How does social support affect public service motivation of healthcare workers in China: the mediating effect of job stress

Background This study aimed to examine relations between social support, job stress, and public service motivation (PSM), also assessed how social support and job stress affect PSM in China based on the job demands-resources (JD-R) theory. Methods The survey investigated a sample of 973 healthcare workers employed in public hospitals in Beijing, Xiamen, and Guangzhou in 2017 (including doctors, nurses, medical technicians, and administrators). Correlation analysis and Structural equation modeling (SEM) were used. Results Challenge stress and hindrance stress were directly negatively associated with PSM. Supervisor support was significantly positively associated with PSM, and the path from coworker support to PSM was significant. Supervisor support was significantly negatively associated with hindrance stress, and coworker support was significantly negatively associated with challenge stress. Hindrance stress and challenge stress significantly mediated the relations between supervisor support and PSM, and between coworker support and PSM respectively. PSM might be raised by increasing supervisor support and coworker support and by limiting hindrance stress and challenge stress. Conclusion Our study suggests that administrators of public hospitals should be mindful of the intense job stress of healthcare workers and undertake interventions targeting challenge stress and hindrance stress. Also, public hospital administrators should encourage and assist supervisors in their leadership functions. Besides, administrators of public hospitals should emphasize coworker support and good employee relationships.

(How) Will I Socialize You? The Impact of Supervisor Initial Evaluations and Subsequent Support on the Socialization of Temporary Newcomers

This study proposes and tests a new theoretical model explaining whether, and how, supervisors socialize “temporary newcomers,” defined as new organizational members who join an organization on a temporary basis, with a potential, but uncertain, opportunity of receiving a long-term job offer in the future. We suggest that under specific conditions, supervisors first evaluate temporary newcomers’ proactivity based on whether they positively stand out by proposing new feasible ideas and by promoting their achievements. On the basis of these initial evaluations, supervisors then decide whether to increase their support of newcomers’ creativity (using an investiture approach) or to intensify newcomers’ socialization by attempting to change their behavior (using a divestiture approach). When supervisors adopt an investiture approach, it positively influences temporary newcomers’ socialization adjustment outcomes, as indicated by increased newcomer job satisfaction, social integration, task performance, organizational and task socialization, challenge stress, and reduced hindrance stress. When supervisors instead adopt a divestiture approach, it has an opposite (thus negative) effect on the same socialization outcomes. We tested our theoretical model using a mix-method design, based on a three-wave longitudinal sample of 325 newcomer–supervisor dyads spanning a wide range of companies and industries, complemented with interviews of 41 supervisors.

Appraisals matter: relationships between entrepreneurs' stress appraisals and venture-based outcomes

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how stress appraisals (i.e. cognitive evaluations) influence entrepreneurial outcomes like expected financial well-being, life satisfaction, business growth and exit intentions.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a mixed-methods approach to provide methodological triangulation by analyzing data from two independent samples (qualitative data from 100 entrepreneurs in Study 1; quantitative regression analysis of a sample of 142 entrepreneurs in Study 2).FindingsResults from the qualitative exploration (Study 1) show that entrepreneurs appraised venture-related stressors differently as a challenge, threat or hindrance. The quantitative study (Study 2) found that challenge stress appraisals were positively related to expected financial well-being and expected life satisfaction, threat stress appraisals were negatively related to expected financial well-being and positively related to business exit intentions, and hindrance stress appraisals were positively related to expected business growth and negatively related to business exit intentions.Originality/valueMost entrepreneurship research focuses on stressors rather than appraisals of the stressor. Drawing upon the transactional theory of stress that explains how stress appraisals are an important consideration for understanding the stress process, these two studies showed that stress appraisals differ for each entrepreneur (Study 1) and that stress appraisals explain more variance in many entrepreneurial outcomes than stressors (Study 2).

The effect of work–family conflict and hindrance stress on nurses' satisfaction: the role of ethical leadership

PurposeThe main aim of this study is to explore the moderating role of ethical leadership on the indirect effect of work–family conflict on nurses' job satisfaction via hindrance stress.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was answered by 224 nursing professionals working in public and private health institutions.FindingsA mediation–moderation model was estimated, and the results thereof indicated that work–family conflict has an indirect negative effect on satisfaction through the mediation mechanism of hindrance stress. Results also show that ethical leadership enhances this mediated relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThe cross-sectional data limited the generalization of results. Future research should develop longitudinal studies, which will allow for conclusions to be drawn with regard to inferences of causality.Practical implicationsIt is recommended that health organizations should develop ethical training for their leaders. By doing so, they will address two issues: the conciliation between work and family as well as the reduction of job stress, which will subsequently improve job satisfaction.Originality/valueThe originality of this empirical study lies in the exploration of the moderating role of ethical leadership in the indirect effect of work–family conflict, which, in turn, impacts on job satisfaction via the hindrance stress experienced by nurses. The study is innovative in the sense that it seeks to gain a greater understanding of the moderation–mediation mechanisms of the variables under study.

Research on the relationship between challenging-hindrance stress and employee health based on cross-sectional data by structural equation modeling

Innovations in economic development have highlighted the role of talent, and focusing on employees’ work stress and its impact on employees’ health contributes to the continued development of employees and companies. This article aims to propose the work stress-employee health model and hypotheses under the moderation of perceived organizational support (POS) and self-efficacy. We select appropriate scales; collected 428 responses from questionnaire survey and explored the different effects of challenging/hindrance stress (CS/HS) on the employee’s physical/mental health, and the mechanism of POS and self-efficacy. The results indicated that: (1) CS has a significant positive impact on employees’ mental health; (2) HS has a significant negative impact on employees’ physical and mental health; (3) POS and selfefficacy have moderating effect on the relationship between CS and employees’ mental health, HS and employees’ physical and mental health.

Linking Challenge–Hindrance Stressors to Safety Outcomes and Performance: A Dual Mediation Model for Construction Workers

Occupational stressors have long been recognized as an important risk factor for injury accidents. The mechanisms underlying the relationships among challenge stressors, hindrance stressors, safety outcomes (occupational injuries), emotional experiences (attentiveness), and job performance (task performance) were investigated from the perspectives of the challenge–hindrance stress model and the conservation of resources theory. This study collected multi-source data over two timepoints for 105 safety supervisors and 379 construction workers in China. Results revealed that both challenge and hindrance stressors were positively related to occupational injuries, but only challenge stressors were positively associated with attentiveness. In addition, occupational injuries mediated the relationship between both challenge and hindrance stressors and task performance, while attentiveness mediated only the relationship between challenge stressors and task performance. These findings contribute to our knowledge of stress management in the construction project context and provide recommendations for stress management for front-line workers at construction sites.