Role of Supervisor Consultation Toward Work Engagement: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: We examined the association between supervisor consultation, as an actual practice representing supervisor support, and work engagement. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study in Japan, involving 14,026 participants who met the requirement for a one-year follow-up. Supervisor consultation was measured using a single question, and work engagement was defined using the Japanese version of the nine-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9). Associations were examined using linear regression analysis. Results: Supervisor consultation was positively associated with work engagement after adjusting for gender, age, education, income, and industry (ß = 3.474; p < 0.001). The relationship remained significant after adjustment for perceived supervisor support, although the coefficient decreased (ß = 1.315; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Supervisor consultation probably acted on work engagement in different ways than perceived supervisor support.

A Framework for Protecting and Promoting Employee Mental Health through Supervisor Supportive Behaviors.

The attention to workplace mental health is timely given extreme levels of burnout, anxiety, depression and trauma experienced by workers due to serious extraorganizational stressors - the COVID-19 pandemic, threats to climate change, and extreme social and political unrest. Workplace-based risk factors, such as high stress and low support, are contributing factors to poor mental health and suicidality (Choi, 2018; Milner et al., 2013, 2018), just as low levels of social connectedness and belonging are established risk factors for poor mental health (Joiner et al., 2009), suggesting that social support at work (e.g., from supervisors) may be a key approach to protecting and promoting employee mental health. Social connections provide numerous benefits for health outcomes and are as, or more, important to mortality as other well-known health behaviors such as smoking and alcohol consumption (Holt-Lundstad et al., 2015), and can serve as a resource or buffer against the deleterious effects of stress or strain on psychological health (Cohen & Wills, 1985). This manuscript provides an evidence-based framework for understanding how supervisor supportive behaviors can serve to protect employees against psychosocial workplace risk factors and promote social connection and belongingness protective factors related to employee mental health. We identify six theoretically-based Mental Health Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (MHSSB; i.e., emotional support, practical support, role modeling, reducing stigma, warning sign recognition, warning sign response) that can be enacted and used by supervisors and managers to protect and promote the mental health of employees. A brief overview of mental health, mental disorders, and workplace mental health is provided. This is followed by the theoretical grounding and introduction of MHSSB. Suggestions for future research and practice follow, all with the focus of developing a better understanding of the role of supervisors in protecting and promoting employee mental health in the workplace.

The Impact of Workplace Bullying on Turnover Intention and Psychological Distress: The Indirect Role of Support from Supervisors.

Workplace bullying is characterized by negative, repetitive, and frequent behaviors towards a person, affecting his/her physical and mental health The present study aimed to assess the relationship between bullying, turnover intention, and psychological distress, considering the potential mediating effect of perceived supervisor support. A questionnaire was completed by 252 women and 172 men (n = 424) from 70 French companies and institutions. They were working in private (70%), public (28%), and parapublic (2%) sectors. Finally, 33 trades are represented in this study: commercial (21%), educational (12%), medical (8.3%), and industry (8.3%) were the most prominently represented. Regression analyses showed that bullying was significantly linked to turnover intention (ß = 0.52, p < 0.05) and psychological distress (ß = 0.78, p < 0.001). Moreover, supervisor support played a mediating role between workplace bullying and turnover intention, as well as between workplace bullying and psychological distress. The implications and perspectives of the present research were subsequently discussed.

Safety climate and seat belt use in the fire service.

OBJECTIVE: Motor vehicle incidents or apparatus crashes are a leading cause of firefighter fatalities in the United States. Nonuse of seat belts has been linked to some of these fatalities. This research seeks to understand the relationship between safety climate and seat belt use among firefighters, as findings will provide insights into factors that may bolster seat belt use and protect firefighters. METHODS: Data were collected from 208 career firefighters working for a city fire department in the southeastern United States. Structural equation modeling was used to test a hypothesized model and to assess the relationships between organizational safety climate, work group safety climate and seat belt use. RESULTS: It was determined that positive perceptions of workgroup safety climate, as a higher order factor, comprised of supervisor support, horizontal cohesion, and vertical cohesion, was positively associated with seat belt use within a sample of firefighters. Organizational level safety climate did not have a significant relationship with seat belt use but did positively influence workgroup safety climate perceptions. CONCLUSIONS: Safety climate has been associated with safety compliance and participation behaviors, but more research was needed to specifically examine the impact of safety climate on seat belt use in firefighters. The findings point to the importance of safety climate as a leading indicator and predictor of seat belt use. Bolstering safety climate through safety programs, commitment to safety, effective communication, supportive supervisors and cohesion should ultimately aid in bolstering seat belt use among firefighters, which is important to curtailing firefighter injuries and fatalities.

