Emotional Intelligence, Emotional Regulation Strategies, and Subjective Well-Being Among University Teachers: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

This study aimed to explore the mediating role of emotional regulation strategies in the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and subjective well-being (SWB) among Chinese university teachers, and evaluate whether effort-reward imbalance moderated the mediating effect of emotional regulation strategies. A total of 308 Chinese university teachers were recruited for this study. The results showed that emotional regulation strategies played a partial mediating role in the relationship between EI and SWB. Moreover, an effort-reward imbalance moderated the relationship between emotional regulation strategies and SWB. For individuals with more balanced perceptions, EI had a significant effect on SWB via cognitive reappraisal, while for individuals with more imbalanced perceptions, EI did not have a significant effect on SWB via cognitive reappraisal. These findings provide a better understanding of the effects of EI and emotional regulation strategies on SWB, which could provide interventions for promoting SWB among teachers.

The Gutenberg health study: a five-year prospective analysis of psychosocial working conditions using COPSOQ (Copenhagen psychosocial Questoinnaire) and ERI (effort-reward imbalance)

Background Psychosocial working conditions were previously analyzed using the first recruitment wave of the Gutenberg Health Study (GHS) cohort (n = 5000). We aimed to confirm the initial analysis using the entire GHS population at baseline (N = 15,010) and at the five-year follow-up. We also aimed to determine the effects of psychosocial working conditions at baseline on self-rated outcomes measured at follow-up. Methods At baseline, working GHS participants were assessed with either the Effort-Reward-Imbalance questionnaire (ERI) (n = 4358) or with the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) (n = 4322); participants still working after five years received the same questionnaire again (ERI n = 3142; COPSOQ n = 3091). We analyzed the association between working conditions and the outcomes job satisfaction, general health, burnout, and satisfaction with life at baseline, at follow-up and also prospectively from baseline to follow-up using linear regression models. We examined the outcome variance explained by the models (R2) to estimate the predictive performance of the questionnaires. Results The models’ R2 was comparable to the original baseline analyses at both t0 and t1 (R2 range: ERI 0.10–0.43; COPSOQ 0.10–0.56). However, selected scales of the regression models sometimes changed between assessment times. The prospective analysis showed weaker associations between baseline working conditions and outcomes after five years (R2 range: ERI 0.07–0.19; COPSOQ 0.07–0.24). This was particularly true for job satisfaction. After adjusting for the baseline levels of the outcomes, fewer scales still explained some of the variance in the distribution of the outcome variables at follow-up. The models using only data from t0 or t1 confirmed the previous baseline analysis. We observed a loss of explained variance in the prospective analysis models. This loss was greatest for job satisfaction, suggesting that this outcome is most influenced by short-term working conditions. Conclusions Both the COPSOQ and ERI instruments show good criterion validity and adequately predict contemporaneously measured self-reported measurements of health and (occupational) well-being. However, the COPSOQ provides a more detailed picture of working conditions and might be preferable for improvment strategies in workplaces. Additional prospective research with shorter follow-up times would be beneficial for estimating dose-response relationships.

Investigation of Effort-Reward Imbalance Model as predictor of Counterproductive Work Behaviors

Introduction: Nowadays, counterproductive behaviors have become a common and costly position for many organizations, and Managers of organizations are always looking for a suitable and practical solution to reduce this type of behavior in their organization. Due to the importance of the subject, the present study aims to investigate the imbalance of effort and reward as a predictor of counterproductive behaviors. Materials and Methods: The present study is a cross-sectional study. The target population was all nurses working in hospitals in Hamadan, and according to the simple random sampling method, 320 people were selected as the research sample. The tools used in this study were the Imbalance of Effort-Reward questionnaire and the counterproductive questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using the Pearson correlation method using SPSS18. Results: The results showed that the effort-reward imbalance model at a significance level of 0.05 is able to predict individual counterproductive behaviors in nurses (P = 0.036). Among the studied variables, the reward variable is able to predict individual counterproductive behaviors (β = -0.179 and P = 0.006) and organizational (β=-0.171 and P = 0.009) and the over-commitment variable is able to predict individual counterproductive behaviors. (β= 0.145 and P = 0.05). According to the results, the effort-reward imbalance model could not predict organizational counterproductive behaviors. Conclusion: Based on the results, it can be concluded that job stress is an important factor in creating Counterproductive behaviors in personnel and the components of the model used in this study can be used to reduce the incidence of these behaviors among nurses.

