Psychological morale and job satisfaction among homecare workers who care for persons with AIDS

Demoralization among Sons, Daughters, Spouses, and Other Relatives of Nursing Home Residents

This study examines demoralization among a sample of sons, daughters, spouses, and other relatives of nursing home residents. Various aspects of the caregiving situation-caregiver burden and family members' feelings of guilt and worry about the placement-as well as social support, were significantly related to morale for the sample as a whole. However, when each group of family members was analyzed separately, the predictors of demoralization were found to vary. Spouses were the most vulnerable group, experiencing the highest demoralization. Caregiving-related factors had the greatest impact on demoralization among spouses and relatives other than spouses and adult children.

The Role of Conflict Resolution Styles on Nursing Staff Morale, Burnout, and Job Satisfaction in Long-Term Care

This study focuses on the ability of nursing staff to interact with residents in a way that affects positively on the nurses’ well-being and occupational satisfaction. It investigates the role of coping skills related to staff-resident interactions, in particular, the use of conflict resolution styles and their influence on the level of morale, burnout and job satisfaction of nursing professionals. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information from 161 direct care nursing staff. The authors used a multiple regression procedure to examine the influence of predictors on nursing staff outcomes. Multivariate analyses indicated that nurses’ psychological morale, occupational stress, and job satisfaction are influenced by conflict resolution styles, after controlling by individual characteristics, work demands, and work resources factors. The findings highlight the importance of considering personal coping abilities to foster positive staff-resident interactions and to increase nurses’ morale and job satisfaction.

Using the Job Demands-Resources model to investigate risk perception, safety climate and job satisfaction in safety critical organizations

Using the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R) as a theoretical framework, this study investigated the relationship between risk perception as a job demand and psychological safety climate as a job resource with regard to job satisfaction in safety critical organizations. In line with the JD-R model, it was hypothesized that high levels of risk perception is related to low job satisfaction and that a positive perception of safety climate is related to high job satisfaction. In addition, it was hypothesized that safety climate moderates the relationship between risk perception and job satisfaction. Using a sample of Norwegian offshore workers (N = 986), all three hypotheses were supported. In summary, workers who perceived high levels of risk reported lower levels of job satisfaction, whereas this effect diminished when workers perceived their safety climate as positive. Follow-up analyses revealed that this interaction was dependent on the type of risks in question. The results of this study supports the JD-R model, and provides further evidence for relationships between safety-related concepts and work-related outcomes indicating that organizations should not only develop and implement sound safety procedures to reduce the effects of risks and hazards on workers, but can also enhance other areas of organizational life through a focus on safety.

Work-Life Differences and Outcomes for Agency and Consumer-Directed Home-Care Workers

PURPOSE

Research on home-care outcomes has highlighted the promise of consumer-directed models that rely on recipients rather than agencies to arrange and direct services. However, there has been little research on workers employed directly by recipients. This study examined differences in work-life and worker outcomes between workers in consumer-directed versus agency care as well as between family and nonfamily workers.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A random sample of 618 workers in the In-Home Supportive Services program in California was selected and interviewed by telephone between September 1996 and March 1997. Interviews were conducted in English, Spanish, and three Asian languages, with a focus on worker stress and satisfaction.

RESULTS

Findings indicate a mixed portrait of worker experience and outcomes. Most model differences disappear when other variables are controlled, but some worker-stress differences persist between models and types of worker.

IMPLICATIONS

On most dimensions of stress and satisfaction, consumer-directed workers report outcomes equal to or more positive than agency workers. Efforts to improve the work life of home-care workers should acknowledge the strengths of consumer-directed approaches and target all workers across models.

Work-system risk factors for permanent work disability among home-care workers: a case-control study

OBJECTIVE

There is a growing need for home-care services in western societies. As home-care workers show high levels of absence related to poor health it is important that we broaden our knowledge about what factors in the work system contribute to this. The aim of this study was to explore and estimate the impact of the work system on permanent work disability and its relative importance compared with home-life risks among home-care workers.

METHODS

The cases (617 subjects) were all home-care workers in Sweden, whose disability pension was approved in 1997 or 1998. The controls (771 subjects) were home-care workers still working. We used a questionnaire to gain situation-specific information on working life and home life 5 and 15 years before disability pension entitlement.

RESULTS

The most important risk factors in the work system were poor ergonomic/lifting conditions, time pressure and lack of professional caring technique. Fifteen years prior to disability pension entitlement, insufficient management (odds ratio (OR) 95%, CI 2.6[1.6;4.2]) and relational problems at work were also risk factors. Five years before disability pension entitlement, poor organisational support (4.1 [2.5;6.7]), opportunities for co-working and working climate (3.5 [2.4;5.2]) were also strongly related to a persisting work ability. The magnitude of exposure to a number of risk factors had an increased effect (highest 13.8 [5.6-33.8]). The strongest risk factor in home life was little opportunity to rest from work (4.9 [3.0;8.0]). The risk factors in working life were robust to the inclusion of the grouped risk factors of home life.

CONCLUSIONS

The conclusion was that risk factors related to the work system are, alone, strongly related to permanent work disability among home-care workers. Also, exposure to several of the risk factors constitutes a notably strong risk for permanent work disability.