Obesity, chronic job discrimination and social support

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 586-604
Author(s):  
Kenneth Kungu ◽  
Janella Melius ◽  
Colin Cannonier ◽  
Valentine Wanga
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Family Support ◽  
Supervisor Support ◽  
Normal Weight ◽  
Morbidly Obese ◽  
Religious Support ◽  
Coworker Support ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Job Discrimination ◽  
The Usa

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and chronic job discrimination. Additionally, the authors explore the contribution of various forms of social support to that relationship. Design/methodology/approach The data for this study were obtained from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the USA (MIDUS). Only those who reported being employed participated in the study (n = 1,150). The variables of interest included BMI, supervisor support, coworker support, family support, friend support, religious support and chronic job discrimination. Analysis included correlations, ANOVA’s and hierarchical linear regression. Findings BMI was positively associated with chronic job discrimination. Respondents in the obese and morbidly obese categories reported higher job discrimination compared to normal weight respondents. Family support, supervisor support and coworker support were associated with less reported chronic job discrimination. Practical implications Organizational leaders should acknowledge that obesity is associated with discrimination. Organizations should thus create anti-discrimination policies covering weight-based discrimination, conduct sensitivity training for all employees and train and coach supervisors on effective ways of offering support to employees. Originality/value This study contributes to the understanding of the role various forms of social support can play in reducing perceptions of chronic job discrimination. The paper is unique in that it considers several sources from which people draw support in managing for stressors.

Work: covenant, social support and their impacts on multiple performance outcomes

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-433
Author(s):  
Benny Hutahayan
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Supervisor Support ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Service Research ◽  
Coworker Support ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Social Support ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Applying social exchange and job demands resources theories, this study aims to proposes a research model in which work engagement (WE) mediates the influence of work social support on job satisfaction (JS), in-role performance (IRP) and creative performance (CP). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from cabin attendants via three surveys two weeks apart and their pursers. The aforesaid relationships were assessed through structural equation modeling. Findings In general, there is support for the preponderance of hypotheses. Specifically, WE completely mediate the impact of coworker support on JS and IRP, whereas the impact of supervisor support on CP is completely mediated by WE. WE partly mediate the effect of coworker support on CP. Further, the effect of supervisor support on JS and IRP is partly mediated by WE. Originality/value The study extends and contributes to the current service research by assessing the impact of WE simultaneously on three performance outcomes. And it adds to current knowledge by investigating the mediating mechanism linking work social support to the attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. It also controls the threat of common method variance with at least two procedural remedies, which have been rarely used in the current service research.

Work social support, work engagement and their impacts on multiple performance outcomes

2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 1227-1245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niusha Talebzadeh ◽  
Osman M. Karatepe
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Supervisor Support ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
Service Research ◽  
Role Performance ◽  
Coworker Support ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Social Support ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a research model in which work engagement (WE) mediates the influence of work social support on job satisfaction (JS), in-role performance (IRP), creative performance (CP) and extra-role performance (ERP). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from cabin attendants via three surveys two weeks apart and their pursers. The aforesaid relationships were assessed through structural equation modeling. Findings In general, there is support for the preponderance of hypotheses. Specifically, WE completely mediates the impact of coworker support on JS and IRP, while the impact of supervisor support on CP is completely mediated by WE. WE partly mediates the effect of coworker support on CP and ERP. Furthermore, the effect of supervisor support on JS, IRP and ERP is partly mediated by WE. Practical implications Management should make sure that the work environment consists of supportive supervisors and coworkers who are trained on how they can enhance the cooperation and collaboration among employees. Management should also create an employee platform where cabin attendants can contribute to service delivery process by sharing their experiences arising from passenger requests and problems. Originality/value The study extends and contributes to the current service research by assessing the impact of WE simultaneously on three performance outcomes. The study adds to current knowledge by investigating the mediating mechanism linking work social support to the attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. The study also controls the threat of common method variance with at least two procedural remedies, which have been rarely used in the current service research.

