The benefits of inclusion for disability measurement in the workplace

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alecia M. Santuzzi ◽  
Jesus Jose Martinez ◽  
Robert T. Keating

PurposeThe formal reporting of disability to an employing organization is inconsistent and likely an underestimate of the true numbers of workers with disabilities and the presence of various types of disabilities. This issue interferes with an organization's count of such workers, as well as efforts to set priorities and develop practices to support workers with disabilities. The authors argue that creating inclusive work environments not only improves worker well-being (as suggested in past research) but also improves their reactions to the process of formal reporting of disability in the workplace.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 160 working adults in the United States who reported disabilities or health conditions that may qualify as disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990, as amended in 2008) completed a survey that measured perceptions of the workplace environment and reactions to a frequently used disability disclosure form.FindingsWhen controlling for age of respondents, anticipated disability stigma and inclusion in the workplace predicted different reactions to a disability disclosure request. Anticipated stigma was associated with more negative emotion, concerns about privacy and others' reactions to their responses on the disclosure form. Inclusion in the workplace was associated with higher ratings for appropriateness of the measure, positive emotion and less negative emotion.Originality/valueAlthough research has identified associations between workplace inclusion and general worker experiences, such as job satisfaction and intentions to quit, this work uncovers a benefit of inclusion to required measurement processes in organizations. The unique contributions of inclusion and implications for workplace practices are discussed.

Author(s):  
Anna Little ◽  
Russell Wordsworth ◽  
Sanna Malinen

Purpose Past research identifies many positive outcomes associated with workplace exercise initiatives. Realizing these outcomes is, however, dependent on securing sustained employee participation in the initiative. This study examines how organizational factors influence employee participation in workplace exercise initiatives. Design/methodology/approach The study utilizes data from 98 employees who were provided with the opportunity to participate in a workplace exercise initiative. Data were collected via an online survey as well as semi-structured interviews. Findings The paper shows that organizational, rather than individual-level, factors had the greatest impact on employee participation in workplace exercise initiatives. Leadership support for well-being was particularly important and had a significant effect on participation frequency. This relationship was moderated by employee perceptions of employer intentions, such that the more genuine and caring an employer’s intentions were perceived to be, the more likely employees were to participate. Our findings also show that perceived employer intentions have a significant direct effect on employee participation. Research implications We extend research on employee participation in well-being initiatives by considering the influence of organizational, rather than individual-level, factors. Practical implications This research is of practical significance as it highlights the importance of positive leadership in fostering physical well-being in the workplace. It reinforces that sustained participation in workplace exercise initiatives requires deliberate planning, promotion and support from organizational leaders. Originality/value Most studies of workplace exercise and well-being initiatives focus on individual barriers to participation. Our study highlights the important role of leadership support and perceived intentions as organizational influences on employee participation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiyang Zhang ◽  
Yu Wang ◽  
Hanjia Lyu ◽  
Yipeng Zhang ◽  
Yubao Liu ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 outbreak has affected the lives of people across the globe. To investigate the mental impact of COVID-19 and to respond to the call of researchers for the use of unobtrusive and intensive measurement in capturing time-sensitive psychological concepts (e.g., affect), we used big data methods to investigate the impact of COVID-19 by analyzing 348,933 tweets that people posted from April 1, 2020 to April 24, 2020. The dataset covers 2,231 working adults, who are from 454 counties across 48 states in the United States. In this study, we theorize the similarity and dissimilarity between COVID-19 and other common stressors. Similar to other stressors, pandemic severity negatively influenced the well-being of people by increasing negative affect. However, we did not find an influence of pandemic severity on the positive affect of the people. Dissimilar to other stressors, the protective factors for people during COVID-19 are not common factors that make people resilient to stress and they echo the unique experience during COVID-19. Moreover, we analyzed the text content of 348,933 tweets through Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC) and word cloud analysis to further reveal the psychological impact of COVID-19 and why the protective factors make people resilient to the mental impact of COVID-19. These exploratory analyses revealed the specific emotions that people experienced and the topics that people are concerned about during the pandemic. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taewon Kim ◽  
Blake A. Allan

