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We highlight current and future issues related to mindfulness at work in order to guide research and development in this field, moving forward. Drawing on research, we outlined issues in the lack of clarity of definition and use of mindfulness as a construct resulting in multiple ways of measuring and conceptualising the phenomena. Secondly, we highlight issues in interventions at work including the efficacy of mindfulness training and interventions and suggest caution in adapting interventions from clinical fields to work psychology. Finally, we draw on issues related to the workplace itself as an antecedent to mindfulness at work. As the workplace is a unique environment for mindfulness research, we urge for more research into the antecedents of mindfulness at work, such as leadership and work design that create an environment for employees to be mindful. While mounting evidence is that mindfulness at work has tremendous value for individuals and organisations, we suggest that mindfulness should be researched with clarity and caution. This will ensure, by using evidenced-based judgements, we can continue to advocate for the development of mindfulness at work, and positive outcomes that we believe mindfulness offers.

The art of train driving: Flexing the boundaries to manage risk within an inflexible system

In this submission we:Summarise evidence demonstrating that bullying at work arises from the nature of the work and, especially, how work is coordinated and managed in organisations;Explain how workplace bullying can be risk managed as a work health and safety hazard; andOverview the development and potential applications of a new evidence-based risk audit tool for the risk management of workplace bullying.

Refereed/Peer-reviewed The Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model is a well-recognized theoretical framework assessing the impact of job demands and resources on well-being. Though the model conceptualises job demands and resources in terms of how jobs are both objectively designed and subjectively experienced, most studies have relied only on subjective self-reported data. In a comprehensive test of the model, our study investigates how objective job characteristics at the occupation level are associated with employees’ perceptions of job demands and resources in their role, and examines the indirect effect of objective characteristics on employee outcomes via perceived characteristics. Multilevel analyses of multisource and lagged data from 2,049 employees in97 jobs indicated that perceived job characteristics mediate the effects of objective job characteristics on employee outcomes. Specifically, the objective requirement for positive emotional displays is positively related to exhaustion through perceived emotional demands. Second, objective job hazard exposure is positively related to physical health problems through perceived physical demands. Finally, objective job complexity has a significant positive indirect relationship with work engagement through perceived skill discretion. The results suggest that risk identification and enrichment processes should consider the nature of the job itself instead of merely focusing on employees’ cognitive appraisals.

In view of the discrepancy between anti-bullying strategies used in organisations and knowledge of bullying that is grounded in the international scholarly literature, the aim of this study is to implement and evaluate an intervention program specifically targeting the root causes of workplace bullying by identifying, assessing, and changing the contexts of people management in which bullying arises. The present research describes the development, procedures, and co-design principles underpinning a primary intervention that is focused on improving organisational risk conditions linked to workplace bullying. Our study evaluates the effectiveness of this intervention using deductive and abductive approaches and multi-source data. Specifically, our quantitative analysis examines changes in job demands and resources as a central mechanism underlying how the intervention takes effect and provides support for job demands as a mediator. Our qualitative analysis expands the inquiry by identifying additional mechanisms that form the foundations of effective change and those that drive change execution. The results of the intervention study highlight the opportunity to prevent workplace bullying through organisational-level interventions and reveal success factors, underlying mechanisms, and key principles. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Customer aggression is a growing concern for service organizations, typically viewed as a chronic work stressor. In this study, we examine an alternative, complementary conceptualization of this stressor: customer aggression in discrete encounters, which can fluctuate from day to day and may trigger momentum in resource loss. To explore dynamic trajectory change, we investigate daily change patterns in negative mood states over 5 successive days following the occurrence of a trigger episode of customer aggression. In addition, we examine the protective effects of two resources-job autonomy (an employee's perception of freedom, independence, and discretion a job offers to him/her) and customer service self-efficacy (an employee's belief in their skills and abilities in effectively managing customer service job tasks)-while controlling for baseline negative mood states, the effect of exposure to customer aggression on the trigger day, and the effect of daily exposure to customer aggression following the trigger day. Our analyses support the role of customer service self-efficacy, but not job autonomy, in influencing the initial level of and subsequent changes in negative mood states following customer aggression on the trigger day. These findings suggest that work design may not be sufficient to mitigate the adverse effects of customer aggression; rather, intervention training programs could help by developing customer service self-efficacy and enhancing the quality of daily customer interactions. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) reflects the priority an organization sets for the psychological health and safety of its employees, important to predict future job design and worker health. PSC is assessed by aggregating employee perceptions to determine PSC level (mean scores) and strength (converging perceptions). Theoretically, the ideal climate is when PSC is high and strong, yet we do not know how to build these fundamentals. Since team leaders may transmit and shape PSC as set down by senior management, we explore their role (i.e., PSC and transformational leadership) in increasing and converging PSC perceptions in a team. We used three-wave longitudinal data (6-month lags) from 49 team leaders and 281 Australian health care workers nested in 49 teams. Multilevel analysis showed that team PSC levels increased over time. Using the consensus emergence model, PSC strength was moderated by PSC leadership. Considering PSC starting levels, when low, high PSC leaders were associated with increasing PSC, but if starting levels were high, low PSC leaders were associated with decreasing PSC levels and strength while high PSC leaders were associated with sustaining PSC strength. Transformational leaders had smaller effects than PSC leaders on PSC levels and no effect on strength. Mid-leaders' values and actions for employee psychological health are important to build PSC level and sustain strength. In this, they can reinforce PSC certainty and its safety signal effect which is shown to be important for reducing psychological problems. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

