The leader role is demanding and depleting, explaining why many leaders struggle to remain engaged while doing their job. In this study, we present theory and an intervention focused on improving ...leader energy. Integrating cognitive energetics theory (Kruglanski et al., 2012) with leader identity theory and expressive writing research, we develop and test a positive leader self-reflection intervention, which asks leaders to reflect on aspects of their selves that make them good leaders. We expected that this intervention would improve leaders' access to and application of their energy in ways that would make them more influential at work. We tested these theoretical expectations in an experimental experience sampling study where, as expected, we found that leaders experienced less depletion and through it heightened work engagement on intervention versus control days. Work engagement, in turn, improved perceived prosocial impact and clout, two markers of leaders' influence at work. We conceptually replicated the depletion-reducing effect of the intervention in a second study and showed that its effectiveness was specific to those who held leadership roles within their organizations. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the intervention and of our findings.
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Violence and discrimination are common events at work, especially in health care. Moreover, such workplace experiences are considered to have negative impacts and particularly adverse health ...consequences on health care workers. Nevertheless, the problem is still highly underreported and thus largely ignored and unexplored in Switzerland as comprehensive data and studies on their prevalence and health correlates among hospital staffs and health professionals are widely missing.
This cross-sectional study was based on secondary data from a company survey among several public hospitals and rehabilitation clinics in German-speaking Switzerland conducted in 2015/16. The study population was limited to a subsample of 1567 health professionals among the surveyed staffs of five participating hospitals and clinics. Relative frequencies of different forms of violence and discrimination at work and the total number of such experiences were calculated for the entire study population and for occupational subgroups. These data were compared with a nationally representative subsample of the Swiss Health Survey 2017 as a reference population. Multiple logistic regression analyses were further computed to investigate the association between the number of different experienced forms of violence and/or discrimination at work and several poor general and mental health outcomes.
23% of the inverviewed hospital employees experienced at least one form of discrimination or violence at work in the past year, compared to 18% of the general working population. Nurses were by far the most affected occupational group regarding all forms of violence. More and particularly the most exposed and affected hospital employees with regard to experiences of violence and/or discrimination at work showed almost consistently increased frequencies and relative risks for the studied poor mental and general health outcomes. Prevalence rates and odds ratios for strong sleep disorders, strong stress feelings and increased burnout symptoms were between 3 and 4 times higher among the most exposed compared to the non-exposed group of hospital employees.
Study findings underline the importance of an active combat against violent and discriminatory behaviors in health care. Prevention strategies should particularly focus on nurses and midwives, which turned out to be the most affected and exposed group of all health professions.
Toxic Nursing aims to curb bullying with strategies, tools, and techniques to help nurse leaders, managers, and administrators defuse conflict, turn around toxic situations, and create positive, ...healthy work environments.
Austerity was presented as the antidote to sluggish economies, but it has had far-reaching effects on jobs and employment conditions.
With an international team of editors and authors from Europe, ...North America and Australia, this illuminating collection goes beyond a sole focus on public sector work and uniquely covers the impact of austerity on work across the private, public and voluntary spheres.
Drawing on a range of perspectives, the book engages with the major debates surrounding austerity and neoliberalism, providing grounded analysis of the everyday experience of work and employment.
Acts of violence are the fifth leading cause of nonfatal occupational injuries in the United States. Experiencing a traumatic event at work can have serious mental health consequences, including the ...development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study aimed to quantify the prevalence of PTSD caused by workplace violence (WPV) in a statewide workers’ compensation system and compare the outcomes and treatment of WPV cases versus those caused by other traumatic events. Using a retrospective cohort study design, workers who reported PTSD as the primary reason for a workers’ compensation claim and had no coexisting physical injuries were found in California during 2009–2018. A total of 3,772 PTSD cases were identified, 48.9% of which were attributed to WPV. Demographic risk factors associated with WPV PTSD included lower income, younger age, female gender, and employment in retail or finance, p < .001–p = .007. For individuals who returned to work, claims due to WPV resulted in longer medically approved time away from work than non‐WPV causes (Mdn = 132.5 days vs. Mdn = 91 days, respectively), p < .001. Three of the top 10 most frequently prescribed medications were administered against evidence‐based guidelines. This study found that many treatments prescribed to PTSD patients are based on insufficient evidence, and the provision of existing empirically supported treatments is needed, particularly in generalized populations. The findings support the need for additional recognition of the cause of workplace PTSD to facilitate appropriate referrals to WPV or PTSD specialists to support return‐to‐work efforts.
Emergency Departments (ED) have been identified as high-risk areas for patient related violence (PRV). The aim of the present study was to analyse recorded events of violence in a regional Victorian ...hospital ED, and examine the association these events had with substance abuse.
A retrospective cohort study was undertaken to establish the incidence of PRV. Data were obtained from the hospital's incident management system, RiskMan, over a five and a half year period for all violent events categorised as Code Grey (CG) and Code Black (CB). The Haddon Matrix attached to the individual incident record was also reviewed.