Unpacking the combined effects of job scope and supervisor support on in-role performance

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 1170-1179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabia Mushtaq ◽  
Usman Raja ◽  
Mohammad Bashir Khan
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Job Performance ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Supervisor Support ◽  
Job Design ◽  
Role Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Settings ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how the relationship between job scope and in-role performance is contingent upon the level of social support (i.e. supervisor support) received in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach A total of 640 questionnaires were distributed to employees of Pakistani companies, yielding 328 useable responses for analysis. Regression analysis was used to test for both hypotheses. Findings The results support the role of supervisor support as a moderator in the relationship between in-role performance, a dimension of job performance and job scope. The findings show that a higher job scope would facilitate higher job performance from employees who receive high levels of supervisor support. Practical implications The results provide useful insights for managers and consultants, especially HR professionals involved in job design and redesign. Organizations that encourage high levels of social support can help employees improve their job performance as they foster an environment where employees can get direct assistance and advice from their supervisors. Originality/value This paper makes three key contributions to the literature on job design. First, this inquiry shows that a strong link does exist between job scope and job performance; previous studies have failed to find a strong relationship. Second, it highlights how social context, especially in highly challenging work settings, can shape employees’ proficiencies and behaviors. Third, this paper offers a novel perspective in job design research by incorporating a contextual moderator (i.e. supervisor support).

Effects of workaholism on satisfaction among US managerial and professional women

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 635-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele V Levy
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Professional Women ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Enjoyment ◽  
High Drive ◽  
The Usa

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate relationships between workaholism and satisfaction outcomes with job, career and life overall among managerial and professional women and explore the moderating role of social support in these associations. Design/methodology/approach – Self-report measures collected online from 350 alumnae from top-ranked business schools currently in the US labor force were analyzed through hierarchical multiple regression analyses. Findings – Workaholism components explained significant amounts of variance in job, career and life satisfaction. Specifically, lower levels of work enjoyment were consistently associated with detrimental outcomes and high drive impacted both job and life satisfaction negatively. Social support moderated the relationship between job satisfaction and workaholism through work enjoyment, with women with greater social support demonstrating higher job satisfaction at equivalent work enjoyment levels versus those with low social support. Research limitations/implications – This paper shares methodological weaknesses involving the nature of the sample and self-report methods of measurement common to workaholism research. Practical implications – In the context of today’s competitive workplaces, results provide a cautionary message of the harmful effects of workaholic dispositions for a certain segment of professional women. It emphasizes the importance of work enjoyment and positive intrinsic motivation, while suggesting that job designs that reflect the work involvement predispositions of each woman can be beneficial. Originality/value – This paper extends the understanding of workaholism correlates to female MBA graduates from top management schools in the USA and investigates, for the first time, the role of social support in those relationships.

scholarly journals To what extent does sex, age and BMI impact medical and pharmacy costs? A retrospective cohort study involving employees in a large school district in the USA

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. e024078 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray M Merrill ◽  
Rylan Fowers
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Birth Control ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Medication Use ◽  
Normal Weight ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Morbidly Obese ◽  
Pharmacy Claims ◽  
Gastrointestinal Problems ◽  
The Usa

ObjectiveTo identify the extent that sex, age and body mass index (BMI) is associated with medical and pharmacy costs.DesignRetrospective cohort.SettingA school district in the Western USA involving 2531 workers continuously employed during 2011–2014.Main outcome measuresMedical and pharmacy costs and BMI.ResultsApproximately 84% of employees participated in wellness screening. Participants were 1.03 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.06) times more likely to be women and younger (M=47.8 vs 49.8, p<0.001). Median medical and pharmacy costs were higher for women than men, increased with age, and were greater in morbidly obese individuals (p<0.001). Annual pharmacy claims were 18% more likely to be filed by women than men, 23% more likely filed by those aged ≥60 versus <40 years, and 6% more likely filed by morbidly obese individuals than of normal weight (p<0.001) individuals. Greater medical and pharmacy costs in older age were most pronounced in underweight and morbidly obese groups. Higher use of medication among women than men was primarily because of drugs involving birth control, osteoporosis, thyroid disease and urinary tract infection. Higher medication use in older age was primarily related to medications used to treat gastrointestinal problems. Medication use was positively associated with BMI weight classifications for most of the 33 drug types considered, with exceptions involving birth control, herpes and osteoporosis. A J-shape relationship was observed between BMI and medication use for acne, antibiotic, cold/influenza/allergy, eye infection, oedema, muscle spasms, pain and ulcers.ConclusionsMedications associated with higher medical and pharmacy costs among women, older age and underweight or obese individuals are identified. Lowering medical and pharmacy costs requires weight management in older ages, particularly for underweight and obese. Higher pharmacy costs for certain drugs among underweight individuals may be associated with poorer nutrition.

