The career impact of winning an external work-related award

There is an abundance of work-related external awards in the business and corporate sectors. This study examines the impact of awards given to individuals in the business sector. Careers and signalling theory were used to initiate research in this domain with 32 interviews with winners of national work-related awards. The majority of winners were either nominated for the awards by others or encouraged to nominate by their managers, which may reflect an organisational, rather than individual, signal for distinction. Results demonstrated that all winners valued the recognition they received from their award win but in an unexpected finding, no significant career trajectory changes occurred. Award winners used their award as a signal of their excellence to distinguish themselves from others. The award gave them confidence and credibility. There was no relationship between winning an award and career success measures such as promotions or salary increases. Counterintuitive negative impacts identified by award winners are discussed.     

Stress-management interventions in the workplace: Stress counselling and stress audits

Within the field of stress-management intervention, there have been substantial disagreements on the 'right' approach. Some argue for counselling and stress-management training, while other argue for more substantive organisational change through stress audits. It is argued that both are important in meeting the needs of individuals and organisations.     

A preliminary typology of organisational response to allegations of workplace bullying: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

Organisational representative response is an important factor to consider when counselling employees who have experienced bullying and are considering approaching their organisation for assistance. The author argues that not all responses are supportive and that some responses can further harm an employee. The author presents a review of representative responses, developed from bullying cases the author saw as a counsellor or trainer. The author reviews three organisational representative responses to allegations of bulling: (1) the behaviour is acceptable; (2) the behaviour is inappropriately equally attributed to both parties as a personality conflict; and (3) the behaviour is harmful and inappropriate. The author concludes that counsellors must review potential organisational representative responses with employees and recommends mandatory training for organisational representatives.     

急性应激损伤错误监控与错误后调整

生活中, 个体会时时关注自己的行为结果并及时做出调整以适应环境的变化。但在应激下个体能否有效地监控行为并做出适应性调整依然未知。本研究招募了52名男性大学生被试, 将其随机分入应激组与控制组, 采用特里尔社会应激测试(Trier Social Stress Test, TSST)诱发个体的应激反应, 并结合错误意识任务(Error Awareness Task, EAT)探索个体急性应激下的错误监控与错误后调整过程。应激指标的结果显示应激组个体在应激任务后唾液皮质醇、心率、应激感知自我报告和负性情绪均显著高于控制组, 表明急性应激的诱发是成功的。行为结果显示应激组的错误意识正确率显著低于控制组, 错误意识反应时显著短于控制组; 进一步地, 应激组个体在意识到错误之后的试次上正确率显著低于未意识到错误之后的试次, 并且应激组个体在意识到错误之后的试次上正确率低于控制组。结果表明急性应激降低了个体对错误反应的监控水平, 即便在辨别出错误反应的情况下, 个体的行为监控与调节也更差。本研究说明急性应激会损伤行为监控系统, 导致个体的行为适应性下降。     

Attachments in the workplace: How attachment security in the workplace benefits the organisation

In four studies, we tested if workplace secure attachment entails organisational benefits, given that such relationships are associated with increased positive relationship emotions. In Study 1, employees rated the extent to which colleagues, supervisors, and other individuals fulfil the attachment functions. In Study 2, employees listed up to 10 individuals before completing the same rating task as Study 1. In the remaining studies, employees rated their attachment security with their supervisors (Study 3) or colleagues (Study 4), and completed measures of positive relationship emotions with these individuals, proactive behaviour, organisational allure, and organisational deviance. We found that supervisors and colleagues fulfil attachment functions (Studies 1–2), and that workplace attachment security confers organisational allure and proactive behaviour due to its association with positive relationships emotions. However, workplace attachment security directly lowers organisational deviance (Studies 3–4). Thus, supportive and trusting work environments may encourage workplace relationships that could bestow organisational benefits.     