Underemployment is a global problem that is increasing in the context of recovering economic recessions and insecure job markets. In this context, vocational psychologists can play a unique role by determining the processes by which underemployment relates to aspects of work well-being, such as meaningful work. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine the relation between underemployment and meaningful work as well as to investigate potential mediators of this relation. Specifically, with a sample of 351 working adults in the United States, we investigated how underemployment related to the meaningful work via the self-determination needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Partially supporting hypotheses, underemployment was negatively related to autonomy and relatedness but positively related to competence. In turn, autonomy and competence were positively related to meaningful work, whereas relatedness was unrelated to meaningful work. These results offer insights into how underemployment might affect the meaningfulness of work and how employers and practitioners can help underemployed workers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S303-S303
Author(s):  
Christi L Nelson ◽  
Ross Andel

Abstract Around 2.7 million adults over the age of 50 self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) in the United States. Past research suggests that additional stressors caused by being a socially stigmatized minority group can have a negative effect on health and well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between sexual orientation and self-rated health, memory, and psychological well-being in a 1:3 propensity score-matched subsample from 2016 wave of Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative study of older adults. Each lesbian/gay/bisexual (LGB) participant (n=140) was matched with three straight participants (n=420) on age, sex, and education. The average age was 53.8 years (SD=2.3 years), 54% were men, the average education was 14.3 years (SD=2.4 years). Logistic regression results indicated that LGB participants were almost twice as likely to report ever having depression (OR=1.85, 95% CI=1.23-2.80). Conversely, LGB participants were more likely to report having better health (OR=1.47, 95% CI= 1.04-2.07) than straight participants and the two groups did not differ significantly in memory (OR=1.16, 95% CI= 0.82-1.64) from their straight counterparts. In conclusion, it is possible that the stigma due to sexual orientation plays a role in psychological well-being but may also reflect in better physical health but not cognitive health. It is also possible that the better health in LGB participants reflects self-report bias.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 578-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd J. Weber ◽  
James B. Avey

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of both value congruence between employees and supervisors as well as the important role of employee voice for optimal outcomes in organizations. Design/methodology/approach A heterogeneous sample of 495 working adults across business sectors completed instruments on value fit, voice, citizenship behaviors, commitment and psychological well-being. Findings Results suggest when employees experience value fit with their immediate supervisor, they express voice in organizations. Employee voice partially mediated the effects of value congruence on citizenship behaviors, commitment and psychological well-being. Originality/value While it is common for employees and supervisors to share and observe personal values at work, few studies have considered the effects of alignment between these values. Further, this is one of the very few studies that have considered the employee consequences of this value congruence.


Author(s):  
Navneet Kaur ◽  
Lakhwinder Singh Kang

Purpose Past research has generally associated organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) with positive individual and organizational outcomes, paying little attention to its possible costs for individuals. Drawing from the conservation of resource theory (COR), the purpose of this paper is to address this gap by developing an integrative framework that simultaneously investigates the potential costs and benefits of OCB for individuals. In addition, the paper also investigates the down-streaming effects of OCB on workplace well-being (job satisfaction and affective commitment) favorably via psychological well-being and unfavorably via role overload. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 566 employees working in private sector banks in India was collected by using multi-stage random sampling approach. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesized relationships. Parallel mediation regression analysis was used for ascertaining the specific indirect effects of the two parallel mediators. Findings Results indicate that OCBs targeted toward co-workers (OCBI), organization (OCBO) and customers (OCBC) were positively associated with psychological well-being. Simultaneously, OCBO was found to be positively associated with higher role overload. Further, psychological well-being and role overload mediated the effect of various dimensions of OCB on employees’ workplace well-being. Originality/value The study contributes to the existing literature by investigating both the beneficial and detrimental effects of various dimensions of OCB into one theoretical framework. By doing so, the study attempts to bridge the gap in the literature by linking these two divergent streams of research, i.e. whether OCB is beneficial or costly for individuals.


Interpreting ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aída Martínez-Gómez

Abstract Young language brokers have a complex emotional relationship with the translation and interpreting tasks that they engage in for their families and communities. Whereas they often report feeling happy, useful and proud of themselves for being able to contribute to their families’ well-being, they also struggle with frustration, pressure from their loved ones, and cognitive and emotional burdens. This study aims to map the evolution of feelings regarding language brokering among young adults and to reveal the effects that formal interpreting education might have in this process. For these purposes, it examines the narratives of 75 self-identified former and/or current language brokers who are registered in an undergraduate interpreting program in the United States. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of these narratives (collected at three different points during their course of study) indicate that the participants feel more positively than negatively about their brokering tasks and that positive emotions increase overall throughout their interpreter education (with a noticeable peak halfway through the program). These analyses also reveal how triggers for positive and negative emotion shift through time: whereas their enhanced skills contribute to positive feelings, poor working conditions and brokering settings beyond their immediate families become new stressors.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Soo Ming Chua ◽  
Phaik Nie Chin

