The Relationship Between Financial Stress and Job Performance in China: The Role of Work Engagement and Emotional Exhaustion.

Purpose: Economic pressure has become an important source of stress for employees. However, the conclusions regarding the relationship between financial stress and employees' work behavior are not consistent. The present study explored the relationship between financial stress and employee job performance with a Chinese sample and further explored how and when financial stress influenced job performance. Samples and Methods: The present study investigated five distinct companies operating in diverse sectors using a convenience sampling technique. Three hundred and twenty-one employees were recruited. Financial Stress, Job Performance, Work Engagement, and Emotional Exhaustion were measured for this investigation. The mediation effect was tested using a four-step procedure. The analysis of the moderated mediation model was performed using Hayes's PROCESS macro for SPSS. Results: The results found financial stress was positively related to job performance, and work engagement mediated the positive relationship between financial stress and job performance. In addition, emotional exhaustion moderated the mediating process between financial stress, work engagement, and job performance. Specifically, the beneficial effect of financial stress on work engagement disappeared when emotional exhaustion was high. Besides, a high level of emotional exhaustion weakened the positive relationship between work engagement and job performance. Conclusion: Financial stress plays a motivating role in employees' job performance in China. Work engagement is a key factor between financial stress and job performance. Notably, the positive effect of financial stress and work engagement on job performance is contingent upon the individual's level of emotional exhaustion. These results might explain the inconsistency of the effect of financial stress in previous research. Moreover, this finding suggests that emotional factors may not only be the result of stress but can also influence its effects.

The impact of transformational leadership on workers' personal resources: latent profile analysis and links with physical and psychological health.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have examined the impact of leadership on employee well-being and health. However, this research has focused on a variable-centred approach. By contrast, the present study adopts a person-centred approach. AIMS: To (a) identify latent 'resources' profiles among two samples combining vigour at work, work engagement and physical activity levels; (b) examine the link between the identified profiles and indicators of psychological/physical health; and (c) test whether different levels of transformational leadership determine the probability of belonging to a particular profile. METHOD: Two samples of workers, S1 and S2 (NS1 = 354; NS2 = 158), completed a cross-sectional survey before their annual medical examination. RESULTS: For S1, the results of latent profile analysis yielded three profiles: spiritless, spirited and high-spirited. Both high-spirited and spirited profiles showed a positive relationship with mental health, whereas spiritless showed a negative relationship. For S2, two profiles (spirited and spiritless) were replicated, with similar effects on mental health, but none of them was related to total cholesterol. In both samples, transformational leadership determined the probability of belonging to a particular profile. CONCLUSIONS: Transformational leadership increased the probability of belonging to a more positive profile and, therefore, to better workers' health.

Service-oriented HRP bundles and team performance: A team-level serial mediation model.

Drawing on two theoretical frameworks-positive psychology theory and conservation of resources theory-the relationship and underlying mechanism between team-level service-oriented human resource practice (SO-HRP) bundles and team performance were explored by constructing a team-level serial mediation model. Survey data were collected from 424 employees at 80 branches of five financial holding companies in Northern Taiwan. The team-level serial-mediated model and hypotheses were examined using SPSS version 24 and the PROCESS macro for SPSS. The results indicate that team psychological capital (PsyCap) and team work engagement serially mediated the relationship between SO-HRP bundles and team performance. These results imply that managers should plan and implement SO-HRP bundles in detail, reinforce team PsyCap, and increase engagement within their financial service teams to enhance team performance.

Hindrance stressors and turnover intentions among preschool teachers: The mediating role of work engagement and the moderating effect of meaningful work.

Background: Teacher turnover in preschool settings poses significant challenges to educational quality and stability. Understanding the factors that influence turnover intentions is crucial for developing effective retention strategies. Objective: This study aims to explore the relationships between hindrance stressors and turnover intentions among preschool teachers, with a particular focus on the mediating role of work engagement and the moderating effect of meaningful work. Methods: Participants were recruited from Shanghai, China. The study involved 220 preschool teachers, with a mean age of 32.35 years, the majority of whom were female. All participants completed the Hindrance Stressors Scale, the Turnover Intention Scale, the Work and Meaning Inventory, and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Results: Findings indicate a positive association between hindrance stressors and turnover intentions, partially mediated by decreased work engagement. Additionally, meaningful work was found to moderate the relationship between hindrance stressors and work engagement; it can mitigate the adverse effects of hindrance stressors on work engagement. Conclusion: Addressing hindrance stressors and fostering work engagement and meaningful work are essential for mitigating turnover intentions. These insights offer valuable guidance for educational administrators in enhancing teacher retention and improving workplace well-being.

