scholarly journals Concerns about the Coronavirus Outbreak among Health and Social Service Workers: The Mediating Role of Job Burnout

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlyn Khouri ◽  
Noga Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Job Burnout ◽  
Service Workers ◽  
Health And Social Services ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Social Service Workers

Background: The current worldwide coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has elicited widespread concerns and stress. The current research examined the links between tendency to worry, concerns related to COVID-19 and psychological distress (anxiety, depression, stress). We were specifically interested in the mediating role of job burnout. Methods: Ninety-eight health and social service workers participated in the study (including medical and paramedical staff members, therapists and more). Participants completed an online survey that included questionnaires related to COVID-19 concerns, tendency to worry (PSWQ), psychological distress (DASS) and job burnout (SMBM). Results: Significant correlations emerged between COVID-19-related concerns, tendency to worry and psychological distress. Our findings showed that individuals working in health and social services fields who reported a higher tendency to worry experienced more psychological distress and that job burnout mediated this link. Furthermore, the link between worry and concerns related to COVID-19 was mediated by psychological distress.Limitations: In comparison with other countries such as Italy, and China; the cases in Israel haven't exceeded the coping competencies of the health and social service staffs. Conclusions: These findings highlight the role of worry and job burnout in psychological distress among individuals who work in health and social services fields. The results provide further knowledge regarding the risk factors that make health and social service workers vulnerable at times of crisis and emphasize the need for novel interventions for preventing psychological distress and promoting well-being among populations whose ability to function is crucial at times of crisis.

Team Managers in Local Social Service Departments in Israel as Bottom-Up Social Policy-Makers

2021 ◽  
pp. 324-345
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Psychosocial Services ◽  
Service Departments ◽  
New Policies

Following on Felice Perlmutter's work on the managerial role of social workers in social services, this article contributes to the still limited knowledge on the role of social workers in middle-management positions in formulating new policies `on the ground`. The study expands knowledge about policies determined by team managers in local social service departments in Israel. It occurs in the nexus between street-level bureaucracy, professionalism and managerial positions. Semi-structured interviews with 28 team managers revealed that they formulated `new` policies with regard to the provision of psychosocial services and material assistance (who gets what, when and how). This occurs when they resist official policy, when it is vague or non-existent. Most of their policy decisions are not documented and draw upon consultations with colleagues and superiors though not with clients. The team managers perceive these policies as a means for achieving balance between clients' well-being and budgetary constraints. Yet their decisions lack transparency, are decided upon without public discourse and may lead to greater inequity between clients

scholarly journals Mindfulness and Psychological Distress in Kindergarten Teachers: The Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (21) ◽  
pp. 8212
Author(s):  
Xiulan Cheng ◽  
Ying Ma ◽  
Jiaqi Li ◽  
Yonghui Cai ◽  
Ling Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Kindergarten Teachers ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Path Analyses ◽  
Regulation Of Emotion

Kindergarten teachers are often exposed to great stress. Considering that, mindfulness has been demonstrated to act as a critical role in the psychological well-being of kindergarten teachers. The present study assessed mindfulness in teaching (MT), psychological distress and emotional intelligence (EI) among 511 kindergarten teachers in mainland China and investigated the mediating role of EI to explore the association mechanism between kindergarten teachers’ MT and psychological distress. The major results suggested that kindergarten teachers’ MT was negatively related to their psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and stress). Results of path analyses indicated that the total score of EI and dimension of regulation of emotion (ROE) could serve as significant mediators. The findings suggest that mindfulness might be beneficial to relieve kindergarten teachers’ psychological distress through the mediating role of EI.

scholarly journals Motivation for COVID-19 Vaccination in Priority Occupational Groups: A Cross-Sectional Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (21) ◽  
pp. 11726
Author(s):  
Ladislav Štěpánek ◽  
Magdaléna Janošíková ◽  
Marie Nakládalová ◽  
Kateřina Ivanová ◽  
Jakub Macík ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Security Force ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Occupational Groups ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Service Workers ◽  
Social Service Workers

Due to the limited availability of COVID-19 vaccines, occupational groups with priority access were identified prior to vaccination. The study aimed to analyze motives for vaccination in these occupational groups. Methods: Members of occupational groups, who were vaccinated at the vaccination center of University Hospital Olomouc before 30 April 2021, were asked to fill in an online questionnaire. Results: A total of 3224 completed questionnaires were obtained from 1332 healthcare workers, 1257 school employees, 363 social service workers, 210 security force members, and 62 critical infrastructure workers. The most frequent motive for vaccination was the effort to protect family members (76.2%), the effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in one’s profession (72.3%), followed by concerns about COVID-19 itself (49.1%) and exemptions from anti-epidemic measures (36.8%). Only for social services, the motive focused on one’s profession was mentioned more often (75.2%) than the motive focused on the family (71.1%). At the level of detailed profession-oriented motives, a collegial effort of security force members to protect co-workers and not to endanger the workplace was dominant. Conclusions: The effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the professional environment is a strong motive for vaccination, and strongest among social service workers.

