019 - January 2020. In total, 849 Registered Nurses from three Belgian hospitals completed the online survey. Data were analysed with hierarchical regression analyses and simple slope tests. Results: Overall, the positive relationship between private life telepressure and workplace cognitive failure was moderated by mobile phone presence. Specifically, the experience of private life telepressure did only relate to higher workplace cognitive failure when nurses kept their mobile phone nearby (i.e. in their pockets). Additional exploratory analyses revealed that this moderation effect only held among nurses in young adulthood and regardless of the notification settings of their mobile phone. Conclusions: The present findings indicate the unintended risk of mobile phone presence at work as it relates to higher workplace cognitive failure in nurses who experience private life telepressure. Ensuring there are clear organizational policies and practises in place to store away personal belongings of healthcare personnel during work hours would therefore seem beneficial for hospitals. Impact: Considering the increased presence of mobile phones nowadays, a more detailed understanding is necessary on how these devices might distract personnel in a healthcare setting. The present study gives further insight into this topic and shows that in particular nurses in young adulthood who experience telepressure towards personal messages report more cognitive failure when their personal mobile phones are present, even when they do not actually use these devices. This furnishes additional evidence in support of hospitals' formal policy to forbid personal mobile phones of healthcare personnel when at work

Perseverative Cognition as an Explanatory Mechanism in the Relation Between Job Demands and Sleep Quality

Purpose The aim of this longitudinal three-wave study was to examine (i) reciprocal associations among job demands, work-related perseverative cognition (PC), and sleep quality; (ii) PC as a mediator in-between job demands and sleep quality; and (iii) continuous high job demands in relation to sleep quality and work-related PC over time. Method A representative sample of the Swedish working population was approached in 2010, 2012, and 2014, and 2316 respondents were included in this longitudinal full-panel survey study. Structural equation modelling was performed to analyse the temporal relations between job demands, work-related PC, and sleep quality. Additionally, a subsample (N = 1149) consisting of individuals who reported the same level of exposure to job demands during all three waves (i.e. stable high, stable moderate, or stable low job demands) was examined in relation to PC and sleep quality over time. Results Analyses showed that job demands, PC, and poor sleep quality were positively and reciprocally related. Work-related PC mediated the normal and reversed, direct across-wave relations between job demands and sleep quality. Individuals with continuous high job demands reported significantly lower sleep quality and higher work-related PC, compared to individuals with continuous moderate/low job demands. Conclusion This study substantiated reciprocal relations between job demands, work-related PC, and sleep quality and supported work-related PC as an underlying mechanism of the reciprocal job demands-sleep relationship. Moreover, this study showed that chronically high job demands are a risk factor for low sleep quality

Private life telepressure and workplace cognitive failure among hospital nurses: The moderating role of mobile phone presence

Aim: To examine whether the presence of a mobile phone has a moderating role in the relationship between nurses' private life telepressure and workplace cognitive failure. Design: Cross-sectional quantitative study using self-report questionnaires. Methods: Data were collected between December 2019 - January 2020. In total, 849 Registered Nurses from three Belgian hospitals completed the online survey. Data were analysed with hierarchical regression analyses and simple slope tests. Results: Overall, the positive relationship between private life telepressure and workplace cognitive failure was moderated by mobile phone presence. Specifically, the experience of private life telepressure did only relate to higher workplace cognitive failure when nurses kept their mobile phone nearby (i.e. in their pockets). Additional exploratory analyses revealed that this moderation effect only held among nurses in young adulthood and regardless of the notification settings of their mobile phone. Conclusions: The present findings indicate the unintended risk of mobile phone presence at work as it relates to higher workplace cognitive failure in nurses who experience private life telepressure. Ensuring there are clear organizational policies and practises in place to store away personal belongings of healthcare personnel during work hours would therefore seem beneficial for hospitals. Impact: Considering the increased presence of mobile phones nowadays, a more detailed understanding is necessary on how these devices might distract personnel in a healthcare setting. The present study gives further insight into this topic and shows that in particular nurses in young adulthood who experience telepressure towards personal messages report more cognitive failure when their personal mobile phones are present, even when they do not actually use these devices. This furnishes additional evidence in support of hospitals' formal policy to forbid personal mobile phones of healthcare personnel when at work