Significant Life Events and Career Sustainability: A Three-Wave Study

Over the last three decades, the professional landscape has changed, and career paths have become more plural, complex, and flexible, as well as less predictable. Consequently, career sustainability has become a major concern. Since the framework of sustainable careers captures the complexities of modern careers, we used it in the present study to understand how various types of significant life events (i.e., negative work events, negative nonwork events, positive work events, and positive nonwork events) hinder or foster career sustainability among 870 professionally active adults in Switzerland using a longitudinal design. We used repeated measures analysis of variance to study changes in health (i.e., self-rated health and stress at work), happiness (i.e., life satisfaction, quality of life, and job satisfaction), and productivity (i.e., employability and career prospects) by the type of significant life events over time, from 1 year before the event (T0) to 1 year after the event (T2). Results indicated that work events are important to consider when studying career sustainability as there is evidence for spillover effects from work to life. Specifically, experiencing positive work events seems to foster career sustainability, and these effects seem to be stronger than the negative effect of negative work or nonwork life events on health, happiness, and productivity.

Factors Associated with Fatality in Ontario Thoroughbred Racehorses: 2003–2015

Ontario’s Alcohol and Gaming Commission records equine racing fatalities through its Equine Health Program. The present study examined all Thoroughbred fatalities from 2003 to 2015, inclusive, to identify associations. Official records and details of fatalities were combined in multivariable logistic regression modelling of 236,386 race work-events (433 fatalities), and 459,013 workout work-events (252 fatalities). Fatality rates were 2.94/1000 race starts (all fatalities) and 1.96/1000 (breakdowns only) with an overall rate of 2.61% or 26.1 fatalities/1000 horses. Comparison with published reports reveals rates to be high. Musculoskeletal injury was the predominant complaint and there was a high incidence of horses dying suddenly. Liability was high for young horses early in the season with a differential according to sex and whether a male horse was gelded. Horses undertaking repeated workouts had a higher liability and liability was higher in workouts for horses switching from dirt/synthetic to turf racing and for young horses in sprints. Race distance was not significant but high fatality rates in some large field, distance races combined with effects of age and workload identified groups at particular risk. As field size increased, fatality liability increased for early-finishing horses. Findings suggest jockey strategy could be an important factor influencing fatalities. Probability of fatality declined over the study period. Findings indicate that rapid accumulation of workload in animals early in their preparation is likely to be damaging. Fatality fell toward the end of a season and for horses with a long career history of successful performance; however, horses not exhibiting this robustness and staying power represent the population of greatest concern. Associations may be characterised as representing sources of stress, current or cumulative, and identifying at-risk animals on this basis may be as productive as targeting specific, discrete mechanisms suspected to contribute to individual fatalities.

‘Dead Bodies as a Daily Business’ – Affective Work Events, Emotions and Emotion Regulation in the Work of Undertakers

BACKGROUND: Affective Events Theory (AET) postulates that job characteristics have an impact on job attitudes and work behaviour via affective events and reactions. However, the display of positive emotions can be rather problematic in undertakers and be in conflict with displaying compassion. OBJECTIVE: This study examines work events eliciting various emotions in the work of undertakers and how display of emotions in this profession affects job satisfaction. We thereby focus on AET and extend this by investigating time pressure as a moderator of the relationship between autonomy, positive emotions and job satisfaction. METHODS: First, we collected specific affective work events of undertakers in a pilot interview study. Second, N = 112 undertakers participated in a cross-sectional survey measuring affective events, emotional display, commitment to display compassion, autonomy, time pressure, job satisfaction and work engagement.RESULTS: Experiencing positive emotions at work is beneficial even in undertakers. Additionally, autonomy was associated with positive emotions particularly under high time pressure and low commitment to display compassion moderated the link between work events and showing compassion. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, undertakers’ well-being is associated in complex ways with the interplay of positive emotions, autonomy and time pressure at work and individual differences in commitment for displaying compassion to clients.

Adverse occupational events and their impact on the centrality of work: A longitudinal study

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the changes in work centrality of individuals who experienced meaningful adverse occupational events (dismissal from the workplace, prolonged unemployment, and retirement), as compared to employees who did not experience such events over 12 years. Methodology: By implementing a fixed-sample panel /longitudinal research,12 years after conducting the Meaning of Work questioner, 411 individuals were located and re-conducted. The respondents were asked about life and work events they had experienced between the first and second time. The data was analysed by regular and multivariate analysis of variance. Main Findings: The work centrality of individuals who experienced prolonged unemployment did not change, while it increased among those who did not experience these events. Experiencing dismissal from work increased work centrality. Unexpectedly, work centrality continues to increase among individuals after retirement. Applications: There are several suggestions for the social and welfare and policymakers regarding adverse occupational events and the impact these policies may have on the magnitude of these events on work centrality. Novelty/Originality: This is a unique longitudinal study over twelve years, that compared the change in work centrality among individuals who did and did not experience adverse occupational events.

