Christian Jacobsson

Managing Stress and Feelings of Mastery among Swedish Comprehensive School Teachers.

The purpose of this study was to create guidelines for stress management intervention by investigating the relationship of 12 factors with stress reactions (emotional exhaustion and irritation) and feelings of mastery among Swedish comprehensive school teachers. Data were collected via a questionnaire distributed to 928 teachers in 27 schools. The response rate was 89%. Multiple regressions were conducted on colleague support, cooperation, coordination problems, goal clarity, learning orientation, manager support, negative feedback, positive feedback, pupil misbehaviour, teacher age, work control and perceived work demands, all as independent variables. Perceived work demands was treated as a dependent variable in an additional regression analysis. Teacher stress reactions were best predicted by perceived work demands, pupil misbehaviour and negative feedback. Feelings of mastery were best predicted by learning orientation, positive feedback and goal clarity. In the additional analysis perceived work demands was best predicted by pupil misbehaviour, coordination problems and (low) work control. Practical implications are discussed.

Perceptions of life balance among a working population in Sweden.

A life in balance is commonly related to health and well-being. However, our knowledge regarding the perceptions of life balance among the general population is limited. Our aim was to explore the perception of life balance among working people without recent long-term sick leave. Individual interviews were conducted with 7 men and 12 women and analyzed according to grounded theory, aiming at achieving a description. The results showed that life balance includes four interrelated dimensions: activity balance, balance in body and mind, balance in relation to others, and time balance. Life balance was regarded by the participants as health related, promoted by a sense of security, and affected by context and individual strategies. Life balance was also seen as being individually defined and dynamic. The results indicate that the perceptions of life balance might be quite general because they show similarities with previous research on different populations.

The role of feedback in Swedish human service organizations

This paper investigates some organizational conditions for providing quality in service delivery in human service organizations (HSOs): that is organizations that partly take over functions that formerly were carried out by families. The consequences of feedback for role ambiguity, job satisfaction and organizational commitment were investigated. Survey data were obtained from 604 human service workers in three different Swedish organizations: public insurance agency, social rehabilitation center and a psychiatric hospital. Positive feedback was found to reduce role ambiguity, while negative feedback contributed to role ambiguity. Role ambiguity was negatively related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment. However, there was no support for a direct relationship between the feedback factors and job satisfaction or organizational commitment. Instead the relationships between feedback and work attitudes were mediated by role ambiguity. Conclusions of the study were: positive feedback that clarifies the work role has favorable outcomes that may contribute to good service quality. Therefore, organizational structures and routines that enhance the prevalence of positive feedback should be supported (e.g. professional supervision, evaluation procedures). Negative feedback has unfavorable outcomes only when it induces uncertainty about the work role. Therefore, when delivering negative feedback, it should be accompanied with role clarifying information.

What is considered important for life balance?: Similarities and differences among some working adults

Abstract Life balance seems subjective, health related, and multidimensional. However, the concept is complex. Exploring what people themselves consider more or less important for their life balance and whether this differs between people would develop new knowledge. Q methodology was chosen for the present study, in which 32 working men and women without recent long-term sick leave participated. They sorted 42 statements regarding life balance according to their importance for each participants life balance. The analysis resulted in four different viewpoints concerning life balance. All four viewpoints considered good relationships with those closest to them, as well as knowing that these people were doing well, as important. Each viewpoint also showed a unique orientation towards what was considered important for life balance: occupational balance (viewpoint 1), self-actualization (viewpoint 2), self-awareness (viewpoint 3), and reciprocal relationships (viewpoint 4). The results. showed support for life balance as being a subjective, multidimensional, and health-related phenomenon. The results demonstrated the importance of relationships for life balance and heterogeneity in what people considered important for their own life balance.

The Links Between Group Development and Health in Manufacturing Industry

This study focuses on the relation between levels of group development and three health-related aspects of working life: work satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, and sick leave. This article presents a study with 30 groups in a manufacturing company. Data were collected from 274 group members of the 30 groups, using Group Development Questionnaire, self-reported measures of work satisfaction and emotional exhaustion, as well as company data on occurrence of sick leave occasions. The results indicate a strong relationship between levels of group development and work satisfaction, a moderately strong relation with emotional exhaustion, and a weaker or less clear relation with sick leave. Practical implications are discussed and future research suggested.

