The power of presence: the role of mindfulness at work for daily levels and change trajectories of psychological detachment and sleep quality

In this research, we examined the role of mindfulness for recovery from work using a daily diary design (N = 121; 5 days; 3 measurement occasions per day). The first goal of the study was to investigate the relationship of mindfulness with sleep quality and the mediating role of psychological detachment from a day-level perspective. A second goal was to extend the process perspective in recovery research beyond the day level and consider systematic change trajectories in recovery variables over the course of the work week and the role of mindfulness in these trajectories. Results regarding day-level relationships confirmed that mindfulness experienced during work was related to subsequent sleep quality, and this relationship was mediated by psychological detachment from work in the evening. Furthermore, an investigation of the role of mindfulness in recovery change trajectories supported the idea that psychological detachment trajectories increase over the work week for individuals low on mindfulness while there was no systematic mean-level change for individuals high on mindfulness. In contrast, sleep quality followed a linear increase from Monday to Friday for all individuals, irrespective of their levels of trait mindfulness. Practical and theoretical implications for the mindfulness and the recovery literature are discussed in conclusion

A study to explore specific stressors and coping strategies in primary dental care practice

Background and Aims: It is widely acknowledged that dentists experience occupational stress. This qualitative study aimed to explore previously identified specific stressors in more detail in order to inform the development of a future stress management programme. Method: Two focus groups of dentists (N: 7 & 6) were conducted to explore, in more detail, nine specific stressors and concepts; being out of one’s comfort zone, zoning out from the patient, celebrating the positive aspects of work, thinking aloud, the effect of hurting patients, the impact of perfectionism, responsibility for patient’s self-care, the emotional impact of difficult situations as a foundation dentist. Participants were also asked for their views on the structure and contents of the proposed stress management package. Verbatim transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis. Results and Discussion: Dentists described the impact of these stressors and their current coping methods; thematic analysis revealed 9 themes which covered the above concepts and a further overall theme of need for control. The findings are elaborated in connection to their relevant stress, coping and emotion psychological theory. Their implications for personal well-being and clinical outcomes are discussed. Conclusion: Dentists’ stressful and coping experiences are complex and it is essential that any stress management programme reflects this and that the skills are easily accessible and sustainable within the context of a busy dental practice

Understanding emotionally relevant situations in primary dental practice. 2. Reported effects of emotionally charged situations

Background and aims. Dentistry is widely reported to be a stressful profession. There is a limited body of research relating to the coping strategies used by dentists whilst in clinical situations. This study aims to use qualitative methods to explore the full extent of the coping strategies associated with stressful events in primary dental practice. Method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 dentists within a 50 mile radius of Lincoln. A thematic analysis was conducted on verbatim transcriptions thereby identifying six themes and 35 codes. Results. Participants described both problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies. The strategies used had a variety of outcomes in the context of use. Most dentists denied that their emotions affected their decision-making, but then proceeded to describe how they were influential. Discussion and conclusion. Dentists use a wide variety of coping strategies some of which are maladaptive. Training in the development and recognition of appropriate coping decisions would be appropriate as they woul

Range shrinkage of cognitive ability test scores in applicant pools for German governmental jobs: implications for range restriction corrections

Range restriction corrections require the predictor standard deviation in the applicant pool of interest. Unfortunately, this information is frequently not available in applied contexts. The common strategy in this type of situations is to use national-norm standard deviation estimates. This study used data from 8,276 applicants applying to nine jobs in German governmental organizations to compare applicant pool standard deviations for two cognitive ability tests with national-norm standard deviation estimates, and standard deviations for the total group of governmental applicants. Results revealed that job- and organizational context-specific applicant pool standard deviations were on average about 10-12% smaller than estimates from national norms, and about 4-6% smaller than standard deviations for the total group of governmental applicants

Does looking forward set you back?:Development and validation of the work prospection scale

