Resilience-Related Resources Predict Physicians' Fatigue, Job Search Behavior, and Productivity Outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research was to assess the relative contribution of three resilience-related dispositional resources (trait mindfulness, core self-evaluations, and optimism) to emergency medicine physicians' fatigue, retention, and productivity. METHODS: We surveyed emergency physicians employed by a national (US) medical staffing organization. The survey included measures of work stressors, resilience resources, job search behavior, and fatigue. We linked the survey responses to objective demographic and productivity measures from the organization's records. RESULTS: A total of 371 respondents completed the survey. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated support for each of the three resilience-related resources as predictors. Relative weights analyses showed that resilience accounted for 14% and 62% of the outcome variance, whereas work demands accounted for between 32% and 56%. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple facets of dispositional resilience are important predictors of emergency medicine physicians' occupational health, retention, and productivity.

Daily expression of workaholism and family outcomes: The buffering and magnifying effects of economic resources.

Workaholism is increasingly recognized as a potential threat to occupational health. Although most research has conceptualized workaholism as a trait, some research suggests that it may also fluctuate from day to day. Moreover, the effects of the dynamic properties of workaholism on work and family outcomes may be contingent on one's economic situation. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to test the interactive effect of workday workaholism and economic resources on nightly work-family conflict and family engagement. Using experience sampling methodology, we demonstrated that workaholism fluctuates from one day to the next and has detrimental short-term effects on work-family conflict. Additionally, our findings indicated that the interaction between workday workaholism and perceived income adequacy predicted both nighty work-family conflict and family engagement. While the association between workday workaholism and work-family conflict was stronger for those who experienced low income adequacy, the relationship between workaholism and family engagement was stronger for those who exhibited high income adequacy. Similarly, job security buffered the effect of workaholism on work-family conflict. We discuss the theoretical and practice implications of this study as well as recommend future research directions.

Isolated and Stressed? Examining the Effects of Management Communication in Alleviating Mental Health Symptoms during COVID-19.

The goal of this research was to assess the role of professional isolation on mental health symptoms via stress among employees working remotely due to COVID-19. Additionally, this research explored the interactive effect of management communication on the relationship between professional isolation and stress, and stress and mental health symptoms. In Study 1, behavior analysts who were working remotely as a result of the pandemic completed assessments of professional isolation, stress, and mental health symptoms at two points in time, separated by two weeks. Study 2 replicated and extended the findings from Study 1 in a sample of remote employees recruited from Amazon's Mechanical Turk using a three-wave design. Findings of both Study 1 and Study 2 suggested that stress mediated the relationship between professional isolation and mental health symptoms. Additionally, management communication buffered the association between stress and mental health symptoms in Study 2. Lastly, the indirect effect of professional isolation on mental health symptoms was stronger for those who received less communication from their management. The findings of these two studies expand our understanding of the mechanism and boundary condition through which professional isolation is related to mental health symptoms.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Applied Behavior Analysis Workforce: Comparison across Remote and Nonremote Workers.

With the abrupt transition to observing physical distancing as a result of COVID-19, applied behavior analysts were faced with the sudden need to modify their service delivery model, while at the same time managing personal difficulties brought about by the pandemic. The present article provides a description of the impact of COVID-19 on the behavior analyst workforce currently providing clinical services in the United States. We conducted a survey to assess work conditions, burnout, and productivity of behavior analysts at various certification levels. These data provide a snapshot of the impact of COVID-19 on the workforce. Overall, one third of the participants reported experiencing job insecurity, and almost half of participants reported decreased productivity and increased burnout, with remote workers more severely affected. Taken together, these factors could compromise the ability of behavior analysts to adequately provide services to their clients. We provide recommendations for behavioral health agencies for supporting staff during extreme situations such as a pandemic.

Psychosocial safety climate and stigma: Reporting stress-related concerns at work.

While researchers have begun to investigate theory and methods related to attenuating stress-related issues at work, one underexplored area is a barrier to reporting stress-related concerns in the workplace. Research on organizational climate broadly covers psychosocial safety at work. However, the literature has not examined other, more specific factors such as stigma towards reporting stress-related concerns in the workplace. Using a prospective design, the current study examined the distinction between psychosocial safety climate (PSC) and stigmas surrounding reporting stress that may exist in organizations. Furthermore, we investigated whether PSC would buffer against the effects of such stigmas. The findings of this study indicate that stigma and PSC are distinct and can independently predict psychosocial outcomes. The results also indicate that PSC may play a role in attenuating the effects of these stigmas on some psychosocial outcomes. Implications and potential avenues for future research in this area are discussed.

