When help is not wanted: Frustrated needs and poor after-work recovery as consequences of unwanted help at work.

Instrumental help and support in the workplace are mostly associated with outcomes that are considered desirable for organisations and their employees. In this study, we seek to shed light on a specific type of help at work that may entail negative consequences: being offered help that is not wanted by the recipient. Drawing on basic psychological needs theory and on theory of ruminative thoughts, we propose that offering unwanted help frustrates the recipient's psychological needs for autonomy and competence, which in turn affects after-work recovery processes in the form of increased rumination and decreased psychological detachment. Supporting our hypotheses, a cross-sectional survey study (Study 1, N = 279) revealed that employees who were offered unwanted help from coworkers or supervisors experienced higher frustration in need for competence and autonomy, which in turn was associated with higher rumination after work and less psychological detachment from work. Results from a time-lagged survey with two measurement points 2 weeks apart (Study 2, N = 165) showed that being offered unwanted help was concurrently related to increased competence and autonomy frustration, of which only autonomy frustration later translated into higher after-work rumination and ultimately lower psychological detachment from work. Our findings suggest that needs frustration provides a promising approach to investigate and explain potentially detrimental effects of unwanted help at work on after-work recovery processes.

Long-term associations of psychosocial working conditions with depressive symptoms and work-related emotional exhaustion: comparing effects in a 5-year prospective study of 1949 workers in Germany.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that psychosocial working conditions are more strongly associated with subsequent work-related emotional exhaustion (core component of burnout) than with depressive symptoms at follow-up. METHODS: A 5-year cohort study (2011/2012-2017), based on a random sample of persons in employment subject to payment of social contributions aged 31-60 years (Study on Mental Health at Work; S-MGA; N = 1949), included self-reported measures of organisational demands (organisational layoffs and restructuring), task-level demands (work pace and amount of work) and job resources (influence at work, possibilities for development, control over working time, role clarity), all taken from the COPSOQ, except the organisational demands that were single-item measures. Work-related emotional exhaustion and depressive symptoms were measured with the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, respectively. RESULTS: Cochrane Q tests revealed stronger associations between psychosocial working conditions and work-related emotional exhaustion only for the amount of work (p = 0.013) and control over working time (p = 0.027). No differences were observed for the Demands and Resources Indexes, capturing overall exposure to psychosocial working conditions. The same differences were observed in a subsample including only participants who remained at the same employer from baseline to follow-up, although more psychosocial working conditions were associated with work-related emotional exhaustion than with depressive symptoms. Supplementary analyses employing dichotomous measures of work-related emotional exhaustion and depressive symptoms confirmed these results. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the findings provide limited evidence supporting the hypothesis that psychosocial working conditions are more strongly associated with work-related emotional exhaustion than with depressive symptoms.

[On the understanding of health in the workplace-An outline of problems]. / Zum Verständnis von Gesundheit in der Arbeitswelt ­ ein Problemaufriss.

Working conditions that maintain and promote health and the ability to work are an essential element in the prevention of work-related illnesses and a decisive factor in ensuring participation in working life. The COVID-19 pandemic and its far-reaching consequences, accelerated climate change and digitalization are huge challenges for health and health protection in the world of work as well. They require a deeper reflection of the professional understanding and the conceptual framework that underlie the term health, beyond current considerations. With this objective, thought-provoking impulses for a contemporary understanding of health, for health protection in the world of work, priorities for the protection needs of employees and suggestions for related research are presented for discussion. Based on the physical, mental and social dimensions of health and their manifold relations to the world of work, the article provides innovative impulses for the development and prioritization of questions for scientific studies on the protection and promotion of health in the workplace and for evaluating the significance and quality of the results of these studies for modern preventive occupational health and safety, which contribute both to the humane design of work and to the relief of the social security systems. In accordance with the Public Health Strategy for Germany, social inequality of health is highlighted as a relevant structural feature.

Income Trajectories and Subjective Well-Being: Linking Administrative Records and Survey Data.

An association between income and life satisfaction has been well documented, however, little is known of how income trajectories affect different facets of subjective well-being (SWB). The aim of this study was to examine how several aspects of income dynamics are related to life satisfaction and affect balance. Longitudinal information on income from administrative records covering 13 years (1999-2011) is linked to cross-sectional data on SWB collected in 2011/12 from the nationally representative Study on Mental Health at Work (S-MGA; n = 3364). Parameters from subject-specific regression analyses of income over time were used as indicators of income development in regressions over all participants, conducted separately for men and women. Associations between income and life satisfaction were stronger and more consistent than associations between income and affect balance. Major findings were that longer-term income change was more strongly related to SWB than current deviation from expected income. Higher stability in income development was associated with higher SWB. A higher share of income from benefits predicted lower life satisfaction and a more negative affect balance. Our results show the importance of examining income trajectories and taking into account source of income to gain a more differentiated view on the income-SWB association.