A total of 548 violent events were analysed. The incident rate was 3.4 per 1000 ED presentations. Intoxication was the primary reason for violent escalations. There was no association between the frequency of CG events and the day of the week, month of admission, or shift of the day. Intoxicated men (110, 64.3%) were more likely to be the instigator of a violent event compared with intoxicated females (61, 35.7%) (OR 1.5, 95% CI: 1.19–2.02, p<0.001). A form of restraint, chemical, physical or both, was used in the majority of violent events (376, 68.6%).
This study demonstrated an increasing frequency of violent events in the regional ED. Rates of PRV were comparable to those reported in metropolitan hospitals. Intoxication was the most frequently observed underlying factor for PRV. Regional hospitals are in need of additional resources to instigate policies and procedures that will maximise patient and staff safety.
Summary
Organizations, researchers, and policymakers rely on estimates of the prevalence of workplace mistreatment in numerous ways, including assessing the need for legal or organizational ...intervention. However, despite the importance of having accurate prevalence rate estimates, there has not been a systematic attempt to estimate the proportion of employees who encounter mistreatment. This study thus sought to meta‐analytically estimate the prevalence of a comprehensive set of forms of workplace mistreatment. In doing so, we reconcile the substantial variability in prevalence rates reported across studies by exploring factors that may influence prevalence rates. Results showed an average of 34% of employees experienced mistreatment and 44% of employees witnessed mistreatment. Estimates ranged from 16% to 75% for specific forms of experienced mistreatment and 20% to 79% for witnessed mistreatment. Prevalence rates also varied as a function of measurement characteristics. We next used our meta‐analytic prevalence rate estimates to infer the financial cost of mistreatment due to increased sickness absences and productivity loss. The estimated cost ranged from $691.70 billion to $1.97 trillion annually. Finally, results suggest that prevalence rates are lowest in countries where greater legal protections are offered to workers, illustrating the utility of legal efforts in mitigating mistreatment. Recommendations for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers are discussed.
BACKGROUND:Prior research has found that adverse events have significant negative consequences for the patients (first victim) and caregivers (second victim) involved such as burnout. However, ...research has yet to examine the consequences of adverse events on members of caregiving units. We also lack research on the effects of the personal and job resources that shape the context of how adverse events are experienced.
OBJECTIVES:We test the relationship between job demands (the number of adverse events on a hospital nursing unit) and nurses’ experience of burnout. We further explore the ways in which personal (workgroup identification) and job (safety climate) resources amplify or dampen this relationship. Specifically, we examine whether, and the conditions under which, adverse events affect nurse burnout.
RESEARCH DESIGN:Cross-sectional analyses of survey data on nurse burnout linked to hospital incident reporting system data on adverse event rates for the year before survey administration and survey data on workgroup identification and safety climate.
SUBJECTS:Six hundred three registered nurses from 30 nursing units in a large, urban hospital in the Midwest completed questionnaires.
RESULTS:Multilevel regression analysis indicated that adverse events were positively associated with nurse burnout. The effects of adverse events on nurse burnout were amplified when nurses exhibited high levels of workgroup identification and attenuated when safety climate perceptions were higher.
CONCLUSIONS:Adverse events have broader negative consequences than previously thought, widely affecting nurse burnout on caregiving units, especially when nurses strongly identify with their workgroup. These effects are mitigated when leaders cultivate safety climate.
The measurement properties of indices about workplace aggression initiated by the public, referred to as external workplace aggression, are under-researched. This study addressed how exposure to ...external workplace aggression is best measured and modeled in three types of emergency responders. The study inspected the factor structure and explored the addition of severity to an existing measure of frequency of exposure to workplace aggression, which addresses forms of physical aggression, threats, and verbal and nonverbal/nonphysical aggression (gestures) by people outside the organization directed toward employees. Self-reported data from 1,499 emergency responders, including emergency medical workers, firefighters, and police officers in the Netherlands, were analyzed using factor analyses in Mplus. In addition, the relationships between workplace aggression indices and a measure of the situational risk for violence were tested. Results show that the frequency index measured exposure to external workplace aggression better than the index combining the frequency and severity, and that factor structures of indices differed, regarding number and content of factors, between the three groups of emergency responders. An important implication is that researchers and policy employees can use a relatively simple measure to examine exposure to aggression in organizations.
ObjectivesTo investigate patterns of alcohol use within the coal mining industry, and associations with the personal, social, workplace and employment characteristics.Design8 mine sites across 3 ...eastern Australian states were surveyed, selected to encompass key geographic characteristics (accessibility and remoteness) and mine type (open cut and underground). Problematic alcohol use was measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) to determine: (1) overall risky or hazardous drinking behaviour; and (2) frequency of single-occasion drinking (6 or more drinks on 1 occasion).ResultsA total of 1457 employees completed the survey, of which 45.7% of male and 17.0% of female participants reported levels of alcohol use within the range considered as risky or hazardous, considerably higher than the national average. Hierarchical linear regression revealed a significant contribution of many individual level factors associated with AUDIT scores: younger age, male, current smoking status; illicit substance use; previous alcohol and other drug use (AOD) problems; and higher psychological distress. Workplace factors associated with alcohol use included working in mining primarily for the high remuneration, and the type of mining, with underground miners reporting higher alcohol use than open-cut miners.ConclusionsOur findings provide support for the need to address alcohol use in the coal mining industry over and above routine on-site testing for alcohol use.
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