Coping,individual differences,and strain: A longitudinal study of short-term role overload

This study attempted to determine which personality dimensions and coping strategies would reduce or prevent strain in a context of naturally-occurring short-term role overload. Subjects were 106 adult undergraduate evening students enrolled in an intensive three-week summer school session. The median age was 26 years, and 72 per cent of the students worked full-time. Using a repeated-measures panel design, the study tested the effectiveness of three types of coping derived from Hall's (1972) typology. Longitudinal analysts using cross-lagged correlations and structural regressions showed little support for the predicted effects of Hall's three types of coping on subsequent strain. However, a fourth type of coping, Planned Task Management emerged during the analysis and showed a reciprocal relationship with strain. Both variables appeared to influence each other over time, although the effect of prior coping on subsequent strain was slightly but not significantly stronger. Also, alienation (defined as lack of commitment) had a significant moderator effect on the relationship between perceived overload and strain.     

Identifying the antecedents of coping with an organizational acquisition: a structural assessment

This study used Lazarus and Folkman's ( 1984 ) cognitive–phenomenological model of coping and Lazarus's ( 1991 ) theory of emotions to develop and test a model of how individuals cope with an organizational acquisition. The model identifies the origins and process used to select both problem‐focused and emotion‐focused coping strategies. Covariance structure analysis of data from 172 individuals indicated that problem‐focused coping was directly influenced by primary appraisal and negative emotion, while only certain types of emotion‐focused coping were directly related to negative emotion. All coping strategies were impacted by social support. Furthermore, negative emotion was predicted by primary appraisal, which in turn was related to perceived control, coping efficacy, and environmental conditions. Recommendations for future research and applications are discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coping with transition: A study of layoff survivors

This study examined the determinants and consequences of survivors' coping responses to a recent workforce reduction involving permanent layoffs. The participants consisted of 200 unionized technicians in the telecommunications industry. Survivors with high optimistic predispositions and a strong sense of mastery were more likely to engage in control-oriented coping. Perceived threat of job loss was positively related to the use of both control and escape coping whereas sense of powerlessness was negatively related to the use of control coping. Control coping was associated with positive outcomes and escape coping with negative outcomes. Coping had both additive and interactive effects on the outcome variables. The implications of these findings for management are discussed.     

Self‐esteem,appraisal and coping: a comparison of unemployed and re‐employed people

The negative effects of unemployment on psychological health are well documented, yet Kasl's ( 1982 ) reverse causation hypothesis is that positive psychological health, and in particular self‐esteem, facilitates re‐employment. The aim of this study was to investigate this proposal by assessing levels of self‐esteem, cognitive appraisals and coping efforts among unemployed persons and relating these factors to their employment status six months later. Two hundred and one unemployed (49 per cent female, 51 per cent male; mean age = 32.41 ± 10.18 years) and 128 employed respondents (59 per cent female, 41 per cent male; mean age = 35.0 ± 11.73 years) participated in the study. Participants completed the Adult Self‐Perception Profile, Access to Categories of Experience, Locus of Control, Deakin Coping Scale, and the Meaningful Leisure Activities Questionnaire at baseline and at six‐month follow‐up using a mail‐out survey. Comparison of baseline appraisals revealed that future re‐employed participants rated their latent deprivation lower and their internal locus of control higher than those continuously unemployed, and they also derived more internal meaning from leisure activities. Overall, the results provide support for Kasl's reverse causation hypothesis extended to these other domains of psychological health. Intervention strategies designed to incorporate the promotion of these factors are discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sometimes less is more: Directed coping with interpersonal stressors at work

Within the coping literature, researchers have long been interested in identifying ways in which individuals can improve their coping efforts, making them more effective and thereby reducing the harmful effects of stressful encounters. Although Lazarus and Folkman's transactional model has greatly advanced understanding of the coping process, there continues to be methodological and conceptual challenges that have hindered understanding of the mechanisms behind effective coping. Addressing these issues in the use of a novel approach of analyzing variation in coping (i.e., directed coping) at both the coping event and person coping levels, the current study examined the process of coping with work stress and the beneficial coping outcomes associated with using a directed coping strategy. A total of 143 nurses completed up to 12 weekly surveys online, reporting on weekly stressful interpersonal conflicts and how they coped with them. Results from multilevel analyses supported predictions that greater directed coping at both the level of the coping event and person is associated with improvements in occupational health outcomes even after controlling for other coping factors. Implications of these results are discussed in relation to future research on coping effectiveness and workplace applications. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predicting early career research productivity: the case of management faculty

