Illegitimate work tasks: an investigation of psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the BITS instrument and its suitability in human versus 'non-human' service occupations.

BACKGROUND: Illegitimate tasks, i.e. working tasks that are perceived as unnecessary or unreasonable, are commonly measured by the Bern Illegitimate Tasks Scale (BITS). Despite a growing research attention paid to illegitimate tasks, the Swedish version of BITS needs yet to be properly evaluated. Moreover, previous multiorganizational studies in this field have taken for granted, without really testing it, that the instrument functions invariantly in different contexts; a prerequisite for meaningful comparisons. METHODS: Two occupational groups that differs hugely-966 human services workers (teachers and registered nurses) and 750 non-'human service' workers (construction and IT-workers) were targeted utilizing questionnaires data collected 2018 within the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) study. Psychometric properties, i.e., reliability, dimensionality, and measurement invariance between the occupations were examined using confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation models. Also, the associations between the two dimensions of illegitimate tasks and job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion, respectively, were tested. RESULTS: Good reliability was supported and two- versus one-dimensionality showed better psychometric properties. Partial scalar measurement invariance was satisfactory supported with only 25% relaxed constraints of equal intercepts between groups. Examining the two subdimensions revealed different associations with emotional exhaustion, where the associations was more substantial for unreasonable tasks. Nevertheless, the findings point to potential improvements for future investigation. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the Swedish version of BITS is working satisfactory and allows for meaningful comparisons of occupational groups. Furthermore, construct validity of the two dimensions was corroborated.

Registered nurses' exposure to workplace aggression in Norway: 12-month prevalence rates, perpetrators, and current turnover intention.

BACKGROUND: Identifying occupational health hazards among Registered Nurses (RNs) and other health personnel and implementing effective preventive measures are crucial to the long-term sustainability of health services. The objectives of this study were (1) to assess the 12-month prevalence rates of exposure to workplace aggression, including physical violence, threats of violence, sexual harassment, and bullying; (2) to identify whether the perpetrators were colleagues, managers, subordinates, or patients and their relatives; (3) to determine whether previous exposure to these hazards was associated with RNs' current turnover intention; and (4) to frame workplace aggression from an occupational health and safety perspective. METHODS: The third version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ III) was used to assess RNs' exposure to workplace aggression and turnover intention. A national sample of 8,800 RNs in Norway, representative of the entire population of registered nurses in terms of gender and geography, was analysed. Binary and ordinal logistic regression analyses were conducted, and odds for exposure and intention to leave are presented, with and without controls for RNs' gender, age, and the type of health service they work in. RESULTS: The 12-month prevalence rates for exposure were 17.0% for physical violence, 32.5% for threats of violence, 12.6% for sexual harassment, and 10.5% for bullying. In total, 42.6% of the RNs had experienced at least one of these types of exposure during the past 12 months, and exposure to more than one of these hazards was common. Most perpetrators who committed physical acts and sexual harassment were patients, while bullying was usually committed by colleagues. There was a strong statistical association between exposure to all types of workplace aggression and RNs' intention to leave. The strongest association was for bullying, which greatly increased the odds of looking for work elsewhere. CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to prevent exposure to workplace aggression should be emphasised to retain health personnel and to secure the supply of skilled healthcare workers. The results indicate a need for improvements. To ensure the sustainability of health services, labour and health authorities should join forces to develop effective workplace measures to strengthen prevention, mitigation, and preparedness regarding incidents of workplace aggression in health services and the response and recovery regarding incidents that could not be prevented.

Leadership, work environment and caries prevention - what is good for the staff, is also good for the patients.

