The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital on the Association between Occupational Stress and Job Satisfaction among Township Cadres in a Specific Province of China: A Cross-Sectional Study

The impact of psychological capital on job performance among government employees in China

As China advances the construction of a modern national governance system and governance capacity, improving the job performance of government employees is a crucial component. Positive psychology theory suggests that psychological capital, as a positive psychological resource, is a crucial factor in enhancing individual well-being and job performance. This paper conducts an empirical study on the impact of psychological capital on job performance by surveying 2,357 government employees. We also examine whether psychological capital affects job performance through job engagement and whether job satisfaction plays a moderating role. The results indicate that the psychological capital of government employees has a significant positive effect on their job performance. Psychological capital can enhance job performance by improving job engagement. As job satisfaction increases, the positive impact of psychological capital on job performance also strengthens. In addition, female, highly educated and post-1990s government employees tend to have relatively higher job performance and job satisfaction. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the government implement targeted psychological capital training and development programs to improve the overall work efficiency and service quality of government employees.

The moderating effect of the psychosocial working conditions (effort/reward/overcommitment) on the association between noise annoyance and cognitive performance among adolescents

OBJECTIVES

The primary objective of the current study was to evaluate the correlation between noise-induced annoyance and the cognitive performance within the Lebanese adolescent population and the moderating effect of psychosocial work aspects-namely effort, reward, and overcommitment- in this association.

METHODS

An anonymous online survey was conducted in Lebanon between April and May 2023, using a snowball sampling technique and distributed across various social media platforms, to gather data from Lebanese adolescents. The sample was composed of 1269 adolescents. Participants voluntarily completed a self-administered Arabic questionnaire that consisted of a sociodemographic section and implemented three scales: Noise Annoyance scale, Effort-Reward in school scale, as well as LEAF scale.

RESULTS

The moderation analysis findings revealed that at low levels of effort, higher noise annoyance was significantly associated with worse memory function (Beta = 0.94; p =.002) and mathematics skills (Beta = 0.40; p =.002), whereas at low (Beta = 0.49; p <.001) and moderate (Beta = 0.29; p =.001) levels of effort, it was significantly associated with worse sustained sequential processing. At low and moderate levels of reward, higher noise annoyance was significantly associated with worse attention (Beta = 0.48; p <.001 and Beta = 0.20; p <.031 respectively), sustained sequential processing (Beta = 0.43; p <.001 and Beta = 0.22; p =.013 respectively) and working memory (Beta = 0.47; p <.001 and Beta = 0.28; p =.002 respectively). At low levels of reward, higher annoyance was significantly associated with worse memory function (Beta = 0.82; p =.007), processing speed (Beta = 0.38; p =.001) and mathematic skills (Beta = 0.28; p =.026). Finally, at low and moderate levels of overcommitment, higher noise annoyance was significantly associated with worse factual memory (Beta = 0.49; p <.001 and Beta = 0.25; p =.005 respectively), worse attention (Beta = 0.45; p <.001 and Beta = 0.26; p =.005 respectively) and worse processing speed (Beta = 0.43; p <.001 and Beta = 0.23; p =.012 respectively).

CONCLUSION

This study could encourage the integration of targeted interventions and strategic measures that address both noise annoyance and psychosocial working conditions, defined as the academic work students perform both at school and at home, to proactively prevent the emergence of cognitive impairment among the adolescent population.

Exploring the Motivation to Lead in a Demanding Environment: The Role of Achievement Values, Grit, and Psychological Capital

As leaders across organizational contexts continue to face volatile and often stressful environments, a greater understanding of the psychological underpinnings of the motivation to lead (MTL) in challenging circumstances is needed. Based on a sample of 242 cadets holding leadership positions in a military college, we utilized a distal and proximal conceptualization of MTL to test achievement values, grit, and psychological capital (PsyCap) as antecedents to the three factors of MTL. Controlling for gender, prior leadership positions, and leader tenure, regression modeling revealed grit and achievement values to be positively associated with affective/identity MTL, while PsyCap was positively associated with all three MTL factors. In addition, PsyCap mediated the relation between grit and all three MTL factors. Our findings suggest that PsyCap plays a critical proximal role in MTL in demanding environments, and further implications for research and practice are discussed.