In two studies, we examined primary appraisal as a potential mechanism of workplace mindfulness, grounded in the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping. In Study 1, multilevel structural equation modeling utilizing diary data from 58 employees across 5 working days showed that daily challenge appraisal mediated the positive relationship between mindfulness and high-activation positive affect, and daily threat appraisal mediated the negative relationship between mindfulness and high-activation negative affect. In Study 2, 69 employees participated in a randomized control trial comparing self-directed mindfulness training with a wait-list control. Latent growth curve modeling demonstrated that the intervention produced a greater increase in daily mindfulness relative to the control condition. In turn, the rate of change in daily mindfulness influenced the change rate of appraisal, and daily appraisal influenced affect, as expected. Together, these studies indicate one way in which mindfulness may help employees to thrive at work is by adaptively shaping the stressor appraisal process, and that connecting mindfulness training to primary appraisal may bolster the potential beneficial effects in the work context. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Refereed/Peer-reviewed Although workplace bullying has been long recognised as an organisational level phenomenon, few studies have explored how different organisational factors come together to influence bullying risk. In this study, we integrate theories on organisational psychosocial safety climate (PSC) and social information processing to understand how PSC is related to bullying exposure, mediated through leadership. We conceptualise and find support for how both organisational and supervisory factors align to shape the likelihood of bullying. Both constructive and laissez-faire leadership are incorporated into the model to explore the positive and negative pathways from PSC to bullying in a high-risk sample: 1,231 employees from 47 New Zealand public sector agencies who face high levels of emotional labour demands in their work. Findings from multilevel modelling corroborate the direct negative effect of PSC on bullying and confirm the predicted mediated pathways through both types of leadership to bullying, which is negatively associated with job satisfaction. Our findings shed light on how organisational factors at different levels combine to influence bullying, highlighting the potential (and need) for a multi-faceted approach to the prevention of bullying and mitigation of its negative effects.

Though workplace bullying is conceptualized as an organizational problem, there remains a gap in understanding the contexts in which bullying manifests-knowledge vital for addressing bullying in practice. In three studies, we leverage the rich content contained within workplace bullying complaint records to explore this issue then, based on our discoveries, investigate people management practices linked to bullying. First, through content analysis of 342 official complaints lodged with a state health and safety regulator (over 5,500 pages), we discovered that the risk of bullying primarily arises from ineffective people management in 11 different contexts (e.g., managing underperformance, coordinating working hours, and entitlements). Next, we developed a behaviorally anchored rating scale to measure people management practices within a refined set of nine risk contexts. Effective and ineffective behavioral indicators were identified through content analysis of the complaints data and data from 44 critical incident interviews with subject matter experts; indicators were then sorted and rated by two independent samples to form a risk audit tool. Finally, data from a multilevel multisource study of 145 clinical healthcare staff nested in 25 hospital wards showed that the effectiveness of people management practices predicts concurrent exposure to workplace bullying at individual level beyond established organizational antecedents, and at the team level beyond leading indicator psychosocial safety climate. Overall, our findings highlight where the greatest risk of bullying lies within organizational systems and identifies effective ways of managing people within those contexts to reduce the risk, opening new avenues for bullying intervention research and practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The present study explores the "social oil" function of humility at the workgroup level. Specifically, we examine collective humility, which reflects observable and consistent patterns of behavioral regularities exhibited by teams, as an explanation for linking group humility composition to reduced group experienced incivility. Drawing on the collective personality perspective, we hypothesize that teams with a high mean on members' humility could facilitate collective humility, in turn reducing group experienced incivility. We further propose two contingency factors that influence this proposed mediation pathway: (1) high group humility diversity could neutralize the positive association between group humility mean and collective humility and (2) an elevated differentiation of group incivility exposure will weaken the negative relationship between collective humility and group experienced incivility. Relying on a time-lagged, multisourced survey from 83 professional work teams, we tested this proposed moderated mediation model and found support for our hypotheses. Our findings have implications for team building and team management regarding personnel selection for humility, reducing the diversity of humility within teams, and explicitly valuing expressed humility in workgroups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Balloons used outdoors can fly away, posing ingestion and entanglement hazards to wildlife. "When Balloons Fly" (WBF) conservation-education program seeks to educate zoo visitors about these threats and encourage the use of wildlife-friendly bubbles at outdoor events. We examined the effect of WBF on visitor knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours (intentions and actions) over 6 months (N = 624). We compared outcomes among visitors who viewed a presentation and exhibit, to viewing the exhibit-only, and investigated the priming influence of completing a survey before entering the exhibit (pre-survey). Visitors had greater depth of understanding about the impact of balloons immediately following the visit, but post-visit message recall was low. General Linear Models revealed that over 6 months WBF significantly (p

Zoo conservation-education programs have potential to address biodiversity loss, although evidence of their effectiveness to encourage social change is in its infancy. Moreover, how a program is implemented may influence program efficacy, yet there is little evidence of the factors that shape this process in zoos. Accordingly, through a process evaluation of Zoos Victoria's ‘When Balloons Fly” (WBF) conservation-education program against marine debris, we identified barriers and enablers to the implementation of the program which can be addressed to improve future initiatives. Between April-May 2018, 24 Zoos Victoria professionals completed an online survey focussed on identifying challenges and successes in implementing WBF. Four participants additionally completed a follow-up telephone interview. Themes were identified and organised according to the model of diffusion in service organisations (Greenhalgh, Robert, Macfarlane, Bate, & Kyriakidou, 2004). Our results illuminate that features of the organisation (e.g., structure, culture) rather than features of individuals (e.g., skills, motivation) or characteristics of the conservation-education program itself (e.g., messaging), were most influential to implementation success. Based on these findings, attention to the organisational context is critical for promoting and evaluating the success of conservation-education programs and must be given significant attention alongside program characteristics and staff capability to deliver them Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Despite the long-standing relationship between job characteristics and workplace bullying, little focus has been devoted in literature to the role of leaders in shaping this relationship. Hence, a more comprehensive picture about how the work environment influences bullying at work by integrating leadership and job characteristics together into one set of processes is needed. Viewing toxic leadership as a negative phenomenon and as a top-down influence on employees, in recent multilevel study, toxic leadership enhances organizational intimidation through manipulating workers’ feelings of job insecurity, which contributes to higher turnover intentions. Two hundred and sixty-five employees (Male: 50.9%; Mean age: 29.6 years) from 48 organizations in Malaysia participated in the study. Results using hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) found a significant relationship in the positive direction between bullying at work and turnover intention. Toxic leadership showed a significant and positive relationship with bullying at work and job insecurity. In addition, job insecurity was found to mediate the relationship between toxic leadership and bullying at work, while workplace bullying was found to mediate the relationship between job insecurity and turnover intention. Current study extends current literature by showing how toxic leadership likely shapes employees’ perceptions of their job design within employees in an Eastern context. This study highlights the importance of adopting a multilevel method to establish the link between toxic leadership, job insecurity and workplace bullying. Future research should utilize longitudinal methods to test for reversed or reciprocal effects (job insecurity → toxic leadership; workplace bullying → job insecurity) and further untangle the relationships.

