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Background: Most employees will experience serious illness, caregiving, dying and loss (End-of-Life (EoL) experiences) at multiple points throughout their working lives. These experiences impact affected employees but also their colleagues in terms of health and wellbeing, and the workplace as a whole in terms of workplace safety, productivity and labour relations. The impact of EoL experiences on employees means that workplaces are called to play a more active role in providing support for EoL experiences. Aim: To describe how the EU-CoWork (2024–2028) project addresses its main aims to (1) create Compassionate Workplace cultures, practices and policies and improve health and wellbeing for employees dealing with EoL experiences in different national work contexts in Europe; (2) describe and evaluate the process of co-creation and implementation of Compassionate Workplace Programs (CWPs) and how these influence the programs' outcomes. Design: EU-CoWork employs a facilitated and co-creative Developmental Evaluation approach to the development of 12 tailored CWPs across four European countries (Belgium, Austria, Sweden and Greece). Methods: To evaluate the outcomes and processes leading to these outcomes, a mixed-methods Realist Evaluation methodology is applied, formulating and testing Context-Mechanism-Outcomes configurations and combining longitudinal quantitative and qualitative data collections. Results: EU-CoWork will generate evidence to support an expanded model of occupational health and safety risk factors sensitive to the specific challenges related to employees' EoL experiences. In doing so, several challenges will have to be navigated: involving employees with EoL experiences while avoiding overburdening them, avoiding tokenistic engagement, managing power differentials, balancing the need for scientific rigour with the flexibility required in co-creation, reconciling different epistemologies and disciplinary traditions and organisational resistance to change. Conclusion: There are potential long-lasting broader societal impacts through the stimulation of open discourse on EoL topics, the reconciliation of work and care, and changes in gendered work and care patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational occupational health interventions (OOHIs) that are perceived by employees as relevant for their workplace are more likely to be implemented successfully, yet little is known about the conditions that produce such perceptions. This study identifies the conditions that create a perception among employees that an intervention fits their organization as well as the conditions that result in low levels of perceived fit. We used two‐wave data from 40 Danish preschools that underwent a quasi‐experimental OOHI. Perceived fit was assessed through employee ratings at follow‐up, while survey responses from implementation team members at five time points were used to assess four context and 14 process factors. The results of a coincidence analysis showed that high levels of perceived fit were achieved through two paths. Each path consisted of a lack of co‐occurring changes together with either very high levels of managerial support (path_1) or a combination of implementation team role clarity, staff involvement, and team learning (path_2). In contrast, low levels of perceived fit were brought about by single factors: limited leader support, low degree of role clarity, or concurrent organizational changes. The findings reveal the complexity involved in implementing OOHIs and offer insights into reasons they may fail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, we analyze multilevel restructuring impact perceptions and their association with emotional exhaustion. We explore whether distributive justice at the individual (perceived distributive justice), team, and organizational levels (distributive justice climate) moderates the association of restructuring impact and emotional exhaustion. In total, 1523 employees, nested in 166 teams and 26 organizations, participated in our study. To test our hypotheses, we used Bayesian multilevel modelling. We found positive associations between restructuring impact and emotional exhaustion on all three organizational levels. Distributive justice at the team level cross-level moderated the relationship between restructuring impact and emotional exhaustion at the individual level. Our study contributes a multilevel understanding of restructuring impact, possible consequences for emotional exhaustion, and the moderating role of distributive justice. Furthermore, it substantiates COR theory's caravan passageway notion, which as yet lacks empirical support. MAD statement This article empirically tests the Conservation of Resources Theory's central concept of caravan passageways, proving cross-level resource bundles can buffer restructuring impact. Using Bayesian multilevel modelling we show, that restructuring impact and emotional exhaustion are related to each other on various organizational levels and that multilevel distributive justice constitutes resource caravans, which provide support for individuals. We add to change literature by contributing to the understanding of complex cross-level restructuring conditions, and the meaningfulness of higher-order contextual factors for individual outcomes. This is particularly relevant in terms of designing working conditions in order to avoid negative restructuring consequences for individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on long COVID is still in its infancy with the primary focus being on symptoms, treatment, and prevalence. Due to the severity and longevity of long COVID that has also affected the working