OBJECTIVES: Dental caries is a health problem that can be prevented. The aim of this study is to analyse if the quality of leadership, in Swedish Public Dental Health clinics, influences the extent to which patients with caries receive preventive care, and if any such effect is mediated through a collaborative work climate, clear role expectations and a low average level of burnout among staff. METHODS: The multilevel cross-sectional design includes work environment data from surveys of 75 general public dental clinics, register-based data on preventive measures provided to 5398 patients who received a dental filling due to a caries diagnosis, and patient demographics. Using a multilevel path analysis with logistic regression, we tested a model with one direct and three indirect pathways, controlling for the potential confounding effect of patient demographic factors. RESULTS: Leadership quality, as assessed by the staff at the clinic, was associated with increased odds of patients with caries receiving prevention, controlling for patient demographic factors. Leadership quality was also positively related to a collaborative work climate, clear role expectations and a low average level of burnout among staff. Against expectations, however, no indirect effect from leadership quality on prevention through the other work environment factors was found. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the quality of leadership in Swedish Public Dental Health clinics was positively related to a good work environment for staff and to delivery of preventive care to patients experiencing caries.

Exploring workplace violence on surgical wards in Sweden: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Workplace violence is a global threat to healthcare professionals' occupational health and safety and the situation has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to explore workplace violence directed against assistant and registered nurses working on surgical wards in Sweden. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in April 2022. Using a convenience sampling procedure, 198 assistant and registered nurses responded to an online questionnaire developed for this specific study. The questionnaire comprised 52 items and included, among other items, subscales from validated and previously used instruments. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, and independent-samples t-test. RESULTS: The most frequently reported type of workplace violence was humiliation (28.8%), followed by physical violence (24.2%), threats (17.7%), and unwanted sexual attention (12.1%). Patients and patients' visitors were reported as the main perpetrators of all kinds of exposure. Additionally, one third of the respondents had experienced humiliation from colleagues. Both threats and humiliation showed negative associations with work motivation and health (p < 0.05). Respondents classified as working in a high- or moderate-risk environment were more frequently exposed to threats (p = 0.025) and humiliation (p = 0.003). Meanwhile, half of the respondents were unaware of any action plans or training regarding workplace violence. However, of those who indicated that they had been exposed to workplace violence, the majority had received quite a lot or a lot of support, mainly from colleagues (range 70.8-80.8%). CONCLUSION: Despite a high prevalence of workplace violence, and especially of humiliating acts, there appeared to be low preparedness within the hospital organizations to prevent and/or handle such incidents. To improve these conditions, hospital organizations should place more emphasis on preventive measures as part of their systematic work environment management. To help inform such initiatives, it is suggested that future research should focus on the identification of suitable measures regarding different types of incidents, perpetrators, and settings.

Workplace violence from the perspective of hospital ward managers in Sweden: A qualitative study.

AIM: The aims of the study are to explore workplace violence perpetrated by patients or visitors from the perspective of hospital ward managers and to describe how ward managers perceive their leadership role and manage related incidents. BACKGROUND: Few studies focus on workplace violence from the perspective of ward managers even though they are the closest managers to the operational staff. METHOD: Fifteen semistructured interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Four categories emerged: the face of workplace violence, a two-fold assignment, strive towards readiness to act, and managing incidents. CONCLUSION: While the most common acts of workplace violence are considered less serious and related to patients' medical conditions or dissatisfied visitors, hospital organizations focus on serious but rarely occurring incidents. Consequently, ward managers have limited opportunities to ensure a safe work environment on an everyday basis. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: To support ward managers' occupational safety and health management, workplace violence prevention and management should be acknowledged as an important responsibility for senior management in hospitals. It is important to identify incidents that most likely will occur at the wards and to create strategies related to those incidents. Strategies could include risk assessments, prevention, evaluation, education and reflection combined with, for example, scenario training.

