Effects of a participatory work stress prevention approach for employees in primary education: results of a quasi-experimental study.

OBJECTIVE: Work stress is a serious problem for employees in primary education. This study evaluates the effects of a work stress prevention approach on emotional exhaustion and work stress determinants (job crafting behavior, quantitative and emotional demands, leadership, support, autonomy, team culture and feelings of competence), and the impact of implementation success (management commitment, employee involvement, communication during implementation) on these outcomes. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study was conducted with an intervention group (4 schools, N=102 employees) and a control group (26 schools, N=656 employees) using questionnaires at baseline (T0), one-year (T1) and two-year (T2) follow-up. Multilevel mixed model analyses were performed to test effects of condition and implementation success on changes in emotional exhaustion and work stress determinants between T0 and T2 in the intervention and control group. RESULTS: No effect were found for emotional exhaustion. Improvement of quality of leadership between T0 and T2 was significantly larger in the intervention compared to the control group. Additionally, implementation success was associated with a decrease in unnecessary demands and an increase in quality of leadership, team culture and job crafting behavior. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows no direct effect of the approach on emotional exhaustion, but it does show beneficial effects on quality of leadership. Additionally, results suggest that, when successfully implemented, the approach also has beneficial effects on other work stress determinants (ie, job crafting behavior, unnecessary demands and team culture). Results indicate that - if implemented successfully - the organizational-level intervention has the potential to improve the psychosocial work context.

Individual Workplace Well-Being Captured into a Literature- and Stakeholders-Based Causal Loop Diagram.

This study demonstrates an innovative approach to capture the complexity of individual workplace well-being, improving our understanding of multicausal relationships and feedback loops involved. The literature shows that a high number of interacting factors are related to individual workplace well-being. However, many studies focus on subsets of factors, and causal loops are seldomly studied. The aim of the current study was, therefore, to capture individual workplace well-being in a comprehensive conceptual causal loop diagram (CLD). We followed an iterative, qualitative, and transdisciplinary systems-thinking approach including literature search, group model building sessions, retrospective in-depth interviews with employees, and group sessions with human resource professionals, managers, job coaches, and management consultants. The results were discussed with HR and well-being officers of twelve organizations for their critical reflection on the recognizability and potential of the developed CLD. The final result, a conceptual individual workplace well-being CLD, provides a comprehensive overview of multiple, measurable key factors relating to individual workplace well-being and of the way these factors may causally interact over time, either improving or deteriorating workplace well-being. In future studies, the CLD can be translated to a quantitative system dynamics model for simulating workplace well-being scenarios. Ultimately, these simulations could be used to design effective workplace well-being interventions.

Design of a Participatory Organizational-Level Work Stress Prevention Approach in Primary Education.

Background: Work stress is a serious problem in primary education. Decades of research underline the importance of participatory, organizational-level work stress prevention approaches. In this approach, measures are planned to tackle causes of work stress in a participatory manner and implemented by a working group consisting of members of the organization. This approach can only be effective if the measures contain effective ingredients to decrease work stress risks and are successfully implemented. The aim of this paper is to present an outline of a work stress prevention approach that is evaluated in primary education. To ensure the appropriateness of measures, a logic model of change is built as part of the risk assessment to facilitate the selection of appropriate measures. Progression on target behaviors as well as implementation factors are real-time monitored during implementation and fed back to the working groups, to provide the opportunity to adjust action plans when needed to optimize implementation. Methods: The approach consists of five steps: (1) preparation: installing an advisory board and working groups, (2) risk assessment: inventory of work stress risks (questionnaires and focus groups). In addition, a behavioral analysis is performed to build a logic model of change to facilitate selection of measures, (3) action planning: conducting an action plan with appropriate measures (focus groups), (4) implementation: implementing the action plan. During implementation progression on target behaviors and implementation factors are monthly monitored and fed back to the working groups, and (5) evaluation: effects of the approach are studied in a controlled trial with measurements at baseline (T0), 1 year (T1), and 2 years (T2) follow-up. A process evaluation is carried out using quantitative (questionnaires and real-time monitoring data) and qualitative (interviews and data logs) data to study the implementation process of all steps of the work stress approach. Discussion: We believe that building a logic model of change and real-time monitoring of implementation could be of added value to improve the success of the work stress prevention approach. With this study, we aim to provide more insights into work stress intervention research, especially in primary education. Clinical Trial Registration: The study is registered in Netherlands Trial Register (ClinicalTrials.gov #NL9797, October 18, 2021).

Construction and Validation of the Perceived Opportunity to Craft Scale.

We developed and validated a scale to measure employees' perceived opportunity to craft (POC) in two separate studies conducted in the Netherlands (total N = 2329). POC is defined as employees' perception of their opportunity to craft their job. In Study 1, the perceived opportunity to craft scale (POCS) was developed and tested for its factor structure and reliability in an explorative way. Study 2 consisted of confirmatory analyses of the factor structure and reliability of the scale as well as examination of the discriminant and criterion-related validity of the POCS. The results indicated that the scale consists of one dimension and could be reliably measured with five items. Evidence was found for the discriminant validity of the POCS. The scale also showed criterion-related validity when correlated with job crafting (+), job resources (autonomy +; opportunities for professional development +), work engagement (+), and the inactive construct cynicism (-). We discuss the implications of these findings for theory and practice.

Design of the DISCovery project: tailored work-oriented interventions to improve employee health, well-being, and performance-related outcomes in hospital care.

BACKGROUND: It is well-known that health care workers in today's general hospitals have to deal with high levels of job demands, which could have negative effects on their health, well-being, and job performance. A way to reduce job-related stress reactions and to optimize positive work-related outcomes is to raise the level of specific job resources and opportunities to recover from work. However, the question remains how to translate the optimization of the balance between job demands, job resources, and recovery opportunities into effective workplace interventions. The aim of the DISCovery project is to develop and implement tailored work-oriented interventions to improve health, well-being, and performance of health care personnel. METHODS/DESIGN: A quasi-experimental field study with a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design will be conducted in a top general hospital. Four existing organizational departments will provide both an intervention and a comparison group. Two types of research methods are used: (1) a longitudinal web-based survey study, and (2) a longitudinal daily diary study. After base-line measures of both methods, existing and yet to be developed interventions will be implemented within the experimental groups. Follow-up measurements will be taken one and two years after the base-line measures to analyze short-term and long-term effects of the interventions. Additionally, a process evaluation and a cost-effectiveness analysis will be carried out. DISCUSSION: The DISCovery project fulfills a strong need for theory-driven and scientifically well-performed research on job stress and performance interventions. It will provide insight into (1) how a balance between job demands, job resources, and recovery from work can be optimized, (2) the short-term and long-term effects of tailored work-oriented effects, and (3) indicators for successful or unsuccessful implementation of interventions.