Janne Skakon

Compensating need satisfaction across life boundaries: a daily diary study

Self-determination theory suggests that satisfaction of an individuals basic psychological needs (for competence, autonomy, and relatedness) is a key for well-being. This has gained empirical support in multiple life domains, but little is known about the way that need satisfaction interacts between work and home. Drawing from ideas of work–home compensation, we expect that the benefits of need satisfaction in the home domain are reduced when needs are satisfied in the work domain. We tested this hypothesis with a daily diary study involving 91 workers. Results showed that individuals particularly benefit from satisfaction of their need for competence in the home domain when it is not satisfied during the working day. No such interactions were found between the needs for autonomy or relatedness. Our study highlights that the interaction of need satisfaction across domains represents a boundary condition for the beneficial effects of need satisfaction. Practitioner points The study examines the interplay between daily need satisfaction at work and at home and its relation to employee well-being at bedtime. Employees particularly benefit from competence need satisfaction at home (e.g., doing a hobby which challenges them) on days when they do not get a sense of competence from their job (e.g., if the tasks are not particularly challenging, or they are underperforming).

Longitudinal associations between organizational change, work-unit social capital, and employee exit from the work unit among public healthcare workers: a mediation analysis

Objectives Organizational changes are associated with higher rates of subsequent employee exit from the workplace, but the mediating role of social capital is unknown. We examined the associations between organizational changes and subsequent employee exit from the work unit and mediation through social capital. Methods Throughout 2013, 14 059 healthcare employees worked in the Capital Region of Denmark. Data on work-unit changes (yes/no) from July‒December 2013 were collected via a survey distributed to all managers (merger, split-up, relocation, change of management, employee layoff, budget cuts). Eight employee-reported items assessing social capital were aggregated into work-unit measures (quartiles: low-high). Data on employee exit from the work unit in 2014 were obtained from company registries. Results We found a somewhat higher rate of employee exit from the work unit after changes versus no changes [hazard ratio (HR) 1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.19] and an inverse dose‒response relationship between social capital and employee-exit rates (low versus high: HR 1.65, 95% CI 1.46-1.86). We also showed a higher risk of low social capital in work units exposed to changes [low versus high: odds ratio (OR) 2.04, 95% CI 1.86-2.23]. Accounting for potential mediation through social capital seemed slightly to reduce the association between changes and employee-exit rates (HR 1.07, 95% CI 0.98-1.16 versus HR 1.10). Conclusions Work-unit organizational changes prospectively predict lower work-unit social capital, and lower social capital is associated with higher employee-exit rates. Detection of weak indications of mediation through social capital, if any, were limited by inconsistent associations between changes and employee exit from the work unit.

Dual impact of organisational change on subsequent exit from work unit and sickness absence: a longitudinal study among public healthcare employees

Objectives We investigated work-unit exit, total and long-term sickness absence following organisational change among public healthcare employees. Methods The study population comprised employees from the Capital Region of Denmark (n=14 388). Data on reorganisation at the work-unit level (merger, demerger, relocation, change of management, employee layoff or budget cut) between July and December 2013 were obtained via surveys distributed to the managers of each work unit. Individual-level data on work-unit exit, total and long-term sickness absence (≥29 days) in 2014 were obtained from company registries. For exposure to any, each type or number of reorganisations (1, 2 or ≥3), the HRs and 95% CIs for subsequent work-unit exit were estimated by Cox regression, and the risk for total and long-term sickness absence were estimated by zero-inflated Poisson regression. Results Reorganisation was associated with subsequent work-unit exit (HR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.19) in the year after reorganisation. This association was specifically important for exposure to ≥3 types of changes (HR 1.52, 95% CI 1.30 to 1.79), merger (HR 1.29, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.49), demerger (HR 1.41, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.71) or change of management (HR 1.24, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.38). Among the employees remaining in the work unit, reorganisation was also associated with more events of long-term sickness absence (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.33), which was particularly important for merger (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.72) and employee layoff (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.59). Conclusions Specific types of reorganisation seem to have a dual impact on subsequent work-unit exit and sickness absence in the year after change.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation, Reliability and Validity of the Danish Version of the Readiness for Return to Work Instrument

