Does effectiveness in performance appraisal improve with rater training?

Performance appraisal is a complex process by which an organization can determine the extent to which employees are performing their work effectively. However, this appraisal may not be accurate if there is no reduction in the impact of problems caused by possibly subjective rater judgements. The main objective of this work is to check the effectiveness-separately and jointly-of the following four training programmes in the extant literature aimed at improving the accuracy of performance assessment: 1) Performance Dimension Training, 2) Frame-of-Reference, 3) Rater Error Training, and 4) Behavioural Observation Training. Based on these training strategies, three programmes were designed and applied separately. A fourth programme was a combination of the other three. We analyzed two studies using different samples (85 students and 42 employees) for the existence of differences in the levels of knowledge of performance and its dimensions, rater errors, observational accuracy, and accuracy of task and citizenship performance appraisal, according to the type of training raters receive. First, the main results show that training based on performance dimensions and the creation of a common framework, in addition to the training that includes the four programmes (Training_4_programmes), increases the level of knowledge of performance and its dimensions. Second, groups that receive training in rater error score higher in knowledge of biases than the other groups, whether or not they have received training. Third, participants' observational accuracy improves with each new moment measure (post-training and follow-up), though not because of the type of training received. Fourth, participants who receive training through the programme that combine the other four gave a task performance appraisal that was closer to the one undertaken by the judges-experts than the other groups. And finally, students' citizenship performance appraisal does not vary according to type of training or to different moment measures, whereas the group of employees who received all four types of training gave a more accurate citizenship performance assessment.

Contextual performance in academic settings: the role of personality, self-efficacy, and impression management / El desempeño contextual en entornos académicos: el papel de la personalidad, la autoeficacia y el manejo de la imagen

The main purpose of this paper was to analyse the predictive role of personality, self-efficacy, and impression management on contextual performance in academic settings. A sample of 223 university students voluntarily answered a battery of tests on-line. Results showed that conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness, as well as self-efficacy, predict contextual performance self-evaluations. Furthermore, the significant interaction between conscientiousness and self-efficacy multiplies their influence. Besides, impression management contributes to predicting contextual performance, but did not interact with the remaining variables. Results related to personality and self-efficacy are consistent with those found in work settings

El propósito principal de esta investigación ha sido analizar el papel predictor de las dimensiones de la personalidad, la percepción de autoeficacia y el manejo de la imagen en el desempeño contextual en entornos académicos. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 223 estudiantes universitarios, que cumplimentaron una batería de cuestionarios a través de una aplicación informática. Los resultados mostraron que responsabilidad, extraversión y amabilidad son las dimensiones de personalidad que, junto con autoeficacia, predicen la autoevaluación del desempeño contextual. Además, la variable responsabilidad interactúa con la autoeficacia, de modo que el papel predictivo de dicha variable de personalidad se incrementa a medida que aumenta la autoeficacia. Por otra parte, el manejo de la imagen explicó parte de la varianza de desempeño contextual autoevaluado, pero no interactuó con las restantes variables. Los resultados obtenidos respecto a las dimensiones de personalidad y la autoeficacia son coherentes con los encontrados en contextos laborales

Validación de la Escala Subjetiva de Carga mental de trabajo (ESCAM) en profesionales de la salud de Chile / Validation of the Subjective Mental Workload Scale (SCAM) in health professionals from Chile

El objetivo de este estudio es confirmar las características psicométricas de la Escala Subjetiva de Carga Mental de Trabajo (ESCAM) en trabajadores sanitarios de hospitales chilenos. Participaron en este estudio 379 trabajadores de tres hospitales. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron: (a) ESCAM y (b) el cuestionario SUSESO-ISTAS 21. Los resultados indican que ESCAM se estructura en cinco dimensiones: Demandas cognitivas y complejidad de la tarea, Características de la tarea, Organización temporal, Ritmo de trabajo y Consecuencias para la salud. Asimismo, se observan correlaciones significativas entre la puntuación total de ESCAM y sus dimensiones con los factores de SUSESO-ISTAS 21. Además, se comprobó la validez de la escala mediante el análisis de perfiles de carga mental con diferentes grupos profesionales.

