Nicola Jacobshagen

The double meaning of control: three-way interactions between internal resources, job control, and stressors at work.

The Job Demand-Control model postulates that job control attenuates the effects of job demands on health and well-being. Support for this interactive effect is rather weak. Conceivably, it holds only when there is a match between job control and individual characteristics that relate to exercising control options, such as locus of control, or self-efficacy. This three-way interaction was tested in a sample of 96 service employees, with affective strain and musculoskeletal pain as dependent variables. As hypothesized, job control attenuated the effects of stressors only for people with an internal locus of control. For people with an external locus of control, job control actually predicted poorer well-being and health as stressors increased. For self-efficacy, the corresponding three-way interaction was significant with regard to affective strain.

Longitudinal validation of the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ) in a Swiss-German sample of low back pain patients

Work and activity-specific fear-avoidance beliefs have been identified as important predictor variables in relation to the development of, and treatment outcome for, chronic low back pain. The objective of this study was to provide a cross-cultural German adaptation of the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ) and to investigate its psychometric properties (reliability, validity) and predictive power in a sample of Swiss-German low back pain patients. Questionnaires from 388 operatively and non-operatively treated patients were administered before and 6 months after treatment to assess: socio-demographic data, disability (Roland and Morris), pain severity, fear-avoidance beliefs, depression (ZUNG) and heightened somatic awareness (MSPQ). Complete baseline and follow-up questionnaires were available from 255 participants. The corrected item-total correlations, coefficients of test-retest reliability and internal consistencies of the two scales of the questionnaire were highly satisfactory. In a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), all items loaded on the appropriate factor with minor loadings on the other. Cross-sectional regression analysis with disability and work loss as the dependent variables yielded results that were highly comparable with those reported for the original version. Prognostic regression analysis replicated the findings for work loss. The cross-cultural German adaptation of the FABQ was very successful and yielded psychometric properties and predictive power of the scales similar to the original version. The inclusion of fear-avoidance beliefs as predictor variables in studies of low back pain is highly recommended, as they appear to have unique predictive power in analyses of disability and work loss.

Illegitimate tasks as a source of work stress

Illegitimate tasks represent a task-level stressor derived from role and justice theories within the framework of “Stress-as–Offense-to-Self” (SOS; Semmer, Jacobshagen, Meier, & Elfering, 2007). Tasks are illegitimate if they violate norms about what an employee can properly be expected to do, because they are perceived as unnecessary or unreasonable; they imply a threat to ones professional identity. We report three studies testing associations between illegitimate tasks and well-being/strain. In two cross-sectional studies, illegitimate tasks predicted low self-esteem, feelings of resentment towards ones organization and burnout, controlling for role conflict, distributive injustice and social stressors in Study 1, and for distributive and procedural/interactional justice in Study 2. In Study 3, illegitimate tasks predicted two strain variables (feelings of resentment towards ones organization and irritability) over a period of two months, controlling for initial values of strain. Results confirm the unique contribution of illegitimate tasks to well-being and strain, beyond the effects of other predictors. Moreover, Study 3 demonstrated that illegitimate tasks predicted strain, rather than being predicted by it. We therefore conclude that illegitimate tasks represent an aspect of job design that deserves more attention, both in research and in decisions about task assignments.

The Effect of Positive Events at Work on After-Work Fatigue: They Matter Most in Face of Adversity

There is evidence that daily negative events at work enhance fatigue. In contrast, positive events may trigger processes that increase, but also processes that decrease, energetic resources. Accordingly, results regarding a main effect of positive events on fatigue have been mixed. However, a clearer pattern between positive events and fatigue can be expected under adverse circumstances (i.e., accumulation of negative events, high chronic stressors). Positive events may facilitate coping and accelerate recovery processes and, thus, reduce resource drain due to daily negative events and chronic stressors. Predicting fatigue in a diary study with 76 employees, we investigated interactions between daily positive events and (a) daily negative events and (b) chronic social stressors. Multilevel modeling revealed that negative but not positive events were associated with increased end-of-work fatigue. However, positive events interacted with negative events and with chronic social stressors. As expected, positive events were negatively associated with fatigue only on days with many negative events, but not so on days with few negative events. Analogously, positive events were negatively associated with fatigue only among employees with high, compared with low, chronic social stressors. We conclude that the beneficial short-term effects of positive events on energetic resources are largely confined to adverse circumstances.