Does gender diversity mediate the relationships of diversity beliefs and workplace happiness?

Though its intensity varies across cultures, practicing diversity beliefs has become increasingly prevalent in contemporary business organizations. Traditionally, diversity encompasses various aspects such as gender, education, religion, language, age, ethnicity, culture and personality orientation. The current study has demonstrated to identify the mediating effects of gender diversity on diversity beliefs and workplace happiness. The targeted population is made up of full-time Bangladeshi employees working in both public and private organizations. The researchers distributed a questionnaire to 500 employees and obtained 320 valid responses, resulting in a response rate of 64%. The study used the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique to assess the mediating effects and direct effects among the variables. The results demonstrate that gender diversity significantly mediate the associations between diversity beliefs and workplace happiness. This means that employees are more likely to be happy with their jobs if the workplace reflects gender variety in its workforce. The study further demonstrates that workplace happiness significantly affects employees' job satisfaction, engagement and commitment. The present research foregrounds that firms and concerned authorities must increase their various attempts to establish gender-equal policies that appear to be more effective for diversity practice and workplace happiness in work organizations.

Evaluating the two-item measure of engagement at work for Japan Self-Defense Forces: A cross-sectional study.

Aim: Work engagement is critical in both occupational and mental health contexts. However, no studies have compared the usefulness of the nine-, three-, and two-item measures from the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). Therefore, this study aimed to examine the internal consistency and convergent validity of the two-item measure and compare its usefulness with the nine-item and three-item versions for assessing engagement at work among Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) personnel. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 229,383 participants who underwent an annual mental health check between October 19 and December 17, 2021. To test the internal consistency of the scales, Cronbach's alpha was used. To test the convergent validity, Pearson's correlation coefficients were examined for each item corresponding to job resources, job satisfaction, stress reactions, and job demands assessed by the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire. Results: Most participants were men (89.8%). Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the nine-, three-, and two-item scales were 0.95, 0.85, and 0.80, respectively. All three versions showed significant and positive correlations with each of the items corresponding to job resources and job satisfaction. The correlation coefficients of the two-item scale were not inferior to those of the nine-item and three-item scales for job resources and job satisfaction items. Conclusion: Our results showed the internal consistency and convergent validity for the two-item measure of engagement at work among JSDF personnel. The two-item measure may be useful for briefly and efficiently assessing the actual state of workers' engagement at work.

The burdens and benefits of managing and engaging: a diary study approach to person-centred risk assessment of top executives and works council members.

The present diary study investigates the impact of daily effort-reward imbalance (ERI), subjective stress and the cortisol awakening response (CAR) as an objective measure on work engagement of top managers and high-level works council members (N = 45) on three consecutive working days. In the scope of psychosocial risk assessment, we argue that focusing on ERI as a generalized work characteristic might be more suitable for work re-design of higher leadership positions because of their highly dynamic and unpredictable psychosocial work characteristics, while at the same time having more access to job resources. The analyses reveal that both baseline and daily ERI, as well as subjective stress, influence work engagement. Our results suggest that interventions to reduce daily levels of ERI may improve the work environment of top managers and works councils by promoting work engagement and related positive health outcomes in the scope of person-centred risk assessment.

The effects of psychological capital, work engagement and job autonomy on job performance in platform flexible employees.

The performance of platform flexible employees is a core element that contributes to the rapid growth of the sharing economy platform. It is crucial to explore strategies to improve employees' performance with the growing competition among these platforms. Only a handful of research evidence has been found evaluating platform flexible employees' psychological capital and work engagement to improve their performance. In order to remedy the gap, we draw on self-determination theory to develop a moderated mediation model, which examines how psychological capital affects platform flexible employees' job performance. We employed hierarchical regression analysis to test the theoretical model and carried out two rounds of surveys, resulting in 474 valid paired questionnaires. The questionnaire assessed the psychological capital, work engagement, job performance, and job autonomy of flexible platform employees. The results indicate that work engagement plays a mediating role between psychological capital affects platform flexible employees' job performance. Moreover, job autonomy moderates the mediating effect. The findings not only contribute to the literature on employees' psychological capital and job performance, but also broaden the research scope of self-determination theory, and provide new ideas for improving the job performance of platform flexible employees.

