Increased Working From Home in Vocational Counseling Psychologists During COVID-19: Associated Change in Productivity and Job Satisfaction.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, vocational counselors in Switzerland more frequently worked from home (WFH) and less frequently worked on-site. The aim of this study was to assess how WFH corresponds with indicators of job performance and occupational wellbeing. More specifically, the current questionnaire study analyzed the increase in WFH, self-reported productivity, distractibility in WFH, current job satisfaction, work-life balance in WFH, and feeling of loneliness. Findings showed that the increase in WFH in vocational counseling psychologists during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increase in productivity and job satisfaction and with lower distractibility in WFH compared to work on-site. However, more frequent WFH was not significantly associated with improved work-life balance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Vocational counselors who shared the office on-site with many colleagues experienced higher feeling of loneliness during WFH. Vocational counselors regarded the condition of WFH as productive and satisfying while work-life balance did not improve. The discussion sheds light on the potential WFH-related increase of boundary management demands.

Appreciation and illegitimate tasks as predictors of affective well-being: disentangling within- and between-person effects / El reconocimiento profesional y las tareas improcedentes como predictores del bienestar afectivo: la desagregación de los efectos intrapersonales e interpersonales

This study examines the effects of appreciation and illegitimate tasks on affective well-being. As empirical results often refer to inter-individual effects but are interpreted in terms of intra-individual effects, we try to disentangle the two. In longitudinal multilevel structural equation models with data of 308 participants, appreciation predicted affective well-being in the expected direction both on the within-level and the between-level, whereas illegitimate tasks had a stronger effect on the between level. On the within-level, appreciation buffered the effect of illegitimate tasks for two of the four facets of affective well-being. Demonstrating a convergent and pervasive effect of appreciation on both levels but diverging effects of illegitimate tasks implies that finding on one level may, but need not, work on the other level as well

Este estudio analiza los efectos del reconocimiento profesional y de las tareas improcedentes en el bienestar afectivo. Dado que los resultados empíricos a menudo aluden a los efectos interindividuales pero se interpretan como efectos intraindividuales, intentamos desintrincar ambos. En los modelos de ecuaciones estructurales longitudinales de múltiples niveles con datos de 308 participantes el reconocimiento profesional predecía el bienestar afectivo en la dirección esperada, tanto en cada nivel como entre los distintos niveles, mientras que las tareas improcedentes producían un mayor efecto entre niveles. En cada nivel el reconocimiento amortiguaba el efecto de las tareas improcedentes en dos de los cuatro aspectos del bienestar afectivo. Demostrar un efecto convergente y generalizado del reconocimiento en ambos niveles pero efectos divergentes de las tareas improcedentes implica que el resultado en un nivel puede, aunque no tiene por qué, funcionar también en el otro nivel

Stress as Offense to Self: a Promising Approach Comes of Age.

Stress is related to goals being thwarted. Arguably, protecting one's self, both in terms of personal self-esteem and in terms of social self-esteem, is among the most prominent goals people pursue. Although this line of thought is hardly disputed, it does not play the prominent role in occupational health psychology that we think it deserves. Stress-as-Offense-to-Self theory focuses on threats and boosts to the self as important aspects of stressful, and resourceful, experiences at work. Within this framework we have developed the new concepts of illegitimate tasks and illegitimate stressors; we have investigated appreciation as a construct in its own right, rather than as part of larger constructs such as social support; and we propose that the threshold for noticing implications for the self in one's surroundings typically is low, implying that even subtle negative cues are likely to be appraised as offending, as exemplified by the concept of subtly offending feedback. Updating the first publication of the SOS concept, the current paper presents its theoretical rationale as well as research conducted so far. Research has covered a variety of phenomena, but the emphasis has been (a) on illegitimate tasks, which now can be considered as an established stressor, and (b) on appreciation, showing its importance in general and as a core element of social support. Furthermore, we discuss implications for further research as well as practical implications of an approach that is organized around threats and boosts to the self, thus complementing approaches that are organized around specific conditions or behaviors.

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 one's 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 one's 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 one's 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.

Illegitimate tasks associated with higher cortisol levels among male employees when subjective health is relatively low: an intra-individual analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Illegitimate tasks refer to tasks that do not conform to what can appropriately be expected from an employee. Violating role expectations, they constitute "identity-stressors", as one's professional role tends to become part of one's identity. The current study investigated the impact of illegitimate tasks on salivary cortisol. We analyzed data on an intra-individual level, that is, by examining fluctuations in illegitimate tasks and cortisol within individuals. Furthermore, we investigated the moderating role of perceived health, expecting that illegitimate tasks evoke stronger reactions when perceived health is relatively poor. METHODS: Illegitimate tasks, salivary cortisol, and perceived health were assessed in each of three waves (time lag: 6 months) in a sample of 104 male employees. Data were analyzed by multilevel analysis using group mean centering. RESULTS: Controlling for social stressors, work interruptions, and emotional stability, the experience of more illegitimate tasks was associated with increased cortisol release if personal health resources were low compared to one's mean value of perceived health. Results cannot be explained by inter-individual differences. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study showing that illegitimate tasks predict a biological indicator of stress, thus confirming and extending previous research on illegitimate tasks. The moderating role of perceived health confirms its importance as a personal resource, implying augmented vulnerability when perceived health is below its usual value. It is plausible to assume that increased stress reactions due to relatively poor health may further weaken available personal resources. Both avoiding illegitimate tasks and restoring personal health seem to be crucial.

