Dalia Etzion

The impact of vacation and job stress on burnout and absenteeism

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that vacation relief decreases psychological and behavioral strains caused by job stressors. We examined the impact of job stress and vacation on strain on 87 blue-collar employees in an industrial enterprise in central Israel. Whereas former respite research focused on the impact of vacation only on psychological strains such as burnout and job and life satisfaction, the current study also examined a behavioral strain, absenteeism. The employees completed questionnaires before and after vacation and again four weeks later. Our findings show that vacation alleviated perceived job stress and bumout as predicted, replicating findings that a respite from work diminishes levels of strain to lower than chronic, on-the-job levels. We found declines in burnout immediately after the vacation and a return to prevacation levels four weeks later, and a similar pattern with regard to absenteeism.

Sex and Culture in Burnout and Coping among Human Service Professionals A Social Psychological Perspective

In this study, burnout and coping were investigated among 503 human service professionals in the United States and Israel. A standardized self-report measure was used to determine burnout levels. The frequencies of use of 12 different coping strategies were assessed via a self-report questionnaire, differentiating coping efforts along two dimensions (active/inactive; direct/ indirect). A two-way analysis of variance yielded significant main effects for culture and for sex, but no significant interaction. It was found that Americans reported feeling more burned out than Israelis, and women reported feeling more burned out than men. As for coping, women reported using indirect and inactive coping strategies more than men, and Americans reported using them more than Israelis. The pattern of correlation between coping and burnout suggested that active-direct strategies were more effective in coping with stress than were the inactive and/or indirect behaviors. The discussion focuses on how sex role stereotypes and cultural values mediate the availability of various coping strategies, and thus affect the subjective experience of burnout.

The Impact of Short Overseas Business Trips on Job Stress and Burnout

Dans cet article, on etudie l’impact des voyages d’affaire longue-distance sur le stress professionnel et le burnout chez 45 hommes et 12 femmes: il s’agit de 57 salaries appartenant a six entreprises de haute technologie. Les deplacements a l’etranger font partie integrante de leur travail. L’âge moyen est de 34 ans et l’anciennete moyenne dans le poste de quatre ans. Les sujets ont rempli des questionnaires d’auto-evaluation dans le but de mesurer leur niveau de stress et de burnout a trois reprises; dix jours avant le depart, pendant le sejour a l’etranger, et une semaine apres le retour. On avait pose comme hypothese principale que les voyages d’affaire longue-distance avaient un impact sur le stress professionnel et le burnout et accessoirement que les niveaux de stress et de burnout etaient plus bas au retour. Les resultats montrent que les differences de niveaux de stress et de burnout avant et apres le voyage sont significatives. Bien que ces salaries doivent beaucoup travailler durant leur voyage, ils eprouvent un declin du stress et du burnout apres leur retour au pays. The present paper examines the impact of overseas business trips on job stress and burnout in 57 employees (45 males; 12 females) of high-tech companies who travel abroad as part of their job. The mean age of participants was 34 years and mean seniority on the job was four years. Participants were employed by six high-tech companies and had gone abroad on business trips as part of the job. Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing their job stress and burnout at three points in time: 10 days prior to going abroad (pre-trip), during their stay abroad (mid-trip), and one week after their return (post-trip). The main hypothesis was that overseas business trips have an impact on job stress and burnout. We hypothesised that levels of job stress and burnout are lower after the business trips. Results show that the differences in stress and burnout level before and after the business trips were significant. Although participants worked hard during their trip, they experienced a decline in job stress and burnout after returning home.

