Boredom at work is a state of employee unwell-being that is characterized by relatively low arousal and high dissatisfaction. At present little is known about boredom at work. In order to facilitate future research, the current study introduces a brief self-report questionnaire that assesses boredom at work, the Dutch Boredom Scale (DUBS). We argue that (1) boredom at work can be distinguished empirically from related concepts such as work engagement and job burnout; (2) boredom at work results from having an unchallenging, "passive" job; and (3) the subsequent lack of challenge in the form of boredom may result in dissatisfaction with the job and with the organization. Using data from 6315 employees, factor analysis supported the factorial and discriminant validity of the DUBS vis-à-vis engagement and burnout. As expected, structural equation modeling revealed that demands and resources were negatively associated with boredom. Moreover, boredom at work was negatively related with job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and positively with turnover intention. These findings support the validity of the DUBS. Future research may focus on underemployment as an antecedent of boredom at work, and on the effects of boredom on job performance.
The purpose of this paper is to study the convergent validity of the four most widely used burnout measures in a sample of Chinese nurses (N= 717). First, Structural Equation Modeling was used to investigate the factor structure of scores produced by the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS), the Burnout Measure (BM), the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure (SMBM), and the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI). Next, several competing models were tested to investigate the convergent validity of these four burnout instruments. The final results suggest that burnout is best conceived of as a multidimensional construct consisting of exhaustion and withdrawal, which are two related but conceptually distinct aspects. In addition, positively phrased items should be dropped from burnout measures for they constitute a separate factor that is considered to be an artifact.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of an individual oriented positive psychology intervention on positive emotions, self‐efficacy, and work engagement. Design/methodology/approach The online self‐enhancement intervention program consists of three types of online assignments: happiness assignments, goal setting assignments, and resource building assignments. The authors expected the self‐enhancement intervention group to show a significantly stronger increase in the outcome variables compared to a self‐monitoring control group. Findings The results revealed that the self‐enhancement group showed a stronger increase in positive emotions and self‐efficacy compared to the control group, but not on engagement. Additional analyses showed that the positive effects of the self‐enhancement intervention are present for employees who are initially low in engagement, but not for those medium or high in engagement. Research limitations/implications The study was conducted via a semi‐public web site. The participants were all working in different organizations throughout the country and did not have the advantage of having the support of their supervisors and colleagues who were participating in a similar intervention. Practical implications Positive psychology interventions should target employees who are low in engagement, because they have the most unused potential and therefore have more to gain. Originality/value Traditionally speaking, individual interventions are carried out when something is wrong or malfunctioning, and with the sole objective of fixing it. The intervention presented in this paper includes the entire workforce, because it is based on the belief that improving employee well‐being is relevant for all.
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The relationship between three different performance measures and burnout was explored in 20 Dutch Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Burnout (i.e. emotional exhaustion and depersonalization) proved to be significantly related to nurses' perceptions of performance as well as to objectively assessed unit performance. Subjective performance measures relate negatively to burnout levels of nurses, whereas an objective performance measure relates positively to burnout. Furthermore, subjectively assessed personal performance (i.e. personal accomplishment) is more strongly related to burnout than subjectively assessed unit performance. A model test of the relationship between both types of subjective performance and burnout reveals that nurses' perception of unit performance is indirectly related to burnout through perception of personal performance. This model holds similarly for objectively well- and poor-performing ICUs.
This paper reports on a repeated measures study of job insecurity conducted during drastic organisational change in one of Australia's large public transport organisations. In a redundant group (n = 32) and a control group (n = 63), effects of job insecurity and the availability of coping resources on psychological health and withdrawal were examined longitudinally by means of self-report questionnaires. Results indicate that job insecurity is associated with a deterioration of psychological health (i.e. leading to psychological distress and burnout), as well as job and organisational withdrawal. Contrary to expectations, however, neither support from colleagues nor management nor unions seemed to protect job incumbents from the negative effects of job insecurity. Apparently, these three sources of potential support do not have a stress-buffering effect. It was concluded that in order to combat the adverse effects of job insecurity on psychological health and morale, the job stressor itself has to be dealt with, instead of trying to render it less harmful by providing more social support.
The present study investigates whether work engagement (measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale; UWES) could be empirically separated from job involvement and organizational commitment. In addition, psychometric properties of the Swedish UWES were investigated. Discriminant validity of the UWES was tested through inspection of latent intercorrelations between the constructs, confirmatory factor analyses, and patterns of correlations with other constructs (health complaints, job and personal factors, and turnover intention) in a sample of Information Communication Technology consultants (N = 186). Conclusion: Work engagement, job involvement, and organizational commitment are empirically distinct constructs and, thus, reflect different aspects of work attachment. The internal consistency of the Swedish UWES was satisfactory, but the dimensionality was somewhat unclear.
