Health impact of work stressors and psychosocial perceptions among French hospital workers during the COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-sectional survey

ObjectiveTo compare global health, mental health impact of work stressors and psychosocial perception of healthcare workers (HCWs) and non-HCWs in a hospital after the first peak of the COVID-19 outbreak in France.MethodsA validated version of the SATIN (Santé Au Travail Inrs université Nancy 2)questionnaire with adapted scoring was used to collect data on health and impact of work stressors. This questionnaire was sent to all workers at a hospital in July 2020 and was self-administered online. In a multinomial regression model, we included HCW status, age, gender and front-line worker status as covariates.ResultsData from a total of 1405 participants were included. We found that being an HCW, male and front-line worker was a risk factor for negative perception of work demand (OR 7.35, 95% CI 4.2 to 11.47; OR 2.55, 95% CI 1.11 to 5.89; OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.04 to 3.06). Being an HCW was a predictive factor for stress (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.08), poor global health (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.14 to 2.55) and negative perception of work activity environment (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.3 to 2.8).ConclusionWe have shown that all HCWs suffered from some health impact shortly after the first peak of the COVID-19 outbreak. We underline some stressors with high impact, including work demand, work abilities and organisational context, and emphasise the need for risk management.

The role of managerial leadership in sickness absence in health and social care: antecedent or moderator in the association between psychosocial working conditions and register-based sickness absence? A longitudinal study based on a swedish cohort

Background The prevalence of sickness absence is particularly high among employees in health and social care, where psychosocial work stressors are pertinent. Managerial leadership is known to affect sickness absence rates, but the role leadership plays in relation to sickness absence is not fully understood; that is, whether poor leadership (i) is associated with sickness absence directly, (ii) is associated with sickness absence indirectly through the establishment of poor psychosocial working conditions, or (iii) whether good leadership rather has a buffering role in the association between work stressors and sickness absence. Methods Four biennial waves from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH, 2010–2016, N=2333) were used. Autoregressive cross-lagged analyses within a multilevel structural equation modelling (MSEM) framework were conducted to test hypotheses i)–iii), targeting managerial leadership, register-based sickness absence and psychosocial work stressors (high psychological demands, poor decision authority and exposure to workplace violence). Results A direct association was found between poor leadership and sickness absence two years later, but no associations were found between leadership and the psychosocial work stressors. Finally, only in cases of poor leadership was there a statistically significant association between workplace violence and sickness absence. Conclusions Poor managerial leadership may increase the risk of sickness absence among health and social care workers in two ways: first, directly and, second, by increasing the link between workplace violence and sickness absence.

What gets resident physicians stressed and how would they prefer to be supported? A best–worst scaling study

IntroductionPhysician burnout has severe consequences on clinician well-being. Residents face numerous work-stressors that can contribute to burnout; however, given specialty variation in work-stress, it is difficult to identify systemic stressors and implement effective burnout interventions on an institutional level. Assessing resident preferences by specialty for common wellness interventions could also contribute to improved efficacy.MethodsThis cross-sectional study used best–worst scaling (BWS), a type of discrete choice modelling, to explore how 267 residents across nine specialties (anaesthesiology, emergency medicine, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics and gynaecology, pathology, psychiatry, radiology and surgery) prioritised 16 work-stressors and 4 wellness interventions at a large academic medical centre during the COVID-19 pandemic (December 2020).ResultsTop-ranked stressors were work-life integration and electronic health record documentation. Therapy (63%, selected as ‘would realistically consider intervention’) and coaching (58%) were the most preferred wellness supports in comparison to group-based peer support (20%) and individual peer support (22%). Pathology, psychiatry and OBGYN specialties were most willing to consider all intervention options, with emergency medicine and internal medicine specialties least willing to consider intervention options.ConclusionBWS can identify relative differences in surveyed stressors, allowing for the generation of specialty-specific stressor rankings and preferences for specific wellness interventions that can be used to drive institution-wide changes to improve clinician wellness. BWS surveys are a potential methodology for clinician wellness programmes to gather specific information on preferences to determine best practices for resident wellness.