Executive coaching enhances goal attainment,resilience and workplace well-being: a randomised controlled study

In a randomised controlled study, 41 executives in a public health agency received 360-degree feedback, a half-day leadership workshop, and four individual coaching sessions over 10 weeks. The coaching used a cognitive-behavioural solution-focused approach. Quantitative and qualitative measures were taken. This is the first published randomised controlled study in which coaching was conducted by professional executive coaches external to the organisation. Compared to controls, coaching enhanced goal attainment, increased resilience and workplace well-being and reduced depression and stress. Qualitative responses indicated participants found coaching helped increase self-confidence and personal insight, build management skills and helped participants deal with organisational change. Findings indicate that short-term coaching can be effective, and that evidence-based executive coaching can be valuable as an applied positive psychology in helping people deal with the uncertainly and challenges inherent in organisational change. Practical impactions are discussed and recommendations are made for the effective measurement of coaching outcomes.     

Coping patterns of in vitro fertilization nurse coordinators: Strategies for combating low outcome effectance

Abstract

Data were gathered concerning coping strategies that nurse coordinators working in the field of in vitro fertilization would use to meet typical work-related stressors. Causality orientation—or tendency to perceive oneself as autonomous, controlled or helpless—was also measured. It was hypothesized that nurses using problem-focused/disengaged strategies, such as thinking about therapeutic successes or trying not to dwell on stressors, and who were high in autonomy, would be most effective in coping with situations where control over outcomes is limited. Statistical analyses revealed a group of nurses following the coping pattern described in the hypothesis. These individuals reported less work-related stress than other nurse coordinators.     

The Relationship Between Work-Related Stress and Boundary-Related Stress Within the Clerical Profession

The concepts of work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict have been studied extensively in recent years. We propose a different means of understanding clergy work and family stressors because the boundaries between family and work are blurred within the clerical profession. We suggest, therefore, that the stressors associated with ordained ministry can be better analyzed if separated into two related, but distinct categories: (1) stressors stemming from the demands of the work (work-related stress) and (2) stressors stemming from the way the work impinges upon clerical family boundaries (boundary-related stress). Utilizing the Pulpit and Pew Clergy Leadership Survey of 2001, we explore the association between these two forms of stress. Correlation analysis and simple and multiple regression models are used. A strong association between work-related stress and boundary-related stress is detected; length of time spent in the profession is related to reduced levels of boundary- and work-related stress.     

应激环境下亲社会性的增加：来自不同类型的亲社会偏好的研究证据

人们面临对生理或者心理产生威胁的应激事件时并不一定表现出敌意和攻击,也可能表现出更强的亲社会性。研究发现,基于利他动机、规则动机、策略性动机的或者基于自我报告的亲社会偏好在应激环境下都可能增强,这可能和应激环境下直觉增强、共情提升和亲社会行为有助于改善负面情绪方面的机制有关。未来研究可以从应激的性质、诱发方式、影响机制、个体差异和发展特征等方面去理解应激增加亲社会性的条件,从而提高群体韧性。     

Investigating the individual and organisational predictors of work-related driving crash involvement in Ethiopia

The rate of road traffic injury and death in Ethiopia is at a critical level when compared to rates in high-income countries. Considering the enormity of this issue, research is to identify groups of high-risk road users and the factors contributing to their crash involvement. This study focuses on work-related drivers. This study explores driving behaviour as a mediator of the relationship between organisational and individual attribute factors and self-reported crashes in a sample of 213 work-related drivers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The hypothesised framework identifies driving behaviour as the most proximal determinant of self-reported crashes, and safety values, role overload and self-efficacy as antecedents of driving behaviour. With the exception of the relationship between self-efficacy and driving behaviour, all the hypothesised relationships were supported. We make recommendations for intervention approaches that are theoretically focused and sensitive to the cultural context.     

Imagining the future: degraded representations of future rewards and events in schizophrenia

Over the course of life, most people work toward temporally distant rewards such as university degrees or work-related promotions. In contrast, many people with schizophrenia show deficits in behavior oriented toward long-term rewards, although they function adequately when rewards are more immediately present. Moreover, when asked about possible future events, individuals with schizophrenia show foreshortened future time perspectives relative to healthy individuals. Here, we take the view that these deficits are related and can be explained by cognitive deficits. We compared the performance of participants with schizophrenia (n = 39) and healthy participants (n = 25) on tasks measuring reward discounting and future event representations. Consistent with previous research, we found that relative to healthy participants, those with schizophrenia discounted the value of future rewards more steeply. Furthermore, when asked about future events, their responses were biased toward events in the near future, relative to healthy participants' responses. Although discounting and future representations were unrelated in healthy participants, we found significant correlations across the tasks among participants with schizophrenia, as well as correlations with cognitive variables and symptoms. Further analysis showed that statistically controlling working memory eliminated group differences in task performance. Together these results suggest that the motivational deficits characteristic of schizophrenia relate to cognitive deficits affecting the ability to represent and/or evaluate distant outcomes, a finding with important implications for promoting recovery from schizophrenia.     

