Bakker, A.B.

Motivating Employees to Work Beyond Retirement: A Multi-Level Study of the Role of I-Deals and Unit Climate (Article)

2011-10-06T00:00:00Z

The present study investigates what role I-deals (i.e. the idiosyncratic deals made between employees and their organization) play in the motivation of employees to continue working after retirement. We hypothesized two types of I-deals (i.e. development and flexibility I-deals) to be positively related to motivation to continue working. More specifically, we drew from continuity and personality theory to argue that the motivation to continue working is enhanced by I-deals, because they fulfil people's needs for personalized work arrangements. Moreover, drawing from activity and disengagement theory it was hypothesized that two types of unit climate (i.e. accommodative and development climates) would moderate these relationships. Specifically, it was predicted that I-deals would be positively related to motivation to continue working under conditions of low accommodative or high development climate. Results of a multi-level study among 1083 employees in 24 units largely supported the above expectations; flexibility I-deals related positively to motivation to continue working, and unit climate moderated the relation between development I-deals and motivation to continue working. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Management Studies

Crossover of job demands and emotional exhaustion within teams: A longitudinal multilevel study (Article)

2011-10-01T00:00:00Z

This study investigated the crossover of job demands and emotional exhaustion among team members and the moderating effect of cohesiveness and social support on this process. Participants were 310 employees of an employment agency in the Netherlands, working in one of 100 teams. Multilevel analysis using a longitudinal design did not reveal a main effect of crossover. However, consistent with the study's hypotheses, the results showed a moderating effect of team cohesiveness and social support. We detected crossover of job demands and emotional exhaustion across time from the group to individual team members only in teams characterized by high levels of cohesiveness and social support. Teams characterized by low levels of cohesiveness and social support showed no crossover of job demands and exhaustion. The findings demonstrate that team-level moderators play an important role in crossover processes. Moreover, social support and cohesiveness may not always be positive.

Daily suppression of discrete emotions during the work of police service workers and criminal investigation officers (Article)

2011-10-01T00:00:00Z

The aim of the present research among Dutch police officers was to examine whether fluctuations in emotional job demands predict exhaustion through the suppression of discrete emotions. A first diary study (N = 25) tested how the suppression of discrete emotions is related to exhaustion at the end of the work shift of police call-center service workers. Results revealed that suppressing anger was positively related to exhaustion at the end of a work shift, whereas suppressing happiness was not. A second study (N = 41) among criminal investigation officers showed that the emotions anger, abhorrence, and sadness were among the most common negative emotions that were suppressed as part of the emotional labor of this specialized occupational group. Results of a third (diary) study (N = 39) confirmed that emotional dissonance and more particularly the suppression of abhorrence mediated the relationship between emotional job demands and exhaustion at the end of a work shift.

The General Factor of Personality in selection and assessment samples (Article)

2011-10-01T00:00:00Z

In two large samples (N1=44,971, N2=7793) we tested the General Factor of Personality (GFP) in the Big Five, measured during selection and assessment. A GFP could clearly be identified in the data, explaining approximately 50% of the Big Five variance. We found indications for socially desirable response tendencies in a subgroup that was tested for selection purposes. Yet, this tendency did not affect the personality factor structure or the GFP characteristics. Moreover, in the selection sample, the GFP was moderately related to the Overall Assessment Rating. The findings confirm the GFP in an applied setting and support the idea that the GFP does not merely reflect methodological artifacts but is substantive.

Work engagement, performance, and active learning: The role of conscientiousness (Article)

2011-09-15T00:00:00Z

The present study examines whether the relationship between work engagement and job performance is moderated by the extent to which individuals are inclined to work hard, careful, and goal-oriented. On the basis of the literature, it was hypothesized that conscientiousness strengthens the relationship between work engagement and supervisor ratings of task and contextual performance as well as active learning. The hypotheses were tested on a sample of 144 employees from several occupations. Results of moderated structural equation modeling supported the hypotheses. Work engagement was positively related to task performance, contextual performance, and active learning, particularly for employees high in conscientiousness.