population, an important question is how organisations can support workers with long COVID to stay and thrive in the workplace. In the present study, we used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore the lived experiences of workers with long COVID and the barriers and facilitators to them working while managing their symptoms. Using purposeful sampling, we recruited participants through social media and conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 workers with long COVID in Spring/Summer 2021. Three higher-order themes revolved around suffering, identity work and belongingness, and 12 subthemes, which were seen as barriers and facilitators to sustainable return to work at the individual, group, leader, organisational and overarching contextual levels. Our findings highlight the urgent need for research that considers work outcomes of those with long COVID and have important implications for how organisations can support workers suffering from long COVID and prevent sickness absence and reduce worklessness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through job crafting, employees proactively change or modify their tasks, thus reducing adverse job demands or protecting resources. There is still a lack of understanding of the impact that job crafting may have on colleagues at work (crossover effect), and how this may affect their ability to disconnect from work (spillover effect). In the present daily diary study, we examine these two processes among 82 dyads of colleagues (N = 164 employees) over five consecutive working days (N = 820 observations). We found a number of crossover and differential spillover effects. For example, when the focal employee starts new challenging projects, their colleague reacts by reducing the number of stressful tasks. This, in turn, affects psychological detachment from work. Specifically, whereas increasing challenging demands hinders daily detachment, decreasing hindering demands facilitates it. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that the impact of job crafting goes beyond the focal employee and beyond the work domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supervisors play an important role in supporting employees to return to work following sickness absence due to common mental disorders; stress, anxiety and depression, however, employees may not always feel supported. We examined employees' perceptions of their supervisors' attitudes and behaviours pre, during and following sickness absence due to common mental disorders, placing a particular focus on post-return. In a qualitative study, using purposeful sampling, we recruited and interviewed 39 returned employees up to four times. We identified three types of supervisor behaviours: the compassionate, the indifferent and the demeaning. Compassionate supervisors possessed empathy and communication skills, worked collaboratively to identify appropriate work adjustments and provided ongoing support and adjustment. Indifferent supervisors lacked the skills and motivation to support returning employees. They did what was required according to organisational policies. Demeaning supervisors lacked understanding and displayed stigmatising behaviour. The results extend our understanding of how supervisors may support returned employees in two ways: First, our results identified three distinct sets of supervisor behaviours. Second, the results indicate that it is important to understand return to work as lasting years where employees are best supported by supervisors making adjustments that fit the needs of returned employees on an ongoing basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safety training, especially when based on the active participation of trainees and aiming for transfer of learning into the workplace, is an important tool to prevent accidents and promote occupational safety, and may be particularly powerful among vulnerable groups, such as migrant workers. The present study, employing a mixed methods, before-and-after study design, evaluated a training programme aimed at promoting the learning and transfer of technical and non-technical safety skills to the construction site among migrant and native workers. We explored outcomes at four levels and found: (a) trainees' positive reactions to the training itself; (b) improvements in technical safety skills, but the non-technical skills reduced significantly; (c) application of these skills in the workplace; and (d) changes in site safety climate and assertiveness. Results showed that trained workers found the training easy to translate into the workplace and that peers and supervisors were supportive of training transfer. Our study has important implications for how to evaluate safety training of migrant workers and how the context may facilitate training outcomes, e.g. ensuring that peers and supervisors encourage trained workers to transfer their learned skills and knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interventions to improve mental health can target individuals, working groups, their leaders, or organisations, also known as the Individual, Group, Leader, and Organisational (IGLO) levels of intervention. Evaluating such interventions in organisational settings is complex and requires sophisticated evaluation designs taking into account the intervention process. In the present systematic literature review, we present state of the-art of quantitative measures of process evaluation. We identified 39 papers. We found that measures had been developed to explore the organisational context, the intervention design, and the mental models of the intervention and its activities. Quantitative process measures are often poorly validated, and only around half of