Health sensitivity: Age differences in the within-person coupling of individuals' physical health and well-being.

Well-being and physical health are central indicators of quality of life in old age. Research from a between-person difference perspective finds that people in better health than their peers also report higher well-being than their peers. However, we know very little about whether changes in one domain are accompanied by changes in the other domain, particularly at the within-person level. In the present study, we introduce the construct of health sensitivity, that is, how susceptible an individuals' well-being is to changes in physical health. In doing so, we used 9-wave longitudinal data covering 17 years from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 21,689; 50-109 year olds; 55% women) and applied multilevel modeling to examine the covariation of central indicators of well-being (depressive affect) and health (functional limitations) simultaneously at both the between-person and within-person level. At the within-person level, we found evidence of health sensitivity-on occasions when a typical person experienced more functional limitations than usual, he or she also reported more depressive affect-and that health sensitivity decreased with age. Survival analysis revealed that health sensitivity was related to mortality hazards, controlling for mean levels of health and well-being. We discuss the theoretical importance of examining within-person associations between health and well-being and consider practical implications. (PsycINFO Database Record

Work stress is associated with diabetes and prediabetes: cross-sectional results from the MIPH Industrial Cohort Studies.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is rapidly rising globally, and the relation of psychosocial stress in workplace to diabetes and prediabetes is not well investigated. PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to examine the association of work stress with diabetes and prediabetes in a sample of German industrial workers. METHOD: In this cross-sectional survey of an occupational cohort (n = 2,674, 77 % male), work stress was measured by the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) Questionnaire. Diabetic status, i.e., diabetes and prediabetes, were diagnosed by glycated hemoglobin A1c criterion or fasting plasma glucose criterion supplemented by self-reports. RESULTS: The overall prevalence rates of diabetes and prediabetes were 3.5 and 42.2 %, respectively. Using ordinal logistic regression with adjustment for potential confounding factors, high ERI at work was associated with diabetes-related ordinal variable (odds ratio [OR], 1.27; 95 % confidence interval [95 % CI], 1.02-1.58) and prediabetes-related ordinal variable (OR, 1.26; 95 % CI, 1.01-1.58) in men, whereas the associations in women were somewhat less pronounced and did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that work stress in terms of ERI is associated with diabetes and prediabetes in German industrial male workers. If supported by prospective evidence, results point to a new approach towards primary prevention of diabetes.

It is not always about gains: utilities and disutilities associated with treatment features in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

BACKGROUND: Patient-centered care has been proposed as a strategy for improving treatment outcomes in the management of psoriasis and other chronic diseases. A more detailed understanding of patients' utilities and disutilities associated with treatment features may facilitate shared decision-making in the clinical encounter. The purpose of this study was to examine the features of psoriasis treatment that are most and least preferred by patients and to identify correlates of these preferences. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 163 patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis was conducted in a German academic medical center. We assessed patients' characteristics, elicited their preferences for a range of potential treatment features, and quantified preference scores (utilities) associated with each treatment feature using hierarchical Bayes estimation. After identifying the most and least preferred treatment features, we explored correlates of these preferences using multivariate regression models. RESULTS: Mean preference scores (MPS) for the least preferred treatment features were consistently greater than those for the most preferred treatment features. Patients generally expressed strong preferences against prolonged treatments in the inpatient setting (MPS = -13.48) and those with a lower probability of benefit (MPS = -12.28), while treatments with a high probability of benefit (MPS = 10.51) were generally preferred. Younger patients and women were more concerned with treatment benefit as compared with older patients and men. CONCLUSION: Both negative and positive preferences appear important for shared decision-making. Recognition of characteristics associated with strong negative preferences may be particularly useful in promoting patient-centered environments.

Psychometric properties and differential explanation of a short measure of effort-reward imbalance at work: a study of industrial workers in Germany.

BACKGROUND: We test the psychometric properties of a short version of the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) questionnaire in addition to testing an interaction term of this model's main components on health functioning. METHODS: A self-administered survey was conducted in a sample of 2,738 industrial workers (77% men with mean age 41.6 years) from a large manufacturing company in Southern Germany. The internal consistency reliability, structural validity, and criterion validity were analyzed. RESULTS: Satisfactory internal consistencies of the three scales: "Effort", "reward", and "overcommitment", were obtained (Cronbach's alpha coefficients 0.77, 0.82, and 0.83, respectively). Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good model fit of the data with the theoretical structure (AGFI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.060). Evidence of criterion validity was demonstrated. Importantly, a significant synergistic interaction effect of ERI and overcommitment on poor mental health functioning was observed (odds ratio 6.74 (95% CI 5.32-8.52); synergy index 1.78 (95% CI 1.25-2.55)). CONCLUSIONS: This short version of the ERI questionnaire is a reliable and valid tool for epidemiological research on occupational health.

