Ingrid Steen Rostad

Frontiers in Psychology 13 Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.972562

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees with task-based jobs were forced to work from home, while others were furloughed or laid off. The current study aims to investigate how Norwegian and Danish newspapers represent employee motivation and job satisfaction of remote workers in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study used a thematic analysis of five newspapers from Norway and Denmark with different daily distributions and political orientations. The findings suggest that the newspapers in the two countries represented the topic of interest from different perspectives, and this led to the use of two motivation theories: the self-determination theory (SDT) and Herzberg’s two-factor theory. The SDT helps us understand why some employees feel motivated and are more productive while working from home. The need for autonomy, competence, and connectedness is being satisfied for some employees but not for all, which may affect the strength of employees’ job motivation. Herzberg’s theory helps explain physical and psychological issues as dissatisfiers, as these issues are the consequence of working in a home-based office. Furthermore, a hybrid model seems to be an optimal solution for the future job market, where employees with task-based jobs can feel motivated and job satisfied while working either from home or from the workplace. Finally, it is important for employers to look after both the physical and the psychosocial conditions if hybrid solutions are going to replace the traditional workplace.

Cogent Social Sciences 8(1) Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2022.2127210

Child abuse investigation can include complex stressors increasing the risk of secondary trauma among police professionals. This study explores the preparedness of police students about to engage in child abuse investigation tasks during their recruit period. We did semi-structured interviews with 19 police students to explore the students’ expectations and resources they relied on to cope with stress. Through thematic analysis, five themes emerged: 1) a worthy challenge and a valuable experience; 2) absence of concern about the burdens of “a job to be done”; 3) “Gotta’ work it out!”—physical activity as the default coping mechanism; 4) seeking social support—the importance of talking to someone; 5) education on stress management is limited to operational stress. The results support increasing students’ preparedness for child abuse investigation through knowledge about potential risks, normal reaction to adverse situations, and a focus on effective coping strategies beyond physical activity. The results call for improved and more diverse stress management education in the police, with an emphasis on evidence based coping strategies and reducing stigma associated with mental health help seeking.

Eating Behaviors 43 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2021.101565

Objectives: To study the explanatory role of curricular factors and distress in disturbed eating behavior among medical students and whether this varies according to gender, study stage, curriculum model, study stress and mental distress. Methods: The cross-sectional sample surveyed consisted of Norwegian medical students at two faculties with different curricular models (traditional and integrated). The total response rate was 64% (1044/1635). We tested differences in disturbed eating behavior symptoms (EDS) and their correlates using stepwise linear regression analysis. Results: In total, 18.3% were cases of disturbed eating behavior symptoms, including 23.5% of female and 5.6% of male participants. Disturbed eating behavior symptoms were independently associated with the medical school stress factors “medical school is cold and threatening” (β = 0.07, p = .041), “worries about work and competence” (β =0.15, p < .001) and “worries about finances and accommodation” (β = 0.07, p = .018), in addition to female gender (β = 0.30, p < .001), mental distress (β = 0.17, p < .001), and body mass index (β = 0.28, p < .001). The variables explained 28.9% of the variance in disturbed eating behavior symptoms, and medical school stress contributed 9%. “Worries about work and competence” was more important among the female students. Conclusions: Nearly one in five female medical students in the current sample reported symptoms of disturbed eating behavior. The symptoms were associated with medical school stress factors, mental distress, and body mass index.

Scandinavian Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 3(1) p. 1-15 Doi: https://doi.org/10.16993/sjwop.51

This study aimed to investigate how variations in mental health and nationality affect the influence of job demands and job resources on presenteeism among physicians. By differentiating between hindrances and challenging job demands and between buffering and motivational job resources, the current study investigated the mechanisms of physicians’ presenteeism by conducting separate analyses for respondents with good and poor mental health within two countries. A total of 1596 physicians employed at Swedish and Norwegian university hospitals were split into four subsamples according to nationality and mental health status. A score of ≥4 on the General Health Questionnaire-12 defined poor mental health. A set of t-tests showed that overall, the Norwegian sample experienced higher presenteeism, lower demands, and higher resources than the Swedish sample. Within the national samples, the samples with poor mental health indicated that they experienced higher demands and lower resources and showed higher presenteeism than the samples with good mental health. A set of regression analyses in the four subsamples showed that hindrance demands were positively associated with presenteeism and buffering resources were negatively associated with presenteeism in all four subsamples. However, only the subsamples of physicians with good mental health were found to have positive associations between both challenging demands and motivating resources and presenteeism. The study concludes that the association of both demands and resources with presenteeism depend upon how they interact with both personal health and national context.

Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies 7(2) p. 71-85 Doi: https://doi.org/10.18291/njwls.v7i2.81595

Recurrent international data show that physicians often attend work while ill, termed sickness presenteeism. The current study investigated if sickness presenteeism scores among European physicians varied according to national paid sick leave legislation. We hypothesized that prevalence of presenteeism was higher in countries with lower levels of paid sick leave. We used repeated cross-sectional survey data, phase I (2004/2005, N = 1326) and phase II (2012/2013, N = 1403), among senior consultants at university hospitals in Sweden, Norway, and Italy. Analyses of variances assessed cross-country differences in presenteeism. To assess the impact of country on presenteeism, we used multiple regression analyses controlled for sex, age, family status, work hours, and work content. The results from phase I supported the initial hypothesis. At phase II, presenteeism scores had decreased among the Italian and Swedish sample. The results are discussed with regard to changes in legislation on workhours and medical liability in Italy and Sweden between phase I and II.

Scandinavian Psychologist Doi: https://doi.org/10.15714/scandpsychol.2.e11

Our study confirms that sickness presenteeism, sickness absenteeism, and long-term health are associated with common psychosocial workplace factors that include attendance pressure, write Ingrid Steen Rostad and colleagues.