the studies linked the process to intervention outcomes. Fifteen studies used mixed methods for process evaluation. Most often, a qualitative process evaluation was used to understand unexpected intervention outcomes. Despite the existence of theoretical process evaluation frameworks, these were not often employed, and even when included, frameworks were rarely acknowledged, and only selected elements were included. Based on our synthesis, we propose a new framework for evaluating interventions, the Integrative Process Evaluation Framework (IPEF), together with reflections on how we may optimise the use of quantitative process evaluation in conjunction with a qualitative process evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common mental health problems are a substantial burden in many western countries. Studies have pointed out that work related factors can both increase and decrease the risk of developing mental health problems. Influence at work is a key factor relating the psychosocial work environment to employees mental health. However, little is known regarding how contemporary employees experience and understand influence at work. The purpose of this study is to explore this in depth. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 59 employees in knowledge and relational work and analysed the data using principles from Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). TWe identified three themes each consisting of two interrelated parts, where the second part describes the consequences of the identified type of influence for employees: 1) work tasks and performance, 2) relations and belonging, 3) identity and becoming. The interviewed employees had a multifaceted understanding of influence at work and that influence at work mattered to them in different but important ways. Our hope is that managers, employees and consultants will be inspired by the three themes when designing work tasks, organizations and interventions in order to increase the level of influence and thereby help enhance the mental well-being of employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the association between organizational citizenship behaviour enacted by nurses and the occurrence of adverse nursing‐sensitive patient outcomes. Background: Managing psychosocial factors (i.e., aspects concerning the work environment) is key to ensure patient safety, to prevent exacerbation of case complexity and to cope with critical shortages in human and financial resources. Methods: Self‐report measures of nurses' organizational citizenship behaviour were combined with objective data on the incidence of adverse nursing‐sensitive outcomes (i.e., pressure ulcers and restraint use) collected through patients' medical records. Participants were 11,345 patients and 1346 nurses across 52 teams working in 14 Italian hospitals. Data were analysed using multilevel binary logistic regression models. Results: A negative relationship between nurses' organizational citizenship behaviour and restraint use was identified, with an odds ratio of 0.11. Thus, for a one‐unit higher organizational citizenship behaviour score, the odds of using restraints shrink to about one eighth of the previous level. Conclusions: Intervention strategies to foster the implementation of organizational citizenship behaviour among nurses may inhibit the occurrence of critical outcomes affecting patients' health and well‐being (i.e., using restraint devices). Implications for Nursing Management: In health care organizations, shaping a psychosocial environment encouraging organizational citizenship behaviour can mitigate the occurrence of adverse nursing‐sensitive outcomes such as restraint use on patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present the Integrated Training Transfer and Effectiveness Model (ITTEM), a dynamic model integrating dominant training transfer and training effectiveness models that can be used to evaluate whether mental health and wellbeing training interventions are transferred to the workplace and result in changes in emotions, cognitions and behaviours post-training. Through the integration of training transfer and training effectiveness literatures, the ITTEM aims to further our understanding of how we may enhance the effectiveness of training through optimising training transfer. We employ realist evaluation as our theoretical framework and argue that developing our understanding of what works for whom in which circumstances will enable us to improve how we design, implement, and evaluate training. We propose that pre- and post-training contextual factors influence the extent to which training mechanisms are triggered and bring about intended outcomes, in terms of emotions, cognitions, behaviours and improved employee mental health and wellbeing. The ITTEM can be used to develop our understanding of how and when training succeeds or fails. The ITTEM provides valuable insights in to how organisations may design future training to maximise the impact of transfer thus achieving the aims of protecting and promoting mental health and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various topics within the issue, including occupational health psychology (OHP), group and organisational level interventions, and flexible work arrangements.

