The Stress of Organisational Change: A Dynamic Process Model

Plongées dans un marché mondial, les organisations ne cessent de subir de profonds changements. Encore que la plupart de ces changements soient nécessaires et souvent retardés, ils présentent comme inconvénient le risque de coûts élevés en terme d'accroissement des dépenses de santé, de pertes de productivité, de baisse de la satisfaction professionnelle et de chute du moral. Ces coûts peuvent être directement imputés à la détresse qui frappe les salariés d'une organisation confrontée à des changement permanents. Cet article propose un modèle dynamique permettant d'aborder les articulations complexes entre le changement organisationnel et le stress subi par les individus. A partir de ce modèle, des interventions prenant en compte tous les aspects du problème pourront être conçues pour aider les salariés à gérer le stress provoqué par les mutations des organisations.
Organisations in the global marketplace continue to experience tremendous change. Although most of these changes are necessary and long overdue, the downside includes the risk of huge costs in terms of increased health care expenses, lost productivity, lower levels of job satisfaction, and low morale. These costs may be directly attributed to the distress that is created when an organisation's employees encounter constant changes. This paper establishes a dynamic framework from which we can begin to understand the complex interplay between change at the organisational level and stress at the individual level. Using this framework, comprehensive interventions can ultimately be developed to help employees manage the stress of organisational transitions.     

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.     

Revisiting a meta-analysis of helpful aspects of therapy in a community counselling service

This small scale mixed methods study examines helpful events in a community counselling setting, categorising impacts of events according to Timulak’s [(2007). Identifying core categories of client-identified impact of helpful events in psychotherapy: A qualitative meta-analysis. Psychotherapy Research, 17, 305–314] meta-synthesis of significant events research. Comparisons were made between the types of impacts reported as helpful by clients receiving cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or relational integrative counselling. Seventy-five clients identified 291 significant events on 216 Helpful Aspects of Therapy (HAT) forms. The findings broadly reflect all nine impacts identified by Timulak (2007). The study also suggests that a potential new category, ‘voicing’ may exist. Differences between the types of impacts reported as helpful by clients in CBT and integrative therapy showed a higher percentage of CBT clients reporting ‘behavioural change/problem solution’, ‘reassurance’ and ‘client involvement’ as helpful. Differences in other categories were not statistically significant.     

“Ethics When You Least Expect It”: A Modular Approach to Short Course Data Ethics Instruction

Science and Engineering Ethics - Data science skills are rapidly becoming a necessity in modern science. In response to this need, institutions and organizations around the world are developing...     

Walter Bradford Cannon: Pioneer of stress research

Walter Bradford Cannon, M.D., made a significant contribution to psychology and medicine with the discovery of the stress response around 1915, setting the cornerstone for psychosomatic medicine. This brief, introductory article etches out the nature of his contribution and sets the stage for Dr. Bradford Cannon to reflect on his father's important professional contributions and personal life in the following article.     

A Comprehensive Review of Wraparound Care Coordination Research, 1986–2014

Wraparound is a team-based care coordination strategy for children and youth with complex behavioral health needs and their families. Despite widespread adoption, a review of the literature pertaining to Wraparound has not previously been conducted. To address this gap, we conducted a comprehensive review, ultimately identifying 206 unique Wraparound-related publications in peer-reviewed outlets. We then coded and analyzed the publications’ methods, main foci, measures, and findings. Eighty-three publications (40%) were non-empirical, most of which focused on defining Wraparound and advocating for its use, largely based on its alignment with the System of Care philosophy. Among empirical studies (n?=?123; 60%), 22 controlled studies were found, most finding positive or mixed evidence for Wraparound’s effectiveness. Other empirical studies examined implementation issues such as necessary system conditions and measurement and influence of fidelity. Major gaps include rigorous tests of Wraparound’s change mechanisms, workforce development models, peer support, and the use of specific treatments. We conclude that literature produced to date has provided useful information about Wraparound’s core components, program-level and system-level implementation supports, and applicability across systems and populations, as well as preliminary information about effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. The Wraparound research base would, however, benefit from additional studies of the model’s intervention and implementation components, as well as more rigorous effectiveness studies.     

Politics,lack of career progress,and work/home conflict: Stress and strain for working women

This study examines the stress experienced by working women in terms of politics, lack of career progress, and work/home conflicts, the symptoms of distress and satisfaction associated with these stressors, and the organizational resources available for managing these demands. Subjects were 195 female personnel professionals. A different pattern of results emerged for politics and lack of career progress in contrast to work/home conflicts. Specifically, politics and lack of career progress were associated with greater strain symptoms and reduced satisfaction, and organizational resources were associated with lower levels of these stressors. Work/home conflicts were associated with greater strain symptoms, but were unrelated to satisfaction and organizational resources. This suggests that organizations identify the most effective targets of their resources to achieve beneficial results.     

Whistle rates of wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus): influences of group size and behavior

In large social groups acoustic communication signals are prone to signal masking by conspecific sounds. Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) use highly distinctive signature whistles that counter masking effects. However, they can be found in very large groups where masking by conspecific sounds may become unavoidable. In this study we used passive acoustic localization to investigate how whistle rates of wild bottlenose dolphins change in relation to group size and behavioral context. We found that individual whistle rates decreased when group sizes got larger. Dolphins displayed higher whistle rates in contexts when group members were more dispersed as in socializing and in nonpolarized movement than during coordinated surface travel. Using acoustic localization showed that many whistles were produced by groups nearby and not by our focal group. Thus, previous studies based on single hydrophone recordings may have been overestimating whistle rates. Our results show that although bottlenose dolphins whistle more in social situations they also decrease vocal output in large groups where the potential for signal masking by other dolphin whistles increases.