Eva Torkelson

The role of gender and job level in coping with occupational stress

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between coping and health problems in the context of gender and level in the organization. Questionnaire data were collected from 279 women and men (100 managers and 179 non-managers) at a sales department in a Swedish telecom company in which men and women worked at similar tasks. It was hypothesized that, if gender and level in the organization were controlled for, the use of problem-focused strategies would be associated with fewer health problems and the use of emotion-focused strategies with greater health problems. It was also predicted that men and women at a similar organizational level would not differ in their use of problem-focused coping strategies. The results showed, contrary to the hypothesis, that when level and gender were controlled for, no relation between problem-focused strategies and health was obtained. Instead the emotion-focused strategy of Seeking emotional support was associated with fewer health problems, whereas Focus on emotions and Alcohol/drug disengagement were associated with more symptoms. Coping was at least partly related to level. At a managerial level the men and the women used basically the same strategies whereas at a non-managerial level traditionally-conceived coping patterns were evident.

The Demand-control-support model and health among women and men in similar occupations

The aim of the study was to investigate the main and the interaction effects of the demand–control–support (DCS) model on womens and mens health in a Swedish telecom company. According to the DCS model, work that is characterized by high demands, low decision latitude, and low support decreases health and well-being. Furthermore, control and support are assumed to interact in protecting against adverse health effects of stress. Earlier studies have failed to consider occupational status and gender simultaneously. Questionnaire data from 134 female and 145 male employees in similar occupations were collected. Correlational analysis supported the main effect hypotheses irrespective of gender. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that only demands predicted womens health, whereas both demands and lack of social support predicted mens health. However, no interaction effects were found for either women or men. Further studies should probe the relevance of the model while considering gender and occupational status.

Stress and Health among Women and Men in a Swedish Telecom Company

The aim of the study was to investigate gender differences at managerial and nonmanagerial level in perceived stress and control and the relationship to health problems. Questionnaires were collected from 281 women and men at both managerial and nonmanagerial level in a sales department in a large Swedish telecom company. Items describing sources of stress were selected from Dallner, Gamberale, Olsson, and Örelius (1999) and developed through a group interview. The results showed only minor differences in perceived stress and no differences in perceived control when comparing men and women working at the same level in the organization. Instead the differences in perceived stress and control were found between managers and nonmanagers. In addition, the study showed both differences and similarities in explaining health symptoms for women and men at the same organizational level. Similarities were found at a nonmanagerial level but at a managerial level health problems were not predicted by the same factors for women and men. The need to consider organizational level in future studies about stress and gender is addressed.

Models of Workplace Incivility: The Relationships to Instigated Incivility and Negative Outcomes

The aim of the study was to investigate workplace incivility as a social process, examining its components and relationships to both instigated incivility and negative outcomes in the form of well-being, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and sleeping problems. The different components of incivility that were examined were experienced and witnessed incivility from coworkers as well as supervisors. In addition, the organizational factors, social support, control, and job demands, were included in the models. A total of 2871 (2058 women and 813 men) employees who were connected to the Swedish Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union completed an online questionnaire. Overall, the results from structural equation modelling indicate that whereas instigated incivility to a large extent was explained by witnessing coworker incivility, negative outcomes were to a high degree explained by experienced supervisor incivility via mediation through perceived low social support, low control, and high job demands. Unexpectedly, the relationships between incivility (experienced coworker and supervisor incivility, as well as witnessed supervisor incivility) and instigated incivility were moderated by perceived high control and high social support. The results highlight the importance of including different components of workplace incivility and organizational factors in future studies of the area.

Collective and Individualistic Coping with Stress at Work.