The Toll of Unemployment Does Not Stop with the Unemployed

This study focuses on the crossover of state anxiety between spouses in working couplesin Israel when one of them faces unemployment. We assessed state anxiety, financial hardship and social support for both spouses at two points in time. Participants were 113 unemployed people who came to the Academics Employment Exchange to apply for the ‘unemployment grant’. They and their spouses completed questionnaires at the beginning (wave 1) and end (wave 2) of the 2-month period for which they were entitled to the ‘unemployment grant’. Findings demonstrate that on both occasions, the economic hardship was a positive predictor of anxiety for both the unemployed and their spouses and social support was inversely related to their anxiety. Furthermore, there was a significant bidirectional crossover effect of state anxiety from the unemployed to the spouse and from the spouse to the unemployed at both waves after controlling for all relevant variables. We concluded that prevention programs dealing with the unemployed should take into account the crossover process and incorporate actions for both spouses.

International business travels and the work-family interface: A longitudinal study

We examined fluctuations in the levels of work-family conflict (WFC), family-work conflict (FWC), and burnout during three different stages of international business trips among 66 business travellers. Participants completed questionnaires prior to the trip, during the stay abroad and after the trip. Analysis of variance detected differences in WFC, FWC, and burnout levels among the three stages of the trip, moderated by gender. The relationships of WFC and FWC with burnout were positive, whereas the direction of the relationship was reciprocal. This study advances the work-family interface theory and research by focusing on both between- and within-individual variations in work-family attitudes. Thus it captures the dynamic of this phenomenon.

The work-family interface and burnout.

This study examined fluctuations in the experience of conflict between work and family and burnout in different phases of business travel as well as the relationship between work–family conflict (WFC) and burnout among 58 business travelers. Travelers completed questionnaires at 3 points in time: prior to going abroad, during the stay abroad, and after their return. An analysis of variance detected a different pattern of fluctuations in the levels of both WFC and burnout according to gender. Furthermore, while WFC at the pretrip and midtrip periods did not predict burnout in subsequent measurements, pretrip burnout did predict WFC during the trip and after the trip.

Annual vacation: Duration of relief from job stressors and burnout

To reveal the impact of an annual vacation on perceived job Stressors and burnout of industrial workers, we compared 51 workers who took their annual vacation during the summer months to 51 matched controls ‐workers in the same company who did not take their vacation during the same period. Each member of the “vacation group” and his/her control in the “comparison group” completed stress and burnout questionnaires shortly before the first left work for his/her vacation, after s/he returned and 3 weeks later. In the vacation group both parameters decreased after returning. Three weeks later, stress had reverted to its initial level, but burnout remained low. The comparison group showed no change. The ameliorative effect of annual vacation on job stress and burnout was the same for long vacations (more than 10 days) or short vacation (7–10 days). Practical applications aimed at reducing stress and burnout are discussed.

The career success/personal failure phenomenon as perceived in others: Comparing vignettes of male and female managers

Abstract The present paper reports results from a study aiming to explore perceived gender-related attitudes toward career success and personal failure. Participants in the study were 233 management students and executives who were requested to give their reactions to four versions of a vignette describing a successful manager. Results show, on the whole, that career success was perceived as a major cause of personal failure, the reasons being hard work and long hours, rather than obsession with material gain. The personal price paid by successful individuals was perceived differently depending on their gender and initial marital Status.

Are business trips a unique kind of respite

In this chapter, we discuss the impact of business trips on travelers and their families from the perspective of respite, thus embedding business trips in stress theories. We begin by reviewing the literature on respite and recovery. Focusing on the role of travelers’ resources, we relate the phenomenon of business trips to conservation of resources (COR) and job demands-resource (JD-R) theories. We then discuss the negative and positive characteristics and outcomes of business trips. We offer evidence from interviews with business travelers regarding the special characteristics and consequences of business trips. We summarize by addressing the question of whether business trips are a special kind of respite.

Informal Helping Relations in Organizations: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

This study explores the nature of informal helping processes in Israeli organizations. Results are compatible with earlier findings on informal helping relations in North American organizations, although certain dif ferences between the two studies are noted. Informal help as described by Israeli and North American respondents is closely tied to formal organi zational structures and processes. Israeli managers perceived the helping interactions in their organizations to be more active and directive than did the American managers in the American organizations. Implications of and possible dysfunctions caused by training programs designed to improve informal helping are discussed, and considerations for defining informal help are suggested.