The Roles of Supervisory Support and Involvement in Influencing Scientists’ Job Satisfaction to Ensure the Achievement of SDGs in Academic Organizations

Job satisfaction is the focus of this study, given its strategic importance, both to generate differentiation and competitive advantages, and to promote better and more sustainable results in organizations. Guided by the Affective Events Theory (AET), the interest is in analyzing the direct and indirect effects of supervisory support and involvement on job satisfaction and highlighting the implications of the academics’ emotions for sustainability-related policies and practices in academic environments. The context selected is the higher education (HE) sector in Malaysia for science disciplines, due to its socio-economic relevance and its direct link to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4), as well as to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A sample of 579 scientists were selected randomly and the analysis was carried out based on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) methodology. Our results supported the hypotheses postulated in the study and especially highlighted the effects of supervisory support and positive affect on job satisfaction, as well as the effect of interpersonal conflict on negative affect. In terms of implications, policy makers at ministry level are advised to consider introducing directives which promote a climate of emotional safety and trust in academic institutions, to achieve the SDGs more effectively and efficiently. At the university level, and given the relevance of the observed effects, academic leaders are recommended to contemplate improving university environments in some way that reduces levels of negative work events (interpersonal conflict in our case). This is crucial as the negative work events can trigger negative emotions, which in turn cause scientists’ job dissatisfaction.

Exploring the Engaged Worker over Time—A Week-Level Study of How Positive and Negative Work Events Affect Work Engagement

Although work events can be regarded as pivotal elements of organizational life, only a few studies have examined how positive and negative events relate to and combine to affect work engagement over time. Theory suggests that, to better understand how current events affect work engagement (WE), we have to account for recent events that have preceded these current events. We present competing theoretical views on how recent and current work events may affect employees (e.g., getting used to a high frequency of negative events or becoming more sensitive to negative events). Although the occurrence of events implies discrete changes in the experience of work, prior research has not considered whether work events actually accumulate to sustained mid-term changes in WE. To address these gaps in the literature, we conducted a week-level longitudinal study across a period of 15 consecutive weeks among 135 employees, which yielded 849 weekly observations. While positive events were associated with higher levels of WE within the same week, negative events were not. Our results support neither satiation nor sensitization processes. However, a high frequency of negative events in the preceding week amplified the beneficial effects of positive events on WE in the current week. Growth curve analyses show that the benefits of positive events accumulate to sustain high levels of WE. WE dissipates in the absence of a continuous experience of positive events. Our study adds a temporal component by highlighting that positive events affect work engagement, particularly in light of recent negative events. Our study informs research that has taken a feature-oriented perspective on the dynamic interplay of job demands and resources.

Factors Associated with Mortality in Ontario Standardbred Racing: 2003–2015

Factors associated with mortality in standardbred racehorses were assessed through a retrospective annualized cohort study of all-cause mortality from 2003–2015 (n = 978) (identified in the Ontario Racehorse Death Registry). Race and qualifying data for official work-events were also gathered (1,778,330 work-events, 125,200 horse years). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed sex, age, and indices of workload and intensity and their interactions to be strongly associated with mortality. Track class, race versus qualifying performance, and work-event outcome (finish position, scratched, or failed to finish) also influenced mortality odds, which increased as performance slowed. Intense competition at higher performance levels and qualifying races at lower levels carried particularly high odds. Though occurring frequently, musculoskeletal injury was less frequent than all other presenting problems combined. Industry structure contributes to mortality through interaction between horse characteristics and the competition environment. This substrate may be amenable to management to minimize liability, but incident-specific triggers may represent chance factors and be relatively difficult to identify or control. Differentiating between substrate and trigger when studying specific clinical problems may provide greater clarity and yield in identifying underlying causes. Mortality may reflect a continuum of circumstances, cumulative impacts of which might be identified before a fatal event occurs.

Estresse Ocupacional, qualidade do sono e obesidade em Policiais Militares - Revisão narrativa

Stress was considered by the United Nations as the disease of the 20th Century, being present in more than 90% of the world population, including military police officers. This group of professionals has been in the front-line of the pandemic caused by the Coronavirus and is exposed to daily situations of high emotional stress and traumatic work events, which can cause several health problems, namely occupational stress, sleep problems and obesity. This study aims to conduct a narrative review of the influence of psychosocial environment on the development of occupational stress and consequences on the military police officer´s health. Two platforms, namely PubMed and Google Scholar were used to search for relevant scientific publications on the topic; 148 publications from 2010 to 2020 were analyzed, 71 of which were included in this review. It is estimated that 25% to 35% of the global burden of disease may be due to environmental factors. The stress prevalence in military police officers is higher than the average in the civilian population worldwide; due to an alternate work schedule that does not always respect the circadian characteristics of each individual, and with direct influence on sleep quality and obesity incidence. Public health policies should be taken in the short term in order to improve life quality of these professionals.

Company Celebrations in International Firms in Bulgaria. Are We What We Celebrate?

Workplace celebrations are a festive genre influenced by local and global socioeconomic transformations and cultural trends. This article presents a qualitative study of company celebrations in international firms in Bulgaria. Festivities, which are the object of study, are conceptualised as a medium through which identities are constructed, managed, and shared. The goal is to explore labour relations through the prism of such non-work events and trace the dynamics between the local and the international, between notions of ‘us’ and ‘them’, individual and organisational identities. The presented case studies are based on in-depth interviews with a range of stakeholders and on participant observation in celebrations organised by firms for their employees.