Mediating role of occupational stress and job satisfaction on the relationship between neuroticism and quality of life among Chinese civil servants: a structural equation model

Mapping the terrain: a scoping review of empirical studies on the big five personality traits and QoL in China

The relationship between personality traits and Quality of Life (QoL) has garnered increasing scholarly attention, particularly within the context of China. This scoping review synthesizes existing literature on the connection between the Big Five personality traits (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism) and QoL among the Chinese population. The review explores correlations, measurement instruments, and theoretical frameworks employed in these studies. The study's significance lies in the profound implications for healthcare policies, organizational behavior, and social welfare programs in China, where rapid social and economic changes impact well-being. Investigating personality traits' impact on QoL can inform tailored interventions benefiting diverse Chinese subpopulations. This review addresses three primary research questions: (1) How do the Big Five personality traits correlate with QoL in different Chinese subpopulations, and what are the mediating or moderating factors? (2) What instruments assess these traits and QoL in the Chinese cultural context, and how are they validated? (3) What theoretical or disciplinary frameworks guide this research in China? Following a systematic PRISMA-ScR framework and a customized "C-BFQLC" protocol, the study identified 170 relevant documents. After rigorous screening, ten studies met the inclusion criteria, constituting 5.03% of the initial records. This scoping review critically examines the interplay between the Big Five personality traits and QoL in China, a context marked by rapid socioeconomic changes and cultural diversity. Employing a systematic approach guided by the PRISMA-ScR framework and our unique 'C-BFQLC' protocol, we meticulously analyzed 170 documents, selecting nine that met our rigorous inclusion criteria. Despite the emerging nature of this research area in the Chinese context, our study reveals significant insights into how individual personality traits influence various dimensions of well-being. The implications of these findings are profound, extending beyond academic discourse to inform healthcare policies, organizational behavior, and social welfare programs in China. Our review not only offers a comprehensive synthesis of the current research landscape but also identifies critical gaps in the literature. It emphasizes the urgent need for further culturally nuanced research to understand the complex dynamics of personality traits and QoL in China. This work lays a foundational framework for future investigations and the development of tailored interventions aimed at enhancing the well-being of diverse Chinese populations, including the elderly, people with disabilities, and specific occupational groups.

The Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Depressive Symptoms among Chinese Adults Aged 35-60 Years: The Mediating Role of Subjective Well-Being and Life Satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to assess the serial multiple mediating effects of subjective well-being and life satisfaction between job satisfaction and depressive symptoms among Chinese adults aged 35-60 years. According to the 2018 China Family Panel Study (CFPS), we finally selected 10,609 respondents (5202 females, and 5407 males) aged 35-60 years old as samples for the study. Correlation analysis was carried out to examine the relationship among job satisfaction, subjective well-being, life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms. Linear regression models were established to analyze the relationship between job satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Serial multiple mediation analysis was conducted by the SPSS macro PROCESS program. The results suggested that job satisfaction was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms among Chinese adults aged 35-60 years. Subjective well-being and life satisfaction mediated the relationships between them, respectively. Furthermore, job satisfaction also had indirect impacts on depressive symptoms through the serial mediating effects of subjective well-being and life satisfaction. The findings revealed that increasing job satisfaction could decrease depressive symptoms through promoting subjective well-being and life satisfaction. The study may offer some meaningful implications for improving the mental health and reducing the risk of depressive symptoms among Chinese adults aged 35-60 years.

Effort-reward imbalance and job strain index associated with health-related quality of life for civil servants in a national survey: the mediation effect of job support and over-commitment

OBJECTIVES

Work-related stress (WRS) is significantly associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL), but the amounts of evidence on differences of effort-reward imbalance (ERI) and job strain index (JSI) remain sparse and have limited generalizability. Therefore, we aimed to assess the association between ERI and JSI with HRQoL and assess the mediation effect of social support (JS) and over-commitment (OC) on this association in Taiwan's civil servants.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A cross-sectional national survey was given to registered civil servants in Taiwan - 20 046 civil servants from 647 institutions were enrolled using multistage stratified random cluster sampling. A web-questionnaire collected demographic information, job characteristics, and different indexes of ERI and job-control-demand-support (JCDS) models. Structural equation model (SEM) was used to examine the association between ERI and JSI with HRQoL, and the mediation effect of JS and OC on the associations.