The aim of this study is to confirm the psychometric characteristics of the Subjective Mental Workload Scale (SCAM) in health workers of Chilean Hospitals. The instruments used were: (1) SCAM; (2) questionnaire SUSESO-ISTAS 21. The sample was composed of 379 workers from three hospitals. The findings showed that SCAM is structured in five dimensions: Cognitive demands and task complexity, Task characteristics, Temporal organization, Work rate, and Health consequences. Likewise, significant correlations between overall score of SCAM and its dimensions with the SUSESO-ISTAS 21 factors were found. Also, scale validity was verified through mental workload profiles with different professional groups.

Relationships between Contextual and Task Performance and Interrater Agreement: Are There Any?

Work performance is one of the most important dependent variables in Work and Organizational Psychology. The main objective of this paper was to explore the relationships between citizenship performance and task performance measures obtained from different appraisers and their consistency through a seldom-used methodology, intraclass correlation coefficients. Participants were 135 public employees, the total staff in a local government department. Jobs were clustered into job families through a work analysis based on standard questionnaires. A task description technique was used to develop a performance appraisal questionnaire for each job family, with three versions: self-, supervisor-, and peer-evaluation, in addition to a measure of citizenship performance. Only when the self-appraisal bias is controlled, significant correlations appeared between task performance rates. However, intraclass correlations analyses show that only self- (contextual and task) performance measures are consistent, while interrater agreement disappears. These results provide some interesting clues about the procedure of appraisal instrument development, the role of appraisers, and the importance of choosing adequate consistency analysis methods.

Psychosocial factors and mental work load: a reality perceived by nurses in intensive care units.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the perception of psychosocial factors and mental workload of nurses who work in intensive care units. It is hypothesised that nurses in these units could perceive psychosocial risks, manifesting in a high mental work load. The psychosocial dimension related to the position's cognitive demands is hypothesised to mostly explain mental work load. METHOD: Quantitative study, with a descriptive, cross-sectional, and comparative design. A total of 91% of the intensive care unit populations of three Chilean hospitals was surveyed, corresponding to 111 nurses. The instruments utilised included (A) a biosociodemographic history questionnaire; (b) the SUSESO-ISTAS 21 questionnaire; and (c) the Mental Work Load Subjective Scale (ESCAM, in Spanish). RESULTS: In total, 64% and 57% of participants perceived high levels of exposure to the psychosocial risks Psychosocial demands and Double shift, respectively. In addition, a medium-high level of overall mental load was observed. Positive and significant correlations between some of the SUSESO-ISTAS 21 and ESCAM dimensions were obtained. Using a regression analysis, it was determined that three dimensions of the psychosocial risk questionnaire helped to explain 38% of the overall mental load. CONCLUSION: Intensive care unit nurses felt that inadequate psychosocial factors and mental work overload existed in several of the tested dimensions.

Psychosocial factors and mental work load: a reality perceived by nurses in intensive care units / Fatores psicossociais e carga mental de trabalho: uma realidade percebida pelos enfermeiros em Unidades de Terapia Intensiva / Factores psicosociales y Carga mental de trabajo: una realidad percibida por enfermeras/os en Unidades Críticas

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the perception of psychosocial factors and mental workload of nurses who work in intensive care units. It is hypothesised that nurses in these units could perceive psychosocial risks, manifesting in a high mental work load. The psychosocial dimension related to the position's cognitive demands is hypothesised to mostly explain mental work load. METHOD: Quantitative study, with a descriptive, cross-sectional, and comparative design. A total of 91% of the intensive care unit populations of three Chilean hospitals was surveyed, corresponding to 111 nurses. The instruments utilised included (A) a biosociodemographic history questionnaire; (b) the SUSESO-ISTAS 21 questionnaire; and (c) the Mental Work Load Subjective Scale (ESCAM, in Spanish). RESULTS: In total, 64% and 57% of participants perceived high levels of exposure to the psychosocial risks Psychosocial demands and Double shift, respectively. In addition, a medium-high level of overall mental load was observed. Positive and significant correlations between some of the SUSESO-ISTAS 21 and ESCAM dimensions were obtained. Using a regression analysis, it was determined that three dimensions of the psychosocial risk questionnaire helped to explain 38% of the overall mental load. CONCLUSION: Intensive care unit nurses felt that inadequate psychosocial factors and mental work overload existed in several of the tested dimensions. .