Special education teachers' emotional intelligence and its relationships with social support, work engagement and job performance: a job demands-resources theory's perspective.

Based on the Job Demands-Resources theory, this research investigated the multiple mediating role of special education teachers' social support and work engagement in the relationship between their emotional intelligence and job performance. Data of 710 Chinese mainland teachers in special education schools were analyzed. The results showed that emotional intelligence directly predicted job performance. Both social support and work engagement partially mediated the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance. Furthermore, social support and work engagement serially mediated the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance. The limitations and implications for future studies and practices are discussed.

Good learning environment of medical schools is an independent predictor for medical students' study engagement.

Background: Study engagement is regarded important to medical students' physical and mental wellbeing. However, the relationship between learning environment of medical schools and the study engagement of medical students was still unclear. This study was aimed to ascertain the positive effect of learning environment in study engagement. Methods: We collected 10,901 valid questionnaires from 12 medical universities in China, and UWES-S was utilized to assess the study engagement levels. Then Pearson Chi-Square test and Welch's ANOVA test were conducted to find the relationship between study engagement and learning environment, and subgroup analysis was used to eradicate possible influence of confounding factors. After that, a multivariate analysis was performed to prove learning environment was an independent factor, and we constructed a nomogram as a predictive model. Results: With Pearson Chi-Square test (p < 0.001) and Welch's ANOVA test (p < 0.001), it proved that a good learning environment contributed to a higher mean of UWES scores. Subgroup analysis also showed statistical significance (p < 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, we could find that, taking "Good" as reference, "Excellent" (OR = 0.329, 95%CI = 0.295-0.366, p < 0.001) learning environment was conducive to one's study engagement, while "Common" (OR = 2.206, 95%CI = 1.989-2.446, p < 0.001), "Bad" (OR = 2.349, 95%CI = 1.597-3.454, p < 0.001), and "Terrible" (OR = 1.696, 95%CI = 1.015-2.834, p = 0.044) learning environment only resulted into relatively bad study engagement. Depending on the result, a nomogram was drawn, which had predictive discrimination and accuracy (AUC = 0.680). Conclusion: We concluded that learning environment of school was an independent factor of medical student's study engagement. A higher level of learning environment of medical school came with a higher level of medical students' study engagement. The nomogram could serve as a predictive reference for the educators and researchers.

Optimizing Telework with Exercise: An Exploration of the Curvilinear Relationship between Telework Intensity and Work Engagement.

The sudden COVID-19 crisis disrupted people's pace of life. Meanwhile, telework has gradually attracted public attention and become a regular mechanism for organizations. In this context, self-regulation theory was utilized to explore the impact of telework intensity on work engagement. Data were collected from 304 employees across three time points, and the results supported a curvilinear relationship between telework intensity and work engagement. Specifically, it was discovered that employees exhibited the highest levels of work engagement at moderate levels of telework intensity. Additionally, based on the strength model of self-control, the research identified self-control as playing a mediating role between telework intensity and work engagement. Finally, the study revealed that the duration of physical exercise moderated the relationship between telework intensity and self-control. Long-term physical exercise was found to prolong and enhance the positive effects of telework intensity on self-control, thereby boosting employee work engagement. This study provided unique and valuable insights into maintaining employee engagement in telework.

Empowering the helping hands: A positive psychological intervention for enhancing work engagement and reducing stress among preschool social workers in Hong Kong.

This study explores the efficacy of the Early Advancement in Social-Emotional Health and Positivity (EASP) programme, designed to enhance personal resources, namely self-compassion and positivity among preschool social workers, to reduce stress and bolster work engagement. A total of 84 preschool social workers (Mage = 32.47 years, SD = 6.86, range = 22-55; female = 90.48%) participated in a 5-week randomized control trial. Participants were randomly allocated to either the intervention group (n = 38), which received four online workshops and an online activity, or the wait-list control group (n = 46), which received the intervention post-data collection. Self-compassion, positivity, work engagement, and work stress were measured before and after the intervention. Results from a path analytic model indicated excellent fit with the data, χ2 = 2.08, df = 3, Comparative Fit Index = 1.00, Tucker-Lewis Index = 1.00, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.00 (90% CI = 0.00-0.16), SRMR = 0.03. The intervention demonstrated direct effects on changes in self-compassion (ß = 0.21, p = 0.04) and positivity (ß = 0.28, p = 0.03), with indirect effects on work engagement (ß = 0.13, p = 0.02), while no significant impact was observed on work stress (ß = -0.09, p = 0.06). These findings underscore the efficacy of positive psychological interventions in fostering work engagement among social workers. Incorporating the EASP programme into ongoing professional development activities is recommended to enhance the job engagement and psychological well-being of social workers in early childhood education and care sectors.