Participatory organizational interventions are a recommended approach to improve the psychosocial work environment. As interventions of this type are shaped by employees and managers, their implementation can vary considerably, making evaluation challenging. This study contributes to our understanding of interventions by focusing on how the intervention mechanisms and the organizational context interact. In a mixed-methods design, we use multi-group structural equation modelling of pre-and post-intervention survey data (N = 204) to test multiple mediational mechanisms in three different contexts. We then analyse interviews (N = 67) and field observations of workshops to identify the role of contextual factors. The findings suggest that participatory organizational interventions do not produce one-size-fits-all results; on the contrary, intervention results are better understood as products of multiple intervention mechanisms interacting with the specific organizational contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the realm of work environment improvements, the Nordic countries have led the way in demonstrating that employee participation is a key requisite for achieving improvements. Despite this, there is a lack of precision as to what 'participatory' in a participatory work environment intervention means. In this study, the authors present a conceptual model for participation in work environment interventions and apply it to protocols and manuals from eight participatory interventions to determine the form of participation used in each intervention. The authors suggest that the conceptual model can be applied in the design and assessment of participatory work environment interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current frameworks of leadership are based on face-to-face interaction. A growing number of workers work away from their main location of work; this makes it challenging for leaders to ensure the health and safety of distributed workers. In the present study, we explore the relationship between line managers' health and safety leadership and distributed workers' health and safety behaviours. We also explore the organisational procedures and practices that may enhance the impact of health and safety leadership. We included a broad range of distributed workers (in analyses, minimum N = 626) from 11 organisations. We found that health-and-safety-specific leadership was positively related to distributed workers' self-rated health, safety compliance and safety proactivity. These relationships were augmented by distributed workers' sense of being included in the workplace. Knowledge sharing among colleagues was associated with safety compliance when health-and-safety-specific leadership was low. Our results indicate that one way of addressing the challenges of distributed working may be through line managers putting health and safety on the agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the interplay of different aspects of organization during work environment interventions. Specifically how the interplay of collective sensemaking, and material artefacts influence an intervention. We analyze an organization-level psychosocial work environment intervention conducted in two postal areas in the Danish Postal service. It provides a case study of the dynamics of a work environment intervention by focusing on how the intervention affects the organization, how sensemaking and materiality in the organization interact during the intervention is implemented, and how the intervention in turn is affected by the materiality and sensemaking of the organization. The present study adds to the current literature by demonstrating the role of sensemaking and materiality in interventions. The paper ends with a discussion of the links between sensemaking and sociomaterial artifacts and what role they play during work environment interventions, suggesting that interventions needs to align with both to be successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a participatory physical and psychosocial workplace intervention (known as PIPPI) on work ability and recovery among industrial workers. Methods Eligible workers were cluster-randomized into intervention (N=193) and control (N=222) groups. Intervention group members participated in three workshops where they mapped positive and negative aspects of their physical and psychosocial work environment and developed action plans addressing the highlighted issues, which were subsequently implemented by the participants. Questionnaire-based data on work ability and recovery were collected at baseline and 8-, 10- and 12-month follow-up. Data on productivity, well-being, mental health, and physical demands and resources were collected at baseline and 12-month follow-up. Results The intervention was delivered and received as planned (100% planned workshops conducted, 69% [standard deviation (SD) 7%] participation in workshops) and with a response rate of 76% (SD 8%) to the questionnaires. No significant between-group improvements for any of the outcomes were found in intention-to-treat multi-level mixed models. On the contrary, tendencies were observed for poorer recovery and reduced work ability in the intervention compared to control group. Conclusion The intervention did not improve the outcomes. This result can have several explanations, such as a regression-toward-the-mean effect or that the intervention might have put an additional burden on the workers already facing high work demands. In addition, there may have been an insufficient match between the intervention components implemented and the predetermined outcomes, and implementation may have been unsuccessful. These potential explanations need to be investigated using process evaluation data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A debate has arisen out of the need to understand true intervention outcomes in the social sciences. Traditionally, the randomized, controlled trial that answers the question of ‘what works’ has been considered the gold standard. Although randomized, controlled trials have been favoured in organizational intervention research, there has been an increasing interest