Help or hindrance? Day-level relationships between flextime use, work–nonwork boundaries, and affective well-being
Ines Spieler, Susanne Scheibe, Christian Stamov-Rossnagel, & Arvid Kappas
Abstract:
Flexible working time arrangements are becoming increasingly popular around the globe, but do they actually benefit employees? To address this question, we take a differentiated look at employees' day-specific use of flextime and its effect on the intersection of work and nonwork life. Specifically, we examined whether links between day-specific flextime use and affective well-being at work and at home can be explained by level of goal completion and the subjective boundaries around one's work and private life domains (i.e., the strength of work-nonwork boundaries). During 2 consecutive workweeks, 150 bank employees from various functions (Study 1) and a heterogeneous sample of 608 employees (Study 2) reported their day-specific use of flextime, boundary strength at work and home, and affective well-being in the evening and the next day. Multilevel structural equation modeling of 2,223 (Study 1) and 3,164 (Study 2) observations revealed that flextime use was associated with stronger boundaries at home in both studies and stronger boundaries at work in Study 2. Stronger boundaries were, in turn, positively associated with affective well-being, both in the same evening and the next day. Study 2 further revealed that day-specific nonwork goal completion mediated the positive association between daily flextime use and boundary strength at work. However, whereas occasional flextime use had unequivocal positive consequences, chronic flextime use undermined the completion of work goals. Overall, findings suggest that flextime use benefits employees when used in moderation.
Ines Spieler, Susanne Scheibe, Christian Stamov-Rossnagel, & Arvid Kappas
Abstract:
Flexible working time arrangements are becoming increasingly popular around the globe, but do they actually benefit employees? To address this question, we take a differentiated look at employees' day-specific use of flextime and its effect on the intersection of work and nonwork life. Specifically, we examined whether links between day-specific flextime use and affective well-being at work and at home can be explained by level of goal completion and the subjective boundaries around one's work and private life domains (i.e., the strength of work-nonwork boundaries). During 2 consecutive workweeks, 150 bank employees from various functions (Study 1) and a heterogeneous sample of 608 employees (Study 2) reported their day-specific use of flextime, boundary strength at work and home, and affective well-being in the evening and the next day. Multilevel structural equation modeling of 2,223 (Study 1) and 3,164 (Study 2) observations revealed that flextime use was associated with stronger boundaries at home in both studies and stronger boundaries at work in Study 2. Stronger boundaries were, in turn, positively associated with affective well-being, both in the same evening and the next day. Study 2 further revealed that day-specific nonwork goal completion mediated the positive association between daily flextime use and boundary strength at work. However, whereas occasional flextime use had unequivocal positive consequences, chronic flextime use undermined the completion of work goals. Overall, findings suggest that flextime use benefits employees when used in moderation.
The relationship between sleep and work: A meta-analysis
Brett Litwiller, Lori A. Snyder, William D. Taylor, & Logan M. Steele
Abstract:
Sleep has tremendous importance to organizations because of its relationship with employee performance, safety, health, and attitudes. Moreover, sleep is a malleable behavior that may be improved by individual and organizational changes. Despite the consequential and modifiable nature of sleep, little consensus exists regarding its conceptualization, and how the choice of conceptualization may impact relationships with organizational antecedents and outcomes. To offer a stronger foundation for future theory and research about employee sleep, this study calculated meta-analytic correlations of sleep quality and sleep quantity from 152 primary studies of sleep among workers in organizations. Analyses revealed that both sleep quality and sleep quantity associated negatively with workload and a number of health, attitudinal, and affective outcomes. Despite their conceptual similarity, notable differences existed in sleep quality and sleep quantity in terms of their relationships to many different correlates. Generally, the relationships between sleep quality and the examined correlates were stronger for variables that reflected perceptions. Moderator analyses showed that relationships between sleep quality and quantity may be affected by measurement method and the number of self-report items used, while there is little evidence of the effect of measurement time frame. Findings from this first meta-analytic investigation of the occupational sleep literature have implications for the development of theory about relationships between sleep and work, the measurement of sleep, the identification of organizational correlates of sleep, and the design of interventions intended to improve employee sleep.
