The healthy management: the moderator role of transformational leadership on health workers

Psychosocial risks arising from work, like workload, have a negative impact on the quality of work life, especially in terms of the deterioration in working conditions and negative consequences for employees’ health. The style of leadership exercised is key in coping with perceived psychosocial risks. The purpose of this study was to analyse the influence of transformational leadership and workload on psychosomatic disorders, and the moderating role of transformational leadership in the relationship between workload and psychosomatic disorders. The sample consisted of 408 Spanish employees working with people with intellectual disabilities. Workload and Psychosomatic disorders were measured by the UNIPSICO subscales, Transformational leadership was measured by a subscale adapted from the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Bass & Avolio, 1989). Carrying out moderation analysis in PROCESS 3.4 results showed that both Workload and Transformational leadership had a significant influence on Psychosomatic disorders. In addition, Transformational leadership moderated the relationship between Workload and Psychosomatic disorders. Transformational leadership buffers the impact of workload on employees’ health and therefore in the need to carry out training programs for managers in organizations in order to exercise a healthy management. Los riesgos psicosociales derivados del trabajo, como la sobrecarga laboral, tienen un impacto negativo en la calidad de vida laboral, especialmente en el deterioro de las condiciones laborales y en la salud de los empleados. El estilo de liderazgo ejercido es clave en el afrontamiento de los riesgos psicosociales percibidos. El propósito de este estudio fue analizar la influencia del liderazgo transformacional y la sobrecarga laboral sobre los problemas psicosomáticos, y el papel moderador del liderazgo transformacional en la relación entre sobrecarga laboral y problemas psicosomáticos. La muestra consistió en 408 empleados españoles que trabajan con personas con discapacidad intelectual. Sobrecarga laboral y Problemas psicosomáticos se midieron con las subescalas UNIPSICO y Liderazgo transformacional se midió con una subescala adaptada del Cuestionario Multifactorial de Liderazgo (Bass & Avolio, 1989). El análisis de moderación mediante PROCESS 3.4 mostró que tanto Sobrecarga laboral como Liderazgo transformacional tuvieron una influencia significativa sobre Problemas psicosomáticos. Además, Liderazgo transformacional moderó la relación entre Sobrecarga laboral y Problemas psicosomáticos. El liderazgo transformacional amortigua el impacto de la sobrecarga laboral en la salud de los empleados y, por lo tanto, se destaca la necesidad de implementar programas de capacitación para directivos en las organizaciones con el fin de ejercer una gestión saludable.

Stress and psychological resilience in intervention and rescue activities

Nature of intervention and rescue personnel activity places them at the top of professions that face a considerable number of occupational health and safety risks. Often, this occupational category does not face a single safety risk, but a complex combination of risk factors, including unpredictability of situations in which they are required to work. Emergence of stress and other psychosocial risks in work processes requires the implementation of an anticipatory attitude and a constant level of vigilance to identify and evaluate them. In intervention and rescue, the issue of regulating and self-regulating the individual’s behaviour is essential, as exceptional acts performed in unusual conditions require adaptive mechanisms as close as possible to perfection. Developing resilience should focus on amplifying already present strengths (physical and mental characteristics and abilities), rather than managing negative effects of operational stressors. The current paper presents a theoretical approach of the concept of resilience, appliable to intervention and rescue activities and suggests several ways to develop rescuer’s resilience.

Work characteristics and occupational health: validation and proposal of a shortened version of the Work Design Questionnaire