Development and Initial Validation of the Korean Effort and Reward Scale (ERS-K) for Use in Sport Contexts

Background: Applying Siegrist’s (1996) effort-reward imbalance model to athletes, the current study aimed to develop a measure that can evaluate athletes’ effort and reward, and verify its reliability and validity. Methods: The survey was conducted on 530 athletes from universities in Seoul, South Korea. Among the collected data, 276 datasets were used for exploratory factor analysis, 200 for confirmatory factor analysis, and 30 for test-retest reliability analysis; data from surveys that were incomplete or incorrectly answered were excluded. The initial questionnaire was completed based on prior research, expert meetings, and evaluation by the evaluation group. The collected data were subjected to question analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis, and criterion-related validity analysis. Result: Four factors of the construct of effort were extracted: training strengthening efforts, interpersonal efforts, nutrition management efforts, and cognitive psychology strengthening efforts. Additionally, three factors of the construct of reward were extracted: future stability, social support, and positive growth. Thus. the effort measurement tool was finalized with 14 questions from four factors, and the reward measurement tool was finalized with 14 questions from three factors, with all items rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Conclusions: Siegrist’s efforts to measure job stress and athletes perceived efforts differed somewhat, but were found to be consistent with those reported for Australian occupational jockeys. In addition, athletes’ perceived rewards had similar results to those for Siegrist and Kathleen et al. studies. Based on this study, subsequent studies can more effectively determine whether the effort-reward imbalance model is applicable to athletes.

Do good psychosocial working conditions prolong working lives? Findings from a prospective study in Sweden

Due to an ageing population, governments in European countries are striving to keep older workers longer in the workforce. Remarkably few studies have paid attention to the influence of psychosocial working conditions on timing of retirement for older workers in and beyond normative retirement age. The aim of the present study was to examine whether good psychosocial working conditions contribute to prolonged working lives among older workers (59 years and above). A particular question was whether such conditions increase in importance with age. Seven waves (2006–2018) of the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) were used (N = 6000, observations = 10,632). Discrete-time event history analyses showed that higher levels of job resources (decision authority [OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.06–1.22], skill use [OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.07–1.29], learning opportunities [OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.13–1.31], social support [OR 1.29 (95% CI 1.16–1.42], work-time control [OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01–1.13], and reward [OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.24–1.57])—but not lower levels of job demands (quantitative and emotional demands or effort)—were associated with working longer (continued work two years later). Also, low effort-reward imbalance (OR 0.84 [95% CI 0.73–0.96]) was associated with working longer. In addition, skill use, work-time control, reward, and low effort-reward imbalance increased in importance with age for continued work. These results suggest that providing older workers with control over their work tasks, giving opportunities for learning and using their skills, as well as rewarding and acknowledging their achievements, may keep them in the workforce longer. Especially, job resources may grow in importance with age.

The Influencing Mechanism of Social Effort-Reward Imbalance on Life Satisfaction among Aging Workforces in the United States: A Longitudinal Study

Improving life satisfaction is consistent with the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals. Although there are many studies examining life satisfaction, research on the influencing mechanisms remains a hot topic and scholars hope to explore more aspects that improve life satisfaction. The purpose was to explore how the relationship between social effort-reward imbalance and life satisfaction are mediated by positive and negative affect. We collected longitudinal data from 909 respondents participating in the 2008 and 2012 wave of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). We used the first-order difference method and structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis to evaluate the validity of the proposed hypotheses. Our results demonstrated that social effort-reward imbalance was positively related to negative affect, and negatively related to positive affect. Positive affect was positively related to life satisfaction, while negative affect was negatively related to life satisfaction. The findings also indicated that positive and negative affect completely mediated the relationship between social effort-reward imbalance and life satisfaction. This study has made a contribution to the research on the influencing mechanism of life satisfaction from the aspects of theory and practice. Longitudinal data ensured that the conclusions were more reliable so that the study could provide useful suggestions for improving life satisfaction.

Effort–Reward Imbalance at Work and Drug Misuse: Evidence from a National Survey in the U.S.

With the rise of drug misuse among workers in recent years, preliminary research on potential risk factors in the workplace of single-type of drug misuse has been reported. This is the first study to examine cross-sectional associations of work stress, in terms of effort–reward imbalance, with multiple drug misuse (including any drug misuse, opioid misuse, sedatives misuse, cannabis misuse, and other drug misuse) during the past 12 months in a national sample of U.S. workers. Data of 2211 workers were derived from the nationally representative and population-based Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. Internal consistency reliability and factorial validity of a 17-item effort–reward imbalance measure were robust and satisfactory. After adjustment for relevant covariates, logistic regression analyses showed that workers experiencing effort–reward imbalance at work had significantly higher odds of any drug misuse (OR and 95% CI = 1.18 (1.03, 1.37)), especially opioid misuse (OR and 95% CI = 1.35 (1.07, 1.69)) and other drug misuse (OR and 95% CI = 1.36 (1.01, 1.83)). The findings suggest that a stressful work environment may act as a determinant of drug misuse, and further prospective evidence is needed.