A Qualitative Study of HR/OHS Stress Interventions in Australian Universities.

To enhance the understanding of psychosocial factors and extend research on work stress interventions, we investigated the key human resource (HR)/occupational health and safety (OHS) stress interventions implemented at five Australian universities over a three-year period. Five senior HR Directors completed an online survey to identify the intervention strategies taken at their university in order to reduce stress and enhance employee well-being and morale. We also explored the types of individual-, organization-, and individual/organization-directed interventions that were implemented, and the strategies that were prioritized at each university. Across universities, the dominant interventions were strategies that aimed to balance the social exchange in the work contract between employee-organization with an emphasis on initiatives to: enhance training, career development and promotional opportunities; improve remuneration and recognition practices; and to enhance the fairness of organizational policies and procedures. Strategies to improve work-life balance were also prominent. The interventions implemented were predominantly proactive (primary) strategies focused at the organizational level and aimed at eliminating or reducing or altering work stressors. The findings contribute to the improved management of people at work by identifying university-specific HR/OHS initiatives, specifically leadership development and management skills programs which were identified as priorities at three universities.

Interventions: Employees' Perceptions of What Reduces Stress.

OBJECTIVE: To build upon research evaluating stress interventions, this qualitative study tests the framework of the extended Job Demands-Resources model to investigate employees' perceptions of the stress-reduction measures implemented at 13 Australian universities. METHODS: In a cross-sectional survey design, tenured and contract staff indicated whether their overall level of stress had changed during the previous three-four years, and, if so, they described the major causes. A total of 462 staff reported that their level of stress had decreased; the study examines commentary from 115 academic and 304 nonacademic staff who provided details of what they perceived to be effective in reducing stress. RESULTS: Thematic analyses show that the key perceived causes were changes in job or work role, new heads of departments or supervisors, and the use of organizational strategies to reduce or manage stress. A higher percentage of academic staff reported reduced stress due to using protective coping strategies or their increased recognition and/or success, whereas a higher percentage of nonacademic staff reported reduced stress due to increases in staffing resources and/or systems. CONCLUSION: These results identify the importance of implementing multilevel strategies to enhance employees' well-being. Nonacademic staff, in particular, specified a variety of organizational stress-reduction interventions.

A Longitudinal Study of the Predictors of Perceived Procedural Justice in Australian University Staff.

PURPOSE: This study examined the factors that predict employees' perceptions of procedural justice in university settings. The paper also reviews the ethical aspects of justice and psychological contracts within employment relationships. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The study examined the predictors of perceived procedural justice in a two-wave longitudinal sample of 945 employees from 13 universities by applying the Job Demands-Resources theoretical model of stress. The proposed predictors were classified into two categories: Job demands of work pressure and work-home conflict; and job resources of job security, autonomy, trust in senior management, and trust in supervisor. The predictor model also examined job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment, demographic (age, gender, tenure, role) and individual characteristics (negative affectivity, job involvement) as well as Time 1 (T1) perceptions of procedural justice to ensure that tests were rigorous. FINDINGS: A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses found that job satisfaction at T1 was the strongest predictor of perceived procedural justice at Time 2. Employees' trust in senior management, and their length of tenure also positively predicted justice perceptions. There were also differences between academic and non-academic staff groups, as non-academic employees' level of job satisfaction, trust in senior management, and their length of organizational tenure predicted procedural justice perceptions, whereas for academics, only job satisfaction predicted perceived justice. For the "all staff" category, job satisfaction was a dominant and enduring predictor of justice, and employees' trust in senior management also predicted justice. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Results highlight the importance of workplace factors in enhancing fair procedures to encourage reciprocity from employees. As perceived procedural justice is also conceptually linked to the psychological contract between employees-employers, it is possible that employees' levels of job satisfaction and perceptions of trust in senior management, relative to other work attitudinal outcomes, may be more effective for improving the broader working environment, and promoting staff morale. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This study adds to research on applied business ethics as it focuses on the ethical aspects of perceived procedural justice and highlights the importance of workplace factors in enhancing fair procedures in organizational policy to encourage reciprocity and promote healthy organizational environments.

Awareness of Stress-Reduction Interventions on Work Attitudes: The Impact of Tenure and Staff Group in Australian Universities.

This study explored the impact of staff group role and length of organizational tenure in the relationship between the awareness of stress interventions (termed intervention awareness: IA) and the work-related attitudinal outcomes of university employees. A two-wave longitudinal study of a sample of 869 employees from 13 universities completed a psychosocial work factors and health questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analyses examined the contribution of staff role and different lengths of organizational tenure with IA and employees' reports of job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, trust in senior management, and perceived procedural justice. Employees' length of tenure affected the relation between IA and work attitudes, and there were also differences between academic and non-academic staff groups. For non-academic employees, IA predicted job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, trust in senior management, and perceived procedural justice. However, for academics, IA only predicted job satisfaction and trust which identifies a need to increase the visibility of organizational interventions. Across the tenure groups, IA predicted: (1) perceived procedural justice for employees with five or less years of tenure; (2) job satisfaction for employees with 0-19 years of tenure; (3) trust in senior management for employees with 6-19 years of tenure; and (4) affective organizational commitment for employees with a tenure length of 6-10 years. Employees working at the university for an intermediate period had the most positive perceptions of their organization in terms of IA, job satisfaction, trust in senior management, and affective organizational commitment, whereas employees with 20-38 years of tenure had the least positive perceptions. Results suggest that employees in the middle of their careers report the most positive perceptions of their university. The findings highlight the need to attend to contextual issues in organizational stress and wellbeing interventions and suggest that management may need to implement new strategies and/or promote existing stress-management and reduction strategies to academics, and employees whom are either new to the university or those who have been working for the organization for longer periods of time to ensure that they are aware of organizational strategies to promote employee wellbeing and morale within their work environments.

Caring work, personal obligation and collective responsibility.

Studies of workers in health care and the care of older people disclose tensions that emerge partly from their conflicting obligations. They incur some obligations from the personal relationships they have with clients, but these can be at odds with organizational demands and resource constraints. One implication is the need for policies to recognize the importance of allowing workers some discretion in decison making. Another implication may be that sometimes care workers can meet their obligations to clients only by taking collective action.