Sabine Raeder

Careers and identity in flexible working: Do flexible identities fare better?

The relationship between personal identity and experience of individual career change and flexible working was investigated. Cluster analyses with survey data from 596 employees in 14 companies with varying levels of flexibility indicated the existence of four types of personal identity: the critical-flexible, self-determined, continuous, and job-centred type. The types were explicated further on the basis of narrative interviews with 59 individuals with either a continuous or discontinuous work biography. The types differed significantly in the identity dimensions biographical continuity, ecological consistency, and locus of control as well as in career-related self-esteem and satisfaction with their employment situation, especially their psychological contract. The continuous type expressed the highest and the critical-flexible type the least satisfaction. Consequences for career management and identity research are discussed.

The Association Between Workers' Employability and Burnout in a Reorganization Context: Longitudinal Evidence Building Upon the Conservation of Resources Theory

This longitudinal study probes the relationship between employability and burnout among employees from a company undergoing reorganization. We advanced employability as a personal resource that relates negatively to burnout. We expected that this hypothesis would hold for different operationalizations of employability, including (1) job-related and (2) transferable skills, (3) willingness to change jobs and (4) to develop competences, (5) opportunity awareness, (6) self-esteem, and (7) self-perceived employability (i.e., perceived employment opportunities). In a similar vein, we expected that the hypothesis would hold for the different dimensions of burnout; namely emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. We used longitudinal Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) to test our hypotheses. Employees from a Swiss company undergoing a major reorganization were surveyed at three times with a total time lag of 19 months (Time 1: N = 287; Time 2: N = 128; Time 3: N = 107). Our results indicate that particularly self-esteem, but also job-related and transferable skills as indicators of ones employability were important predictors of burnout, with all relationships being negative.

Leading International Project Teams The Effectiveness of Transformational Leadership in Dynamic Work Environments

The effects of transformational leadership are contingent on the complexity of the context in which the leadership is executed. This study examined transformational leadership in the context of international project teams and its relationship to team performance, work adjustment, and job satisfaction. The mediating influence of trust in the team was investigated. Data were collected from 286 international assignees in multinational project teams in an oil and gas corporation. Results revealed a positive relationship between transformational leadership and the outcomes. Trust in the team partially mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and team performance, and environmental dynamism moderated the direct effect between transformational leadership and team performance. Our results provide support for the applicability of transformational leader behaviors in contexts with varying degree of complexity.

Predictors of depressive symptoms among resettled unaccompanied refugee minors

This study investigated the level and predictors of depressive symptoms among unaccompanied refugee minors after resettlement in Norway. Participants (N = 414) were resettled in 26 municipalities from all regions of the country. The average length of resettlement time was 3.4 years. They originated from 33 different countries, mainly Afghanistan (n = 116), Somalia (n = 74), Sri Lanka (n = 41) and Iraq (n = 43). Participants completed a self-report questionnaire administered in groups. Findings show that unaccompanied minors are a high-risk group for mental health problems also after resettlement in a new country. A multilevel model predicting depressive symptoms from individual and contextual demographic factors indicated that, controlling for post-traumatic stress, females had more symptoms than males and Somalis had fewer symptoms than participants from other countries. Variation in symptom levels as a function of gender and ethnic background indicates that some groups may have inherent protective or vulnerability factors that need to be further studied to understand differences in psychosocial adaptation among unaccompanied minors. Further, findings imply that researchers, policy makers and mental health care workers need to expand their attention beyond the first phases of arrival of unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee minors to the continuing experience of mental health problems after resettlement.

Multilevel Growth Curve Analyses of Treatment Effects of a Web-Based Intervention for Stress Reduction: Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Stress is commonly experienced by many people and it is a contributing factor to many mental and physical health conditions, However, few efforts have been made to develop and test the effects of interventions for stress. Objective The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a Web-based stress-reduction intervention on stress, investigate mindfulness and procrastination as potential mediators of any treatment effects, and test whether the intervention is equally effective for females as males, all ages, and all levels of education. Methods We employed a randomized controlled trial in this study. Participants were recruited online via Facebook and randomly assigned to either the stress intervention or a control condition. The Web-based stress intervention was fully automated and consisted of 13 sessions over 1 month. The controls were informed that they would get access to the intervention after the final data collection. Data were collected at baseline and at 1, 2, and 6 months after intervention onset by means of online questionnaires. Outcomes were stress, mindfulness, and procrastination, which were all measured at every measurement occasion. Results A total of 259 participants were included and were allocated to either the stress intervention (n=126) or the control condition (n=133). Participants in the intervention and control group were comparable at baseline; however, results revealed that participants in the stress intervention followed a statistically different (ie, cubic) developmental trajectory in stress levels over time compared to the controls. A growth curve analysis showed that participants in the stress intervention (unstandardized beta coefficient [B]=–3.45, P=.008) recovered more quickly compared to the control group (B=–0.81, P=.34) from baseline to 1 month. Although participants in the stress intervention did show increases in stress levels during the study period (B=2.23, P=.008), long-term stress levels did decrease again toward study end at 6 months (B=–0.28, P=.009). Stress levels in the control group, however, remained largely unchanged after 1 month (B=0.29, P=.61) and toward 6 months (B=–0.03, P=.67). Mediation analyses showed nonlinear (ie, cubic) specific indirect effects of mindfulness and a linear specific indirect effect of procrastination on stress. In simple terms, the intervention increased mindfulness and decreased procrastination, which was related to lower stress levels. Finally, the effect of the stress intervention was independent of participants’ gender, age, or education. Conclusions The results from this randomized controlled trial suggest that a Web-based intervention can reduce levels of stress in a normal population and that both mindfulness and procrastination may be important components included in future eHealth interventions for stress. Trial Registration International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN): 25619675; http://controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN25619675 (Archived by Webcite at http://www.webcitation.org/6FxB1gOKY)