Brett Litwiller, Lori A. Snyder, William D. Taylor, & Logan M. Steele
Abstract:
Sleep has tremendous importance to organizations because of its relationship with employee performance, safety, health, and attitudes. Moreover, sleep is a malleable behavior that may be improved by individual and organizational changes. Despite the consequential and modifiable nature of sleep, little consensus exists regarding its conceptualization, and how the choice of conceptualization may impact relationships with organizational antecedents and outcomes. To offer a stronger foundation for future theory and research about employee sleep, this study calculated meta-analytic correlations of sleep quality and sleep quantity from 152 primary studies of sleep among workers in organizations. Analyses revealed that both sleep quality and sleep quantity associated negatively with workload and a number of health, attitudinal, and affective outcomes. Despite their conceptual similarity, notable differences existed in sleep quality and sleep quantity in terms of their relationships to many different correlates. Generally, the relationships between sleep quality and the examined correlates were stronger for variables that reflected perceptions. Moderator analyses showed that relationships between sleep quality and quantity may be affected by measurement method and the number of self-report items used, while there is little evidence of the effect of measurement time frame. Findings from this first meta-analytic investigation of the occupational sleep literature have implications for the development of theory about relationships between sleep and work, the measurement of sleep, the identification of organizational correlates of sleep, and the design of interventions intended to improve employee sleep.
Ten-year trajectories of stressors and resources at work: Cumulative and chronic effects on health and well-being
Ivana Igic, Anita C. Keller, Achim Elfering, Franziska Tschan, Wolfgan Kalin, & Norbert K. Semmer
Abstract:
Employing 5 waves of measurement over a period of 10 years, we explored the effects of exposure to constellations of conditions at work on physical and psychological strain, estimating the history of exposure over time. Specifically, we first tested if the 4 constellations postulated by the job demand-control (JDC) model, extended to include social stressors, could be identified empirically over time through a person-centered analysis. Second, we tested 2 specific effects of the history of exposure on physical and psychological strain: cumulative effects (i.e., history of exposure predicting strain) and chronic effects (i.e., history of exposure being associated with reduced reversibility in strain). Data were collected from 483 respondents who were at the end of their vocational training. The results supported the hypotheses, in that not all JDC constellations could be empirically identified, the majority of participants was in rather favorable constellations, and the differences between constellations, in terms of levels of demands and control, were more subtle than suggested by theoretically pre-defined constellations. Because the linear and quadratic solutions were largely comparable, we decided to adopt the linear ones. The expected cumulative and chronic effects were mostly confirmed: Unfavorable JDC constellations were associated with poorer health and well-being than favorable ones, when controlling for the initial level of the respective outcome variable, demographic variables, and for cumulative private stressors (cumulative effects). These differences largely remained after further adjustments for current conditions at work (chronic effects).
Ivana Igic, Anita C. Keller, Achim Elfering, Franziska Tschan, Wolfgan Kalin, & Norbert K. Semmer
Abstract:
Employing 5 waves of measurement over a period of 10 years, we explored the effects of exposure to constellations of conditions at work on physical and psychological strain, estimating the history of exposure over time. Specifically, we first tested if the 4 constellations postulated by the job demand-control (JDC) model, extended to include social stressors, could be identified empirically over time through a person-centered analysis. Second, we tested 2 specific effects of the history of exposure on physical and psychological strain: cumulative effects (i.e., history of exposure predicting strain) and chronic effects (i.e., history of exposure being associated with reduced reversibility in strain). Data were collected from 483 respondents who were at the end of their vocational training. The results supported the hypotheses, in that not all JDC constellations could be empirically identified, the majority of participants was in rather favorable constellations, and the differences between constellations, in terms of levels of demands and control, were more subtle than suggested by theoretically pre-defined constellations. Because the linear and quadratic solutions were largely comparable, we decided to adopt the linear ones. The expected cumulative and chronic effects were mostly confirmed: Unfavorable JDC constellations were associated with poorer health and well-being than favorable ones, when controlling for the initial level of the respective outcome variable, demographic variables, and for cumulative private stressors (cumulative effects). These differences largely remained after further adjustments for current conditions at work (chronic effects).