Stop and start control: A distinction within self-control (Article)

2011-09-01T00:00:00Z

A theoretical distinction within self-control, between stop control and start control, was investigated in two studies. Study 1 consisted of a pilot study in which expert ratings of existing self-control items were used to distinguish between stop and start control items and a confirmatory factor analyses of these items using a student sample (N=474). Also, stop and start control were related to overall affect and behavioural outcomes. Stop control was negatively related to negative affect, whereas start control was positively related to positive affect. Study 2 (N=226) replicated some of these findings; stop control was the best predictor (-) of smoking and alcohol consumption whereas start control was the best predictor (+) of exercising and studying.

Work-related flow and energy at work and at home: A study on the role of daily recovery (Article)

2011-08-25T00:00:00Z

In this diary study, we aimed to examine the moderating effects of the following: (i) recovery efforts at work and (ii) detachment from work on the relationship between work-related flow and energy after work. Specifically, we hypothesized that flow would be beneficial for energy after work when employees failed (versus managed) to recover during work breaks. Additionally, we predicted that when employees experience flow at work, they would be more vigorous (and less exhausted) at the end of the day when they detached from work in the evening compared with days when they failed to detach. The study tracked 83 participants who completed daily surveys over four consecutive days. Results of multilevel analyses indicated that some characteristics of flow, such as absorption and enjoyment, were significantly associated with energy after work. Recovery at work and detachment from work moderated the relationship between flow (specifically the enjoyment component) and after-work energy.

Applying the job demands-resources model to the work-home interface: A study among medical residents and their partners (Article)

2011-08-01T00:00:00Z

Work-home interference (WHI) is a prevalent problem because most employees have substantial family responsibilities on top of their work demands. The present study hypothesized that high job demands in combination with low job resources contribute to WHI. The job demands-resources (JD-R) model was used as a theoretical framework. Using a sample of 230 medical residents and their partners, our results show that the combination of high job demands (i.e., work overload, emotional and cognitive demands) and low job resources (i.e., participation in decision making, supervisory coaching, feedback, and opportunities for development) was positively related to partner ratings of the employee's WHI. When job resources were high, most job demands were not related to WHI. These findings show that the JD-R model is a conceptual framework that can be fruitfully applied to the work-family interface, adding to our understanding of which particular job designs facilitate or prevent work-home interference.

An evidence-based model of work engagement (Article)

2011-08-01T00:00:00Z

Employees who are engaged in their work are fully connected with their work roles. They are bursting with energy, dedicated to their work, and immersed in their work activities. This article presents an overview of the concept of work engagement. I discuss the antecedents and consequences of engagement. The review shows that job and personal resources are the main predictors of engagement. These resources gain their salience in the context of high job demands. Engaged workers are more open to new information, more productive, and more willing to go the extra mile. Moreover, engaged workers proactively change their work environment in order to stay engaged. The findings of previous studies are integrated in an overall model that can be used to develop work engagement and advance job performance in today's workplace.

Workaholism and well-being among Japanese dual-earner couples: A spillover-crossover perspective (Article)

2011-08-01T00:00:00Z

This study among Japanese dual-earner couples examined the impact of workaholism on employees' and their partners' work-family conflicts and psychological distress. The matched responses of 994 couples were analyzed with logistic regression analyses. Results showed that workaholics (i.e., employees scoring high on both working excessively and working compulsively) were more likely to experience work-to-family conflict and psychological distress compared to relaxed workers (i.e., low on both working excessively and working compulsively) for both genders. Results also showed that husbands of workaholic women were more likely to experience family-to-work conflict, whereas wives of workaholic men were not. These findings integrate and expand previous findings on workaholism and the recently formulated spillover-crossover model.

Flow and performance: A study among talented Dutch soccer players (Article)

2011-07-01T00:00:00Z

Objective: The present study examines the relationship between environmental resources (autonomy, social support from the coach, and performance feedback), flow, and performance among young talented soccer players. Design: The design was non-experimental and involved both self- and coach-rated reports of environmental resources, flow experiences, and performance. Method: Both soccer players (N=398) and coaches of 45 talented soccer teams in The Netherlands filled out a questionnaire. Soccer players answered questions about environmental resources, flow and performance during a particular match. In addition, coaches rated the performance of every player in the team during the same match. Results: Results of multilevel analyses showed that flow at the team level is higher when the match results in a draw or win than when the match results in loss. Moreover, environmental resources and particularly performance feedback and support from the coach predicted flow during the soccer game, which, in turn, was positively related to self- and coach-ratings of performance. Conclusions: The findings support the flow literature and the input-process-output model of team performance, and they indicate that common-method variance cannot account for the finding that the environment of soccer players facilitates flow and indirectly performance.

