Katriina Hyvönen

Long-term patterns of effort-reward imbalance and over-commitment: Investigating occupational well-being and recovery experiences as outcomes

The aim of this study was, first, to identify long-term patterns of effort-reward imbalance (ERI) and over-commitment (OVC), and, second, to examine how occupational well-being (burnout, work engagement) and recovery experiences (psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery and control) differ in these patterns. The study was based on follow-up data with three measurement points (2006, 2008, 2010) collected from Finnish managers (N=298). Latent Profile Analysis resulted in five long-term ERI-OVC patterns: a high-risk pattern (high ERI, high OVC), found in 20% of the participants; a low-risk pattern (low ERI, low OVC), found in 24% of participants; a relatively low-risk pattern (low ERI, moderate OVC), found in 47% of participants; a favourable change pattern (decreasing ERI and OVC), in 7%; and an unfavourable change pattern (high ERI with increasing linear trend, OVC with curvilinear trend) in 2%. The results showed, in line with the ERI model, that managers in the high-risk pattern showed higher burnout scores and poorer recovery experiences compared to those in the low-risk patterns. However, no differences were found in work engagement between the high and low-risk patterns. Thus, the ERI model seemed better to explain stress-related indicators of occupational well-being than motivational indicators.

Bergen Burnout Inventory: reliability and validity among Finnish and Estonian managers

ObjectivesThis study introduces a short measure for burnout (the Bergen Burnout Inventory, BBI) and examines its validity and reliability among managers in Finland and Estonia by means of confirmatory factor analysis. Burnout comprises three dimensions: (1) exhaustion at work (emotional component), (2) cynicism toward the meaning of work (cognitive component), and (3) the sense of inadequacy at work (behavioral component).MethodsA total of 742 young Finnish managers and 414 Estonian managers responded to burnout (BBI) and effort–reward imbalance (ERI) scales.ResultsThe results showed that the three-factor solution for burnout, compared to the one- or two-factor solutions, fitted the data best and gave the best reliability indices. The three theoretically derived dimensions of burnout were closely related but separate constructs. The BBI also had high item scale reliabilities among the managers in both countries. Finally, the effort–reward imbalance (ERI) model and the three dimensions of burnout had similar associations among Finnish and Estonian managers providing evidence for the concurrent validity of the BBI. That is, high effort was related to high exhaustion and high cynicism. High reward was related to low exhaustion, but especially to low cynicism and low inadequacy. High overcommitment was related particularly to high exhaustion, but also to high cynicism and high inadequacy.ConclusionsThe BBI can be used for the measurement of burnout in both research and occupational health contexts.

Factorial validity of the effort–reward imbalance scale: evidence from multi-sample and three-wave follow-up studies

PurposeThe present study investigated whether the factor structure of the effort–reward imbalance (ERI) scale (Siegrist et al. Soc Sci Med 58:1483–1499, 2004) remains same across two white-collar samples (i.e., factorial group invariance) and across three measurement times (i.e., factorial time invariance).MethodsThe factorial group invariance was tested using two different samples including 1,301 managers and 758 young white-collar professionals. The factorial time invariance was tested in the latter sample with a four-year three-wave follow-up design.ResultsThe confirmatory factor analysis performed supported the theoretically based structure of the ERI scale, that is, the scale included two first-order factors of effort and overcommitment and one second-order factor of reward with first-order factors of esteem, career opportunities, and job security. The factorial group invariance of this structure was also supported. In addition, the factor loadings of all factors remained same across three measurements; thus, lending support for the factorial time invariance.ConclusionThe ERI scale was found to be a valid tool to measure costs and gains of social exchanges at work as well as individual orientation toward work in these two occupational samples including a longitudinal study design.

The 9-item Bergen Burnout Inventory: Factorial Validity Across Organizations and Measurements of Longitudinal Data

The present study tested the factorial validity of the 9-item Bergen Burnout Inventory (BBI-9)1). The BBI-9 is comprised of three core dimensions: (1) exhaustion at work; (2) cynicism toward the meaning of work; and (3) sense of inadequacy at work. The study further investigated whether the three-factor structure of the BBI-9 remains the same across different organizations (group invariance) and measurement time points (time invariance). The factorial group invariance was tested using a cross-sectional design with data pertaining to managers (n=742), and employees working in a bank (n=162), an engineering office (n=236), a public sector organization divided into three service areas: administration (n=102), education and culture (n=581), and social affairs and health (n=1,505). Factorial time invariance was tested using longitudinal data pertaining to managers, with three measurements over a four-year follow-up period. The confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the three-factor structure of the BBI-9 was invariant across cross-sectional samples. The factorial invariance was also supported across measurement times. To conclude, the factorial structure of the BBI-9 was found to remain the same regardless of the sample properties and measurement times.

