Almeida DM, Davis KD, O'Neill JW, Crouter AC.
Translational research on work and family: Daily stress processes in hotel employees and their families. In: Research for the Public Good: Applying the methods of translational research to improve human health and well-being. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association ; 2012. pp. 127-146.
Publisher's VersionAbstract
Translational science calls on researchers to transform scientific discoveries into practical real-life applications. This chapter describes how we have been attempting to translate our research on work and family stressors to better understand and enhance the daily lives of hotel employees and their families. The Hotel Work and Well-Being Study involves the collaboration between an interdisciplinary team of investigators and hotel industry leaders, and hotel employees and their families. A major feature of this enterprise has been the application of the results from innovative methods of daily stress research to the specific concerns of hotel employees and stakeholders with regard to work–family conflict. The project has evolved through stages that exemplify important features of translational science. These stages include establishing close collaborations and dynamic feedback with important stakeholders, using the information obtained to design a study of daily stress and health specific to the hotel industry, disseminating findings to the industry stakeholders, and adapting knowledge gained in the process to evaluate a workplace program to alleviate the effects of work–family conflict on workers and their family members. This chapter uses examples of these activities to highlight multiple forms of translation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)
O'Neill JW.
The determinants of a culture of partying among managers in the hotel industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management [Internet]. 2012;24 (1) :81-96.
Publisher's VersionAbstract
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore the apparent norm of partying that persists in the hotel industry despite evidence suggesting it can negatively affect both employees and organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
– Telephone surveys of 544 managers from 65 hotels were conducted. Multiple regression analyses and analyses of variance were performed to examine the extent to which differences in hotel organizational culture, hotel classification, hotel corporate organization, hotel size and manager age affect the extent to which employees spend time gathering and partying with their work colleagues outside work.
Findings
– The paper finds that in hotels with organizational culture oriented towards work and family balance, managers displayed less partying behavior. It also finds that such work and family culture may vary based on certain hotel corporate organizations, hotel location classifications, and hotel sizes, because partying behavior significantly varies based on such corporate, locational and size differences. Findings also indicate that relatively older employees spend less time than younger employees partying with work colleagues outside work.
Research limitations/implications
– Limitations include the use of self reports of hotel managers from full‐service hotels in the USA.
Practical implications
– A workplace culture oriented towards work and family balance may yield less partying behavior, which may be particularly relevant in certain hotel types and sizes, and may have positive implications for reducing turnover and health care costs.
Originality/value
– This study explores the common practice, but understudied topic of hotel employees partying with colleagues outside work. In so doing, it provides greater understanding of the phenomenon to researchers and practitioners.
Blocklin MK, Crouter AC, McHale SM.
Youth supervision while mothers work: a daily diary study of maternal worry. Community, Work & Family [Internet]. 2012;15 (2) :233-249.
Publisher's VersionAbstractUsing data from a daily diary study of hourly hotel employees in the US and their children, this study examined links between youth supervision arrangements and maternal worry while at work, examining both differences between individuals and day-to-day variation within individuals. Multilevel model analyses revealed both between- and within-person effects linking youth supervision to maternal worry. Mothers’ partner status functioned as moderator, and maternal knowledge also emerged as a protective factor when youth were in self-care, highlighting a potential target for future work–family interventions, particularly those for hourly employees with limited access to family-friendly workplace policies.
Buxton OM, Okechukwu CA.
Author's Response. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine [Internet]. 2012;54 (11) :1322-3.
Publisher's Version Blocklin MK, Crouter AC, McHale SM.
Youth Supervision While Mothers Work: A Daily Diary Study of Maternal Worry. Community Work Fam. 2012;15 (2) :233-249.