Clergy Work-Related Psychological Health: Listening to the Ministers of Word and Sacrament Within the United Reformed Church in England

Drawing on the classic model of balanced affect proposed by Bradburn (The structure of psychological well-being, Aldine, Chicago, IL, 1969), this study conceptualised poor work-related psychological health in terms of high levels of negative affect in the absence of acceptable levels of positive affect. In order to illuminate self-perceptions of work-related psychological health among a well-defined group of clergy, a random sample of 58 ministers of word and sacrament serving within the west midlands synod of the United Reformed Church in England completed an open-ended questionnaire concerned with the following six guiding questions. Do you enjoy your work? How would you define stress? How would you define burnout? What stresses are there in your ministry? What do you do to keep healthy? What can the church do to enhance the work-related psychological health of ministers? Content analysis highlighted the main themes recurring through these open-ended responses. The conclusion is drawn that ministers of word and sacrament within the United Reformed Church in England are exposed to a number of recurrent recognisable sources of stress. Suggestions are advanced regarding the need for future more detailed research and for the development of more effective pastoral strategies.     

“转换-坚持”对低阶层健康的保护作用及其机制

低社会阶层是不良健康状况最可靠的社会决定因素之一。然而, 很少有人理解为什么同样处于低阶层, 有些个体却能保持良好的健康状况。在大量实证研究的基础上, 研究者们发现“转换-坚持”策略这一心理因素能有效保护处于逆境中的低阶层者的健康, 使其免于受到疾病的侵扰。当个体面临持续或频繁的压力时, “转换-坚持”策略减轻了下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴的急性生理激活, 有效抑制了低阶层面临逆境时的生理应激反应, 随着时间的推移, 阻止了致病过程的发展; 同时, 该策略还减少了低阶层者的不良健康行为, 进而对健康起到保护作用。未来研究应在深入探索核心机制基础上开发出有效的干预方案, 为解决我国相对贫困问题中的健康贫困提供新的路径。     

Unscrambling the B-Picture: Counselling Consultancy and Strategic Management

Some reflections are presented on the author's experience as a management counsellor and how he works with people in organisations. The basic assumption is that the critical unit is the individual and that working with organisations means working with people firstly as individuals alone and secondly as individuals in groups of one sort or another. Each individual experiences an organisation differently and these individual perceptions drive behaviours in organisations. The idea that the best modes of working are through psychologically close team with common perceptions and values is questioned. The author's preference is to counsel people individually and then help them to relate collectively at levels which are mutually tolerable. The optimum performance of individuals within an organisation is when they have learned to accommodate their needs in a mutually agreeable organisational culture.     

On the dark side of work: a longitudinal analysis using self-determination theory

As the nature of work has changed in recent decades, employees are increasingly exposed to psychological demands in the workplace, which have associated consequences for employees, organizations, and society. Using self-determination theory, this study examined the dark side of work, in which frustration of basic psychological needs is associated with higher levels of work-related stress. In this model, work-related stress is associated with higher levels of somatic symptom burden, which in turn is associated with higher levels of emotional exhaustion, turnover intention, and absenteeism. Results of a longitudinal analysis using data from four time points over 15 months supported these predictions. Taken together, this study advances the literature towards an understanding of the (potential) detrimental impact that need-thwarting work contexts can have on employee wellness and work-related outcomes.     

