Towards emotional containment for staff and patients: developing a Work Discussion group for play specialists in a paediatric ward

This paper describes the evolution of a staff Work Discussion group run by a child psychotherapist in a teaching hospital for more than 15 years. It offers insight into the emotional experience of both NHS staff and patients as seen through the lens of the discussion of the staff’s work. The author identifies three main stages in the evolution of this group, as trust and the feeling of a safe space gradually developed. The first stage was identifying and understanding the emotional experience of patients, through the use of observational skills and psychoanalytic concepts; the second emerged as staff began to include their own emotional experience in the narrative; the last stage saw a qualitative shift in the staff’s capacity to share the pain generated by the work, knowing about it through holding it in the group’s mind and being able to reflect on it, allowing them to process experience in a way that made the work more bearable – akin to Bion’s concept of ‘containment’. This evolution is illustrated with relevant vignettes in the light of some theoretical and historical considerations. The paper demonstrates the value of Work Discussion groups in terms of indirectly supporting hospitalised patients, as well as promoting staff’s resilience and professional capacities in difficult contexts.     

Daily playful work design: A trait activation perspective

We introduce the concept of daily playful work design (PWD) and test the factorial validity of a new instrument to assess PWD. Using trait activation theory, we hypothesize that employees who are more open to experiences and playful will be more engaged and creative in their work on the days they playfully design their work activities. We tested the factorial validity of the instrument and our hypotheses in a sample of 88 employees who answered questionnaires during five consecutive workdays (N = 391 observations). The multilevel analyses yielded evidence for the psychometric quality of the PWD instrument and generally supported the hypotheses. The traits openness and playfulness moderated the relationship of daily PWD behaviors with daily work engagement and creativity.     

Complementary variable- and person-centred approaches to the dimensionality of work engagement: a longitudinal investigation

This study illustrates complementary variable- and person-centred approaches to the investigation of the underlying dimensionality of the work engagement construct. A sample of 730 participants completed a questionnaire twice across a four-month period. The results showed that employees’ ratings of their work engagement simultaneously reflected a global overarching work engagement construct, which co-existed with three specific dimensions (vigour, dedication, and absorption). Relying on factor scores from this initial measurement model, the present study examined latent profiles of employees defined based on their global (work engagement) and specific (vigour, dedication, and absorption) levels of work engagement. The results revealed five distinct work engagement profiles, which proved to be fully identical, and highly stable, across the two time points. These profiles characterized disengaged-vigorous, normative, totally disengaged, vigorously absorbed, and engaged yet distanced employees. These profiles were also showed to be meaningfully related to employees’ levels of stress, intentions to leave the organization, health, and job satisfaction.     

The influence of type A behaviour and locus of control upon job satisfaction and occupational health

Results from this study show that in a sample of 332 German managers a Type A personality and an External locus of control are associated with greater perceived levels of stress (particularly in terms of inter-personal relationships), lower job satisfaction and a poorer physical and mental health than that of managers with a type B personality and an Internal locus of control. The magnitude of main effect size is substantially larger than the interaction terms (Type A×Locus of Control). There is no evidence to support a significant effect of a Type A×Locus of Control interaction on either of the health outcome measures (physical and psychological health), but there is some evidence of an interaction with work satisfaction outcomes (job satisfaction and organizational satisfaction). Those with an External locus showed significantly lower levels of work satisfaction, especially when this characteristic was combined with a Type A personality. It appears that negative health consequences may outweigh the superficial attractiveness of the type A personality in a managerial position, particularly when this trait is coupled with a more external locus of control.     

Le geste suicidaire et la faute inexcusable de l’employeur

When a suicidal act is attributed to work, in addition to the qualification of a work accident, the employer's inexcusable fault, based on his obligation of safety, can be retained if the latter was aware of the danger incurred by his subordinate and did not take the necessary measures to protect him. Two points stand out. On the one hand, the risk of suicide is not always predictable, which leads to a more general thinking on its prevention. On the other hand, since 2015, two conceptions regarding the obligation of security have coexisted, new in labour law and, constant in social security law, with litigation falling under two separate chambers of the High Court. Three judgments from October 8, issued by the second civil chamber of the High Court appear to be moving towards a harmonization of case law. Consequently, their scope should be assessed, in particular regarding the preventive measures expected from the employer.     