Workplace bullying is a serious psychosocial risk which, when poorly managed, results in detrimental outcomes for individuals, organizations, and society. Some of the most common strategies for addressing bullying within the workplace centre on attempts to document and contextualise the bullying situation—that is, the internal complaint and investigation process. Scholarly inquiries of these investigative mechanisms, however, are limited, and most have neglected the influence of organisational justice as an underpinning mechanism in explaining complainant dissatisfaction. Using evidence from 280 real-life cases of workplace bullying lodged with a peak work, health, and safety agency, we identify how organizational justice manifests in externally referred cases of workplace bullying. Specifically, we match complainant evaluations of the internal complaint and investigation handling process to domains of organisational justice, thereby ascertaining potential threats to efforts to effectively manage and prevent bullying in the workplace. Four types of justice—distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational—were identified within the cases. Specifically, in cases of workplace bullying where distributive justice is not upheld (usually by virtue of unsubstantiated claims), the way in which information is gathered and decisions are made (procedural), the way in which the parties are treated (interpersonal), and the timeliness and validity of explanations provided (informational) are all cited by complainants as key factors in their decision to escalate the complaint to an external investigative body. These results signal the need for timely, clear, and compassionate investigative processes that validate complainants’ experiences and serve as a tool for rebuilding trust and repairing damaged relationships in the workplace.

This study investigated the daily relationships between mindfulness and job satisfaction via affect, and mindfulness and task performance via problem solving confidence. Participants were 57 full-time and part-time employees who completed a baseline survey and five daily diary entries. Data were analyzed using multilevel modelling approach. On days when they experienced greater mindfulness, employees also experienced (a) greater daily job satisfaction via high-activation positive affect (but not low-activation positive affect, nor negative affect); and (b) greater daily self-reported task performance, via problem solving confidence. Our findings suggest that daily high-activation positive affect and problem solving confidence may be important mechanisms of mindfulness at work. Growing evidence links mindfulness to work-related outcomes, however limited research has investigated the mechanisms involved. The present study is one of the first to collect empirical observations regarding how state mindfulness operates at work on a daily basis, providing support for both affective and cognitive pathways. Advances in this area can underpin a robust theoretical framework to guide the implementation of daily mindfulness practice and interventions targeting specific work-related outcomes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Despite a surge in workplace mindfulness research, virtually nothing is known about how organizations can cultivate everyday mindfulness at work. Using the extended job demands-resources model, we explored daily psychological demands and job control as potential antecedents of daily mindfulness, and the moderating effect of psychosocial safety climate (PSC, which relates to the value organizations place on psychological health at work). We also examined the relationship between mindfulness and learning to augment understanding of the benefits of everyday mindfulness at work. A sample of 57 employees, primarily working in education, health care, and finance, completed a diary for five days within a 2-week period, covering mindfulness, psychological demands, job control, and learning. PSC was measured in a baseline survey, with individual ratings combined with those of up to four colleagues to tap objective (shared) climate. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that daily psychological demands were negatively related to daily mindfulness, and daily job control was positively related to daily mindfulness especially as PSC increased. Additionally, daily mindfulness was positively associated with daily workplace learning. This study is one of the first to identify work-related antecedents to everyday mindfulness. The findings suggest that (a) to support everyday mindfulness at work, jobs must be designed with manageable demands and a variety of tasks that allow for creativity and skill discretion, and (b) the benefits of mindfulness interventions for employee psychological health and well-being may not be sustainable unless employees have influence over when and how they do their work, in the "right" climate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Bullying at work has profound effects on both the individual and organization. We aimed to determine if organizational psychosocial safety climate (PSC; a climate specific to worker psychological health) could reduce workplace bullying and associated psychological health problems (i.e., distress, emotional exhaustion, depression) if specific procedures were implemented (PSC enactment). We theorized that the PSC enactment mechanism works via psychosocial processes such as bullying mistreatment climate (anti-bullying procedures), work design (procedures reduce stress through work redesign), and conflict resolution (procedures to resolve conflict). We used two-wave national longitudinal interview data from 1,062 Australian employees (Australian Workplace Barometer project) and structural equation modelling to explore relationships over 4 years. PSC Time 1 predicted enacted PSC and reduced bullying 4 years later. PSC Time 1 was indirectly negatively related to poor psychological health Time 2 through enacted PSC and bullying. Bullying Time 1 also gave rise to procedures which in turn reduced bullying Time 2. Our findings suggest a multi-component approach to prevent or reduce bullying. Procedures (to reduce psychosocial hazards) that emerge in a high PSC context are more comprehensive than those triggered by bullying (reactive procedures), and can therefore be more effective in reducing worker mistreatment. Building PSC and a strong climate for psychological health, and enacting PSC is fundamental to bullying prevention. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating role of transformational leadership on the relationship between job characteristics of both leaders and followers and workplace bullying within the workgroup. The central hypotheses were that, in a process of resource erosion, leaders’ task demands would be positively associated with workplace bullying in the workgroup, but that transformational leadership would moderate this effect, and the effect of followers’ autonomy on bullying. Design/methodology/approach Anonymous surveys were completed by 540 volunteer fire-fighters’ from 68 fire brigades and, separately, by 68 brigade captains. Findings The multi-level analyses show that leaders’ task demands positively predicted both bullying outcomes, after controlling for followers’ emotional demands and autonomy. Of most interest, transformational leadership moderated the influence of leaders’ task demands and followers’ autonomy on workplace bullying assessed by two approaches: self-labeling and behavioral experience. Further, a significant three-way interaction demonstrated that transformational leadership is actually associated with higher bullying as followers’ emotional demands increase under conditions wherein followers’ autonomy is constrained, but not when followers’ autonomy is high. Practical implications This study offers important practical implications in terms of leadership development in bullying prevention and reduction. For transformational leadership to be effective in reducing bullying at work, the situation must be matched to support this leadership style, or bullying could actually increase. Originality/value The study contributes to the research on workplace bullying by advancing the understanding of organizational factors that can influence bullying at work. The study also provides the first quantitative evidence of a relationship between the demands faced by leaders and the bullying experienced by members of the workgroup.

Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC) refers to shared perceptions of organisational policies, practices, and procedures for the protection of worker psychological health and safety. We proposed that work unit PSC affects psychological health (psychological distress, emotional exhaustion) and motivation (cynicism, professional efficacy) because of its influence on the way jobs are designed (demands, resources). We framed the study within the PSC extended Job Demands-Resources theory and proposed domain specific hypotheses generated from Demand Induced Strain Compensation theory. In a multilevel study of Australian police constables (n = 409, n = 36 work units) to capture work unit PSC effects we assessed all relationships as between-group effects. We found that PSC at the work unit level negatively related to job demands (emotional) and resources (emotional, cognitive and physical). In line with an emotion based PSC extended health erosion hypothesis, the relationship between PSC and psychological distress and emotional exhaustion was mediated by emotional demands (rather than other demands). In line with a cognitive based extended motivation hypothesis, we found that PSC was negatively related to cynicism via cognitive resources. Unexpected cross-link cross-domain findings were that cognitive resources (rather than emotional resources) mediated the relationship between PSC and psychological health (distress and emotional exhaustion) and physical resources mediated the PSC to emotional exhaustion and cynicism relationships. We found also that PSC directly related to professional efficacy rather than through cognitive resources. There is some support for DISC matching theory across work groups. Fundamentally results are accountable by PSC theory and support the notion of PSC as a preeminent source of work stress and motivational outcomes and a key target for stress prevention and improved productivity.

Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Workplace bullying is a significant cause of stress at work. Existing studies, primarily based on Western-oriented frameworks and instruments, have largely overlooked the role of culture. This oversight questions whether understandings generated from those studies can be generalised to employees working in Eastern countries, which differ on important cultural dimensions. To date, there is no Eastern-based instrument for measuring workplace bullying. In two studies, we developed and validated such a measure: the Malaysian Workplace Bullying Index (MWBI). Study 1 entailed a content validation of bullying behaviours via written records (diaries) completed by Malaysian bullying victims. The 19 validated behaviours formed the basis of Study 2, with additions from the wider literature. Study 2 used survey data collected at three time-points from Malaysian employees exposed to bullying at work. The final result was an 18-item scale with two nine-item factors: work-related bullying and person-related bullying. Overall, the MWBI is a psychometrically sound measure of workplace bullying in Eastern workplaces. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Given the growing interest in mindfulness in the workplace and the established importance of work engagement for work-related health and well-being, we explore the relationships between these 2 positive psychological states as they vary naturalistically over the workday. Utilising data from 3 measurement occasions per day (before work, mid-workday, and end-workday), we track natural variations in state mindfulness and state work engagement to create a fine-grained picture about their reciprocal relationships within the workday. A sample of 94 university employees completed multiple diary entries per day, for 10 working days. Data were analysed using multilevel structural equation modelling in MPlus, testing within-person pathways between mindfulness and work engagement across the day. Although state work engagement was a predictor of subsequent state mindfulness, state mindfulness did not predict subsequent state work engagement when controlling for earlier within-day work engagement. Overall, the within-day associations between mindfulness and work engagement were weak. We note the high within-day stabilities of state mindfulness and state work engagement, and discuss whether job and personal resources as well as task features might be moderators in the relationships between these constructs. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Zoos and aquariums are increasingly incorporating conservation education into their mission statements and visitor experiences to address global biodiversity loss. To advance knowledge and practice in the field, research is being conducted to evaluate the effect of zoo conservation-education experiences on visitor psychosocial outcomes (e.g., knowledge, attitude, emotions, motivations, behavior). Following recent discussions among scholars and practitioners concerning logistical and methodological challenges that likely undermine the conclusions of such research, we identified and reviewed the methods and reporting practices in peer-reviewed articles published in English from May 1998 to June 2016 that focused on adult visitor samples (47 articles, 48 studies). We examined elements of internal, external, construct, and statistical conclusion validity. Methodological quality of quantitative methods and reporting practices was determined using the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool. Each study was coded as either strong (no weak ratings), moderate (1 weak rating), or weak (≥2 weak ratings). The quantitative methods of 83.3% of studies were weak. The remaining 16.7% had methods of moderate quality. Using an existing checklist, we also assessed the quality and rigor of qualitative methods and reporting practices and found that some aspects of these methods were reported more comprehensively than others. For example, 69.6% of articles discussed methods for identifying key themes from the data, whereas only 34.8% reported how data verification was performed. We suggest increased application of intensive longitudinal methods (e.g., daily diary) to strengthen self-reported data, experimental and repeated-measures designs, and mixed-methods approaches. Our findings and recommendations could strengthen and guide the research and evaluation agenda for the field and ultimately enhance the contribution zoos make to global biodiversity conservation. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This chapter outlines the conceptual basis for differentiating the stress process into the three components of challenge, hindrance, and threat. It identifies the distinguishing characteristics of these three components and also identifies typical job demands associated with each, and presents research that identifies different consequences of challenges, hindrances, and threats. The Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model predicts that in terms of employee wellbeing, job demands are harmful and job resources are helpful. Although distinctive risk and resilience factors are recognized with the JD-R model, the original model did not distinguish among qualitatively different types of job demands. Research on the distinction between hindrances and threats is at a very early stage, but is already showing intriguing insights in terms of wellbeing, motivation, and behavior. Job crafting is increasingly recognized as a powerful technique that employees can and do use to change the way their work is performed.

