Nicola De Carlo

The Mediating Role of Psychophysic Strain in the Relationship Between Workaholism, Job Performance, and Sickness Absence: A Longitudinal Study

Objective: To test a theoretical model in which workaholism predicts both directly and indirectly, via psychophysic strain, job performance and sickness absences. Methods: A multimethod study was performed examining a sample of 322 workers in a private company. The study was articulated into two phases, over a time period of 15 months. Workaholism was assessed using a self-report measure (time 1). Psychophysic strain was measured by the occupational physician, performance by the supervisor, and data on sickness absences were collected from the companys database (time 2). Results: Results highlighted a positive relationship between workaholism and psychophysic strain. Psychophysic strain was negatively associated with job performance and positively associated with sickness absences. In addition, workaholism predicted sickness absences. Conclusion: Workaholism negatively affects the health of workers. This is associated with lower working performance and greater sickness absences.

Workaholism and work engagement in the family: The relationship between parents and children as a risk factor

The present study investigated the relationship between adult children’s level of workaholism and their parents’ levels of workaholism and work engagement. A hundred and forty-six families (mother, father, and one adult child, all of whom were working) took part in the study (N = 438) through parallel forms of a structured questionnaire. Two hypotheses were formulated: Having at least one parent with high levels of excessive work or compulsive work (H1) or with high levels of work engagement (H2) are risk factors, in terms of workaholism in the offspring. A series of logistic regression analyses were carried out. The results showed that fathers’ scores on working excessively are positively related to workaholism in the children. The results are discussed in terms of vicarious learning theories. Practical implications for individual and family environment are also provided.

One size doesn’t fit all: the influence of supervisors’ power tactics and subordinates’ need for cognitive closure on burnout and stress

The present research investigated the notion of fit between supervisors’ power tactics and subordinates’ need for cognitive closure (NFCC) on subordinates’ burnout and stress. Subordinates who tend to avoid ambiguity (high NFCC) were expected to experience relatively less burnout (Study 1) and stress (Study 2) if their supervisors utilize harsh (controlling and unequivocal) power tactics and more burnout and stress if their supervisors utilize soft (autonomy-supportive and equivocal) power tactics. In contrast, it was expected that subordinates who avoid firm and binding conclusions (low NFCC) would experience relatively less burnout and stress if their supervisors use soft power tactics and more burnout and stress if they use harsh power tactics. Two studies conducted in diverse organizational settings supported these hypotheses. Collectively, these results support the conclusion that soft (vs. harsh) power tactics are not always associated with better (vs. worse) organizational outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications for organizations are discussed.

Handling conflict at work The role of fit between subordinates' need for closure and supervisors' power tactics

Purpose – This research aims to explore the notion of fit between subordinates’ need for cognitive closure and supervisors’ power tactics on organizational conflict management. Design/methodology/approach – Two-hundred and ninety employees drawn from six different Italian organizations were recruited for the purpose of this study. Findings – Results indicated that high-need-for-closure subordinates utilized more constructive (solution-oriented) conflict management strategies when their supervisors relied on harsh power tactics, whereas low-need-for-closure subordinates were more inclined to use solution-oriented conflict management strategies when their supervisors relied on soft power tactics. Additionally, results indicated that, overall, supervisors’ use of harsh power tactics increased subordinates reliance on maladapted (control-oriented) conflict management strategies, but even more so for subordinates with low need for cognitive closure. Originality/value – This study highlights the importance of s...

Distinct CCL2, CCL5, CCL11, CCL27, IL-17, IL-6, BDNF serum profiles correlate to different job-stress outcomes

Chronic psychosocial stress at workplace is an important factor in the development of physical and mental illness. Objective biological measures of chronic stress are still lacking, but inflammatory response and growth factors are increasingly considered as potential stress biomarkers. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between psychophysical strain and serum levels of 48 chemokines, cytokines and growth factors measured using a multiplex immunoassay, and serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) measured by ELISA. Severity of psychophysical strain was scored in 115 healthy hospital workers using specific scales for anxiety, depression-like emotion, gastrointestinal or cardiac disturbances, and ergonomic dysfunction. Multivariate analysis revealed that higher anxiety scale scores were correlated with lower serum chemokine C-C motif ligand-2 (CCL2/MCP-1), chemokine C-C motif ligand-5 (CCL5/RANTES), chemokine C-C motif ligand-27 (CCL27/CTACK), chemokine C-C motif ligand-11 (CCL11/Eotaxin) and interleukin-6 (IL-6); gastrointestinal disturbances correlated with increased levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17) and reduced CCL11/Eotaxin, CCL27/CTACK and CCL2/MCP-1; while cardiac dysfunctions associate only to reduced CCL27/CTACK, and ergonomic dysfunction correlated with increased BDNF and reduced CCL11/Eotaxin and CCL5/RANTES. Thus, these 7 serum factors may provide a distinct signature for each different stress-related psychophysical outcome giving indications on individual vulnerabilities.

“To be, rather than to seem”: The impact of supervisor’s and personal responsibility on work engagement, job performance, and job satisfaction in a positive healthcare organization

Moving from a definition of positive organization, in this study the relationship among job resources (i.e., supervisor’s responsibility, job autonomy, and perceived organizational support), personal resources (i.e., responsibility toward the task and toward colleagues and collaborators), work engagement, and its positive outcomes (i.e., job performance and job satisfaction) were investigated in an Italian public healthcare organization. Data were collected from 224 healthcare employees who completed a questionnaire to express their evaluations. The aims of the study were: a) to explore the issue of responsibility — a construct still little investigated in the literature — with particular reference to the supervisor’s role; b) to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Positive Organization Questionnaire (POQ) and of the other instruments adopted through confirmatory factor analyses; c) to verify the hypothesized relations through a structural equation model with observed variables. Results showed that the scales adopted had satisfactory psychometric properties. Furthermore, according to the JD-R model, job autonomy and perceived organizational support were positively associated with work engagement, which, in turn, was positively associated with job performance and job satisfaction. In this study, supervisor’s responsibility is seen as a job resource, however it wasn’t directly related with the considered outcomes, but employee responsibility toward the task mediated the relationship between supervisor’s responsibility and job performance, like responsibility toward colleagues and collaborators mediated the relationship with work engagement. Finally, job autonomy showed a positive direct effect on job satisfaction. Some limitations and future developments are discussed.

Positive personal resources and organizational well-being: resilience, hope, optimism, and self-efficacyin an Italian health care setting

The present study fits within the Positive Psychology approach, according to which a positive outlook is a valuable “natural defence” to contrast the possible negative effects of stress. In line with the Psychological Capital (PsyCap) model, the study aims to assess the metric properties of four scales geared to measure the positive personal resources considered by such model — resilience, hope, optimism, and self-efficacy — as well as to ascertain the presence of a higher-order factor representing these four personal resources. The fit of the models to the data (χ, CFI, and SRMR) are satisfactory. The scales factor structures and the higher-order factor are therefore confirmed. Such scales thus appear to be appropriate to assess the influence of some individual work characteristics in the work-related stress process.