Work-related critical incidents in hospital-based health care providers and the risk of post-traumatic stress symptoms, anxiety, and depression: A meta-analysis (Article)

2011-07-01T00:00:00Z

This meta-analysis reviewed existing data on the impact of work-related critical incidents in hospital-based health care professionals. Work-related critical incidents may induce post-traumatic stress symptoms or even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression and may negatively affect health care practitioners' behaviors toward patients. Nurses and doctors often cope by working part time or switching jobs. Hospital administrators and health care practitioners themselves may underestimate the effects of work-related critical incidents. Relevant online databases were searched for original research published from inception to 2009 and manual searches of the Journal of Traumatic Stress, reference lists, and the European Traumatic Stress Research Database were conducted. Two researchers independently decided on inclusion and study quality. Effect sizes were estimated using standardized mean differences with 95% confidence intervals. Consistency was evaluated, using the I2-statistic. Meta-analysis was performed using the random effects model. Eleven studies, which included 3866 participants, evaluated the relationship between work-related critical incidents and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Six of these studies, which included 1695 participants, also reported on the relationship between work-related critical incidents and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Heterogeneity among studies was high and could not be accounted for by study quality, character of the incident, or timing of data collection. Pooled effect sizes for the impact of work-related critical incidents on post-traumatic stress symptoms, anxiety, and depression were small to medium. Remarkably, the effect was more pronounced in the longer than in the shorter term. In conclusion, this meta-analysis supports the hypothesis that work-related critical incidents are positively related to post-traumatic stress symptoms, anxiety, and depression in hospital-based health care professionals. Health care workers and their supervisors should be aware of the harmful effects of critical incidents and take preventive measures.

A 35-year follow-up study on burnout among finnish employees (Article)

2011-07-01T00:00:00Z

This three-wave 35-year prospective study used the Job Demands-Resources model and life course epidemiology to examine how life conditions in adolescence (1961-1963) through achieved educational level and working conditions in early adulthood (1985) may be indirectly related to job burnout 35 years later (1998). We used data (N = 511) from the Finnish Healthy Child study (1961-1963) to investigate the hypothesized relationships by employing structural equation modeling analyses. The results supported the hypothesized model in which both socioeconomic status and cognitive ability in adolescence (1961-1963) were positively associated with educational level (measured in 1985), which in turn was related to working conditions in early adulthood (1985). Furthermore, working conditions (1985) were associated with job burnout (1998) 13 years later. Moreover, adult education (1985) and skill variety (1985) mediated the associations between original socioeconomic status and cognitive ability, and burnout over a 35-year time period. The results suggest that socioeconomic, individual, and work-related resources may accumulate over the life course and may protect employees from job burnout.

Development and validation of the job crafting scale (Article)

2011-06-13T00:00:00Z

We developed and validated a scale to measure job crafting behavior in three separate studies conducted in The Netherlands (total N = 1181). Job crafting is defined as the self-initiated changes that employees make in their own job demands and job resources to attain and/or optimize their personal (work) goals. In Study 1 and 2 the Dutch job crafting scale (JCS) was developed and tested for its factor structure, reliability, and convergent validity. The criterion validity of the JCS was examined in Study 3. The results indicated that there are four independent job crafting dimensions, namely increasing social job resources, increasing structural job resources, increasing challenging job demands, and decreasing hindering job demands. These dimensions could be reliably measured with 21 items. The JCS shows convergent validity when correlated with the active constructs proactive personality (+), personal initiative (+), and the inactive construct cynicism (-). In addition, results indicated that self-reports of job crafting correlated positively with colleague-ratings of work engagement, employability, and performance - thus supporting the criterion validity of the JCS. Finally, self-rated job crafting behaviors correlated positively with peer-rated job crafting behaviors.

Daily detachment from work and home: The moderating effect of role salience (Article)

2011-06-01T00:00:00Z

Is 'switching off' from work and home more or less necessary for individuals depending on role salience? The present study focuses on this question by assessing the importance of trait role salience for the relationship between daily detachment from work and home on the one hand, and several outcomes on the other hand. Forty-nine employees from different organizations in Spain filled out a general questionnaire and a daily questionnaire three times a day, during five consecutive working days. Results show that detaching from home particularly helps individuals with low work role salience to perform better at work and reduce home-work interference. Contrary to our expectations, detaching from work is especially important for individuals with high home role salience, increasing evening cognitive liveliness and reducing work-home interference. Our findings indicate that differences in trait role salience may affect the beneficial impact of detachment from work and non-work domains.