"Excited When They See Their Name in Print": Research Outputs from an Australian Medical Program.

To promote evidence-based practice, medical schools offer students opportunities to undertake either elective or mandatory research projects. One important measure of the research program success is student publication rates. In 2006, UNSW Medicine implemented a mandatory research program in the 4th year of the undergraduate medical education program. This study identified student publication rates and explored student and supervisor experiences with the publication process. A retrospective audit of student publications from the 2007, 2011, and 2015 cohorts was undertaken to look at trends over time. Data collected included type of publication and study methodology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of undergraduate students (n = 11), medical graduates (n = 14), and supervisors (n = 25) and analysed thematically. Student publication rates increased significantly (P = 0.002) from 28% in 2007 to 50.2% in 2015. Students able to negotiate their own project were more likely to publish (P = 0.02). Students reported personal affirmation and development of research skills from publishing their research findings, while graduates noted improved career opportunities. Supervisors expected students to publish but identified the time to publications and student motivation as key factors in achieving publication(s). A high publication rate is possible in a mandatory research program where students can negotiate their own topic and are given protected time. Publications happen after the research project has finished. Critical factors in successful publication include supervisor support and student motivation. Given the importance of the supervisor's role, staff development and faculty support to train and develop a body of skilled supervisors is required.

Beyond Work: The Role of "Family-Friendly" Practices in the Subjective Well-Being of Teleworkers and On-Site Workers in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, telework emerged as a pivotal strategy to mitigate the spread of the virus. However, telework's feasibility was contingent on job roles. This gave rise to two distinct groups: teleworkers and on-site workers. However, the impacts of social support and well-being extended to both groups. This study investigated the link between organisational and supervisory family support and subjective well-being, examining work engagement as a mediator. Conducted in Portugal, this cross-sectional study surveyed 515 individuals via web-based questionnaires. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and multiple-group analysis. The findings revealed a positive correlation between perceived organisational family support (POFS) and work engagement for both groups. Additionally, perceived supervisory family support (PSFS) positively correlated with work engagement for telecommuters but not on-site workers. Furthermore, work engagement was positively associated with subjective well-being for both groups. Moreover, work engagement mediated the relationship between POFS and subjective well-being. This study enriches the literature by analysing POFS, PSFS, work engagement, and subjective well-being dynamics among teleworkers and on-site employees.

Hair dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate as biomarker of employees' well-being? A longitudinal investigation of support, resilience, and work engagement during COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: Building on the motivational process of the job demands-resources (JD-R) theory, in the current research we investigated the longitudinal association between supervisor support/resilience as job/personal resources, work engagement (WE) and hair dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, or DHEA(S), as a possible biomarker of employees' well-being. Methods: In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, 122 workers completed two self-report questionnaires (i.e., psychological data): the former at Time 1 (T1) and the latter three months afterwards, at Time 2 (T2). Participants also collected a strand of hair (i.e., biological data) at T2. Results: Results from path analysis showed that both SS and resilience at T1 were positively related to WE at T2, which, in its turn, was positively related to hair DHEA(S) at T2. Both SS and resilience at T1 had a positive indirect effect on hair DHEA(S) at T2 through WE at T2, which fully mediated the association between job/personal resources and hair DHEA(S). Discussion: Overall, results are consistent with the motivational process of the JD-R. Furthermore, this study provides preliminary evidence for the role of hair DHEA(S) as a biomarker of WE, a type of work-related subjective well-being that plays a central role in the motivational process of the JD-R, leading to favorable personal and organizational outcomes. Finally, the article outlines practical implications for organizations and professionals to foster WE within the workplace.

"I'm pulling through because of you": injured workers' perspective of workplace factors supporting return to work under the Saskatchewan Workers' Compensation Board scheme.

Background: Research demonstrates sustained return to work (RTW) by individuals on medical leave is influenced by personal and job resources and job demands. Relatively few studies have been conducted in the workers' compensation context that is known to have longer absence durations for RTW. Aims: This study sought to illuminate workers' experience as they returned to work following a work injury that was either psychological in nature or involved more than 50 days of disability, with a focus on the co-worker, supervisor, and employer actions that supported their return. Methods: Workers in Saskatchewan, Canada, with a work-related psychological or musculoskeletal injury, subsequent disability, and who returned to work in the last three years, were invited to complete an online survey comprising of free-text questions. Thematic analysis was used to explore participants' experiences. Results: Responses from 93 individuals were analysed. These revealed that persistent pain, emotional distress, and loss of normal abilities were present during and beyond returning to work. Almost two-thirds indicated that the supervisors' and co-workers' support was critical to a sustained return to work: their needs were recognized and they received autonomy and support to manage work demands. By contrast, one-third indicated that the support they expected and needed from supervisors and employers was lacking. Conclusions: Workers returning to work lacked personal resources but co-workers' and supervisors' support helped improve confidence in their ability to RTW. Supervisors and employers should acknowledge workers' experiences and offer support and autonomy. Likewise, workers can expect challenges when returning to work and may benefit from cultivating supportive relationships with co-workers and supervisors.