AbstractUsing data from a daily diary study of hourly hotel employees in the U.S. and their children, this study examined links between youth supervision arrangements and maternal worry while at work, examining both differences between individuals and day-to-day variation within individuals. Multilevel model analyses revealed both between- and within-person effects linking youth supervision to maternal worry. Mothers' partner status functioned as moderator, and maternal knowledge also emerged as a protective factor when youth were in self-care, highlighting a potential target for future work-family interventions, particularly those for hourly employees with limited access to family-friendly workplace policies.En utilisant les données d'une étude de journal quotidien des employés horaires de l'hôtel aux États-Unis et leurs enfants, cette étude a examiné les liens entre les modalités de supervision des jeunes et l'inquiétude maternelle pendant le travail, en examinant à la fois les différences inter individus et la variation intra individus au jour le jour. Analyses multi-niveaux ont révélé à la fois des effets inter et intra reliant la supervision des jeunes à l'inquiétude maternelle. Statut de partenaire des mères a fonctionné en tant que modérateur, et la connaissance maternelle est également apparue comme un facteur de protection lorsque les jeunes ont pris soins d'eux-mêmes, soulignant une cible potentielle pour des interventions de conciliation travail-famille, en particulier ceux conçus pour des employés horaires avec un accès limité à des politiques favorables à la famille.
O'Donnell EM, Berkman LF, Subramanian SV.
Manager support for work-family issues and its impact on employee-reported pain in the extended care setting. J Occup Environ Med. 2012;54 (9) :1142-9.
AbstractOBJECTIVE: Supervisor-level policies and the presence of a manager engaged in an employee's need to achieve work-family balance, or "supervisory support," may benefit employee health, including self-reported pain.
METHODS: We conducted a census of employees at four selected extended care facilities in the Boston metropolitan region (n = 368). Supervisory support was assessed through interviews with managers and pain was reported by employees.
RESULTS: Our multilevel logistic models indicate that employees with managers who report the lowest levels of support for work-family balance experience twice as much overall pain as employees with managers who report high levels of support.
CONCLUSIONS: Low supervisory support for work-family balance is associated with an increased prevalence of employee-reported pain in extended care facilities. We recommend that manager-level policies and practices receive additional attention as a potential risk factor for poor health in this setting.
McHale SM, Blocklin MK, Walter KN, Davis KD, Almeida DM, Klein LC.
The role of daily activities in youths' stress physiology. J Adolesc Health. 2012;51 (6) :623-8.
AbstractPURPOSE: This study examined links between diurnal patterns of the stress hormone cortisol and time spent by adolescents in nine common daily activities. METHODS: During eight consecutive nightly telephone interviews, 28 youths (n = 12 girls), 10-18 years of age, reported their daily activities. On 4 days, four saliva samples were also collected and assayed for cortisol. Multilevel models assessed within- and between-person associations between time in each activity and cortisol area under the curve (AUC), cortisol awakening response (CAR), morning peak (30 minutes after wake up), and daily decline (morning peak to bedtime). RESULTS: Links with AUC were found for most activities; significant associations with cortisol rhythms suggested that most effects were due to anticipation of the day's activities. Specifically, on days when youths spent more time than usual on video games and television, they had lower AUCs, with lower morning peaks. Youths who spent more time reading (within-person) and in computer-related activities (between-person) had higher AUCs, with stronger CARs (within-person). Youths who slept more had lower AUCs, with lower morning peaks on both the between- and within-person levels. Amounts of time spent in clubs, and for older adolescents in sports, were also linked to lower AUCs. Finally, youths who spent more time in school/schoolwork had lower average AUCs, but on days when youths spent more time than usual in school, they had higher AUCs, stronger CARs, and steeper daily declines. CONCLUSION: Beyond their known implications for psychological adjustment, youths' everyday activities are linked to stress physiology.
Nelson CC, Li Y, Sorensen G, Berkman LF.
Assessing the relationship between work-family conflict and smoking. Am J Public Health. 2012;102 (9) :1767-72.
AbstractOBJECTIVES: We examined the relationship between smoking and work-family conflict among a sample of New England long-term-care facility workers.
METHODS: To collect data, we conducted in-person, structured interviews with workers in 4 extended-care facilities.