Does workplace social capital predict care quality through job satisfaction and stress at the clinic? A prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Welfare societies like Sweden face challenges in balancing the budget while meeting the demand for good quality healthcare. The aim of this study was to analyse whether care quality, operationalized as survival of dental fillings, is predicted by workplace social capital and if this effect is direct or indirect (through stress and/or job satisfaction among staff at the clinic), controlling for patient demographics. METHODS: The prospective design includes A) work environment data from surveys of 75 general public dental clinics (aggregated data based on 872 individual ratings), and B) register-based survival of 9381dental fillings performed during a 3-month period around the time of the survey, and C) patient demographics (age, gender, income level and birth place). Using a multi-level discrete-time proportional hazard model, we tested whether clinic-level social capital, stress, and job satisfaction could predict tooth-level filling failure, controlling for patient demographics. One direct and two indirect pathways, moderated by filling tooth, location, and filling type, were tested. RESULTS: High workplace social capital reduced the risk of early failure of fillings in molar teeth, mediated by group-perceived job satisfaction (indirect path: OR = 0.93, p < .05, direct path from job satisfaction: OR = 0.89, p < .05). Contrary to expectations, we found no support for a direct effect from social capital on care quality or for the indirect pathway via stress at the clinic level. CONCLUSIONS: Workplace social capital boosted the quality of dental fillings through increased levels of job satisfaction. In addition, staff at clinics with higher social capital reported less stress and higher levels of job satisfaction. These results indicate that promotion of social capital may improve both occupational health and care quality.

Is organizational justice climate at the workplace associated with individual-level quality of care and organizational affective commitment? A multi-level, cross-sectional study on dentistry in Sweden.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to investigate whether organizational justice climate at the workplace level is associated with individual staff members' perceptions of care quality and affective commitment to the workplace. METHODS: The study adopts a cross-sectional multi-level design. Data were collected using an electronic survey and a response rate of 75% was obtained. Organizational justice climate and affective commitment to the workplace were measured by items from Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire and quality of care by three self-developed items. Non-managerial staff working at dental clinics with at least five respondents (n = 900 from 68 units) was included in analyses. A set of Level-2 random intercept models were built to predict individual-level organizational affective commitment and perceived quality of care from unit-level organizational justice climate, controlling for potential confounding by group size, gender, age, and occupation. RESULTS: The results of the empty model showed substantial between-unit variation for both affective commitment (ICC-1 = 0.17) and quality of care (ICC-1 = 0.12). The overall results showed that the shared perception of organizational justice climate at the clinical unit level was significantly associated with perceived quality of care and affective commitment to the organization (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Organizational justice climate at work unit level explained all variation in affective commitment among dental clinics and was associated with both the individual staff members' affective commitment and perceived quality of care. These findings suggest a potential for that addressing organizational justice climate may be a way to promote quality of care and enhancing affective commitment. However, longitudinal studies are needed to support causality in the examined relationships. Intervention research is also recommended to probe the effectiveness of actions increasing unit-level organizational justice climate and test their impact on quality of care and affective commitment.

Organization and overall job satisfaction among publicly employed, salaried dentists in Sweden and Denmark.

BACKGROUND: In Sweden and Denmark, clinical dentistry is changing and public dentistry is in transition towards more market orientation. Dentists' overall job satisfaction is important for how public dentistry can fulfil the new expectations from patients, the public and politicians. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate what organizational factors were important for publicly employed salaried dentists' overall job satisfaction. METHODS: A random sample of active, general dental practitioners (private and publicly employed) was selected in Denmark and in Sweden, and they received a postal questionnaire. The number of questionnaires was 1835 and the response rate was 68% (n = 1226). This study analysed only the publicly employed dentists. The sampling frame for the Swedish dentists was 431, response rate 68.9% (n = 297) and for the Danish ones 194, response rate 81.9% (n = 159). Multivariate regression was used with overall job satisfaction as a dependent variable. RESULTS: Common organizational variables were important. The used model explained between 32% (Sweden) and 39% (Denmark) of the variance in overall job satisfaction. The only significant individual factor was less job satisfaction for Swedish dentists born outside Sweden. An organizational climate characterized by a focus on professional values was associated with job satisfaction in both countries. Among the Swedish dentists, number of colleagues and degree of influence were also important and among the Danish ones sufficient time for patients. CONCLUSIONS: Organizational factors had an impact on salaried publicly employed dentists' overall job satisfaction in both countries. The findings may have implications for other Human Service Organizations with employed professionals.

The Norwegian version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ III): Initial validation study using a national sample of registered nurses.