Development and validation of the collective psychological ownership scale in organizational contexts

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1431-1443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuebing Su ◽  
Siu-man Ng
Keyword(s):  
Social Service ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Ownership ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Service Workers ◽  
Convergent And Divergent Validity ◽  
Social Service Workers

Collective psychological ownership (CPO) refers to the sense shared by group mates that they jointly own their organization. CPO is an important emerging concept but its operationalization is still at an early stage. The study aimed to develop and evaluate the CPO scale among social service workers. The item pool together with a battery of validation scales formed the basis for an Internet-based survey. Through convenience and snowball sampling strategies, social service workers in Guangdong Province, China were invited to take part in the survey, resulting in 444 completed questionnaires. Bi-factor analyses were conducted. Both exploratory and confirmatory analyses of bi-factor analyses supported the one-general-two-specific structure of CPO. Internal consistency, assessed by Cronbach’s alpha, was satisfactory for the bi-factor structure. Convergent and divergent validity were supported by the correlations with validation scales in the expected directions. The general factor was named shared possessiveness, and the two specific factors were shared decision-making and shared hardship endurance. With good preliminary psychometric properties, the newly developed CPO scale will trigger a series of studies related to workplace behaviors and well-being.

Neighborhood Social Cohesion, Resilience, and Psychological Well-Being Among Chinese Older Adults in Hawai’i

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Sizhe Liu ◽  
Keqing Zhang ◽  
Bei Wu
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Chinese Older Adults ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Birth Place ◽  
Neighborhood Social Cohesion ◽  
The U.S

Abstract Background and Objectives A growing body of literature indicates that neighborhood social cohesion is generally associated with lower levels of psychological distress and higher levels of life satisfaction (LS). However, very few studies have examined these relationships among Chinese older adults, the fastest growing aging population across all racial/ethnic groups in the U.S. Focusing on this population, the current study aims to examine the associations of neighborhood cohesion with psychological distress and LS as well as the mediating role of resilience and the moderating role of birth place in the associations. Research Design and Methods Ordinary least squares regressions were applied to analyze data collected among 430 Chinese older adults aged 55 and older residing in Honolulu, Hawai’i. Results Results show that neighborhood social cohesion was positively associated with lower levels of psychological distress and higher levels of LS for the whole sample. The association between social cohesion and psychological distress was moderated by birth place such that the protecting effects of neighborhood cohesion on distress were only salient for the U.S.-born but not for the foreign-born. Moreover, the mediating role of resilience was identified: It contributed to more than 60% of the association between social cohesion and psychological distress, and more than 22% of the association between social cohesion and LS. Discussion and Implications Our findings indicate the importance of a cohesive social environment and resilience in shaping psychological well-being and quality of life for older Chinese adults, the U.S.-born in particular, living in Honolulu, Hawai’i.

scholarly journals Challenges for Management in Implementing Reforms at the Ministry Level and in Health and Social Service Organizations in Finland

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 66
Author(s):  
Vuokko Niiranen ◽  
Joakim Zitting ◽  
Sanna Laulainen
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Service Organizations ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Social Service Organizations ◽  
Health And Social Services ◽  
Health And Social Care

The Finnish health and social care sector is currently undergoing numerous reforms. These reforms involve novel demands regarding the role of steering, decision-making, and management in health and social services. This article sheds light on some of the critical factors encountered by decision-makers and managers when implementing reforms to change health and social services. The article investigates cooperation between the steering ministries and different dimensions of management in local health and social service organizations. Interview data from the ministries were studied through content analysis, and quantitative survey data were analyzed using mean values guided by the model of multidimensional management. The co-operation between different ministries has intensified while implementing different reforms, but functional and cultural boundaries between them persist. The management dimensions in changing health and social service organizations stress the role of managers as facilitators and enablers, highlighting the significance of caring for the human resource dimension as one of the managers’ core tasks. The successful implementation of change should never be automatic. What emerges prominently is the skill essential to achieve cooperation which transcends the borders of both multiprofessional and traditional professional and administrative work both in ministries and local health and social service organizations.

scholarly journals Entrepreneurial Organizational Culture During a Pandemic in a Labour-Intensive Industry: The Mediating Role of Fear of COVID-19, Psychological Distress, and Job Satisfaction in Turnover Intention

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivona Mileva ◽  
Marjan Bojadjiev ◽  
Miodraga Stefanovska Petkovska
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Turnover Intention ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Entrepreneurial Culture

 Motivation and idea: Entrepreneurial culture has been considered to have a significant positive relation with the organizational growth and self-efficacy. However, the success of entrepreneurial culture has been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic and its influence on the well-being of employees who work in labour-intensive industries. More specifically, the level of stress among these workers is increased and that can result in physical and mental health issues, resulting in low mood and motivation, anxiety, depression, burnout, suicidal thoughts, etc. This may ultimately influence the turnover intention in these industries. Research goal: This paper investigates whether a relationship exists between entrepreneurial organizational culture and turnover intention. The goal of this study is to explore the relationship between entrepreneurial organizational culture and turnover intention in labour-intensive industries with a focus on the mediating role of fear of COVID-19, psychological distress and job satisfaction in turnover intention. Data: Quantitative research on 408 respondents has been conducted, whose results can serve as a reference for designing adequate human resource policies in labour-intensive industries. Findings: This study shows that Covid-19 challenged not only economic and financial sustainability, but also the physical and mental well-being of the people. It shows that the organizations that foster an entrepreneurial culture assist people in reducing stress, resulting in members of those organizations experiencing less tension and fear, which is an important part of one's health at such a chaotic time. Contribution: The paper is the first of its kind study and it expands existing research related to organizational culture during the pandemic, thus formulating practical suggestions to future leaders. This study has important implications for practitioners. Although no similar studies exist within the labour-intensive businesses, the analysis of these aspects will enable the leaders to assess and strengthen their connections to the company and to determine which segments of their organizational culture need to be improved so that  employees should be happier and more satisfied.

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