Job Burnout Among the Helping Professions: The Roles of Childhood Maltreatment, Attachment Styles and Perceived Supervisor Support.

Job burnout is a major predicament globally, especially among the helping professions. Based on the job demands-resources (JDR) theory and on attachment theory, this study explored the relations between a history of childhood maltreatment (CM), insecure attachment styles (avoidant and anxious), perceived supervisor support and job burnout. A sample of 320 helping professionals participated in the study, of which 35% reported experiencing CM. Findings confirmed the hypothesis that a history of CM was positively related to both avoidant and anxious attachment styles. Anxious attachment style partly mediated the relationship between CM and burnout. In addition, the relationship between CM and burnout was mediated by avoidant attachment style and perceived supervisor support, so that highly avoidant professionals perceived their supervisors as less supportive, reporting higher levels of burnout. Notably, there were no discernible variations in burnout levels when comparing professionals who had experienced maltreatment with those who had not. The study highlights the value of adopting an attachment perspective to better understand job burnout among the helping professions.

Enabling successful change in a high-demand working environment: a case study in a health care organization.

PURPOSE: The anticipation of organizational change and the transition process often creates uncertainty for employees and can lead to stress and anxiety. It is therefore essential for all organizations, especially those that operate in high-demand working environments, to support the well-being of staff throughout the change process. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Research on how employees respond to the organizational change of relocating to a new work space is limited. To fill this gap in the research, we present a case study examining the well-being of clinical and health care employees before and after a disruptive change: relocation in workplace facilities. In addition, factors that enabled successful change in this high-stress, high-demand working environment were investigated. Interviews were conducted with 20 participants before the relocation and 11 participants after relocation. Following an inductive approach, data were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify key themes. FINDINGS: Our findings suggest that a supportive team, inclusive leadership and a psychologically safe environment, may buffer negative employee well-being outcomes during disruptive organizational change. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This research contributes to the literature on successful organizational change in health care by highlighting the resources which support well-being throughout the change process and enabling the successful transition to a new facility.

The Relationship between Patients' Demands and Workplace Violence among Healthcare Workers: A Multilevel Look Focusing on the Moderating Role of Psychosocial Working Conditions.

Workplace violence against healthcare workers is a widespread phenomenon with very severe consequences for the individuals affected and their organizations. The role played by psychosocial working conditions in healthcare workers' experiences of violence from patients and their family members has received relatively scant attention. In the present study, we investigated the idea that psychosocial working conditions (workload, job control, supervisor support, and team integration), by affecting the well-being and job performance of healthcare workers, play a critical role in the relationship between patients' demands and the escalation of workplace violence. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that psychosocial working conditions moderate the relationship between patients' demands and workplace violence. Participants were 681 healthcare workers distributed in 55 work groups of three public healthcare facilities in Italy. Multilevel analysis showed significant interactions between patients' demands and each of the investigated psychosocial factors on workplace violence, which in all the cases were in the expected direction. The results suggest that improving the quality of the psychosocial work environment in which healthcare workers operate may be a critical aspect in the prevention of workplace violence.

Stop (to Work) and Go (to Recover) During Mandatory Work From Home: A Three-Wave Study.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many workers have been forced to work from home. In this situation, the boundaries between work and private life have become particularly blurred, and recovering from work was even more difficult than in traditional times, with negative consequences for workers' health. Among the psychological experiences that might underlie the recovery process, mastery played a crucial role as people sought new stimuli and challenging situations. However, there are few articles that have explored the role of this specific recovery experience, its antecedents, and the health consequences under conditions of work from home. Therefore, in this multiwave study, we aimed to investigate the role of mastery as a mediator between supervisor support and insomnia problems. The study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy and had a three-wave design. A convenience sample of 130 employees (67% women) completed an online questionnaire. Hypotheses were tested using a three-wave autoregressive cross-lagged panel model. According to the results, supervisor support at Time 1 was positively related to mastery at Time 2, which in turn showed a negative association with insomnia at Time 3. The results demonstrated that mastery experiences have played a crucial role during COVID-19 mandatory work from home, which points to some potential implications for workers' health in the adoption of teleworking beyond the emergency situation.