The effects of team reflexivity on psychological well-being in manufacturing teams
Jingqui Chen, Peter A. Bamberger, Yifan Song, & Dana R. Vashdi
Abstract:
While the impact of team reflexivity (a.k.a. after-event-reviews, team debriefs) on team performance has been widely examined, we know little about its implications on other team outcomes such as member well-being. Drawing from prior team reflexivity research, we propose that reflexivity-related team processes reduce demands, and enhance control and support. Given the centrality of these factors to work-based strain, we posit that team reflexivity, by affecting these factors, may have beneficial implications on 3 core dimensions of employee burnout, namely exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy (reduced personal accomplishment). Using a sample of 469 unskilled manufacturing workers employed in 73 production teams in a Southern Chinese factory, we implemented a time lagged, quasi-field experiment, with half of the teams trained in and executing an end-of-shift team debriefing, and the other half assigned to a control condition and undergoing periodic postshift team-building exercises. Our findings largely supported our hypotheses, demonstrating that relative to team members assigned to the control condition, those assigned to the reflexivity condition experienced a significant improvement in all 3 burnout dimensions over time. These effects were mediated by control and support (but not demands) and amplified as a function of team longevity.
Jingqui Chen, Peter A. Bamberger, Yifan Song, & Dana R. Vashdi
Abstract:
While the impact of team reflexivity (a.k.a. after-event-reviews, team debriefs) on team performance has been widely examined, we know little about its implications on other team outcomes such as member well-being. Drawing from prior team reflexivity research, we propose that reflexivity-related team processes reduce demands, and enhance control and support. Given the centrality of these factors to work-based strain, we posit that team reflexivity, by affecting these factors, may have beneficial implications on 3 core dimensions of employee burnout, namely exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy (reduced personal accomplishment). Using a sample of 469 unskilled manufacturing workers employed in 73 production teams in a Southern Chinese factory, we implemented a time lagged, quasi-field experiment, with half of the teams trained in and executing an end-of-shift team debriefing, and the other half assigned to a control condition and undergoing periodic postshift team-building exercises. Our findings largely supported our hypotheses, demonstrating that relative to team members assigned to the control condition, those assigned to the reflexivity condition experienced a significant improvement in all 3 burnout dimensions over time. These effects were mediated by control and support (but not demands) and amplified as a function of team longevity.
Economic stress and well-being: Does population health context matter?
Tahira M. Probst, Robert R. Sinclair, Lindsay E. Sears, Nicholas J. Gailey, Kristen J. Black, & Janelle H. Cheung
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of county-level population health determinants in predicting individual employee reactions to economic stress. Using multilevel modeling and a population health perspective, we tested a model linking nationally representative individual-level data (N = 100,968) on exposure to economic stressors and county-level population health determinants (N = 3,026) to responses on a composite measure of individual well-being that included the facets of purpose, community, physical. and social well-being, as well as life satisfaction. Results indicate that higher income- and employment-related economic stress were significantly related to poorer well-being. Additionally, living in a county with more positive population health determinants was significantly predictive of individual well-being. Finally, the Level-1 relationship between income-related stress and well-being was significantly attenuated for individuals living in counties with more positive population health determinants. In contrast, employment-related stress had a stronger negative relationship with well-being for individuals who lived in counties with more positive population health determinants. We discuss these findings in light of conservation of resources and relative deprivation theories, as well as how they may extend the scientific foundation for evidence-based social policy and evidence-based intervention programs aimed at lessening the effects of economic stress on individual well-being.
Tahira M. Probst, Robert R. Sinclair, Lindsay E. Sears, Nicholas J. Gailey, Kristen J. Black, & Janelle H. Cheung
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of county-level population health determinants in predicting individual employee reactions to economic stress. Using multilevel modeling and a population health perspective, we tested a model linking nationally representative individual-level data (N = 100,968) on exposure to economic stressors and county-level population health determinants (N = 3,026) to responses on a composite measure of individual well-being that included the facets of purpose, community, physical. and social well-being, as well as life satisfaction. Results indicate that higher income- and employment-related economic stress were significantly related to poorer well-being. Additionally, living in a county with more positive population health determinants was significantly predictive of individual well-being. Finally, the Level-1 relationship between income-related stress and well-being was significantly attenuated for individuals living in counties with more positive population health determinants. In contrast, employment-related stress had a stronger negative relationship with well-being for individuals who lived in counties with more positive population health determinants. We discuss these findings in light of conservation of resources and relative deprivation theories, as well as how they may extend the scientific foundation for evidence-based social policy and evidence-based intervention programs aimed at lessening the effects of economic stress on individual well-being.
