Interruptions in Remote Work: a Resource-based Model of Work and Family Stress.

We use the conservation of resources (COR) theory to propose a work-family model of stress in remote work. We propose that interruptions from family are a unique hindrance stressor, detrimental for the employee's challenge and hindrance stress responses in remote work, which, in turn, have distinct effects on resource-oriented attitudes and states of both the employee and spouse. Namely, we expect that both partners' satisfaction with the work arrangement, employee engagement, and spouse family overload will be associated with the way the employee experiences stress in remote work (stress response). We also integrate the effort-recovery model to examine whether two types of breaks taken by employees while working remotely replenish resources lost through interruptions. Using a sample of 391 couples, we find support for all hypotheses that pertain to the employee. Findings involving the spouse support the primacy of the resource loss tenet in COR theory, in that these detrimental effects are significant in crossing over to the spouse via hindrance but are not significant via challenge stress. We discuss the implications of these findings, emphasizing that interruptions are harmful for both types of stress experienced by remote employees (i.e., lower "good" and higher "bad" stress responses), and interruptions appear to have far-reaching effects on both partners. However, choosing to use breaks for both nonwork goals and self-care can buffer these otherwise detrimental effects.

Equipping soldiers to benefit from goal-focused leadership: The moderating effects of non-discriminatory leader behaviors and workgroup cohesion.

We apply the Job Demands-Resources model to explicate how two contextual factors (nondiscriminatory leadership behavior and cohesion) may equip subordinates to benefit from the leadership style of goal-focused leadership (GFL), a predominant leadership style in the military context. We predict that only when GFL is delivered in conjunction with nondiscriminatory leadership behaviors in a cohesive workgroup (which, we theorize, combine to create a resource-rich environment), subordinates may experience the lowest levels of exhaustion. We tested our hypothesis in two independent samples of uniformed United States Department of Defense personnel deployed in non-combat zones, and results are fully supportive. We add to recent efforts to expand the nomological network of GFL, pinpointing situational factors that may equip subordinates to experience lower (rather than higher) exhaustion when working with a goal-focused leader. In doing so, we also contribute to theory on diversity and stress, and we suggest practical applications for leadership across a range of hierarchical contexts, including the military and other large organizations. In all, our work may help inform the proper balance of leadership and workgroup factors, which determine the optimal context in which individuals can be equipped to benefit from GFL.

The Effects of Nursing Satisfaction and Turnover Cognitions on Patient Attitudes and Outcomes: A Three-Level Multisource Study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore antecedents and outcomes of nurse self-reported job satisfaction and dissatisfaction-based turnover cognitions, theorizing (using Self-Determination Theory) that leaders can foster work conditions that help fulfill innate needs, thereby fostering satisfaction of nurses and patients, and reducing adverse events. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Primary and secondary data were collected within a 4-month period in 2015, from 2,596 nurses in 110 Army treatment facilities (hospitals and clinics) across 35 health care systems. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION: We collected individual nurse responses to the Practice Environment Scale-Nursing Work Index, in addition to aggregated archival data from the same timeframe, including both facility-level patient satisfaction records (the Army Provider Level Satisfaction Survey) and health care system-level adverse events records (provided by the Army Programming, Analysis, and Evaluation office). PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Five predictors of nurse satisfaction and turnover cognitions emerged-supportive leadership, staffing levels, nurse-physician teamwork, adoption of nursing care practice, and advancement opportunities. Aggregated nurse satisfaction was the most consistent predictor of both patient satisfaction and adverse events. CONCLUSION: These findings provide evidence of the importance of nurse attitudes in improving perceived and actual performance across facilities and health care systems; in addition to practical steps, managers can take to improve satisfaction and retention.

Demand-control-person: integrating the demand-control and conservation of resources models to test an expanded stressor-strain model.

