Mindy K. Shoss

The economy and absenteeism: a macro-level study.

Despite much speculation, little is known about the net effects of the economy on the employed workforce. To fill this gap, we used state-level data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to examine the effects of the condition of the economy, as indicated by the unemployment rate, on incidence rates of absence reportedly due to symptoms of illness and violent acts in the workplace for 43 states from 1992 to 2009. Our results suggest that the unemployment rate is positively associated with these indicators of absenteeism, and that these effects are delayed in time.

Check-up Time: A Closer Look at Physical Symptoms in Occupational Health Research

In order to advance research on stress-related symptoms in occupational health psychology, our study examined three ways to measure physical symptoms-by asking about symptom frequency, interference with daily activities and whether a doctor was seen for each symptom. We used exploratory factor analysis and item response theory to gain greater insight into these measures and compared how symptoms measured along these dimensions predicted other stress-related outcomes in the workplace. Among the main findings of our study are the following: (1) symptoms may be categorized as those that occur as a response to acute events and those that reflect more chronic stress; (2) individuals appear to have a relatively low threshold for reporting that acute symptoms (e.g. heart pounding) interfere with daily activities; and (3) specific symptom (acute, chronic)-response format (frequency, interference) combinations uniquely predicted other strain variables in conceptually meaningful ways. Recommendations for the assessment of physical symptoms are provided.

Push and Pull: In-Situ Beliefs that Motivate and Deter CWB in Response to Injustice

What are employees thinking when they engage in such counterproductive behaviors as putting little effort into work, purposely doing work incorrectly, treating a coworker rudely, and withholding ne...

Testing a short version of the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory: An Italian Study

Negli ultimi anni il costrutto di intelligenza emotiva ha attratto particolare interesse nel panorama scientifico. Sono inoltre stati sviluppati metodi diversi di valutazione dei va- riegati aspetti riguardanti l’intelligenza emotiva. Lo scopo di questo lavoro e quello di analizzare le caratteristiche psicometriche del Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory: Short (Bar-On Eq-i:S; Bar-On, 2002) mettendone in luce l’attendibilita e validita nella versione italiana. I risultati emersi consentono di concludere che lo strumento in esame possiede proprieta psicometriche accettabili.