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This study systematically develops an online training program improving line managers’ career-oriented people management behavior, including a pilot test. This program was developed based on the six steps of the Intervention Mapping protocol. Interviews were held with line managers and physicians to understand their needs and challenges with regard to people management. The program aimed to create (self-)awareness, enhance knowledge, support the exchange of experiences, and stimulate reflection on career-oriented people management behavior and leadership style and skills. Eight senior line managers of medical professionals employed in a large Dutch academic public hospital followed the training as part of the pilot test. The program was evaluated through observations, follow-up interviews, and a survey. This study makes a methodological and theoretical contribution to the human resource management literature. It shows how career-oriented people management behavior of line managers can be enhanced, which is important as earlier studies have demonstrated the benefits of this behavior. Systematically developing this program is relevant as studies have shown that the effectiveness of leadership programs is limited because of research design issues. Moreover, this study contributes to leadership development programs as this training could be offered as part of leadership programs.

Increasing burn‐out rates among gastroenterologists make it necessary to find ways to prevent burn‐out and to stimulate their ability and willingness to continue working (i.e., their employability). Understanding their antecedents might help organizations to prevent burn‐out and to enhance employability among this occupational group. The purpose of this study is to provide insight in the relationship between job characteristics and job crafting behavior on the one hand and job outcomes (burn‐out symptoms and employability) on the other hand. Data from two surveys in 2020 and 2021 were collected in a longitudinal study among 238 Dutch gastroenterologists. The data were analyzed with multiple linear regression analyses and paired‐samples t‐tests. Job characteristics, specifically job aspects that require sustained physical and/or psychological effort or skills (i.e., job demands), are important predictors of burn‐out symptoms among gastroenterologists. Specifically, high quantitative and emotional workload are significantly related to more burn‐out symptoms. No strong relationship was found between job crafting and burn‐out symptoms. Furthermore, job aspects that reduce the negative impact of these demanding aspects and that help to achieve work goals (i.e., job resources), and job demands to some extent, significantly predict employability. In particular, high job autonomy is related to higher employability, and high quantitative workload is associated with lower employability. Job crafting does not significantly affect employability. Furthermore, levels of burn‐out symptoms and employability differed only little across time. In gastroenterologists, a high quantitative workload and emotional workload are associated with a higher burn‐out risk, while low job autonomy and high quantitative workload are associated with more negative perceptions of employability. To prevent burn‐out and to create positive perceptions of employability, it is important to take these aspects into account.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a mandatory transition to New Ways of Working (NWW) on employees’ job demands (i.e., mental demands, workload, and task ambiguity), job resources (i.e., autonomy, supervisor support, coworker support, and possibilities for development), and their levels of burnout and work engagement. Additionally, it was investigated whether the effects of the transition depended on employees’ personal resources (Psychological Capital—PsyCap).Design/methodology/approach We investigated an organization in transition. In three waves (one before and two after the transition), data were collected via online surveys among 126 employees of a large Dutch provider of financial services.Findings NWW were beneficial in reducing mental demands and workload and did not harm the relationships with supervisor and coworkers. However, autonomy and possibilities for professional development decreased. Burnout and work engagement remained stable over time. The effects of the transition did not depend on employees’ PsyCap.Implications NWW have received a very positive popular press. Scientific evidence for its beneficial and/or adverse effects on worker well-being can help organizations making an informed decision when considering NWW. Moreover, this can help to develop targeted interventions that alleviate the negative consequences (e.g., paying extra attention to professional development).Originality/value This is one of the first longitudinal studies in which employees were followed who transitioned to NWW. Building on the Job Demands-Resources model, this study provides a comprehensive picture of the effects of NWW.

•Engagement cannot conclusively be distinguished from burnout using factor-analysis.•Engagement and burnout show similar patterns of associations with a number of job characteristics.•Burnout and engagement are overlapping concepts.

