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We investigated school psychologists' experiences of ethical strain (the frequency of ethical dilemmas at work and the stress caused by these dilemmas) and dilemma-related rumination outside working hours. Individual latent profiles were estimated at the study baseline based on these three dimensions. The psychologists' weekly well-being (vigor, exhaustion, and sleep quality) was compared against their profile during the following three working weeks. The sample included 133 school psychologists, among whom four groups were identified: Low ruminators (39%), an Intermediate group (39%), High ruminators (20%), and Atypical outliers (2%). High ruminators fared least well in terms of weekly well-being. Of all the groups, they reported the lowest levels of vigor, the highest levels of exhaustion, and the lowest sleep quality. The study contributes to understanding how psychologists differ in their experiences of ethical strain, and highlights the role of ruminating: mental detachment from ethical demands is especially important for school psychologists' well-being.

The relation of the core components of the Effort-Reward Imbalance model (ERI; Siegrist, 1996) to goal pursuit was investigated. Goal pursuit was studied through categories of goal contents--competency, progression, well-being, job change, job security, organization, finance, or no work goal--based on the personal work goals of managers (Hyvonen, Feldt, Salmela-Aro, Kinnunen, & Makikangas, 2009). The study focused on the contribution of the ERI components (effort, reward, effort-reward imbalance, OVC) to goal contents, as well as on the mediating and moderating effects of goal contents between the ERI components and occupational well-being (burnout, work engagement) among young Finnish managers (N = 747, age range 23-35 years). First, multinomial regressions showed that effort, reward, and effort-reward imbalance contributed to the membership of the goal categories. Secondly, hierarchical GLM (General Linear Model) indicated that the goal categories mediated the relationship between the ERI components and occupational well-being. Effort, reward, and effort-reward imbalance had an indirect effect through goal categories on burnout and work engagement, but overcommitment only on burnout. In addition, the goal categories moderated the relationship between reward and work engagement. Taken together, psychosocial work environment contributes to the contents of personal work goals, which also function as mediators, particularly between the work environment and occupational well-being. (Contains 2 figures and 4 tables.)

This study approaches young managers' occupational well-being through their work-related goal pursuit. The main aim was to identify content categories of personal work goals and investigate their associations with background factors, goal appraisals, burnout, and work engagement. The questionnaire data consisted of 747 young Finnish managers (23-35 years; M = 31 years) who were mostly men (85.5%). Seven work-related content categories were found on the basis of qualitative data analysis: (1) competence goals (30.5%), (2) progression goals (23.7%), (3) well-being goals (15.2%), (4) job change goals (13.7%), (5) job security goals (7.4%), (6) organizational goals (5.6%), and (7) financial goals (3.9%). ANCOVA analyses, where goal appraisals and significant background factors were controlled for, indicated that organizational goals were related to low burnout and the highest level of work engagement, whereas well-being and job change goals were related to higher burnout and lower work engagement. The study shows that the contents of young managers' work-related goals can contribute to the understanding of individual differences in occupational well-being. (Contains 5 tables.)

Aims: To identify a valid, longitudinally invariant factor model for stress of conscience and to investigate how stress of conscience dimensions associate with burnout and turnover intentions. Background: There has been a lack of consensus about the number and content of stress of conscience dimensions, and a lack of longitudinal studies on its development and outcomes. Design: A longitudinal, person‐centred survey study using the STROBE checklist. Methods: Healthcare personnel (n = 306) rated their stress of conscience in 2019 and 2021. Longitudinal latent profile analysis was used to identify different subgroups based on the employees' experiences. These subgroups were then compared in terms of burnout and organisational/professional turnover. Results: Five subgroups were identified, where participants experienced: (1) hindrance‐related stress (14%), (2) violation‐related stress (2%), (3) both stress dimensions increasing over time (13%), (4) both high yet decreasing over time (7%), and (5) stable levels of low stress (64%). When both hindrance‐ and violated‐related stress were high, it was a significant risk for burnout and turnover. Shortened, 6‐item, two‐dimensional scale for stress of conscience was found to be reliable, valid, and longitudinally invariant. Conclusion: On its own, hindrance‐related stress (e.g. lowering one's aspirations for high‐quality work) is less detrimental to well‐being than when it is combined with violation‐related stress (e.g. being forced to do something that feels wrong). Implications for the Profession Patient Care: To prevent burnout and staff turnover in healthcare, different risk factors for stress of conscience need to be identified and addressed. Public Contribution: Data were collected among public sector healthcare workers. Relevance to Clinical Practice: If healthcare workers are forced to ignore their personal values at work, it poses a significant risk for their well‐being and retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was twofold: First, to profile the long-term development of burnout symptoms (exhaustion, cynicism and reduced professional efficacy), and second, to investigate the associations of developmental burnout profiles with job demands and resources. The study focused on Finnish white-collar professionals (N = 169) who participated in a survey five times during eight years (in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014). At each measurement time, the participants filled in the same scales of burnout, job demands and job resources. Using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), three developmental profiles of burnout symptoms were identified: 1) Stable, low burnout (78%), 2) Exhaustion instigated, increasing burnout (12%), and 3) Cynicism and reduced professional efficacy dominated, inverted U-shaped burnout (10%). Exhaustion instigated, increasing burnout profile displayed the highest levels of job demands, whereas Cynicism and reduced professional