Healthcare managers in negative media focus: a qualitative study of personification processes and their personal consequences

BackgroundOver the last decade healthcare management and managers have increasingly been in focus in public debate. The purpose of the present study was to gain a deeper understanding of how prolonged, unfavorable media focus can influence both the individual as a person and his or her managerial practice in the healthcare organization.MethodsIn-depth interviews (n = 49) with 24 managers and their superiors, or subordinate human resources/information professionals, and partners were analyzed using a grounded theory approach.ResultsThe conceptual model explains how perceived uncertainties related to the managerial role influence personification and its negative consequences. The role ambiguities comprised challenges regarding the separation of individual identity from the professional function, the interaction with intra-organizational support and political play, and the understanding and acceptance of roles in society. A higher degree of uncertainty in role ambiguity increased both personification and the personal reaction to intense media pressure. Three types of reactions were related to the feeling of being infringed: avoidance and narrow-mindedness; being hard on self, on subordinates, and/or family members; and resignation and dejection. The results are discussed so as to elucidate the importance of support from others within the organization when under media scrutiny.ConclusionsThe degree of personification seems to determine the personal consequences as well as the consequences for their managerial practice. Organizational support for managers appearing in the media would probably be beneficial for both the manager and the organization.

Coordinating work in Swedish schools

Intra‐organizational coordination is studied almost exclusively using a case approach, with the implementation of one specific coordinating method and evaluation of the effects of that method. By contrast, this study explores the daily use of five coordinating strategies in 30 Swedish schools. Furthermore, the relationships between coordinating strategies and co‐ordination problems in the schools and burnout among teachers are investigated. The most important coordinating strategy was “professional consideration”, followed by “striving for goals”. “Mutual adjustment” was perceived as important to a few, and hardly any teachers judged “following routines” and “following the boss” as important. The results showed that “striving for goals” was related to less frequent coordination problems and lower levels of burnout than was “professional consideration”.

Teacher Team Effectiveness and Teachers Well-being

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between how teachers rate the effectiveness of their ‘teacher-teams’ as well as the experience of their own well-being. Team effectiveness was measured using the Group Development Questionnaire and well-being was assessed through responses on scales derived for estimating emotional exhaustion and work satisfaction. Data were collected from 521 Swedish teachers and preschool teachers belonging to 105 teacher-teams, the response rate was 100%. The results indicate a strong relationship between the effectiveness of the teacher-teams and teachers’ well-being, both with regard to levels of emotional exhaustion and work satisfaction. More effective teamwork was associated with lower levels of emotional exhaustion and higher levels of work satisfaction. The practical implications of these observations are discussed with regard to future research.

HSO Managers Spokesperson Self-Efficacy (SSE) when meeting the Media

The present study examined Human Service Organizations (HSO) managers’ self-efficacy as spokespersons towards the Media and the relationships to managers’ individual experience of being a spokesperson. The purpose of the study was also to examine what role the management teams play with regard to team effectiveness and team size. A scale for measuring Spokesperson Self-Efficacy (SSE) was developed and evaluated in order to carry out the study. Altogether 96 HSO managers belonging to 12 management teams answered a questionnaire containing GDQ scale 4 (team effectiveness), the SSE scale and a question about the level of experience of being a spokesperson. Team size was also measured. The result showed a strong relationship between experience of being a spokesperson and SSE, but no relations were found between team effectiveness or team size and SSE. *Corresponding author: Christian Jacobsson, Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden, Tel: +46 31 7864694; E-mail: christian.jacobsson@psy.gu.se Received: September 09, 2018; Accepted: September 22, 2018; Published: September 29, 2018 Citation: Jacobsson C, Låstad L, Wramsten Wilmar M (2018) HSO Managers Spokesperson Self-Efficacy (SSE) when meeting the Media. Clin Exp Psychol 4: 198. doi: 10.4172/2471-2701.1000198 Copyright:

The Goal Matrix – A Model for Developing Shared Cognition in Teams

The purpose of this article is to present a model for developing shared cognition in teams, called the goal matrix. The theories and research behind the model is presented along with practical guidelines on how to use the model within a team. The model starts with the overall purpose of the team, why it exists in the first place. Then it defines an internal perspective, concerning team members and their roles, and an external perspective, concerning the stakeholders of the team. The purpose and the relationship between the internal and external perspective defines the context of the team. Further, the model describes three aspects of goals depending on the time horizon; process goals, future results and visions. The place and the time dimensions on goal achievement form six types of goals. These are internal standards and external standards, development goals and operative goals, guiding stars and vision.