Project

work-related stress; diary study; longitudinal research; work stressors; reciprocal effects; occupational well-being

Lead
Das Ziel dieses Forschungsprojektes ist das reziproke Zusammenspiel von belastenden Arbeitsbedingungen und Befindensbeeinträchtigungen besser zu verstehen. Dabei werden mögliche Mechanismen überprüft und sowohl langfristige als auch kurzfristige Auswirkungen untersucht.
Lay summary
Chronischer Stress hat negative Effekte auf die Leistung sowie das Befinden der Betroffenen aus. Unterdessen verstehen wir relativ gut, wie sich Arbeitsbedingungen auf das psychische und körperliche Befinden auswirken können, wenig ist aber darüber bekannt, ob und wie sich beeinträchtigtes Befinden auf die Arbeitsbedingungen auswirkt. Das Ziel dieses Forschungsprojektes ist deshalb das reziproke Zusammenspiel von Arbeitsbedingungen und Befinden im Detail zu untersuchen. Dabei werden mögliche Mechanismen und sowohl langfristige als auch kurzfristige Auswirkungen überprüft. Die Ergebnisse dieser Studien vertiefen die Kenntnisse über die bedeutsamen Folgen von arbeitsbezogenem Stress. Detailliertes Wissen über das Wechselspiel von Arbeitsbedingungen und Befinden sind nicht nur von theoretischer Bedeutung, sondern dient auch der Planung von Interventionen, welche einer Teufelsspirale entgegenwirken können.

Direct link to Lay Summary

Last update: 29.04.2014

Active participation

Self-organised

Title	Year

Work-related stress is harmful to employees, it has negative impact on the organizations, and it is linked to high health care cost. For a long time, research focused almost exclusively on the unidirectional effect of work stressors on well-being and neglected that impaired well-being may also cause more work stressors. More recently, studies showed that well-being also predicts stressors, which points to a vicious circle with reciprocal effects that may cause chronic psychological and physical health impairments. Very little, however, is known about the mechanisms that may explain the effects of impaired well-being on work stressors. Moreover, previous research only focused on long-term effects of chronic well-being but neglected short-term effects. However, understanding how impaired well-being may lead to further work stressors in detail is crucial for planning interventions to prevent a negative spiral between work stressors and well-being. The aim of this research program is therefore to better understand the effect of impaired well-being on work stressors and includes three sub goals: First, this research will test whether impaired well-being will mainly alter the perception of work stressors or whether it will actually change the work conditions. If changes in work stressors are mainly due to perception, interventions are best suited at the individual level; however, if actual changes in the environment is the mechanism, interventions are required at both the structural and individual level. Second, this research will test potential mediators of the association between well-being and work stressors. I will examine whether impaired well-being is linked to conflict management, job performance, and self-efficacy beliefs, which are assumed to affect the frequency and intensity of work stressors. Third, short-term effects of fluctuations in well-being on work stressors will be examined. Short-term effects have been widely ignored in previous research, however, a better understanding of these processes will provide insights into a potential vicious circle and hence cumulative reciprocal effects of work stressors and well-being in the long run. In the present research, I will focus on two indicators of well-being that have been widely studied in occupational health research, namely depressive symptoms and exhaustion. Regarding work stressors, I will focus on workload, a classical work stressors, and on work conflict, a stressors that has been rather neglected in occupational stress research for long time. I will address the research gaps with two studies: (i) A longitudinal study, including four repeated multi-source assessments (principal participant, coworker, supervisor) of well-being, work stressors, and potential mediators. Additionally, principal participants will respond to hypothetical scenarios (vignette study). (ii) A diary study over two weeks with daily event-contingent assessments of work conflicts and multiple interval-based assessments of well-being, workload, and potential mediators. As the effects of well-being on stressors have received little attention in previous research, I will focus on them in this proposal. It should be noted, however, that a reciprocal influence seems likely and that the data I intend to collect will offer the opportunity to analyze such reciprocal effects.I am applying for a Swiss National Science Foundation Ambizione fellowship for three years. I plan to use the requested funds to conduct the research program at the Department of Psychology at the University of Fribourg.