In the present study, coping was viewed as both an individualistic and a collective phenomenon, and the investigation assessed how use of collective and individualistic coping strategies was related to sex of respondent and organizational level. These strategies were measured by responses to Swedish versions of the Strategic Approach to Coping Scale and the COPE Inventory. Data were collected by means of an Internet-based questionnaire completed by 950 female (n = 502) and male (n = 448) employees at both the managerial (n = 171) and nonmanagerial (n = 764) levels, working in customer service in a Swedish telecom company. The mean age of the participants was 47 yr. (SD = 9.7). Analysis showed women more often used collective strategies, but so also did both women and men managers. Men did not use problem-focused individualistic coping strategies more often than women. No interactions between sex and organizational level were found. Separate analyses for women and men indicated that coping was more related to organizational level than to sex.

Kortversioner av frågeformulär inom arbets- och hälsopsykologi—om att mäta coping och optimism

Muhonen, T. & Torkelson, E. (2005). Short versions of inventories within work- and health psychology. Nordisk Psykologi, 57, 288–297 One approach to reduce the “response burden” in applied psychological research is to create short versions of inventories. The present study reports the reliability of the Swedish versions of two short inventories; Brief COPE (Carver, 1997) and LOT-R (Scheier, Carver & Bridges, 1994). Brief COPE consists of 14 coping scales comprising 2 items per scale. LOT-R contains six items assessing generalized optimism. Altogether 332 undergraduate students participated in the study. The reliability coefficients indicated that a majority of the Brief COPE scales, as well as LOT-R possessed adequate reliabilities. Overall, the results of the study support the use of the Swedish versions of Brief COPE and LOT-R. Nyckelord: Brief COPE, LOT-R, Reliabilitet

Factors contributing to the perpetration of workplace incivility: the importance of organizational aspects and experiencing incivility from others

ABSTRACT In recent years a growing amount of research has been conducted in the area of workplace incivility. Whereas many studies have focused on the victims and the consequences of incivility, little attention has been paid to the perpetrators and antecedents of workplace incivility. This study aims to identify possible antecedents of workplace incivility, by investigating organizational aspects as well as the possibility that being the target of incivility from co-workers and supervisors could induce incivility. A total of 512 employees (378 women and 133 men) in the school sector in a Swedish municipality completed an online questionnaire. Overall, the results of structural equation modelling analyses showed that organizational variables were related to the perpetration of incivility. A direct relationship was found between being uncivil and organizational change, job insecurity, low social support from co-workers and high job demands. However, the strongest relationship was found between experienced incivility from co-workers and instigated incivility. This could be reflecting a climate or culture of incivility in the organization, and carry implications for future practice in interventions against workplace incivility. The results indicate the importance of focusing on the perspective of the instigator to gain knowledge about the process of workplace incivility.

Work stress, coping, and gender: implications for health and well-being

Stressful working conditions and their implications for health are important topics in occupational health psychology today (Paoli and Merllie, 2001; Spielberger and Reheiser, 2005). Studies show that increasing demands in the workplace have induced negative stress among employees (Lidwall and Skogman-Thoursie, 2001), and especially among women (Lundberg, 2002; Lundberg and Gonas, 1998; Matuszek, Nelson, and Quick, 1995). Although both women and men report work-related stressors, such as role ambiguity, downsizing, and time pressure, women are confronted with additional stressors (Nelson and Burke, 2002). Jobs dominated by women have lower status, are less well paid, and have limited opportunities for personal and career development (Alexanderson and Ostlin, 2001; Greenglass, 2002; Lundberg and Gonas, 1998; Nelson and Burke, 2002). Women are often exposed to role conflicts and conflicts between work and family responsibilities (Burke and Greenglass, 1999; Greenglass, 2002; Lundberg, 1998), as well as sex discrimination and underutilization of skills (Greenglass, 2002). Women also experience more psychological and physical symptoms (Alexanderson and Ostlin, 2001; Matuszek et al ., 1995; Vaananen, Toppinen-Tanner, Kalimo, Mutanen, Vahtera, and Peiro, 2003). In a longitudinal study, Bildt and Michelsen (2002) identified more occupational risk factors predicting poor mental health for women than for men, suggesting that these findings mirror the gender-segregated labor market. Bildt (2001) concluded that several aspects at todays workplaces are harmful for many female employees’ mental health.