130,629 research outputs found
The interplay between work engagement, workaholism, emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction in academics: A person‐centred approach to the study of occupational well‐being and its relations with job hindrances and job challenges in an Italian university
No full textThe aim of this study was to analyse the occupational well-being of academics by using a person-centred approach. Data was collected by an online self-report questionnaire involving the academic population of a large Italian university. Cluster analysis showed the presence of four significantly different clusters, that were labelled engaged-satisfied, engaged-workaholic, exhausted-workaholic and detached. Multivariate analysis of variances showed significant differences between clusters regarding well-being dimensions, and the perception of work demand on academics as sources of hindrance or challenge. The findings of this study suggested, for the first time, the existence of a well-being typology within the academic context, considering aspects, such as workaholism, that have been rarely taken into account. Moreover, it has been shown that the well-being profile can influence the way in which academics perceived academic work demands, highlighting the potentialities of analysing well-being profile in order to identify employees who are more or less at risk
Experience of attachment to school: The relevance of a person-centred approach for identifying adjustment difficulties and gender - And age-related differences during early adolescence
No full textFeelings of attachment to school represent one of the main adjustment-related factors during early adolescence. The aim of this study was to identify different patterns of students' experience of attachment to school through a person-centred approach by analysing differences in socio-emotional and academic adjustment scores and gender- and age-related cluster composition. To this end, a self-reported questionnaire was administered to an Italian sample of early adolescents attending 15 public middle schools. In total, 2, 916 students were included in the study. Cluster analysis and multivariate analysis of variance were run to identify patterns of students' attachment and differences in socio-emotional and academic adjustments. Chi-square statistic was developed to detect differences between gender and age groups. The cluster analysis revealed the presence of three clusters which were differently associated with socio-emotional and academic wellbeing, where the more functional attachment profile was associated with better adjustment scores. Moreover, the analysis revealed that females and younger students were in the more functional cluster. These findings highlight the relevance of the person-centred approach for identifying meaningful early adolescents' feelings of attachment to school, which can facilitate identifying adjustment difficulties and assessing the quality of school life
Violence exposure and burnout in healthcare sector: Mediating role of work ability
No full textBackground: One of the most difficult problems faced by health care professionals is experiencing verbal and physical abuse from patients and their family members. Some studies have shown that health care workers, es-pecially nurses, are up to 16 times more likely to be subject to violence than other workers. Aims: The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between exposure to violence, work ability and burnout. Methods: Data were collected through a questionnaire to investigate health care workers’ exposure to violence (Violent Incident Form), burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory) and work ability (Work Ability Index). A sample of 300 nurses was obtained for the study. Results: A total of 36% of nurses indicated that they had been a victim of violence in the past 12 months. The data analysis highlighted highly significant differences in work ability, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization between health care workers who had been victims of violence and those who had not experienced violence. Finally, work ability was shown to have a mediating effect on emotional exhaustion (indirect effect: b = 2.7, BCa CI: 1.37–4.33) and depersonalization (indirect effect: b = 1.1, BCa CI: 0.48–1.87). Discussion: This study is one of the first to consider the mediation effect of work ability between workplace violence experienced and burnout in the healthcare sector; it reports the complexity and severity of the consequences of workplace violence in this sector
Nurses between the hammer and the anvil: Analyzing the role of the workplace prevention climate in reducing internal and external violence
No full textThe aim of this study was to test a model including relationships among internal and external violence, workplace violence-prevention climate, exhaustion, and intention to leave (ITL) in a sample of nurses. Data were collected by a self-report questionnaire involving nurses (n = 313) from two multispecialist hospitals in Italy. The survey was cross-sectional and nonrandomized. Path analyses showed the presence of the mediating role of internal violence between workplace prevention climate and exhaustion, as well as the mediating function of both types of violence between workplace prevention climate and ITL. Moreover, an indirect effect through exhaustion between internal violence and ITL was highlighted. These findings suggested that organizations that invest in preventive measures may reduce incidents of violence and, in turn, prevent negative consequences on worker well-being
The relationship between psychosocial characteristics of the work environment and job satisfaction in an Italian public ECE service: A cross-lagged study
No full textThe present study uses a revised version of the Motivation–Hygiene theory as a theoretical framework to examine the cross-lagged associations in a sample of Italian pre-kindergarten (pre-k) teachers between job satisfaction and two types of psychosocial characteristics of the work environment: motivating factors (i.e., job demands, work meaning, and role clarity) and hygiene factors (i.e., work–family conflict, rewards, peer support, and superior support). In total, 349 pre-k teachers employed in a municipal early childhood education system of a city in Northwest Italy completed a questionnaire at two time points one year apart. Cross-lagged path analysis indicated a positive reciprocal relationship between job satisfaction and work meaning. The paths from job demands and superior support at Time 1 to job satisfaction at Time 2 were found to be significant. Finally, the path from job satisfaction at Time 1 to role clarity at Time 2 was positive and significant. The present study confirms the results of previous literature suggesting that motivating factors are more strictly associated than hygiene factors with job satisfaction. Moreover, it expands current knowledge by highlighting the importance of examining both the directionality of associations between the psychosocial characteristics of the work environment and job satisfaction. From a practical point of view, the study findings are important because they help identify possible interventions to promote the quality of work life and improve the quality of the service provided by Italian pre-k teachers. © 2020 Elsevier Inc
Applying the zero-inflated Poisson regression in the inventory management of irregular demand items
No full textManagers often need to face the problem to define the inventory level of items having an irregular demand. Difficulties arise when the existing methods cannot be applied due to some hypotheses, leading to wrong inventory levels, and, higher holding costs. In this paper, a methodological framework, based on the Zero-Inflated Poisson regression, and called Spare Part Oriented ZIP Approach (SPOZA) is developed. It aims to simplify the inventory-level evaluation procedure when items have an irregular demand pattern The SPOZA output is the evaluation of the optimal theoretical protection level to fulfil to reduce inventory total costs as a percentage value. Aiming to evaluate the benefits of applying SPOZA, a real-case application is presented. Several scenarios are analyzed, and comparisons with standard forecasting methods are conducted. Results are very promising since SPOZA leads to an inventory costs reduction and performs better than other approaches, especially when the items demand increases
Verbal aggression from care recipients as a risk factor among nursing staff : a study on burnout in the JD-R model perspective
No full textAmong nursing staff, the risk of experiencing violence, especially verbal aggression, is particularly relevant. The present study,
developed in the theoretical framework of the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R), has two main aims: (a) to examine the
association between verbal aggression and job burnout in both nurses and nurse’s aides and (b) to assess whether job content, social resources, and organizational resources lessen the negative impact of verbal aggression on burnout in the two professional groups. The cross-sectional study uses a dataset that consists of 630 workers (522 nurses and 108 nurse’s aides) employed in emergency and medical units.High associationswere found between verbal aggression and job burnout in both professional groups.