We used a longitudinal design to examine the predictors of early career research productivity for 152 management professors over the first six years of their career. Results revealed early career research productivity to be a function of dissertation advisor research productivity, pre‐appointment research productivity, and the research output of a faculty member's academic origin and academic placement. However, the effects of these predictors varied over time in terms of strength. The findings are discussed in terms of guiding the evaluation and hiring of new researchers in knowledge‐based industries. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Narrow reasoning about the use of broad personality measures for personnel selection

Ones and Viswesvaran (1996) have argued for the use of broad bandwidth, rather than narrow bandwidth, personality predictors in personnel selection research when overall job performance is the criterion of interest. We take the opposite position in this article—that homogeneous measures of unidimensional personality traits are always to be preferred as predictors of work (and other) criteria. We maintain that the use of multiple unidimensional predictors provides important advantages over the use of multidimensional aggregates of those predictors. These advantages pertain to both (a) empirical accuracy in predicting job performance, and (b) psychological meaningfulness in explaining work behavior. Our conclusions are supported by Ones and Viswesvaran's own data. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Is career management related to employee development and performance?

The career management process involves career exploration, development of career goals, and use of career strategies to obtain career goals. The relationship between different aspects of the career management process and employee development behavior and performance was examined in this study. Employees provided information concerning their personal characteristics, career management strategies, their manager's support for career development, and willingness to participate in development activities. Managers provided ratings of each employee's job performance and developmental behavior. Position, manager's support for development, environmental exploration, and distance from career goal explained significant variance in employees' willingness to participate in development activities and developmental behavior. Career management was not significantly related to performance ratings. Research and practical implications of the study findings are discussed.     

Underemployment among recent business college graduates

This article explores an increasingly salient employment issue, namely, underemployment of recent college graduates. Using a sample of 283 recent business college graduates, the paper examines the consequences of underemployment on individuals' attitudes towards their jobs, their careers, and their lives in general. It explores, as well, how recent college graduates cope with underemployment and the impact of those coping strategies on individuals' psychological well-being. The paper concludes with directions for future research on underemployment among recent graduates in terms of theory development, research methodology, and public policy formulation.     

Identification and investigation of properties of social support

In response to the charge by House and Kahn (1985) that there is lack of specificity in conceptualization and measurement of the social support construct, this paper suggests the need to identify and specifically measure discrete properties of the previously identified dimensions (type and source) of social support. Properties are defined as what it is about combinations of source and type that needs to be measured. Based on literature reviews it is suggested that the relevant properties are amount of support, adequacy of support and number of providers of support. Measures are developed for each property. Data from 186 nurses were used to assess main and moderating effects of social support properties, workload and dying patients on emotional exhaustion and physical symptoms. As predicted, support adequacy was related to perceptions of lower workload. As single predictors, amount and adequacy of support reduced physical symptoms and emotional exhaustion. With amount and adequacy controlled, number of providers increased emotional exhaustion. Amount buffered the relationship between death and emotional exhaustion. Moderate levels of adequacy and number buffered the relationship between workload and exhaustion. Both adequacy and amount of support assisted in coping with patient death. In addition, a number of ‘reverse’ buffering and coping relationships were found. It was concluded that examination of different properties of social support increases our understanding of the impact of social support, and that further research needs to examine the simultaneous effects of various combinations of property, type and source of social support.     