Does meaningful work encompass support towards supervisory, worker and engagement relationship?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Umair Ahmed ◽  
Irene Seok-Ching Yong ◽  
Munwar Hussain Pahi ◽  
Sarfraz Ahmed Dakhan
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Meaningful Work ◽  
Supervisor Support ◽  
Coworker Support ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The University ◽  
University Setting

PurposeThis study aimed at examining the influence of two important elements of social supports, namely supervisor support and coworker support, on work engagement among employees in the university setting. The study also further examined the mediating potentials of meaningful work on the relationships between the former and the latter.Design/methodology/approachThe sample study comprised academic and managerial staff members from a public-sector university in Malaysia. Out of the 420 distributed questionnaires, 216 were received back from which 177 were found useable and hence were taken further for final data analysis. Statistical software of SPSS and Smart PLS 2.0 M3 were used to perform data analysis.FindingsSupervisor support and coworker support were found to be significant predictors of work engagement. Further, meaningful work was found mediating these relationships.Originality/valueThe findings enrich literature of social support, work engagement, and meaningful work. The study is one of the foremost empirical works examining the mediating potential of meaningful work on the relationships between two social resources (supervisor support and coworker support) and work engagement. The issue of work engagement is evident in several mainstream work sectors alongside the education sector. Hence, the research findings are worthy to help understand work engagement issues and how to tackle it in the education setting.

Host country national support to expatriates: a motivated information processing perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Young-Jae Yoon ◽  
Arup Varma ◽  
Anastasia Katou ◽  
Youngjae Cha ◽  
Soohyun Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Host Country ◽  
Social Motivation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Expatriate Adjustment ◽  
Host Country Nationals ◽  
Epistemic Motivation ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Motivated Information Processing

PurposeThe support of host country nationals (HCNs) is a key determinant of expatriate adjustment and performance. The purpose of this paper is to explore underlying motivations for their support to expatriates. Previous research has shown that HCNs with pro-social motivation are more likely to help expatriates. Drawing upon motivated information processing in groups (MIP-G) theory, the authors test whether epistemic motivation moderates the observed relationship between pro-social motivation and HCNs’ support toward expatriates.Design/methodology/approachThe authors ran two correlational studies (N = 267) in the USA (Study 1) and South Korea (Study 2). Across two studies, epistemic motivation and social motivation were measured using their multiple proxies validated in previous research. The authors also measured HCNs’ willingness to offer role information and social support to a hypothetical expatriate worker.FindingsResults lend support to our hypotheses that pro-social HCNs are more willing than pro-self HCNs to provide role information and social support to the expatriates, but this occurs only when they have high rather than low epistemic motivation.Originality/valueThe current paper contributes the literature on HCNs helping expatriates by qualifying the prior results that a pro-social motivation (e.g. agreeableness and collectivism) increases the willingness of HCNs to help expatriates. As hypothesized, this study found that that case is only true when HCNs have high, rather than low, epistemic motivation. Also, previous research on MIP-G theory has mainly focused on the performance of small groups (e.g. negotiation, creativity and decision-making). To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first attempt to test MIP-G theory in the context of HCNs helping expatriates.

scholarly journals Physical Activity and Body-Mass-Index: Do Family, Friends and Teachers Restrain the Risk for Physical Inactivity in Adolescents?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 6992
Author(s):  
Denise Renninger ◽  
David Joseph Sturm ◽  
Adilson Marques ◽  
Miguel Peralta ◽  
Stevo Popovic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Family Support ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Teacher Support ◽  
Normal Weight ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Obese Adolescents ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Relationship Of