Workplace harassment is a well-researched topic, especially in regard to the antecedents and consequences of the phenomenon. A number of criticisms of this body of research have been raised that influence our understanding of harassment, its causes, and effects. Accordingly, this methodological review was conducted to identify current methodological gaps and propose new strategies for advancing knowledge on harassment at work. A total of 234 samples, from 224 peer-reviewed articles published over a 26-year period (1987-2012 inclusive), which focused on the antecedents, consequences, or process of diverse forms of workplace harassment (e.g., bullying, abusive supervision, mobbing, and victimization), were systematically analysed for methodological content. Our analysis focused on identifying threats to construct, internal, external, and statistical conclusion validity, covering issues such as sample characteristics, research design, measurement, methods of data collection, and techniques to analyse data. Findings on the nature and extent of existing methodological limitations underpin suggestions to advance theory development in this area by improving study validity. These include adopting longitudinal and experimental designs, utilizing within-person approaches, incorporating the perspectives of witnesses and perpetrators of harassment, developing combined group/organizational and individual levels of analysis, and focusing on the dynamic processes of workplace harassment. Practitioner points Limitations in existing research have constrained what we know about workplace harassment, and how to prevent harassment and its negative consequences., This paper provides a comprehensive resource for evaluating the quality of the ever-growing body of research on workplace harassment, which covers issues such as bullying, abusive supervision, aggression, incivility, and other forms of victimization at work.

Most research examining work environment influences on workplace harassment has focused on organizational (e.g., social climate, culture) and generic job design factors, but this study focused on jobs in situ at the micro level. Specifically, the link between exposure to harassment and role-specific job demands and resources was explored, arguably the most proximal predictors of work-related behavior. Self-report survey data gathered from a cross-section of sworn police officers employed by an Australian police organization indicated that underresourcing for particular role-related tasks increased the likelihood that police Constables (N = 368) and Sergeants (N = 348) were exposed to harassment at work, irrespective of how demanding the task was perceived to be. An exception was in role domains that involve police–offender interactions, where the likelihood of experiencing harassment was associated with perceptions of higher demands rather than with inadequate resourcing. Our findings suggest that harassment may have its genesis in lack of resources (e.g., budget, time, people, vehicles, computers, office equipment, training, and operational equipment) at the micro level, highlighting the importance of examining demand and resource variables unique to different organizational settings. Practical implications include the need for general increases in concrete resources for frontline police officers as well as the need to further explore and counteract the demands associated with police–offender interactions. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

There is growing research interest regarding the significance of mindfulness in the workplace. Within this body of knowledge, research investigating the effects of mindfulness interventions on employee health and well-being has strong practical implications for organizations. A sound understanding of the current state of the workplace mindfulness intervention literature will help inform the suitability of these interventions within the workplace domain, and how to improve the conduct and communication of intervention-oriented research. Accordingly, in this article, we systematically review 40 published articles of mindfulness interventions in the workplace to identify ways in which these interventions could be improved, and how to overcome methodological concerns that threaten study validity. Studies selected for review were published peer-reviewed, primary empirical research studies written in English, with a focus on a workplace mindfulness intervention. We discuss a range of issues evident within this body of literature, including conceptualizations of mindfulness; the adaptation of protocols to work settings; internal validity in relation to random allocation and control conditions; the use of manipulation checks; attrition, adherence, acceptability, and maintenance of interventions; utilizing objective cognitive measures; examining organizational and well-being outcomes; and establishing boundary conditions. Overall, this review provides a resource to inform scholars to advance this line of inquiry and practitioners who are considering implementing a mindfulness intervention for employees. (PsycINFO Database Record

This paper examines a loss spiral model (i.e., reciprocal relationships) between work-family conflict and depression, moderated by co-worker support. We expected that the moderation effect due to co-worker support would be evident among those working in isolation (i.e., mining workers) due to a greater level of intragroup attraction and saliency attributable to the proximity effects. We used a two wave panel study and data from a random population sample of Australian employees (n = 2793, [n = 112 mining, n = 2681 non-mining]). Using structural equation modelling we tested the reciprocal three way interaction effects. In line with our theory, co-worker support buffered the reciprocal relationship between WFC and depression, showing a protective effect in both pathways. These moderation effects were found in the mining industry only suggesting a proximity component moderates the social support buffer hypothesis (i.e., a three way interaction effect). The present paper integrates previous theoretical perspectives of stress and support, and provides insight into the changing dynamics of workplace relationships. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Trains are the heaviest of land vehicles. In terms of design, railways are the most efficient and optimal way of mobilising these behemoths, but the task necessarily attracts risk. Human drivers are crucial to safe rail operations, but train driving is deceptively difficult. Although tracks guide the manoeuvrability of a train, very lengthy stopping distances mean that drivers must prepare to stop at places they cannot see. This is a safety concern, and inaccuracies and failures in this process create the risk for one of the largest safety issues in rail – the “SPAD”, or Signal Passed at Danger. A SPAD is an occurrence where a train passes a signal displaying a stop indication without the authority to do so (1). SPADs describe a situation where a train has travelled beyond its envelope of safety, and in more technical terms, entered into a critical failure mode. Based on figures available for public consumption, over 1,000 SPADs happen on Australia’s railways every year (2, 3). SPADs carry a huge financial burden associated with loss of services, missed shipping windows, timetabling disruption, follow-on impact to other traffic, incident investigation, retraining, and regulator fines. They are seen as a major threat to system safety and have corresponding effects on the network and for driver welfare. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The aim of this ethnographic study was to explore the experience of stress and remoteness amongst miners. Nineteen mining employees participated in semi-structured interviews; 11 remote miners were interviewed at their place of work in a South Australian mining company operating a fly-in/fly-out (FIFO) roster structure. Comparative perspectives were obtained from an additional eight miners working in Australia and the Philippines also operating within a FIFO roster, and Canada and Sweden where miners lived in neighbouring mining communities. We used a grounded theory approach and the job demands resources framework to identify the job demands, job resources and outcomes unique to mining work. Our analysis revealed that work stress was a common experience amongst mining workers, with the potential to manifest into impaired psychological well-being and sleep. Work pressure and environmental exposure were identified as the most prominent job demands. Remote workers additionally experienced work-family and work-life conflict. In relation to resources, remote miners reported a unique experience of social support. Remote miners frequently work away from the family which strains familial relationships. Facilitated by increased proximity, co-workers assume an intensified supportive role than would typically be provided by friends and family at home. Safety culture was identified as an upstream organisational factor that may precede or mitigate work stress and poor health outcomes. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Why has this research been done? To better understand the prevalence of workplace bullying and harassment in Australian workplaces and to identify workplace risk factors associated with the occurrence of bullying and harassment. What did we find? Bullying was measured using both a widely accepted international definition and the Australian definition used by Safe Work Australia. The prevalence rates using the international and the Australian definitions were similar: 9.7 per cent and 9.4 per cent of Australian workers respectively reported they had been bullied in the last six months.Of the seven types of harassment measured, the most common form of harassment experienced by Australian workers was reported as being sworn at or yelled at (37 per cent), followed by being humiliated in front of others (24 per cent). What do the findings suggest? Self-reported bullying is common in Australian workplaces and is associated with poor psychological health. Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC) and psychosocial factors such as job demands, job control and job resources are also related to the occurrence of bullying and harassment.

