Atrition of psychological resources is a concept that is being used yet more frequently in the public debate and also among employees in the Danish elderly care sector. Still, there is little ...conceptualization of this phenomenon in a scientific context. The purpose of this article is to discuss and reflect upon the content and meaning of the concept of attrition of psychological resources, as it is being used by senior employees in the Danish elderly care sector. The article is based on data from 17 focus group interviews, carried out among senior employees in the elderly care sector in four different Danish municipalities. The analysis of the empirical data is based on Grounded Theory. By using an open and inductive approach, emphasis has been laid on the understandings and meanings, as they are being expressed by the employees themselves. The article shows that the employees use the concept of attrition of psychological resources to describe a number of experiences, reactions and conditions, which all relate to the working conditions. Based on analysis of the data, three categories of working conditions are identified, relating to work content, the management and organisation and/or relations to the clients. The employees describe a number of problems and difficulties connected to the working conditions that prevent them from providing a care for the elderly recipients that is adequate from a professional perspective. The analysis shows that the attrition of psychological resources initially manifests in the working sphere through experiences of frustration, mistrust, low job satisfaction and feelings of bad conscience towards the care recipients. Continuous experiences of attrition of psychological resources in the working sphere may subsequently spill over into the personal sphere through experiences of lack of energy, fatigue, dissatisfaction and – also here – feelings of bad conscience. Furthermore, in order to assess whether the concept of attrition of psychological resources contributes with new knowledge it is compared to the concepts of burnout and stress. It is concluded that the concept of attrition of psychological resources cannot be fully contained in these two concepts, and accordingly, the concept of attrition of psychological resources appears to contribute with a new perspective on the consequences of adverse working conditions. Attrition of psychological resources can be considered a central cause of job change, sickness absence and – voluntary or involuntary – retirement, and must accordingly be dealt with in order to be able to meet the future demands for labour in the elderly care sector.
Psykisk nedslidning er et begreb, der stadig oftere anvendes i diskussionen af arbejdsvilkårene i forskellige brancher, herunder ældreplejen. Begrebet anvendes dog uden at der eksisterer en fælles forståelse eller egentlig definition af begrebet. I artiklen forsøges-med udgangspunkt i en række fokusgruppeinterviews med seniormedarbejdere i ældreplejen-at indkredse hvilke betydninger medarbejderne lægger i begrebet 'psykisk nedslidning', samt hvilke forhold i arbejdet, medarbejderne kæder sammen med begrebet. Medarbejderne anvender begrebet til at beskrive en række forskellige oplevelser, reaktioner og tilstande, der relaterer sig til deres arbejdsbetingelser. Endelig vurderes det, om begrebet tilføjer noget nyt i belysningen af arbejdsmiljøet i den danske ældrepleje-eller om der er tale om en ny betegnelse af gammelkendt indhold.
Objectives. To investigate social differences with regard to smoking cessation in Denmark.
Methods. Social differences in smoking cessation were estimated from 3606 smokers from the Danish National ...Work Environment Cohort Study in 1990, 1995 and 2000. The differences were investigated using heavy smoking and four work environment factors as explanatory variables.
Results. The odds ratio for cessation was more than twice as high in social class I compared with social class V. When heavy smoking was controlled, this explained 28% of social differences, the work–environment factors alone explained 36% of social differences, and together the factors explained 55% of social differences.
Conclusions. A large proportion of the social differences in smoking cessation could be explained by differences in work–environment exposures and smoking intensity.
Aims: The aim of the present paper is to present the development of the second version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ II). Methods: The development of COPSOQ II took place in ...five main steps: (1) We considered practical experience from the use of COPSOQ I, in particular feedback from workplace studies where the questionnaire had been used; (2) All scales concerning workplace factors in COPSOQ I were analyzed for differential item functioning (DIF) with regard to gender, age and occupational status; (3) A test version of COPSOQ II including new scales and items was developed and tested in a representative sample of working Danes between 20 and 59 years of age. In all, 3,517 Danish employees participated in the study. The overall response rate was 60.4%; (4) Based on psychometric analyses, the final questionnaire was developed; and (5) Criteria-related validity of the new scales was tested. Results: The development of COPSOQ II resulted in a questionnaire with 41 scales and 127 items. New scales on values at the workplace were introduced including scales on Trust, Justice and Social inclusiveness. Scales on Variation, Work pace, Recognition, Work-family conflicts and items on offensive behaviour were also added. New scales regarding health symptoms included: Burnout, Stress, Sleeping troubles and Depressive symptoms. In general, the new scales showed good criteria validity. All in all, 57% of the items of COPSOQ I were retained in COPSOQ II. Conclusions: The COPSOQ I concept has been further developed and new validated scales have been included.
Travelling salespeople have a rather unusual working environment, with long periods of absence from their firm and a low level of social contacts with colleagues. Furthermore, they are exposed to ...high demands in their work, which may conflict with a normal family life. In this paper a cross-sectional study of psychosocial work environment and mental health of Danish travelling salespeople is described. A sample of 1,306 travelling salespeople filled in a questionnaire (response rate 68%). The results indicate that poor mental health is associated with a number of demand indicators: number of working hours per week, number of customers per week, non-day work, and a high level of perceived job demands. On the other hand, the number of hours spent with customers per week is positively associated with mental health. The authors did not find the expected associations between poor mental health and several factors such as number of hours away from firm, nights away from home, and a low degree of perceived support from colleagues and superiors. It is concluded that the main stressors of travelling salespeople are long working hours, many customers, non-day work and high perceived psychological demands in general.
The aim of this study was to analyse the associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and a number of psychosocial work environment factors with a potential impact on inequality in health. ...Methods: A representative sample of 1,684 adult Danish employees filled in a standardized questionnaire or were interviewed by telephone. The response rate was 62%. The population was divided into four levels of SES (I to IV). The psychosocial work environment was described with 19 scales. Results: Quantitative, cognitive, and emotional job demands and a number of dimensions related to active and developmental work showed higher levels among high SES individuals. Job insecurity was highest among women with low SES. Dimensions describing interpersonal relations, social support, and leadership showed no clear associations with SES. Conclusions: Prevention aiming at improving health and reducing inequality in health should focus on the dimensions of active and developmental work: influence at work, possibilities for development, degrees of freedom, and meaning of work. Furthermore, job insecurity should be reduced. (Original abstract)
Borg, V. & Poulsen, A. (1990). Health psychology asa new field of research and applied psychology. Nordisk Psykologi, 42, 110-129.
The paper gives a historical outline of the development of health ...psychology asa new and fast expanding branch of theoretical as well as applied psychology. The prerequisite of this expansion is primarily due to the limitations of medicine, which is not able to cure the prevailing chronic diseases. In accordance with the American Psychological Association, health psychology is defined as the aggregate of the specific educational, scientific and professional contributions of the discipline of psychology to the promotion and maintenance of health, the prevention and treatment of illness, the identification of etiologic and diagnostic correlates of health, illness and related dysfunction, and the analysis and improvement of the health care system and health policy formation. Apart from presenting the preconditions of Health Psychology the paper has two chief concerns. The first is to emphasize the importance of prevention and to illustrate this point with examples from health psychological research and treatment in heart diseases and cancer. Thesecond is a critical discussion of the concept of coping, where the necessity of a psychodynamic approach including the integration of the defense mechanisms is accentuated. Finally, we present some possibilities of applied health psychology including the decisive significance of the relationship between the doctor and his patient.
