scholarly journals From Social Burden to Support Elicitation: Development and validation of a new measure of workplace support elicitation experiences

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M Gallagher ◽  
Ian Hughes ◽  
Melissa Keith

Receiving social support is widely considered a positive workplace phenomenon, but what about the employees from whom the support is being sought? Following recent calls from social support scholars, we focus on the “potential support provider” perspective of the social support dynamic and propose that the measure of social burden (Yang et al., 2016) currently used to capture this dynamic is significantly limited. In Study 1, we refine and expand the measure of social burden byconstructing and validating a measure of support elicitation experiences (SEE) that distinguishes between emotionally laden SEE (SEE-E; explicit or implicit requests for support with an emotional valence) and instrumental SEE (SEE-I; explicit requests for work-related support). In Study 2, based on Conservation of Resources Theory, we examine how SEE-E and SEE-I differentially relate to work outcomes and explore the potential costs of providing support in response to these behaviors. Results demonstrate that our measure of SEE is an improvement over the social burdenmeasure and support the empirical distinctiveness of emotionally laden (associated with negative outcomes) and instrumental (associated with positive outcomes) support elicitations. In addition, we find some evidence that routinely providing support for both SEE-E and SEE-I carries implications for undesirable workplace behavior. Findings from this research support the notion that there are often differential effects for the kinds of support we elicit from our colleagues andprovides researchers with an improved instrument to assess the social support dynamic from the perspective of potential support providers.

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 304-324
Author(s):  
César Carrillo García ◽  
María Isabel Ríos Rísquez ◽  
Laura Escudero Fernández ◽  
María Emilia Martínez Roche

Objetivos: Analizar la presencia de estrés laboral en el equipo volante de enfermería de un Hospital General Universitario tomando como referencia el modelo demandas-control-apoyo de Karasek.Método: Estudio observacional de corte transversal. La muestra estuvo constituida por 38 profesionales de enfermería del equipo volante de un Hospital General Universitario. Instrumentos de evaluación: para conocer la percepción de los profesionales de enfermería sobre el contenido de su trabajo y determinar los estresores laborales, se empleó el cuestionario Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) traducido y validado para enfermería hospitalaria.Resultados: La tasa de participación fue del 90,47% (N=38). Se registró una media para la dimensión de apoyo social de 2,59±0,47, para la dimensión de demandas psicológicas en el trabajo de 3,26±0,47, y para la dimensión de control sobre el trabajo se obtuvo una media de 2,87±0,40. El análisis de datos puso de manifiesto un nivel moderado de estresores, destacando un déficit de apoyo social por parte de los superiores, que resultó ser más acusado en el grupo de profesionales adscritos a la dirección de enfermería (2,89 vs 2,49; p<0,05). Ninguna de las tres dimensiones se mostró asociada a las variables socio-laborales de sexo, edad, turno, adscripción y tipo de vinculación al hospital.Conclusiones: Existe una percepción moderada de estresores laborales, resaltando el escaso apoyo social por parte de los superiores, siendo este aspecto una área de mejora sobre la que intervenir. Objectives: To analyse the presence of work-related stress in the nursing bureau of a University General Hospital taking as reference Karasek's demand-control-support model.Methods: Cross-sectional observational study. The sample included 38 nursing professionals from the nursing bureau of a University General Hospital. Assessment tools: the Job Content Questionnaire (JQC), translated and validated for hospital nursing, was used to know the perception of nursing professionals concernins their work, and to determine the presence of any work-related stressors. Results: The participation rate was 90.47% (N=38). The average for the social support dimension was 2.59±0.47, for the psychological demands of 3.26±0.47, and for control over their own work of 2.87±0.40. Data analysis pointed to a moderate level of stress, reflecting a deficit in the social support provided by superiors, particulary in the group of professionals assigned to nursery management (2.89 vs 2.49; p<0.05). None of the three dimensions showed a link of any kind with socio-occupational variables of gender, age, shift, assignment or type of connection to the hospital.Conclusion: Improvement is needed in this area on the part of human resources management in order to lessen the effect of work-related stress, psychological demands and lack of control over these.


2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 585-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Aranda Beltrán ◽  
Manuel Pando Moreno ◽  
José G. Salazar Estrada ◽  
Teresa M. Torres López ◽  
María Guadalupe Aldrete Rodríguez

The consequences of work-related stress on health are worrisome, and by the same token, so is Burnout Syndrome. However, it has been shown that social support can prevent, reduce or even combat individuals' responses to stress.A descriptive, transverse study was carried out with the objective of determining the prevalence of both Burnout Syndrome and receiving social support for traffic police in Mexico. 875 traffic police participated in the study, men and women alike, from all work shifts, day and night. Three questionnaires were administered: one to record sociodemographic and professional data, as well as the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the modified Diaz Veiga Social Resources Inventory. Our data analysis obtained frequencies and percentages and also identified associations between the study's variables.The prevalence of Burnout Syndrome was found to be 54.9% among the study's participants. The social support networks designated as “low or poor” were shown to be associated with Burnout Syndrome, with p values less than .05, an odds ratio (OR) greater than 1 and a confidence interval that did not include the number one.In spite of the strong network of social support reported by participants, it seems that those social effects were not strong enough to combat Burnout Syndrome, and some resolution strategy ought to be implemented at the individual, group and organizational levels.


