Journal of Occupational Health Psychology

Choi, Ellen; Leroy, Hannes; Johnson, Anya; Nguyen, Helena

doi: 10.1037/ocp0000327pmid: 35549505

Hiding errors can undermine safety by amplifying the risks of undetected errors. This article extends research on occupational safety by investigating error hiding in hospitals and applies self-determination theory to examine how mindfulness decreases error hiding through authentic functioning. We examined this research model in a randomized control trial (mindfulness training vs. active control group vs. waitlist control group) within a hospital setting. First, we used latent growth modeling to confirm that our variables were related as hypothesized, both statically or cross-sectionally as well as dynamically as they evolved over time. Next, we analyzed whether changes in these variables were a function of the intervention and confirmed the effects of the mindfulness intervention on authentic functioning and indirectly on error hiding. To elaborate on the role of authentic functioning, in a third step, we qualitatively explored the phenomenological experience of change experienced by participants in mindfulness and Pilates training. Our findings reveal that error hiding is attenuated because mindfulness encourages a receptive view of one’s whole self, and authentic functioning enables an open and nondefensive way of relating to positive and negative information about oneself. These results add to research on mindfulness in organizations, error hiding, and occupational safety.

Lyubykh, Zhanna; Gulseren, Duygu; Premji, Zahra; Wingate, Timothy G.; Deng, Connie; Bélanger, Lisa J.; Turner, Nick

doi: 10.1037/ocp0000337pmid: 35980721

Recovery from work is a critical component for employees’ proper functioning. While research has documented the beneficial effects of after-work recovery, it has focused far less on the recovery that happens while at work in the form of work breaks. In this review, we systematically review available empirical evidence on the relationship between work breaks and well-being and performance among knowledge workers. Doing so enables us to (a) integrate studies from multiple disciplines, (b) propose a conceptual framework for categorizing work breaks, and (c) provide a future research agenda for studying the role of work breaks in employee well-being and performance. Using Cochrane’s guidelines, we review observational and intervention studies (N = 83). Based on the extant research, we propose that work breaks can be described and classified in terms of five features: initiator, duration, frequency, activities, and experiences. The result of our review is an integrative model that comprehensively captures the relationship between work breaks and well-being and performance outcomes, as well as the mechanisms and boundary conditions of these relationships. We conclude by proposing avenues for the future study and practice of work breaks.

Andel, Stephanie A.; Pindek, Shani; Spector, Paul E.; Crowe, Remle P.; Cash, Rebecca E.; Panchal, Ashish

doi: 10.1037/ocp0000331pmid: 35588382

The burgeoning occupational callings literature has shown that feeling called to a job is associated with an array of positive job-, career-, and health-related outcomes. However, recent studies have begun to indicate that there may also be a “negative side” of callings. The present study builds on this emerging perspective to examine whether feeling called to a job makes helping professionals more vulnerable to the negative effects of acute stressors. Specifically, we integrated identity, cognitive rumination, and psychological detachment theories to explain how feeling called to one’s job (i.e., the strength of one’s calling intensity) might bolster the negative, indirect relationship between emotionally disturbing work and strain (i.e., mental exhaustion, sleep quality, and alcohol consumption) through negative work rumination. Results from a 10-week diary study with a national U.S. sample of 211 paramedics revealed that on weeks that paramedics experienced more emotionally disturbing work, they engaged in greater levels of negative work rumination, which in turn was associated with greater mental exhaustion and worse sleep quality, but not greater alcohol consumption. In addition, calling intensity moderated the indirect effect of emotionally disturbing work on both mental exhaustion and sleep quality, such that these indirect effects were stronger among those with higher (vs. lower) levels of calling intensity. These results provide evidence that employees who feel most called to their jobs may be particularly vulnerable to short-term negative outcomes associated with emotionally disturbing work.

Zhou, Zhiqing E.; Pindek, Shani; Ray, Ethan J.

doi: 10.1037/ocp0000325pmid: 35420845

The increasing prevalence of information communication technologies (e.g., computers, smartphones, and the internet) has made the experience of email incivility and the engagement in cyberloafing more common in the workplace. In this present study, we examined how experiencing email incivility at work can positively predict employees’ cyberloafing. Based on affective events theory, we examined negative emotions as a mediator and trait prevention focus and daily workload as moderators. With daily diary data collected twice per day over 10 workdays from 113 full-time employees, we found that morning passive email incivility positively predicted afternoon cyberloafing via midday negative emotions while morning active email incivility did not. Further, trait prevention focus significantly moderated the relationship between active email incivility and negative emotions while daily workload significantly moderated the relationship between passive email incivility and negative emotions. The findings of the present study contribute to a deeper understanding of how employees’ negative experiences affect their deviant behaviors in the virtual world.

Calderwood, Charles; Breaux, Rosanna; ten Brummelhuis, Lieke L.; Mitropoulos, Tanya; Swanson, Courtney S.

doi: 10.1037/ocp0000333pmid: 35901404

Working parents of children with special needs (i.e., emotional, behavioral, and/or learning difficulties) face recurrent stressors that can make balancing work and family demands difficult. This strain has been magnified during the COVID-19 pandemic, as these parents often need to take on greater responsibility in supporting their children’s remote learning, while still meeting their own job-related responsibilities. Accordingly, working parents of special needs children may be particularly vulnerable to adverse outcomes stemming from pandemic-induced changes to work (e.g., teleworking) and education (e.g., remote instruction). We sought to understand how daily family and work challenges influence satisfaction with work–life balance (WLB) in this priority population, with an emphasis on contextualizing this process through chronic job stress perceptions. Conducting a 10-day daily diary study in a sample of 47 working parents of special needs children during fall 2020, we observed family challenges to deplete positive affect from day-to-day, which undermined satisfaction with work–life balance. Furthermore, detrimental influences of daily family and work challenges on positive affect were magnified under chronic job stress, yielding diminished WLB satisfaction for more chronically stressed employees. We discuss how these findings can be harnessed to support particularly vulnerable employees during the COVID-19 pandemic and other chronic stress circumstances, while also drawing attention to how the pandemic may be exacerbating work–life inequities that some employees face.