Pets at work: integrating pet-friendly initiatives into human resources for enhanced workplace harmony.

AIMS: The representation of companion animals, or pets, has been changing recently. Research concerning how pets influence employees' work-related well-being has also started to take its first steps. This research aimed to analyze (1) how managers perceive pet-friendly practices and their main effects at work, and (2) the impact of such practices on employees' well-being and work engagement. Relying on the social exchange perspective and the self-determination theory it was hypothesized that pet-friendly practices would positively influence employees' well-being and work engagement by satisfying their three basic needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness). METHODOLOGY: Two studies with mixed methods were conducted. The first and exploratory study resorted to semi-structured interviews with six managers. The second was a two-wave study conducted with a large sample of workers (N = 379). RESULTS: The first study highlighted the primary advantages and disadvantages of pet-friendly practices, along with the various obstacles and limitations, and proposed managerial strategies to overcome them. Managers generally expressed interest and enthusiasm about the topic but also pointed out challenges in implementing a pet-friendly strategy due to the limited number of empirical studies demonstrating its benefits. The second study's findings indicated that pet-friendly practices positively impacted employees' work engagement and well-being by fulfilling their needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. ORIGINALITY: Overall, Portugal is seen as having a conservative culture, which slows the dissemination and implementation of these measures. To overcome these challenges, several managerial recommendations have been proposed. Raising awareness and fostering discussion on the topic are crucial steps toward integrating pet-friendly policies into human resources management.

Corrigendum: Know and use your personal strengths! A Spanish validation of the strengths knowledge and use scales and their relationship with meaningful work and work-related well-being.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1086510.].

When high work engagement is negative for family tasks: mechanisms and boundary conditions.

Background: Typically, work engagement is positively related to beneficial job outcomes. Earlier studies, however, revealed a "dark side" of work engagement showing negative effects such as more work-family conflict. Using a resource perspective, our study seeks to better understand why and when these negative effects of work engagement occur. Specifically, we test a new model in which the relationship of work engagement with work-family conflict is mediated by organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and work rumination. Moreover, we argue that employees' resource-building strategies (i.e., job crafting) and resource levels (i.e., psychological capital) buffer resource depletion due to high work engagement. Methods: We tested our assumptions in a field study that involved data collected on three measurement points with 523 employees from Nigeria. The measures consist of Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale, Work Rumination Scale, Psychological Capital Scale, Job Crafting Measure, Work-family Conflict Scale, and demographic variables. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses. Results and discussion: Results from latent structure equation modelling confirm that work rumination mediates the positive relationship between work engagement and work-family conflict. Additionally, our findings suggest that behavioral engagement (i.e.,OCB) and work rumination mediate the relationship between work engagement and work-family conflict. Moreover, psychological capital mitigated the relationships of work engagement with work rumination, but not job crafting. Our study helps to better understand the "dark side" of work engagement and offers implications on how to mitigate its detrimental relationship with work-family conflict.

Job satisfaction and social identification among paramedics in southern Poland.

Introduction: Job satisfaction, based on professional and non-professional factors and individual characteristics of employees, is an important element influencing both the quality of care provided and employee turnover. Material and method: The study included 137 paramedics employed in field teams and hospital emergency departments. The Job Satisfaction Scale (SSP), the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), and the Three Dimensional Strength of Group Identification Scale (TSIG) were used to collect the data. Results: The average job satisfaction score measured with SSP in the studied group of paramedics was 24.50 and the average job satisfaction score measured with MSQ was 74.16. The average value of the group identification in the study sample was 61.15. Of the three subscales, the highest scores were obtained in the affect toward the group subscale -22.44, and the lowest in the cognitive centrality subscale -18.78. The analysis showed that job satisfaction positively correlated with social identification (r = 0.43) and the ingroup ties (r = 0.43), cognitive centrality (r = 0.34) and ingroup affect (r = 0.37). Conclusions: The studied group of paramedics showed moderate job satisfaction (measured with SSP) and work engagement, with a simultaneous high level of job satisfaction (measured with MSQ) and social identification with the professional group. Social identification of studied paramedics varied depending on gender. Women showed higher levels of cognitive centrality, which might mean that they might have had greater need to categorize themselves as paramedics.

