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March 7, 2012 | Volume 6 | Number 3
March 7, 2012
Hot Off the Press
Review the latest research and news related to employee well-being and organizational performance. This month, how flexible work helps well-being and job performance, tips for becoming a resilient worker, organizational factors related to safety incident reporting and more. These and more than 3,800 other article summaries are available in a searchable database.
Healthy Workplace Practices in the News
Work/life balance – How to get a better deal
Herald Sun (February 25, 2012)
Focuses on the issue of employee work-life balance. A survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that 15% of employees work 50 hours or more. Experts say that some occupations are more flexible when it comes to work-life balance, such as the education, fitness, information technology, self-employment, and/or public sectors. A poll by Galaxy found that 65% of employees who work overtime think that their work is affecting their family relationships, while 81% think it is becoming more difficult to maintain work-life balance. Also, 9% of part-time employees say that working overtime affects their family relationships, 84% of employees of large companies think it is more difficult to maintain work-life balance, and 18% of full-time employees say that working overtime affects their family relationships.
Merger stress takes toll on employee health
The Calgary Herald (February 25, 2012)
Focuses on the issue of employee health and mergers. A study by researchers from the Netherlands found that long exposure to restructuring and mergers increases the likelihood of poor health. After the restructuring stopped, employee health increased. Job insecurity resulting from the restructuring environment predicted the changes in employee health. Another study by researchers from the University of Calgary found that employees who had to endure mergers or acquisitions had a higher rate of generalized anxiety disorder than other employees. Hence, mergers and acquisitions tend to increase stress and anxiety.
Flexible work helps well-being
Minnesota Daily (February 23, 2012)
Focuses on the issue of flexible work and employee well-being. A study by researchers at the University of Minnesota found that results oriented environments improve job performance and other positive outcomes. The results oriented workplace environment intervention focused on giving employees more control and flexibility. The authors are focused on getting additional data to improve policy recommendations for organizations.
Three non-negotiables for improving employee engagement
Dynamic Business (February 22, 2012)
Focuses on the issue of employee engagement. A study by Aon Hewitt found that engagement is linked to productivity and profitability. Also, three suggestions are made for companies that wish to improve employee engagement: embed engagement into current business practices and strategy, share the accountability for change among many employees, and focus on the basics and good communication. Key indicators that an organization may have an issue with engagement are: decreases in performance, lower morale among employees, differences in motivation levels across departments, layoffs or restructuring, a high turnover rate, and having a difficult time trying to find talented new employees.
Stress increases 40% during recessions
Medical News Today (February 21, 2012)
Focuses on the issue of employee strain. A study by researchers at the Universities at Nottingham and Ulster found that during a recession, job strain increases by 40%. Also, 25% more workers take time off as a result of job strain. Employers should pay more attention to employee mental health and well-being during a recession. Also, anxiety and depression are the most common reasons why employees claim long-term sickness benefits.
Retail sector at risk through lack of engagement, new study claims
Market Watch (February 21, 2012)
Focuses on the issue of employee engagement. A study by the Kenexa High Performance Institute found that employee engagement is at the lowest level since 2009. Employee engagement also is correlated with customer satisfaction and organizational performance. The study also found that lower levels of engagement lead to higher employee turnover. The retail industry has the lowest level of employee engagement. Kenexa recommends developing effective leaders, helping employees balance work and life priorities, ensuring fair compensation levels, and fostering an innovation climate.
Employee burnout is a fact. Here’s how to fix it
The Fiscal Times (February 19, 2012)
Focuses on the issue of employee burnout. Today’s workforce seems to always be “on.” Technology has enabled us to always be available to work from anywhere. Companies are now trying to create boundaries for their employees by scheduling breaks from the Internet and not emailing employees after working hours. Research has shown that if employees receive downtime from the job, they will be more productive and have higher well-being at work. According to a survey by Neverfail, 83% of workers say they check email after work, while 66% have taken a smartphone or laptop with them on vacation. There are even courses that “teach” students to refrain from the use of technology. Another study has shown that workers who report high levels of stress have 50% greater health care expenditures than the average employee. Disconnecting from work may decrease these levels of stress.
How to become a resilient worker
The Washington Post (February 19, 2012)
Focuses on the issue of career resilient workers. Career resilient workers are those who develop more adaptable skills to help them become more competitive in the job market. They have positive attitudes, are flexible and adaptable, are willing to take risks, and continuously learn. Because of these competencies, career resilient workers can have a lasting, long-term impact on their organization. Suggestions for being a career resilient worker include: setting career goals, developing collaboration and teamwork skills, networking with others, continuously learning, asking for feedback on career goals, keeping skills relevant, and being willing to experiment. Suggestions for employers wishing to provide tools to improve the career resiliency of their employees include: being honest about the firm’s challenges, allowing shadowing or cross-training opportunities, encouraging lateral moves, creating a learning environment, providing self-assessment tools, mentoring employees, encouraging individual development planning, helping employees maintain work-nonwork balance, and using existing employees to teach new skills.