Mental Distress and Professional Commitment among Chinese Medical Postgraduate Students: A Moderated Mediation of Psychological Capital and the Supervisor-Postgraduate Relationship

This study determined the relationship between mental distress and professional commitment among medical postgraduate students, and the roles of psychological capital as a mediator and the supervisor-postgraduate relationship as a moderator. This cross-sectional study recruited 836 medical postgraduate students from eight medical universities and the medical college of comprehensive universities in Guangdong Province, China. Participants were assessed through questionnaires, which covered demographic items, the supervisor-postgraduate relationship scale, the psychological capital questionnaire, the symptom checklist - 90 (SCL -90), and the professional commitment scale. We used descriptive statistics to describe demographics and mental distress and professional commitment scores. Pearson's analysis was used to identify correlations between the variables and the SPSS PROCESS macro was performed to confirm mediating and moderating effects of psychological capital and the supervisor-postgraduate relationship. Mental distress was negatively related with professional commitment (r = -0.262, p < 0.01) and psychological capital (r = -0.442, p < 0.01). Psychological capital was positively associated with professional commitment (r = 0.486, p < 0.01). The confidence interval (CI) suggested that psychological capital mediated the relationship between mental distress and professional commitment (95% CI, -0.198 to - 0.143), and the supervisor-postgraduate relationship had a moderate role between psychological capital and professional commitment (95% CI, 0.069 to -0.212). Hence, educators may refer to these findings to improve professional commitment level among medical postgraduate students.

The relationship between psychosocial job stressors and insomnia: The mediating role of psychological capital

AIM

This study aimed to examine the association of job-related stressors and insomnia; to determine the association of psychological capital and insomnia; and to explore whether psychological capital mediates the association between job-related stressors and insomnia among Chinese nurses.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

METHODS

The STROBE statement was utilized to guide the study. A total of 810 nurses from one tertiary grade hospital in Shan Dong Province, China, were recruited for the present study and a total of 658 valid questionnaires were obtained (effective recovery rate: 81.2%). The study survey consisted of demographic variables, psychological capital, job stress and insomnia. Descriptive analysis, independent-samples T-test, one-way analysis of variance, stratified regression analysis, Pearson correlation analyses, ordinary least-squares regression and the bootstrap method were used to analyse data.

RESULTS

Findings of the study determined that demographic, work-related, behavioural and work setting (i.e. working hours, chronic disease, negative life events, smoking behaviour and night shift) factors were differentially associated with experiences of insomnia. The empirical study showed that psychological capital had statistically significant mediating effects between job stressors and insomnia.

PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

This study explored the factors associated with nurses' psychological job stressors and insomnia. Some of the associated factors could be used for the prevention and mitigation of psychosocial dysfunction among nurses. This study found nurses in surgery, emergency department, ICU, working >40 h a week, with chronic illness, experiencing negative life events, shift work and high effort, high overcommitment and low reward had higher scores of insomnia respectively. The results of this study also showed that reward was correlated with the increase of psychological capital, and the increase of psychological capital was correlated with the decrease of insomnia in nurses. On the contrary, effort and overcommitment decreased psychological capital, and then increased insomnia among nurses. These findings have important implications for future research and policy interventions to improve sleep quality of nurses and enhance nurses' health and patients' safety. This study significantly suggests that improving nurses' psychological capital is a potential way to help nurses improve sleep quality when psychosocial job stressors are difficult external environment to change.

Analysis on the relationship between effort-reward imbalance and job satisfaction among family doctors in China: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Family doctor contract services was launched in Sichuan province in 2016. The focus was mainly on developing primary health care services but paying less attention to the work stress and job satisfaction of in-service family doctors.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to explore the influencing factors of job satisfaction, and the relation between work stress indicators and job satisfaction among family physicians.

METHODS

An analytical online cross-sectional survey was performed among 1,105 family doctors from 23 districts and counties in Chengdu. Self-administered questionnaire was completed. Sociodemographic factors, work stress measured by Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI)scale, and job satisfaction assessed by the short Chinese version of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) were collected in this study. A statistical analysis and hierarchical linear regression analysis were performed to explore the influencing factors and the correlations among related variables.

RESULTS

The overall mean MSQ score was 52.01 ± 13.23. Analysis of doctor satisfaction indicated that age, education, job rank, type of institution, years of working and monthly income were statistically significant (P < 0.05). There were negative correlation coefficients between general job satisfaction and effort/reward ratio (ERR) (r = -0.130, P < 0.001) and overcommitment (r = -0.615, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The level of job satisfaction among family doctors was considerable low. Age, education, job rank, type of institution, years of working and monthly income were influencing factors of job satisfaction. ERI and overcommitment had a negative correlation with general job satisfaction.