Breaking through the loss cycle of burnout: The role of motivation (Article)

2011-06-01T00:00:00Z

We aimed to study burnout as a process that develops over time. On the basis of the Conservation of Resources theory (Hobfoll, 2002), we tested whether burnout induces a loss cycle, depleting resources, and enhancing demands. In addition, we investigated whether intrinsic job motivation and externally regulated job motivation attenuated or aggravated this loss cycle. Using a sample of 352 employees who answered online questionnaires in 2005 and 2007, we found that baseline burnout predicted future burnout that results from an increase in job demands (e.g., work overload) and a decrease in job resources (e.g., social support, information). Furthermore, external regulation aggravated the positive relationship between baseline burnout and demand accumulation. Intrinsic motivation attenuated the positive relationship between baseline burnout and resource loss. We conclude that intrinsic motivation is an important factor enabling employees to break through the negative cycle of burnout.

Stability and change in burnout: A 10-year follow-up study among primary care physicians (Article)

2011-06-01T00:00:00Z

The aim of the present study is (1) to investigate the impact of patient demands on primary care physicians' burnout and (2) to examine the stability and change of burnout across time. Participants were drawn from the official Dutch registration system for primary health care, and longitudinal panel data (n= 165) from three waves with a 5-year time interval were used. They filled in the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and a validated scale for the assessment of patient demands. The results of various stability and change models that were tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) indicated that demanding patient contacts lead to increased burnout among physicians. In addition, the findings suggested that about one quarter of the variance in physician's actual burnout levels across one decade is accounted for by a stable component, whereas about three quarters is accounted for by a change component. Hence, physician burnout seems to be a rather chronic condition that may be aggravated by exposure to demanding patients.

Not doing bad things is not equivalent to doing the right thing: Distinguishing between inhibitory and initiatory self-control (Article)

2011-05-01T00:00:00Z

The present study investigated whether a conceptual distinction between two components of self-control (inhibitory and initiatory self-control) is empirically valid. To that purpose, a series of confirmative factor analyses were employed in two samples (total N = 577), providing support for a distinction between inhibitory and initiatory self-control. In addition, the predictive validity of the two components of self-control was examined by regression analyses with (un)desired health/academic behavior as dependent variables, showing that inhibitory self-control was a superior predictor of undesired behavior and initiatory self-control a better predictor of desired behavior.

Working parents of children with behavioral problems: A study on the family-work interface (Article)

2011-05-01T00:00:00Z

This study examines the process by which child behavioral problems are related to parents' well-being. We developed a family-work spillover model that was tested among 225 working parents. It was hypothesized that family-self conflict (FSC) mediates the relationship between child behavioral problems and parental strain, and that family-work conflict (FWC) mediates the relationship between parental strain and work engagement. Further, it was hypothesized that social support moderates the relationship between child behavioral problems and FSC. The results of (moderated) structural equation modeling supported the mediating role of FSC and FWC and the moderating role of social support. These findings suggest that the negative effects of raising a child with behavioral problems on parental well-being can be buffered by social support.

Emotional labor among trainee police officers: The interpersonal role of positive emotions (Article)

2011-03-01T00:00:00Z

The aim of this study is to get an insight of the interpersonal process of emotional labor, and the role of positive emotions in the interaction between the sender and receiver, while taking both the perspective of the sender and the receiver into account. We tested the influence of the perceived display of positive emotions of Dutch trainee police officers (N=80) during an interaction with offenders on perceived authenticity and perceived performance success, incorporating the senders' emotion regulation technique (i.e., deep acting and surface acting). Consistent with hypotheses, results of structural equation modeling analyses showed that perceived authenticity mediates the relationship between the perceived display of positive emotions and perceived performance success, while the specific senders' emotion regulation technique was not related to perceived performance success. Furthermore, results showed that perceived performance success mediated the relationship between the perceived display of positive emotions and senders' felt positive emotions after the interaction, controlling for senders' positive affect.