Interest in the study of work characteristics to explain how an individual's relationship with the work environment can lead to maladaptive responses has taken on renewed importance in the light of increasing concern for the development of healthy organizations and organizational diversity. This study aims to develop a shortened version of the Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ) with a view to facilitating its use and interpretation. The psychometric properties of this shorter questionnaire were tested in a multi-sectoral sample of workers in Spain, with due consideration given to the gender measurement invariance. For this purpose, we applied the questionnaire to a sample of 500 workers and analyzed the relationship between the answers provided to WDQ and specific occupational health variables (satisfaction, well-being and emotional exhaustion). Results showed adequate reliability and criterion-oriented validity for the shortened version of the WDQ, that is, the WDQ18-S, as well as evidence of factorial invariance across gender. We then discuss the results and their implications for the application of the WDQ in further research and the field of occupational health and psychosocial risks prevention. El interés por el estudio de las características del trabajo para explicar cómo la relación de un individuo con el entorno laboral puede conducir a respuestas desadaptativas ha cobrado una importancia renovada a la luz de la creciente preocupación por el desarrollo de organizaciones saludables y por la diversidad organizacional. Este estudio tiene como objetivo desarrollar una versión abreviada del Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ) con el fin de facilitar su uso e interpretación en este contexto. Las propiedades psicométricas de este cuestionario reducido se probaron en una muestra multisectorial de trabajadores en España. Para ello, aplicamos el cuestionario a una muestra de 500 trabajadores y analizamos la relación entre las carácterísiticas del trabajo y las variables seleccionadas de salud ocupacional (satisfacción, bienestar y agotamiento emocional). Los resultados mostraron una fiabilidad y una validez orientada al criterio adecuadas para la versión abreviada del WDQ, esto es, el WDQ18-S, así como evidencia de invarianza factorial de género. Posteriormente se discuten los resultados y sus implicaciones para el uso del WDQ en el ámbito aplicado e investigador de la salud ocupacional y la prevención de riesgos laborales.

Salutogenesis as a Framework for Social Recovery After Disaster

This chapter has its starting point in 2013, when a train carrying crude oil derailed in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada. Research on the aftermath of this tragedy indicates that the adverse psychosocial impacts resulting from the rail tragedy decreased over time. The authors explain that although the tragedy certainly has left its mark, the local community is gradually adapting to its new reality. The asset-based approach to recovery that has been encouraged seems to have contributed to the “new reality,” emphasizing the importance of social capital to activate individual and community resilience in post-disaster contexts. The authors identify and discuss success factors supporting the recovery of citizens and the social reconstruction of the community, and they document the positive development of the psychosocial situation in Lac-Mégantic, commenting also on the importance of developing a shared understanding of risks and working together in finding solutions.The authors conclude by discussing the importance of long-term initiatives to promote understanding, preventing, and reducing psychosocial risks in the months and years following a disaster, and the need to move from disaster management to risk management logic in response to disasters.

Examining Optimism, Psychosocial Risks, and Cardiovascular Health Using Life's Simple 7 Metrics in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and the Jackson Heart Study

Background: Optimism has been shown to be positively associated with better cardiovascular health (CVH). However, there is a dearth of prospective studies showing the benefits of optimism on CVH, especially in the presence of adversities, i.e., psychosocial risks. This study examines the prospective relationship between optimism and CVH outcomes based on the Life's Simple 7 (LS7) metrics and whether multilevel psychosocial risks modify the aforementioned relationship.Methods: We examined self-reported optimism and CVH using harmonized data from two U.S. cohorts: Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and Jackson Heart Study (JHS). Modified Poisson regression models were used to estimate the relationship between optimism and CVH using LS7 among MESA participants (N = 3,520) and to examine the relationship of interest based on four biological LS7 metrics (body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose) among JHS and MESA participants (N = 5,541). For all CVH outcomes, we assessed for effect measure modification by psychosocial risk.Results: Among MESA participants, the adjusted risk ratio (aRR) for ideal or intermediate CVH using LS7 comparing participants who reported high or medium optimism to those with the lowest level of optimism was 1.10 [95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.04–1.16] and 1.05 (95% CI: 0.99–1.11), respectively. Among MESA and JHS participants, the corresponding aRRs for having all ideal or intermediate (vs. no poor) metrics based on the four biological LS7 metrics were 1.05 (0.98–1.12) and 1.04 (0.97–1.11), respectively. The corresponding aRRs for having lower cardiovascular risk (0–1 poor metrics) based on the four biological LS7 metrics were 1.01 (0.98–1.03) and 1.01 (0.98–1.03), respectively. There was some evidence of effect modification by neighborhood deprivation for the LS7 outcome and by chronic stress for the ideal or intermediate (no poor) metrics outcome based on the four biological LS7 metrics.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that greater optimism is positively associated with better CVH based on certain LS7 outcomes among a racially/ethnically diverse study population. This relationship may be effect measure modified by specific psychosocial risks. Optimism shows further promise as a potential area for intervention on CVH. However, additional prospective and intervention studies are needed.

