Joel B. Bennett

Change, Transfer Climate, and Customer Orientation A Contextual Model and Analysis of Change-Driven Training

The success of large-scale or “paradigm change” training programs often hinge on work climate factors that support transfer of training. Focus groups (N = 70) and survey data from both trained (N = 564) and untrained (N = 345) municipal employees were used to assess perceptions related to change (e. g., role ambiguity) and transfer climate that constrained or facilitated their use of Total Quality (TQ) training. Employees who felt blocked from applying training reported significantly less customer orientation than untrained employees, whereas those reporting a helpful transfer climate reported significantly more customer orientation than the untrained group. Regression analyses suggested that controlling for contextual factors (e. g., department affiliation), both a change and stress climate and, to a lesser extent, transfer climate (e. g., supervisor and coworker support) predicted customer orientation. Results have implications for organizational development practitioners and managers who seek to improve transfer of training in the midst of organizational change and stress.

Team awareness, problem drinking, and drinking climate: workplace social health promotion in a policy context.

Purpose. (1) To determine the effectiveness of classroom health promotion/prevention training designed to improve work climate and alcohol outcomes; (2) to assess whether such training contributes to improvements in problem drinking beyond standard workplace alcohol policies. Design. A cross-sectional survey assessed employee problem drinking across three time periods. This was followed by a prevention intervention study; work groups were randomly assigned to an 8-hour training course in workplace social health promotion (Team Awareness), a 4-hour informational training course, or a control group. Surveys were administered 2 to 4 weeks before and after training and 6 months after posttest. Setting and Subjects. Employees were surveyed from work departments in a large municipality of 3000 workers at three points in time (year, sample, and response rates are shown): (1) 1992, n = 1081, 95%; (2) 1995, n = 856, 97%; and (3) 1999, n = 587, 73%. Employees in the 1999 survey were recruited from safety-sensitive departments and were randomly assigned to receive the psychosocial (n = 201), informational (n = 192), or control (n = 194) condition. Intervention. The psychosocial program (Team Awareness) provided skills training in peer referral, team building, and stress management. Informational training used a didactic review of policy, employee assistance, and drug testing. Measures. Self-reports measured alcohol use (frequency, drunkenness, hangovers, and problems) and work drinking climate (enabling, responsiveness, drinking norms, stigma, and drink with coworkers). Results. Employees receiving Team Awareness reduced problem drinking from 20% to 11% and working with or missing work because of a hangover from 16% to 6%. Information-trained workers also reduced problem drinking from 18% to 10%. These rates of change contrast with changes in problem drinking seen from 1992 (24%) to 1999 (17%). Team Awareness improvements differed significantly from control subjects, which showed no change at 13%. Employees receiving Team Awareness also showed significant improvements in drinking climate. For example, scores on the measure of coworker enabling decreased from pretest (mean = 2.19) to posttest (mean = 2.05) and follow up (mean = 1.94). Posttest measures of drinking climate also predicted alcohol outcomes at 6 months. Conclusion. Employers should consider the use of prevention programming as an enhancement to standard drug-free workplace efforts. Team Awareness training targets work group social health, aligns with employee assistance efforts, and contributes to reductions in problem drinking.

Workplace substance abuse prevention and help seeking: comparing team-oriented and informational training.

Employees fail to seek help for alcohol or drug (AOD) abuse because of unhealthy work climates, stigma, and distrust in Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). To address such problems, the authors randomly assigned groups of municipal employees (N = 260) to 2 types of training: a 4-hr informational review of EAPs and policy and an 8-hr training that embedded messages about AOD reduction in the context of team building and stress management. Pre- and posttraining and 6-month follow-up surveys assessed change. Group privacy regulation, EAP trust, help seeking, and peer encouragement increased for team training. Stigma of substance users decreased for information training. EAP/policy knowledge increased for both groups. A control group showed little change. Help seeking and peer encouragement also predicted EAP utilization. Integrating both team and informational training may be the most effective for improving help seeking and EAP utilization.

Team resilience for young restaurant workers: research-to-practice adaptation and assessment.

This paper describes a method for taking a known prevention intervention and modifying it to suit young restaurant workers. Such workers are at high risk for alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse according to national surveys. While evidence-based programs for AOD prevention exist, they have not been delivered to restaurants. Accordingly, an adaptation methodology was developed by integrating curricula from a previous evidence-based program with research on resilience and input from stakeholders, such as young restaurant workers, their managers, trainers, and subject matter experts. A new curriculum (Team Resilience) maintained fidelity to the original program while incorporating stakeholder insights. At the end of each of three training sessions, participants (n = 124) rated their awareness of AOD risks, help-seeking orientation, and personal resilience. Ratings tended to increase across sessions, showing participants perceived benefits from Team Resilience. Discussion highlights the need for research-to-practice protocols in occupational health psychology.

Employee exposure to coworker substance use and negative consequences: the moderating effects of work group membership.