I shouldn't have to do this: Illegitimate tasks as a stressor in relation to organizational control and resource deficits

Abstract The performance of tasks that are perceived as unnecessary or unreasonable – illegitimate tasks – represents a new stressor concept that refers to assignments that violate the norms associated with the role requirements of professional work. Research has shown that illegitimate tasks are associated with stress and counterproductive work behaviour. The purpose of this study was to provide insight into the contribution of characteristics of the organization on the prevalence of illegitimate tasks in the work of frontline and middle managers. Using the Bern Illegitimate Task Scale (BITS) in a sample of 440 local government operations managers in 28 different organizations in Sweden, this study supports the theoretical assumptions that illegitimate tasks are positively related to stress and negatively related to satisfaction with work performance. Results further show that 10% of the variance in illegitimate tasks can be attributed to the organization where the managers work. Multilevel referential analysis showed that the more the organization was characterized by competition for resources between units, unfair and arbitrary resource allocation and obscure decisional structure, the more illegitimate tasks managers reported. These results should be valuable for strategic-level management since they indicate that illegitimate tasks can be counteracted by means of the organization of work.

Work-Family-Balance im Topmanagement

Zusammenfassung. Das Topmanagement ist eine eher selten untersuchte Population. In dieser Untersuchung wurden in Zusammenarbeit mit einem Schweizer Groskonzern die Auspragungen verschiedener Stressoren und Ressourcen in der Arbeit und deren Zusammenhange mit Befindensparametern im Topmanagement (N = 143) analysiert. Der Konflikt Arbeit - Familie war in dieser Population stark ausgepragt und korrelierte erwartungsgemas mit arbeitsbezogenen Stressoren (r = .23 bis .48). In hierarchischen Regressionsanalysen sagte er die drei Befindensparameter Irritation, psychosomatische Beschwerden und arbeitsbezogene Depressivitat vorher, auch wenn Ressourcen (positive soziale Beziehungen und Handlungsspielraum) und arbeitsbezogene Stressoren (Uberlastung, Arbeitsplatzunsicherheit und Anzahl der Arbeitsstunden) kontrolliert wurden. Mediationsanalysen zeigten, dass der Konflikt Arbeit - Familie die Beziehungen zwischen den drei arbeitsbezogenen Stressoren und den drei Befindensbeeintrachtigungen fast immer mediierte.

Appreciative leadership and employee well-being in everyday working life

This study examines the relationship between appreciative behavior and employee well-being on a daily basis. The theoretical rationale of our approach is based in leadership concepts emphasizing the relational aspect of leadership, and, more generally, in a framework that emphasizes the central role of threats, or boosts, to self-esteem (i.e., the concept of “Stress-as-Offense-to-Self” [SOS]). Qualitative and quantitative data of 139 employees working in different occupations were assessed during five consecutive workdays. First, based on event-sampling of appreciative situations, the nature of appreciative situations from the perspective of the employees, as it manifests itself in daily episodes, was examined. Simple praise and gratitude were the most frequent types of appreciative behavior reported. Besides leaders, customers and co-workers were frequent sources of appreciation as well. Second, the intra-individual effects of daily experiences of appreciation on employee well-being at the end of work were analyzed. Multi-level random coefficient modeling showed that daily appreciation by all sources significantly predicted serenity (i.e., a low-arousal / high pleasure type of well-being) at the end of work. As serenity is likely to affect recovery, which, in turn, may affect health and performance, our findings show that for leaders, but not only for leaders, displaying elementary appreciative behavior is a simple but important tool for enhancing employee health and well-being.