Changing attitudes about change: longitudinal effects of transformational leader behavior on employee cynicism about organizational change

Using longitudinal data collected in two waves, nine months apart, from 372 employees, this research is an empirical assessment of individual‐level change within an organizational setting. Specifically, strategies used by change implementers were operationalized as six transformational leader behaviors, and then hypothesized to influence employees' cynicism about organizational change (CAOC). A combination of social learning theory, and communication research served as the theoretical rationale to explain transformational leadership's hypothesized effects. As posited, transformational leader behaviors (TLB) generally were associated with lower employee CAOC. Further, the direction of causality was consistent in suggesting that the TLB reduced employee CAOC. A discussion concerning the ethical use of TLBs and recommendations for future research are provided. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Increasing coping resources at work: A field experiment to increase social support,improve work team functioning,and enhance employee mental health

Correlational studies have identified worksite coping resources such as social support and perceived control, and have suggested a positive role for such resources in employee stress processes. However, little experimental evidence has demonstrated the causal role of worksite coping resources in improving mental health, nor how worksite coping resources can be enhanced. This paper reports the results of a field experiment intended to provide such evidence. Human service workers participated in a theory-driven training program designed to increase individual and group psychosocial coping resources and individuals' abilities to use those resources when coping with job demands. The inclusion of selection variables in models used to estimate the impact of the intervention controlled for selection biases and also allowed for the assessment of the impact of the training on those workers identified as most prone to turnover and on those most likely to participate in such an intervention. Results indicated that the program enhanced the work team climate and reduced depresssive symptoms and somatization in those most at risk for leaving their jobs. The program was also effective in increasing the amount of supervisor support received on the job and strengthening perceptions of coping abilities in those workers most likely to participate in the program.     

地铁乘客火灾应激反应过程模型构建与分析

为提高地铁乘客的火灾应对能力,基于应激反应模型,构建地铁火灾应激反应过程理论模型;收集357份有效问卷数据,采用因子分析和结构方程模型(SEM),探讨个体特性、特定情境、认知评价、社会支持、应对方式和应对结果6个变量及变量各维度之间的相互影响关系.研究结果表明:个体特性可以正向调节心理反应结果,特定情境变量可以反向调节...     

Relative power and influence strategy: the effects of agent/target organizational power on superiors' choices of influence strategies

The present study examined superiors' tendency to utilize different top–down influence strategies according to their evaluation of their own power relative to that of their subordinates. Four hundred and fifty‐five subordinates (schoolteachers) from different schools described the extent to which their superiors used each item of the influence strategy questionnaire to influence them, while their immediate superiors evaluated superior's power and subordinate's power. Overall, superiors tended to use soft and rational strategy more often than hard strategy. However, regarding the parameter of relative power, the results indicated that the agent's power, as well as the target's power, affected the superior's choice of particular influence strategy. The results suggest that power should be discussed in relative rather than absolute terms. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The moderating effects of job control and selection,optimization, and compensation strategies on the age–work ability relationship

Work ability describes employees' capability to carry out their work with respect to physical and psychological job demands. This study investigated direct and interactive effects of age, job control, and the use of successful aging strategies called selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) in predicting work ability. We assessed SOC strategies and job control by using employee self‐reports, and we measured employees' work ability using supervisor ratings. Data collected from 173 health‐care employees showed that job control was positively associated with work ability. Additionally, we found a three‐way interaction effect of age, job control, and use of SOC strategies on work ability. Specifically, the negative relationship between age and work ability was weakest for employees with high job control and high use of SOC strategies. These results suggest that the use of successful aging strategies and enhanced control at work are conducive to maintaining the work ability of aging employees. We discuss theoretical and practical implications regarding the beneficial role of the use of SOC strategies utilized by older employees and enhanced contextual resources at work for aging employees. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

What is organizational stress? A facet analytic conceptualization

In this article, a facet analytic approach is applied toward the delineation of the definitional parameters of organizational stress. In contrast to past conceptualizations, the present definition is built upon the view of stress as arising from an employee's perception of an environmental demand which exceeds her/his resources, and is theoretically distinct from the employee's coping processes and responses to the stress interaction. The uses of the facet definition of stress in (1) constructing questionnaires or interview schedules; (2) formulating hypotheses for further theorizing; and (3) guiding empirical research are demonstrated and illustrated.     