Work Locus of Control as a Moderator of Relationship between Work Stressor and Counter Productive Work Behavior

Purpose: This study was conducted to determine whether the work locus of control is a moderator of the relationship between counterproductive behavior at work and work stressors. Methods: To investigate this relationship, 346 full-time working adults employed at Nishter hospital Multan and Allied hospital Faisalabad were surveyed during the period from January 2019 to January 2020via three checklist questionnaires. Using hierarchical regression analysis, both main and moderator effect were tested in order to determine whether work locus of control influence employee’s tendencies engage in counterproductive behavior in response to work stressors. Results: Shows that the work locus of control interacts significantly with work stressors in predicting counterproductive behavior at work, suggesting that the work locus of control is an important variable to consider when studying productive behavior at work. The implications of these findings and ideas for future research are discussed. Conclusion: CWB has a detrimental effect on organizations and individuals related with the organization; therefore, organizations should be attentive of the probable influences influencing employee participation in CWB. Keywords: Counterproductive behavior at work, Deviations in the workplace, Location of control in the workplace, Stress at work, Personality

Understanding stressor–strain relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of social support, adjustment to remote work, and work–life conflict

This study investigates how the transition to remote work during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is experienced by employees. We investigate to what extent perceived work stressors relate to psychological strain through perceptions of social support, work–life conflict, and adjustment to remote work. The findings expound the mechanisms underlying psychological strain in the context of sudden organizational change. Specifically, this study shows that both challenge stressors and hindrance stressors have negative impact on adjustment to remote work, whereas hindrance stressors are more strongly negatively related to social support. The study further demonstrates that there is hardly any buffering impact of job control, work structuring, and communication technology use on the implications of these work stressors. These findings contribute to our theoretical understanding and provide actionable implications for organizational policies in facilitating employees' adaptation to remote work.

Job Resignation in Nursing Homes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Quality of Employer Communication

Limited research has examined coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related work stressors experienced by nursing home (NH) employees and how these stressors may impact employees’ decision to resign when taking organizational factors into account. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether quality of employer communication related to COVID-19 and staff preparedness to care for residents with COVID-19 can mediate the effects of COVID-19-related stressors on NH employees’ ( N = 1,730) decision to resign. Results from path analyses indicate that higher quality of communication and more optimal preparedness mediated the relationship between COVID-19-related stressors and likelihood of resignation. Specifically, higher levels of COVID-19-related stressors were indirectly associated with reduced likelihood of resigning through the paths of more optimal communication and preparedness. Findings underscore the importance of effective employer communication during emergencies in NHs.

Why Does PSM Lead to Higher Work Stress? Exploring the Role that Organizational Identity Theory has on the Relationship between Public Service Motivation and External-Related Stress among Federal Government Employees

This study explored the effects that organizational identity and perceptions of prestige have on the relationship between public service motivation (PSM) and public employees’ concerns regarding external-related work stressors. Using a sample of federal employees, the findings reveal that the relationship PSM has to perceptions of external-related stress were fully mediated by employee’s organizational identity (OI) and perceptions of organizational prestige (POP). Public employees with high levels of PSM were significantly more likely to report having a stronger bond with their organization and more favorable perceptions of outsider views of their organization. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Burnout, compassion fatigue, and moral distress in palliative care

Work in palliative care and, in particular, end of life care is associated with inherent stressors that affect the well-being of clinicians working in the field. Work stressors may have diverse impacts on the emotional and professional lives of palliative care and hospice staff, including every member of the clinical team, volunteers, and administrators. They may negatively affect professional function and adversely influence the effectiveness and quality of care. They also may compromise the ability to sustain a career in palliative care. This chapter reviews issues related to burnout, compassion fatigue and moral distress, exploring contributing factors, describing the impact of these phenomena, and presenting strategies to prevent and to manage them.

Trauma in the correctional field and the correctional worker habitus

Prisons and other correctional settings are spaces often marked by numerous sources of physical, psychological, and emotional insecurity. Researchers have consistently found correctional work to be associated with outcomes such as burnout, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression. Drawing on open-ended survey questions with correctional workers (CWs) in the province of Ontario, we first identify salient themes in discussions of work stressors and potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs); these include situations involving harm to prisoners, harm to staff, and harms associated with occupational and organizational culture. Next, employing the concept of “habitus,” we consider the social-subjective effects of exposure to PPTEs as revealed in respondent accounts. Key aspects include a disposition of hypervigilance, desensitization, disillusionment, and distrust. We suggest that the CW habitus may, in some ways, serve to mitigate threats in the work environment, though may have negative effects on job performance and well-being, and come to shape social experiences in everyday life.