efficacy dominated, inverted U-shaped burnout profile reported the lowest levels of job resources compared to members in other profiles. Recognizing the existence of the multiple sequential development of burnout symptoms and different patterns of job demands and the job resources behind them, this study suggests that burnout development does not follow a uniform shape, which reconciles previously inconsistent findings of variable-centred burnout research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Intensified job demands (IJDs) and their effects on employee burnout, work engagement and patient satisfaction were investigated across different work units and occupational groups in a healthcare setting. Design: A multilevel study. Methods: One thousand twenty‐four healthcare employees responded to a survey in 2019 and rated their experiences of IJDs, burnout and work engagement. Nine hundred fifty‐one patients rated their satisfaction with care received from healthcare staff. Results: Work units and occupational groups who shared more experiences of increased time pressure and multitasking reported higher exhaustion. Shared perceptions of increased planning and performing one's work autonomously correlated with higher exhaustion and lower patient satisfaction at the work‐unit level. Moreover, work intensification was found to be highest in emergency care and among nurses, while job‐related planning demands were highest in leadership services. Conclusion: IJDs are a shared risk to employee well‐being among heterogeneous healthcare staff and relate negatively to customer‐rated patient satisfaction. We found that high time‐pressure demands increase the shared risk of burnout—especially among nurses and healthcare staff working in emergency care. Furthermore, increased independence and self‐determination in planning and executing work tasks also increase the shared risk of burnout especially among those in leadership services. This can lead to lower customer/care satisfaction among patients. Impact: With the accelerating pace of socio‐economic change, the pace of work is also getting faster. Our findings help understand how IJDs are experienced among heterogeneous healthcare staff. Because different occupational groups and work units had different demands, this research shows that attempts to mitigate the negative effects of IJDs need to be planned and implemented in a context‐specific way. It seems crucial to pay more attention especially to adequate nurse staffing so that the adverse effects of IJDs could be mitigated among them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: The aims of the study were to identify content categories of unreasonable and unnecessary illegitimate tasks and to investigate how unreasonable and unnecessary tasks relate to occupational wellbeing. Background: Illegitimate tasks are a common stressor among healthcare professionals, and they have been shown to have negative associations with occupational well‐being. Despite this evidence, research has not yet uncovered what kinds of tasks healthcare professionals consider illegitimate. Design and method: The data gathered by means of an online survey consisted of 1024 municipal healthcare organisation employees. A theory‐driven qualitative content analysis was used to analyse freely reported illegitimate tasks. For occupational well‐being associations, a mixed‐methods approach was used (ANCOVA and linear regression analysis). The STROBE statement—checklist for cross‐sectional studies was used. Results: Eight content categories were found for illegitimate tasks. For unreasonable tasks, these were (1) tasks outside one's occupational role (78% of all unreasonable tasks), (2) conflicting or unclear demands (9%), (3) tasks with insufficient resources (8%) and (4) tasks with difficult consequences (5%), and for unnecessary tasks, these were (1) impractical or outdated working habits (31% of all unnecessary tasks), (2) tasks related to dysfunctional technology (30%), (3) unnecessary procedures (27%) and (4) tasks related to bureaucratic demands (12%). Unreasonable and unnecessary tasks were associated with higher levels of burnout and lower work engagement and the meaningfulness of work. Conclusions: Our findings support the theory that illegitimate tasks are an occupational stressor with negative effects on burnout, work engagement and meaningfulness of work. Relevance to clinical practice: The study offers insights into the types of tasks health care employees see as illegitimate and highlights the importance of good job design in promoting occupational well‐being in health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating role of goal conflict in the relationship between the contents of managers’ personal work goals and occupational well-being (burnout and work engagement). Eight goal categories (organization, competence, well-being, career-ending, progression, prestige, job change, and employment contract) described the contents of goals. Goal conflict reflected the degree to which a personal work goal was perceived to interfere with other life domains. Design/methodology/approach – The data were drawn from a study directed to Finnish managers in 2009 (n=806). General linear models were conducted to investigate the associations between goal content categories and occupational well-being and to test whether goal conflict moderates the relationship between goal content categories and occupational well-being. Findings – Career-ending goals related to significantly higher burnout than progression goals. Participants with organization, competence, or progression goals reported the highest goal conflict, whereas participants with well-being, career-ending, or job change goals reported lower goal conflict. Goal conflict was found to have a moderating role: in a high-goal conflict situation, participants with organizational, competence, and progression goals reported lower occupational well-being, whereas participants with job change goals reported higher occupational well-being. Originality/value – The research highlights that both the contents and appraisals (e.g. goal conflict) of personal work goals should be taken into account when investigating the relationship between personal goals and well-being at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study to examine the factorial validity of the recently introduced 9-item Bergen Burnout Inventory (BBI-9) which is designed to measure three core dimensions of burnout including emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and sense of inadequacy. Topics discussed include burnout as a work-related state of ill characterized by exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy, cross-sectional design with data pertaining to managers, and employees, and occupational health.