in understanding the influence of context and intervention processes on the outcomes of such interventions. In the present critical essay, we question the suitability of trials and meta-analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of organizational interventions and we suggest that realist evaluation that seeks to answer the questions of what works for whom in which circumstances may present a more suitable framework. We argue that examining the content and process mechanisms through which organizational interventions are effective, and the conditions under which these are triggered, will enable us to better understand how interventions achieve the desired outcomes of improved employee health and well-being. We suggest that organizational intervention content and process mechanisms may help bring about the desired outcomes of improved employee health and well-being and that contextual factors determine whether these mechanisms are triggered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational-level occupational health interventions are often recommended when improvements in working conditions, employee health, and well-being are sought within organizations. Research has revealed that these interventions result in inconsistent effects despite being based on theoretical frameworks. This inconsistency indicates that intervention studies need to be designed to examine directly how and why such interventions bring about change and why they sometimes fail. We argue that intervention studies should include a process evaluation that includes a close examination of the psychological and organizational mechanisms that hinder and facilitate desired intervention outcomes. By drawing on existing intervention literature we present an evidence-based model containing three levels of elements that appear to be crucial in process evaluation. We describe how this model may be applied and developed in future research to identify better the mechanisms that link intervention processes to intervention outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Job crafting describes a set of proactive behaviours in which employees may engage to shape their work in order to minimize hindering job demands and maximize resources and challenging demands. Such behaviours may be particularly important among blue-collar workers whose jobs are characterized by poor working conditions and low well-being. We present the development and adaptation of a job crafting measure that may be used among blue-collar workers, based on an existing scale by Tims, Bakker, and Derks (2012) that was not specifically developed for blue-collar workers. We test the validity and reliability of the measure in a longitudinal study based on multiple source information from mail delivery workers in Denmark (N=362 at Time 1; N=408 at Time 2). Results indicate the presence of five job crafting dimensions: increasing challenging demands, decreasing social job demands, increasing social job resources, increasing quantitative demands and decreasing hindering job demands. These can be reliably measured with 15 items. The measure shows acceptable discriminant and criterion validity, and test-retest reliability. The findings extend the application of the original questionnaire. They also add to knowledge of the job crafting behaviours in which blue-collar workers engage and link them to well-being outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

clausen t., nielsen k., carneiro i.g. & borg v. (2012) Job demands, job resources and long-term sickness absence in the Danish eldercare services: a prospective analysis of register-based outcomes. Journal of Advanced Nursing 68(1), 127-136. Abstract Aim. To investigate associations between psychosocial job demands, job resources and cases of registered long-term sickness absence among nursing staff in the eldercare services. Background. Research has shown that psychosocial work environment exposures predict sickness absence in healthcare settings. However, only few studies have longitudinally investigated associations between specific job demands and job resources and risk of long-term sickness absence. Methods. Questionnaire data were collected in 2004 and 2005 among all employees in the eldercare services in 35 Danish municipalities and were followed in a National register on payment of sickness absence compensation for a 1-year follow-up period ( N = 7921). Three psychosocial job demands - emotional demands, quantitative demands and role conflicts - and three job resources - influence, quality of leadership and team climate - were investigated to predict risk of sickness absence for eight or more consecutive weeks in the follow-up period. Data were analysed using Cox proportional hazards model. Results. A percentage of 6·5 of the respondents were absent for eight or more consecutive weeks during follow-up. The analyses showed that emotional demands, role conflicts, influence, quality of leadership and team climate were significantly associated with risk of long-term sickness absence. In an analysis with mutual adjustment for all job demands and job resources, influence constituted the strongest predictor of long-term sickness absence (negative association). Conclusions. Job demands and job resources are significantly associated with risk of long-term sickness absence. Interventions aimed at improving the psychosocial work environment may, therefore, contribute towards preventing long-term sickness absence in the eldercare services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in how organizational-level occupational health interventions aimed at improving psychosocial working conditions and employee health and well-being may be planned, implemented and evaluated. It