Hanne Berthelsen

Perceived social support in relation to work among Danish general dental practitioners in private practices

Social support is an important phenomenon in the psychosocial work environment. The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which Danish general dental practitioners perceived support from colleagues and to relate perceived support to demographic and work related background factors. A questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 300 Danish dentists. The response rate was 80% after one reminder. Factor analyses and multiple regression analyses were carried out. The results showed that clinic size was the overall most important variable explaining perceived support among dentists. Gender differences were found in perceived emotional and practical support, and women perceived more emotional support (e.g. discussing problematic patients with peers) than their male colleagues. A similar gender difference was not found for the perception of practical support, such as helping each other in the event of falling behind schedule. Dentists from small and large practices did not differ in the extent of peer contact outside the clinical environment. This study emphasized the importance of the organizational setting for a professional and personal supportive psychosocial working environment in dentistry.

Collegial Support and Community with Trust in Swedish and Danish dentistry.

Abstract Objectives. The aim of the study was to better understand the associations between work factors and professional support among dentists (Collegial Support) as well as the sense of being part of a work community characterized by trust (Community with Trust). Methods. A questionnaire was sent to 1835 general dental practitioners, randomly selected from the members of dental associations in Sweden and Denmark in 2008. The response rate was 68%. Two models with the outcome variables Collegial Support and being part of a Community with Trust were built using multiple hierarchical linear regression. Demographic background factors, work factors, managerial factors and factors relating to objectives and to values characterizing climate of the practice were all introduced as blocks into the models. Results. A different pattern emerged for Collegial Support than for Community with Trust, indicating different underlying mechanisms. The main results were: (I) Female, married/cohabitant, collegial network outside the practice, common breaks, formalized managerial education of leader and a climate characterized by professional values, which were positively associated with Collegial Support, while number of years as a dentist and being managerially responsible were negatively associated. (II) Common breaks, decision authority and a climate characterized by professional values were positively associated with Community with Trust. Conclusion. A professionally-oriented practice climate and having common breaks at work were strongly associated with both outcome variables. The study underlined the importance of managing dentistry in a way which respects the professional ethos of dentists.

It is not just about occupation, but also about where you work

OBJECTIVES Dentistry is characterized by a meaningful but also stressful psychosocial working environment. Job satisfaction varies among staff working under different organizational forms. The aim of this study was to identify (i) to what extent crucial psychosocial work environment characteristics differ among occupations in general public dental clinics in Sweden, and (ii) how much of the variation within each occupation is attributable to the organizational level. METHODS All staff (N=1782) employed in four public dental organizations received an email with personal log-in to an electronic questionnaire based on the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire. After two reminders, a response rate of 75% was obtained. Responses from 880 nonmanagerial dentists, dental hygienists and dental nurses working in general practices were included in our analyses. RESULTS First, we compared the three dental occupations. We found that job demands, task resources (eg influence, possibilities for development and role clarity), strain symptoms and attitudes to work differed among occupations, dentists having the least favourable situation. Next, we compared the four organizations for each occupational group, separately. For dentists, a significant and relevant amount of variance (P<.05 and ICC >.05) was explained by the organizational level for 15 of 26 subscales, least pronounced for task resources. By contrast, for dental nurses and hygienists, the corresponding number was 2 subscales of 26. The psychosocial working environment of people working at the organization with the highest levels of strain indicators and the least positive work-related attitudes differed systematically from the organization with the most favourable profile, in particular regarding job demands and leadership aspects. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the psychosocial working environment depended to a large degree on occupation and, for dentists in particular, also on their organizational affiliation. The findings suggest a potential for designing interventions at organizational level for improvements of the psychosocial working environment for dentists.

Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire : A validation study using the Job Demand-Resources model

Aim This study aims at investigating the nomological validity of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ II) by using an extension of the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model with aspects of work ability as outcome. Material and methods The study design is cross-sectional. All staff working at public dental organizations in four regions of Sweden were invited to complete an electronic questionnaire (75% response rate, n = 1345). The questionnaire was based on COPSOQ II scales, the Utrecht Work Engagement scale, and the one-item Work Ability Score in combination with a proprietary item. The data was analysed by Structural Equation Modelling. Results This study contributed to the literature by showing that: A) The scale characteristics were satisfactory and the construct validity of COPSOQ instrument could be integrated in the JD-R framework; B) Job resources arising from leadership may be a driver of the two processes included in the JD-R model; and C) Both the health impairment and motivational processes were associated with WA, and the results suggested that leadership may impact WA, in particularly by securing task resources. Conclusion In conclusion, the nomological validity of COPSOQ was supported as the JD-R model-can be operationalized by the instrument. This may be helpful for transferral of complex survey results and work life theories to practitioners in the field.

Missing voices on meaningful relationships in time and space

During the 10 years of existence, the Community, Work and Family Journal and the associated six conferences enabled researchers from diverse academic backgrounds and diverse horizons to share, collaborate and disseminate critical knowledge in the broad field of work-life research. Since the journal’s foundation, knowledge and understanding about the complexity of the interconnections between individual’s three major life domains, i.e. family life, work life and community life, has been enriched. This complexity has been addressed by focussing on the changing nature of each domain but also on the changing nature and roles of its actors. For example, work has been understood as shifts from industrial to service and from employed to self-employed to name few so that research ought to understand how these shifts affect worklife balance, conflict and/or enrichment. Actor-based research mainly explored women’s and employees’ voices but is starting to get interested in fathers and children as well as in social actors in the community. All things considered, there is no doubt that the work-life research field has developed and that theories and models have been developed and empirically researched to describe, understand and explain the interactions and/or interfaces between community work and family. But as Susan Lewis and Carolyn Kagan reminded us during the conference, even after 19 volumes of the Community Work and Family Journal, we are not yet done and we are not yet to be satisfied. As a matter of fact, Susan Lewis and Carolyn Kagan pointed out several crises, among those economic, demographic, gender, environmental, but also the crises of care and violence in our modern societies creating tensions in the interface between community work and family. The 6th International Community, Work and Family conference somehow aimed at capturing part of these tensions as we coined the theme ‘towards meaningful relationships in space and time’. The 65 papers and the 8 symposiums presented by the 169 authors/co-authors during the conference are surely a sign that countless discussions about these new tensions took place. The engagement of the conference participants made us, the editors of this special issue, realise that even if progress and development in research has been made, some voices are still missing in regard to the crises above. As a matter of fact, current research still focuses largely on high-income countries rather than on people working in substance and informal economies, on employees and less often on managers, on heteronormative families and to a lesser extent on alternative families, on large businesses and rarely on small businesses and on flexible work arrangements but hardly ever on overall HR processes, on traditional employees and on the odd occasion on expatriates or global managers. The list could be made longer. During the conference, some of these voices were represented, the aim of this special issue is thus to raise these hidden voices in the community, work and family research in time and

Good work : the relations between social capital, influence at work and perceived quality of work

The rapid spread of Lean implementation within the health care sector has made it urgent to evaluate the effects of Lean on productivity, working conditions and health. Therefor an instrument is ne ...Introduction A model for Good Work, understood as positive and rewarding aspects of work, has previously been developed based on interviews including dentists working under different organizational systems. An overall finding was that a positive work climate with trustful relations and professional freedom was found important for being able to carry out high quality work. The aim of this presentation is to assess whether the central part of this model can be corroborated empirically.