Changes in personal work goals in relation to the psychosocial work environment: A two-year follow-up study

Abstract Associations between changes in the psychosocial work environment and changes in personal work goals were investigated in a two-wave, two-year longitudinal study. Psychosocial work environment was studied within the context of the Effort–Reward Imbalance model (ERI; Siegrist, 1996). The participants consisted of 423 young Finnish managers. Their most important personal work goals were categorized into seven content categories of competence, progression, well-being, job change, job security, organization, and finance at both measurement times. There were differences, especially in changes in the career opportunities factor of reward, between participants whose goals changed during the study. First, those who became engaged in job change goals also reported a decrease in rewards between T1 and T2, whereas participants who became engaged in competence or organizational goals also reported an increase in rewards over time. Second, participants who disengaged from job change goals reported an increase in reward and a reduction in effort–reward imbalance. Finally, a reduction in rewards and an increase in ERI were accompanied by disengagement from job security goals. The study highlights the central role of psychosocial factors, and in particular the reward factor of career opportunities, in goal pursuit. These results can have implications for the occupational well-being of employees.

Overcommitment as a predictor of effort–reward imbalance: evidence from an 8-year follow-up study

OBJECTIVE The effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model includes the personal characteristic of overcommitment (OC) and the job-related characteristics of effort, reward, and ERI, all of which are assumed to play a role in an employees health and well-being at work. The aim of the present longitudinal study was to shed more light on the dynamics of the ERI model by investigating the basic hypotheses related to the role of OC in the model, ie, to establish whether an employees OC could be a risk factor for an increased experience of high effort, low reward, and high ERI at work. METHODS The study was based on 5-wave, 8-year follow-up data collected among Finnish professionals in 2006 (T1, N=747), 2008 (T2, N=422), 2010 (T3, N=368), 2012 (T4, N=325), and 2014 (T5, N=273). The participants were mostly male (85% at T1) and the majority of them worked in technical fields. OC, effort, reward, and ERI were measured at each time point with the 23-item ERI scale. RESULTS Three cross-lagged structural equation models (SEM) were estimated and compared by using full information maximum likelihood method: (i) OC predicted later experiences of effort, reward, and ERI (normal causation model), (ii) effort, reward, and ERI predicted later OC (reversed causation model), and (iii) associations in normal causal and reversed causal models were simultaneously valid (reciprocal causation model). The results supported the normal causation model: strong OC predicted later experiences of high effort, low reward and high ERI. CONCLUSIONS High OC is a risk factor for an increased experience of job strain factors; that is, high effort, low reward, and high ERI. Thus, OC is a risk factor not only for an employees well-being and health but also for an increasing risk for perceiving adverse job strain factors in the working environment.

Long-Term Reward Patterns Contribute to Personal Goals at Work Among Finnish Managers:

The research addresses the impact of long-term reward patterns on contents of personal work goals among young Finnish managers (N = 747). Reward patterns were formed on the basis of perceived and objective career rewards (i.e., career stability and promotions) across four measurements (years 2006–2012). Goals were measured in 2012 and classified into categories of competence, progression, well-being, job change, job security, organization, and financial goals. The factor mixture analysis identified a three-class solution as the best model of reward patterns: high rewards (77%), increasing rewards (17%), and reducing rewards (7%). Participants with reducing rewards reported more progression, well-being, job change, and financial goals than participants with high rewards as well as fewer competence and organizational goals than participants with increasing rewards. Workplace resources can be a key role in facilitating goals toward building competence and organizational performance.

Conflicting personal goals: a risk to occupational well-being?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating role of goal conflict in the relationship between the contents of managers’ personal work goals and occupational well-being (burnout and work engagement). Eight goal categories (organization, competence, well-being, career-ending, progression, prestige, job change, and employment contract) described the contents of goals. Goal conflict reflected the degree to which a personal work goal was perceived to interfere with other life domains. Design/methodology/approach – The data were drawn from a study directed to Finnish managers in 2009 (n=806). General linear models were conducted to investigate the associations between goal content categories and occupational well-being and to test whether goal conflict moderates the relationship between goal content categories and occupational well-being. Findings – Career-ending goals related to significantly higher burnout than progression goals. Participants with organization, competence, or progress...

Profiles of nature exposure and outdoor activities associated with occupational well-being among employees

This research addresses the profiles of nature exposure and outdoor activities in nature among Finnish employees (N = 783). The profiles were formed on the bases of nature exposure at work and the frequency and type of outdoor activities in nature engaged in during leisure time. The profiles were investigated in relation to work engagement and burnout. The latent profile analysis identified a five-class solution as the best model: High exposure (8%), Versatile exposure (22%), Unilateral exposure (38%), Average exposure (13%), and Low exposure (19%). An Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted for each well-being outcome in order to evaluate how the identified profiles related to occupational well-being. Participants with a High, Versatile, or Unilateral exposure profile reported significantly higher work engagement in the dimensions of vigor and dedication than did the participants with a Low exposure profile. The participants with the High exposure profile also reported lower burnout in the dimensions of cynicism and professional inadequacy than the participants with the Low exposure profile. Nature exposure during the workday and leisure time is an under researched but important aspect in promoting occupational well-being.