Author(s):  
Phindile C. Mlaba ◽  
Themba G. Ginindza ◽  
Khumbulani W. Hlongwana

Background: Cancer is a global public health problem and it affects people in different ways. Family caregivers (FCs) play an essential role in caring for patients with cancer, and thus, they experience many caregiver burdens that go unnoticed.Aim: This research study explored the social burden that families experience in providing care to their family members living with cancer.Setting: This study was conducted in Durban and Pietermaritzburg, cities located in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.Methods: This was a qualitative study using the interpretative phenomenological approach that was ideal for understanding FCs subjective perspectives on their cancer caregiving experience. Data saturation were reached at 20 in-depth interviews.Results: Two major themes culminated from the data analysis; dynamics of a cancer diagnosis and psychosocial impact of a cancer diagnosis with respective sub-themes. Themes centred around the relational impact of a cancer diagnosis with FCs experiencing a shift in this dynamic and a disturbance to normality in social life. Social support systems were found to play a meaningful role in mitigating the impact of a cancer diagnosis with financial, psychosocial and educational support considered essential needs.Conclusion: Cancer caregiving is a challenging task that also presents opportunities for strengthening family bonds as they evolve in new paths. A family-centred care approach is recommended as a form of social support with further collaboration with health care providers for guided patient care. If the needs of FCs are addressed accordingly through health care policies and interventions, FCs may be able to provide better care and support for their family members with cancer and thus positively impact cancer survivorship.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 636-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Codi White ◽  
Rebecca A. Green ◽  
Samantha Ferguson ◽  
Sarah L. Anderson ◽  
Caroline Howe ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Du ◽  
Wei Fan ◽  
Jin Nam Choi

PurposeThe ubiquity of smartphones has changed how people communicate, work and entertain. In view of conservation of resources theory and the positive spillover effect, this study explores the effect of non-work-related instant messaging (IM) in the workplace on daily task performance.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the experience sampling method to collect day-level data from 75 employees over a period of 10 workdays. Multilevel path analysis is used to test the hypotheses.FindingsNon-work-related IM exerts a significant negative indirect effect on daily task performance through diminished cognitive engagement. This negative indirect effect disappears when social support is high, thereby showing the function of social support as a neutralizer of the detriment of non-work-related IM on daily task performance.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that organizations can neutralize the harm of non-work-related IM in the workplace by promoting social support perceived by employees.Originality/valueThis study advances the technology and management literature by developing and testing a balanced perspective on the ambivalent effect of workplace smartphone use that considers social and cognitive resource implications.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Nga Wai Chan

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the ways in which social supports can promote enduring attachments to work and improve overall well-being of disadvantaged workers, within the context of social purpose enterprises. Design/methodology/approach – With coordinators, managers and directors as informants, this mixed-methods study uses a survey and interviews to establish the availability and importance of different social supports found in social purpose enterprises across Canada, and to explore the reasons for such support mobilization and the influences that determine whether social supports are sought or accepted. Findings – Findings substantiate the prevalence and importance of work-centred social supports. Social supports can promote more sustainable attachment to work by addressing work process challenges, ameliorating workplace conflict, attending to non-vocational work barriers and building workers’ self-confidence and self-belief. The source of a support, as well as the relationship between support providers and recipients, contributes to whether supports will be beneficial to recipients. Research limitations/implications – Future studies require corroboration directly from the employees and training participants of social purpose enterprises. The limitations on the sampling and the survey response rate may limit generalizability of findings. Practical implications – Findings contribute to knowledge on more effective social support provision for improved work outcomes and overall well-being of employees and training participants. Originality/value – Applying theory from social support research brings greater clarity to the potential of work-centred supports for addressing both vocational and non-vocational barriers to employment and job training for disadvantaged workers.


2004 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 227-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Holmberg ◽  
Anders Thelin ◽  
Eva-Lena Stiernström

Summary: The concept of “sense of coherence” (SOC) has been widely recognized since it was first introduced by Antonovsky. The originality and usefulness of the SOC scale and its relation to other psychosocial measures has been the subject of lively debate. The aim of this paper was to test for associations between SOC and work-related psychosocial factors (mainly the Job Demand-Control model), general living conditions, education, and social network factors. Cross-sectional data from a population-based sample of 1782 rural males from nine counties in Sweden were analyzed with a multiple regression technique. The subjects were occupationally active at inclusion and the mean age was 50 years (range 40-60). SOC was assessed with the original 29-item questionnaire. Psychosocial variables and lifestyle factors were assessed using questionnaires and structured interviews. The mean SOC among the subjects was 152.3 (standard deviation, 19.4). A strong negative correlation was found between SOC and job demand, whereas a positive correlation with job control was demonstrated. A positive correlation with general living conditions and with social support was also found. However, there was no correlation to education and occupation. Thus, SOC was shown to be strongly correlated to work-related psychosocial factors and social support, but independent of sociodemographic factors.


1983 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 450-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard H. Price
Keyword(s):  

1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Longabaugh ◽  
P. W. Wirtz ◽  
M. C. Beattie ◽  
N. Noel ◽  
R. Stout

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