Background: The present study investigates the role of different sources of social support in the relationship of BMI and PA in an international sample of children and adolescents. Methods: Data included 170,211 adolescents (51.5% female), aged 10–16 (M = 13.6, SD = 1.64) from 37 European countries/regions and were retrieved from the 2013/14 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) international database. Results: PA levels in adolescents are lower for girls, decrease with age, and are lower for overweight and obese adolescents compared to underweight and normal-weight adolescents. Peer support and teacher support significantly predict PA (ORpeer = 1.11; ORteacher = 0.97) and vigorous PA frequency (ORpeer = 1.13; ORteacher = 0.94). Family support only affected vigorous PA frequency (OR = 1.03). Family support had a moderating effect on PA in overweight (ORfamily*BMI(overweight) = 0.94) and obese (ORfamily*BMI(obese) = 0.90) adolescents. Peer support had a moderating effect on vigorous PA frequency in obese (ORpeer*BMI(obese) = 1.08) adolescents. Teacher support had a moderating effect on PA (ORteacher*BMI(normal) = 1.05; ORteacher*BMI(overweight) = 1.09) and vigorous PA frequency (ORteacher*BMI(normal) = 1.07; ORteacher*BMI(overweight) = 1.08) in normal-weight and overweight adolescents. Conclusion: Social support helps adolescents to be active. Especially for obese adolescents, support by and relations with peers are important to reach a significant amount of PA.

The impact of work engagement and workaholism on well-being

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 813-835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaëtane Caesens ◽  
Florence Stinglhamber ◽  
Gaylord Luypaert
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Sleep Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Coworker Support ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Related

Purpose – The purpose of this paper are twofold. First, the authors examined the effects of two types of working hard (i.e. work engagement, workaholism) on employees’ well-being (i.e. job satisfaction, perceived stress, and sleep problems). Second, the authors tested the extent to which both types of working hard mediate the relationship between three types of work-related social support (i.e. perceived organizational support, perceived supervisor support, and perceived coworker support) and employees’ well-being. Design/methodology/approach – An online questionnaire was administered to 343 PhD students. Findings – Results revealed that work engagement mediates the relationships between perceived organizational support and job satisfaction and perceived stress. Perceived organizational support has also a direct positive impact on job satisfaction and a direct negative impact on perceived stress and sleep problems. Furthermore, work engagement mediates the influence of perceived supervisor support on job satisfaction and perceived stress. Finally, workaholism was found to mediate the relationships between perceived coworker support, and job satisfaction, perceived stress, and sleep problems. Practical implications – The findings suggest that managers should promote practices in order to foster work engagement and prevent workaholism. In line with this, the findings indicated that the most powerful source of support that fosters work engagement is perceived supervisor support. Organizations should, therefore, train their supervisors to be supportive in their role of directing, evaluating and coaching subordinates or encourage supervisors to have regular meetings with their subordinates. Additionally, the results showed that perceived coworker support is the only source of work-related social support that has a negative influence on workaholism. Managers should foster coworker support, for instance by encouraging informal mentoring among employees in order to build a strong social network. Originality/value – Because scholars argued that each type of work-related social support might have different consequences and might vary in terms of strength of associations with their outcomes, the study aimed to examine the concomitant effects of three forms of work-related social support on two types of working hard which, in turn, influence employees’ well-being.

Linking supervisor support to innovation implementation behavior via commitment

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 129-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weiguo Yang ◽  
Qi Hao ◽  
Hongfeng Song
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Support ◽  
Affective Commitment ◽  
Supervisor Support ◽  
Causal Chain ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Mediating Effects ◽  
Innovation Implementation ◽  
Coworker Support ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how perceived supervisor support (PSS) affects employees' innovation implementation behavior (IIB), the psychological mechanisms of this relationship, and the role of perceived coworker support (PCS).Design/methodology/approachUsing a three-phase survey, data were collected from 307 employees of a state-owned coal company located in the central region of China. The study tests the hypotheses by using hierarchical regression analyses. The mediating effects and the moderated mediating effects are further examined by using bias-corrected bootstrapping methods.FindingsAffective commitment (AC) fully mediates the positive relationship between PSS and IIB, and this mediating effect can be moderated by PCS.Practical implicationsCompanies should foster supportive supervisors and colleagues by investing in appropriate training programs. In addition, managers should emphasize the psychological changes of employees and provide more supportive feelings for them.Originality/valueThe study explicitly tests the entire causal chain implied by organizational support theory in predicting IIB. It specifies the different role of two similar support constructs (i.e. supervisor support and coworker support) in affecting employees' attitudes and behaviors.

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