OBJETIVO: analisar a percepção de fatores psicossociais e a carga mental de trabalho de enfermeiros que trabalham em unidades de terapia intensiva. A hipótese é que os enfermeiros dessas unidades podem perceber os riscos psicossociais e manifestar uma alta carga mental de trabalho. Além disso, a dimensão psicossocial relacionada às demandas cognitivas do cargo explicaria a maior parte da carga mental de trabalho. MÉTODO: estudo quantitativo, com delineamento descritivo, transversal e comparativo. Foi examinada 91% da população das Unidades de Terapia Intensiva de três hospitais chilenos, correspondente a 111 enfermeiros. Os instrumentos utilizados incluíram (a) um questionário do histórico biossociodemográfico; (b) o questionário SUSESO-ISTAS 21; e (c) a Escala Subjetiva de Carga Mental de Trabalho (ESCAM). RESULTADOS: no total, 64% e 57% dos participantes perceberam um alto nível de exposição aos riscos psicossociais Demanda psicológica e Jornada dupla, respectivamente. Além disso, foi observado um nível de médio para alto de carga mental global. Foram obtidas correlações positivas e significativas entre algumas das dimensões do SUSESO-ISTAS 21 e do ESCAM. Utilizando uma análise de regressão, determinou-se que três dimensões do questionário de risco psicossocial ajudaram a explicar 38% da carga mental total. CONCLUSÃO: os enfermeiros das unidades de terapia intensiva percebem os fatores psicossociais e a sobrecarga mental de trabalho em várias de suas dimensões. .

OBJETIVO: analizar la percepción de Factores psicosociales y Carga mental de trabajo de enfermeras/os que laboran en Unidades Críticas. Se hipotetiza que los/as enfermeros/as de estas unidades pudieran percibir riesgos psicosociales; Mostrarán una Carga mental de trabajo alta; y la dimensión psicosocial relacionada con exigencias cognitivas del puesto explicará en mayor medida la Carga Mental. MÉTODO: estudio cuantitativo, de diseño descriptivo, transversal y comparativo. Se censó el 91% de la población de Unidades Críticas de tres hospitales chilenos, correspondiente a 111 enfermeras/os. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron: (a) Cuestionario de antecedentes biosociodemográficos; (b) Cuestionario SUSESO-ISTAS 21; y (c) Escala Subjetiva de Carga Mental de Trabajo (ESCAM). RESULTADOS: el 64% y el 57% de los/as participantes perciben un alto nivel de exposición a los riesgos psicosociales Demandas psicológicas y Doble presencia, respectivamente. Además, se obtiene un nivel de Carga mental global media-alta. Se obtuvo correlaciones positivas y significativas entre algunas dimensiones de SUSESO-ISTAS 21 y ESCAM, y mediante un análisis de regresión se obtuvo que tres dimensiones del cuestionario de riesgos psicosociales contribuyen a explicar un 38% de la Carga mental global. CONCLUSIÓN: las/os enfermeras/os de unidades críticas, perciben factores psicosociales inadecuados y sobrecarga mental de trabajo, en varias de sus dimensiones. .

Factores relevantes para aumentar la precisión, la viabilidad y el éxito de los sistemas de evaluación del desempeño laboral / Relevant factors to increase the accuracy, feasibility and success of job performance evaluation systems

La situación de crisis económica en nuestro país ha provocado, por una parte, un incremento del interés de las organizaciones en la evaluación del desempeño laboral. Por otra parte, está produciendo una mayor resistencia a la evaluación por parte de los evaluados, que miran con desconfianza y preocupación su evaluación en momentos de dificultades económicas. Por ello, en situaciones económicas como la actual, es muy importante desarrollar escalas de evaluación que permitan lograr la efectividad, la credibilidad y el éxito de estos sistemas. El objetivo general de este trabajo es aportar resultados dirigidos a que los sistemas de evaluación sean valorados positivamente tanto por la organización como por los participantes. Para ello es necesario que: (a) las escalas de respuesta usadas ofrezcan datos precisos y fiables; y (b) los procedimientos aplicados para la evaluación sean percibidos como justos y fiables por los participantes

The situation of economic crisis in Spain has motivated an increasing interest in employee performance evaluation in organizations. On the other hand, it is also producing greater resistance to this evaluation on the part of appraisees, who regard these processes with suspicion and concern in these times of economic difficulties. Therefore, in economic situations like the current one, it is very important to develop assessment scales that facilitate the effectiveness, credibility and success of these systems. The general goal of this work is to provide results that can help evaluation systems to be positively valued by organizations as well as by their members. For this it is necessary that: (a) the response scales used offer precise and reliable data; and (b) the procedures applied to assess performance are perceived as fair and reliable by the participants