The aim of this study was, first, to identify long-term patterns of effort-reward imbalance (ERI) and over-commitment (OVC), and, second, to examine how occupational well-being (burnout, work engagement) and recovery experiences (psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery and control) differ in these patterns. The study was based on follow-up data with three measurement points (2006, 2008, 2010) collected from Finnish managers (N=298). Latent Profile Analysis resulted in five long-term ERI-OVC patterns: a high-risk pattern (high ERI, high OVC), found in 20% of the participants; a low-risk pattern (low ERI, low OVC), found in 24% of participants; a relatively low-risk pattern (low ERI, moderate OVC), found in 47% of participants; a favourable change pattern (decreasing ERI and OVC), in 7%; and an unfavourable change pattern (high ERI with increasing linear trend, OVC with curvilinear trend) in 2%. The results showed, in line with the ERI model, that managers in the high-risk pattern showed higher burnout scores and poorer recovery experiences compared to those in the low-risk patterns. However, no differences were found in work engagement between the high and low-risk patterns. Thus, the ERI model seemed better to explain stress-related indicators of occupational well-being than motivational indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present 2-year follow-up study among young managers (N=433) was to investigate the intraindividual developmental patterns of burnout and work engagement as well as their interconnections. More specifically, we examined the interconnectedness of the varying patterns (i.e., latent classes) of exhaustion and vigor (i.e., the energy dimension) and cynicism and dedication (i.e., the identification dimension) across time. The latent class solutions supported by the growth mixture modeling indicated four latent classes for exhaustion and five for vigor. In addition, four latent classes were found for cynicism and six for dedication. Cynicism and dedication represented opposites with a strong negative relationship, whereas exhaustion and vigor were not connected and seemed to be two independent constructs. Overall, the present findings confirmed the results of earlier studies relating to the energy and identification continua and underlined the importance of investigating the subdimensions of burnout and work engagement. Thus, our study showed that high cynicism goes hand in hand with low dedication, but high exhaustion and low vigor do not necessarily appear together. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study examined the direct and moderator roles of recovery experiences (psychological detachment from work, relaxation, mastery, and control) in the relationship between psychosocial work characteristics (i.e. time demands, job control, and justice of the supervisor) and occupational well-being (need for recovery, job exhaustion, and work engagement). The study was conducted among 527 Finnish employees from several occupational sectors who were employed in a variety of different jobs. Of the employees, 53% were women and the average age was 42.4 years. The moderated hierarchical regression analyses showed that psychological detachment and mastery were protective mechanisms against increased need for recovery in a situation of lack of job control. Also, relaxation protected against increased job exhaustion under high time demands. In addition, recovery experiences - psychological detachment and mastery in particular - had direct links to occupational well-being. Altogether, the study findings suggest that recovery experiences play a significant role in maintaining well-being at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present longitudinal study was two-fold: First, to explore what kinds of ethical dilemma groups can be identified among Finnish teachers (n = 310) and second, to examine how these groups differ from each other with respect to occupational well-being and recovery from job strain over the two-year follow-up. Using Latent Profile Analysis, three ethical dilemma prevalence groups were identified: rare (27%), occasional (51%), and frequent dilemmas (22%). Teachers in frequent dilemmas group reported highest burnout, however, their recovery from job strain improved and their burnout (exhaustion) diminished over time. To reduce teachers' ethical dilemmas different approaches are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]