Recovery at home and performance at work: A diary study on self–family facilitation

This 5-day diary study among 65 Dutch employees focuses on the interplay between time on and off the job. We examined how daily off-job (work-related, physical, household) activities, in combination with the degree to which people want to engage in these activities relate to self–family facilitation (i.e., the positive influence of the fulfilment of one's own interests on one's family life). Further, we tested whether self–family facilitation relates to psychological detachment from work, recovery, and finally whether recovery relates to job performance. Multilevel analyses revealed that household activities enhance self–family facilitation only on days that people want to engage in such activities. Furthermore, spending time on household activities hinders psychological detachment on days people do not want to spend time on these activities. In addition, self–family facilitation and psychological detachment relate to better recovery the next morning. Finally, feeling recovered in the morning is beneficial for task performance during work. These findings emphasize the role of one's “wants” in the degree to which off-job activities lead to recovery. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of keeping a good interaction between the self and the family for daily recovery and performance.     

The added value of the positive: A literature review of positive psychology interventions in organizations

This paper systematically reviews research investigating the effects of positive psychology interventions applied in the organizational context. We characterize a positive psychology intervention as any intentional activity or method that is based on (a) the cultivation of positive subjective experiences, (b) the building of positive individual traits, or (c) the building of civic virtue and positive institutions. A systematic literature search identified 15 studies that examined the effects of such an intervention in organizational contexts. Subsequent analyses of those studies revealed that positive psychology interventions seem to be a promising tool for enhancing employee well-being and performance. As a side-effect, positive psychology interventions also tend to diminish stress and burnout and to a lesser extent depression and anxiety. Implications of those findings for theory and praxis and recommendations for future research on positive psychology interventions in organizations are discussed.     

From mental strain to burnout

This study examines the relationships between burnout and short-term consequences of mental strain within and outside human services professions, at the same time contributing to the understanding of the development of burnout as a long-term effect of impairing work and job design. A total of 294 German employees working in human services (N=149) and industrial production (N=145) completed the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) and four scales measuring short-term consequences of mental strain. Results of factor analyses confirmed that the elements of the OLBI's two-factor structure-exhaustion and disengagement-are distinct from a range of impairing short-term consequences of mental strain. In addition, structural equation modelling showed that each burnout dimension is differentially related to specific short-term consequences of strain: Exhaustion is primarily related to mental fatigue, whereas disengagement is primarily related to satiation and the experience of monotony. The findings did not differ substantially for the two occupational groups. Burnout, as a long-term consequence of impairing mental strain, is distinct from and presumably temporally-causally related to specific impairing short-term consequences of mental strain, which, in turn, can be attributed to inadequate job design.     

New Spirituality and Social Engagement

New spirituality has often been accused of being egocentric and thus lacking incentives for social engagement. The discussion on this subject is tangled because authors differ in specifying who they are writing about and what the criticism is. After seeking an adequate demarcation of the target group (people involved in new spirituality), we established a concept of social engagement that distinguishes between behavior that is and that is not driven by egocentric motivation. Using measures based on this conceptual model, we surveyed a representative sample of the Dutch population. We found that on most measures people involved in new spirituality are less socially engaged than affiliated or traditionally religious people but more engaged than “secular” people. However, they are more committed to organizations for environmental protection, peace, or animal rights than others. Overall, demographic factors—especially education, age, and gender—are stronger predictors for social engagement than religious and spiritual beliefs, experiences, or practices. The most important spirituality variable that predicts some social engagement measures is connectedness with self, others, and nature.     

Regional conferences—A capacity‐building mandate: Report on CRCP2011—Building Bridges and Building a Regional Structure

The Caribbean Regional Conference of Psychology was held in Nassau, The Bahamas, from 15 to 18 November 2011, under the auspices of the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP), the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS), and the International Association for Cross‐Cultural Psychology (IACCP). The conference was hosted by the Bahamas Psychological Association, and organized by a committee chaired by Dr Ava Thompson, College of the Bahamas. The CRCP2011 attracted over 400 participants from 37 countries, including 20 nations/territories in the Caribbean. A broad scientific program, organized around six conference themes, addressed strengths and challenges to psychology in the region; the current state of psychological research, assessment, and intervention; historical, cultural, and language influences; and links between Caribbean and global models. Conference outcomes included planning for a series of publications to expand on conference themes and presentations, as well as establishment of a steering group to launch a regional organization to support the science and practice of psychology in the Caribbean.     

Is family-to-work interference related to co-workers' work outcomes?

Previous studies have convincingly shown that employees' family lives can affect their work outcomes. We investigate whether family-to-work interference (FWI) experienced by the employee also affects the work outcomes of a co-worker. We predict that the employee's FWI has an effect on the co-worker's outcomes through the crossover of positive and negative work attitudes. Using a sample of 1430 co-worker dyads, we found that the employee's FWI had a positive relationship with the co-worker's sickness absence through the crossover of feelings of burnout. Similarly, employee FWI was positively related to co-worker turnover intention through the crossover of (reduced) work engagement. The results show that family matters at work, affecting not only employee but also co-worker work outcomes.     

Job crafting and extra-role behavior: The role of work engagement and flourishing

This study investigates whether crafting of job demands and resources relates positively to extra-role behavior (i.e. contextual performance and creativity) through work engagement and flourishing. We collected data from 294 employees and their supervisors regarding employees' contextual performance and creativity. Results show that seeking resources had a positive indirect relationship with contextual performance through work engagement, and with creativity through work engagement and flourishing. Reducing demands had negative indirect relationships with both contextual performance and creativity through work engagement. We conclude that particularly seeking resources has important implications for extra-role behavior and discuss the practical implications of these findings.     

Crossover of job demands and emotional exhaustion within teams: a longitudinal multilevel study

This study investigated the crossover of job demands and emotional exhaustion among team members and the moderating effect of cohesiveness and social support on this process. Participants were 310 employees of an employment agency in the Netherlands, working in one of 100 teams. Multilevel analysis using a longitudinal design did not reveal a main effect of crossover. However, consistent with the study's hypotheses, the results showed a moderating effect of team cohesiveness and social support. We detected crossover of job demands and emotional exhaustion across time from the group to individual team members only in teams characterized by high levels of cohesiveness and social support. Teams characterized by low levels of cohesiveness and social support showed no crossover of job demands and exhaustion. The findings demonstrate that team-level moderators play an important role in crossover processes. Moreover, social support and cohesiveness may not always be positive.