Identifying Psychosocial Risks and Protective Measures for Workers’ Mental Wellbeing at the Time of COVID-19: A Narrative Review

The spread of the Sars-COV-2 virus has caused crucial changes in the workplace. Almost two years after the start of the COVID-19 era, new and old psychosocial risks in the workplace threaten workers’ mental wellbeing and represent an occupational health challenge. The aim of this review is to identify the most relevant psychosocial factors, negative or protective, contributing to occupational stress during the current pandemic. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Google Scholar and PsycINFO and a total of 51 articles were deemed suitable for inclusion in the review. Analysis of the retrieved articles revealed five main topics related to psychosocial wellbeing in the workplace: (1) Support from colleagues and organizations; (2) Home–work interface and balance; (3) Changes in workload and work demand; (4) Job competence and appropriate training; (5) Job insecurity and financial stress. All five themes were associated with occupational stress and poor mental outcomes, like anxiety, depression, and burnout symptoms. Peer and organizational support seem to have a major impact on workers’ mental wellbeing. Recognizing these factors and projecting interventions that mitigate their effects or boost their efficacy is a fundamental step towards dealing with COVID-19 in the workplace, or any such future emergencies.

Quality of life and psychosocial risk in migrant workers from the Region of Maule, Chile.

<p>Migratory figures place Chile as one of the South American countries with the most significant number of migrants. The present study evaluated the psychosocial occupational risks of migrant workers in the Maule Region and their association with health-related quality of life. Cross-sectional study with migrant workers between 18 and 60 years old, residing in the Maule Region (n = 145). The questionnaires applied were: a) SUSESO ISTA-21 Psychosocial Risk Questionnaire; b) SF-12 health and quality of life questionnaire; c) Socio-demographic questionnaire. We perform a bivariate statistical analysis with non-parametric tests of Mann Withney U, Kruskal Wallis, and Spearman correlation. The migrants with lower quality of life in terms of the physical health dimension are those who are divorced, widowed or single, who work less than 22 hours per week and arrived directly to the Maule Region from their countries of origin. The psychosocial risks related to double presence at work seem to be the dimension with the highest prevalence. Migrants who work between 33 and 43 hours per week a negative association between the number of hours worked and work rewards; lack of control, which strongly impacts job satisfaction due to insecurity; and exhaustion from overwork. Exposure to a new social and work environment could lead to different psychological responses in which anxiety, confusion, and culture shock affect the mental health of migrants. Coming into contact with a new culture is a complex process; it requires support networks, adaptation, and migration policies based on human rights.</p>

Quality of life and psychosocial risk in migrant workers from the Region of Maule, Chile.

<p>Migratory figures place Chile as one of the South American countries with the most significant number of migrants. The present study evaluated the psychosocial occupational risks of migrant workers in the Maule Region and their association with health-related quality of life. Cross-sectional study with migrant workers between 18 and 60 years old, residing in the Maule Region (n = 145). The questionnaires applied were: a) SUSESO ISTA-21 Psychosocial Risk Questionnaire; b) SF-12 health and quality of life questionnaire; c) Socio-demographic questionnaire. We perform a bivariate statistical analysis with non-parametric tests of Mann Withney U, Kruskal Wallis, and Spearman correlation. The migrants with lower quality of life in terms of the physical health dimension are those who are divorced, widowed or single, who work less than 22 hours per week and arrived directly to the Maule Region from their countries of origin. The psychosocial risks related to double presence at work seem to be the dimension with the highest prevalence. Migrants who work between 33 and 43 hours per week a negative association between the number of hours worked and work rewards; lack of control, which strongly impacts job satisfaction due to insecurity; and exhaustion from overwork. Exposure to a new social and work environment could lead to different psychological responses in which anxiety, confusion, and culture shock affect the mental health of migrants. Coming into contact with a new culture is a complex process; it requires support networks, adaptation, and migration policies based on human rights.</p>