Key questions regarding work engagement (Article)

2011-02-01T00:00:00Z

This article discusses the concept of work engagement and summarizes research on its most important antecedents. The authors formulate 10 key questions and shape a research agenda for engagement. In addition to the conceptual development and measurement of enduring work engagement, the authors discuss the importance of state work engagement. Further, they argue that the social context is crucial and may set the stage for a climate for engagement with an important role for management. Engaged employees conserve their own engagement through a process of job crafting. After discussing possible dark sides of engagement and the relationship between engagement and health, the article closes with a discussion of organizational interventions to increase work engagement.

Work engagement: Further reflections on the state of play (Article)

2011-02-01T00:00:00Z

In this article we further reflect on the "state of play" of work engagement. We consider, clarify, and respond to issues and themes raised by eight preeminent work engagement researchers who were invited to respond to our position article. The key themes we reflect upon include: (1) theory and measurement of engagement; (2) state and task engagement; (3) climate for engagement versus collective engagement; (4) the dark side of engagement; (5) where job crafting may go wrong; and (6) moderators of the engagement-performance relationship. We conclude that engagement can sensibly be conceptualized as a positive and high arousal affective state characterized by energy and involvement; that there may be additional dimensions that might usefully be included; that we need to more fully understand the day-to-day and momentto- moment temporal dynamics and implications of engagement; that a "climate for engagement" will influence individual and organizational outcomes; that although engagement is at heart a positive construct, the "dark side" of engagement needs to be acknowledged and understood; that "job crafting" provides a potentially powerful way for employees to manage their engagement; and that we need to gain a better understanding of the moderators that influence the way that engagement is related to performance. We also outline some practical implications that follow from our conclusions.

Molecular and biological characterization of human monoclonal antibodies binding to the spike and nucleocapsid proteins of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. (Article)

2005-02-01T00:00:00Z

Human monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were selected from semisynthetic antibody phage display libraries by using whole irradiated severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (CoV) virions as target. We identified eight human MAbs binding to virus and infected cells, six of which could be mapped to two SARS-CoV structural proteins: the nucleocapsid (N) and spike (S) proteins. Two MAbs reacted with N protein. One of the N protein MAbs recognized a linear epitope conserved between all published human and animal SARS-CoV isolates, and the other bound to a nonlinear N epitope. These two N MAbs did not compete for binding to SARS-CoV. Four MAbs reacted with the S glycoprotein, and three of these MAbs neutralized SARS-CoV in vitro. All three neutralizing anti-S MAbs bound a recombinant S1 fragment comprising residues 318 to 510, a region previously identified as the SARS-CoV S receptor binding domain; the nonneutralizing MAb did not. Two strongly neutralizing anti-S1 MAbs blocked the binding of a recombinant S fragment (residues 1 to 565) to SARS-CoV-susceptible Vero cells completely, whereas a poorly neutralizing S1 MAb blocked binding only partially. The MAb ability to block S1-receptor binding and the level of neutralization of the two strongly neutralizing S1 MAbs correlated with the binding affinity to the S1 domain. Finally, epitope mapping, using recombinant S fragments (residues 318 to 510) containing naturally occurring mutations, revealed the importance of residue N479 for the binding of the most potent neutralizing MAb, CR3014. The complete set of SARS-CoV MAbs described here may be useful for diagnosis, chemoprophylaxis, and therapy of SARS-CoV infection and disease.

Human monoclonal antibody as prophylaxis for SARS coronavirus infection in ferrets (Article)

2004-06-26T00:00:00Z

SARS coronavirus continues to cause sporadic cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in China. No active or passive immunoprophylaxis for disease induced by SARS coronavirus is available. We investigated prophylaxis of SARS coronavirus infection with a neutralising human monoclonal antibody in ferrets, which can be readily infected with the virus. Prophylactic administration of the monoclonal antibody at 10 mg/kg reduced replication of SARS coronavirus in the lungs of infected ferrets by 3·3 logs (95% Cl 2·6–4·0 logs; p<0·001), completely prevented the development of SARS coronavirus-induced macroscopic lung pathology (p=0·013), and abolished shedding of virus in pharyngeal secretions. The data generated in this animal model show that administration of a human monoclonal antibody might offer a feasible and effective prophylaxis for the control of human SARS coronavirus infection.