The objective of the present study was to translate and validate the Canadian Readiness for Return To Work instrument (RRTW-CA) into a Danish version (RRTWDK) by testing its test–retest and internal consistency reliability and its structural and construct validity. Cross-cultural adaptation of the six-staged RRTW-CA instrument was performed in a standardised, systematic five-step-procedure; forward translation, panel synthesis of the translation, back translation, consolidation and revision by researchers, and finally pre-testing. This RRTW-DK beta-version was tested for its psychometric properties by intra-class correlation coefficient and standard error of measurement (n = 114), Cronbach’s alpha (n = 471), confirmatory factor analyses (n = 373), and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (n = 436) in sickness beneficiaries from a municipal employment agency and hospital wards. The original RRTW-CA stage structure could not be confirmed in the RRTWDK. The psychometric properties were thus inconclusive. The RRTW-DK cannot be recommended for use in the current version as the RRTW construct is questionable. The RRTW construct needs further exploration, preferably in a population that is homogeneous with regard to cause of sickness, disability duration and age.

0332 The impact of organisational change on sickness absence: how much of the effects are mediated by workplace social capital?

Objective Organisational change may negatively affect employees’ health and social capital. This study examined the magnitude of mediated effects from organisational change through social capital on long-term sickness absence (LSA) among public hospital workers. Method In March 2014, 26.209 workers employed through January-December 2013 in the Capital Region of Denmark received a work-environment survey assessing social capital (84% responded). Social capital, measured using 8 self-reported items (collaboration, trust, and organisational justice) ranging 0-5/0-7 (low-high), was aggregated on work-unit level and categorised into quartiles. Organisational change (e.g., merger, layoff(s), and relocation) during July-December 2013 were recorded via surveys sent to all managers (58% responded). Monthly sickness-absence data of 2014 were obtained from regional salary registries (LSA:>28 days). Mediation was assessed using natural effects models nested on January-September 2014 and estimated the natural direct, indirect, and total effects from organisational change on LSA via social capital adjusting for age, gender, work-unit size, occupation, child- and health-proxies. Results Exposure to merger or layoff(s) yielded significant adverse direct effects (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.12–1.58 and OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.01–1.30, respectively) and adverse indirect effects via social capital (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02–1.06 and OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.03–1.05, respectively) on LSA (total effects: OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.17–1.64 and OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.05–1.36, respectively). Surprisingly, exposure to relocation showed a protective direct effect (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.58–0.91), but a significant adverse indirect effect (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00–1.03) on LSA (total effect: OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.52–0.92). Conclusion Social capital potentially mediates adverse effects from organisational change on LSA.

How do line managers experience and handle the return to work of employees on sick leave due to work-related stress? A one-year follow-up study

Abstract Purpose: To examine how line managers experience and manage the return to work process of employees on sick leave due to work-related stress and to identify supportive and inhibiting factors. Materials and methods: Semi-structured interviews with 15 line managers who have had employees on sick leave due to work-related stress. The grounded theory approach was employed. Results: Even though managers may accept the overall concept of work-related stress, they focus on personality and individual circumstances when an employee is sick-listed due to work-related stress. The lack of a common understanding of stress creates room for this focus. Line managers experience cross-pressure, discrepancies between strategic and human-relationship perspectives and a lack of organizational support in the return to work process. Conclusion: Organizations should aim to provide support for line managers. Research-based knowledge and guidelines on work-related stress and return to work process are essential, as is the involvement of coworkers. A commonly accepted definition of stress and a systematic risk assessment is also important. Cross-pressure on line managers should be minimized and room for adequate preventive actions should be provided as such an approach could support both the return to work process and the implementation of important interventions in the work environment. Implication for rehabilitation Organizations should aim to provide support for line managers handling the return to work process. Cross-pressure on line managers should be minimized and adequate preventive actions should be provided in relation to the return to work process. Research-based knowledge and guidelines on work-related stress and return to work are essential. A common and formal definition of stress should be emphasized in the workplace.