ABSTRACT
AIMS: This study examines the impact of personal resilience on the well-being of care workers and how perceptions of the quality of care provided and the social climate in the organization influences this relationship. We examine quality of patient care as both a mediating and outcome variable to better understand if 'doing good' (quality of care) leads to 'feeling good' (personal well-being). BACKGROUND: As an ageing population and the care for the older people has become an increasing challenge to many societies, developing and retaining a professional care workforce through effective management is vital in providing care services. DESIGN: A cross-sectional regression design was used in the study. METHODS: In 2017 we surveyed care workers in 20 Australian aged care facilities. The sample consist of 194 usable questionnaires. Using regression techniques, we constructed an interaction term (resilience × social climate) and investigated its impact on well-being (the outcome variable) and quality of care (the mediator variable). RESULTS: Our results reveal that quality of care is important as an outcome variable particularly in a supportive climate where high personal resilience positively influences quality of care. Quality of care is also important as a mediating variable as it provides a conduit through which high personal resilience fosters well-being, especially in a supportive climate. Our results support the argument that 'doing good' leads to 'feeling good'. CONCLUSION: These findings contribute to our appreciation of the important outcomes of resilience in the aged care context and its influence on perceived performance and carer well-being.
Subject(s)
Health Personnel , Nursing Homes/organization & administration , Resilience, Psychological , Workplace , Adult , Aged , Australia , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Quality of Health Care , Social Environment , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
This multi-method study investigated a sample of adult streetworkers (n = 107) in Melbourne, Australia in 2008. We contacted outdoor prostitutes through four "drop-in" centers run by not-for-profit organizations. Drug use was the over-riding common characteristic of most of these streetworkers. Using emotional labor theory as a theoretical framework, we hypothesized that individuals who worked on the streets solely to earn money to buy drugs would experience the highest levels of emotional exhaustion and the lowest levels of job satisfaction. We predicted these effects would be most evident for older drug dependent streetworkers. Content analysis of open-ended interview responses identified acting, age, and drug dependency as key themes. Moderator hierarchical regression analysis of responses to closed-ended questions with tests for mediation supported the hypotheses. It also demonstrated that older drug dependent streetworkers felt most trapped in their occupation and this sense of being locked-in was associated with emotional exhaustion but not with job satisfaction. The evidence that age and drug dependency affects the psychological outcomes associated with streetwork suggests that the efforts of police and the courts will be ineffective in dealing with people whose addiction traps them in an occupation that offers few intrinsic rewards. Decriminalization would encourage police to protect streetworkers from violence. Agencies could seek financial support to provide welfare and exit strategies.
Subject(s)
Emotions , Job Satisfaction , Mental Fatigue/psychology , Sex Work/psychology , Sex Workers/psychology , Substance-Related Disorders/psychology , Adult , Age Factors , Australia , Drug Users/psychology , Female , Humans , Jealousy , Male , Middle Aged , Models, PsychologicalABSTRACT
Some caregivers focus exclusively on the caregiving role; others try to balance caregiving responsibilities with a simultaneous work role outside the home. This study examined competing hypotheses about the impact that greater immersion in a work role would have on the stress outcomes of individuals who provide care for a person with a disability. The authors used national survey data to examine whether hours of work were associated with caregiver stress outcomes. The authors also investigated whether type of disability moderated the relationship between hours worked and stress outcomes. Results suggest that spending more time in a work role generally has no effect on caregiver stress outcomes. However, caregivers who were caring for a person with a mental disability experienced significantly fewer stress outcomes as they spent more hours engaged in outside work.