PurposeThis study aims to understand the drivers that help working adults to be better prepared for retirement, by examining the relationship between financial literacy (FL), financial attitude (FA), financial well-being (FWB), financial behavior (FB) and retirement preparation (RP). RP includes multidimensional measures, which are retirement confidence, retirement planning, long-term financial planning and private retirement schemes (PRS) participation.Design/methodology/approachThis was a quantitative study adopting non-probability sampling with self-administered questionnaire distributed to all working adults. Descriptive analysis was used to examine the 294 useable data, and the multiple logistic regression analysis was adopted for hypothesis testing.FindingsThe empirical results show that FB is positively associated with RP and then followed by FWB on retirement confidence. Although insignificant influence is found on FL and FA, better FL and FA will still improve individuals' RP.Research limitations/implicationsThe study provides insights to working adults that practicing positive FB and good FWB will improve RP. Besides, for financial institutions, income level is the main determinant for consumers to participate in PRS; for policy makers, to incorporate financial attributes knowledge as part of the school curriculum since early school years.Originality/valueThis study is one of the few studies in Malaysia that explored FL, FA, FB and FWB on retirement planning, respectively.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fayaz Ahmad Loan ◽  
Ufaira Yaseen Shah

PurposeThe present study aims to measure the global research landscape on coronavirus indexed in the Web of Science from 1989 to 2020. The study examines growth rates, authorship trends, institutional productivity, collaborative networks and prominent authors, institutions and countries.Design/methodology/approachThe research literature on coronavirus published globally and indexed in the Web of Science core collection was retrieved using the term “Coronavirus” and its related and synonymous terms (e.g. COVID-19, SARS-COV, SARS-COV-2 and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus) as per the Medical List of Subject Headings. A total of 5,625 publications were retrieved; however, the study was restricted to articles only (i.e. 4,471), and other document types were excluded. Quantitative and visualization techniques were used for data analysis and interpretation. VOSViewer software was employed to map collaborative networks of authors, institutions and countries.FindingsA total of 4,471 articles have been published on coronavirus by 99 countries of the world with the maximum contribution from the USA, followed by the People's Republic of China. The United States, China, Canada, Netherlands and Germany are the front runners in the collaborative network and form strong sub-networks with other countries as well. More than 1,000 institutions collaborate in the field of coronavirus research among 99 contributing countries. The authorship pattern shows that 97.5% of publications are contributed by authors in collaboration in which 77.5% of publications are contributed by four or more than four authors. The range between degree of collaboration (DC) varies from 0.89 in 1993 to 1 in 2000 with an average of 0.96 from 1989 to 2020. The results confirm that the coronavirus research is carried out in teamwork at the individual, institutional and global levels with high magnitude and density of collaboration. The relative growth of the literature has shown inconsistency as a decreasing trend has been observed from 2007 onwards, thereby increasing the doubling time from 4.2 in the first ten years to 17.3 in the last ten years.Research limitationsThe study is limited to the publications indexed in the Web of Science; the findings cannot be generalized across other databases.Practical implicationsThe results of the study may help medical scientists to identify the progress in COVID-19 research. Besdies, it will help to identify the prolific authors, institutions and countries in the development of research.Social implicationsThe current COVID-19 pandemic poses urgent and prolonged threats to the health and well-being of the population worldwide. It has not only attacked the health of the people but the economy of nations as well. Therefore, it is feasible to know the research landscape of the disease to conquer the problem.Originality/valueThe current COVID-19 pandemic poses urgent and prolonged threats to the health and well-being of the population worldwide. It has not only attacked the health of the people but also the economy of nations as well. Therefore, it is feasible to know the research landscape of the disease to conquer the problem.


2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Hazelton

Purpose – Highlights the power of positive emotions in helping to build individual and organizational success. Design/methodology/approach – Explores the meaning of positive emotions, how they can be promoted at individual and organizational level and the benefits they can bring to the individual and organization. Findings – Advances the view that positive emotions can benefit physical health, mental well-being and the ability to flourish, creativity, resilience, the mood of others, positive memories and relationships. Practical implications – Argues that the positive emotions of the workforce can improve the organizational culture and improve organizational performance. Social implications – Demonstrates that around three positive emotions are needed to balance out each negative emotion and shows that positive emotions can be stimulated through having new experiences and through acts of kindness and gratitude. Originality/value – Extends psychological thinking on positive emotions to the workforce and workplace.


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