Chronic pain in the workplace: A diary study of pain interference at work and worker strain.

Chronic pain is both prevalent and one of the leading causes of work-related disability. Somatic experiences of pain and pain interference with daily activities at work may lead to psychological distress and strain in workers. In accordance with the appraisal theory of stress, we proposed a model in which pain interference mid-workday predicts negative affect and end-of-workday emotional exhaustion in workers who interact with customers. Further, we proposed that pain interference predicts variance in negative affect and exhaustion beyond somatic experiences of pain, based on our theoretical proposition that pain interference represents a secondary stress appraisal. Participants (N = 86 full-time workers with chronic pain) completed 2 online surveys per day for 5 consecutive workdays. Results from multilevel path analysis supported our hypotheses; pain interference predicted both negative affect and end-of-day emotional exhaustion while controlling for somatic experiences of pain (pain severity). Further, pain interference indirectly predicted end-of-day emotional exhaustion via negative affect while controlling for somatic pain experiences. Results highlight the importance of pain interference as a stressor at work for individuals working with chronic pain and point to the need for effective interventions for this working population.

Burnout and Engagement: Relative Importance of Predictors and Outcomes in Two Health Care Worker Samples.

This study's purpose was twofold: first, to examine the relative importance of job demands and resources as predictors of burnout and engagement, and second, the relative importance of engagement and burnout related to health, depressive symptoms, work ability, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions in two samples of health care workers. Nurse leaders ( n = 162) and licensed emergency medical technicians (EMTs; n = 102) completed surveys. In both samples, job demands predicted burnout more strongly than job resources, and job resources predicted engagement more strongly than job demands. Engagement held more weight than burnout for predicting commitment, and burnout held more weight for predicting health outcomes, depressive symptoms, and work ability. Results have implications for the design, evaluation, and effectiveness of workplace interventions to reduce burnout and improve engagement among health care workers. Actionable recommendations for increasing engagement and decreasing burnout in health care organizations are provided.