A structural equation model of the impacts of nurses' psychological safety and psychological contract breach.

AIM: To investigate the effects of psychological contract breach and psychological safety on health and well-being outcomes among nurses. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. METHODS: Data were gathered from members of the Finnish social and healthcare workers' trade union (n = 4575) in February 2023. This study focused on data from 3260 nurses. Structural equation modelling was employed to firstly explain burnout and work engagement and subsequently health and well-being outcomes in relation to perceived psychological contract breach and psychological safety. RESULTS: Younger male nurses, those with lower-level university degrees, and nurses employed in public hospitals reported experiencing more psychological contract breaches. Conversely, older nurses and those working in private organizations perceived a higher level of psychological safety. Psychological contract breaches were associated with increased burnout and reduced work engagement, while psychological safety contributed to lower burnout and higher work engagement. Moreover, burnout was linked to health problems and diminished mental well-being, whereas increased work engagement led to fewer health problems and improved mental well-being. The final model demonstrated excellent fit. CONCLUSION: Breaches in the psychological contract, followed by distrust, and anger significantly burden nurses, detrimentally affecting their well-being at work. Psychologically safe working environments, consequently, improve nurses' well-being at work and should be promoted within work teams. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION: Nursing managers could receive training to understand the consequences of, and practices for supporting, a beneficial psychological work climate. IMPACT: The study examined psychological burden and resource factors at work, finding that psychological contract breaches increased burden and led to negative well-being outcomes. In contrast, psychological safety emerged as a positive resource for health and well-being. These results offer benefits for nurses, managers and organizations. REPORTING METHOD: The study was reported following the Strengthening of the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology guidelines. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution.

Corrigendum: Social Determinants of Health in the COVID-19 Pandemic Context of the Migrant Population Living in Settlements in Spain.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2022.1604628.].

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.

Evaluation of the Association Between Sedentary Time and Low Work Engagement in the Work Environment After COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study of Japanese Workers.

Introduction The global shift toward working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to concerns about increased sedentary behavior and its potential impact on work engagement, a critical factor for employee well-being and organizational productivity. This study aims to explore the association between sedentary time and work engagement among workers in Japan in the post-pandemic work environment. Methods This cross-sectional analysis utilized data from the Japan COVID-19 and Society Internet Survey (JACSIS), conducted from September to November 2023, after the COVID-19 pandemic period. Participants included employed individuals over 18 years, excluding those in domestic occupations. Sedentary time and work engagement were self-reported and categorized. Logistic regression analysis adjusted for confounders such as socioeconomic status, work characteristics, and mental and physical health was employed to explore this association. Results The study found a significant association between longer sedentary time and lower levels of work engagement. In particular, for desk workers, longer sedentary time was associated with lower work engagement (sedentary time, compared to the reference category "<4 hours/day", 4 to <8 h: OR 1.42, 95% CI: 1.25-1.60; 8 to <12 h: OR 1.77, 95% CI: 1.55-2.01; ≥12 h or unknown: OR 2.14, 95% CI: 1.80-2.51, respectively). Sensitivity analysis confirmed that these results are robust to different definitions of work engagement. Furthermore, analyses in subgroups of desk workers classified according to specific characteristics suggested that desk workers who are full-time workers in non-managerial positions and work from home ≥4 days per week were more strongly associated with prolonged sedentary behavior and low work engagement (in the group of full-time workers who were non-managers, sedentary time, compared to the reference category "<4 hours/day", 4 to <8 h: OR 2.14, 95% CI: 1.52-3.00; 8 to <12 h: OR 2.10, 95% CI: 1.46-3.00; ≥12 h or unknown: OR 3.32, 95% CI: 1.99-6.05; in those with work-from-home frequency of ≥4 days weekly, sedentary time, compared to the reference category "<4 hours/day", 4 to <8 h: OR 1.46, 95% CI: 0.99-2.16; 8 to <12 h: OR 1.73, 95% CI: 1.19-2.56; ≥12 h or unknown: OR 2.41, 95% CI: 1.58-3.67). Conclusions This study revealed a significant association between sedentary time and low work engagement among workers in Japan after the COVID-19 pandemic. In the future, prospective studies are needed to confirm the causal associations between the two, using more validated measures of sedentary behavior.