Who are the high achievers at work? Perceived motivational climate, goal orientation profiles, and work performance.

The purpose of this study was to respond to the call for research on goal orientation (mastery and performance orientation) profiles in work contexts. Among 8,282 engineers and technologists, Latent profile analyses indicated that four different goal orientation profiles existed - primarily mastery oriented, indifferent, moderate multiple goals, and success oriented. Both success oriented employees and employees who are primarily mastery oriented indicated the highest individual work performance. Further, mastery and performance climates were found to be relevant antecedents of employees' goal orientation profiles. Supplementary analyses suggested that a primarily mastery oriented profile seems to be more beneficial for the facilitation of employee well-being. The practical implications of these findings and directions for future research are presented.

Reorganisation of healthcare services for children and families: Improving collaboration, service quality, and worker well-being.

This study is an evaluation of a reorganisation of different services for children and their families in a Norwegian municipality. The main aim of the reorganisation was to improve interprofessional collaboration through integrating different social services for children and their parents. The evaluation was guided by the Job Demands-Resources Model with a focus on social and healthcare workers' experiences of their work, including job demands and resources, service quality, and well-being at work. The survey of the employees was conducted at three measurement points: before (T1) and after (T2, T3) the reorganisation took place, and included between 87 and 122 employees. A secondary aim was to examine the impact of different job resources and job demands on well-being (burnout, engagement, job satisfaction), and service quality. A one-way ANOVA indicated a positive development on many scales, such as collaboration, work conflict, leadership, and perceived service quality, especially from T1 to T2. No changes were detected in burnout, engagement, or job satisfaction over time. Moderated regression analyses (at T3) indicated that job demands were particularly associated with burnout, and job resources with engagement and job satisfaction. Perceived service quality was predicted by both job demands and resources, in addition to the interaction between workload and collaboration. The reorganisation seems to have contributed to a positive development in how collaboration, work conflict, leadership, and service quality were evaluated, but that other changes are needed to increase worker well-being. The value of the study rests on the findings that support co-locating and merging services for children and their families, and that collaboration is an important resource for healthcare professionals.

Factorial validity of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) across occupational groups in Norway.

The present study investigated the factorial validity of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) among 1266 participants from ten different occupational groups. Confirmatory factor analyses of the total sample, as well as multi-group analyses and analyses of each of the ten occupational groups separately, indicated that a three-dimensional model of both the UWES-17 and the short version, UWES-9, provided a better fit to the data than a one- and two-dimensional model. The results of multi-group analyses and analyses of each of the groups separately, indicated that with a few exceptions, the three-factor model of work engagement provided the best fit. Results indicated factorial invariance and the internal consistencies were acceptable. The fit of the UWES-9 was slightly better than the UWES-17. It is concluded that the Norwegian short version may be recommended over the UWES-17.

Perceived Motivational Climates and Employee Energy: The Mediating Role of Basic Psychological Needs.

This study draws on achievement goal theory and self-determination theory to examine the associations among two motivational climates (i.e., mastery and performance) and two indicators of energy at work (i.e., vigor and emotional exhaustion), as well as the mediating role of basic psychological need satisfaction (i.e., autonomy, relatedness, and competence). A two-wave longitudinal study was conducted collecting data from 1,081 engineers and technologists. We applied previously validated instruments to assess the variables of interest. Structural equation modeling analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses. Our findings show that mastery climate is positively and significantly related to each of the three basic needs, whereas a performance climate is negatively and significantly related to each of the three basic needs. Further, the results indicate that the basic needs are significantly associated with both measures of energy, negatively with emotional exhaustion and positively with vigor. This pattern of results suggests that basic psychological need satisfaction mediates the relationship between motivational climates and energy at work.

Can Engagement Go Awry and Lead to Burnout? The Moderating Role of the Perceived Motivational Climate.

In this study, we propose that when employees become too engaged, they may become burnt out due to resource depletion. We further suggest that this negative outcome is contingent upon the perceived motivational psychological climate (mastery and performance climates) at work. A two-wave field study of 1081 employees revealed an inverted U-shaped relationship between work engagement and burnout. This finding suggests that employees with too much work engagement may be exposed to a higher risk of burnout. Further, a performance climate, with its emphasis on social comparison, may enhance-and a mastery climate, which focuses on growth, cooperation and effort, may mitigate the likelihood that employees become cynical towards work-an important dimension of burnout.

Air traffic controller burnout: survey responses regarding job demands, job resources, and health.

INTRODUCTION: There are currently many changes taking place in the aviation system affecting the work of air traffic controllers (ATCOs), and thus it was considered important to assess work-related demands and stress responses among ATCOs. The purpose of this study was to assess the level of burnout among ATCOs compared with other professions; to examine the relationship between job demands, job resources, and burnout; and to examine if burnout could predict both work- and health-related outcomes. METHOD: The participants were 209 Norwegian ATCOs and data were collected using a questionnaire distributed to 500 ATCOs. The study was part of a national survey of both health care and non-health care professions. RESULTS: ATCOs did not score high on burnout compared with the three comparisons groups (police, journalists, and building constructors); in fact, ATCOs scored significantly lower on exhaustion compared with journalists (Hedges g=65) and building constructors (Hedges g=63), and not significantly different from police officers. Both job demands and job resources were related to burnout; work conflict especially was an important predictor for all of the three burnout dimensions. Burnout predicted psychosomatic complaints (r2=0.48), satisfaction with life (r2=0.25), and other work outcomes. DISCUSSION: The overall level of burnout was not high among ATCOs compared with other professions, which may be related to selection procedures for the profession. Burnout was related to important outcome variables such as psychosomatic complaints and attitudes toward work.

Psychometric properties of Spence and Robbins' measures of workaholism components.

There has been a recent increase in attention devoted to the study of workaholism. As with most new areas of study, issues of definition and measurement have not received their due. The present investigation examined some psychometric properties of Spence and Robbins' measures of the components of workaholism (1992), one of two measures that have received some attention. These measures were relatively stable in a sample of senior Norwegian managers (N = 87) over a 6-mo. period, had generally acceptable internal consistency reliability, and showed factor structures supportive of three components of workaholism.