Junior doctors receiving supervisor and peer support are more work-engaged professionals who express their voice for quality improvement.

PURPOSE: In daily practice, junior doctors can contribute to quality improvement by providing innovative suggestions for change, referred to as voice behavior. Junior doctors are more likely to engage in voice behavior when they receive sufficient support from supervisors and peers. Such support has also been associated with less burnout and more work engagement. However, whether less burned-out and more work-engaged junior doctors demonstrate more voice behaviors in the face of sufficient supervisor and peer support is unclear. Therefore, we studied whether and how associations of supervisor and peer support with junior doctors' voice behaviors are mediated by burnout and work engagement. MATERIALS & METHODS: Participants were 301 junior doctors that completed a web-based survey including validated questionnaires on supervisor and peer support, burnout, work engagement, and voice behavior. RESULTS: Supervisor and peer support were associated with lower levels of burnout and higher levels of work engagement. Work engagement, but not burnout, mediated the associations of supervisor and peer support with voice behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Junior doctors who received more supervisor or peer support were more work-engaged and reported more voice behaviors. Thus, supervisor and peer support should be cultivated to facilitate junior doctors' roles as work-engaged professionals in quality improvement.

Work engagement and associated factors among Japanese registered dietitians and dietitians: a cross-sectional study.

Healthcare services provided by registered dietitians and dietitians have been changing because of evolving lifestyles and population dynamics, leading to subsequent changes in the occupational status and experiences of these professionals. However, few studies have examined occupational stress among registered dietitians and dietitians. This study involved a cross-sectional survey to investigate the status and associated factors of work engagement among registered dietitians and dietitians, whose professions differ based on licensing processes and scope of work. A total of 3,593 questionnaires were distributed, 1,890 responses were received, and 1,654 valid questionnaires were analyzed. Work engagement was measured using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the associations between work engagement and each factor. The work engagement scores of dietitians were significantly lower than those of registered dietitians. Further, work engagement was associated with age, workplace, coworker support, and effort-reward ratio for both registered dietitians and dietitians. However, exercise habit was a significant factor associated with work engagement only among dietitians. Work engagement among registered dietitians was comparable to that of typical Japanese workers, whereas it was lower among dietitians. The findings highlight the importance of considering associated factors to improve work engagement further, especially among dietitians.

Satisfaction, research productivity, and socialization in doctoral students: Do teaching assistantship, research assistantship and the advisory relationship play a role?

Funding to doctoral students in the form of research and teaching assistantships help students become independent scholars and complete their programs. Insufficient funding, unforeseen financial obligations, and debt can discourage students from completing their programs in a timely fashion. However, supervisors may play an influential role in supporting doctoral student socialization and growth towards research autonomy. Girves and Wemmerus's (1988) doctoral student degree progress theoretical model claimed that financial assistance and students' perceptions of faculty support are key predictors of doctoral students' progress. They also proposed that students' satisfaction with their department, sense of isolation, and engagement in their programs may explain (or mediate) these associations. The aim of this study was to investigate how supervisor support and financial assistance influence doctoral students' satisfaction with their programs as well as their academic and social engagement. Using data from the Canadian Graduate and Professional Student Survey (n = 18,822 doctoral students), we evaluated a model of doctoral student productivity (i.e., publications and conference presentations) with teaching and research assistantships as key predictors and student satisfaction as mediators. We also examined how supervisor support and financial assistance relate to students' academic and social life. The results showed that teaching assistantships are negatively associated with general satisfaction and program satisfaction but positively associated with social involvement. Moreover, research assistantships were significantly and positively associated with social involvement and progress. Supervisor support was positively associated with doctoral students' general satisfaction, program satisfaction, and social involvement. The findings support Girves and Wemmerus's theory and highlight the importance of faculty support for doctoral student success. (258/300).

The double-edged sword effect of telecommuting on employees' work engagement: evidence from China during COVID-19.

Purpose: Drawing on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, this study aims to explore how telecommuting affects employee' work engagement, and consider how perceived supervisor support moderates this effect. Design/methodology/approach: A time-lagged study was conducted on 286 employees from four enterprises in southern China. Findings: The results showed that telecommuting both decreased work engagement by triggering work-family conflict and enhanced work engagement by increasing job autonomy. In addition, perceived supervisor support enhanced the positive direct effect of telecommuting on job autonomy and the indirect effect on employee' work engagement, while perceived supervisor support weakened the negative direct effect of telecommuting on work-family conflict and the indirect effect on employee' work engagement. Originality/value: This study enrich the literature on telecommuting and employee engagement, and emphasize the importance of perceived supervisor support in this context. Additionally, this study provides some practical implications for companies to adapt and manage telecommuting.

