Investigating the implications of changes in supervisor and organizational support.

Workers tend to experience many benefits when they work for supportive supervisors and organizations. But what happens when workers experience changes in perceived support, more or less support than they typically experience? We studied family-supportive supervision (FSS) and perceived organizational support (POS) to test how changes in the perception of support in response to the COVID-19 pandemic may influence workers. Three waves of survey data from 368 workers in the United States and Canada were collected as the human and economic toll of COVID-19 manifested. Random-intercepts cross-lagged panel analyses were used to differentiate between stable associations and the within-person changes of interest. Stable associations among variables were consistent with prior research, but cross-lagged effects painted a complex picture that offered reasons for hope and concern. As hypothesized, we observed evidence for gain cycles such that there were reciprocal positive associations between FSS and POS, and higher-than-normal POS was associated with greater job satisfaction. However, remaining hypotheses were not supported, as changes in FSS and POS were not significantly associated with job insecurity, and heightened FSS was associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression. Our study reinforces prior findings by showing that employees generally benefit when working for supportive supervisors and organizations, while also suggesting that episodic changes in FSS and POS may have limited impacts on workers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Impact of a Total Worker Health® Mentoring Program in a Correctional Workforce.

(1) Background: Correctional Officers show signs of adverse health early in their careers. We evaluated the impact of a one-year peer health mentoring program for new officers based on a Total Worker Health® approach; (2) Methods: Cadets (n = 269) were randomly assigned to a mentored or control group. Cadets in this mixed methods design completed physical assessments, and surveys at three time points to assess demographics, health, mentoring, and workplace variables. Physical testing included several health markers. Surveys and physical data were analyzed as repeated measures. Regression analyses were used to analyze the relationship between mentoring characteristics and outcomes. A semi-structured interview of mentors was analyzed qualitatively. (3) Results: Higher mentoring frequency was associated with lower burnout. Health behaviors and outcomes declined over time in all groups, but mentees displayed slower decline for body mass index (BMI) and hypertension compared to controls. (4) Conclusions: A continuous peer health mentoring program seemed protective to new officers in reducing burnout and also declines in BMI and hypertension. Short-term physical health markers in younger officers may not be an index of psycho-social effects. A participatory design approach is recommended for a long-term health mentoring program to be both effective and sustainable.

Development and Implementation of a Total Worker Health® Mentoring Program in a Correctional Workforce.

Correctional officers (COs) are exposed to a number of occupational stressors, and their health declines early in their job tenure. Interventions designed to prevent early decline in CO health are limited. This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a one-year peer health mentoring program (HMP) guided by Total Worker Health® principles and using a participatory action research to collectively address worker safety, health, and well-being of newly hired COs. The HMP aimed to provide new COs with emotional and tangible forms of support during their first year of employment, including peer coaching to prevent early decline in physical fitness and health. The development and implementation of the HMP occurred across five main steps: (1) participatory design focus groups with key stakeholders; (2) adaptation of an existing mentoring handbook and training methods; (3) development of mentor-mentee recruitment criteria and assignment; (4) designing assessment tools; and (5) the initiation of a mentor oversight committee consisting of union leadership, corrections management, and research staff. Correctional employee engagement in the design and implementation process proved to be efficacious in the implementation and adaptation of the program by staff. Support for the HMP remained high as program evaluation efforts continued.

Living a calling and perceived work ability in domestic violence services.

Calling involves experiencing a sense of purpose to engage in work that benefits others. We contribute to the literature by studying living a calling, which we conceptualize as a resource, to examine how and why it is related to perceived work ability (i.e., one's perception of their ability to continue working in their current job) among women working in domestic violence services. We propose that by living out one's calling, domestic violence services workers may perceive fewer of the salient interpersonal demands in their jobs (relationship conflict among colleagues, workplace incivility from clients served), which may partially explain a linkage to greater perceived work ability. We tested hypotheses using 2-wave survey data. The results suggest that there are direct and indirect positive relations between living a calling and perceived work ability. Workers living out their calling perceive less relationship conflict among colleagues, which partially explains the positive relation with perceived work ability. However, we did not find support for the similarly proposed mediating role of perceived client incivility. Theoretical implications for studying calling and practical implications for career counselors and organizations are discussed. For example, career counselors may consider the presence of a calling when exploring clients' career development in domestic violence work, whereas social service providers may benefit by selecting employees for whom the work aligns with their calling and creating opportunities for their calling to be lived out to facilitate perceived work ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Target Meaning-Making of Workplace Incivility Based on Perceived Personality Similarity with Perpetrators.

Target meaning-making of incivility (i.e., the ways targets assess uncivil events) has received attention as an important mediating mechanism in explaining the varied outcomes of incivility. The present study draws on person-environment (PE) fit theory, as well as the similarity-attraction paradigm and repulsion hypothesis, to uncover how perceived personality (dis)similarity affects both cognitive (i.e., attribution, negative appraisal) and emotional reactions (i.e., hostility) to incivility. Specifically, we examine whether incongruence between target personality and perceived perpetrator personality worsens target meaning-making (vice versa for personality congruence). Study 1 (N = 479 employees) addressed (dis)similarity in agreeableness, while Study 2 (N = 296 working adults) addressed (dis)similarity in neuroticism. Based on polynomial regressions with response surface modeling, the results generally supported the hypotheses. Along the line of dissimilarity, targets often assessed (i.e., attributed intent to, appraised, reacted emotionally to) uncivil events more negatively when they perceived personality dissimilarity with perpetrators. However, similarity in personality did not always have the opposite effect by buffering against negative assessments; meaning-making was worse when both parties scored high on neuroticism. Implications for workplace incivility and PE fit literatures are discussed, along with practical implications that highlight information elaboration and perspective taking.

