ABSTRACT Our study examined construct validity evidence for a measure of perceptions of Stress as a Badge of Honour, consisting of four dimensions: stress as achievement, relaxation remorse, stress-related social comparison, and stress-related impression management. A pilot study among college students (Study 1; N = 120) informed the initial development of the measure, which was further tested in two worker samples recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk). The results of Study 2 (N = 248) supported a four-factor structure of the measure. Study 3 utilised data collected at two time points (Matched N = 752), assessing stress badge perceptions, convergent and discriminant validity measures (Time 1), and measures of health, well-being, and performance (Time 2). The four subscales were related to, but unique from, convergent validity measures (e.g. workaholism, perfectionism) and were not highly related to discriminant validity measures (i.e. social desirability, positive and negative affect). The stress badge perceptions demonstrated some positive relationships with job performance, but predominantly negative relationships with psychological and physical health, and work-family conflict. Our findings expand our understanding of the dark side of viewing high stress in a laudatory manner by introducing a novel measure and can inform interventions to promote optimal views of stress.

ABSTRACT Safety training, especially when based on the active participation of trainees and aiming for transfer of learning into the workplace, is an important tool to prevent accidents and promote occupational safety, and may be particularly powerful among vulnerable groups, such as migrant workers. The present study, employing a mixed methods, before-and-after study design, evaluated a training programme aimed at promoting the learning and transfer of technical and non-technical safety skills to the construction site among migrant and native workers. We explored outcomes at four levels and found: (a) trainees’ positive reactions to the training itself; (b) improvements in technical safety skills, but the non-technical skills reduced significantly; (c) application of these skills in the workplace; and (d) changes in site safety climate and assertiveness. Results showed that trained workers found the training easy to translate into the workplace and that peers and supervisors were supportive of training transfer. Our study has important implications for how to evaluate safety training of migrant workers and how the context may facilitate training outcomes, e.g. ensuring that peers and supervisors encourage trained workers to transfer their learned skills and knowledge.

ABSTRACT This systematic literature review synthesises the existing knowledge about the impact on working caregivers managing dual responsibilities of paid work and informal eldercare, as well as the demands and resources related to juggling these duties. Due to the increasing volume of research in this area, it is important to synthesise current knowledge and identify gaps for future research in the area of Occupational Health Psychology. We identified 45 papers for inclusion in our systematic literature review. Demands and resources were categorised according to the Individual, Group, Leader, and Organisation (IGLO) model. Findings suggested ways that the workplace can provide support to informal caregivers, such as from peer-to-peer, manager-to-subordinate, organisational policy, and cultural aspects. Evidence showed that certain levels of the IGLO model, such as the individual, leader, and organisational-level resources as well as individual demands have received more research attention. Current studies mostly focused on one or two specific levels of the IGLO model rather than taking a holistic approach to examine factors at all levels. Our findings suggested that future research should take into account all levels of the IGLO model to fully capture the dynamics of juggling paid work and eldercare and we proposed a future agenda for research.

ABSTRACT Employees who remain available for work outside regular work hours often experience strain and work–home conflicts. This study clusters employees in distinct availability types based on different aspects of unregulated extended work ability, which are contacting frequency, availability expectations and perceived legitimacy of availability. Moreover, we examined covariates of class membership and relationships with employees’ well-being. We used data from 17,410 employees who took part in a representative survey of the German working population. Latent class analysis with double cross-validation revealed three availability types. Satisfaction with work–life balance was higher and internal work–home interference was lower in the “rarely available”-class than in the “legitimate available”-class and the “illegitimate available”-class. Members of the “illegitimate available”-class reported worse subjective health, more psychovegetative health complaints, and higher levels of exhaustion than members of the “legitimate available”-class and the “rarely available”-class. Several socio-demographic variables, job characteristics, and factors associated with boundary management predicted class membership. Overall, the study highlights the risks for employees’ well-being associated with unregulated extended work availability – particularly when it is perceived as illegitimate – and points towards implications on the individual, organisational, and political level that may help reduce and better manage extended work ability.

ABSTRACT While most of the workplace bullying research has focused on targets and the devastating consequences they face from being exposed to such negative behaviour, bullying does not occur in a social vacuum. Previous research has suggested that people who are exposed to bullying sometimes engage in such behaviour themselves. In this paper, we wanted to test the reciprocal nature of bullying behaviour over time and potential moderators of this relationship in two studies. In Study 1, using two-wave full panel data, we test whether bullying exposure predicts bullying enactment and vice versa. In Study 2, using another two-wave dataset, we test whether individual coping styles moderate the relationship between bullying exposure and enactment. The results of the two studies provide support for the reciprocal nature of bullying behaviour and show that employees who tend to cope actively and instrumentally with being exposed to bullying have a higher chance of engaging in bullying. The reverse holds for people who tend to cope by disengaging and talking to others. This study has important implications for both the bullying literature and for practitioners working on bullying prevention and resolution.