Using a multilevel framework, this study examined the role of empowering leadership at the group level by fire brigade captains in facilitating the individual level motivational processes that underpin work engagement in volunteer firefighters. Anonymous mail surveys were completed by 540 volunteer firefighters from 68 fire brigades and, separately, by 68 brigade captains. As predicted on the basis of the Job Demands-Resources model, increased levels of cognitive demands and cognitive resources partially mediated the relationship between empowering leadership and work engagement. In a three-way Leadership X Demands X Resources interaction, empowering leadership also had the effect of optimizing working conditions for engagement by strengthening the positive effect of a work context in which both cognitive demands and cognitive resources were high. Our findings shed light on a process through which leaders can empower workers and enhance well-being: via their influence on and interaction with the work environment. They also underscore the need to examine work engagement from a multilevel theoretical perspective. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) is defined as shared perceptions of organizational policies, practices and procedures for the protection of worker psychological health and safety, that stem largely from management practices. PSC theory extends the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework and proposes that organizational level PSC determines work conditions and subsequently, psychological health problems and work engagement. Our sample was derived from the Australian Workplace Barometer project and comprised 30 organizations, and 220 employees. As expected, hierarchical linear modeling showed that organizational PSC was negatively associated with workplace bullying and harassment (demands) and in turn psychological health problems (health impairment path). PSC was also positively associated with work rewards (resources) and in turn work engagement (motivational path). Accordingly, we found that PSC triggered both the health impairment and motivational pathways, thus justifying extending the JD-R model in a multilevel way. Further we found that PSC, as an organization-based resource, moderated the positive relationship between bullying/harassment and psychological health problems, and the negative relationship between bullying/harassment and engagement. The findings provide evidence for a multilevel model of PSC as a lead indicator of workplace psychosocial hazards (high demands, low resources), psychological health and employee engagement, and as a potential moderator of psychosocial hazard effects. PSC is therefore an efficient target for primary and secondary intervention. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Negative workplace behaviour, such as workplace bullying, is emerging as an important work-related psychosocial hazard with the potential to contribute to employee ill health. We examined the risk of two major health issues (poor mental and cardiovascular health) associated with current and past exposure to negative behaviour in the workplace. Data from 251 police officers, who completed an anonymous mail survey at two time-points spaced 12 months apart, support the potential role of exposure to negative workplace behaviour in the development of physical disease and psychological illness. Specifically, we saw significant effects associated with past exposure to such behaviour on indicators of poor cardiovascular health, and a significant effect of current exposure on the indicator of mental health problems. Our findings reinforce the need to continue to study links between employee health and both negative workplace behaviour and more severe cases of bullying, particularly the mechanisms involved to strengthen theory in this area, and to protect against employee ill health (specifically cardiovascular outcomes and psychological problems) by preventing negative behaviour at work. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We propose and test a comprehensive theory designed to explain seemingly contradictory relations between job demands, emotional exhaustion, and work-family conflict (WFC) reported in the literature. Using job demands-resources theory, effort-recovery theory, and personal resources theory we hypothesized that job demands would spillover to emotional exhaustion as mediated by WFC (causality model), and alternatively that job demands would also spillover to WFC as mediated by emotional exhaustion (reverse causal model). Further, we also hypothesized using loss spiral theory that a more comprehensive model representing reciprocal and cross-linked effects (causal and reverse causal simultaneously) would best fit the data. The hypotheses were tested in a longitudinal study of 257 Australian (Victorian) frontline police officers at two time points approximately 12 months apart. We used structural equation modelling and found in support of the simultaneous reciprocal effects hypothesis, that the more comprehensive model fitted the data better than either the causality or the reverse causal model. Future research should more comprehensively model the important relationships between job demands, emotional exhaustion, and WFC to reflect their complex interplay. Interventions to reduce work demands arising from work pressure and emotional demands are indicated to prevent conflict at home and emotional exhaustion in police officers. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Objective: To develop a self-report measure of work-related psychological injury, the Psychological Injury Risk Indicator (PIRI), with a comparable level of accuracy and reliability to individual clinical assessment by a skilled clinical psychologist. Method: Two pilot studies investigated the responses of a) 34 frontline police officers completing the PIRI measure who were also examined by a highly experienced clinical psychologist and b) 217 officers who completed the PIRI measure and also the General Health Questionnaire 12 measure. Results: The PIRI scale identified both the presence and the level of psychological injury in the clinical group with a remarkably high level of correspondence to concurrent clinical assessment (r 0.80). Significance: The PIRI scale can be used both for the individual assessment of psychological injury and as a potential online screening tool. Its latter use is that it could enable the early identification of evolving psychological injury among workers, facilitating timely and career-preserving intervention. (J Occup Environ Med. 2009;51:1057–1065) P sychological injury associated with work-related stress is an increasingly frequent consequence of the twentyfirst century workplace. Its direct financial costs in compensation, sick leave, and lost productivity and its indirect emotional costs to affected