BACKGROUND: Employers are legally obligated to ensure the safety and health of employees, including the organizational and psychosocial working environment. The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ III) covers multiple dimensions of the work environment. COPSOQ III has three parts: a) work environment b) conflicts and offensive behaviours and c) health and welfare. We translated all three parts into Norwegian and evaluated the statistical properties of the 28 work environment dimensions in part a), using a sample of registered nurses. METHODS: The original English version was translated into Norwegian and back translated into English; the two versions were compared, and adjustments made. In total, 86 of 99 items from the translated version were included in a survey to which 8804 registered nurses responded. Item response theory models designed for ordinal manifest variables were used to evaluate construct validity and identify potential redundant items. A standard confirmatory factor analysis was performed to verify the latent dimensionality established in the original version, and a more exploratory factor analysis without restrictions is included to determine dependency between items and to identify separable dimensions. RESULTS: The measure of sampling adequacy shows that the data are well suited for factor analyses. The latent dimensionality in the original version is confirmed in the Norwegian translated version and the scale reliability is high for all dimensions except 'Demands for Hiding Emotions'. In this homogenous sample, eight of the 28 dimensions are found not to be separate dimensions as items covering these dimensions loaded onto the same factor. Moreover, little information is provided at the low and high ends of exposure for some dimensions in this sample. Of the 86 items included, 14 are found to be potential candidates for removal to obtain a shorter Norwegian version. CONCLUSION: The established Norwegian translation of COPSOQ III can be used in further research about working environment factors and health and wellbeing in Norway. The extended use of the instrument internationally enables comparative studies, which can increase the knowledge and understanding of similarities and differences between labour markets in different countries. This first validation study shows that the Norwegian version has strong statistical properties like the original, and can be used to assess work environment factors, including relational and emotional risk factors and resources available at the workplace.

The Role of Staff-Assessed Care Quality in the Relationship between Job Demands and Stress in Human Service Work: The Example of Dentistry.

The aim of this study was to investigate staff-assessed care quality at the clinic as a predictor of stress and as a moderator between job demands (quantitative demands and role conflict) and stress among dental professionals as an example of human service workers. Cross-sectional questionnaire data from 1012 dental professionals (i.e., dentists, dental hygienists and dental nurses) working at 99 clinics were analysed by confirmatory factor analysis and a two-level hierarchical linear model. Stress, quantitative demands and role conflict were measured by the Swedish standard version of COPSOQ III and care quality was measured by three proprietary items. The results showed that staff-assessed care quality at the clinic was of importance for the individual workers' experiences of stress. Furthermore, the staff's joint assessment of the care quality at the clinic mitigated the negative effect of role conflict on stress among dental nurses. These results indicate that a high level of staff-assessed care quality at the clinic can contribute to reduced stress in dental professionals.

A Quick "Environment Check" for All Ages: Validating the New Age-Inclusive Work Environments Instrument.

Background and Objectives: The global aging workforce necessitates new approaches in designing work environments to cater to the needs of increasingly age-diverse work groups. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has in reaction outlined that organizations need to provide age-inclusive work environments that support the needs of their multigenerational workforce, to ensure their sustainability and profitability. To capture the age inclusiveness of the work environment, the present study proposes and validates an age-inclusive "environment check" for organizations referred to as the Age-Inclusive Work Environment Instrument (AIWEI), which covers discrimination, inclusion, and development opportunities. Research Design and Methods: We validate the 9-item AIWEI using cross-sectional and multilevel data from 2,892 Swedish workers across 101 workplaces who completed an online survey, using confirmatory factor analyses across young, middle-age, and older workers. Using a nomological approach, we also evaluate the concurrent validity of the AIWEI with a 2-1-1 path analysis. Results: The factor analyses supported a 3-factor model comprising of inclusion, discrimination, and development opportunities, across 3 age groups (i.e., young, middle-age, and older workers). These 3 factors had high Intraclass Coefficient (ICC) scores showing consistency in responding in the workplace. In accordance with the nomological approach, the factors of the AIWEI were linked with Psychosocial Safety Climate, burnout, and engagement, demonstrating concurrent validity for the AIWEI. Discussion and Implications: This new "environment check" provides a way to capture age-inclusive work environments for both younger and older workers, in an age-diverse workforce. In the validation process, age-inclusive work environments were found to exist as a group phenomenon, through shared perceptions within an organization, as well as an individual phenomenon, as experiences specific to an individual. This is important for the development and implementation of policies and strategies designed to benefit workers and organizations.