How to achieve organizational excellence with effective teams
Smart Business (February 1, 2012)
Focuses on the issue of teamwork. The three critical components of a team are: having complementary skills, having clear and compelling goals, and having mutual accountability. Common challenges teams face include: building trust, managing conflict, and developing/maintaining a sense of accountability. High-performing teams tend to produce excellent results and productivity. Also, practices to help teams develop differ by the stage the team is currently in: forming, storming, norming, or performing. Hence, development tactics should be tailored to the maturity of the team.
Highlights from the Latest Research
The impact of a workplace-based weight loss program on work-related outcomes in overweight male shift workers
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (February 2012)
The current study focuses on evaluating a workplace weight loss program. Employees were randomized to either the weight loss program or a wait list group (control group). The results indicated that 81% of participants stayed in the program. Program participants lost weight, had a higher quality of life, and had less presenteeism, absenteeism, and injuries than did those in the wait list control group. Hence, workplace weight loss programs can potentially have positive consequences for organizational-relevant outcomes.
Psychosocial exposures at work and mental health: Potential utility of a job-exposure matrix
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (February 2012)
The current study focuses on how psychosocial exposures at work relate to depressive symptoms experienced by employees. The results suggested that job strain influenced depressive symptoms for men. The relationships between psychological demands and depressive symptoms and between decision latitude and depressive symptoms were not significant. No associations were observed for each of these relationships in women. Hence, job strain appears to increase the likelihood that men, rather than women, will experience depression.
Impact of a work-focused intervention on the productivity and symptoms of employees with depression
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (February 2012)
The current study evaluates a program focused on reducing depression in the workplace. The researchers used an experimental methodology to test their intervention and found significant differences between the experimental and control groups at the end of the program. The researchers estimated that $6,041.70 would be saved in productivity costs annually for each depressed employee who participated in the program. The program could serve as a prototype for similar programs in other organizations.
Health and safety of the older worker
Occupational Medicine (January 2012)
The current article focuses on the health and safety of older workers. The authors conducted a review of the safety literature to include workers aged 60 and above who had had occupational accidents or injuries. The authors found very little evidence that safety decreases for individuals who are older than 60, other than those related to physical declines like age-related hearing loss. For these workers, fewer accidents occurred, but when they did occur, they were more likely to be serious and/or fatal.
Sociological factors influencing the practice of incident reporting: The case of the shipping industry
Employee Relations (January 2012)
The current article focuses on the organizational factors that predict the reporting of safety incidents. The results from the case studies indicated that even when policies to report incidents are in place, incidents may not actually be reported. The biggest reason employees did not report incidence was fear of losing their job. Ineffective regulatory infrastructure, poor employment practices, lack of support from the trade union, and lack of trust within the organization were related to a lack of incident reporting.
Linkages between racioethnicity, appraisal reactions, and employee engagement
Journal of Applied Social Psychology (January 2012)
The current article focuses on how perceptions of racioethnic differences affect employee engagement. The results indicated that more favorable reactions to performance appraisals were related to more favorable perceptions of the psychological diversity climate and higher levels of engagement. Employees who were in an ethnic minority had a stronger relationship between appraisal reactions and engagement. However, gender had no effect on these relationships.
When is ignorance bliss? The effects of inaccurate self-assessments of knowledge on learning and attrition
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes (January 2012)
The current article focuses on how inaccurate self-appraisals affect learning and attrition. Individuals who give uniformly positive ratings had the highest level of performance in an online training course, followed by those who underestimated, those who overestimated, and those who gave uniformly negative ratings. Attrition was lowest for those who gave uniformly positive ratings. Effort had a greater effect on performance after low self-assessments, while commitment had a negative effect on attrition after low self-assessments. Conscientiousness affected behavior when performance and self-assessments were inconsistent. Hence, inaccurate self-appraisals can have positive and negative effects.
Why individuals in larger teams perform worse
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes (January 2012)
The current article focuses on explaining why larger teams do not perform as well as smaller teams. The study looks at how relational loss may identify the differences in performance for differently-sized teams. The results indicated that the negative relationship between team size and individual performance was mediated by relational loss after controlling for extrinsic motivation and coordination loss. Hence, the larger a team becomes, the weaker the relationship among team members. The weaker the relationship, the poorer the team’s performance may be.
