Compensating need satisfaction across life boundaries: A daily study

Self-determination theory suggests that satisfaction of an individual’s basic psychological needs (for competence, autonomy, and relatedness) is key for wellbeing. This has gained empirical support in multiple life domains, but little is known about the way that need satisfaction interacts between work and home. Drawing from ideas of work-home compensation, we expect that the benefits of need satisfaction in the home domain are reduced when needs are satisfied in the work domain. We tested this hypothesis with a daily diary study involving 91 workers. Results showed that individuals particularly benefit from satisfaction of their need for competence in the home domain when it is not satisfied during the working day. No such interactions were found between the needs for autonomy or relatedness. Our study highlights that the interaction of need satisfaction across domains represents a boundary condition for the beneficial effects of need satisfactio

Kan relationel fagkoordinering styrke de studerendes præstationer?

Høj kvalitet og forskningsbaseret undervisning for at sikre studerendes engagement og præstation i den afsluttende eksamen er højt på universiteternes dagsorden. Formålet med dette interventionsstudie var at designe og teste en fag-koordineringsmodel, som aktivt integrerer de forskellige uddannelseselementer og dermed ideelt styrker muligheden for de studerendes dybdelæring og performance ved den afsluttende eksamen. Både kvalitative og kvantitative data indikerer positive virkninger af relationel koordinering i kursusplanlægningen. De kvalitative data påpeger overordnet tilfredshed blandt undervisere og studerende med indsatsen omkring relationel fagkoordinering, og kvalitative udsagn fra eksaminatorer samt kvantitative data peger på, at de studerende klarer sig bedre i deres afsluttende eksamen sammenlignet med studerende fra tidligere år. High-quality and research-based teaching that stimulates student commitment and performance in the final exam is high on the university agenda. The purpose of this intervention study was to design and test a course co-ordination model, which integrates the various/sub-course elements and thereby ideally strengthens the possibility of deep learning and high performance. Both qualitative and quantitative data provide indications of the positive impact of relational coordination in course planning. Qualitative data indicate overall satisfaction with the intervention among lecturers and students, and the qualitative data from examiners together with quantitative data show that the students perform better in their final exam as compared to student performance from previous years

Kan relationel fagkoordinering styrke de studerendes præstationer?

Høj kvalitet og forskningsbaseret undervisning for at sikre studerendes engagement og præstation i den afsluttende eksamen er højt på universiteternes dagsorden. Formålet med dette interventionsstudie var at designe og teste en fag-koordineringsmodel, som aktivt integrerer de forskellige uddannelseselementer og dermed ideelt styrker muligheden for de studerendes dybdelæring og performance ved den afsluttende eksamen. Både kvalitative og kvantitative data indikerer positive virkninger af relationel koordinering i kursusplanlægningen. De kvalitative data påpeger overordnet tilfredshed blandt undervisere og studerende med indsatsen omkring relationel fagkoordinering, og kvalitative udsagn fra eksaminatorer samt kvantitative data peger på, at de studerende klarer sig bedre i deres afsluttende eksamen sammenlignet med studerende fra tidligere år. High-quality and research-based teaching that stimulates student commitment and performance in the final exam is high on the university agenda. The purpose of this intervention study was to design and test a course co-ordination model, which integrates the various/sub-course elements and thereby ideally strengthens the possibility of deep learning and high performance. Both qualitative and quantitative data provide indications of the positive impact of relational coordination in course planning. Qualitative data indicate overall satisfaction with the intervention among lecturers and students, and the qualitative data from examiners together with quantitative data show that the students perform better in their final exam as compared to student performance from previous years

Work-related stress in a humanitarian context: a qualitative investigation

There is a paucity of research into the subjective stress-related experiences of humanitarian aid workers (HAWs). Most studies investigating stress in HAWs focus on trauma and related conditions or adopt a quantitative approach. This interview-based study explored how HAWs (n=58) employed by a United Nations aligned organisation perceived the transactional stress process. Thematic analysis revealed eight main themes. An emergency culture was found where most employees felt compelled to offer an immediate response to humanitarian needs. Employees experienced a strong identification with humanitarian goals and reported high engagement. The rewards of humanitarian work were perceived as motivating and meaningful. Constant change and urgent demands resulted in work overload. Managing work-life boundaries and receiving positive support from colleagues and managers helped buffer perceived stress, work overload and negative health outcomes. The practical implications of the results are discussed and suggestions made in light of current research and stress theory

Dual impact of organisational change on subsequent exit from work unit and sickness absence:A longitudinal study among public healthcare employees

ObjectivesWe investigated work-unit exit, total and long-term sickness absence following organisational change among public healthcare employees.MethodsThe study population comprised employees from the Capital Region of Denmark (n=14 388). Data on reorganisation at the work-unit level (merger, demerger, relocation, change of management, employee layoff or budget cut) between July and December 2013 were obtained via surveys distributed to the managers of each work unit. Individual-level data on work-unit exit, total and long-term sickness absence (≥29 days) in 2014 were obtained from company registries. For exposure to any, each type or number of reorganisations (1, 2 or ≥3), the HRs and 95% CIs for subsequent work-unit exit were estimated by Cox regression, and the risk for total and long-term sickness absence were estimated by zero-inflated Poisson regression.ResultsReorganisation was associated with subsequent work-unit exit (HR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.19) in the year after reorganisation. This association was specifically important for exposure to ≥3 types of changes (HR 1.52, 95% CI 1.30 to 1.79), merger (HR 1.29, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.49), demerger (HR 1.41, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.71) or change of management (HR 1.24, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.38). Among the employees remaining in the work unit, reorganisation was also associated with more events of long-term sickness absence (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.33), which was particularly important for merger (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.72) and employee layoff (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.59).ConclusionsSpecific types of reorganisation seem to have a dual impact on subsequent work-unit exit and sickness absence in the year after change.</jats:sec

Identifying wellbeing challenges and solutions in the police service using the World Café method

Police work presents risks to mental and physical health for officers and civilian staff. We report a project that involved police employees in identifying wellbeing challenges and potential solutions. We facilitated ‘World Café’ events in which approximately 180 officers and civilian staff participated. Qualitative data were collected and thematically analysed drawing upon the Job Demands-Resources model. We identified themes relating to workload, management practices, occupational health processes, and continuing mental health stigma. Our analyses suggest an environment in which resources are insufficient to meet demands. The resulting pressures may contribute to management behaviours that can impair subordinate wellbeing