Coping and distress in organizations: The role of gender in work stress.

Validation of a Modified Version of the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ12) in Spain

Background : Previous studies have found some limitations and inconsistencies in the functioning of the short Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ12), suggesting the need to improve it. The objective of the current study is to validate a modified version of the PCQ12 in Spain. Method : The sample consists of 792 employees from 42 Spanish organizations. A cross-validation was carried out to test the factorial validity of the modified scale. Reliability and convergent, discriminant, and criterion validity were also tested.  Results : The modified PCQ12 showed good psychometric qualities. A four-factor structure showed a better fit to the data than the original second-order structure. Conc…

Cross‐national outcomes of stress appraisal

PurposeThe present study aims to analyze the role of the appraisal of stressors as harmful and threatening (distress) and/or as opportunities and challenges (eustress) in inducing negative (burnout) and positive (engagement) effects. It compares appraisal of occupational stressors in Poland and Spain and looks for differences between these countries in the associations between different types of appraisals and their positive and negative outcomes.Design/methodology/approachThe study analyzes the equivalence of relations across cultures by constraining structural equation models to be equivalent across the Spanish (n=603) and Polish (n=147) data sets of social care services employees. Multig…

Cambios en la valoración del trabajo en jóvenes de primer empleo durante el proceso de socialización laboral

ResumenEl trabajo es una de las areas mas importantes en la vida para los seres humanos y un pilar basico en el funcionamiento de cualquier sociedad. El significado que la gente da al trabajo, y que aspectos son valorados del mismo, ha sido y es un tema de gran interes para los cientificos sociales. Dos dimensiones principales del significado del trabajo son «los resultados valorados del trabajo» y la «importancia de metas laborales». «Los resultados valorados del trabajo» son aquellos resultados que el individuo busca del trabjar o que funciones le son servidas a traves del trabajo. «La importancia de metas laborales» se refiere a la importancia que tiene para los individuos determinados a…

Teaching and Learning Work, Organization, and Personnel Psychology Internationally. The Erasmus Mundus Program

This chapter aims to present the successful case of an International Master’s Program in Work, Organizational, and Personnel Psychology (WOP-P) implemented in 2005–2006 under the framework of the European Union postgraduate education program labeled Erasmus Mundus (EM). This chapter analyzes the different axes of internalization for educational programs and presents the rationale and options of the design and implementation of the WOP-P program. This chapter tackles the following issues: (1) the challenges and opportunities for WOP-P education in the age of internationalization. When designing the EM Master’s course in WOP-P, we analyzed the implications of contextual factors such as global…

Perceived collective burnout: a multilevel explanation of burnout

Building up on the socially induced model of burnout and the job demands-resources model, we examine how burnout can transfer without direct contagion or close contact among employees. Based on the social information processing approach and the conservation of resources theory, we propose that perceived collective burnout emerges as an organizational-level construct (employees' shared perceptions about how burned out are their colleagues) and that it predicts individual burnout over and above indicators of demands and resources. Data were gathered during the first term and again during the last term of the academic year among 555 teachers from 100 schools. The core dimensions of burnout, ex…

Eustress and distress climates in teams: Patterns and outcomes.

Social antecedents of the role stress and career-enhancing strategies of newcomers to organizations: A longitudinal study

Newcomers experience uncertainty and stress following entry into an organization. Two features of socialization are important for reducing their stress: socialization tactics and relations with superiors and co-workers. The present study tests a structural equation model, including, first, the effects over time of initial institutional socialization tactics and, second, the association between social relations at the workplace on newcomers’ role stress and career-enhancing strategies, two years later, among a large (N=661) international sample of job and organization stayers. Using LISREL 8.3 the results indicate a good fit between the model and data on several fit indices. Institutional so…

Individual Profiles of Psychological Capital in a Spanish Sample

Psychological Capital (PsyCap) consists of hope, self-efficacy, resilience and optimism. It is usually assumed that individuals score similarly across these four components, however, there have been suggestions in the literature that in some cases, people can score high on some dimensions and low on others, and that it is necessary to explore the matter further (Dawkins, 2014). Hence, the main objective of this article is to explore if the relationship between the dimensions of PsyCap results in individual profiles; to see which sociodemographic characteristics they have, and how the profiles relate to job satisfaction and performance. The sample consists of 1752 employees from different co…

Longitudinal Relationships Between Job Satisfaction and Creative Performance: A Three-Wave Cross-Lagged Panel Design

Despite the assumption about the positive relationship between wellbeing and performance within the happy and productive worker thesis (HPWT), the matter is still under discussion due to inconclusive results. To better understand the link between wellbeing and performance and delineate their possible causal relationships, it is necessary to conduct longitudinal studies with data collection at different moments, as well as broaden the focus by considering different types of wellbeing and performance. To achieve this, the authors of this study analyzed the relationship between intrinsic (IJS) and extrinsic job satisfaction (EJS) with creative performance. The design consisted of a three-time …

Do social comparison and coping styles play a role in the development of burnout? Cross-sectional and longitudinal findings

The present longitudinal research among 558 teachers focused on the role of upward comparisons (with others performing better), downward comparisons (with others performing worse), and coping styles in relation to burnout. Assessed were identification (recognizing oneself in the other) and contrast (seeing the other as a competitor) in upward and downward comparison. Cross-sectionally, downward identification and upward contrast were positively related to burnout and negatively related to a direct coping style, whereas upward identification was negatively related to burnout and positively related to a direct coping style. Downward identification was positively related to a palliative coping…

Development and validation of the Valencia Eustress-Distress Appraisal Scale.

Hierarchy of Eustress and Distress: Rasch Calibration of the Valencia Eustress-Distress Appraisal Scale

The purpose of the study was to uncover the hierarchy of eustress and distress appraisal and calibrate the Valencia Eustress Distress Appraisal Scale (VEDAS, Rodríguez, Kozusznik, & Peiró, 2013) using the Rasch Analysis (RA). A cross-sectional study was conducted on sample of 603 Spanish social service professionals. The VEDAS included four subscales addressing work demands that can be appraised as sources of eustress and distress. RA was carried out for eustress and distress appraisal scales. A graduation of stressful situations appraised as distress and/or as eustress was revealed. One of the greatest sources of distress and one of the lesser sources of eustress was “switching off at …

The Valencia Eustress-Distress Appraisal Scale (VEDAS): Validation of the Italian Version

© 2018 by the authors. The aim of this study is to validate the Italian version of the Valencia Eustress-Distress Appraisal Scale (VEDAS). Two hundred and thirty-two Italian workers were involved in the study. Dimensionality, reliability, and concurrent validity were analyzed. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a four-dimensional structure. In addition, the Italian version of the scale showed good internal consistency and validity. The results indicate that the Italian version of the VEDAS is a valid instrument for measuring eustress and distress appraisal in the Italian context. ispartof: SUSTAINABILITY vol:10 issue:11 status: published

Individual, co-active and collective coping and organizational stress: A longitudinal study

This study aims to identify the association between changes in three types of problem-focused coping (individual, organizational co-active and collective) and the change in the appraisal of different facets of employees' stress and the organizational stress climate. These relationships are tested by means of Bayesian Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling and a two-wave panel design. The sample is composed of 525 teachers in 100 schools. Stress experiences and coping behaviors are assessed during the first and third terms of the academic year. The results show that an increase in the use of individual problem-focused coping has little to no effect on the decrease in individual stress appra…