The restorative effect of work after unemployment: An intraindividual analysis of subjective well-being recovery through reemployment
Ying Zhou, Min Zou, Stephen A. Woods, & Chia-Huei Wu
Abstract:
Previous research shows that unemployment has lasting detrimental effects on individuals' subjective well-being. However, the issue of how well-being evolves after individuals switch back into the labor force has received little theoretical and empirical attention. This study examines the extent to which reemployment restores individuals' subjective well-being following a period of unemployment. Applying fixed effects models to the large-scale longitudinal data from the British Household Panel Survey, we find that recovery of subjective well-being upon reemployment is fast, complete and enduring, even when individuals take less favorable employment options to return to work. By contrast, transitions into economic inactivity following unemployment are accompanied by persistent scars on subsequent well-being trajectories. This study advances our understanding of well-being development over the entire employment-unemployment-reemployment cycle.
Ying Zhou, Min Zou, Stephen A. Woods, & Chia-Huei Wu
Abstract:
Previous research shows that unemployment has lasting detrimental effects on individuals' subjective well-being. However, the issue of how well-being evolves after individuals switch back into the labor force has received little theoretical and empirical attention. This study examines the extent to which reemployment restores individuals' subjective well-being following a period of unemployment. Applying fixed effects models to the large-scale longitudinal data from the British Household Panel Survey, we find that recovery of subjective well-being upon reemployment is fast, complete and enduring, even when individuals take less favorable employment options to return to work. By contrast, transitions into economic inactivity following unemployment are accompanied by persistent scars on subsequent well-being trajectories. This study advances our understanding of well-being development over the entire employment-unemployment-reemployment cycle.
Unplugging or staying connected? Examining the nature, antecedents, and consequences of profiles of daily recovery experiences
Nitya Chawla, Rebecca L. MacGowan, Allison S. Gabreiel, & Nathan P. Podsakoff
Abstract:
Research on workplace recovery recognizes that employees must restore lost resources after work to improve their subsequent well-being and performance. Scholars have noted that employees' recovery experiences-psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery, and control-vary day-to-day, yielding crucial implications for the aforementioned outcomes. Yet, despite these important theoretical and empirical insights, researchers to date have not comprehensively examined multiple daily recovery experiences in conjunction. instead studying the unique effects of only 1 or 2 experiences in isolation. Using a person-centric view of employees' recovery experiences, the current study examines whether profiles of daily recovery experiences occur for employees, and how these profiles (a) vary in membership from one day to the next. (b) are differentiated by daily job demands and resources experienced at work, and (c) predict employee well-being and discretionary behaviors during the subsequent workday. Using experience sampling data from 207 full-time employees, results revealed 5 profiles of daily recovery experiences that exhibited distinct relations with within-person antecedents and outcomes. As such, the current investigation represents a necessary first step in understanding how employees jointly experience recovery in relation to their daily work and well-being.
Nitya Chawla, Rebecca L. MacGowan, Allison S. Gabreiel, & Nathan P. Podsakoff
Abstract:
Research on workplace recovery recognizes that employees must restore lost resources after work to improve their subsequent well-being and performance. Scholars have noted that employees' recovery experiences-psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery, and control-vary day-to-day, yielding crucial implications for the aforementioned outcomes. Yet, despite these important theoretical and empirical insights, researchers to date have not comprehensively examined multiple daily recovery experiences in conjunction. instead studying the unique effects of only 1 or 2 experiences in isolation. Using a person-centric view of employees' recovery experiences, the current study examines whether profiles of daily recovery experiences occur for employees, and how these profiles (a) vary in membership from one day to the next. (b) are differentiated by daily job demands and resources experienced at work, and (c) predict employee well-being and discretionary behaviors during the subsequent workday. Using experience sampling data from 207 full-time employees, results revealed 5 profiles of daily recovery experiences that exhibited distinct relations with within-person antecedents and outcomes. As such, the current investigation represents a necessary first step in understanding how employees jointly experience recovery in relation to their daily work and well-being.