Human resource management practices and psychological contracts in Swiss firms: an employer perspective

This article investigates the relationship between HRM practices and organisational performance, considering the fulfilment of the psychological contract as an intermediate variable. Apart from testing the influences of a high-investment HRM system index on the psychological contract, the influence of individual HRM practices and their interaction was examined. The sample consisted of HR managers of 92 firms in Switzerland and the data were collected for the Cranfield Network project. The results showed that the high-investment HRM system index predicted the fulfilment of the psychological contract, and some of the individual HRM practices were correlated with the fulfilment of the psychological contract. The interaction effect of performance appraisal and performance-based pay on the fulfilment of the psychological contract showed that performance appraisal is only effective in combination with a tangible consequence in the form of performance-based pay. We neither found a mediation effect for the psychological contract nor an association with organisational performance. This might be due to the fact that the questionnaire was filled in during the financial crisis in 2008 and that the organisational performance was assessed in an economic crisis. Our study sheds light on the relationship between HRM practices and the psychological contract and contributes to the body of research on psychological contracts from a macro level perspective.

Better Days – A randomized controlled trial of an internet-based positive psychology intervention

The internet seems promising for delivering interventions to enhance well-being in a normal population. The aim of this study was to test the effects of an internet-based positive psychology intervention targeting gratitude, pleasant activities, strengths, mastery, acts of kindness, optimism, flow, attributions, and mindfulness. One-hundred and twelve participants were randomized to the intervention and 94 to the control group, and data were collected at baseline, one, two, and six months after intervention onset. The balance of positive to negative affect increased over time among participants in the intervention group (unstandardized beta coefficient [B] = 0.07, p < 0.01), as compared to the controls (B = 0.02, p = 010). The intervention worked equally well regardless of participants’ gender, age, or education. However, optimism did not mediate the effect of the intervention on affect balance. In conclusion, the intervention had a small, but significant effect on affect balance among healthy adults.

Managing psychological contracts in the era of the “new” career

New career patterns and shifting psychological contracts pose new challenges to organizations and their career management practices. This study examines the need for an individualized approach to career management, taking into account the changing conditions of careers. Therefore, the hypotheses that “new” versus traditional types of career orientation moderate the relationship between breach of psychological contract and work attitudes were tested. Specifically, it was predicted that the relationships between breach of particular contents of psychological contracts and work attitudes are moderated by three distinct types of career orientation (independent, traditional/promotion, traditional/loyalty). Results confirmed that differential relationships do exist between breach of contract contents, individual career orientation, and work attitudes. As hypothesized, disengaged career-oriented employees did not react to any particular content breach. Thus, career orientations relate to the magnitude and the type of employee response after breach of particular contract contents. When managing employment relationships by providing human resource and career management practices, managers and human resource professionals should take into account the employees individual career orientation.

Flexibilität ersetzt Kontinuität

Mit der Flexibilisierung von Arbeitsverhaltnissen verandern sich auch die psychologischen Kontrakte, d.h. die wechselseitigen Angebote und Erwartungen von Arbeitgebenden und Arbeitnehmenden. Parallel dazu wird vermehrt auch individuell der Wunsch nach mehr Flexibilitat im Berufsalltag oder in der beruflichen Laufbahn geaussert. In der vorliegenden auf qualitativen Interviews beruhenden Studie wird die Veranderung der psychologischen Kontrakte in Unternehmen wie auch bei Personen, die ihren Beruf gewechselt haben, untersucht. Letztere wurden zudem zu ihrer personlichen Identitat befragt. Die Interviewdaten wurden mit der Methode der qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse ausgewertet. Es kann gezeigt werden, dass die Veranderung psychologischer Kontrakte von einer konservativen bis hin zu einer drastischen Auspragung variiert. In den personlichen Biographien behalt der Beruf zwar noch eine dominierende Stellung, die befragten Personen planen ihre berufliche Entwicklung jedoch unter Berucksichtigung vielfaltiger Optionen und integrieren deren Wechselhaftigkeit in die eigene Identitatsdefinition. Als Konsequenz daraus wird empfohlen, Personen darin zu unterstutzen, Sicherheit in den eigenen Kompetenzen statt in Betriebs- oder Berufszugehorigkeit zu suchen.

Testing a psychological contract measure in a Swiss employment context

In this study, we validated a questionnaire measuring psychological contracts in a Swiss employment context. We argue that this measure sufficiently considers the characteristics of a stable employment situation and meets the criteria for the validity of psychological contract measures. The sample consisted of the employees of two firms and portfolio workers. An item and scale analysis was conducted and the dimensionality of the instrument was tested by means of confirmatory factor analyses. Finally, the instrument consists of three factors measuring employee expectations and employer inducements as well as two factors measuring employer expectations and employee contributions. Validity was evaluated by comparing groups with different employment status and by hierarchical regression analyses predicting intention to quit and performance.