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.

Does stress at work make you gain weight? A two-year longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVES: Research concerning the association between stress at work and body mass index (BMI) has mainly focused on two models (ie, job demand-control and effort-reward imbalance) as predictors and mostly been cross-sectional. The aim of our study is to extend previous research in two ways. First, social stressors - in the sense of social conflict and animosities at work - were included as an independent variable, arguing that they should be an especially promising predictor as they reflect a "social-evaluative threat". Second, a longitudinal design was employed with a two-year follow-up. In addition, the variables specified by the job demand-control model and the effort-reward imbalance model were assessed as well. METHODS: Participants comprised 72 employees (52 men, 20 women) from a Swiss service provider. Multiple regression analyses were used to predict BMI two years later with social stressors, effort-reward imbalance, demands, control, and the interaction of demands and control. Baseline BMI was controlled so that the dependent variable reflects the change in BMI over two years. RESULTS: Regression analyses revealed control and social stressors to be statistically significant predictors of follow-up BMI, while effort-reward imbalance was marginally significant. CONCLUSIONS: The results underscore the importance of social stressors and job control as predictors of stress-related impaired health.

Beliefs about back pain predict the recovery rate over 52 consecutive weeks.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the course of low-back pain over 52 weeks following current pain at baseline. Initial beliefs about the inevitability of the pain's negative consequences and fear avoidance beliefs were examined as potential risk factors for persistent low-back pain. METHODS: On a weekly basis over a period of one year, 264 participants reported both the intensity and frequency of their low-back pain and the degree to which it impaired their work performance. In a multilevel regression analysis, predictor variables included initial low-back pain intensity, age, gender, body mass index, anxiety/depression, participation in sport, heavy workload, time (1-52 weeks), and scores on the "back beliefs" and "fear-avoidance beliefs" questionnaires. RESULTS: The group mean values for both the intensity and frequency of weekly low-back pain, and the impairment of work performance due to such pain showed a recovery within the first 12 weeks. In a multilevel regression of 9497 weekly measurements, greater weekly low-back pain and impairment were predicted by higher levels of work-related fear avoidance beliefs. A significant interaction between time and the scores on both the work-related fear-avoidance and back beliefs questionnaires indicated faster recovery and pain relief over time in those who reported less fear-avoidance and fewer negative beliefs. CONCLUSIONS: Negative beliefs about the inevitability of adverse consequences of low-back pain and work-related, fear-avoidance beliefs are independent risk factors for poor recovery from low-back pain.

Work characteristics as predictors of physiological recovery on weekends.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated whether work characteristics predict physiological recovery on a rest day. Specifically, we aimed to show that high demands and low control at work would lead to higher cortisol values and thus poor recovery on a rest day. METHODS: A total of 69 individuals participated in this study. In addition to analyzing questionnaire responses, we measured salivary cortisol on two workdays and on a subsequent rest day (a Sunday). We used multiple regression analysis. We controlled for the workday cortisol level; results reflect the relative change in cortisol from workday to rest day. In addition, we controlled for gender, since this relates to cortisol levels at work. RESULTS: We found that control at the workplace predicted cortisol levels on a rest day. Specifically, individuals with less job control had higher cortisol levels, and consequently poorer recovery on the rest day than those with more control. Neither job demands nor the interaction of demands and control predicted a change in cortisol levels from workday to rest day. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that a lack of control at work impairs physiological recovery on the weekend, one of the central recuperation periods. In light of the potential importance of incomplete recovery with respect to long-term ill health, it should be considered crucial to ensure job control at the workplace.

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.

Outcome assessment in low back pain: how low can you go?

The present study examined the psychometric characteristics of a "core-set" of six individual questions (on pain, function, symptom-specific well-being, work disability, social disability and satisfaction) for use in low back pain (LBP) outcome assessment. A questionnaire booklet was administered to 277 German-speaking LBP patients with a range of common diagnoses, before and 6 months after surgical (N=187) or conservative (N=90) treatment. The core-set items were embedded in the booklet alongside validated 'reference' questionnaires: Likert scales for back/leg pain; Roland and Morris disability scale; WHO Quality of Life scale; Psychological General Well-Being Index. A further 45 patients with chronic LBP completed the booklet twice in 1-2 weeks. The minimal reliability (similar to Cronbach's alpha) for each core item was 0.42-0.78, increasing to 0.84 for a composite index score comprising all items plus an additional question on general well-being ('quality of life'). Floor or ceiling effects of 20-50% were observed for some items before surgery (function, symptom-specific well-being) and some items after it (disability, function). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) ("test-retest reliability") was moderate to excellent (ICC, 0.67-0.95) for the individual core items and excellent (ICC, 0.91) for the composite index score. With the exception of "symptom-specific well-being", the correlations between each core item and its corresponding reference questionnaire ("validity") were between 0.61 and 0.79. Both the composite index and the individual items differentiated (P<0.001) between the severity of the back problem in surgical and conservative patients (validity). The composite index score had an effect size (sensitivity to change) of 0.95, which was larger than most of the reference questionnaires (0.47-1.01); for individual core items, the effect sizes were 0.52-0.87. The core items provide a simple, practical, reliable, valid and sensitive assessment of outcome in LBP patients. We recommend the widespread and consistent use of the core-set items and their composite score index to promote standardisation of outcome measurements in clinical trials, multicentre studies, routine quality management and surgical registry systems.

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.