Perceived unit climate of support for mental health as a predictor of stigma, beliefs about treatment, and help-seeking behaviors among military personnel.

Employees in high-risk occupations can experience stigma associated with developing mental health problems and getting treatment for problems that can oftentimes be attributed to traumatic events encountered at work. The present study examined the perceived unit climate of support for mental health as a predictor of changes (over the course of 3 months) in the perceived stigma associated with seeking treatment, positive and negative attitudes toward treatment seeking, and a preference for handling mental health problem oneself, as well as talking with fellow unit members and a mental health professional about a mental health problem. Active-duty military personnel (N = 349 at Time 1, N = 112 matched at Time 2) completed measures assessing unit climate and individual beliefs about treatment at two points in time separated by 3 months. The results of structural equation modeling revealed strong evidence for perceived unit climate of support for mental health at Time 1 predicting a change in perceived stigma and attitudes toward treatment seeking at Time 2. A more positive perceived unit climate of support was associated with decreases in stigma, more positive attitudes toward treatment seeking, and less negative attitudes toward treatment seeking. Among those soldiers with a mental health problem (N = 164), a more positive perceived unit climate for mental health was associated with a greater likelihood of talking with a fellow unit member about the problem and receiving mental health treatment. Implications of the results for unit-level interventions in high-risk occupations are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

One Climate or Many: Examining the Structural Distinctiveness of Safety, Health, and Stress Prevention Climate Measures.

OBJECTIVE: This study explores the structural distinctiveness of safety, health, and stress prevention climate scales and examines whether these measures predict safety, physical health, and mental health outcomes over time. METHODS: We obtained samples of university students, Amazon Mechanical Turk workers, and firefighters to assess the dimensionality of the three climate foci, and provide content, construct, and criterion validity of the three measures. RESULTS: Findings from our study suggest that the constructs of safety, health, and stress prevention climate are psychometrically distinct, as well as demonstrate content, construct, and criterion validity evidence. CONCLUSION: This study provides preliminary evidence for integrating the constructs of safety, health, and stress prevention climate in the Total Worker Health™ framework for predicting safety-, health-, and stress-related outcomes.

Occupational stress and mental health symptoms: Examining the moderating effect of work recovery strategies in firefighters.

The goal of this research was to examine the moderating effect of work recovery strategies on the relationship between occupational stress experienced by firefighters and mental health symptoms. Work recovery strategies were identified through semistructured interviews with 20 firefighters and a literature search on recovery strategies. A total of 7 work recovery strategies emerged using the 2 methods: work-related talks, stress-related talks, time with coworkers/supervisor, exercise, recreational activities, relaxation, and mastery experiences. Using a prospective study design with a 1-month time interval in a sample of 268 firefighters, experienced occupational stress at Time 1 was positively related to mental health symptoms at Time 2. In addition, with the exception of spending time with coworkers/supervisor, exercise and mastery experiences, recovery strategies at Time 1 were negatively related to mental health symptoms at Time 2. Lastly, all work recovery strategies, except stress-related talks and relaxation, moderated the relationship between experienced occupational stress at Time 1 and mental health symptoms at Time 2. Specifically, the positive relationship between experienced occupational stress and mental health symptoms was stronger when firefighters engaged in low, rather than high, work recovery strategies. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Coping Strategies as Moderators of the Association Between Combat Exposure and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms.

The present research examined selected coping strategies as moderators of the relationship between combat exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among service members who were deployed to Iraq (N = 2,023) and Afghanistan (N = 1,023). A three-factor model of coping was confirmed for both military operations: positive emotion-focused, self-blame, and prayer/spirituality. Positive emotion-focused coping was inversely associated with PTSD symptoms (r = -.14) and buffered service members from the negative effects of combat exposure in both Iraq (r2 = .01) and Afghanistan (r2 = .02). Self-blame coping was positively associated with PTSD symptoms in both samples (Iraq, r = .36; Afghanistan, r = .29) but only magnified the relationship between combat exposure and PTSD symptoms among service members in Iraq (r2 = .01) . These findings were replicated when controlling for unit cohesion and symptoms of depression. Prayer/spirituality coping was not significantly associated with PTSD symptoms, regardless of combat exposure. Discussion focuses on how specific positive emotion-focused coping strategies may be helpful for military personnel in combat operations given the uncontrollable and chaotic nature of the environment. Implications include providing training for deploying personnel that covers the use of these positive emotion-focused coping strategies and the potential problems with self-blame. Such training may also be suitable for other high-risk occupations in which employees face uncontrollable situations.