Moderated hierarchical regressions showed that, among nurses, only the job content level resources moderated the effects of the verbal aggression on job burnout. Among nurse’s aides, the opposite was found. Some resources on the social and organizational levels but none of the job content level resources buffered the effects of verbal aggression on workers burnout.The study highlights the crucial role of different types of resources in protecting nursing staff from the detrimental effects of verbal aggression on job burnout
I’ll Be a Caregiver-Employee: Aging of the Workforce and Family-to-Work Conflicts
No full textBackground: The double role of caregiver-employee (CE) defines those workers who simultaneously serve as an informal, unpaid care provider for sick, disabled, or elderly relatives, and it is a situation that is on the increase in most western countries. Providing informal caregiving can lead to detrimental effects on emotional well-being and several physical and psychological diseases (e.g., caregiver-burden). CEs can suffer double discomfort (at work and at home), but, first of all, they can be exposed to a high level of home-to-work conflict (HWI). In this study, we analyzed the CE phenomenon in a typical Italian public company, where the mean age of workers is particularly high. Methods: An online questionnaire related to the perception of HWI, well-being, and discomfort at work (depression, emotional exhaustion, job engagement) in relation to the family load (none, parents with <12 children to care for, caregiver to other adults, or children and older adults to care for/old/children to care for employees) was answered by 1704 administrative workers. Results: More than 20% of our sample was included in the elder caregiver condition or in the double role or “sandwiched” condition with older adults and children to care for. The family load changed significantly between the different age groups: for workers aged between 55 and 64 years, the percentage was nearly 27%. CEs had higher levels of HWI and of personal and job discomfort and lower levels of engagement, when compared with non-CEs. Having “only” older adults to care for (the typical CE condition) was associated with having the most negative results. Conclusion: This study confirms and underlines the increasing number of CEs in western organizations and their higher levels of HWI, work disengagement, emotional exhaustion, and depression. As the general population and workforce experience increased “graying,” and many more workers become CEs out of necessity, stable caregiver-friendly workplace policies (CFWPs) should be developed
Fostering work ability among menopausal women. Does any work-related psychosocial factor help?
No full textIntroduction: Due to the aging workforce, it will become even more common for organizations to count, among their employees, women who are dealing with menopause. To date, no knowledge is available regarding the work ability among menopausal women. With this view, the aim of the present study was to identify work-related psychosocial factors associated with work ability in a sample of menopausal working women. Methods: A self-report questionnaire was administered to 1069 menopausal women employed as administrative officers in the Italian public sector. The study design was cross-sectional. Results: Work ability was found to be negatively associated with family–work conflict (β = − 0.21, p = 0.0001) and positively associated with health-oriented organizational climate (β = 0.12, p = 0.0001), job autonomy (β = 0.08, p= 0.006), and skill discretion (β = 0.08, p= 0.048). Conversely, work ability did not show significant associations with job demands, flexible working hours, and social support. Discussion: From a practical point of view, our study identifies various areas of intervention that could foster job sustainability during menopause. In particular, our findings suggest that, to improve women’s job sustainability across their entire work-life span, it may be crucial to develop organizational policies, training, and activities specifically dedicated to sustaining menopausal women's well-being
Protective factors for work ability in preschool teachers
No full textBackground Work ability (WA) describes the physical and intellectual resources on which individuals can rely to respond to work demands. While several studies have investigated the protective role of work-related psychosocial factors on WA, only a few have examined differences across age cohorts. Moreover, few studies have investigated WA in the educational context and most of those did not consider preschool teachers. Aims To examine the role of psychosocial factors (support from colleagues, support from supervisors, work meaning, reward, skill discretion and autonomy) in sustaining WA among preschool teachers in different age cohorts. Methods A cross-sectional study of preschool teachers employed in the municipal educational services of a city in northwest Italy. Study subjects completed a self-reported questionnaire. Results Among the 706 study subjects, in the 35-44 age cohort, support from colleagues was positively associated with WA. In the 45-54 age cohort, WA was found to be associated with reward and skill discretion while in the 55-63 age cohort, work meaning was significantly associated with WA. Conclusions Our findings indicate that potential protective factors for WA may differ between age cohorts. They also suggest that in order to sustain WA effectively, interventions in working populations should be tailored to employees' ages
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