Utilizing reports from both observers and direct targets, the authors examined the role of psychosocial work environment factors in workplace bullying, focusing on the moderating effects of control and support resources against job demands. Our sample was 716 Australian frontline police officers who completed an anonymous mail survey. In a direct test of Job DemandControl-Support theory, the authors found that increased levels of bullying (as assessed by targets and observers) were associated with potentially high stress situations: as job demands increased and as support and control resources decreased. Also, consistent with previous research, most perpetrators were ranked higher than the target, reflecting the role of power in facilitating bullying. Our research is unique in finding evidence for moderating factors within the psychosocial environment and suggests risk assessment of the work environment as an avenue for bullying prevention. Future research should examine more closely the mechanisms underlying bullying within stressful work environments and the reciprocal effect of witnessing and experiencing bullying on psychosocial working conditions.

This review study clarifies the relationships between job characteristics and work–family conflict (WFC) by differentiating among three facets of job characteristics: latent, perceived, and enacted. To date, research linking job characteristics to WFC has not distinguished the facets of job demands and job resources in this way. Such distinctions are important as a means of understanding the affective, behavioural, and cognitive processes involved in determining how and when job characteristics relate to WFC. Our review of 115 studies showed that perceived job characteristics have been most commonly explored in relation to WFC, whereas latent and enacted job characteristics have been hardly examined. While these findings may not be surprising, our contribution lies in reviewing the literature through the lens of these categories. Based on the findings, and through highlighting examples in the extant literature, we argue that understanding job characteristics in terms of both how they are perceived and enacted by workers will provide a deeper insight into the mechanisms underlying the relationship between job characteristics and WFC. In order to inform evidence-based interventions, future research must uncover the dynamic mechanisms underpinning the connection between job characteristics and WFC through a focus on enacted job facets and the cognitive, affective, and behavioural processes involved. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

It is widely accepted that service industries play an increasingly important role in the economy of both developed and developing economies (Hulsheger & Schewe, 2011). An important component of service work is emotion work, comprising both emotional labour (Hochschild, 1983) and emotion regulation more generally (Gross, 1998b). This chapter seeks to give an overview of the relationship of emotion work to well-being and job performance in service work.

The challenge-hindrance framework has proved useful for explaining inconsistencies in relationships between work stressors and important outcomes. By introducing the distinction between threat and hindrance to this framework, we capture the potential for personal harm or loss (threat) associated with stressors, as distinct from the potential to block goal attainment (hindrance) or promote gain (challenge). In Study 1, survey data were collected from 609 retail workers, 220 of whom responded 6 months later. The results supported a 3-factor threat-hindrance-challenge stressor structure and showed that threat stressors are associated with increased psychological distress and emotional exhaustion, and reduced dedication, whereas hindrance stressors undermine dedication but may not be related to distress or exhaustion with threats included in the model. Study 2 utilized a diary study design, with data collected from 207 workers over 3 workdays. Findings revealed that the threat, hindrance, and challenge appraisals of individual workers are statistically distinct, and associated with stressors and well-being as anticipated: threats with role conflict and anxiety, hindrances with organizational constraints and fatigue, and challenges with skill demands and enthusiasm. Overall, moving to a 3-dimensional challenge-hindrance-threat framework for stressors and stress appraisals will support a more accurate picture regarding the nature, processes, and effects of stressors on individuals and organizations, and ensure prevention efforts are not misguided. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Working effectively requires judgement to balance risks while achieving work goals, one of which is safety. Existing occupational health and safety risk assessment theories compartmentalise hazards as discrete entities and treat the resultant risks objectively. This approach overly simplifies the nature of work, neglecting the interaction and reconciliation of rapidly changing task demands, individual and organisational factors, implying that risks remain fixed. Such an approach suggests a divide between theory and practice. This paper explores how this divide is managed in safety critical contexts where risk assessment must respond to the evolving nature of risk and workers must actively participate in managing it. We highlight the dynamic and adaptive nature of safety decision making as a skilful response to risk in complex environments, where workers apply a flexible boundary to their assessment and management of risk.Nurses from three Australian metropolitan hospitals were interviewed and provided stories about patient interactions in which they encountered a risk to their own safety. These stories were analysed thematically to identify how and what factors influenced nurses’ decisions.Results revealed that nurses applied a flexible boundary of risk assessment and management to balance patient and nurse needs, constantly re-evaluating their decisions to determine ‘safe enough’ strategies. Nurses used risk-based reasoning to determine this flexible boundary which may result in nurses’ health and safety being traded off to achieve patient priorities. These findings highlight that managing risk is dynamic and the risk assessment and decision strategies adopted are flexible in response to evolving demands. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Workplace bullying is a serious occupational safety hazard faced by organisations globally. Baseline prevalence information is important for underpinning effective policy and regulation responses. Accordingly, we present benchmarks for bullying exposure using a nationally representative cross-section of the Australian working population (N=4214). This paper answers the direct call for prevalence data within each state and territory from the 2012 Parliamentary Inquiry into Workplace Bullying for Australia, to keep abreast of emerging trends in workplace psychosocial health and safety that affect bullying. The research shows that nearly 7% of Australian workers report bullying and harassment in the past six months. Main findings include an over representation of bullied workers and a higher rate of stress-based compensation claims from victims of bullying in the public sector. Industry prevalence rates also indicate that workers most at risk are employed in Health and community services, Education, and Personal services. Further, the relationship between bullying risk and claims is moderately strong, with about 18% of the variance in industry claim rates due to bullying. The substantial costs associated with workplace bullying and harassment highlights the need for more appropriate evidence-driven intervention and prevention strategies. Best practice prevention and intervention methods to address workplace bullying are discussed in relation to the development of policies and codes of practice. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This chapter investigates one such approach, Daniels' (2006) multilevel model of job characteristics. In brief, Daniels (2006) proposed that job characteristics exist at three levels: latent, perceived, and enacted. While all three levels are posited to influence worker wellbeing, it is the enacted level that is most proximal to it. Latent and perceived job characteristics are generally well understood and perceived job demands and resources in particular have attracted a wealth of research. In this paper we direct our major emphasis towards the third category - enacted job characteristics. Specifically, we develop and refine the concept of enactment and integrate it with an influential contemporary job characteristics model of work stress, the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R), We build a comprehensive picture of the processes by which workers act out daily experiences on the job in interaction with job characteristics and the work environment and, in so doing, provide a more detailed understanding of the psychological processes underpinning the pathways proposed by the JD-R model to link job characteristics to worker exhaustion and engagement. This enhanced picture also leads to new predictions and directions for future research regarding these links.

