Psychosocial job strain and productivity in human service workers: A test of the demand-control-support model

The aim of the study was to test the main and interactive effects of the key dimensions of the demand-control-support model in predicting levels of strain (specifically emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and job dissatisfaction) and feelings of productivity and competency (personal accomplishment) in a multi-occupational sample of human service workers (N = 813). Controlling for demographics, negative affectivity (NA), and quadratic terms, structural equation analyses showed some support for the additive iso-strain hypothesis: jobs combining high demands, low control and low support produced the lowest levels of satisfaction in workers. High demands and low supports only were associated with high depersonalization, and high emotional exhaustion. Support was also found for the additive active learning hypotheses: jobs combining high demands and high control produced the highest levels of personal accomplishment. The study supports job redesign interventions for improving worker well-being and productivity.     

Manager personality, manager service quality orientation, and service climate: test of a model

This article conceptually and empirically explores the relationships among manager personality, manager service quality orientation, and climate for customer service. Data were collected from 1,486 employees and 145 managers in grocery store departments (N = 145) to test the authors' theoretical model. Largely consistent with hypotheses, results revealed that core self-evaluations were positively related to managers' service quality orientation, even after dimensions of the Big Five model of personality were controlled, and that service quality orientation fully mediated the relationship between personality and global service climate. Implications for personality and organizational climate research are discussed.     

How to enhance service quality through organizational facilitators,collective work engagement,and relational service competence

This study aims to test how collective work engagement and relational service competence, as affective and cognitive-competent collective states, mediate the relationship between organizational facilitators and customers' perceptions of service quality. In all, 107 service-oriented units were aggregated from 615 service workers and 2165 customers. Structural equation modelling confirmed that organizational facilitators are related to collective work engagement andrelational service competence, which play a mediating role between organizational facilitators and service quality. Whereas collective work engagement plays a partially mediating role between organizational facilitators and relational service competence, relational service competence plays a fully mediating role between collective work engagement and service quality. A discussion and limitations are also provided.     

Meditation practice as related to occupational stress, health and productivity

This article reviews three studies giving evidence on the effects of meditation practice on employees' health in the work setting. Although there may be a beneficial role for meditation, unfortunately, these findings await further replication so it would be premature to conclude that meditation practice reduces occupational stress.     

Parenthood and productivity: A study of demands, resources and family-friendly firms

We examine how the presence of children is related to women’s and men’s productivity. We hypothesize family demands, family resources, and family-friendly workplaces are also related to productivity. Productivity for 670 Alberta law firm lawyers is analyzed using a standardized measure of productivity referred to as billable hours. The results suggest that mothers with school-aged children are less productive than non-mothers, whereas fathers with preschool-aged children are more productive than non-fathers. While time spent on household and childcare tasks significantly reduces women’s productivity, we find little support for the benefits of family resources or working in a family-friendly firm for women. Rather, fathers seem to benefit more: family resources are positively related to their productivity and family-friendly benefits allow them more time for leisure. These results support the assumption that having children is negatively related to women’s productivity but challenges the belief that family-friendly policies are primarily beneficial only to mothers trying to balancing work and family.     

Assistive/rehabilitation technology, disability, and service delivery models

The United Nation's Millennium Development Goals do not explicitly articulate a focus on disability; similar failures in the past resulted in research, policy, and practice that are not generalizable and did not meet the needs of persons with disabilities since they were developed for an "average" population. Academics and professionals in health and other disciplines should have a knowledge base in evidence-based practices that improve well-being and participation of people with disabilities through effective service delivery of assistive technology. Grounded by a theoretical framework that incorporates a multivariate perspective of disability that is acknowledged in the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, we present a review of models of assistive technology service delivery and call for future syntheses of the fragmented evidence base that would permit a comparative effectiveness approach to evaluation.     

Assistive/rehabilitation technology,disability, and service delivery models

The United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals do not explicitly articulate a focus on disability; similar failures in the past resulted in research, policy, and practice that are not generalizable and did not meet the needs of persons with disabilities since they were developed for an “average” population. Academics and professionals in health and other disciplines should have a knowledge base in evidence-based practices that improve well-being and participation of people with disabilities through effective service delivery of assistive technology. Grounded by a theoretical framework that incorporates a multivariate perspective of disability that is acknowledged in the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, we present a review of models of assistive technology service delivery and call for future syntheses of the fragmented evidence base that would permit a comparative effectiveness approach to evaluation.     

Family relationships, leaving home, and adjustment to military service

Associations between family relationships and individual adjustment were studied within a sample of 19-year-old soldiers during their first weeks of basic training. Results showed that family relationships partly explained soldiers' closeness to best friends, number of social nominations, and commanders' ratings of soldiers' military and social competence. In addition, family relations explained soldiers' perceived social competence as assessed via closeness to best friends and number of sociometric nominations. Together, the results reiterate the role played by the family and attitudes toward offspring leaving home and toward their adjustment to military service.     

Scholarly productivity,impact, and quality among Academic Psychologists at Group of Eight Universities

Scholarly research among academics in Schools and Departments of Psychology in the Group of Eight Australian universities was assessed for each academic level (Lecturer to Professor) on productivity (number of articles), impact (number of citations to those articles), and quality (journal rankings). Publications were determined over an 8‐year period, 2001–2008. Citations to these works over the same period were also measured. Quality was determined using the Excellence in Research for Australia draft journal rankings. Scholarly productivity was a function of academic level: as academic level increased (Lecturer through Professor) so too did number of publications. Research impact (citations) was also greatest among established Staff (Professors). Research quality was independent of academic level and largely independent of gender. Normative research profiles are provided for each academic level.     

Measuring individual research productivity: A review and development of the integrated research productivity index

The purpose of the present study was to investigate methods of measuring individual research productivity for counseling psychologists. Using the 60 members of the Journal of Counseling Psychology editorial board, the authors computed a comparison of 6 popular indices of productivity, revealing considerable levels of positive skewness, kurtosis, and overlap with each other. Combining the strengths of the 6 indices, the authors developed a new productivity index entitled the Integrated Research Productivity Index (IRPI). The IRPI measures individual productivity by statistically combining an individual's author-weighted publications, average times cited by other publications, and years since first publication into a comprehensive score. Productivity values and IRPI scores for 3 groups of counseling psychologists (Tyler Award recipients, Kuder Award recipients, and Division 17 Presidents) were computed to provide evidence of discriminant validity among the indices. In contrast to the other measures examined, the IRPI accounts for productivity per year and years in the field and assesses mean citation count per article as opposed to total citation count, thus yielding similar scores for Tyler (lifetime) and Kuder (early career) research award recipients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).