has been claimed that such interventions have the best chance of achieving a significant impact if they follow an intervention process that is structured and also includes the participation of employees. This paper provides an overview of prominent European methods that describe systematic approaches to improving employee health and well-being through the alteration of the way in which work is designed, organized and managed. The methods identified are the Risk Management approach and the Management Standards from Great Britain, the German Health Circles approach, Work Positive from Ireland and Prevenlab from Spain. Comparative analyses reveal that these methods all consist of a five-phase process and that they share a number of core elements within these phases. However, overall the five methods have not been thoroughly validated. To examine the validity of the core elements, we review them in the light of current research in order to support their appropriateness in conducting organizational-level occupational health interventions. Finally, we discuss where we still need more research to determine the working ingredients of organizational-level occupational health interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dominant theories of working conditions and their effects on poor employee health have been criticized for failing to consider how psychosocial factors interact and how such relationships may differ across occupational groups. This paper examines the associations between psychosocial factors and physical and psychological health complaints while at the same time taking into account differences between occupational groups in female-dominated professions. Four female-dominated occupational groups were included: nurses, health care assistants, cleaners, and dairy industry workers. The relationships between influence, emotional and quantitative demands, social support, back pain, and behavioural stress were examined using structural equation modelling. Results supported a group-specific model: the overall pattern remained the same across groups while psychosocial factors had different impacts on poor health and interacted differently across groups. The results also indicated links between psychosocial factors and poor physical health. The study confirmed the importance of differentiating between female-dominated occupations rather than talking about women’s working conditions as such. The study also emphasized the importance of considering psychosocial risk factors when examining physical health, in this case back pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformational leaders employ a visionary and creative style of leadership that inspires employees to broaden their interest in their work and to be innovative and creative. There is some evidence that transformational leadership style is linked to employee psychological well-being. However, it is not clear whether this is due to (1) a direct relationship between leadership behaviour and affective well-being outcomes, or (2) a relationship between leadership behaviour and well-being that is mediated by followers' perceived work characteristics. (Such characteristics include role clarity, meaningfulness, and opportunities for development.) This study aims to extend previous work by examining the validity of these two mechanisms in a longitudinal questionnaire study. The study was carried out within the elderly care sector in a Danish local governmental department. A theory-driven model of the relationships between leadership, work characteristics, and psychological well-being was tested using Structural Equation Modelling. The results indicated that followers' perceptions of their work characteristics did mediate the relationship between transformational leadership style and psychological well-being. However, there was only limited evidence of the existence of a direct path between leadership behaviour and employee well-being. These findings have implications for design, implementation, and management of efforts to improve employee well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many studies of interventions have focused on their content and immediate effects, less research has focused on the processes that may explain these effects. The purpose of this study was to show how process evaluation can be used to interpret the results of an intervention study in four industrial canteens in Denmark. Two canteens acted as intervention groups and two as comparison groups. Effects were measured by surveys before and after interventions, and observations and interviews were conducted to provide an in-depth understanding of processes. Analyses were conducted based on the responses from 118 employees. Results showed, contrary to expectations, improvements in working conditions and well-being in one intervention group and in one comparison group, whereas no improvements were found in the two remaining groups. Data from the process evaluation enabled a meaningful interpretation of these results, raising the possibility programme failure rather than theory failure, and thereby constituting an example of how process evaluation can shed light over the factors that may influence outcomes in controlled intervention studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented in which the study focus on occupational health psychology (OHP), published in Work & Stress. Topics discussed the effects of various sorts of job demands and job resources on worker health and well-being, bullying and aggression in the workplace, and the relation between effort and recovery; studies on several issues including challenges and issues in future research on leadership in OHP and the effects of leadership on follower well-being.