Mindfulness predicts less depression, anxiety, and social impairment in emergency care personnel: A longitudinal study

Medical personnel working in emergency rooms (ER) are at increased risk of mental health problems and suicidality. There is increasing evidence that mindfulness-based interventions can improve burnout and other mental health outcomes in health care providers. In contrast, few longitudinal prospective studies have examined protective functions of dispositional mindfulness in this population. The objective of this study was to examine whether mindfulness prospectively predicts anxiety, depression, and social impairment in a sample of emergency care professionals. The authors administered online surveys to ER personnel prior to work in ER, and at 3 and 6 months follow up. Participants were 190 ER personnel (73% residents, 16% medical students, 11% nurses). Linear mixed effects regression was used to model longitudinal 3-month and 6-month follow up of depression, anxiety, and social impairment. Predictors included time-varying contemporaneous work stressors, perceived social support at work and life events, and baseline dispositional mindfulness, demographics, and workplace characteristics. Mindfulness indexed when starting ER work predicted less depression, anxiety, and social impairment 6 months later. Mindfulness remained a strong predictor of mental health outcomes after controlling for time-varying stressful events in emergency care, negative life events, and social support at work. Mindfulness moderated the adverse impact of poor social support at work on depression. To our knowledge, this is the first longitudinal study to show that mindfulness prospectively and robustly predicts anxiety, depression, and social impairment. Results support the role of mindfulness as a potential resilience factor in at-risk health care providers.

The Demand–Control Model and Pupils’ Aggressive Behaviour towards Teachers: A Follow-Up Study

Purpose: Pupils’ aggressive behaviour towards teachers is a common phenomenon in schools across different countries. The purpose of this study is to test hypotheses that are central to the Job Demand–Control model as risk factors for pupils’ aggressive behaviour towards teachers. Method: Questionnaire data were collected in 2018 and 2019 from teachers at 94 public schools in Denmark. In total, 1198 teachers participated in both rounds. Demands and social support at work were measured in 2018, and pupils’ aggressive behaviour was measured in 2019. The analyses were performed using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: Teachers were often exposed to pupils’ aggressive behaviour during their work. High emotional work demands and low control were associated with increased risk of pupils’ aggressive behaviour. No mitigating effect of high control was found on the association between emotional demands and risk for pupils’ aggressive behaviour towards teachers. Conclusion: High emotional demands were strongly associated with the aggressive behaviour of pupils towards teachers. Job control over own work situation was not enough to lower the risk of aggressive behaviour under conditions in which teachers experience high emotional demands. Based on these results, we recommend that supervisors carefully balance teachers’ emotional demands to their resources.

Psychosocial work factors and sick leave risk after a terrorist bomb attack: a survey and registry-based longitudinal study of governmental employees in Norway

ObjectivesStudies show that social support may reduce the negative psychological effects of terror. The aim was to explore the effects of the psychosocial work environment on sick leave risk among governmental employees after a workplace bomb attack.DesignWe linked longitudinal survey data collected at 10 and 22 months after the bombing with registry data on doctor-certified sick leave collected from 42 months before the attack to 33 months after the attack. ORs and rate ratios were estimated with mixed effects hurdle models.SettingThe bombing of the government ministries in Oslo, Norway, 22 July 2011.ParticipantsWe identified 1625 participants from a cohort of 3520 employees working in the ministries during the bombing in 2011.ResultsAfter adjustment for confounders, social support from coworkers reduced the odds of sick leave (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.93), and there was marginal evidence for reduced odds with support from superior (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.87 to 1.03). A social work climate, an innovative climate and a human resource primacy climate (HRP) reduced the sick leave risk (eg, HRP OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.90). The hurdle model found no associations between psychosocial support at work and the duration of sick leave.ConclusionsPsychosocial support at work can enhance employees’ work ability after terror and reduce the sick leave risk by more than 20%. However, a supportive psychosocial work environment did not reduce the duration of sickness absence. The protective role of psychosocial work factors on sick leave may be most significant when employees are at work and interact with their work environment.

ASSESSMENT OF CONFLICTS AT WORK PLACE AND SOCIAL SUPPORT AMONG MARKETING PROFESSIONALS

Now a day's most of the private company employees especially marketing related professionals are facing both mental and physical stress in their work place. The present study was conducted to know about the conflicts at workplace that lead to stress and social support at work to reduce the stress among marketing professionals. An exploratory research design was followed. Sample size of 30 respondents from marketing background was selected by using purposive sampling technique. For both the conflicts at workplace and social support, standard scales were adopted to collect the data. Correlation was used to compare the data. Results exposed that most of the respondents have very much social support from their spouse, friends and relatives. Respondents have moderately agreed for having conflicts at work place which led to stress. Significant positive relationships were found between income and social support; while significant negative relationships were observed between income and conflicts at workplace.