As employees’ behaviour is a crucial factor for organizational success, the question on how to promote the engagement of employees in their work and boost their implication in the innovation process is central for companies. In this... more
As employees’ behaviour is a crucial factor for organizational success, the question on how to promote the engagement of employees in their work and boost their implication in the innovation process is central for companies. In this article we study this question building on the Karasek model suggesting that employees in jobs with high autonomy and time pressure will be more engaged and more innovative. The results of the multi-level regression analyses confirm that such a combination is associated with high employee innovation. For work engagement, the job autonomy helps in buffering the negative effects of time pressure.
Promoting the innovative potential of employees is a main challenge for HR professionals. Previous studies already stressed the role of job design for employee innovativeness. Building on the work of Karasek & Theorell (1990), we focus on... more
Promoting the innovative potential of employees is a main challenge for HR professionals. Previous studies already stressed the role of job design for employee innovativeness. Building on the work of Karasek & Theorell (1990), we focus on the relation between job design, work engagement and innovative work behaviour (IWB). The results show that job control is positively related to both IWB and work engagement, job demands are negatively related to work engagement, yet their relation to IWB is more ambiguous. Significant interaction effects between job demands and job control variables in both the relation with work engagement and IWB are found, yet their nature differs significantly. We find that active jobs (high control and high demands) are related to lower levels of IWB in comparison to low-strain jobs (high control, low demands), which has major managerial consequences.
Social work is characterized by high levels of emotional involvement and is considered one of the ‘‘emotionally taxing’’ professions. Some social work stressors are inherent in nature relating to the burden and responsibilities associated... more
Social work is characterized by high levels of emotional involvement and is considered one of the ‘‘emotionally taxing’’ professions. Some social work stressors are inherent in nature relating to the burden and responsibilities associated with the job and general public acceptance, but also might be related to the balance between level of demand and control within the job. This presentation critically reflects and builds on findings from two national evaluations of new models of social work , which used standardized measures of burnout and job strain and control. Namely, it is based findings related to 2050 social work practitioners participated in the evaluation of social work practice with children (Stanley et al, 2011) and another set of 2978 social work practitioners participated in the evaluation of social work practice with adults (Manthorpe et al, 2014). This makes a total of 5028 social work practitioners completing the standardised measures of burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory) and demand and control model through the Karasek Job Content Survey. While the published evaluations’ findings focused mainly on the relationships between social work practice models of working and job strain, the current analysis attempts to conceptualise wider factors influencing social workers’ job strain, including main users’ groups (especially adults and children), personal characteristics and the wider policy context. The latter is analysed through an ad hoc strategy considering the time span of the two projects (from 2009 to 2014) and documented policy developments during the same period. The conceptual framework also attempts to take account of variable media reporting during the period from 2009 to 2014 and investigates to which extent these are reflected on the perceived experience of social work practitioners.
Objectives: To investigate whether a new model that delegates some out-of-home care services from the public to the private and not-for-profit sectors in England enhances practitioners’ job control and stress levels. Methods: A 3-year... more
Objectives: To investigate whether a new model that delegates some out-of-home care services from the public to the private and not-for-profit sectors in England enhances practitioners’ job control and stress levels. Methods: A 3-year longitudinal matched-control evaluation examined changes in Karasek demand-control model and Maslach burnout levels of 2,050 staff working in five social work practice (SWP) pilots, their host local authorities and comparable sites. Results: Mixed-effect models indicated no significant difference in main outcomes among SWP staff when compared to staff in host and comparison local authorities. There were notable differences in relation to job insecurity and social support. Conclusion: The minimal effects observed may relate to the diverse nature of SWPs with no specific work model predominating.
Objectives: To investigate whether a new model that delegates some out-of-home care services from the public to the private and not-for-profit sectors in England enhances practitioners’ job control and stress levels. Methods: A 3-year... more
Objectives: To investigate whether a new model that delegates some out-of-home care services from the public to the private and not-for-profit sectors in England enhances practitioners’ job control and stress levels. Methods: A 3-year longitudinal matched-control evaluation examined changes in Karasek demand-control model and Maslach burnout levels of 2,050 staff working in five social work practice (SWP) pilots, their host local authorities and comparable sites. Results: Mixed-effect models indicated no significant difference in main outcomes among SWP staff when compared to staff in host and comparison local authorities. There were notable differences in relation to job insecurity and social support. Conclusion: The minimal effects observed may relate to the diverse nature of SWPs with no specific work model predominating.
Objectives: To investigate whether a new model that delegates some out-of-home care services from the public to the private and not-for-profit sectors in England enhances practitioners’ job control and stress levels. Methods: A 3-year... more
Objectives: To investigate whether a new model that delegates some out-of-home care services from the public to the private and not-for-profit sectors in England enhances practitioners’ job control and stress levels. Methods: A 3-year longitudinal matched-control evaluation examined changes in Karasek demand-control model and Maslach burnout levels of 2,050 staff working in five social work practice (SWP) pilots, their host local authorities and comparable sites. Results: Mixed-effect models indicated no significant difference in main outcomes among SWP staff when compared to staff in host and comparison local authorities. There were notable differences in relation to job insecurity and social support. Conclusion: The minimal effects observed may relate to the diverse nature of SWPs with no specific work model predominating.