Collegial Support and Community with Trust in Swedish and Danish dentistry.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to better understand the associations between work factors and professional support among dentists (Collegial Support) as well as the sense of being part of a work community characterized by trust (Community with Trust). METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to 1835 general dental practitioners, randomly selected from the members of dental associations in Sweden and Denmark in 2008. The response rate was 68%. Two models with the outcome variables Collegial Support and being part of a Community with Trust were built using multiple hierarchical linear regression. Demographic background factors, work factors, managerial factors and factors relating to objectives and to values characterizing climate of the practice were all introduced as blocks into the models. RESULTS: A different pattern emerged for Collegial Support than for Community with Trust, indicating different underlying mechanisms. The main results were: (I) Female, married/cohabitant, collegial network outside the practice, common breaks, formalized managerial education of leader and a climate characterized by professional values, which were positively associated with Collegial Support, while number of years as a dentist and being managerially responsible were negatively associated. (II) Common breaks, decision authority and a climate characterized by professional values were positively associated with Community with Trust. CONCLUSION: A professionally-oriented practice climate and having common breaks at work were strongly associated with both outcome variables. The study underlined the importance of managing dentistry in a way which respects the professional ethos of dentists.

The Demand-Control Model as a Predictor of Depressive Symptoms-Interaction and Differential Subscale Effects: Prospective Analyses of 2212 German Employees.

Testing assumptions of the widely used demand-control (DC) model in occupational psychosocial epidemiology, we investigated (a) interaction, i.e., whether the combined effect of low job control and high psychological demands on depressive symptoms was stronger than the sum of their single effects (i.e., superadditivity) and (b) whether subscales of psychological demands and job control had similar associations with depressive symptoms. Logistic longitudinal regression analyses of the 5-year cohort of the German Study of Mental Health at Work (S-MGA) 2011/12-2017 of 2212 employees were conducted. The observed combined effect of low job control and high psychological demands on depressive symptoms did not indicate interaction (RERI = -0.26, 95% CI = -0.91; 0.40). When dichotomizing subscales at the median, differential effects of subscales were not found. When dividing subscales into categories based on value ranges, differential effects for job control subscales (namely, decision authority and skill discretion) were found (p = 0.04). This study does not support all assumptions of the DC model: (1) it corroborates previous studies not finding an interaction of psychological demands and job control; and (2) signs of differential subscale effects were found regarding job control. Too few prospective studies have been carried out regarding differential subscale effects.

Overall job satisfaction among dentists in Sweden and Denmark: A comparative study, measuring positive aspects of work.

OBJECTIVE: Human service work differs from industrial work, which should be considered when organizing work. Previous research has shown organizational differences in the perceptions of work, often with a focus on negative aspects. The aim of this study was to analyse the overall job satisfaction among private- and public-practising dentists in Sweden and Denmark. This also implied a description of the questionnaire Swedish and Danish Dentists' Perceptions of Good Work about opportunities and positive and rewarding aspects of work. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A questionnaire covering the multidimensional concept of good work was developed. A total of 1835 dentists randomly sampled from the dental associations were sent a questionnaire in November 2008. A special non-response study was performed. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to create a measure of overall job satisfaction, comparing four organizational subgroups. RESULTS: The average net response rate was 68% (n = 1226). The special non-response study of the Danish private practitioners showed more males, managers and dentists with more working hours than the respondents. PCA of three satisfaction questions showed a stable one-factor solution. There were differences in job satisfaction, with Danish public dentists ranked highest in overall job satisfaction and Swedish public dentists lowest. CONCLUSIONS: There were organizational differences in the perception of job satisfaction. Further analysis of how the human service is organized in the different groups is needed.