ABSTRACT In this study, we examine the relationship between abusive supervision and employee retaliatory behaviours. We conceptualise retaliation as both in-kind retaliation (i.e. supervisor-directed aggression) and intensified retaliation (i.e. supervisor-directed violence) to abusive supervision. We explore whether organisational intolerance of aggression prevents these retaliatory responses. In a three-wave time-lagged study, we collected data from 233 employees. Our findings indicate that employees retaliate against abusive supervision by engaging in supervisor-directed aggression and supervisor-directed violence. We also find support for the moderating role of organisational intolerance of aggression: organisational intolerance moderated the relationship between abusive supervision and both types of retaliatory behaviours. We discuss the implications for how perceptions of organisational intolerance of aggression may work, and the importance of timing in preventing both abusive supervision and employee retaliation.

ABSTRACT Flexibility regarding where and when work is completed is becoming increasingly available to employees, especially following the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent shift in the nature of work. There is a plethora of research linking various flexible work arrangements (FWA) to a variety of positive outcomes across domains including reduced work–family conflict, better psychological health, and increased role satisfaction. While several studies have suggested that FWA are related to positive health, others have found no relationship between flexible work arrangements and health outcomes. To clarify these inconsistent findings, the current meta-analytic review (k = 33, n = 90,602) examines the relationship between flexible work arrangements available to employees and health behaviours and outcomes, specifically physical health, absenteeism, somatic symptoms, and physical activity. Results demonstrate that FWA are associated with better physical health, reduced absenteeism, and fewer somatic symptoms, suggesting that flexible work arrangements can facilitate employees in maintaining their health. There was no association between FWA and physical activity, though these results should be interpreted cautiously given the limited number of primary studies examining this relationship. These findings hold implications for future research and practice, including support for offering individualised flexible work arrangements as means of promoting employee health.

In this study a sample of male, shift-working, operational ambulance officers were compared with a group of male shift-workers from a range of occupations in which exposure to traumatic events was not inherent in the role ( N = 71). Three dimensions of family functioning were examined: intimacy, conflict, and parenting styles, with respect to occupational type (i.e. work-related exposure to trauma) and accounting for personal resources (coping). Personal resources were found to have a significant impact on the dimensions of family functioning. Furthermore, differences emerged in the pattern of coping between the two groups. Ambulance officers demonstrated a more varied repertoire of personal resources than the control group. Social support was found to be the sole predictor of intimacy and conflict levels in the control sample. However, in the ambulance group social support was predictive of intimacy levels, rational-cognitive strategies were predictive of conflict levels, and self-care, social support, and rational-cognitive strategies were all significantly correlated with the three dimensions of family functioning.

In recent years, the Australian university sector has undergone large-scale organizational change, including restructuring, downsizing and government funding cuts. At the same time, research from across the globe reports an alarming increase in the occupational stress experienced by university staff. We report on the first phase of a longitudinal investigation of occupational stress. A total of 22 focus groups were conducted with a representative sample of 178 academic and general staff from 15 Australian universities. The groups focused on understanding staff 's experience of occupational stress, and perceptions of the sources, consequences and moderators of stress. Both general and academic staff reported a dramatic increase in stress during the previous 5 years. As a group, academic staff reported higher levels of stress than general staff. Five major sources of stress were identified including: insufficient funding and resources; work overload; poor management practice; job insecurity; and insufficient recognition and reward. The majority of groups reported that job-related stress was having a deleterious impact on their professional work and personal welfare. Aspects of the work environment (support from co-workers and management, recognition and achievement, high morale, flexible working conditions), and personal coping strategies (stress management techniques, work/ non-work balance, tight role boundaries and lowering standards), were reported to help staff cope with stress. The findings provide a timely insight into the experience of stress within universities.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of uncertainty caused by large-scale workplace reorganization, on psychological well-being, blood pressure and total cholesterol levels. Employees (98 women and 86 men) were assessed four times, at approximately 6-monthly intervals, twice before and twice after reorganization. Self-reported psychological well-being was at its lowest level shortly prior to reorganization, as predicted. Greater self-reported uncertainty about one's own future occupational situation was associated with a bigger reduction in mental well-being before reorganization, as was role ambiguity after reorganization. Systolic blood pressure was elevated over initial levels just prior to reorganization, and shortly after reorganization, but at the final assessment was not significantly different from initial levels. A bigger increase in systolic blood pressure was seen in those reporting greater future job uncertainty before reorganization, and in those who started a new job or who reported greater role ambiguity after reorganization. Diastolic blood pressure was also significantly elevated over initial levels just before reorganization, but this effect became nonsignificant once changes in body mass index were statistically controlled. Total cholesterol also reached its highest level just prior to reorganization, but this effect was not significant. It is concluded that workplace reorganization caused significant increases in distress and in systolic blood pressure and that uncertainty contributed to these effects.