Adaptación al español de la Escala de Desempeño Cívico de Coleman y Borman (2000) y análisis de la estructura empírica del constructo / Spanish adaptation of the Citizenship Performance Questionnaire by Coleman & Borman (2000) and an analysis of the empiric structure of the construct

Este artículo presenta una adaptación del cuestionario de desempeño cívico de Coleman y Borman (2000) y un análisis de su estructura empírica. Una vez traducido y adaptado, el cuestionario se aplicó a una muestra de 135 empleados públicos de una unidad completa del Gobierno Autonómico de Canarias. Los resultados indican que el cuestionario tiene una alta consistencia interna, aunque parece medir tres dimensiones relacionadas entre sí. Dos de estas dimensiones son altamente estables y coinciden con las propuestas por LePine, Erez y Johnson (2002), Cumplimiento Generalizado y Altruismo, mientras que la tercera es de difícil interpretación. Un análisis factorial de segundo orden indica que existe una única dimensión subyacente de desempeño cívico. Estos resultados tienen implicaciones teóricas y prácticas que ayudan a la interpretación y diagnóstico del dominio (AU)

This article presents a Spanish adaption of the citizenship performance questionnaire of Coleman and Borman (2000) an analysis of its empirical structure. Once the original questionnaire was translated and adapted to a Spanish public administration context, it was administered to a sample of 135 public employees representing the complete staff ofa ’ Autonomic Government unit. Results show a high internal consistency of the questionnaire, although it seems to measure three related dimensions. Two of these dimensions are highly stable and coincide with those proposed by LePine, Erez, and Johnson (2002), Generalized Compliance and Altruism, while the third dimension is difficult to interpret. A second order factor analysis supports the existence of a unique underlying dimension of citizenship performance. These results have theoretical as well as practical implications that may help the interpretation and diagnosis in this domain(AU)

Desarrollo de una Escala Subjetiva de Carga Mental de Trabajo (ESCAM) / Development of a Subjective Mental Workload Scale (SCAM)

El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar las características psicométricas de un instrumento multidimensional de la carga mental subjetiva (ESCAM). La muestra estuvo constituida por 474 participantes. Se elaboró una escala de carga mental compuesto por 31 ítems. Mediante un análisis factorial se obtuvieron cinco dimensiones de carga mental: demandas cognitivas y complejidad de la información, consecuencias para la salud, características de las tareas, organización temporal y ritmo de trabajo. Los resultados mostraron la consistencia interna para cada dimensión de carga mental así como la fiabilidad de la escala (AU)

The main aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric characteristics of a multidimensional instrument of a subjective mental workload (ESCAM). The sample consisted of 474 individuals of both sex. A mental workload scale of 31 items was elaborated. The factor analysis showed five dimensions of workload: cognitive requirements and information complexity, health consequences for workers, task characteristics,temporal organization of work and work rate. The results show the internal consistency for each workload dimension as well as the reliability of the scale (AU)

La salud y la seguridad organizacional desde una perspectiva integradora / No disponible

Este artículo presenta una revisión de la línea de investigación en el área de la salud y la seguridad en las organizaciones que viene desarrollando el equipo de Investigación Psicosocial en Salud y Seguridad Organizacional (IPSSO) de la Universidad de La Laguna, en el marco de programas de investigación europeos. Este artículo defiende un enfoque holista e integrado de la salud y la seguridad en las organizaciones que plantea la necesidad de vincular los conceptos, filosofías y estrategias de la cultura de seguridad y la cultura organizacional. Desde esta perspectiva y partiendo de la cultura de seguridad como elemento integrador, se abordan algunos factores psicológicos, específicamente el clima de seguridad, así como factores conductuales y del puesto de trabajo, como son la carga mental y el desempeño. Por último, se plantean algunas conclusiones y propuestas básicas de orientación en el análisis, evaluación e intervención para la mejora de la prevención de riesgos laborales

This paper presents a revision of research in the area of organisational health and safety developed by the team IPSSO (Psychosocial Research on Organisational Health and Safety) from the University of La Laguna through European Research Programs. This article proposes a holistic and integrated approach to health and safety in organisations that pointed out the need of linking the concepts, philosophies and strategies of organisational and safety culture. From this perspective, and a conception of safety culture as an integrated concept, some psychological factors are considered, specifically safety climate, as well as behavioural and job related factors, such as mental workload and performance. Finally, there are presented some conclusions and basic proposals for guiding analysis, evaluations and intervention on the improvement of work risk prevention (AU)