Psychische Beanspruchung durch illegitime Aufgaben

Illegitime Aufgaben sind Bestandteil des „Stress-as-Offense-to-Self“-Konzepts, das an der Universitat Bern entwickelt wurde. Es geht von der Annahme aus, dass viele Situationen vor allem dadurch Stress auslosen, dass sie Ausdruck mangelnder Wertschatzung sind und damit den Selbstwert bedrohen. Illegitime Aufgaben sind definiert als Aufgaben, die man von einer Person eigentlich nicht erwarten kann; das kann daran liegen, dass sie als vermeidbar – und damit als unnotig – empfunden werden, oder daran, dass sie der beruflichen Kernrolle nicht entsprechen und deshalb als unzumutbar empfunden werden. Das Kapitel beschreibt die Merkmale von illegitimen Aufgaben, ordnet sie in die bisherige Forschung ein und grenzt sie von anderen, bereits bestehenden Konzepten ab. Zum anderen wird uber erste Forschungsergebnisse berichtet, die die Tragfahigkeit des Konzepts zeigen. Das Kapitel endet mit der Diskussion weiterer Forschungsnotwendigkeiten (zum Beispiel im Hinblick auf interindividuelle Unterschiede) sowie praktischer Implikationen (zum Beispiel im Hinblick auf die Schulung von Fuhrungskraften im Erkennen von und im Umgang mit illegitimen Aufgaben).

Voll der Stress? Stress bei Adoleszenten in den letzten Schuljahren

Die Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie setzt typischerweise erst beim Ubergang in das Erwerbsleben an. So werden beispielsweise junge Menschen untersucht, die sich nach ihrer Ausbildung ins Arbeitsleben begeben und deren weitere Entwicklung in den ersten Jahren der Erwerbstatigkeit studiert (z.B. Projekt AEUQAS - Semmer, Tschan, Elfering, Kalin & Grebner, 2005). Stress bei Schulern und Schulerinnen in der Adoleszenz wird eher von anderen Disziplinen untersucht (z.B. Padagogik, Erziehungswissenschaften und Medizin) oder anderen psychologischen Teildisziplinen (z.B. Entwicklungs- und Gesundheitspsychologie, Klinische und Padagogische Psychologie). Welchen Beitrag kann die Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie zum Thema Stress bei Adoleszenten leisten? Ausgehend von arbeitspsychologischen Stresskonzepten werden wir in diesem Kapitel dieser Frage nachgehen und stressauslosende Bedingungen, mogliche Ressourcen, Stressreaktionen und exemplarisch Ansatze zur Diagnostik und Intervention bei Adoleszenten vorstellen.1

Kann das Sinnerleben der Arbeit durch illegitime Aufgaben erschüttert werden

Fur die berufliche Identitat und das Selbstkonzept einer Person ist es wichtig, die eigene Arbeitstatigkeit und die damit verbundenen Aufgaben als sinnvoll zu erleben. Nun beinhalten Tatigkeiten viele verschiedene Aufgaben; manche von ihnen charakterisieren den Kern der Tatigkeit, hinzu kommen Nebentatigkeiten. Zum Sinnerleben tragen vor allem die Kerntatigkeiten bei; sie gut zu erfullen, starkt unseren Selbstwert. Aufgaben hingegen, die nicht zu unserer beruflichen Rolle gehoren, die vielmehr andere ausfuhren sollten, und Tatigkeiten, die wir als unnotig erleben, die vermeidbar gewesen waren, stutzen unsere berufliche Identitat nicht nur nicht – sie stellen einen Angriff auf das Selbst dar und hindern uns an der Ausfuhrung unserer Kernaufgaben. Wir bezeichnen solche Aufgaben als illegitime Aufgaben, mit zwei Unterkategorien: Unnotige Aufgaben („ist das wirklich notig?“) und unzumutbare Aufgaben („das ist nun wirklich nicht meine Aufgabe“). Nach dem Konzept des Stress-as-Offense-to Self (SOS), das seit 2003 an der Universitat Bern entwickelt wurde, stellen illegitime Aufgaben einen Stressfaktor dar – nicht, weil sie eine Person uber- oder unterfordern oder ein Ungleichgewicht zwischen Anforderungen und Belohnungen darstellen, sondern weil sie den Selbstwert bedrohen. Der Beitrag erlautert das Konzept der illegitimen Aufgaben im Kontext der SOS-Theorie und er schildert empirische Forschungen zum Zusammenhang von illegitimen Aufgaben und Stress-Symptomen. Der Beitrag schliest mit Schlussfolgerungen fur Theorie und Praxis.