Rôles protecteurs de l’activité de travail,du soutien social perçu et des stratégies de coping en période de confinement et de crise sanitaire

The objective of this study is to determine what organizational and personal factors may have protected workers, placed in different professional status (in the office, teleworking or absence of activity at home) from developing anxiety during the lockdown in the spring 2020 in France. Effects of professional status and personal resources mobilized in these different contexts, through coping strategies and perceived social support, have been studied. Three hundred and twenty-seven public officials were interviewed. The results show that work activity protects from anxiety, like social support from colleagues and friends. Emotion-focused coping strategies has been deleterious unlike problem-focused ones. The family situation does not seem to have had an effect. This study highlights the positive role that work, both in terms of activity and relationships, may have had on individuals during this period.     

Technologies émergentes et transformations digitales de l’activité : enjeux pour l’activité et la santé au travail

The question of the introduction of emerging technologies and their incessant renewal in organizations basically refers to the place and role that these devices play in activity, as well as how they can affect activity and health at work … Thought as a prospective reflection trying to grasp the logic and the modalities of the digital transformations in progress, the ambition of this paper is: (i) first, identify and characterize the emerging technologies that are deployed in the company; (ii) discuss their impact on the activity and well-being of employees, showing the uses and paradoxical effects that these devices can have on work; and (iii) finally think about the psychosocial function of these devices as potential health and business development operators.     

Se sentir bien pour diriger efficacement : l’importance du plaisir au travail chez les responsables d’équipe

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role team leaders’ work enjoyment regarding team members’ attitudes by taking account of the mediating role of empowering leadership and the moderating effect of task interdependence. The sample includes 58 team leaders and 229 team members from a Canadian public safety organization. Using a multilevel approach, results indicate that empowering leadership may mediate the relationships that team leaders’ work enjoyment may have with team members’ attitudes (i.e., team commitment and turnover intention). Furthermore, results reveal that the relationship between work enjoyment and empowering leadership is moderated by task interdependence, such that this relationship is stronger when the level of task interdependence is low.     

Linking calling to work engagement and subjective career success: The perspective of career construction theory

Drawing on career construction theory, this study examined the relationship between calling and work engagement and subjective career success (i.e., career satisfaction) and the mediating role of career adaptability with a sample of 832 Chinese employees. Results from a time-lagged survey study showed that: (1) calling (measured at time 1) positively related to an employee's career adaptability, work engagement, and career satisfaction (measured at time 2), and (2) career adaptability mediated the relationship between calling and work engagement and career satisfaction. Based on the findings, theoretical and practical implications of this study and directions for future research are discussed.     

Development and validation of the Zurich Meeting Questionnaire (ZMQ)

Introduction and objectivesResearch highlights the importance of identifying and examining crucial meeting characteristics and procedures. Thus, the aim of the present research is to develop and validate the Zurich Meeting Questionnaire (ZMQ), an instrument that assesses meeting attendees’ perceptions of meeting design characteristics and task- and relational-oriented procedures during the meeting.MethodThree independent samples (n₁ = 474, n₂ = 464, n₃ = 311) were used to test the psychometric properties, factorial structure, criterion validity, and construct validity of the ZMQ.ResultsResults of confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the assumed two-dimensional structure of meeting procedures. Furthermore, the results provided criterion validity evidence regarding meeting satisfaction and perceived meeting effectiveness. Finally, the pattern of correlations with external variables (team climate inventory, psychological safety, and social desirability) provided initial evidence of construct validity.ConclusionThe ZMQ is a short and psychometrically sound measure of meeting design characteristics and procedures during meetings and is suitable for use in organizational research and the evaluation of meetings in practice.