In response to global financial pressures, retail companies have introduced measures to reduce costs by cutting staff allocations to individual outlets. On the basis of interview data from four employees of a large retail organization, this paper employs an ideographic case-study approach to illustrate how the processes linking job characteristics to job-related strain and well-being (e.g. appraisal, action regulation, coping, resource utilization) unfold within four individual workers, as they attempt to manage perceived increases in demands resulting from staff cuts. We highlight the importance that these employees place on their own psychological resources (e.g. self-efficacy) and coping mechanisms (e.g. disengagement) in dealing with these changes, as well as how the perceived availability or absence of job resources (e.g. social support, decision authority, organizational justice) influences their ability to cope with increased demands. We use the insights gained from the case studies to illustrate the value of integrating multiple theoretical perspectives towards achieving a nuanced understanding of the intricacies involved in these experiences and to suggest ways in which the coping capacities of individual employees might be increased. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This final chapter highlights the primary learnings identified by the 20 chapters in this book and discusses the importance of these issues for researchers and employers both within the Asia Pacific and more globally. The chapter emphasizes the high quality research conducted to date by Asia Pacific scholars and identifies the essential considerations that future research should adopt to ensure it remains both competitive and respected globally. Finally, this chapter discusses the complex but extremely rich research opportunities available for researchers within this region. We encourage scholars near and afar to join us on what will undoubtedly be an exciting growth period for psychosocial work-related research within the Asia Pacific.

The Asia Pacific is diverse culturally, economically, and socially. Despite being the world’s most populous region where many workers experience poor working conditions and insecure employment, little attention has been given to psychosocial factors at work in the region. This chapter argues that in understanding work conditions and worker health it is important to consider influences at the international, national, state, and local levels. Moreover, within nations, power actors such as unions, governments, and corporations, legal requirements, welfare regimes, national culture, corruption, and occupational health and safety policies and guidance, are fundamental influences on work conditions and worker health in the Asia Pacific. The chapter outlines initiatives in the region to foster knowledge development processes, such as the development of the Asia Pacific Academy for Psychosocial Factors at Work. The aim of such initiatives is to address the gap in the global and local stock of knowledge, so that good policies and practices can be developed for the region. A synopsis of each chapter is given to assist navigation through the book.

Contemporary research increasingly highlights the interaction between psychosocial and physical hazards as synergistically contributing to work-related physical harm, particularly musculoskeletal disorders. In Australia, there is increasing recognition of the contribution of psychosocial factors to physical health outcomes in the occupational context, though psychosocial factors are often not explicitly considered in risk assessment processes related to physical safety. In other parts of the Asia Pacific (for example, Malaysia) legislation is emerging that addresses psychosocial risks at work, although legislative approaches are less well developed in regard to physical hazards, such as manual handling. This chapter discusses the role of psychosocial factors in contributing to physical safety outcomes. First, the contribution of psychosocial factors to the development of musculoskeletal disorders is discussed from the contemporary literature. Second, the absence of psychosocial factors in assessment processes is identified during the study of occupational health and safety communication and decision making. This phenomenon is illustrated in the case study of nurses making decisions about performing patient handling, where it was found that nurses aimed to balance patient care with protecting their own health and safety. In doing so, nurses achieved two outcomes important to their wellbeing. First, they made decisions which bolstered their sense of competency, self-efficacy and professional identity. Second, they made decisions which mostly aimed to protect their own safety while providing care. The second case study describes research in progress on migrant aged-care workers and the role of communication in undertaking manual handling of residents. Both case studies highlight the need to more fully incorporate psychosocial factors into occupational health and safety practice by considering the psychosocial environment in health and safety risk management. Building on this, health and safety practice must be more fully integrated into the way in which work is designed and organized, creating alignment between business and health and safety goals. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Workplace bullying is a serious psychosocial occupational hazard. Despite a wealth of empirical study, research has rarely examined the mechanisms through which bullying has its negative effects. Accordingly, using both between- and within-person approaches, we investigated the erosion of job (Study 1) and personal (Study 2) resources following workplace bullying, mediated by the depletion of emotional energy. In Study 1, self-report survey data were collected from 221 retail workers at 2 time-points spaced 6 months apart. Structural equation modeling revealed that over time bullying depletes coworker support, partially mediated by emotional exhaustion. In Study 2, a 6-week diary was completed by a separate sample of 45 workers employed in various occupations. Within-person weekly variability in bullying exposure was 34%. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that weekly emotional exhaustion partially mediated the negative effects of weekly workplace bullying on both optimism and self-efficacy. The consistent pattern across both studies supports the idea of a resource loss process whereby exposure to bullying at work erodes job and personal resources by depleting energy. Future research should clarify the role of exhaustion in utilizing resources to respond to bullying, focus on predictors of within-person variability in bullying exposure, and more explicitly model the resource loss spiral following workplace bullying. Refereed/Peer-reviewed