Impact of Employment Contract Changes on Workers' Quality of Working Life, Job Insecurity, Health and Work‐related Attitudes: Alfred F. WAGE‐NAAR, et al. Behavioural Science Institute, Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands— Changes in employment contracts may impact the quality of working life, job insecurity, health and work‐related attitudes. We examined the validity of two partly competing theoretical approaches. Based upon a segmentation approach, we expected no change in scores among stable trajectories, whereas upward trajectories were expected to be for the better and downward trajectories to be for the worse (Hypothesis 1). As turnover theories suggest that this hypothesis may only apply to workers who do not change employer, we also examined these contract trajectories stratified for a change of employer (Hypothesis 2). Methods and Results:Drawing on the 2007 and 2008 waves of the Netherlands Working Conditions Cohort Study (N=9,688), repeated measures analysis of covariance showed little across‐time change in the criterion variables, thus largely disconfirming our first hypothesis. These results could (at least partly) be explained by employer change; this was generally associated with improved scores among all contract trajectories (Hypothesis 2). However, workers receiving a less stable contract from the same employer were found to be at risk for health and well‐being problems. Segmentation theory‐based assumptions on contract trajectories primarily apply to stable and downward contract trajectories at the same employer, whereas assumptions from turnover theories better apply to contract trajectories combined with a change of employer. Future research should focus more closely on factors predicting “involuntary” downward trajectories into precarious temporary employment or unemployment.

Drawing on a convenience sample of 9,160 Dutch employees, the present study examined whether commonly held ideas about the associations between demographic, professional, and occupational characteristics and workaholism would be observed. For example, it is sometimes assumed that managers are more likely to display workaholic tendencies than others. Analysis of variance was used to relate workaholism scores (measured as the combination of working excessively and working compulsively) to participant age, sex, employment status (self-employed or not), profession, and occupational sector. Relatively high average scores on workaholism were obtained by workers in the agriculture, construction, communication, consultancy, and commerce/trade sectors, as well as managers and higher professionals. Low scores were found for those in the public administration and services industry sectors, and for nurses, social workers, and paramedics. The other characteristics were not or only weakly related to workaholism.

Having personal initiative means that workers are self-starting, pro-active, and persistent in pursuing their goals. This study examined whether personal initiative contributed to the prediction of two aspects of well-being (emotional exhaustion and learning motivation). Personal initiative was expected to have direct effects on well-being as well as moderate the effects of relevant work characteristics such as job demands and control. As expected, stepwise hierarchical regression using data from 834 Dutch telecommunications workers yielded positive main effects of personal initiative on both aspects of well-being. Moreover, personal initiative moderated the relationship between control and learning motivation: the positive effect of control on learning motivation was stronger for workers with high initiative. These findings support the hypothesis that personal initiative is a predictor of well-being.

How Fatigued Do You Currently Feel? Convergent and Discriminant Validity of a Single‐Item Fatigue Measure: Madelon L.M. vanHooff, et al. Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands—The main aim of this study was to establish the convergent and discriminant validity of a single‐item measure of daily fatigue (“How fatigued do you currently feel?”) in a daily diary context. Convergent validity of our measure was examined by relating it to a validated multiple‐item measure of fatigue (Profile of Mood States; McNair, Lorr, & Droppelman, 1971) and to other daily (work‐home interference, sleep complaints, work‐related effort) and global (fatigue, health complaints, work‐home interference, job pressure) measures that are conceptually related to fatigue. Discriminant validity was assessed by relating the single‐item fatigue measure to daily (work pleasure) and global (job control, social support, motivation to learn) measures that are conceptually distinct from fatigue. Data were collected among 120 academic staff members, who completed a general questionnaire (tapping the global measures under study) and who took part in a 9‐d daily diary study (3 measurements daily). Correlation patterns and multilevel analyses revealed strong and significant associations between the single‐item fatigue measure and the variables incorporated to assess convergent validity (especially with the POMS: r=0.80), thus supporting the convergent validity of our measure. Relations with variables included to examine discriminant validity were weak or insignificant, supporting the discriminant validity of the single‐item fatigue measure. Despite this study's limitations (i.e., exclusive use of self‐reporting, specific sample) we conclude that this single‐item fatigue measure offers a valid way to assess daily fatigue.