RESULTS: There was a strong association between smoking likelihood and work-family conflict. Workers who experienced both stress at home from work issues (i.e., work-to-home conflict) and stress at work from personal issues (i.e., home-to-work conflict) had 3.1 times higher odds of smoking than those who did not experience these types of conflict. Workers who experienced home-to-work conflict had an odds of 2.3 compared with those who did not experience this type of conflict, and workers who experienced work-to-home conflict had an odds of 1.6 compared with workers who did not experience this type of conflict.
CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that there is a robust relationship between work-family conflict and smoking, but that this relationship is dependent upon the total amount of conflict experienced and the direction of the conflict.
Okechukwu CA, El Ayadi AM, Tamers SL, Sabbath EL, Berkman LF.
Household food insufficiency, financial strain, work-family spillover, and depressive symptoms in the working class: the Work, Family, and Health Network study. Am J Public Health. 2012;102 (1) :126-33.
AbstractOBJECTIVES: We evaluated the association of household-level stressors with depressive symptoms among low-wage nursing home employees. METHODS: Data were collected in 2006 and 2007 from 452 multiethnic primary and nonprimary wage earners in 4 facilities in Massachusetts. We used logistic regression to estimate the association of depressive symptoms with household financial strain, food insufficiency, and work-family spillover (preoccupation with work-related concerns while at home and vice versa). RESULTS: Depressive symptoms were significantly associated with household financial strain (odds ratio [OR] = 1.82; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.03, 3.21) and food insufficiency (OR = 2.10; 95% CI = 1.10, 4.18). Among primary earners, stratified analyses showed that food insufficiency was associated with depressive symptoms (OR = 3.60; 95% CI = 1.42, 9.11) but financial strain was not. Among nonprimary wage earners, depressive symptoms correlated with financial strain (OR = 3.65; 95% CI = 1.48, 9.01) and work-family spillover (OR = 3.22; 95% CI = 1.11, 9.35). CONCLUSIONS: Household financial strain, food insufficiency, and work-family spillover are pervasive problems for working populations, but associations vary by primary wage earner status. The prevalence of food insufficiency among full-time employees was striking and might have a detrimental influence on depressive symptoms and the health of working-class families.
Hurtado DA, Sabbath EL, Ertel KA, Buxton OM, Berkman LF.
Racial disparities in job strain among American and immigrant long-term care workers. Int Nurs Rev. 2012;59 (2) :237-44.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Nursing homes are occupational settings, with an increasing minority and immigrant workforce where several psychosocial stressors intersect. AIM: This study aimed to examine racial/ethnic differences in job strain between Black (n = 127) and White (n = 110) immigrant and American direct-care workers at nursing homes (total n = 237). METHODS: Cross-sectional study with data collected at four nursing homes in Massachusetts during 2006-2007. We contrasted Black and White workers within higher-skilled occupations such as registered nurses or licensed practical nurses (n = 82) and lower-skilled staff such as certified nursing assistants (CNAs, n = 155). RESULTS: Almost all Black workers (96%) were immigrants. After adjusting for demographic and occupational characteristics, Black employees were more likely to report job strain, compared with Whites [relative risk (RR): 2.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3 to 6.6]. Analyses stratified by occupation showed that Black CNAs were more likely to report job strain, compared with White CNAs (RR: 3.1, 95% CI: 1.0 to 9.4). Black workers were also more likely to report low control (RR: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.1 to 4.0). Additionally, Black workers earned $2.58 less per hour and worked 7.1 more hours per week on average, controlling for potential confounders. CONCLUSION: Black immigrant workers were 2.9 times more likely to report job strain than White workers, with greater differences among CNAs. These findings may reflect differential organizational or individual characteristics but also interpersonal or institutional racial/ethnic discrimination. Further research should consider the role of race/ethnicity in shaping patterns of occupational stress.
King RB, Karuntzos GT, Casper LM, Moen P, Davis KD, Berkman LF, Durham M, Kossek EE.
Work-Family Balance Issues and Work-Leave Policies. In: Handbook of Occupational Health and Wellness. New York, NY: Springer ; 2012. pp. 323-339.