Work,stress, and well-being

Work-related stress may lead to injuries and psychological disorders. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has identified psychological disorders as one of the ten leading work-related diseases and injuries during the 1980s (Sauter, Murphy, & Hurrell, 1990). This article sets out a framework, strategy, and recommendations for enhancing stress management skills and the psychological well-being of individuals in occupational environments. Central to the strategy are attention to work design variables, such as control, uncertainty, conflict, and task demands, surveillance of psychological disorders in the workplace, education of managers and workers concerning psychological well-being and stress in the workplace, and treatment of individuals in distress.     

Substance P and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection: Psychoneuroimmunology

Effects on the immune system caused by changes in behavioral state or brain activity are mediated, at least in part, through neuroendocrine-immune pathways. Life stress and depression may be associated with altered blood levels of central nervous system-released neuropeptides, including substance P (SP). SP acts as a neuroregulator or neurotransmitter in the conduction of nociceptive stimuli, and is a modulator of neuroimmunoregulation. This review summarizes current knowledge regarding the role of the neuropeptide, SP, in psychoneuroimmunology, in particular as it relates to human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency disease syndrome. The association between depression, anxiety, and stress in HIV-disease progression suggests that neurobiologic and neurophysiologic factors play a role in modulating HIV infection and responses to antiretroviral therapy. Individuals with HIV or AIDS may experience stressful life circumstances that can result in increased symptoms of anxiety, stress, and/or depression. Furthermore, psychological and psychiatric symptoms, which occur in individuals with HIV and AIDS, may be related to the progression of AIDS disease. This review presents evidence from the literature, as well as findings from basic investigations conducted in the authors' laboratories, demonstrating that SP may play an important role in HIV pathophysiology. SP can impact the susceptibility of immune cells to HIV infection and modulate immune cell functions in ways that may affect the course of HIV in infected individuals. Moreover, modulation of SP activity and SP receptor is being explored for its potential as a novel therapeutic approach to the treatment of some psychological and psychiatric disorders and to the design of new anti-HIV therapy.     

Decisions Under Distress: Stress Profiles Influence Anchoring and Adjustment

ABSTRACT— People frequently make decisions under stress. Understanding how stress affects decision making is complicated by the fact that not all stress responses are created equal. Challenge states, for example, occur when individuals appraise a stressful situation as demanding, but believe they have the personal resources to cope, and are characterized by efficient cardiovascular reactivity and approach motivation. Threat states, in contrast, occur when situational demands are perceived to outweigh resources and are characterized by less efficient cardiovascular reactivity and withdrawal motivation. We randomly assigned participants to social-feedback conditions (i.e., positive or negative feedback) designed to engender challenge or threat, or a no-stress condition. Participants then completed an anchoring-and-adjustment questionnaire. Those assigned to the challenge condition adjusted more from self-generated anchors than those assigned to the threat condition. Cardiovascular responses mediated the relationship between condition and adjustment. This study demonstrates the importance of considering profiles of cardiovascular reactivity when examining the influence of stress on decision making.     

Work-related goal appraisals and stress during the transition from education to work

People's personal goals interact with their life situations in many ways. This study examined the appraisals of personal goals during a transition from education to work and their interplay with stress in different domains of life. Finnish young adults (N = 265, 60% female) reported on their goals in the work domain, and related appraisals of importance, attainability, and progress, and the amount of stress they experienced with regard to economic situation, time, and work. The results showed that those individuals who appraised their work goals as important, attainable and progressing well, benefited from their goal striving as evidenced in less stress in all three domains. Moreover, individuals who initially experienced elevated stress levels due to their economic and work situation adapted their work-related goals, such that they later set goals which were more attainable and showed better progress. For these individuals, pursuing work goals remained highly important, whereas for others work goal importance declined.     

工作投入研究的现状

工作投入指的是一种与工作相关的积极、完满的情绪与认知状态,具有持久性和弥散性的特点。工作投入对个体的工作绩效和某些工作态度及行为变量,以及顾客满意度、生产力、利润率和单位总体绩效等组织结果变量均具有一定的影响。工作投入的影响因素包括个体特征因素、与工作相关的因素以及与家庭相关的因素等3个方面。文章在对工作投入的相关研究进行全面述评的基础上,指出未来的研究有必要进一步加强对工作投入的干预机制等五方面问题的探讨