The current study assesses: (1) whether the relationship between individual exposure to coworker substance use and negative consequences resulting from exposure depends on work group membership, and (2) whether group-level characteristics moderate the relationship between exposure and consequences. At the group-level, we assessed occupations involving safety risk or high mobility and social factors of drinking climate and group cohesiveness. We conducted Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) across two samples of municipal employees (ns = 650, 878; n of groups = 50, 49). Our results revealed that groups with higher proportions of jobs involving risk (e.g., machine work) and, to a lesser extent, groups with a higher level of drinking climate were those most vulnerable to consequences under conditions of exposure. Importantly, our findings controlled for individual risk factors (e.g., personal drinking, job stress). Our discussion examines the implications of this study for theory and policy related to workplace substance abuse.

Job risk and employee substance use: The influence of personal background and work environment factors

Previous studies have noted that employees who work in jobs with physical risk report more substance use than employees working in nonrisky jobs. This study examined the extent to which this relationship could be explained by personal background, specifically general deviance or psychosocial functioning, or work characteristics, including job stressors, organizational bonding, or work group drinking climate. Results from two worksites (ns=943, 923) indicated that the relationship of job risk and alcohol problems could be fully explained by personal characteristics, particularly deviant behavior styles. Interaction effects were also found. Employees with more deviance indicators were particularly susceptible to recent drug use and problem drinking when they worked in drinking climates or exposed to co-worker drinking. These results suggest the joint influence of personal and job factors and support prevention programs that target the workplace social environment.

Exploring and Reducing Stress in Young Restaurant Workers: Results of a Randomized Field Trial

Purpose. Young adult restaurant workers face the dual stressors of work adjustment and managing personal responsibilities. We assessed a new psychosocial/health promotion training designed to reduce these stressors in the context of restaurant work. Design. A cluster-randomized trial of a training program, with surveys administered approximately 2 weeks before training and both 6 and 12 months after training. Setting. A national restaurant chain. Subjects. A total of 947 restaurant workers in 28 restaurants. Measures. Personal stress, exposure to problem coworkers, and personal and job characteristics. Intervention. Team Resilience (TR) is an interactive program for stress management, teamwork, and work-life balance. TR focuses on “five Cs” of resilience: compassion, commitment, centering community, and confidence. Analysis. Mixed-model (multilevel) analysis of covariances. Results. Compared with workers in control stores, workers in TR-trained stores showed significant reductions over time in exposure to problem coworkers (F[2, 80.60] = 4.48; p = .01) and in personal stress (F[2, 75.28] = 6.12; p = .003). Conclusion. The TR program may help young workers who face the challenges of emerging adulthood and work-life balance.

A Web-Based Approach to Address Cardiovascular Risks in Managers: Results of a Randomized Trial

Objectives:To examine whether a Web-based health and leadership development program—designed specifically for managers—was associated with changes in self-reported and biometric indicators of cardiovascular disease within the context of a randomized control trial. Methods:A total of 145 managers from 8 organizations participated in a 6-month Internet-based program or a control condition. They completed pre- and posttest assessments that included both self-reported attitudes (on diet, exercise, and mental health) and biometric measures (eg, body weight, waist circumference). Results:The intervention was associated with improvements in dietary attitudes, dietary self-efficacy, and exercise, and reductions in distress symptoms. Women in the program reduced their waist circumference significantly more than controls. Conclusions:The program showed promise for reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors. Similar results across diverse organizations suggest the program may be useful across industry types.

From Dual Policy to Dual Attitudes The Social Construction of Substance Use Policy

Admmistrators of workplace substance use policies often coordinate many components such as drug-testing, discipline, EAP, and employee awareness Analyses from two municipalities (ns = 1,068, 1,081) indicated that employees who most disfavor all policy components— particularly drug-testing—report higher frequencies of alcohol drunkenness In contrast, employees with the most punitive attitudes report the highest levels of exposure to co-worker use Finally, those who favor an educative approach report higher levels of alcohol use but not alcohol problems or drug use Policy administrators are likely to benefit from listening to and addressing these differences in policy attitudes

A cluster randomized trial of alcohol prevention in small businesses: A cascade model of help seeking and risk reduction

Purpose. The current study adapted two workplace substance abuse prevention programs and tested a conceptual model of workplace training effects on help seeking and alcohol consumption. Design. Questionnaires were collected 1 month before, 1 month after, and 6 months within a cluster randomized field experiment. Setting. Texas small businesses in construction, transportation, and service industries. Subjects. A total of 1510 employees from 45 businesses were randomly assigned to receive no training or one of the interventions. Intervention. The interventions were 4-hour on-the-job classroom trainings that encouraged healthy lifestyles and seeking professional help (e.g., from the Employee Assistance Program [EAP]). The Team Awareness Program focused on peer referral and team building. The Choices in Health Promotion Program delivered various health topics based on a needs assessment. Measures. Questionnaires measured help-seeking attitudes and behavior, frequency of drinking alcohol, and job-related incidents. Analysis. Mixed-model repeated-measures analyses of covariance were computed. Results. Relative to the control group, training was associated with significantly greater reductions in drinking frequency, willingness to seek help, and seeking help from the EAP. After including help-seeking attitudes as a covariate, the correlation between training and help seeking becomes nonsignificant. Help-seeking behavior was not correlated with drinking frequency. Conclusion. Training improved help-seeking attitudes and behaviors and decreased alcohol risks. The reductions in drinking alcohol were directly correlated with training and independent from help seeking.