We propose an expanded stressor-strain model that explicitly incorporates person characteristics, the Demand-Control-Person model. This model integrates Karasek's traditional Demand-Control model with Hobfoll's (1989) Conservation of Resources theory. With participants from two organizations, we tested the moderating role of emotional stability in conjunction with two job demands (i.e., uncertainty and time pressure) and control (i.e., decision latitude) in predicting two forms of strain (i.e., job dissatisfaction and disengagement). Our findings support the expanded Demand-Control-Person model, such that a significant three-way interaction emerged for uncertainty and time pressure. As predicted, the traditional Demand-Control model only held among individuals high in emotional stability, such that low-emotional stability individuals did either not benefit as readily from decision latitude or were more susceptible to job demands when they had decision latitude. Thus, the Demand-Control-Person model may provide a more comprehensive model and consistent prediction of the effect of stressors on strain as determined by individual characteristics.

Service employees give as they get: internal service as a moderator of the service climate-service outcomes link.

We lend theoretical insight to the service climate literature by exploring the joint effects of branch service climate and the internal service provided to the branch (the service received from corporate units to support external service delivery) on customer-rated service quality. We hypothesized that service climate is related to service quality most strongly when the internal service quality received is high, providing front-line employees with the capability to deliver what the service climate motivates them to do. We studied 619 employees and 1,973 customers in 36 retail branches of a bank. We aggregated employee perceptions of the internal service quality received from corporate units and the local service climate and external customer perceptions of service quality to the branch level of analysis. Findings were consistent with the hypothesis that high-quality internal service is necessary for branch service climate to yield superior external customer service quality.

General job performance of first-line supervisors: the role of conscientiousness in determining its effects on subordinate exhaustion.

In an integrated test of the job demands-resources model and trait activation theory, we predicted that the general job performance of employees who also hold supervisory roles may act as a demand to subordinates, depending on levels of subordinate conscientiousness. In a sample of 313 customer service call centre employees, we found that high-conscientiousness individuals were more likely to experience emotional exhaustion, and low-conscientiousness individuals were less likely as the general job performance of their supervisor improved. The results were curvilinear, such that high-conscientiousness individuals' exhaustion levelled off with very high supervisor performance (two standard deviations above the mean), and low-conscientiousness individuals' exhaustion levelled off as supervisor performance improved from moderate to high. These findings suggest high-conscientiousness employees may efficiently handle demands presented by a low-performing coworker who is their boss, but when performance expectations are high (i.e. high-performing boss), these achievement-oriented employees may direct their resources (i.e. energy and time) towards performance-related efforts at the expense of their well-being. Conversely, low-conscientiousness employees suffer when paired with a low-performing boss, but benefit from a supervisor who demonstrates at least moderate job performance.

The downside of goal-focused leadership: the role of personality in subordinate exhaustion.

Exhaustion has a significant impact on employees and organizations, and leader behavior may affect it. We applied conservation of resources theory to test propositions regarding the joint effects of goal-focused leadership (GFL) and personality on employee exhaustion. We proposed that the relationship between GFL and exhaustion depends on employees' standing on both conscientiousness and emotional stability. Specifically, we expected that high-conscientiousness subordinates experience greater compatibility with a goal-focused leader because of their predisposition to direct resources toward achievement and goal setting, resulting in lower exhaustion under such a leader than among low-conscientiousness employees. Furthermore, high emotional stability may compensate for GFL incompatibility among low-conscientiousness employees by providing additional resources to manage GFL. In contrast, employees low on both traits likely experience greater exhaustion under a goal-focused leader compared with other employees. Results revealed a 3-way interaction in 2 independent samples and were generally supportive of our predictions. GFL was associated with heightened exhaustion among individuals in the low-emotional-stability, low-conscientiousness group but not among workers having any other trait combination.

How do stressors lead to burnout? The mediating role of motivation.

We extend existing stressor-strain theoretical models by including intrinsic motivation as a mediator between well-established job stressors and burnout. Though the link between situational stressors and burnout is well established, little is known about mechanisms behind this relationship. With a sample of 284 self-employed individuals, we examined motivation as a mediator to explain why situational factors impact 3 dimensions of burnout: emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy. Motivation is an explanatory mechanism that drives human behavior and thought, and thus may have an impact on important well-being outcomes. As expected, intrinsic motivation was a full mediator for the effect of perceived fit on the inefficacy dimension of burnout. Unexpectedly, neither perceived fit nor motivation was related to the other 2 dimensions of burnout, and role ambiguity had only a direct effect on the inefficacy dimension; it was also unrelated to exhaustion and cynicism. We discuss implications of these findings for researchers as well as for practitioners.