An interpersonal perspective of perceived stress: Examining the prosocial coping response patterns of stressed managers

We adopt an interpersonal perspective and examine the adaptive effects of managers' perceived stress on their behavior towards subordinates. Drawing from the transactional model of stress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), we advance a model that highlights the propensity for stressed managers to engage in prosocial coping behaviors towards their employees, which in turn are related to lower levels of turnover and higher levels of job performance. We tested our predictions in a sample of 281 employees and their 53 managers working in a clothing retailer in Turkey. Consistent with predictions, we found positive effects of managers' perceived stress on their prosocial coping behaviors and employee outcomes. Managers' perceived stress was positively related to sharing credit with employees for managers who held positive implicit prototypes about employees. Results also indicated that managers' perceived stress was positively related to sharing knowledge with their subordinates regardless of implicit follower prototypes. Both sharing credit and sharing knowledge, in turn, were related to turnover intentions and actual turnover, and sharing credit was related to job performance. This study extends past work by adopting an interpersonal perspective of stress and demonstrating that managerial stress can have positive effects on employee outcomes via prosocial coping behaviors.     

A moderated mediation test of personality,coping, and health among deployed soldiers

Our study examines how personality and coping influence soldiers' psychological health among 648 US Army personnel who were at that time deployed in Iraq at the height of an insurgency. Conscientiousness, neuroticism, and extraversion were associated with different coping behaviors, and these were in turn related to psychological distress. Conscientiousness was positively associated with problem‐focused coping and negatively with avoidance coping, whereas neuroticism was most positively associated with avoidance coping. Extraversion was positively related to both seeking social support and avoidance coping. As expected, avoidance coping was positively associated with psychological distress. Coping style explained more variance in the relationship between personality and distress among soldiers who perceived higher levels of threat, thus supporting a moderated mediation hypothesis. We discuss implications for facilitating the stress coping of workers who face acute and potentially traumatic stress exposures. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implementing risk management to reduce injuries in the U.S. Fire Service

IntroductionRisk management, a proactive process to identify and mitigate potential injury risks and implement control strategies, was used to reduce the risk of occupational injury in a fire department. The objective of this research was to study the implementation of the risk management process for future replication. A second objective was to document changes in fire personnel's knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to the selected control strategies that were implemented as part of the risk management process.MethodA number of control strategies identified through the risk management process were implemented over a 2-year period beginning in January 2011. Approximately 450 fire personnel completed each of the three cross-sectional surveys that were administered throughout the implementation periods. Fire personnel were asked about their awareness, knowledge, and use of the control strategies.ResultsFire personnel were generally aware of the control strategies that were implemented. Visual reminders (e.g., signage) were noted as effective by fire personnel who noticed them. Barriers to use of specific control strategies such as new procedures on the fireground or new lifting equipment for patient transfer included lack of knowledge of the new protocols, lack of awareness/access to/availability of the new equipment, and limited training on its use. Implementation challenges were noted, which limited self-reported adherence to the control strategies.ConclusionsFire personnel generally recognized the potential for various control strategies to manage risk and improve their health and safety; however, implementation challenges limited the effectiveness of certain control strategies. The study findings support the importance of effective implementation to achieve the desired impacts of control strategies for improving health and safety.Practical applicationsEmployees must be aware of, have knowledge about, and receive training in safety and health interventions in order to adopt desired behaviors.     

The effects of type A behavior dimensions and optimism on coping strategy,health, and performance

Type A behavior dimensions and optimism were examined as predictors of health and performance. In addition, this research also explored the ways that Type As and optimists cope with stressful situations. The achievement striving dimension of the Type A behavior pattern and optimism were positively related to class performance, while the anger/hostility dimension was positively related to the health symptom of anxiety. Optimism, on the other hand, was negatively related to anxiety. The interaction of achievement striving and optimism was negatively related to anxiety. Additionally, while achievement striving was positively related to problem-focused coping, irritability showed a negative association with problem-focused coping strategy. The results of this study provide insights for both individuals and organizations regarding how to cope with daily stresses in order to lower health risks and improve performance.