Coworker support and its relationship to allostasis during a workday: A diary study on trajectories of heart rate variability during work
Anja Baethge, Tim Vahle-Hinz, & Thomas Rigotti
Abstract:
In this study, we investigate autonomic nervous system regulation during a regular workday and how coworker support relates to this allostatic system. We first examined the trajectory of the heart rate variability (HRV) as an indicator of autonomic nervous system activation throughout the workday. Furthermore, we proposed that coworker support is directly related to the typical autonomic regulation of the workday and facilitates a stable high parasympathetic and low sympathetic activation level during the workday. We conducted a 5-day daily diary study with 115 employees, measuring their coworker support at the end of the day and their HRV during work. We examined the effect of stable between-coworker support on the latent growth curve of HRV during work and found evidence for the stabilizing effect of general coworker support on HRV trajectory. Employees with higher coworker support, on average, had a high, stable parasympathetic and low, stable sympathetic level during work. Employees with low support showed an inverted, U-shape trajectory of the parasympathetic activation throughout the workday, with low parasympathetic activation at the beginning and end of the workday and a maximum in the middle of the workday during lunch break time. Thus, we offer initial evidence for a regulating effect of coworker support on allostasis in terms of a trajectory in actual working conditions.
Anja Baethge, Tim Vahle-Hinz, & Thomas Rigotti
Abstract:
In this study, we investigate autonomic nervous system regulation during a regular workday and how coworker support relates to this allostatic system. We first examined the trajectory of the heart rate variability (HRV) as an indicator of autonomic nervous system activation throughout the workday. Furthermore, we proposed that coworker support is directly related to the typical autonomic regulation of the workday and facilitates a stable high parasympathetic and low sympathetic activation level during the workday. We conducted a 5-day daily diary study with 115 employees, measuring their coworker support at the end of the day and their HRV during work. We examined the effect of stable between-coworker support on the latent growth curve of HRV during work and found evidence for the stabilizing effect of general coworker support on HRV trajectory. Employees with higher coworker support, on average, had a high, stable parasympathetic and low, stable sympathetic level during work. Employees with low support showed an inverted, U-shape trajectory of the parasympathetic activation throughout the workday, with low parasympathetic activation at the beginning and end of the workday and a maximum in the middle of the workday during lunch break time. Thus, we offer initial evidence for a regulating effect of coworker support on allostasis in terms of a trajectory in actual working conditions.
Opening the black box: Examining the nomological network of work ability and its role in organizational research
Grant M. Brady, Donald M. Truxillo, David M. Cadiz, Jennifer R. Rineer, David E. Caughlin, & Todd Bodner
Abstract:
The aging of the industrialized workforce has spurred research on how to support people working later in life. Within this context, the concept of work ability, or an employee's ability to continue working in their job, has been introduced as an explanatory mechanism for understanding employee disability, wellbeing, attitudes, and behavior. However, the work ability concept has evolved across disparate literatures with multiple, content-diverse measures and often with little consideration of theory or examination of its nomological network. Using the job demands-resources model as a framework, we present a meta-analytic summary (k = 247; N = 312,987) of work ability's correlates and potential moderators of these relationships. Taken together, we found consistent negative relationships between job demands and work ability, and consistent positive relationships between job and personal resources and work ability. Work ability was also associated with important job outcomes including job attitudes and behaviors such as absenteeism and retirement. Measures of work ability that include both perceived and objective components generally showed stronger relationships than did exclusively perceptual measures, and occupation type was a significant moderator of certain relations between work ability and its correlates. We supplemented this meta-analysis with a primary data collection to examine differences between perceived work ability and the conceptually similar variables of self-efficacy and perceived fit, demonstrating that perceived work ability can explain incremental variance in job and health-related variables. Our discussion focuses on the value of the work ability construct for both research and practice and future directions for work ability research.