A Tale of Two Capitals: How Task-Oriented and Guanxi-Oriented Psychological Capitals Lead to a Sustainable Workforce in Rural China

Psychological capital (PsyCap) is documented to be positive in influencing employees' behavior. However, little attention has been paid to its role in maintaining a sustainable workforce in underprivileged rural areas. Also less known is the complex relations between PsyCap and other consequence variables. Moreover, previous studies in this field did not adequately address the cross-cultural applications of positive resources, though many facets of PsyCap are culture related. To address the gaps, the current study explored the complex relationships linking PsyCap and organizational commitment in a sample of public civil servants (gongwuyuan cadres, n=583) at the township level in the rural areas of northwestern China. Two types of PsyCap, task-oriented PsyCap, which is similar to the PsyCap in the west, and guanxi-oriented PsyCap, which is unique in the Chinese culture, were measured. Task-oriented PsyCap is composed of enterprise-diligence, resiliency-perseverance, optimism-hope, and confidence-courage. Guanxi-oriented PsyCap is composed of toleration-forgiveness, modesty-prudence, thanksgiving-dedication, and respect-courtesy. AMOS 23.0 software was used to establish structural equation models. The results show that both types of PsyCap were positive predictors of organizational commitment. Vocational identity and job satisfaction mediated the relation between task-oriented PsyCap/guanxi-oriented PsyCap and organizational commitment. The chained relationship from the two types of PsyCap to vocational identity, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment was also significant. These results and their implications for workforce stability are discussed.

Effects of effort-reward imbalance, job satisfaction, and work engagement on self-rated health among healthcare workers

BACKGROUND

Healthcare workers, who protect and improve the health of individuals, are critical to the success of health systems and achieving national and global health goals. To respond effectively to the healthcare needs of populations, healthcare workers themselves must be in a good state of health. However, healthcare workers face various psychosocial pressures, including having to work night shifts, long working hours, demands of patient care, medical disputes, workplace violence, and emotional distress due to poor interactions with patients and colleagues, and poor promotion prospects. Constant exposure to these psychosocial hazards adversely impacts healthcare workers' health. Consequently, this study aimed to examine the influence of effort-reward imbalance, job satisfaction, and work engagement on self-rated health of healthcare workers. The results would be conducive to providing policy guidance to improve the health of healthcare workers.

METHODS

We analysed the data of 1327 participants from The Chinese Sixth National Health and Services Survey in Sichuan Province that was conducted from August 2018 to October 2018. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesized relationships among the variables.

RESULTS

Only 40.1% of healthcare workers rated their health as 'relatively good' or 'good'. Effort-reward imbalance had a significant negative correlation with self-rated health (β = - 0.053, 95% CI [- 0.163, - 0.001]). The associations of effort-reward imbalance and work engagement with self-rated health were both mediated by job satisfaction (95% CI [- 0.150, - 0.050] and [0.011, 0.022]), and work engagement mediated the relationship between effort-reward imbalance and self-rated health (95% CI [- 0.064, - 0.008]).

CONCLUSION

In order to improve the health of healthcare workers, administrators should balance effort and reward and provide opportunities for career development and training. In addition, health managers should help healthcare workers realize the significance and value of their work and keep them actively devoted to their work through incentive mechanisms.

Effects of Optimism on Work Satisfaction Among Nurses: A Mediation Model Through Work-Family Conflict

Background: Nurses are suffering from various stressors which adversely impact their work satisfaction and mental health. Research is scarce on optimism, one of the positive psychological resource which may reduce work-family conflict and improve work satisfaction. Objectives: This study aims to assess work satisfaction among Chinese nurses and to observe and illustrate the relationships among optimism, work-family conflict, and work satisfaction. Methods: This study was designed as a cross-sectional study with stratified sampling. From September 2019 to December 2020, a self-administered WeChat questionnaire was collected from 768 nurses online in China to evaluate the nurses' work satisfaction, optimism, and work-family conflict. Spearman correlation and hierarchical multiple regression analysis were applied to examine associated factors of work satisfaction. A structural equation model was employed to test the mediating effect of work-family conflict in the relationship between optimism and work satisfaction. Results: Optimism were observed to have a positive correlation with work satisfaction while the correlation between work-family conflict and work satisfaction was observed to be negative. Optimism and work-family conflict explained 4.8 and 9.2% of the incremental variances of work satisfaction, respectively. Work-family conflict served as a mediator in the relationship between optimism and work satisfaction. Conclusions: Nurses in China experienced high levels of work satisfaction. Optimism could increase the chance of higher work satisfaction while work-family conflict increased the risk of lower work satisfaction. Psychological interventions and improvement of working conditions are essential to relieve work-family conflicts and enhance work satisfaction.

