Kate Sparks

Well-being and occupational health in the 21st century workplace

Over the last 40 years, major changes have taken place in the workplace. The growth in the use of information technology at work, the globalization of many industries, organizational restructuring, changes in work contracts and worktime scheduling have radically transformed the nature of work in many organizations. The workforce itself is also diversifying, with an increase in female participation, a growing number of dual-earner couples and older workers. The present paper discusses the impact of these workplace transitions on employee well-being. We focus on four issues that are current concerns for organizations and the workforce; job insecurity, work hours, control at work, and managerial style. For each topic, recent research is presented, with suggestions for future research and recommendations for practitioners working in the organizations of today. The paper concludes with some final considerations for researchers and practitioners that may benefit both employee well-being and organizational effectiveness.

An international study of the psychometric properties of the Hofstede Values Survey Module 1994: A comparison of individual and country/province level results.

Hofstede’s Values Survey Module has been the basis for much cross-cultural and cross-national research in the workplace, but little information about its psychometric properties has been available. This study provides internal consistency (coefficient alpha) statistics from samples representing 23 nations/provinces. Across both English and translated versions, internal consistencies tended to be poor, and in the majority of cases failed to achieve even a liberal criterion of 0.60. Even when data were aggregated by sample coefficient alphas were poor for all but long-term orientation. At the participant level, long-term orientation and individualism had marginal internal consistencies, whereas power distance, masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance subscales had inadequate internal consistencies. A replication of Hofstede’s ecological factor analysis failed to support the five subscales. It is suggested that the construct validity of these scales is suspect, and that they should be used with caution. Le Module d’Enquete sur les Valeurs d’Hofstede a` e´te´ a` la base de nombreuses recherches inter-culturelles et multi-nationales sur le lieu de travail alors que peu d’informations sur ses qualite´s psychome´triques e´taient disponibles. Cette e´tude fournit des statistiques cohe´rentes (coefficient alpha) a` partir d’e´chantillons repre´sentant 23 nations ou re´gions. Dans les versions anglaises et dans les traductions, la cohe´rence interne est plutot me´diocre n’arrivant pas a` atteindre le coefficient de 0.60, en cotant large. Meme quand les donne´es e´taient regroupe´es en agre´gats par e´chantillon, les coefficients alpha e´taient me´diocres sauf en ce qui concerne l’orientation vers le long terme. Au niveau du participant, les orientations vers le long terme et l’individualisme avaient une cohe´rence interne marginale tandis que des sous e´chelles sur la distance hie´rarchique, la masculinite´ et le controle de l’incertitude en pre´sentaient de plus fortes.

Locus of Control and Well-Being at Work: How Generalizable are Western Findings?

Managers from 24 geopolitical entities provided data on work locus of control, job satisfaction, psychological strain, physical strain, and individualism/collectivism. The hypothesis that the salut...

Occupational Stress in Workers and Managers in Steelworks in China

Occupational stressors and strains of 121 Chinese steelwork employees and 122 managers were measured using the Chinese version of the Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI). It was found that factors intrinsic to the job, Type A behavior, logic, and organizational structure and climate were the main predictors of mental ill-health and physical ill-health in managers. Organizational structure and climate and relationships with other people were important predictors for workers. Management processes and organizational forces were the strongest predicting factors of job satisfaction in both samples. On certain OSI scales and subscales, managers scored statistically higher than workers. It is proposed that these results reflect the enormous economic and social changes currently taking place in China, together with certain features inherent in Chinese organizational and managerial processes.

Managerial stress in private and state organisations in Poland

A study of stress was conducted among 269 managers from five large Polish cities and organisations of different economic sectors: state, private and middle forms. It was aimed at answering if the economic sector is related to: (1) type and intensity of stress sources among the managerial staff, (2) individual characteristics of the managers (Type A and locus of control), (3) dominant ways of coping with stress, (4) stress symptoms in the field of physical and mental health and job satisfaction. The main research tools were the Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI 2) and the Work Locus of Control Scale (WLCS). The results of the hierarchical regressions showed that the economic sector is a predictor of only certain sources of stress connected with insufficient organisational support and excessive workload (higher intensity of the stressors in state organisations), and also job satisfaction (mainly organisation satisfaction, which is higher in private organisations). The economic sector was not a predictor of physical and mental health nor a predictor of Type A and locus of control of managers. Copyright

The Effects of Working Hours on Health: A Meta-Analytic Review

Mann (1965) suggested over 30 years ago that ‘hours of work have long been recognized as having a marked effect on the way an individual and his family lives’. Research investigating the relationship between work hours and health, produced findings which raised concern about the impact of long work hours on an individual’s well-being. Buell & Breslow (1960), for example, found a higher incidence of coronary heart disease in men who worked over 48 hours per week.