Grant M. Brady, Donald M. Truxillo, David M. Cadiz, Jennifer R. Rineer, David E. Caughlin, & Todd Bodner
Abstract:
The aging of the industrialized workforce has spurred research on how to support people working later in life. Within this context, the concept of work ability, or an employee's ability to continue working in their job, has been introduced as an explanatory mechanism for understanding employee disability, wellbeing, attitudes, and behavior. However, the work ability concept has evolved across disparate literatures with multiple, content-diverse measures and often with little consideration of theory or examination of its nomological network. Using the job demands-resources model as a framework, we present a meta-analytic summary (k = 247; N = 312,987) of work ability's correlates and potential moderators of these relationships. Taken together, we found consistent negative relationships between job demands and work ability, and consistent positive relationships between job and personal resources and work ability. Work ability was also associated with important job outcomes including job attitudes and behaviors such as absenteeism and retirement. Measures of work ability that include both perceived and objective components generally showed stronger relationships than did exclusively perceptual measures, and occupation type was a significant moderator of certain relations between work ability and its correlates. We supplemented this meta-analysis with a primary data collection to examine differences between perceived work ability and the conceptually similar variables of self-efficacy and perceived fit, demonstrating that perceived work ability can explain incremental variance in job and health-related variables. Our discussion focuses on the value of the work ability construct for both research and practice and future directions for work ability research.
Thinking big: An integrative conceptual review of the workplace consequences of obesity and a theoretical extension of the processes that create them
Michael A. Johnson & Marshall Schminke
Abstract:
Obesity is a condition that affects much of the world's population and generates substantial costs to organizations and their employees. Multiple scholarly disciplines have generated a significant body of literature on the workplace consequences of obesity. Strikingly, however, the applied psychology and management literatures-a natural home for such research- have largely ignored this topic while embracing related issues like health, wellness, disability, and others. This paper seeks to invigorate organizational research on obesity by collecting, cataloging, integrating, and extending the disparate research streams that have explored the workplace consequences of obesity. To do so, this paper reviews empirical and conceptual studies on the workplace consequences of obesity, identifies weaknesses limiting the field's growth and impact, and builds an integrative theoretical framework that addresses these weaknesses. In doing so, we extend the field's understanding of the processes leading to-and the boundary conditions related to- obesity's influence on work outcomes for employees. Specifically, we broaden the field's focus by looking beyond the psychological processes (primarily stigmatization) that underlie obesity effects to consider the impact of both economic and medical perspectives as well. In all, this review integrates the multidisciplinary obesity literature by challenging the view that obesity effects can be primarily understood through a stigma-based lens. In so doing, we offer contributions not just to the obesity literature, but to related areas of health and social categorizations as well, and hope to revitalize work on a serious issue facing today's organizations and the people who work in them.
Michael A. Johnson & Marshall Schminke
Abstract:
Obesity is a condition that affects much of the world's population and generates substantial costs to organizations and their employees. Multiple scholarly disciplines have generated a significant body of literature on the workplace consequences of obesity. Strikingly, however, the applied psychology and management literatures-a natural home for such research- have largely ignored this topic while embracing related issues like health, wellness, disability, and others. This paper seeks to invigorate organizational research on obesity by collecting, cataloging, integrating, and extending the disparate research streams that have explored the workplace consequences of obesity. To do so, this paper reviews empirical and conceptual studies on the workplace consequences of obesity, identifies weaknesses limiting the field's growth and impact, and builds an integrative theoretical framework that addresses these weaknesses. In doing so, we extend the field's understanding of the processes leading to-and the boundary conditions related to- obesity's influence on work outcomes for employees. Specifically, we broaden the field's focus by looking beyond the psychological processes (primarily stigmatization) that underlie obesity effects to consider the impact of both economic and medical perspectives as well. In all, this review integrates the multidisciplinary obesity literature by challenging the view that obesity effects can be primarily understood through a stigma-based lens. In so doing, we offer contributions not just to the obesity literature, but to related areas of health and social categorizations as well, and hope to revitalize work on a serious issue facing today's organizations and the people who work in them.