Findings from adjacent literatures suggest that thinking about the future may have implications for employee health, especially when such thoughts are affectively toned. However, existing constructs targeting work-related thinking are predominantly time-unspecific, possibly overlooking a substantial portion of work-related cognitions that occur on a daily basis. We therefore develop a comprehensive, multidimensional conceptualization of work prospection, as well as an instrument (Work Prospection Scale; WPS) that allows the measurement of three types of work prospection (cognitive, positive affective, and negative affective). We place work prospection in its wider nomological network and evaluate its validity across three cross-sectional studies (total N = 825) and a 5-day diary study (N = 199). Psychometric properties of the scale were supported across studies, and the WPS was related to, yet empirically distinct from related constructs. Criterion-related results showed that positive affective work prospection during the evening was associated with less fatigue and more recovery in the next morning. Conversely, negative affective work prospection was related to more evening fatigue, as well as less next morning recovery. Cognitive work prospection had no significant relationship with recovery indicators. Additionally, our findings show that targeting future-oriented cognitions adds to the prediction of employee recovery beyond time-unspecific measures

Be aware to be on the square : mindfulness and counterproductive academic behavior

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of dispositional mindfulness - the capacity to be nonjudgmentally aware of the present moment (Brown & Ryan, 2003) - in counterproductive academic behavior. Apart from investigating the direct relationship between mindfulness and counterproductive behavior, we tested the moderating role of established personality dimensions (conscientiousness and honesty-humility) in the relationship between mindfulness and counterproductive academic behavior. Two hundred eighty-one graduate students completed a trait mindfulness measure and a personality inventory based on the HEXACO model, followed by self-ratings of counterproductive academic behavior after a three-month time lag. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that mindfulness, conscientiousness, and honesty-humility were negatively related to counterproductive academic behavior. As hypothesized, conscientiousness and honesty-humility moderated the relationship between mindfulness and counterproductive behavior, such that the mindfulness-counterproductive behavior relationship was stronger for students low on conscientiousness and on honesty-humility. These findings add to previous findings on the positive effects of mindfulness for students by demonstrating that it also benefits professional academic behavior. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

The Role of Support for Transgender and Nonbinary Employees:Perceived Co-Worker and Organizational Support's Associations With Job Attitudes and Work Behavior

The development of diverse and inclusive workforces is increasingly being prioritized by organizations. However, organizations often struggle to adequately address the unique issues faced by transgender and nonbinary (TNB) people, and this can result in workplace discrimination, with deleterious consequences on employees' job attitudes and behavior, and their well-being. Co-worker and organizational support may play an important role for TNB employees' job attitudes and behavior. In an online survey with 225 TNB employees, we investigated how perceived co-worker support relates to job attitudes and work behavior, specifically job satisfaction, affective commitment, turnover intentions, job anxiety, and counterproductive work behavior. We also investigated whether these relationships were mediated by perceived organizational support. We found significant associations between perceived co-worker support and all job attitudes and work behavior. We also found that all of these relationships were mediated by the extent to which the organization was considered supportive. The findings thus suggest that companies should focus on supporting TNB employees at both the organizational and interpersonal level.Public Significance Statement Perceived organizational and co-worker support interact and jointly promote positive job attitudes and work behavior in TNB employees, namely more job satisfaction and affective commitment, and less turnover intentions, job anxiety, and counterproductive work behavior. Companies should thus focus on supporting TNB employees at both the organizational and interpersonal level

Implicit motives, explicit traits, and task and contextual performance at work

Personality psychologists have long argued that explicit traits (as measured by questionnaires) channel the expression of implicit motives (as measured by coding imaginative verbal behavior) such that both interact in the prediction of relevant life outcome variables. In the present research, we apply these ideas in the context of industrial and organizational psychology and propose that 2 explicit traits work as channels for the expression of 3 core implicit motives in task and contextual job performance (extraversion for implicit affiliation and implicit power; explicit achievement for implicit achievement). As a test of these theoretical ideas, we report a study in which employees (N = 241) filled out a questionnaire booklet and worked on an improved modern implicit motive measure, the operant motive test. Their supervisors rated their task and contextual performance. Results support 4 of the 6 theoretical predictions and show that interactions between implicit motives and explicit traits increase the explained criterion variance in both task and contextual performance