How Fatigued Do You Currently Feel? Convergent and Discriminant Validity of a Single-Item Fatigue Measure: Madelon L.M. van Hooff, et al. Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands—The main aim of this study was to establish the convergent and discriminant validity of a single-item measure of daily fatigue (“How fatigued do you currently feel?”) in a daily diary context. Convergent validity of our measure was examined by relating it to a validated multiple-item measure of fatigue (Profile of Mood States; McNair, Lorr, & Droppelman, 1971) and to other daily (work-home interference, sleep complaints, work-related effort) and global (fatigue, health complaints, work-home interference, job pressure) measures that are conceptually related to fatigue. Discriminant validity was assessed by relating the single-item fatigue measure to daily (work pleasure) and global (job control, social support, motivation to learn) measures that are conceptually distinct from fatigue. Data were collected among 120 academic staff members, who completed a general questionnaire (tapping the global measures under study) and who took part in a 9-d daily diary study (3 measurements daily). Correlation patterns and multilevel analyses revealed strong and significant associations between the single-item fatigue measure and the variables incorporated to assess convergent validity (especially with the POMS: r=0.80), thus supporting the convergent validity of our measure. Relations with variables included to examine discriminant validity were weak or insignificant, supporting the discriminant validity of the single-item fatigue measure. Despite this study’s limitations (i.e., exclusive use of self-reporting, specific sample) we conclude that this single-item fatigue measure offers a valid way to assess daily fatigue.

Researchers have reported that, for individual workers, low job control is associated with high burnout; however, as yet it is unclear whether this association holds for occupations as well. Whether differences in job control between occupations as assessed by eight expert judges could account for individual-level and occupational-level differences in burnout rates. Data were obtained from 9,503 incumbents of 28 occupations in The Netherlands (Mage = 37.9 yr., SD= 8.7; 50% were men). Burnout was measured on the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Occupational-level job control was inversely correlated with burnout, explaining 16% of the variation in occupational-level burnout. Thus, between-occupation differences in job control are somewhat systematically related to burnout.

The article examines and seeks to clarify some of the conceptual, epistemological, methodological and developmental outcome issues raised by Hesketh (1995), Blustein (1995) and Eldredge (1995). We point out conceptual differences in views of the corresponding construct, clarify our epistemological vantage point, clarify the issue of the timing of measurement in longitudinal data collection, and argue for the contemporary significance of the developmental outcomes studied by Feij et al. (1995). We conclude on a hopeful note that the results of this 'debate' will help advance science.Copyright 1995, 1999 Academic Press

This study tests a longitudinal model of the model of the processes of development of career-enhancing strategies and job content innovation during the first 18 months of transition from school to work. We conducted the analysis of the model using LISREL-7 (Jöreskog & Sörborn, 1988) and double cross-validated the results on random samples (N = 859) of young workers from eight countries. Modifications made to the initial model were also cross-validated on both samples. The results indicate that several mutual influence processes operating between newcomers and social others (supervisors, co-workers) account for the development of career-enhancing strategies and job content innovation attempts. The results of this study support a number of previous research findings and are consistent with several theories of this initial encounter period. We discuss several potential directions for future research on this initial work entry period.Copyright 1995, 1999 Academic Press

ABSTRACTBackground: Research on grief, depression, and anxiety reactions following job loss is sparse. More insight in this matter could be important for the development of preventive and curative interventions targeting different manifestations of emotional distress following job loss, including grief reactions.Objective: The aim of this study was to examine job loss-related grief reactions in relation to depression and anxiety symptoms.Method: A sample of 525 Dutch workers (59.8% women, mean age of 50.6 years) who had lost their job was recruited. Latent class analysis was used to examine whether separate classes could be distinguished based on the endorsement of grief reactions and symptoms of depression of anxiety. We also examined factors associated with class membership.Results: Four classes were identified, including a so-called ‘mixed’, a ‘grieving’, a ‘depressed’, and a ‘resilient’ class. Job loss circumstances and coping strategies (but not socio-demographic and work characteristics) were associated with class membership.Conclusion: These results shed light on unique characteristics that might be targeted with specific clinical methods to increase mental health of different subgroups of individuals confronted with job loss.