RESULTS

In the ERI model, ERI and OC were consistently negatively associated with the mental component score (MCS) (r = -0.46 and r = -0.37) and physical component score (PCS) (r = -0.45 and r = -0.34), which were higher than job demand (r = -0.28 and r = -0.22) and JSI (r = -0.38 and r = -0.29). Using hierarchical multiple regression analyses, ERI was significantly correlated with MCS and PCS, which was consistently higher than JSI. The ERI and JSI were significantly correlated with MCS (β = -0.170 and β = -0.140) and PCS (β = -0.150 and β = -0.082) using SEM analysis, whereas ERI was considerably higher than in JSI. In addition, OC and JS mediated the association between The ERI and JSI with HRQoL.

CONCLUSIONS

We found the ERI index is significantly correlated with HRQoL superior to JSI, in particular among Taiwan civil servants. Further longitudinal studies are needed to determine the causality and spatiotemporal relation of these differences. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2022;35(4):425-36.

A multilevel analysis of the role personality play between work organization conditions and psychological distress

BACKGROUND

Psychological distress in the workplace is usually attributed to work-related variables as well as non-work-related variables. Individuals working in the same organization can differ in terms of their appraisal of work-related stressors and coping strategies used to face them. The present study aims to evaluate the moderating role personality plays between work organizations conditions and psychological distress in a large sample of Canadian participants working in various occupations and workplaces.

METHODS

Multilevel regression analyses were conducted on a sample that followed a hierarchical structure with workers (N1 = 1958) nested in workplaces (N2 = 63). The direct contribution of workplace and personality was tested in a variance component model as a first step. Following this initial step, we introduced interaction variables by blocks of 11. Those interaction variables refer to each interaction combined with a specific personality variable.

RESULTS

Psychological demands, number of hours worked, job insecurity, neuroticism, and agreeableness were associated with higher levels of psychological distress. Inversely, decision authority, job recognition, self-esteem, locus of control were associated with lower levels of psychological distress. Lastly, agreeableness played a moderating role between low social support garnered from one's supervisor and psychological distress.

CONCLUSIONS

To intervene on work-related variables, organizations could reduce psychological demands, minimize the number of hours worked through job redesign, allow teleworking and encourage work schedule flexibility. To reduce job insecurity, organizations could explicitly communicate future organizational plans. In the same vein, decision authority could be targeted by reducing hierarchical steps and increasing autonomy. Lastly, the results pertaining to agreeableness stand in contrast with those of previous studies. We assumed that workers scoring high on agreeableness tend to put themselves last and please others first. These tendencies could make them more susceptible to health issues. With that said, work environments still need workers who are agreeable and nice to be around. To prevent high levels of agreeableness leading to psychological distress, training and information workshops are recommended. Those include stress management interventions and workshops pertaining to time management and relaxation techniques.

Burnout and associated occupational stresses among Chinese nurses: A cross-sectional study in three hospitals

BACKGROUND

There is literature scarcity relating to burnout and other work stresses in relation to Chinese nursing-workforce performance.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the relationship between self-esteem versus burnout; and effort-reward ratio versus favorability to the work environment, among Chinese nurses.

METHODS

We employed four validated questionnaires in the assessment burnout, self-esteem, effort-reward ratio, and favorability of nursing workplace; Maslach-Burnout Inventory (MBI), Rosenberg's self-esteem (RS), Effort-Reward imbalance (ERI) and Work-Environment Scale questionnaires (WES). Linear and ordinal regression models were utilized to assess the relationships between the variables. Analyses were conducted by using SPSS at a 95% level of significance.

RESULTS

We assessed 487 (Mean age: 38.8±7.1 years) nurses from three hospitals. Higher self-esteem was associated with a lower level of emotional exhaustion (Unstandardized coefficient: -0.579, p-Value<0.001); and a lower level of depersonalization (Unstandardized coefficient: -0.212, p-Value = 0.001). The relationship between self-esteem and personal achievement did not reach statistical significance. A higher effort-reward ratio was associated with less likelihood that nurses would consider their work environment favorable (Logit estimate of -0.832, p-Value = 0.014).

CONCLUSION

Lower self-esteem is associated with increased burnout. A higher effort-reward ratio is associated with an enhanced perception work environment as unfavorable. We recommend psychosocial intervention programs and amendments in nursing policies to improve effort-reward imbalance among Chinese nurses.