Emotions and physical health in the second half of life: interindividual differences in age-related trajectories and dynamic associations according to socioeconomic status.

The importance of socioeconomic status (SES) for psychological functioning over the life span is increasingly acknowledged in psychological research. The Reserve Capacity Model by Gallo and Matthews (2003) suggests that SES is not only linked to physical health but also to the experience of positive and negative emotions. Moreover, due to differential amounts of psychosocial resources, cross-domain associations between emotions and health might differ according to SES. The present study examined age-related developments in positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), and physical health, as well as dynamic associations between health and emotions in the second half of life. We looked at differences in these trajectories and their interrelationships according to education as one aspect of SES. We used data of up to three waves spanning 12 years from the nationally representative German Ageing Survey (N = 3,847, AgeT1 = 40-85 years). Applying multiple-group dual change score models, we found differential age-related change in PA and physical health, but not in NA, in two groups differing in level of education. NA did only predict change in physical health in low-educated individuals, whereas physical health was equally strongly related to change in PA in both education groups. These results indicate that SES not only affects changes in physical health and emotional functioning but also their interrelationships.

Resources for health: differential effects of optimistic self-beliefs and social support according to socioeconomic status.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether socioeconomic status (SES) determines the degree to which psychological and social resources such as optimistic self-beliefs and social support affect health. DESIGN: We used data from the representative German Ageing Survey (N = 2,454, aged 40-85 years). Structural equation modeling was employed to examine whether relationships between psychological (self-esteem, control beliefs, optimism) and social resources (perceived emotional and informational support, network size) and health differ between education and income groups. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported physical health, functional health, and subjective health. RESULTS: Psychological resources positively affected health in all groups but were stronger predictors of functional and subjective health in low compared to higher educated participants. A higher level of social resources was associated with better functional and subjective health mainly in the low-income group. Social resources were particularly important for financially disadvantaged older people. CONCLUSION: Our results provide evidence for differential effects of optimistic self-beliefs and social support on health depending on whether individuals are challenged by low incomes or low education. Future research, especially aimed at intervention, should consider that different aspects of SES have differential meanings and that the impact of health-protective factors may vary according to SES facet.

What do people include when they self-rate their health? Differential associations according to health status in community-dwelling older adults.

AIMS: Self-rated health (SRH) is widely regarded a valid and reliable indicator of health status. The validity of self-rated health has been demonstrated in many studies, for example by predicting mortality over and above medical and epidemiological data. However, the meaning of SRH can differ between individuals, especially in elderly individuals with considerable individual differences in their physical health states. It is thus important to determine whether predictors of self-rated health vary according to physical health status in order to interpret self-rated health data. METHODS: In a representative survey study, 1174 individuals over 65 years of age rated their health and filled in questionnaires on subjective well-being, control beliefs, depressive symptoms, and functional health. Structural equation modeling with latent moderated structural equations was used to determine whether health status (number of illnesses) moderated the association of self-rated health with these predictors. RESULTS: Self-rated health was predicted by positive affect, depressive symptoms, control beliefs, and physical functioning. Moderated effects were found for positive affect and physical functioning, suggesting that there are stronger associations with positive affect in healthier individuals and stronger associations with physical functioning in less healthy individuals. CONCLUSIONS: This implies that SRH has differential associations depending on health status, which should be taken into account in interpreting any research with SRH as predictor or criterion.

Socioeconomic status and health in the second half of life: findings from the German Ageing Survey.

This study examined social inequalities in health in the second half of life. Data for empirical analyses came from the second wave of the German Ageing Survey (DEAS), an ongoing population-based, representative study of community dwelling persons living in Germany, aged 40-85 years (N = 2,787). Three different indicators for socioeconomic status (SES; education, income, financial assets as an indicator for wealth) and health (physical, functional and subjective health) were employed. It could be shown that SES was related to health in the second half of life: Less advantaged persons between 40 and 85 years of age had worse health than more advantaged persons. Age gradients varied between status indicators and health dimensions, but in general social inequalities in health were rather stable or increasing over age. The latter was observed for wealth-related absolute inequalities in physical and functional health. Only income-related differences in subjective health decreased at higher ages. The amount of social inequality in health as well as its development over age did not vary by gender and place of residence (East or West Germany). These results suggest that, in Germany, the influence of SES on health remains important throughout the second half of life.