Not All Emotional Demands Are the Same: Emotional Demands from Clients' or Co-Workers' Relations Have Different Associations with Well-Being in Service Workers.

There has been an increased interest in the study of emotional demands (ED) at work and its impact on workers' well-being. However, ED have been conceptualized as a unitary concept, focused on interactions with clients, and excluding other potential sources of ED at work. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to explore the relation between ED from different relational sources (clients/patients/customers and colleagues, supervisors, and employees) and service workers' exhaustion and engagement. Cross-sectional data from a sample of 2742 service workers were analysed using structural equation modelling. Results showed that ED from both sources (clients and colleagues) were associated with more emotional exhaustion, particularly if dealing with clients was not an integrated part of the role. Further, ED from clients' relations were negatively associated with engagement for managers with staff responsibility, but positively for managers without staff responsibility. We also found moderating effects of psychosocial safety climate (PSC), whereby ED had the strongest effect on emotional exhaustion when PSC was low. This study suggests that different relational sources of ED at work have a different impact on employees' well-being. Strategies that promote a reduction of extra-role ED, and the development of a PSC in the organization, could therefore offer possible solutions to promote employees' psychological well-being and motivation.

Validation of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire Version III and Establishment of Benchmarks for Psychosocial Risk Management in Sweden.

This study presents the Swedish standard version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, COPSOQ III, and investigates its reliability and validity at individual and workplace levels with the aim of establishing benchmarks for the psychosocial work environment. Cross-sectional data from (1) a random sample of employees in Sweden aged 25-65 years (N = 2847) and (2) a convenience sample of non-managerial employees at 51 workplaces (N = 1818) were analysed. Internal consistency reliability was evaluated as well as the effects of sex, work sector and blue/white-collar work. Population benchmarks and mean scores for major occupational groups were computed based on weighted data. ICC(1) and ICC(2) estimates were computed to evaluate aggregation to the workplace level and Pearson inter-correlations to evaluate construct validity at individual and aggregated levels. The reliability and scale characteristics were satisfactory, with few exceptions, at both individual and workplace levels. The strength and direction of correlations supported the construct validity of the dimensions and the amount of variance explained by workplace justified aggregation to the workplace level. The present study thus supports the use of COPSOQ III for measurement at the workplace level and presents benchmarks for risk management as well as for research purposes.

Does staff-assessed care quality predict early failure of dental fillings? A prospective study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate staff-assessed care quality as an indicator of register-based measures of care quality at dental clinics, more specifically register-based measures of survival of dental fillings and initiation of preventive treatments for caries patients. METHODS: This prospective study includes data from cross-sectional workplace psychosocial risk assessment surveys at dental clinics and register data on survival of dental fillings, and initiation of preventive treatment for caries patients obtained from the Swedish Quality Registry for Caries and Periodontal Disease (SKaPa) Demographic background data on the age, gender, income level and place of birth of patients was obtained from Statistics Sweden (SCB). The data were analysed using discrete-time multilevel survival analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The results showed that staff-assessed care quality rated by the total staff or by dental nurses at the clinic predicted the risk of replacement of dental fillings made due to a caries diagnosis during the 3-year follow-up period, controlling for potential confounding due to patient demographic characteristics (age, sex, income and country of birth). In contrast, the better the staff-assessed care quality at the clinic, the smaller the proportion of the patients received preventive care in addition to operative caries therapy when controlling for potential confounding due to patient demographics. Care quality assessed by dentists at the clinic did not predict either of these outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS: Premature failure of dental fillings is costly for both patients and society, which leads to a need for relevant measures for following dental care quality. Our findings indicate that staff-assessed care quality - a cheap and easy measure to collect and follow continuously in dental practice - can be used to monitor aspects of quality in real time in order to facilitate continuous improvement and quickly amend quality problems. Also, it can be used for integrating quality improvement in systematic work environment risk management.

Benchmarks for Evidence-Based Risk Assessment with the Swedish Version of the 4-Item Psychosocial Safety Climate Scale.