Process evaluation of two participatory approaches: Implementing total worker health® interventions in a correctional workforce.

BACKGROUND: Correctional Officers (COs) have among the highest injury rates and poorest health of all the public safety occupations. The HITEC-2 (Health Improvement Through Employee Control-2) study uses Participatory Action Research (PAR) to design and implement interventions to improve health and safety of COs. METHOD: HITEC-2 compared two different types of participatory program, a CO-only "Design Team" (DT) and "Kaizen Event Teams" (KET) of COs and supervisors, to determine differences in implementation process and outcomes. The Program Evaluation Rating Sheet (PERS) was developed to document and evaluate program implementation. RESULTS: Both programs yielded successful and unsuccessful interventions, dependent upon team-, facility-, organizational, state-, facilitator-, and intervention-level factors. CONCLUSIONS: PAR in corrections, and possibly other sectors, depends upon factors including participation, leadership, continuity and timing, resilience, and financial circumstances. The new PERS instrument may be useful in other sectors to assist in assessing intervention success. Am. J. Ind. Med. 59:897-918, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Participatory action research in corrections: The HITEC 2 program.

BACKGROUND: HITEC 2 (Health Improvement through Employee Control 2) is the follow-up to HITEC, a participatory action research (PAR) program that integrates health and work conditions interventions designed by the workforce. HITEC 2 compares intervention programs between two correctional sites, one using a pure workforce level design team and the other using a more structured and time delineated labor-management kaizen effectiveness team. METHODS: HITEC 2 utilizes a seven step participatory Intervention Design and Analysis Scorecard (IDEAS) for planning interventions. Consistent with PAR, process and intervention efficacy measures are developed and administered through workforce representation. RESULTS: Participation levels, robustness of participatory structures and sophistication of interventions have increased at each measured interval. Health comparisons between 2008 and 2013 showed increased hypertension, static weight maintenance, and increased 'readiness to change'. CONCLUSIONS: The PAR approaches are robust and sustained. Their long-term effectiveness in this population is not yet clear.

Workplace cohort studies in times of economic instability.

BACKGROUND: A prospective study directed to musculoskeletal health in the manufacturing workforce. METHODS: A 36-month longitudinal study using mixed method; surveys with work and non-work psychosocial variables, physiologic measurements physical performance, interviews and focus groups, and direct observation of work activity. RESULTS: Changing economic conditions introduced barriers requiring recruiting a larger number of study sites. Study adherence was unexpectedly high. Coincident with their economic concerns, participants perceived an increase in workplace stress, but not physical demand. New instruments were added to assess economic effects on retirement planning and the physical and emotional costs of caregiving responsibilities. CONCLUSIONS: The economic conditions required adaptive alterations in design due to workforce volatility but presented opportunities for studying the link between working conditions and health. Nevertheless, study size expectations were met through an adaptive approach that suggests a potential effect of the economy on health and well-being.

Reference values for physical performance measures in the aging working population.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine reference physical performance values in older aging workers. BACKGROUND: Cross-sectional physical performance measures were collected for 736 manufacturing workers to assess effects of work and nonwork factors on age-related changes in musculoskeletal function and health. METHOD: Participants underwent surveys and physical testing that included bioelectrical impedance analysis, range-of-motion measures, exercise testing, and dynamic assessment. RESULTS: Physical characteristics, such as blood pressure and body fat percentage, were comparable to published values. Dynamic and range-of-motion measurements differed from published normative results. Women had age-related decreases in cervical extension and lateral rotation. Older men had better spinal flexion than expected. Predicted age-related decline in lower-extremity strength and shoulder strength in women was not seen. Men declined in handgrip, lower-extremity strength, and knee extension strength, but not trunk strength, across age groups. There was no appreciable decline in muscle fatigue at the trunk, shoulder, and knee with aging for either gender, except for the youngest age group of women. CONCLUSION: Normative values may underestimate physical performance in "healthy" older workers, thereby underappreciating declines in less healthy older workers. Work may be preservative of function for a large group of selected individuals. A "healthy worker effect" may be greater for musculoskeletal disease and function than for heart disease and mortality. APPLICATION: Clinicians and researchers studying musculoskeletal function in older workers can use a more specific set of reference values.

Sex-based harassment in employment: new insights into gender and context.

Legal definitions of sex-based harassment have evolved over the decades; it is important that social science perspectives on this phenomenon evolve as well. This study seeks to refine our understanding of conditions in which sex-based harassment thrives, with empirical evidence from three organizations. Previous research has suggested that underrepresentation of one's gender in the employment context increases risk for sex-based harassment. This work has focused mainly on sexual-advance forms of harassment, mainly in the lives of women. Less is known about the gender harassment of women, or about any kind of harassment of men. Extending this scholarship, we analyzed survey data from women and men working in three diverse domains: academia (N = 847), the court system (N = 1,158), and the military (N = 19,960). Across all samples, the underrepresentation of women in a workgroup related to increased odds of women experiencing gender harassment, but not sexual-advance harassment. For men, the opposite pattern emerged: underrepresentation did not increase men's risk for either type of harassment, instead relating to decreased odds of harassment in some contexts. We interpret these results in light of theories of tokenism, gender stereotyping, and sex role spillover in organizations. Our findings support the recommendation that, to reduce harassment (whether it be illegal or legal, gender- or sexuality-based, targeted at women or men), organizations should strive for gender balance in every job at every level. For male-dominated contexts, this implies a need to recruit, retain, and integrate more women throughout the organizational hierarchy.