The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital in the Relationship Between Occupational Stress and Fatigue: A Cross-Sectional Study Among 1,104 Chinese Physicians

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the association of occupational stress with fatigue and to examine the mediating role of psychological capital (PsyCap) among Chinese physicians. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Liaoning province, China, in 2018. Using a multistage stratified sampling method, a total of 1,500 physicians participated and 1,104 (73.6%) physicians responded effectively. The study used a self-administered questionnaire consisting of the 14-item Fatigue Scale (FS-14), the Effort-reward Imbalance questionnaire (ERI), the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ) and items about demographic and working characteristics. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed to explore the association of occupational stress, PsyCap, and fatigue among physicians. Asymptotic and resampling strategies were used to examine the mediating effect. Results: The incidence of fatigue among Chinese physicians was 83.70%. The average level of fatigue was 7.96 ± 3.95 (mean ± SD). Occupational stress and PsyCap were significantly associated with fatigue. PsyCap significantly mediated the association of ERR (a × b = 0.106, bias-corrected and accelerated 95% confidence interval [BCa 95% CI]: 0.078, 0.138) and overcommitment (a × b = 0.068, BCa 95% CI: 0.044, 0.092) with fatigue. Two important components of PsyCap, self-efficacy and resilience, play more important roles in the mediating effect. Conclusions: The level of fatigue among Chinese physicians was high, which should be taken seriously by management. PsyCap could mediate the association between occupational stress and fatigue. The intervention strategies and measures to relieve fatigue could be focused on physicians' positive PsyCap improvement.

The Association of Occupational Stress and Depressive Symptoms among Employed Persons with Benign Breast Disease: The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital

BACKGROUND

To evaluate the association between depressive symptoms and occupational stress, and the possibility of psychological capital (PsyCap) in alleviating depressive symptoms and occupational stress, we investigated the mediating role of PsyCap on the association between depressive symptoms and occupational stress among employed persons with benign breast disease (BBD) diagnosed by using ultrasonography.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 371 employed persons with BBD. Self-administered questionnaires, including the items of depressive symptoms, occupational stress, the 24-item Psychological Capital Questionnaire, as well as the age, education, marital status, occupation, monthly income, and weekly working hours, were obtained from all patients. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to measure the depressive symptoms, an effort-reward imbalance model was used to assess occupational stress, while 24-item Psychological Capital Questionnaire measurements were used to measure the PsyCap. Baron and Kenny's technique was used to test the mediating effect of PsyCap.

RESULTS

In total, 62% of employed persons with BBD had scores equal to or above the cutoff point (CES-D ≥16). Overcommitment was not significantly correlated with PsyCap (r = -0.096, p = 0.066). Depressive symptoms were positively correlated with the effort-reward ratio (ERR) (β = 0.327, p < 0.001) in model 2, and it was negatively correlated with PsyCap (β = -0.339, p < 0.001) in model 3. PsyCap associated with ERR mediated the depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Besides the medical intervention, the management of depressive symptoms and decrease in occupational stress should be considered to alleviate the depressive symptoms associated with employed persons with BBD. PsyCap is an active resource for relieving depressive symptoms and reducing occupational stress in persons with BBD.

Top Management Attributes, Psychological Capital, and Green Accounting Effectiveness in Public-Private Partnership Context

Through individual and/or collective psychological states affected by demographic attributes, top managers shape the corporate culture and determine the overall strategic directions of an organization. Thus, top management attributes affect the adoption of critical company-wide practices. This opinion paper discusses the implications of, and urges academic attention to, the role psychological capital plays in the relationship between top manager attributes and the effectiveness of green accounting practices adoption in a public-private partnership (PPP) context. Theoretical and practical implications are elaborated upon.

Can Job Control Ameliorate Work-family Conflict and Enhance Job Satisfaction among Chinese Registered Nurses? A Mediation Model

Background:

Low job satisfaction is the most common cause of nurses' turnover and influences the quality of nursing service. Moreover, we have no idea regarding whether job control, as an individual factor, can play a role in the relationship.

Objective:

To explore the relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction among Chinese registered nurses and the mediating role of job control in this relationship.

Methods:

From August 2015 to November 2016, 487 Chinese registered nurses completed a survey. The study used work-family conflict scale, job control scale, job satisfaction scale, as well as general information. Multiple regression analysis was used to explore the independent factors of job satisfaction. Structural equation model was used to explore the mediating role of job control.

Results:

Work-family conflict was negatively correlated with job satisfaction (r ‑0.432, p<0.01). In addition, job control was positively related to job satisfaction (r 0.567, p<0.01). Work-family conflict and job control had significant predictive effects on job satisfaction. Job control partially mediated the relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction.

Conclusion:

Work-family conflict affected job satisfaction and job control was a mediator in this relationship among Chinese registered nurses. Job control could potentially improve nurses' job satisfaction.