Impact of customer incivility on restaurant employee stress spread and turnover: COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

In response to the unprecedented pandemic in recent history, COVID-19 vaccination mandates in the U.S. caused significant changes and disruption in hospitality operations and customer experiences. The primary goal of this study is to examine whether and how customer incivility induced by the COVID-19 vaccine mandate in the U.S. affects employees' behavioral outcomes (i.e., stress spread between employees and turnover intention) via psychological mechanisms (i.e., stress and negative emotion) and when the relationship is moderated by personal (employee prosocial motivation) and organizational (supervisor support) characteristics. Findings show that customer incivility increases employee turnover intention as well as interpersonal conflicts at work via increased stress and negative emotions. These relationships are weakened when prosocial motivation of employees and the level of supervisor support is high. Findings expand the occupational stress model by specifically incorporating the context of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate and further provide implications for restaurant managers and policy makers.

Primary Healthcare Pharmacists' Perceived Organizational Support and Turnover Intention: Do Gender Differences Exist?

Purpose: This study aims to explore the relationship between the four-dimensional structured perceived organizational support (emotional support, instrumental support, supervisor support, and coworker support) and the turnover intention of pharmacists in primary healthcare institutions. The gender differences between perceived organizational support and turnover intention will also be examined. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in primary healthcare institutions of 31 cities in China from 2 July to 1 September 2021. And the binary logistic regression model was employed for data analysis. Results: 937 valid questionnaires are allocated from pharmacists in primary healthcare institutions. The regression results indicated that emotional support (b=0.073, p<0.001) has a significant influence on pharmacists' turnover intention, and the effect of supervisor support (b=0.173, p=0.046) on pharmacists' turnover intention differs by gender. Conclusion: These findings offer suggestions for the management and stabilization of pharmacists in primary healthcare institutions. It is suggested that specific measures should be taken to increase pharmacists' perceived organizational support and reduce their turnover intention. At the same time, gender differences need to be taken into consideration by the managers when providing perceived organizational support to reduce their turnover intention through adaptive management.

Quality of work life and organizational commitment of the academic staff in Ethiopian universities.

Academic staffs are essential to the universities mission and vision achievement. However, in Ethiopia, universities are characterized by poor working conditions, lower quality of work-life and commitment, and higher turnover. The main purpose of this study was to investigate factors related to the quality of work-life and examine the effect of quality of work-life on the academic staff's organizational commitment in Ethiopia. The study employed an explanatory design and a quantitative approach. The data for the research is collected through a structured five-point Likert scale questionnaire from 185 samples that were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Confirmatory Factor Analysis is employed to determine the relationship between the manifest and latent variables that fit each other. The final step is the structural equation model, which develops a new proof of the author's proposed theory. As per the Structural Equation Model results, compensation, reward, and work-life balance are statistically significant and positively related to the organizational commitment of the academic staff. Further, quality of work-life is found to have a statistically significant and positive association with the organizational commitment of higher education teachers. As a result, maintaining a more balanced work-life balance through appropriate strategic human resource management is critical to increasing academic staff work engagement and improving the university's quality of services.

The relationship between nurses' perceived organisational, supervisor and coworker support, psychological well-being and job performance.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship involving nurses' perception of organisational, supervisor and co-worker support, psychological well-being and job performance. METHODS: The cross-sectional, correlational study was conducted from June 2016 to January 2017 after approval from the ethics review committee of Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkiye, and comprised nurses working in public or private sector and being in their current employment for at least one year. Data was obtained using Organisational Support, Co-Worker Support, Supervisor Support, Psychological Well-Being and Job Performance scales. Data was analyzed using SPSS 26. RESULTS: Of the 1056 nurses, 896(84.8%) were women and 160(15.2%) were men. The overall mean age was 30.69±7.53 years (range: 17-59 years) and mean professional experience was 9.31±7.66 years (range: 1-36 years). CONCLUSIONS: Organisational, supervisor and co-worker support increased psychological wellbeing. Supervisor and co-worker support had a positive effect on job performance, but organisational support did not. Psychological wellbeing also increased job performance. Psychological well-being had a mediating role in the effect of organisational, supervisor and co-worker support on job performance. There was a positive relationship between perceived support, psychological wellbeing and job performance of nurses.