The purpose of the present study was to validate the short version of The Psychosocial Safety Climate questionnaire (PSC-4, Dollard, 2019) and to establish benchmarks indicating risk levels for use in Sweden. Cross-sectional data from (1) a random sample of employees in Sweden aged 25-65 years (n = 2847) and (2) a convenience sample of non-managerial employees from 94 workplaces (n = 3066) were analyzed. Benchmarks for three PSC risk levels were developed using organizational compliance with Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) regulations as criterion. The results support the validity and usefulness of the Swedish PSC-4 as an instrument to indicate good, fair, and poor OSH practices. The recommended benchmark for indicating good OSH practices is an average score of >12.0, while the proposed cutoff for poor OSH practices is a score of ≤8.0 on the PSC-4. Scores between these benchmarks indicate fair OSH practices. Furthermore, aggregated data on PSC-4 supported its reliability as a workplace level construct and its association with quantitative demands, quality of leadership, commitment to the workplace, work engagement, job satisfaction, as well as stress and burnout. Thus, the Swedish version of PSC-4 can be regarded as a valid and reliable measure for both research and practical use for risk assessment at workplaces.

No Job Demand Is an Island - Interaction Effects Between Emotional Demands and Other Types of Job Demands.

Emotional demands are an inevitable feature of human services, and suggested to be a defining antecedent for workers' stress and ill health. However, previous research indicate that emotional demands can have a favorably association to certain facets of human service workers' motivation and well-being. Furthermore, recent research report that the effect of emotional demands on workers' health and well-being seem to be contingent on the parallel level of other job demands. Still, initial investigations of interaction effects between emotional demands and other types of job demands have primarily focused on negative outcomes in terms of stress-related concerns and absenteeism. The present study investigated interaction effects between emotional demands and other types of job demands in relation to positive outcomes. In a larger sample of human service workers (social workers, n = 725), interaction effects were investigated between emotional demands and other job demands (quantitative demands, work pressure, and role conflict) for meaning in work and quality of work. Hypotheses stated that other job demands would moderate the relationship between emotional demands and positive outcomes, so that emotional demands would have a positive relation (i.e., act as a challenge) when the level of other demands is lower, but have a negative relation (i.e., act as a hindrance) when the level of other demands is high. Overall, the results provided support for the idea that emotional demands may act as a challenge. We found small but significant interaction effects between emotional demands and work pressure - in relation to meaning of work, as well as between emotional demands and quantitative demands, work pressure, and role-conflict, respectively - in relation to quality of work. Yet, the results did not support the assumption that emotional demands act as a hindrance when the level of other types of job demands is high. In sum, the results contribute by showing that emotional demands may promote human-service workers' job attitudes when the level of parallel job demands is lower. We discuss the contribution of the study and the potential practical implications of the results, and give some suggestions for future research.

Construct validity of a global scale for Workplace Social Capital based on COPSOQ III.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Workplace Social Capital has been suggested as a useful concept when addressing organizational and social factors of the work environment. The overall aim of the present study is to establish and evaluate the construct validity of a measure of Workplace Social Capital based on the operationalization suggested in the third version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial questionnaire. METHODS: The present study is based on data collected as part of a validation and development project for the use of the Swedish version of COPSOQ at workplaces and includes responses from 1316 human service workers answering a workplace survey. Six items from scales for organizational justice, vertical trust and horizontal trust in COPSOQ III were included in the analyses. Rasch Analysis was used for scale validation. RESULTS: The analyses showed that the psychometric properties of the suggested COPSOQ scale for Workplace Social Capital were satisfactory after accommodation for local dependency. Each individual item worked as intended, the scale was unidimensional and functioned invariantly for women and men, and for younger and older employees. The scale was furthermore found to be valid for use for distinguishing groups, not individuals. CONCLUSION: We have established that the scale for Workplace Social Capital measured by COPSOQ III is valid for distinguishing groups, e.g. work teams. The scale exhibits good construct validity as it satisfies the measurement criteria defined by the Rasch model.